So the new
season for Indian cricket has begun. And begun well one can say. With a
comfortable one-day series victory against Sri Lanka on their own soil and a
test series victory against the Kiwis at home our start to the new season has
been good with quite a few plusses to think of. Bigger challenges lie ahead
however and it remains to be seen how the young looking unit copes with better
teams like England and Australia in the coming months without the stalwarts
like Laxman and Dravid. I have a hunch that we will do well. If we do, without doubt the
naysayers would start ranting about us being tigers at home which I believe is an outright stupid
argument. I don’t see anyone raising their voices for Australia and South
Africa’s domination at home, so what makes our dominance on our own soil so
aggravating to people is beyond me. I shall explore this further in another post.
Moving
on... As is the case with Indian cricket
these days, a lot has already happened in these last few weeks. Let me just
dwell on certain happenings in Indian cricket that I wish to discuss.
Rise of the
Colts
Before
discussing anything else, I raise a toast to the Indian U-19 team for their
fascinating World Cup triumph last month. To beat the Aussies in their own den,
that too in the final of a world event, requires some outstanding skill and
courage. Our colts surely had that and in winning the trophy they showed that
all the doubts of Indian cricket‘s future can be put to rest. We have found
in this side quite a few players who are a class part and would surely be rendering
their services to the national team in the very near future. Anyone who would
have seen captain Unmukt Chand’s scintillating century in the final would agree
that he is made for bigger things. I am quite excited by this guy and hope to
see him in our national side soon. He is quite in the mould of Virat Kohli and
seems to have a mature head on his shoulders. Besides the batting star Unmukt we have a few others like off -spinner
Harmeet Singh, all-rounder Baba Aaparajith , batsman Vijay Zol and a couple
of others who look very promising. More than anything else this team shows that
India’s bowling and batting cupboards isn't bare as many ‘experts’ have been
screaming hoarse. I am certain that over a period of time, once these
youngsters are well-groomed, our recent overseas disasters would be a thing of
the past. Cheers to the future!
Sachin oh
Sachin
So Sachin
Tendulkar performed below par in the recent Test series against New Zealand and
was bowled through the gates thrice in as many innings. Soon enough there has
been a rising cry in all of India screaming for Sachin to retire and these
people have decided that his time is now up. It’s amusing to think that not too
long ago he was being hailed as GOD after he had scored the first double
century in ODIs. Now I will not write much on this, as experts have been
analyzing every movement of Sachin’s with acute scrutiny in any case and
moreover criticism of cricketers is like an everyday exercise for our
citizenry. But I do have this to say-
someone who has served the country for 23 long years and served it well
apparently, believes that he has it in him to serve our cricket for some more
time. We should be really lucky he thinks that way. He is the reason that many in our country (and in the team) started
watching cricket. He will not take his place for granted ever. Even in his last
innings he was stroking the ball beautifully before he unfortunately got
bowled. Big deal! So what? I am certain
in my mind that Sachin is already working on the flaw that got him out and
would rectify it. We need him now more than ever as our team is going through a
transition phase with many young men taking new positions and they would
require Sachin’s guidance and experience for as long as they can take it. We
have England and Australia coming in next and then there is the tour to South
Africa. We need Sachin in all these tournaments if we hope to do well; there are no two
ways about it. Sachin is prone to criticism but to ask him to retire should not
be our calling; that authority should lie with him and him alone. I think he
has deserved that credit.
I know that
day would soon come when we would never again see the name Sachin Tendulkar on
the Indian team score card, whether in a few months or years, time will tell.
But the one above sent Sachin to our land for a specific reason. I have a
feeling that that he has his own script for the Little Master for the day he
bids us adieu.
T20 World
Cup – Will or Won’t?
Now comes
the big one, the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka starting in about a week’s time.
How will it unfold for team India? Will we go down poorly as we did in the last
two editions of the event or would the men in blue make a billion hearts smile
again? Remains to be seen
Five years
precisely to this month we witnessed the rise of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the
daring and cool captain who led a young and talented Indian team to an
unexpected World Cup T20 triumph in South Africa. Many things have changed
since, but the captain’s hunger to succeed hasn’t. The T20 World Cup is about
to commence once again and not many are giving our team much of a chance to
lift the trophy. Our T20 performance hasn’t been great to speak of and thus not
many are too hopeful on us bringing back the cup. As for me, I am my usual
nervous self as the day inches closer. I am quietly confident of our team’s
prospects. We have a good bunch of guys at hand. With the likes of Kohli (who
by the way is in absolutely sparkling form), Raina, Yuvraj and Dhoni, the
middle-order bears a settled look. If the openers fire and the bowlers somehow
perform well we might go the distance. We should at least make the semis; from
there it’s anybody’s game. Unlike 50 over cricket where I am more confident of
our prospects, T20 is like a gamble. One bad over, one misfield or a bad delivery
can change the game’s outcome. Hence a lot would depend on chance too. We have
good talent at our disposal but the rest depends on a lot of factors. I can
only hope that lady luck shines in our favour. Am I willing to take a bet on
our chances? I don’t know really. MSD has his fair share of haters in our
country and especially in Bengal for obvious selfish reasons, and many of them
I know would be licking their lips for India to fail giving them a chance to target their guns on him again.
But knowing MSD he wouldn’t be perturbed by all this chatter; he is a fighter
and a champion cricketer and would be focused on doing well. He has nothing to
prove to anybody but himself. I also believe that life has its own way of
setting things right. Who knows on the night of October 7th in
Colombo it might very well be our captain cool holding the trophy he
first held in 2007. A perfect gift to himself for completing five years as a
captain isn’t it? I would surely be rooting for our captain and his team
selflessly and would hope for the best no matter what. For now, let the magic
begin…
Yuvi can,
Yuvi has
Lastly some
words on the enigmatic ‘punjab da puttar’ Yuvraj Singh and his much celebrated
comeback. Yuvraj made an emotional and confident return to cricket in the last
T20 match against NZ. It was sheer pleasure to see Yuvi stroke those sixers
which made my heart jump with excitement. He fell short of what would have been
an ideal fairytale comeback but was not to be as he got out in the last over of
India’s chase, just when we didn’t require him to. Though we lost the match, we
gained a lot from the confident way Yuvraj batted. He is without doubt a
pivotal member of our team, and his performing well is imperative for our
chances in the coming tournament. When in full flow he is one of the cleanest
strikers of the cricket ball and is also a more than handy part-time bowler as
was seen in the World Cup 2011. It would be interesting to see how he excels in
the coming T20 World Cup. Perhaps it was good that he didn’t win the game for
us in his comeback match. Perhaps it would have blown the lid of the media and
the people who would have expected the world from him then. Now Yuvi can just
take it easy and enjoy the game. And we can just hope that he does his best;
which can be very good news for us.
However in
all this there is also the story of how Yuvi fought back cancer and lived to
tell the tale albeit in a heroic fashion. Although I agree that there has been
a bit too much of his whole ‘come back’ thing but none can deny that it has
been a truly remarkable achievement. I know very well what chemotherapy does to
one’s body and thus too see Yuvi strutting around the crease was a pleasing
sight. In all this hoopla also lies a lesson for each one of us if we are willing to
take it. It is not just about fighting a disease; it’s just the will Yuvi
showed. Teaching us that we can fight any situation if we truly have the
passion and the belief that the thing is worth fighting for. It can be
anything; be it fighting for one’s life, one’s career or one’s love. The
standout word here is TRY. If Yuvraj had gone all grumpy and complained how
unfair life has been on him he wouldn’t have been donning the Indian jersey
today. He chose to fight. Therein lies the lesson. We might not always win, but
we should at least give our honest attempt at trying to our fullest and leave
the rest to destiny, which isn’t in our hands. But trying surely is. At least
then we wouldn’t have regrets. Isn’t that what life is all about? Living in
hope, seeing dreams and trying your hardest to fulfill them. It is a very
simple theory that we fail to understand sometimes. If we can
just comprehend the underlying message behind Yuvraj’s comeback, things would be
lots easier for all of us.
Like I always say to a very beautiful person in my life, “Try karne me kya jaata hai...!”
Like I always say to a very beautiful person in my life, “Try karne me kya jaata hai...!”
No comments:
Post a Comment