A Few Good Men
At the initiation of Twenty-20, the concept looked such that it would capture the excitement of the Young Turks of the international cricket, while the seasoned “oldies” would be left sulking and criticizing the moving-away-from-tradition culture in cricket. And to a certain extent, I dare say, that the prognosis did come true. When Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid withdrew themselves from the T-20 World Cup, they made a lot of people in the cricketing fraternity breathe a sigh of relief. The selectors, to begin with, did not have to do the dirty job of dropping the stalwarts, which was evident at least in the case of Ganguly and Dravid, and the captain, M.S. Dhoni, was more than happy to get a younger side. MSD, has in fact, been very expressive about his views on the inclusion of youth in the T-20 and subsequently One Day International teams.
The decision, as we know; bore results, as India brought home the coveted trophy.
But then started the trend that has been eating cricket since time immemorial. That trend of making one instance, one set up as a custom. And it became a notion that as far as the shortest version of the game is concerned, the golden oldies should keep their distance. So when the Indian Premier League took off amidst a lot of fan fare and a lot of bad blood between the players and their respective cricket boards, it was most definitely, a thing to wonder, on how the retired and about to retire stars would come and perform in a version of the game, where they are “supposed” to be all at sea.
The result that came out, however, was quite staggering.
The IPL, in the midway, has sprung out quite a few exciting things. Some close finishes, some devastating knocks, some untoward exchanges between the captain and the owner, a hat-trick, and some ostentatious display of hatred culminating into slaps and tears. But a closer look at the performance, would also boast of another fact, that the so called have beens, are not after all, fables of past.
Shaun Pollock, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Sanath Jayasuriya, and Mark Boucher, have all been the lifelines of their respective teams in this high octane competition. And they all have another thing in common, that according to the pundits of cricket, they are past their prime, and thus, too primitive to be a part of this version of the game. But look what they have done so far. Pollock has been one of the most economical bowlers of the tournament; McGrath has been as tantalizingly perfect as ever, Jayasuriya single handedly demolished an in form Chennai team, while Warne has been the captain courageous who took a Rajasthan team which was written off by everybody, to the top of the table. Sourav Ganguly might look as if he is ill at ease, but he has managed to give some of the most measured bowling performances and that amazing innings against Hyderabad to earn his team a vital two points. And if one were to look at the dismal condition of the Bangalore team, I think Boucher is the only silver lining in what seems to be a very dark cloud. In the midst of the twilight of their careers, these stalwarts would look back at their lives and they would smile, with a feeling of satisfaction that their swan song, has resonated with the sweetest tune.
So even as the Yuvraj Singhs and Virender Sehwags continue to flatter to deceive, the performance of this group of old men makes a strong statement. It says that the shortest version of the game is certainly not so “uncricket” after all. It states that if you bowl at the right length and hit the correct ball, you will succeed, just as you would in the classical Test matches. True, that there is a need to innovate and slog every now and then, that odd reverse sweep over the head of short fine leg, or the strange compromising shot that would come out of the edge and go for six above the wicketkeeper, but these men have shown that their talent, is in no way exhausted. And they are only too pleased to do those necessary changes and show the younger generation, that in the midst of the colours, and music, and cheerleaders, they are still playing cricket.
It has been a pleasure to watch the likes of Gilchrist and Warne perform the way they have. Even after so many years, after watching so many ebbs and crests of fortunes in that cricket field, it takes a great heart to show the commitment that they are showing.
So today, even as we celebrate the coming of age of players like Subramanium Badrinath and Ashok Dinda, we also realize that they have a long way to go, as they set forth to follow the footsteps of people who have conquered great heights.
And what’s more, they aren’t over yet.
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