India is a beautiful country and it's people even more
wonderful. We are passionate about everything we do. But we falter when
this passion is unknowingly converted to fanaticism, losing all pragmatism,
especially when it comes to our national cricket team. One victory and the
country has found its heroes; one loss and they are thrown down in the
dumps. When will we, in the form of media, ex-cricketers and general
public
stop doing it? Will we ever? I hope that we will, at least with this
present team.
They are a young team with a young captain. They have shown
tremendous potential to emerge as a team that could be a frontrunner in
international cricket. After a long time the Indian team is looking and
playing like a team. They are playing for each other, for their team and
not
for personal glory. They have made mistakes (who doesn't?), but a look at
the present lot and one gets the feeling, they will learn from them in the
future. In the last few months they have won more than lost.
Let me begin first with the captain. It is not an easy job,
especially if you captain an Indian side. "Gunning for Ganguly", yes it
aptly describes the media blast at the Indian cricket captain. I mean all
that is left, is to actually take a gun and shoot him. Hey guys, spare the
chap, let him rule in peace.
After a long time India has a captain who
stands up for the team, voices his opinions to the board fearlessly and
enjoys the respect of his young team members. He has formed an impressive
combination with the coach, John Wright, the vice-captain, Rahul Dravid,
and Sachin Tendulkar. Together they have shown the potential to develop
this young team into a formidable opposition and winner. He might have had a
poor run of form, well which Indian captain hasn't? Though I sincerely
believe Tendulkar never had poor form as captain. If scoring 1000 runs in
both Tests and one-dayers in one year when he was captain is termed as
poor form, we need to look up the terminology again or redefine it for
Tendulkar.
Ganguly is termed as the "royal brat of international cricket" or
the "rich spoilt kid". In fact, I think the Australian media is the culprit.
Many papers and sites in India carried their opinions as if it was the
final word. That makes us culprits too. The fact that Ganguly was giving the
Australians back, in their own words, pricked them real hard. He added salt
to the biggest wound they had suffered, a defeat in the Test series when
victory seemed a few millimeters away. He was beating Steve Waugh (for whom
I have immense respect as a captain and a player. If ever there is a title
called 'King of captains', Steve deserves it.) and his team at their own
mind games. In the process, to put it very simply, he was getting on their
nerves. Adding more oil to the fire, Ganguly went on to quote: "If they do
it, it is gamesmanship; but if we do the same, it is termed as arrogance.".
This forthrightness probably gets to most people. He may sometimes be brash, but
beneath lies the passion to win, to see India at top and the will to
succeed every time his team steps out on field.
He hasn't done everything right but he hasn't done too much
wrong either. There are sure signs that given a long tenure, security and
the team he desires, he will do more right than wrong. He has been more
verbal (on-field and off-field) than most Indian captains. But if I'm not
mistaken he has been eprimanded on those (on-field) occasions by the match
referees. And let's not even get into the suspension issues; the debate
would make up for another article. I feel he will prove to be a good
captain, especially with the youngsters, because he knows the insecurities a player
can go through when he is new to the international cricket.
Ganguly made a comeback from wilderness after five years, that too when he had earned a much-maligned reputation on the infamous 1991-92 tour Down Under. He can relate
to these youngsters more closely, and is keen to give a player more chances
to prove himself. He is a firm believer that one cannot judge a player by
just one performance. He shows a lot of faith in his youngsters, for
example he fought for Harbhajan Singh, Virendra Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, to have them in the side. They too have proved him right by coming up with match-winning performances.
The media should stop cooking up stories and leave the team alone.
The team lost a final and suddenly there were talks of friction between Tendulkar and Ganguly doing the
rounds. When will we learn to accept that losing is part and parcel of the game?
There were reports of Tendulkar skipping the tri-series due to this 'conflict'
more than injury reasons. Actually, all those who doubt Tendulkar's
commitment to the game, to the team, to the country, and to his captain
should seriously quit watching cricket. The game could do without them.
Then people were saying that Dravid should take over as captain, but when Dravid suffers
a bad-patch who will be in line next? You won't find better team men than
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. They are Sourav Ganguly's biggest
assets. He knows that for a fact and values them too. There is absolutely no reason
to create any kind of tension between the "Big Three" of the Indian team.
The team could do without these rumours. One look at the three when they
play together and you get the feeling that they compliment each other the
best.
The team, with the experience of the senior players (who are not
that senior considering they are only 28!!) and the exuberance and spirit
of youngsters is showing signs of developing into a fine unit. They are
learning the positive approach to the game and developing the attitude to
fight and never give up.
Let me list a few examples:
1. India's unexpected win over Australia in the ICC knockout and then a
polished victory over South Africa to reach finals to everyone's astonishment. Yuvraj Singh,
Zaheer Khan and captain Sourav playing important roles there.
2. The famous comeback ever in cricketing history: Laxman, Dravid and
Harbhajan rewriting record books in the Calcutta Test versus Australia.
3. Harbhajan, again, with his magical fingers spins a web around the
Aussies. India clinches series 2-1 from 0-1 down.
4. India is reeling at 80/5, chasing 290 set by the West Indies in the final of
tri-series in Zimbabwe. Sodhi and Dighe fight it out valiantly to just lose
marginally. Not too sad about the loss, because India showed fighting spirit. It
counts sometimes more than victories!
5. The latest series, India loses its first three league matches. All the
next matches virtual semi-finals. The youngsters do it again to pull India right into the final. This, with no
Sachin Tendulkar around.
Give them credit guys; I know we stumbled at the last hurdle.
But that's no reason to forget their previous performances. It takes a strong performance to get to the final
too. That's why I maintain they have
made mistakes, but they will learn. They'll definitely make it past the last
hurdle in the near future. Besides, we all know how one-day cricket is, their
Test performance should matter most.
We have a lot of talented players coming up: (I list a few)
1. Shiv Sundar Das: After Sunil Gavaskar, India never found a reliable
opener. In the process, Das seems to be
God sent. Patience personified isn't he?
Ashish Nehra: What a comeback, I wonder what he was (or rather our
selectors) doing for the last two years after playing in the Test
championship. Never mind, he is here to stay as long as injuries don't
become to frequent.
3. Zaheer Khan: My favourite for his sheer pace. If he controls his balls
well, boy do we have a good duo leading our pace attack.
4. Yuvraj Singh: He has the talent and the shots. He could do with a
little more patience though. He bowled well within his limits in recent matches and
fielding is definitely an inch above most Indians. Test place a long wait still, but he should be a permanent member in the one-day side.
5. Reetinder Sodhi: Has matured in the last couple of series. An
enthusiast on field, a fighter to the core.
There are few others in waiting too. So the learning process is on
and let's not hamper it by asking for their captain's head. Let's not
criticize the team over its losses so harshly. The team could do with encouragement
and support from their own people not when they win but when they lose,
especially if they haven't fallen short in their efforts. The team needs
stability and the captain security. It is well known that a captain is as
good as his team is. We have a core here, talented players, who when
worked upon will be able to deliver at the most testing times. We have a team in
the making that looks good for the World Cup. We should start thinking
with
the future in view.
Give them time, give him time, be patient. There is an old saying -- "Patience Pays". So let's wait.
Also read:
Full strength, or walking wounded?
We are like this only
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Mail Minal Rahate
