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On going gracefully
Most senior players drag themselves to the limit, before making their exit instead of accepting the inevitable graciously
In the din and debates about VVS Laxman’s retirement, and Sachin Tendulkar being frequently bowled out recently, the standout wins of the Indian team in the two-Test series against New Zealand were relegated to the backburner. Such is the country’s obsession with the sensational and the frivolous that the positives, at times, get buried under a heap of banalities. Laxman’s retirement was a case in point. After two disastrous away series against England and Australia, questions were raised about his continuance in the Test squad. Many felt that it was time a young player was given a chance, instead of persisting with Laxman, who was in the twilight zone of a brilliant cricket career. Laxman’s contribution to India’s Test wins has been so precious that he could not have been cast away just like that. And the general refrain has been that Laxman, the man with the magic wrist, should be allowed to decide his own retirement. The senior selectors, headed by K. Srikkanth, had included Laxman for the two-Test series against New Zealand on this premise. But before the selection committee met, a former India captain, who is also a leading television commentator and columnist, opined in his column that the selectors should take a call on Laxman’s inclusion in the team. Laxman had prepared hard for the series. But he took the former captain’s comment to heart, and decided to call it a day with a heavy heart, before the New Zealand series, though his fans wanted him to walk into the sunset at his home ground in Hyderabad.
The cricket world was taken aback by Laxman’s sudden decision to retire. His exit would have been graceful, had he not struck a sore note with his oblique reference to captain M. S. Dhoni being a villain of the drama. Laxman’s comment that he could not reach Dhoni before he decided to retire, looked like a case of sour grapes when he left out Dhoni from the farewell party he held at his residence in Hyderabad. Dhoni clarified at a press conference that he was not invited. It would have been prudent on the part of Laxman had he realised that he could not have continued to play for eternity, and when he left, he should not have left on a bitter note, whatever might have been the reason behind his exit. The media made a song and dance about the whole drama, though Dhoni wisely kept his counsel. When the Laxman story reached a saturation point, Sachin Tendulkar provided fresh fodder for the thrill-seekers when he was bowled out in all the three matches India played against the Kiwis. Once again, the same former captain ignited a raging debate when he observed that age had finally caught up with Tendulkar.But mercifully, former captains like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev and even Dhoni spoke up in Sachin’s defence, that he should be allowed to decide when he wants to go, as his contribution to Indian, nay world cricket, has been enormous.
With Laxman and Sachin filling up media space, the brilliant displays with the bat and the ball by young colts Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, R. Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha did not get the attention they deserved. The match-winning performances by these young players only vindicated Dhoni’s stand to plump for youth, with an eye on the future of the Indian cricket. If the veterans cling on, despite fading form, they will only delay the entry of young and talented cricketers into the top league. It is indeed surprising that those who have done it all and seen it all walk into the sunset with a heavy and sore heart, instead of accepting the inevitable graciously. One has to give way to new talent when one’s utility is diminished, but most senior players drag themselves to the limit, before making their exit. This has happened in other sports, too, when the greats had to step aside for the new ones to step in, but rather reluctantly. Wilson Johns was the king of cue sports, billiards and snooker, in the country when Michael Ferreira and Arvind Savur came on the scene. And the latter gave way when Geet Sethi and Yashin Merchant moved into become the new kings of the sport. They, too, had to step aside when a precocious youth, Pankaj Advani, stormed on the scene. And the game goes on as a natural corollary… But cricketers, it seems, are reluctant to fade out, despite outliving their hospitality. The glamour and lucre quotient in cricket has such a pulling power that even when a player bows out of Test and ODI cricket, he will try to stay with an IPL franchise. When a player is finally done and dusted with his playing career, the lucky and talented ones switch over to a career in the electronic media, coaching or cricket administration to be still with the game. So why crib when the time is up in a game you had once excelled at, and was very passionate about? There is always a life beyond playing cricket, as many have seamlessly moved into cricket administration and into the BCCI fold as selectors and in other jobs. Shivlal Yadav, Arshad Ayub and Venkatapthi Raju, who rule the Hyderabad Cricket Association, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad (before them Brijesh Patel), who run the Karnataka Cricket Association, Chetan Chauhan (with the Delhi & District Cricket Association) are some of the top cricketers, who have switched over to cricket administration. Some others are involved in cricket promotion and running coaching academies to prove the adage that “once a cricketer, always a cricketer”. Provided, of course, that you have the talent and enterprise to make a successful switchover, and are not the wailing kind!
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