No game for young men : The Young India

Kartikey Sehgal

Sachin Tendulkar and Kumara Sangakkara have recited the success for 20-20 cricket. Imagination and innovation.

20-20 cricket is not conducive for young players. It is a game for players who can innovate upon proper cricketing shots. It is advantageous to Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar and tough for Parthiv Patel and Rohan Raje. The younger lot has every reason to feel disillusioned with the pace and practice of this game.

Experienced cricketers like Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jacques Kallis are facing the problem of motivation and adjustment. Otherwise, they should easily deal with the pressures of the game and perform better than the ‘young guns’. Rahul Dravid recently scored big runs against the Rajasthan Royals at a strike rate that crossed the 200 mark.

Players are short of peace and confidence in this version. The mantra is to dispatch the ball to any place of the ground and garner runs. Bad shots are lauded by the crowd and the players, if they result in some runs for the team. However, in the process, the player feels upset. His disappointment is overcome by the cheers. Thus, after every bad shot, he seeks approval his team and the boisterous crowd.

This process has a shelf life. The player yearns for a forward defensive shot and a proper hook shot. He starts playing with dexterity and elegance. If he fails to score runs this way, he is conveniently replaced by another who is hungry for team and crowd support. Our player then sits in the balcony and watches his replacement play bad shots. After some matches he becomes disillusioned and confused. He can either play cricket as he knows it, or he can play bat and ball and earn some cheers.

Who then, is the winner in 20-20? It is the player who has committed umpteen mistakes in Test cricket and One Day Internationals and can expertly avoid them while playing innovative cricket.

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The Young India

No game for young men

on May 21, 2008

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