Old men and the IPL : The Young India

Kartikey Sehgal

The young waves thrash and splash but it’s the bigger old waves of the sea that steer boats, rouse storms and carry the force and thunder of experience.

Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar have played masterful innings in the ongoing IPL tournament. They have, yet again, awakened the masses to the nuances of timing and stroke-play. Their batting may not have always led the team to victory, but it’s their character and dogged persistence that adds colour to the game that is monotonously unpredictable.

Most cricket lovers should agree that Saurav Ganguly has played one of the best innings of IPL when he led Kolkota to a win over Punjab. It was an innings of strife and struggle. Sourav found it very hard to connect the bat to the ball and was lucky to get away a few times. He misses several chances of scoring boundaries and had to be content with singles. His victory over this struggle makes his batting special.

Sourav didn’t lose concentration or composure. He didn’t play rash shots like his team mates. In the crucial final overs, he took complete charge of the field and the game. None of his shots were struggles. Calm and confident; he was the hero of the day.

Compare Sourav to the ‘young’ Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj is brash as a captain and a player. He looks frustrated and never short of ill words for his team mates. Importantly, he lacks the cricketing spirit that Sourav possesses. Unlike Sourav, Yuvraj has not improved his batting. He is a misfit in Test matches and survives in the one-day team due to his occasional match winning runs and his good fielding.

Yuvraj’s team, Punjab, beat the Mumbai team in their recent match. He yelled at his players for every mistake and glowered and huffed. Mumbai’s captain Sachin Tendulkar was calm under pressure and dignified in his conduct. He chided the players for their performance off the field and inside the dressing room. He also played an innings of splendour. Avoiding the rash shots, he improvised on the regular cover drives and glances. It was the calmest innings of IPL and made Mumbai’s loss look pitiful.

Another victim of ‘olden duck’ philosophy of Indian cricket is Rahul Dravid, who plays better cricket than Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. His craftsmanship is a treat for the senses. He played magnificently against the tough Jaipur team and announced his talent that was surprisingly, very surprisingly, under the scanner. Dravid may not be the best captain and may be reserved in his decisions and planning, but he deserves to be playing every form of cricket.

And why not?

What is so special and different about the young (below 30 in Indian parlance) players? Their talents do not supersede the talents of the three finest players of Indian cricket. Dhoni is struggling despite some quick runs. Yuvraj is tense and out of focus. This must be a temporary phase for them. But it as temporary as Rahul’s and Sourav’s form for which they were dropped from the national team.

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The Young India

Old men and the IPL

on May 28, 2008

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