The curse of being Rahul Dravid

 (7 Oct 2013)

Being Rahul Dravid in an era when many Indian legends played the gentlemen’s game hasn’t been easy. Playing along with Sachin Tendulkar and still be able to leave a permanent mark on cricketing timelines as one of the greats who ever donned the cap has of course not been easy either. Despite all the historic moments Rahul mesmerized us with for so long, despite being the ever Mr. Dependable, despite earning the title of ‘The Wall’, and also despite exhibiting true gentlemanly traits on and off the field, he for no fault of his perhaps represented India in a period that could largely be seen as belonging to the wonder boy from Mumbai. The curse of being Rahul Dravid is that he times without count stood his ground at the 22-yards when the rest of the batsmen collapsed like a pack of cards, yet his unforgettable innings and winning contributions were sadly dwarfed by some of his more fancied teammates’ sometimes average performances.

True he did not during his initial days hit a four or a six on the first delivery he faced; he would instead patiently read the bowlers and gradually open up. True he needed time to gain acceptability as an ODI batsman who steadily but surely emerged as the most bankable willower in both the formats of the game. He in fact much later also conquered the T20 version, something that would have been unimaginable for someone who followed the early hours of Dravid’s career. But he did. And boy, didn’t he lead from the front? Didn’t he last night bow out on a real high despite losing the final match of his professional cricketing life?

Memories of my sister in her teen age collecting Dravid’s postcard-size photographs and hiding those in her books are as fresh in my mind as is all the madness girls back in the day incessantly showered on this chocolate-faced boy from Bangalore. All this media glare did not shake up an ounce of his focus; he knew he was out in the middle for a long haul, he knew he was technically sound, he knew he would work really hard on his game. He kept his life simple and chose not to get carried away by all the swooning and lure that he was getting used to being dangerously close to. He never lost his cool, he never threw tantrums on or off the ground, he was suave and smart. Everything he did – as a player and as a captain of the national side – may have always been overshadowed by the mere presence of Sachin Tendulkar, who got spoken about and written about more, even when matches were won by the unsung hero.

It is perhaps true that Sachin has been more flamboyant, more exciting to watch, more charismatic with runs. Rahul however hasn’t been any less in his own right, trying to win every match he played never caring for his personal milestones, trying to shed the last drop of his blood only so the tri-color could fly high. He played cricket, and nothing else. 

Rahul Dravid will not play a professional match again. We’ll never on the ground see this institution of talent, technique and grace hit a cover drive. That elegance forever will be missing. The cricketing horizon minus this sparkling rainbow shall never be the same again. Cricket will be played for generations to come. But the game of cricket without you, Rahul, will never be the same again. 

Sachin: God fallen off grace?

(30 Sep 2013)

I, like many my age, grew up in an era when a child prodigy stormed into the sporting arena with fire in the eyes and magic in the willow. This curly-haired wonder boy was one day going to not only make history as perhaps the greatest man to have played the game of cricket in our times, but also be elevated to the level of God. Sachin Tendulkar he is! No other cricketer – not even a Bradman or a Richards or a Warne – has ever been idolized with so intense frenzy by fans.

Is there any denying however that despite all of this, Sachin Tendulkar the phenomenon is a mere mortal, and that he will one day have to go? He’s already retired from the ODI format of the game. Some would argue he could have retired on a real high after India’s 2011 World Cup win at home. In the recent many months, Sachin has fallen prey to the mammoth shadow of his illustrious past, when he’s been repeatedly seen trying hard for shots that he would once play with silken ease. He’s been conquered by extremely bad deliveries and by average bowlers, times without count. It is a painful sight to behold for a cricket lover when their demi god struggles to make petty thirties and fifties. This simply isn’t something we’re used to seeing.

Rumors and theories have been abuzz on when Sachin should hang up his Test boots. Of course every individual athlete is the best judge to decide when they should play their last match. Sachin has maintained he still had the hunger for more cricket and that he was loving his game. None of us will ever be able to even imagine how proud, how humbling, how great it feels to be a Sachin and walk in to the middle with thousands of fans cheering from all over the ground. We’ll also never know how extremely difficult it is to time well the moment of graceful exit, leaving your fans to forever mourn that you could have played more and that you left at your prime. This truly is a Godly decision. There are too few sporting legends who could muster the courage to call it quits when they knew they could still hang on for some more time, out in the middle, amidst all the glare, all the fanfare, all the madness.

The nature of the beast is such that it ruthlessly bites everyone especially towards the twilight of their career. The fans who once were ready to die for you won’t mind booing you when you falter. Sachin fans will find it painful to remember their hero as someone who kept on trying and failing, rather than someone who was once the best in the business.

Sachin has already missed the opportunity to bow out at the peak. For many, he’s already fallen off the Godly grace. It’s disturbing for any lover of the game to imagine that this champion will keep trying and will one day be asked by a BCCI office bearer – a virtual nobody – to quit.

Nobody is bigger than the game they play. For cricket, the country comes first and I’m certain Sachin realizes that he’s been for some time fighting against too many natural odds. By trying harder and longer he isn’t going to achieve anything he hasn’t already. Our memories of Sachin’s heydays are too magical to ever be erased even by his own failures late in the day. The game of cricket will always be grateful to this man who not only played it, but glorified it in myriads of ways. Sachin’s biggest fan forever will be cricket itself! 

Sachin - who taught me the word 'cricket'!

(written after Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from One Day International cricket)

23 Dec 2012

The curly haired shy boy next door is my earliest memory of someone called Sachin who stormed into the limelight at a time when there were stalwarts in the Indian team. He was calm yet aggressive, raw yet niche and despite being as fresh as the morning showed glimpses of why he would last till the evening. Boy, wasn't he soon going to be the Man in the team, taller than everyone else in his fraternity!

Before long, the burden of carrying the aspiration and imagination of a billion-strong country was on his tender shoulders. Every time the little master walked in to the twenty two yards, the nation had its heart-beat hard-paused for a while followed by another while followed by another. No other Indian sportsperson, no other Indian actor, in fact no other Indian in the last twenty years enjoyed as much adulation and following. There were greats, there were legends who Sachin played with and against; but then they were not him. Only he could have been him.

Many brainless followers of the game ask who between Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar is better or bigger. It is equivalent to asking, 'Is the ball or the bat more necessary to play cricket'? The legend of few cannot be measured; it can only be imagined not by the runs they score or wickets they take, but by the way they leave an ever-lasting impression on the face of the game. They are just about few; rest are mere mortals. No other cricketer ever was more important to his countrymen than the team-score, never has a nation celebrated every century scored by a cricketer bothering far less about the outcome of matches.

It has always been hysteria galore, madness unplugged and love unwound! Sachin not only played cricket, he carried himself with the highest level of humbleness, integrity, honesty and dedication. All this has helped him stay grounded and earn unconditional love and respect from all quarters.

He was Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar before he became The Sachin Tendulkar. This is how he will live on for as long as the game of cricket is played!

Thank you Sachin for being what nobody else ever could be, for carrying the tri-color around your shoulders for over two decades, for gifting us memories more pleasant than our childhood itself, and for inspiring an entire generation of cricket-lovers.

And thank you for teaching me the meaning of the word 'cricket'!

Sachin's larger than life image! (11 March 2011)

I was one of the thousands of cricket fans who had jam-packed the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in 2011. The occasion: an IPL match between RCB and MI. The occasion was marred by a string of low-intensity bombs that blasted minutes after I – and my gang of friends – had comfortably found our seats inside the picturesque stadium, colored partly in blue and in red. Oh – the beautiful game of cricket; did not matter if it was an international encounter or a club match. I was awe-struck!

Drums were beating, ‘imported’ cheer-girls dancing, jumbo-screens flashing cricketers up-close-and-personal, Vijay Mallya and his dashing son along with his ‘special’ friend Deepika Padukone were waving at the page 3-hungry cameras. In short, the stage was ready to be set ablaze!

There were legends (Kumble and Dravid) and biggies (Harbhajan, Zaheer and Pollard) taking positions in the field. And then there was the genius whom his parents had named ‘Sachin’, 37 years back. That was to be my first close ‘encounter’ with the Little Master. He opened the innings for MI, but… much before he could start, and immediately after he stepped into the ground through the gates, the entire stadium lit up in roar, in joyous screams, and in frantic support. For a moment, I closed my eyes and wanted to feel it for the man himself. I failed to even imagine how it would feel to be truly deeply madly loved and cheered for.

The ‘local’ heroes Kumble and Dravid – when I dared to compare with Sachin’s welcome – could generate only a lukewarm response in the crowd. That did not surprise me though! It’s not Anil’s or Rahul’s fault to have been treated on a lesser scale; it’s just that nobody could possibly be bigger than Sachin. Not even the game of cricket itself. This madness defies mathematics, doesn’t care for logic, and denies obeying any rule or law. I guess that’s what love is.

That’s not Sachin’s fault either that he’s so tremendously admired. One wonders what this man could have done to achieve this unachievable status! Nothing much I’d say, except that he played seamlessly for 20 years, like a soldier wrapped in the tricolor.

Here’s to one of the few gentlemen of the game. I salute you Sachin Tendulkar. You being larger than life makes life worth living; you being bigger than the game makes it worth following!!

Saina and Sania: why you girls are special!

Let me begin by congratulating Saina Nehwal on winning the much-deserved bronze medal at the London Olympics. Bravo girl, even though many had expected you to get us a gold! I don't care about how the match was awarded to you, for you already are a true champion in the true sense.

Sania Mirza hasn't had the kind of run at this year's Olympics that she may have thought she would. But then, it doesn't take away any bit of what you've achieved so far on the court. 

My admiration for you girls goes much beyond the outcome of one particular event, even though the Olympics is the greatest sporting extravaganza in the world!

To me, you both symbolize fight, grit, determination and belief in yourself. While you were busy giving colors to your dreams, while you were sweating it out to prepare for big events, while you were breaking records nobody thought would be challenged any time soon, you were in fact gradually awakening the sleeping Indian woman. She had fallen asleep long back thinking that's what she was supposed to do, not quite knowing she had the right to choose when she wanted to wake up all by herself! She started realizing you could begin to lead the pack of 'others' should you feel the hunger for. Thanks to you, she started believing in herself.

She started knowing no fence could be high enough and no barrier strong enough if you made your mind up. You both may just be playing your sport, but the ripple your stories have created has inspired a whole lot of Indian women. Any race, any species, any nation takes a giant leap the moment it asks itself, "why can't I?". 

Sports has largely been a man's bastion in India for who knows how long. Thanks to your duo for questioning the taboo in our mind, and for challenging the status quo of Indian sport which wasn't doing much good anyway. The typical manish perception of who should play professional sports could be gauged from a statement issued more than ten years ago by the great tennis legend John McEnroe, when he said that even though he was well into his official retirement, he could still beat the top-ranked women tennis players on the court! It sure had irked some of the women at work.

A country like ours does need sporting icons, not as much for becoming like those icons themselves as for wanting to emulate their feats in a variety of fields. After all, as they say, the only people who never fail are those who never try!