The general trend in India is that if somebody grows old,
other people start looking for some young person to replace him. This
trend is visible everywhere in every field. Cricket is no different. But
if we speak only about the present situation or only about Indian
Cricket we will do injustice to the history of this game.
Steve Waugh, Mathew Hayden and recently Ricky Ponting have been dealt with similarly. Steve Waugh retired on a heavy note. Pressure was coming on in from the then Australian Selector. Steve has lead Australia to a great height and under him actually the Australians were called as “Mighty Australians”.
Hayden was dropped from the team and then he played brilliantly in the Next Year’s IPL becoming the highest scorer of that year’s tournament. Then why was he dropped and forced to retire? Hayden had served Australia for quite sometime and single handedly won many matches for them. Did he deserve this?
Ricky Ponting was dealt with in a more harsh way. He was thrown out of the team in the middle of an ongoing series. What can be more painful and cruel than this? A person who had lead the team to two World Cup trophies deserved much much much much more than this.
Let’s come back to India. Let’s visit Kapil Dev’s era for a bit. He was not bowling well for quite sometime and so was dropped suddenly. If we look at his statistics, we will see that he has taken the maximum number of wickets on Indian Soil. Let me remind you that Kapil Dev was a fast bowler and Indian pitches used to be mainly for spinners even in those days. There lies his greatness. He was clearly going through a bad patch because of which he failed to perform, but everybody overlooked that fact. Very Tragic.
The present scenario is no different. Javagal Srinath decided to retire after he was dropped from the World Cup squad of 2003. It was Sourav Chandidas Gangly who had a tought time with the selectors to change their decision and include Srinath in the squad and the rest is history. Srinath bowled brilliantly in the World Cup and that was his most successful World Cup.
Then comes the era of the Fav Five---->
Sourav Ganguly’s contribution to Indian Cricket was tremendous. But look at what happened to him. He was indirectly asked to take retirement. Still today he laments that he could have played for at least 2 more years.
This is not life My friend, this is pure murder of a talent.
Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid faced more or less similar situations like everybody else. Anil Kumble was suffering from an injury and he knew best that once somebody else replaces him for 1 test, that will be the end for him. So he was wise enough to say “I quit”.
Rahul Dravid knew that once the defeat of the last series against Australia comes under the scanner, he will be the one to go under the hammer. He also decided to call it a day. All the other people who failed will not be effected so much as he would be.
Lastly comes VANGIPURAPU VENKATA SAI LAXMAN .
Nothing to say about this man and the way he has played and served Indian Cricket. He was called “THE GOD OF THE 4TH INNINGS” and he alone deserved that title. He not only saved many test matches but also won many for India in critical situations. We should not forget that he use to come out at number 6 and on most situations batted with tail-enders only. He was always in the limelight yet was always in the shadow, always behind somebody else. He never got the applause he deserved. Even in the last hours of his Cricketing life he only got the negative energy of life. He was mentally shattered by so-called “cricket lovers”.
I salute
your decision. There has been no-body before and I doubt whether there
will be anybody after you who will be brave enough to take this type of
decision of quitting with immediate effect even after being selected for
a full Test Series. I can feel your love for the game because even
after practicing for 3-4 months just for playing the Test Matches, you
have decided to retire without playing even one because you were
mentally shattered. I can say that even SCG and Rahul Dravid perhaps
have felt the same while retiring and that’s why they have continued
playing in the IPL.
SCG & Rahul Dravid----> if the above is true then I would like to see both of you again in next Year’s IPL also. It is immaterial whether you score or not but we would like you two to be there out in the field in action.
VVS Laxman---->I know that you have no other formats of Cricket left to play other than Ranji Trophy but we all salute you for your heroism and the great decision you have taken. We will always remember that you have thought about the team first and about yourself later and a live example was when you decided to utilize the money that you were being given in extra to be used during the IPL 1 auction to buy better players for you team. That showed a small part of your greatness. I know that I am not fit enough to discuss about you or give you compliment but I would like to end this on the note:-->
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HELPING INDIA ACHIEVE THIS HEIGHT OF GLORY"
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar->We all sincerely hope we don’t have to see this treatment against you.
Steve Waugh, Mathew Hayden and recently Ricky Ponting have been dealt with similarly. Steve Waugh retired on a heavy note. Pressure was coming on in from the then Australian Selector. Steve has lead Australia to a great height and under him actually the Australians were called as “Mighty Australians”.
Hayden was dropped from the team and then he played brilliantly in the Next Year’s IPL becoming the highest scorer of that year’s tournament. Then why was he dropped and forced to retire? Hayden had served Australia for quite sometime and single handedly won many matches for them. Did he deserve this?
Ricky Ponting was dealt with in a more harsh way. He was thrown out of the team in the middle of an ongoing series. What can be more painful and cruel than this? A person who had lead the team to two World Cup trophies deserved much much much much more than this.
Let’s come back to India. Let’s visit Kapil Dev’s era for a bit. He was not bowling well for quite sometime and so was dropped suddenly. If we look at his statistics, we will see that he has taken the maximum number of wickets on Indian Soil. Let me remind you that Kapil Dev was a fast bowler and Indian pitches used to be mainly for spinners even in those days. There lies his greatness. He was clearly going through a bad patch because of which he failed to perform, but everybody overlooked that fact. Very Tragic.
The present scenario is no different. Javagal Srinath decided to retire after he was dropped from the World Cup squad of 2003. It was Sourav Chandidas Gangly who had a tought time with the selectors to change their decision and include Srinath in the squad and the rest is history. Srinath bowled brilliantly in the World Cup and that was his most successful World Cup.
Then comes the era of the Fav Five---->
- SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR
- SOURAV CHANDIDAS GANGULY
- RAHUL DRAVID
- ANIL KUMBLE
- VANGIPURAPU VENKATA SAI LAXMAN
Sourav Ganguly’s contribution to Indian Cricket was tremendous. But look at what happened to him. He was indirectly asked to take retirement. Still today he laments that he could have played for at least 2 more years.
This is not life My friend, this is pure murder of a talent.
Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid faced more or less similar situations like everybody else. Anil Kumble was suffering from an injury and he knew best that once somebody else replaces him for 1 test, that will be the end for him. So he was wise enough to say “I quit”.
Rahul Dravid knew that once the defeat of the last series against Australia comes under the scanner, he will be the one to go under the hammer. He also decided to call it a day. All the other people who failed will not be effected so much as he would be.
Lastly comes VANGIPURAPU VENKATA SAI LAXMAN .
Nothing to say about this man and the way he has played and served Indian Cricket. He was called “THE GOD OF THE 4TH INNINGS” and he alone deserved that title. He not only saved many test matches but also won many for India in critical situations. We should not forget that he use to come out at number 6 and on most situations batted with tail-enders only. He was always in the limelight yet was always in the shadow, always behind somebody else. He never got the applause he deserved. Even in the last hours of his Cricketing life he only got the negative energy of life. He was mentally shattered by so-called “cricket lovers”.
SCG & Rahul Dravid----> if the above is true then I would like to see both of you again in next Year’s IPL also. It is immaterial whether you score or not but we would like you two to be there out in the field in action.
VVS Laxman---->I know that you have no other formats of Cricket left to play other than Ranji Trophy but we all salute you for your heroism and the great decision you have taken. We will always remember that you have thought about the team first and about yourself later and a live example was when you decided to utilize the money that you were being given in extra to be used during the IPL 1 auction to buy better players for you team. That showed a small part of your greatness. I know that I am not fit enough to discuss about you or give you compliment but I would like to end this on the note:-->
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HELPING INDIA ACHIEVE THIS HEIGHT OF GLORY"
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar->We all sincerely hope we don’t have to see this treatment against you.
well written...
ReplyDeleteThanks...
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