march 2007:- Indian team left for cricket's biggest extravaganza THE WORLD CUP amongst all the expectations of a billion people & the hullabuloo created by the ever opportunistic media. The Indian demi Gods set asail on their voyage to cover that extra mile, which they were deprived of, in the land of Proteas in 2003.But it seemed that Lady Luck had different plans for them,and tyrannous ones for that matter.Indians were flabbergasted by the ever resellient Bangladesh in the opening encounter and could never recover from there.To the shock and dismay of the cricket fanatics back home,India was ousted in the preliminary stage itself and all hell broke loose on them.
The media,as expected, took a U-turn and used all its prowess to lambaste the Indian team.Now everything came under the scrutiny of prying eyes,let it be their
brand endorsements,discontent with the coach Greg Chappell or their public appearences,everything faced harsh opprobrium.and the scorn's lions share was faced by three GENTLEMEN,who've been stanchions of Indian cricket for more than a decade-the then indian skipper Rahul Dravid,master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and the prince of Kolkata Sourav Ganguly.
The so called experts of the game prognosticated that these three illustrious careers have arrived their dusk,and should call it a day. Be it any news channel,all you could see on the television was surveys,polls and analysis that endeavoured to put forth just one point- kick the big three out.
But,true to their nature, they stayed mellowed throughout this gruelling period and did what they've been doing stupendously for years-let their bats speak for them.
On the tour of England,India had a lot to prove.They were accountable to the hopes and aspirations of a billion people and also had to live up to their larger than life images.They did that in style and the real anchors of the victory were none other than, you know it,Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly. Their roles were even more pivotal this time around because India wasn't relying on them only for thair batting skills,but with the absence of a regular coach,they had to take up the responsibility of the path guiders to the young turks.India won the test series 1-0 and gave a tough fight in one dayers before losing out 3-4.But Indian team was on a roll throughout as it had already beaten South Africa as well to clinch a vital series.So in all,it was a successful tour for them.
The big three then made a bold and maybe a pragmatic decision of opting out of the 20-20 world cup.But as life is full of anomalies,India went on to do the unexpected-
They became the WORLD CHAMPIONS with a young side oozing with confidence and aggression.Again fortune wasn't on the big three's side and the only coveted title that was missing out of such sparkling careers,had eluded them again.And as the entire country was lost in the celebration with full fanfare,the unfortunate and silly question creeped up again-do the big three deserve their place in the side or is the squad is well off without them,as ostensible after the World Cup triumph.I state this unfortunate because all this hue and cry was made by people who had no idea about the nuances of the game.
During the 20-20 world cup,Rahul Dravid again made a decision that only he could make-after the success of English summer,when others would have cashed on the glory,he decided to step down as the skipper.But a thorough Gentleman that he is,he didn't get into the blame game and simply put it forth as what he considered as a slight dip in his form.But those who could read between the lines knew, that the reason was that he couldn't stand the status quo anymore which was taking the shape of a political arena.I mean the entire structure was a mess and the BCCI was running Indian Cricket as a school level team.They couldn't give the team a full time coach,the team manager changed after every tour,selection was getting biased,and even the brand endorsements of players was restricted.The irony of the situattion is,BCCI was more keen to counterfeit rebel league ICL with its own league IPL,instead of selecting a coach for the national team.Things couldn't have been more ludicrous. The whimsical selection commitee and the BCCI,took offence of Dravid's unexpected resignation and considered this as an obnoxious move.Now all they were looking for was, the correct oportunity to make him the scapegoat and the aussie tour of India gave just that. Dravid failed quite a few times and booooom,he was out.
All this was done to the guy called as THe Wall ,the rock of Gibraltar , Mr. Dependable , Mr.Consistent ,a real team man,most dedicated cricketer etc. All this was done to a guy who fought for Sehwag against all odds for almost six months,trusting his immaculate talent. All this was done to a guy who always performed any role offered without any comlaint and has been India's most consistent batsman in the last 5 years.All this was done to a guy whom the entire world considers as the Ideal Ambassador of cricket. But as they say, IT HAPPENS ONLY IN INDIA.
But a no-nonsense guy that Dravid is,he again didn't complain and kept working hard as ever.After scoring a double century and a century in the domestic circuit,Rahul Dravid has shown clear signs of the famous cricketing phrase-FORM IS TEMPORARY,CLASS IS PERMANENT.
Meanwhile,Sachin and Sourav have been going great guns with the spectacular run feast against arch rivals Pakistan in the home series and have invigorated the fact that their respective careers are far from over,and they've got a lot more to offer to Indian cricket.But if BCCI tries to show them the door to satisfy its own whims and fancies,it would be like getting Indian cricket to get out Hit Wicket.
As a die hard cricket fan,i simply want to say nothing surpasses the pleasure of watching Tendulkar's straight drive,Ganguly's hallmark cover drive and of course Dravid's rock solid technique.They're the golden trio of Indian cricket and bring with them all the traits that make cricket really - A GENTLEMEN'S GAME.
Krishnakant
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