The year 2013 has posed to Indian cricket two huge questions. What after
Dravid and what after Tendulkar? These are the sort of questions which
demand definite answers but cannot be bound by any deadline. These kinds
of questions were posed to Australian cricket a few years earlier and
they are still searching for answers.
Indian cricket's biggest worry in the first half of the year was who after Dravid. Who would hold fort against the seaming ball, be ready to guts it out on bouncy tracks, be ready to smell the perfume ball when the openers have failed.
Cheteshwar Pujara may still be work in progress but he looks potentially the most capable to bat no. 3 for India for long. Dravid did it for 16 long years.
Towards the end of 2013 the newest question confronting Indian cricket is a bigger one. How would Indian cricket be 'post Tendulkar.' It's a much larger question because after the West Indies series Indian cricket will not just be searching for a new no. 4 but a batsman whose presence went way beyond the runs he scored.
At his prime Sachin Tendulkar was even intimidating for the opposing dressing room. Even when off top form, he would be a talking point in team meetings. Often, being out of form for him would be so under the weight of his own numbers. A good knock would change it all.
All his life Rahul Dravid played for India, Sachin was a team mate. We posed the same question to Dravid before the selectors start searching for answers.
"India has options. But we will have to give them time. Anybody won't become Tendulkar overnight. It took time to become Tendulkar," Dravid tells Headlines Today.
Someone will have to bat no.4 in South Africa late this year. Whether he will be as good is another story. The key lies, Dravid says in not looking for a Tendulkar. "We have good cricketers. We are seeing in one day cricket. Virat kohli and Rohit Sharma are there. I am not saying they are Tendulkars but they will get time to make their name," he assures.
Fully aware of the void Tendulkar's absence will leave behind, Dravid is not overly worried. He re-winds the clock back to 1987 to reassure that Indian cricket will cope.
"Life moves on. It's hard to imagine a team in Indian cricket without Tendulkar playing a part in it. Particularly test cricket. But the same was with Gavaskar at one stage.
Generations were used to seeing Gavaskar. It happens. New people come in and new heroes come in and people get inspired with someone like Sachin," he reminds of Gavaskar's retirement in 1987. Sachin had not started playing for India then.
Dravid's calm optimism of Indian cricket in the post-Tendulkar scenario does nothing to dilute his tribute to the legend he played with all his life for India.
"Statistically he will be the greatest cricketer ever-the amount of runs, amount of matches he has played," he says.
Dravid adds, "But my lasting memory of Sachin is the way he carried himself on and off the field. His greatest achievement is the way he handled the expectations of a billion people."
Indian cricket's biggest worry in the first half of the year was who after Dravid. Who would hold fort against the seaming ball, be ready to guts it out on bouncy tracks, be ready to smell the perfume ball when the openers have failed.
Cheteshwar Pujara may still be work in progress but he looks potentially the most capable to bat no. 3 for India for long. Dravid did it for 16 long years.
Towards the end of 2013 the newest question confronting Indian cricket is a bigger one. How would Indian cricket be 'post Tendulkar.' It's a much larger question because after the West Indies series Indian cricket will not just be searching for a new no. 4 but a batsman whose presence went way beyond the runs he scored.
At his prime Sachin Tendulkar was even intimidating for the opposing dressing room. Even when off top form, he would be a talking point in team meetings. Often, being out of form for him would be so under the weight of his own numbers. A good knock would change it all.
All his life Rahul Dravid played for India, Sachin was a team mate. We posed the same question to Dravid before the selectors start searching for answers.
"India has options. But we will have to give them time. Anybody won't become Tendulkar overnight. It took time to become Tendulkar," Dravid tells Headlines Today.
Someone will have to bat no.4 in South Africa late this year. Whether he will be as good is another story. The key lies, Dravid says in not looking for a Tendulkar. "We have good cricketers. We are seeing in one day cricket. Virat kohli and Rohit Sharma are there. I am not saying they are Tendulkars but they will get time to make their name," he assures.
Fully aware of the void Tendulkar's absence will leave behind, Dravid is not overly worried. He re-winds the clock back to 1987 to reassure that Indian cricket will cope.
"Life moves on. It's hard to imagine a team in Indian cricket without Tendulkar playing a part in it. Particularly test cricket. But the same was with Gavaskar at one stage.
Generations were used to seeing Gavaskar. It happens. New people come in and new heroes come in and people get inspired with someone like Sachin," he reminds of Gavaskar's retirement in 1987. Sachin had not started playing for India then.
Dravid's calm optimism of Indian cricket in the post-Tendulkar scenario does nothing to dilute his tribute to the legend he played with all his life for India.
"Statistically he will be the greatest cricketer ever-the amount of runs, amount of matches he has played," he says.
Dravid adds, "But my lasting memory of Sachin is the way he carried himself on and off the field. His greatest achievement is the way he handled the expectations of a billion people."
No comments:
Post a Comment