Men in Blue: the symbol of nation’s hope. The selected few who are gifted(and lucky!) enough to represent this country of billion people in a game that has, rightly or wrongly, become synonymous with national pride. Cricket is probably the only topic that can unite the whole of India. To get to represent in this wonderful game is a matter of pride and honour as also a matter of responsibility and accountability. Sadly, we have had a fair share of the stars that failed to shine. They showed the sparkle and were expected to set the field on fire. Sadly it were our hopes that they managed to burn. They came, we saw and they faltered
I would like to state that I was contemplating writing on this topic for long. But the more I thought about it the larger the list grew. Well, cricket for me is a passion, and cricketers were the heros I grew up watching. As is with any cricket fan, nothing less than best was acceptable. They have to aim for the stars and have to get them. That is what I demand for the time and thoughts that I spend for them. So it was no easy task to pin down the list to 5. This list is more to vent out at those who have managed to frustrate me the most. In compiling this list, I have ignored the players who did not get a fair chance to prove themselves when they were in their prime(e.g. Abey Kuruvilla, W V Raman, etc) as also those who were never expected to do anything great, filling out the occasional spaces(e.g. Noel David, MSK Prasad)
Instead the list comprises those that were touted as the ones who would change the fortunes of Indian cricket. The prized ones who would supposedly form the pillars of future glory. But they never lived up to the billing. They failed. They disappointed us. and how!
Ajit Agarkar: Well let me be honest. I feel this guy has talent. But he is a glaring example of where TALENT remains LATENT. When he arrived(in fact, even today) people believed that he is the solution to the problem of a lack of a genuine all-rounder that India has faced since Kapil retired. He was someone who could change the face of the game with either his batting or bowling. As I write today, his ODI statistics stand at: batting average of 17 and a bowling average of 28(in Tests, its 14 and 44!). Well he has been an all-rounder all right, just that he got his batting and bowling averages mixed up! And yeah, the 5 ducks will indeed remain itched in my memory as the icing on the cake?!
David Johnson: Another emerging talent from the Karnataka bowling factory??. following the trend set by srinath, prasad, kumble. He emerged on the international scene: bowling fast and furious. The faster he bowled, the furious the fans got. His bowled well except that he just missed two minor traits in the art of bowling called line and length. I remember seeing him in some series warmup matches where he bowled wides that reached the second slip and his above-shoulder length no-balls that bounced behind the keeper!? if only shoaib would have checked up on this case study, india would not have been such easy winners in pakistan! Not that I am complaining:)
Vikram Rathore: He did start off his career well. If I remember correctly. he debuted in the same series as Dravid. Classic example of a hare and tortoise race? Will leave it to you to decide. Now I have the benefit of hindsight, but I admit I had intially found him the better of the two. Now as I analyse(that is an easy thing to do), he lacked the grit to make it. Bowlers soon found out his weaknesses, he was short of ideas to respond. Somehow it seemed he lacked the desire to dig in and consequently he had to be uprooted.
Atul Bedade: The sixer man?. The guy who would smash any bowler out of attack. One who could hit sixes at will. India’s answer to the pace battery of West Indies, Australia and Pakistan. The selectors convinced us: he would the most feared batsmen when on song. Well the melody went missing and the cacophony turned unbearable. His big hits never came. the ball did not go out of sight, but the cricketer was surely soon out of our minds
And here I come to the king in the pack:
Hrishikesh Kanitkar: There is an old adage that says something on the lines of.’to know the value of one hour ask lovers who are waiting to meet; to know the value of one minute ask a person who has missed a train? and so on. Well Mr. Kanitkar has managed to append another golden phrase to this.’to know the value of a boundary scored, ask Hrishikesh Kanitkar’. The cricketing world was given the pleasure to witness’the epitome of calmness and composure’ when he hit that winning four in his first match. Well as far as I can remember that was his only worthwhile contribution to this wonderful game and helped him survive for more than a year in the international arena! Mr. Cool never managed to get his game going after that boundary. Finally selectors realised the folly and managed to get him going(out of the team!)
A final word, does anyone remember his innings in the Sharjah match where Sachin hit a wonderful hundred after a desert storm to get india qualified into finals. Sachin not only ensured we qualified but also took us within reaching distance of a victory! Post-Tendulkar?s dismissal, out steps our Mr. Kanitkar to carry on the brave fight. His contribution? 5 runs from 14 balls! As if saying. sachin played, we have qualified, now why do I need to exert myself for a win? Never seen such a non-committal display baring the match fixing episodes.
Well I have tried to remain fair to these guys but I am sure my biases would have crept in. Leave it to you guys to comment. Probably if you think these guys were larger duds: Dodda Ganesh, Rahul Sanghvi, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Joshi, Ashish Kapoor, Harvinder Singh, Saba Karim, Raju? Shall wait for the comments. Also request an opinion: I feel the current team(lets take the Asia cup squad) is perhaps the best one India has ever had. What you folks think? Pour in your comments