Where is the grace of Madhubala and Nargis? We’re left with the unsophisticated Sherawat and Chopra.
Where is the melody of Rafi or Kishore Kumar? We’re left with the nasal grunts of Reshammiya.
Where is the originality of Naushad and Burman? We’re left with stereotyped remixes of DJ Suketu.
Where is the brilliance of Khushwant Singh? We’re left with the utter nonsense of Chetan Bhagat.
Yes, my dear friend, the future belongs to rustics!
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We will always marvel at the grace and elegance of Rahul Dravid. It is a pleasure to watch him bat. He is more than a sportsman. He is an artist. His batting is an art. It appears that there is some kind of chemistry between his bat and the ball. Even the way he gets out is artistic. But the time has come when cricket is not so breathtaking. The elegance and subtle style of the old greats like Bradman, WG Grace were gone long ago. They were replaced by maestros like Lara, Tendulkar, Steve Waugh, Ganguly and Dravid. They had their day and they will eventually have their fall. Ganguly went off in a way that he didn’t deserve. Waugh retired. Lara and Tendulkar are tiring legends. The Indian wall keeps slumbering on. He is the only one of that generation left.
Cricket is now becoming a big business. So we need entertainers. It’s pretty boring to watch bowlers like Caddick mount pressure on the batsman. That silent argument between bat and ball has fewer listeners today. Today the game belongs to people who only understand boundaries and sixes. The game in which Australia scored 450+ and lost to South Africa is today’s definition of a great game. The game when India scored only 150 but still managed to crush the opponent is no longer as exciting. Cricket was always dominated by batters. It is now becoming a batter’s game. And it isn’t me saying this. Bowling greats like McGrath, Harbhajan Singh and Waqar Younis have said this.
So, then this is the day of Mahendra Sing Dhoni. He does not have the patience and the tenacity that Rahul Dravid has. Dravid is the anchor of the batting order. He will hold the show. It may not be glamorous and exciting. It will be effective and decisive. But with the ever shortening attention spans of people, these carefuly built innings go unnoticed. What gets noticed and appreciated is the big strokes. It’s not such a big deal to see a batsman hold the fort for 40 overs in a One-Dayer. What is a big deal is if the batsman hits a boundary every second ball. Then it’s all right if he gets out in 40 balls. It is his exciting innings that will get noticed.
That is what I’m saying. Of course, I am not dismissing Dhoni’s talent. Dhoni is definitely talented. He may be unsophisticated and ’rustic’. Probably he doesn’t have a style like Tendulkar or the grace like Dravid. But he is still effective. So what if he plays in a clumsy and savage manner? What matters is that he can get runs. And he can get them fast. Dhoni is undoubtedly India’s biggest batting asset. There is a natural aggression about him. He is a bundle of youth and energy. He is definitely an asset for that reason.
I think the future of cricket will see more of such Dhonis. Style, grace, subtlety and solidity are all fine. But that doesn’t give the viewers any reason to cheer and scream. Banging boundaries does. That is what people will want. You may think cricket is not like the movies so ’what people want’ doesn’t play any role. It does. The viewers’ preference trickles down somehow into the selectors’ biases. And if you have the promise that Dhoni gives, of a good solid talent, then this bias is definitely good.
In the beginning, I showed how art, films and literature is going to the rustics. So I may have created an impression of pessimism saying that Dhoni is also another hollow gas ball. Don’t go away thinking that. I think Dhoni is a good talent. The Sherawats and the Bhagats represent the attitude of every industries’ people to cater more to the preferences of consumers rather than enhancing the expression of art in a rich manner. And with the decreasing attention spans of people, that is natural.
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