As I was going through the Opinions Wanted section out here, I found a sporting personality’s name that was so very familiar to me. Of course, the review was requested by Reavan who has some real good connections with this particular person. Yes, I am talking about Sadagoppan Ramesh who basically hails from Tamil Nadu and so does Reavan (Rathnavel). As a matter of fact this particular cricketer was in the good books of everyone until recently and now he is totally forgotten. So I thought of putting down some of my thoughts on this southpaw from Chennai. I especially dedicate this review to my friend Rathnavel (Reavan) and for all cricket fans out here in MS.
Turning the pages of history books, we see that not too long ago, 1999 to be precise, Sadagoppan made his debut for India against the fiery Pakistanis in his home ground, The Chepauk Stadium, Chennai. Before he stormed into the Indian team, the Indian test opening slot was in doldrums. Many people were tried and none clicked. There was a desparate need for a specialist opener which India lacked. This Southpaw had given some blazing performances in that season and hence he right royally entered the team as an opener. Opening the inning with Laxman he had a dream start as he stroked some lovely little shots off Wasim and Waqar. He made a good score of 43 and by failing in the second innings he in no way helped India as they lost even though Sachin had played an innings of his life. Well, came Delhi and came the time for Ramesh to proove his worth. He made scores of 66 and 96 and showed his calibre. This was the same test in which Kumble created history.
He didn’t take a long time to reach the coveted 3 figure mark as he scored a great century against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. From then on he became a permanent opener. As his partners were changed and changed over again, he found the perfect partner in Das. The two together formed a stable pair and for quiet some time they did a very good job. Ramesh used to launch his calculated attack while Das used to stay put. Ramesh in fact did really well as an opener in one-dayers too, in the absence of Tendulkar due to back injury. Ramesh was in everyone’s good books until Deepdas Gupta came along. That wicketkeeper batsman not only took Ramesh’s place but he himself faded away. And so did Das. And so did Ramesh as he was dumped and never was given a look in. Strange are the ways of selectors but then, who is to say.
As a batsman, Ramesh had his own limitations. He was a natural right hander and hence, I would say, he only batted left. Possessing the god-given gift of timing, Ramesh had that uncanny ability to play the ball more late than any other person. He was definitive off his legs and anything in that area would vanish to the boundary. Although, he played away from the body on the off-side, he had that unique ability to middle the ball to perfection and time it to the boundary. Having the ability to play both the spinners and the seamers at will, Ramesh was certainly an eligible batsman.
But Ramesh had some big weaknesses. His footwork was nothing but nil. He often used to get stuck in his crease, the feet wouldn’t follow the bat as it should and so, he was always in trouble with the moving ball. Bouncers were another problem for him. Although, he faced the likes of Shoaib, Wasim and Waqar with confidence, he had that stroke of luck which really made him shine even against all odds. He always showed some sought of laziness that didn’t auger well for him. These might be seen as some of the aspects that led to his downfall rather than his weaknesses.
Coming to some of his performances, one notable innings was against Pakistan in Delhi. He made a crucial 96 runs that helped India post a big second innings target. Then he made that century of 147 in Sri Lanka and the century against Zimbabwe in India. In one-dayers too, he did play some sedate but useful innings like the 81 in Sharjah. He did make a good opener in the world cup till Sachin arrived. So he was never short of form or performance.
Debating on this whole issue of forgetting Ramesh and removing him totally out of the equation within no time, there is a lot of unanswered questions. Firstly, the selectors are bothered about runs and not footwork. The whole world knows that Ramesh has poor footwork. But he nullifies it by his sense of timing and placement. As long as he fetches runs, why bother about other smaller aspects is the one big question. Secondly, there was this whole talk of lack of attitude from this lad. Well, you see, it is totally ridiculous to judge someone by his body language. Yes, I defend Ramesh strongly out here. Just because he doesn’t show emotions on his face, you can’t dump him. Okay. I agree that he certainly cannot play well in moving conditions but then again, you can go on debating on this. To put it in simple words, Ramesh somehow didn’t impress the selectors. More so, the upcoming of people like Bangar and Sehwag ruined the chances of Ramesh coming into the side.
Concluding the topic, I can only add that Ramesh was once again belonged to that elite and unfortunate players who were gifted but fell into the traps of fate. He still is in my good books and this southpaw from Chennai always amazed me with his sense of timing and lazy elegance. I hope the Gods look down upon Sadagoppan Ramesh and give him another chance, for he deserves it. Till then, I wish ’’Best of Luck’’ for this lazy left-hander from Chennai.