The best way to be successful is to be
Fearless-Mithali Raj (Captain Indian Cricket team)
So finally all that frenzy and extravaganza of this
year’s IPL has just passed its expiry date and unshakable loyalty of fans previously bowed down to eight
different colors (teams) has
now unified and focused onto just a single color which is just ready to manifest itself in and as
‘Men in Blue’ in the coming
12th edition of ICC cricket world cup to be held in England. Not to mention, it
is the most prestigious tournament of Cricket, organized just once in 4 years
unlike IPL and other similar tournaments in different countries which are repeated
every year. In IPL, it is the Fan’s crazy support
for their team which take precedence, while in an International tournament
like Cricket World Cup, the national esteem and pride
of each playing country that remains at
stake, precisely the reason why makes it the most prominent and serious tournament in the realm of Cricket.
Countless opinions and commentaries are expected to dominate
the television screens along with the downpour of public discourse. In the coming
days, we are going to witness impeccable and passionate brainstorming on technicalities involved, expert opinion on secret
strategies adopted by playing teams and certainly the bet on the most favorite
team which will lift the cup this year. All this will remain the buzz of the day till the last bowl
of the tournament is bowled.
But, while all this go along, it is interesting to think of a
perspective on -how a game , any
game, say Cricket bears the capacity and
be instrumental to change and
offer a
totally new direction of hope and optimism to a country which quite often tops or be the runner up from the bottom of rankings on
different parameters (Health, Education,
freedom,etc) issued by the UN or some other independent organizations.
To understand this, let’s imagine if the cricket team of
Afghanistan or Bangladesh reaches the final and beat Australia or England and
lift the cup this year. Imagine the sudden flood of hope and instant joy in
these countries. Certainly, one needs to use quite a new set of imagination
altogether to realize the mood and newfound jubilation In a war-ridden country
like Afghanistan or a nation consistently grasped in the clutches of poverty
and social mayhem like Bangladesh. This victory would certainly change the
narrative of these two and many other Cricket (or any other game)
playing countries before the world and divert the journey of their nation to a
path of more hope.
Seems impossible, but this assumption was turned into reality by the
Indian cricket team on June,25,1983 when
an underdog team of 11 legendary players led by Kapil Dev not only lifted the trophy by defeating
the invincible West Indian team
–but also took hope and
self-belief in 750 million souls to a new height and all along made this game
a religion in the country which eventually found its God in
Sachin Tendulkar .He is revered as
no less than any real God across the nation and perhaps even by those
who know Cricket as good as they
pronounce it. As Neville Cardus, the English writer puts it well – A true
batsman should in most of his strokes tell the truth about himself. Sachin,
through his batting declared about himself that he was the God of Cricket
without uttering even a single word while in action.
However, of course, in 1983, India was neither a War ridden
country nor in state of extreme political or social upheaval what Afghanistan
and Bangladesh are going through in the current time but certainly, it was
grappling with its own complicated issues of poverty and collective despair.
The nation and its people needed a grand reason to lift themselves up from
despondency to a hope of – Yes We also
can do attitude. People were yearning to buy an
inspirational story to compensate for their personal setbacks in their daily
life. This win meant the same and was altogether different from just being a
world champion of a particular game.
In 1983, the Nation found a batch of its new heroes in Kapli
dev©, Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder
Amarnath,Madan Lal, Dilip Vengsarkar and many others in the following
years. But as this happened, there were
quite a few other pioneers who are credited to revive and keep this game alive
in India till it became the third most or perhaps first popular things India is
known for- Politics and Bollywood. Their silent contribution to
emergence and popularity of Cricket in India still find no match.
India played its first ever Test match during Pre -Independence era against England in 1932 led By C.K. Naidu and after
independence against Australia in 1948 led by Lala Amarnath.In both notable
games, the team succumbed to defeat but registered its presence as an emerging
nation in Cricket. It had to endure for 16 long years to smell its first
victory in 1952 against same mighty England.
A mere thought of who brought and instilled the element of
Aggression, Vigor, class, and self-belief in Indian cricket?, the name of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (aka-Nawab Pataudi
and ‘Tiger’ Pataudi) , Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly fall in a natural
chronological order in our mind. Nawab
Pataudi was made the Captain of Indian Cricket team at the tender age of 21
just after a tragic accident which rendered him blinded with his left eye
sight. But he had never let his limitation become the hindrance or excuse as a
cricketer and in public life but rather as they rightly call him Tiger, he led
the team right from the front and literally dragged the spirit of
his team from its lowest ebb. Pataudi- The witty, charming and handsome young
man as he was, gave similar attribute to the game of cricket in equal measures.
The solid legacy of Pataudi was later well taken forward by
the ever-inspiring cult personality of this game –Kapil Dev whose visuals of taking the catch of Sir Viv Richards going
in the backward direction and the picture of his lifting the World cup Trophy
at Lords is still etched on our memories. He is the one who opened a whole new
vistas of opportunities for the young lads of this country aspiring to be a cricketer.
Years later, while Indian cricket team and its esteem was
bulldozed by the shocking revelation of match-fixing, The Indian cricket
luckily found another savior in Sourav Ganguly who again pulled it off through
its delicate time like his famous cover drives and crafted a new saga of Indian Cricket. He revived the memories of
1983 world cup after winning the historic Final of NatWest series at Lords on
July 13, 2002. After many uncertain turning points when India could claim this
final of the series, Sourav Ganguly took
his shirt off in the famous balcony of Lords and hurled in the air, made this final
more memorable and still fresh in minds of every Indian cricket lover who had
watched that final.
The Indian cricket team has always been lucky to have legendary
players of distinguished characters who molded the game in new shape in
different eras. After 2007 World Cup, many stalwarts of the game retired and Indian Cricket had also shifted from orthodox
to an unconventional way of playing. The advent of Mahendra Singh Dhoni- Captain
cool who is known for keeping his opponent and pundits of the game occupied
and intrigued at the same time with his mysterious wisdom from behind the
wicket showed the way. He is justifiably credited to write another new story with his final shot in the 10th ICC
Cricket World Cup final against Sri Lanka played at Wankhede Cricket stadium in
Mumbai on April 2, 2011. With that shot, the whole nation went gung ho in unity
and Sachin Tendulkar- The God of Cricket
was eventually given a very well deserved farewell in this Final.
As this year’s world cup is around the corner, the tide of
hope and expectations of 1.4 billion people of India have pinned for another
historic image in which Virat Kohli –The Indian Cricket Captain lifts the trophy
of World Cup at the same Lords, where 35 years ago, Eleven unknown individuals showed the world how to
achieve an unachievable
by lifting the Cricket World Cup Trophy for the first time.
May the Best team Win!!!
