License to continue

The second test of the on going test series between India and the Lankans brought to us, something we should be getting used to. An emphatic comeback from the veterans. Before I start off about what I want to write for now, a little bit of introduction to the group I'm talking about. Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh. Sachin, the prodigious kid expected to take the world by storm. Saurav, believed to have entered the team because of the "quota" system. Dravid, never expected to become into anything even remotely close to what he has, VVS - made one of the worst openers of the last decade, Viru - Casual strokeplay sometimes interpreted as careless, and Bhajji called for chucking in his debut season.

These men have formed the core of the greatest Test team India has ever produced. This team also produced fine leaders, one of them probably the best of all time. These men, over the course of their careers have achieved something that was unheard of by our fathers. Victory in South Africa, drawn series against Australia in their den, series victory against Windies and the Pommies, Pakistan, on the threshold of one in Lanka, this team has achieved a lot. Even as recently Azhar's time, this was a team that was notoriously poor in traveling. The transformation was gradual. Started off by winning the one off test against Bangladesh! But what has been witnessed since then is something truly noteworthy. No more is the Indian team a pushover overseas. In fact they are expected to win now. Oh and not just by the Indians(which was always there). This transformation has been made possible by and large by the quality of the batsmanship. Collectively, it has been way greater than anything ever witnessed in the past. Lots of reasons can be put forth for this change. After all, we did have decent teams even before. The quality of batsmen, self confidence instilled by arguably the greatest leader the game in this country has ever witnessed, and also I guess, the general rise of India on the world map. A lot of factors helped in this overturn.


But this article isn't really meant to be a celebration of this great collective talent. The present scenario in Indian cricket has changed too fast. The growing influence of the media has made public retention very low. The selectors seem infatuated by the youth. And some idiots who call themselves experts throw their opinion on air everyday of the year, and we gullible lot, by and large agree with what everyone has to say. The push for youngsters has never been greater. The demand for success from this group of veterans has never been higher. One defeat against the Lankans, brought about hue and cry never witnessed. Because, suddenly, we were expected to beat the mighty Lankans.

Over the past, each individual, with the exception of Sachin Tendulkar, has always had a head hunter. But now, for the first time ever, the team collectively must have felt the pressure to perform. The time left for these greats is short. Every win for them is just a license to continue playing for the country, to satisfy media hungry to create sensation, and to pacify the selectors who seem bought into the idea of youth. Tendulkar is the one untouchable of Indian cicket, so leaving him aside, every one else has their ass on the hot seat. Sehwag is on a comeback, Dravid never played an innings under more pressure than the second innings, Saurav made the greatest comeback ever, is suddenly under pressure again, VVS never felt secure about his place, and Kumble, has Dhoni ready to take over test captaincy. The team collectively, first time ever is feeling the heat. And it was great fun, to watch these champions fight it out as a group to win, to win license to die another day. They will end soon. And not all might end on their terms, but it sure will be great to watch them fight it out just to stretch their careers a little longer and fight the infatuation of youth that has possessed us all. Sad it might be, but it sure will be great to watch. Fight to win. Win to play another day!