T20 sets the pace

Today will see the first Indo-Pak one-day cricket encounter. But it is not ODIs that I write about, but T20! Make no mistake...

Today will see the first Indo-Pak one-day cricket encounter. But it is not ODIs that I write about, but T20! Make no mistake, there is more to Twenty20 than just the game of cricket. T20 is now a metaphor for all things positive and possible. In just the last 60 days, India’s twenty-something brigades have given the nation, not one, not two, but three causes to celebrate in quick succession. First, Baichung Bhutia’s young footballers won the Nehru Cup, then Prabodh Tirkey’s josh brigade lifted the Asia Cup in hockey and, finally, Dhoni’s boys won the Twenty20 cricket World Cup!

Extreme fearlessness, boundless energy and a ‘can do-will do’ attitude brought them success. This augurs well for a young nation like ours, where almost 540 million — more than half the population — are below the age of 25. Actually, youth power should not surprise us. Our past and present is replete with instances of heroes and heroines who have achieved early success. Chhatrapati Shivaji, the Maratha king, was just 19 when he conquered his first fort. The valiant Bajirao Peshwa was only 17 when he led the Peshwa army into battle and Tipu Sultan, was a mere 15 when he fought the First Mysore war.

Cut to the present. Sachin Tendulkar was just 16 when he hit Abdul Qadir out of the ground; Viswanathan Anand, was only 18 when he became India’s first grandmaster, and Koneru Humpy, barely 15 when she became the youngest woman grandmaster in the world! Why then, do we have a PM who is 75, a union cabinet whose average age is almost 70 and a president who is 72? It may not be a bad idea to actually prevent people older than 60 from running for public office by means of a well-drafted legislation. If twenty-something sportspersons can conquer the world, imagine the benefits to India of sprightly representatives of the people! Those over 60 should be the Bheeshmas and Dronas, while leaving the actual action to the Abhimanyus and Arjuns.

So what do we do with the Tendulkars, Gangulys and Dravids of the cricket world? Easy. Just restrict them to the slower, five-day version of the game and ease them out gently when their shelf life is over. In fact, it is the T20 cricket team that should represent the country in all ODIs. We in India should insist on a 60-year age limit for public life and a 30-year age limit for sport. Only then will India’s 540 million youth be truly represented.