The loneliness of a distant cricketer

Thanks to the undoubted talent that Saurav possesses as a batsman, he then justified his comeback by scoring centuries in his first two tests — that too, abroad. He nearly emulated his predecessor, M. Azharuddin, by almost notching a century in his third test too. No Indian batsman has done so since then. Saurav’s later promotion as a captain could be termed fortuitous. But then, luck plays no mean part in cricket.

Despite the ‘maharaja’ tag given to Saurav by the media, it is not his attitude which is so much of a problem. The one who excelled at showing attitude, at least off the field, was another Indian captain, Pataudi Jr (a true ‘nawab’). Yet, he was regarded as one of the most effective captains of our team, despite the moderate resources placed at his disposal.

What the ‘world’ apparently does not like is Saurav’s laid-back style. At times in the last two sessions, when he was going through a bad pitch, he did not fully avail himself of the chances of playing domestic ties and thereby getting valuable batting practice. He was seen, maybe unfairly, as whiling away his time in ad-shoots and earning big bucks.

The Indian captain also made it to the film-glossies by reportedly squiring an out-of-work actress. It is not the first time that our cricket captains have or been wooed by glam-gals. Azhar was Bijli-struck, but when his career was already on the decline. What would also not have endeared Saurav to his fans is his performance on the field. Low scores can be swallowed. Sachin Tendulkar is going through worse horrors. What can’t be excused is the way that Saurav courts trouble while batting, through ‘uncricketing’ shots or those unsuited to the situation: what the Indian coach John Wright calls ‘‘repeating one’s mistakes’’. As a captain, too, his authority over his players gets whittled when he himself sets a bad example.

As it is, Saurav follows the practice of some of his predecessors by seemingly letting matters drift in a match when the opponent-team is on the ascendance. Pre-set patterns, lack of new initiatives, and the inability to experiment by our captain are being quickly noted by the growing army of intelligent cricket-fans.

Yet, as Saurav has himself stated, fans can be fickle. His losing the toss in four successive test matches in the Caribbeans may not have helped. But his reaching four scores above 40, on the trot, certainly would have. Saurav may yet get for his team, that rare Test-series win abroad. As a consolation, a victory even in the one-day series against West Indies would do. Then, as agony-ads say: come home, all is forgiven!