A World Champion, Again

The year was 2013-an eventful year for Indian cricket, to say the least. But if you were Rohit Sharma, it was one of the most memorable ones after the 'Annus Horribilis' that was 2012. A permanent position as Indian opener in white ball cricket, international test debut that headlined his idol's last series in Indian colours and winning an unprecedented domestic double(IPL and CLT20) as captain in his first season as Mumbai Indians' skipper. 2013 was also the last time he had 500 runs in an IPL season. He and Raina were among the select few Indian youngsters who mastered the T20 format early. It all changed post 2013.

December 15, 2023:

Social media was abuzz as Mumbai Indians dropped a bombshell announcing Hardik as their new IPL captain replacing Rohit, the captain who led them to five titles. The writing was on the wall and I felt that his T20I career was over. He hadn't appeared for India in the format since the disastrous 2022 SF defeat. Meanwhile, his T20 returns in IPL had hit rock bottom. I would have been happy and contented had he retired from the format, then and there, having won a world title and with 4 centuries and multiple records. 

January 7,2024:

Like in 2013,things changed in January,for Rohit. He was named captain for the T20Is against Afghanistan, much to the anguish of quite a few folks(both online and offline). That announcement meant that he was going to captain India in another world event. He duly started the series with two ducks and in the third game, he was batting on a tacky track with the score reading 22/4. I had hoped it hadn't come down to this. After November 19, like most Indian fans, I had tried to shut myself out from the game and was reasonably successful at that. I didn't want him to play any more T20 cricket because it hurt on a personal level seeing him struggle. Scratchiness is something you don't associate with Rohit's batting. As I followed that final game against Afghanistan, on mobile,without daring to switch on the television, he turned his innings around like only he could. In addition to compiling a century, he returned again to smash in super overs, twice. He decided he wasn't going to lose that day. It wasn't the usual Rohit, it was the steely version of him, the one who was ready for a scrap and he won the game on his own. Was it a false dawn? I always believed I knew Rohit's batting like I knew my name. On that day, I realized that I didn't. I still wasn't going to let his performance impact my mental well-being. Not again. 

June 24,2024:

I watched from a distance as Rohit was having another mediocre IPL with few highlights here and there. For the first time since IPL's inception, I wasn't invested in a team. For the first time in years, a Rohit failure didn't bother me like it used to. I thought it would hold me in good stead leading upto the inevitable failure that was on the horizon- the WT20. 

I didn't catch a single ball of India's campaign until India played Australia, in a game India didn't have to necessarily win to qualify. I knew Rohit was struggling but given the situation India found themselves in, I wasn't really bothered about Rohit. Nothing he was going do that day was about to have an impact on me, or so I thought. 

As a kid growing up, a game in Sharjah that happened in the year 1998, left an indelible mark on me. No, it is not the game you are thinking about. It was not the "Desert Storm". It was the "Olonga" game. A few days before the match in question, Olonga made Sachin Tendulkar dance to his tunes before dismissing him. This was the 1998 Sachin. So when they faced off again, all eyes were on Sachin's response. What followed was a brutal takedown in which balls kept disappearing. That was when it imprinted on my mind that when great players decide to unleash fury, no ground was small enough and no attack was good enough to contain them. 

Unlike Sachin, Rohit was nursing his wounds for the previous 7 months and when the moment arrived, he just exploded. In modern cricket, there is no such thing as revenge across formats, but millions who saw Rohit bat that day knew that it was personal. Possibly, Mitchell Marsh felt the same too, because he never let Maxwell bowl, even when there was a left hander at one end. Coincidentally, the only bowler who escaped Rohit's wrath was Hazelwood. He was the one who bore most of Rohit's brunt on that fateful November afternoon in 2023.

Next up was England, in Semi Finals. Well, now there was a solid case for a payback -

Same Opponent, same format and the same knock-out stage. 

June 27,2024:

Just like in Adelaide in the last WT20 edition, England won the toss and chose to bowl. Just like that night, India managed to cross the 165 mark courtesy some pyrotechnics at the death. It was 168 then and 171 now. But this was on a pitch with more demons. Just like he did against Trent Boult at Wankhede in 2023, Rohit laid down the marker in Guyana, by reverse sweeping Rashid's first ball on a pitch England later found Axar and Kuldeep too hot to lay bat on ball. Post 2017, Rohit against spinners on a slow track in T20s used to end always one way. It ended that way here too, undone by a googly. Except here, he had supremely controlled the Indian innings which threatened to go nowhere thanks to the pitch and a rain intervention. Boundaries were summoned at will all around the ground and he didn't get tied down during the middle overs when boundaries were hard to come by. When Rohit was finally dismissed by Rashid, he admonished himself because he had picked the variation and he should have deposited out of the ground. He didn't know at that time that India already had enough. 

No England batsman crossed 25 and they were thrashed by 68 runs. The ghosts of 2022 were put to rest. Only one was left. 

29 June, 2024:

A madcap Indian start followed by a flurry of dismissals at the top of the order, a period of consolidation led by Virat Kohli who was unable to find boundaries post Power play. 

This all looked familiar. But unlike the Final I will never mention, there were quite a few cameos, including one from Shivam Dube who was backed to the hilt throughout the tournament. A challenging total was put up and one sensed this could be the day. 

Early wickets, even when it brought back eerie memories instilled belief only for everything to be vanquished by the end of the 15th over. I wasn't ready to endure another heartbreak and switched off. I didn't see what followed, some call it divine intervention, I will just call it the "Bumrah" intervention. When I switched on the television again, with renewed hope, South Africa needed 20 from 12 and Miller was off strike. Then Arshdeep turned into RP Singh of 2007,except the edged boundary, of course. 

With 16 to get from Hardik's final over, I could barely watch but I felt calm. Surely Hardik, who craves for the big stage, had this covered. Redemption, for almost no fault of his, was in sight. It still needed an astonishing assist from his Mumbai Indian team-mate Surya Kumar Yadav to extinguish South Africa's last real hope. Surya would catch one more and that catch eventually signalled that Indians were not going to be denied. 

Rohit made his name as a player against South Africa in a Twenty20 World Cup and now he had etched his name in history books as the first Indian captain in 17 years to win the WT20 trophy. 

Perhaps, it was destiny, that Rohit's T20 international career has ended the way it started - as a World Champion! 

A Roh-ller Coaster Ride

I believe in love at first sight, my wife will attest to that. Same is the case with me while following sports too - be it Sachin, be it Roger Federer or be it Ajit Agarkar(wink!). In 2007, when the cricket carnival had moved to South Africa for a global T20 tournament, I was in hostel not able to catch the action. India went into a must-win game against hosts, with no Yuvraj. They duly collapsed to 33/3 on a spicy pitch. It was "Study Time" in the hostel which meant we could only glance at the mobile to check texts from our friends. Our day-scholar friends were faster than Cricinfo or Yahoo cricket. India won the game comfortably and knocked out South Africa in the process, which looked an impossible scenario a couple of hours before. I had by then, knew the name, knew the score but I was still yet to see him bat. 

Well, that happened a couple of days later, in a Semi- Final against the all conquering Aussies. Nathan Bracken runs into bowl, the batsman clears his front leg and casually lifts the ball over long on. David Lloyd goes "Oh, they are all at it, they are all at it". Yeah, I had seen enough! This guy was surely gonna take me for a ride! 

Next stop was Australia for CB series. In the first game, Australian pacers are steaming in at the Gabba. Rohit looks at ease, again on a tricky pitch before getting dismissed for 29, a delightful cameo. 

Few weeks later, he and Sachin put on a match winning partnership to win a final against Australia, in Australia. Ian Chappell had seen enough! 

The thing with love is that it puts you to test, but when it came to Rohit, it ended up as a full blown engineering course. There were occasional fireworks, again on a bouncy track, again against Australia. They were like the random birthday wishes you get on Facebook, just to remind you about their existence.  

After the high of the World Cup win in 2011, success against West Indies didn't matter, even when he was the lone ranger most of the times. Two MoS performances were forgotten in the blink of an eye.

Disaster was predicted in 2012 and it did materialize, for Rohit. He couldn't buy a run! "He can score only in IPL, he can score only against West Indies" chorus grew louder. It felt like the end, but as it turned out, it was just the beginning. Mahendra Singh Dhoni had seen enough.. 

2013 dawned, and the New Year came bearing gifts, an opportunity to open the innings in white ball. An opportunity that was once presented to the man he idolised growing up. Just like him, Rohit scored eighty-odd.. 

A few decent if not spectacular performances later, his spot in the team was sealed. 

A colleague of mine told me he was not fit for ODIs, especially in a position that used to be occupied by a certain explosive player named Sehwag. "Diwali 2013" came calling, I rang up that colleague, wished him "Happy Diwali" while Ravi Shastri was bellowing, "They call him Hit-Man and he has arrived to the party".

A year later, with him injured and a World Cup in Australia looming, questions were being raised as Rahane had amassed runs in his absence. On his comeback game, with him getting stuck in single digits, the same colleague was smiling knowingly at me. Three hours later only one of us was smiling, and it wasn't my colleague. 264 was the new 400*.

A month before the World Cup and after a below average performance in the test series, Rohit fronted up at MCG, in coloured clothes. With little support, he essayed 138, in a match I will always remember forever. It was the last game my father watched with me. He had seen me idolize Sachin, he had seen me go crazy for Agarkar and finally he saw me getting pumped up watching a Rohit innings. 

2015 and 2016 established him as one of most important members of the ODI team but an injury meant that his stocks weren't always sky rocketing. 

2017 changed that, despite a failure in the CT final. He racked up centuries series after series, including a special 147, very special because it came a day before my wedding. 

After dominating 2018, a question of different sort was raised, whether his scoring tempo would adversely impact India's success in 2019 World Cup which was expected to be a high scoring tournament. That was answered emphatically with five centuries, but it still wasn't enough. 648 runs with nothing to show for. The lasting image was that of him leaning on the dressing room balcony in absolute despair. 

Watching him bat in ODI always felt therapeutical for me but by 2020 the ODIs took a back seat. Meanwhile he altered his game with remarkable success to re-ignite his Test career, this time as an opener. That story is for another day, though. 

At the same time, he modified his T20 game, with below par returns, not an auspicious sign heading into another World Cup year. Whispers about him being finished as a white ball batter were growing louder. 

I have always believed, that after following him for more than 16 years, nothing will come as a surprise for me when it comes to his batting. I was wrong. 2023 was a surprise. As a T20 opener he had set himself a target to try and attack the Power play. He has taken that idea to his ODI game but has executed differently. Instead of trying to go across the line, he has backed himself to launch with his conventional strokes, head position in perfect harmony. And that has made all the difference. 

This coupled with a clarity of mind has made him a force that has blown away more than a few bowling plans. There is only one team left standing, and of course, again it is Australia. 

When Rohit was to debut as a test opener, a Twitter mutual tweeted to me, "If this move, at this stage of his career with his weaknesses turns out to be successful, there is nothing more I would ever want from a sport".

I would like to borrow that thought - if Rohit could lift the World Cup trophy as a captain on 19th November, there is nothing more I would ever want from a sport.  My dad will surely approve from up above...

Mahendra Singh Dhoni - The Boy Who Became King

 

                                              

   “Trust isn't given. It is earned” - Anonymous

March 23, 2016, WT20:

                     Indians are staring at elimination. On a benign surface, Bangladesh need 52 runs in 48 balls with plenty of wickets in the bank. This should be a cakewalk. This is normally the time when panic sets in for the fielding side. This is just about the time when shoulders slump on the field and eyes roll in the living rooms. But one look at the captain is all that is required to convince the players and fans alike, “All is well”.

12.1 Overs:

                    Ashwin is brought on to bowl his last over, a gamble that has to be taken. Ashwin strikes first ball and the dangerous Shakib is sent back. Midas touch remains intact, even now, ever since 2007.

19.3 Overs:

                     Mushfiqur Rahim paddles a length ball to the fine leg boundary and celebrates with Mahmadullah. Just a couple more runs are needed to send India home from their own party. Shoulders don't slump even now. Even though the writing is on the wall, the players haven't given up hope,just yet.  In the past, in these scenarios, TV sets across the country are switched off. Not in India, not in Dhoni's India. People watch on. It is never over until it's over.

19.4 Overs:

                    Mushfiqur Rahim loses his head and hoists another length ball down Dhawan's throat. The Indians are alive, but only just.  Jadeja is moved from one end of the field to another. He is placed exactly at the same position where Dhawan just took the catch. Millions heave a sigh of relief.

19.5 Overs:

                      A full toss ensues, Mahmudallah sends it high but not long. Someone settles under the catch. Someone who was moved there just before that ball.  Jadeja coolly snaffles the chance. A pressure catch is taken by the team's best fielder who was specifically directed there.

 

19.6 Overs:

                     2 to win from the last ball, Pandya bowls a short ball outside off-stump and Shuvagata Hom can't touch it with his bat. The batsmen try scrambling for a bye. They have no chance because it is Dhoni who has the ball. He doesn't throw it. He runs to the stumps, takes out the bails and Mustafizur Rahman is short. Indians are alive and kicking. 

                 One glance at the Facebook and Twitter feed tells a story that has been in vogue for 9 long years. Personnel had changed, but the commander never did. The nation had come to believe in him in a way reserved for no other captain who had come before. That is mainly due to him pulling off heist after heist, even when they seemed impossible.

                     To Indian fans from the nineties' who have had so many of their evenings ruined by heartbreaking losses, Dhoni has been a godsend. An Indian fan sees his team needs 15 to win in 6 balls with just a wicket in hand and he then sees that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is on strike.  He isn't nervous. Victory seems a foregone conclusion. This is TRUST.  This wasn't built overnight. This trust was earned.

                     During India's semi-final clash with Australia in 2007 WT20, Ian Chappell on commentary remarked how Indian batsmen were playing a fearless brand of cricket, resembling their captain Dhoni's persona. Mind you, that was Dhoni's first assignment.  The current Indian team does have an aggressive streak running through them but when under pressure they are calmer than most other teams, especially during big games. Nothing illustrates this better than their performances in the ODI World Cups under Dhoni where they have lost just 2 matches under him. He had turned a team that often faltered in big games to a team that always brought it when it mattered most. This will remain Dhoni's greatest legacy.

                     Dhoni is hailed for being unperturbed by pressure. It isn’t the only notable feature. His ability to “seize the moment” coupled with his Zen-like calmness make a lethal combination. In the same do-or- die match against Bangladesh, at a time when Indians are desperately in need of wickets, he throws the ball to Suresh Raina. Raina slips one delivery down the leg side, Sabbir Rahman misses his attempted flick and for a split second he overbalances himself. That split second is what Dhoni needs to whip off the bails and Rahman is caught stranded. This is typical Dhoni – waiting for the slightest of openings and then ruthlessly exploiting it. 

                       That is also typical of Dhoni's limited-overs captaincy career. All he needs is for one ball to misbehave to call upon his assembly of spin bowlers and tie the opponents in knots. Remember Chepauk, remember Chennai Super Kings. And remember April 2, 2011. The biggest stage,the biggest game, World Cup in the balance, in stepped Dhoni. He didn't just grab the bull by its horns; he was putting to rest the demons of '96,'03 and '07.

                     Given all the tournaments he has won as captain, given all the unusual press conferences and given that iconic bat twirl that signaled India's second World Cup win, my enduring memory of his captaincy stint will be his celebrations after winning the Champions Trophy 2013 final.

                     It was a game that India had no business winning. It was a tournament that India had no business winning. In the aftermath of IPL fixing scandal in 2013, in which Dhoni's own franchise was under the scanner, India landed in England with a team that had very few backers.  Sri Lanka and Australia were dispatched in the warm-up games. South Africa came bouncing only to be tripped with ease. West Indies were left behind in a heap. Pakistanis were annihilated. Sri Lanka faced India again in the semi-finals only to be humbled again. 

In the final, the hosts almost halted the Indian juggernaut but India mounted a stirring defense of a modest total and ended up deserving champions. Even World Cup wins didn't prompt Dhoni to react the way he did on that unforgettable evening. He didn't hold back. It was unadulterated joy that shone through. It was pure “Mahi”. Now that he has relinquished his captaincy, his fans will be ready to give anything to see him grow his hair long, bludgeon sixes over covers and bring out his gun-firing celebrations.

The world has seen enough of Dhoni, maybe, just maybe, we are about to see the return of 'Mahi'.

 

 

                        

                              

 

 

           

                    

             

A Birthday Like No Other

Friday April 1st 2011, late:

Want to sleep. Eyes won't stay shut. Never been this nervous, this anxious. I am not able to finish my dinner.Clock strikes twelve. Calls start to come. I call it a night after I receive the one wish that matters the most.

Saturday April 2nd, morning: 

More friends call,but they want to talk only about the game. Needing to get out of the house, I volunteer to buy vegetables. Bad move. Even the shop vendor talks about nothing but Sachin's inability to score in finals. After arguing that for the umpteenth time I return home, more restless than before.

Midday: 

Avoiding endless debates on television I retire for a nap. Another bad move. My closed eyes see only Ricky Ponting thrashing India bowlers all over the Bullring, Johannesburg 2003. Sachin's miscued pull flashes through my mind's eye. The pain remains fresh. Enough of that. I switch on the television, wondering what can be worse than this memory. 

My answer lights up the screen. Jayasuriya is beaming. 

In the 1990s, India would meet Sri Lanka almost every month, and Sanath Jayasuriya ended quite a few Indian bowlers' careers as a result. If he failed with the bat, he would torment with the ball - as bad a nightmare as the entire 2003 final. Thankfully he has since retired. It is now 2011, but still Sri Lanka. 

The Toss: 

If I wasn't sweating before, I am now. There are two tosses. Sangakkara claims he won both. No one seems to know who won the first, but Sanga wins the second and decides to bat. Cue flashbacks to the 2007 World Cup. Only this time there's a twist. Dhoni has selected Sreesanth over Ashwin. Sreesanth? Really? In the final? It's not the only surprise move Dhoni will pull today.

The players take the field. Tharanga and Dilshan to open the batting. Zaheer Khan has the ball. I remember the last time he bowled the opening over in a World Cup final, and was hit to all parts. I've not had one bite of lunch. My empty stomach churns.

Zak bowls three maidens in a row. THREE MAIDENS!

Sreesanth is inconsistent at the other end; four good balls interspersed with two bad balls almost every over. Yet something is vibing this up. Yuvraj's fielding acrobatics have been the force behind Zaheer's maidens, and Zak's nineteenth delivery settles every Indian mind. The seventh over starts with Sehwag flying across Leverock-style to pouch the catch sending Upul Tharanga on his way for just two runs off twenty balls with the score on seventeen. The tone has been set, and my stomach is finally full.

Sangakkara comes in. I don't fear him as much as I do Dilshan. Sanga can hurt, but Dilshan draws blood. When he is bowled off his glove by Harbhajan for 33 off 49 in the seventeenth over, for the first time I feel it's going to be a good day. But it will not be smooth. 

Jayawardene starts serenely. Not even Sanga's shock wicket seems to bother him. He nudges, glides, and threads his ways to a not-out century that would delight me on a normal day. This is no normal day. 

The score climbs but feels within reach. Perera always had the measure of Zaheer and today is no different. He smashes twenty-two from just nine deliveries, taking Sri Lanka's total from respectable to challenging, finishing the innings with a six. Eighteen runs off the last over. I badly need a shower. Hoping 274 doesn't come to affect me like 359 did, I also hope I don't drown in the bath.

Although Sachin was Man of the Match in the semi-final against Pakistan, Sehwag was the difference. He dismantled Pakistan's spearhead, Umar Gul, but here is a different beast. Malinga is always a danger, and shows why in the very first over. Sehwag is trapped plumb in front and wastes a review. Wishing now I hadn't come out of the shower.

Throughout my life, no cricketer has kept me longer on the edge of my seat than Sachin, and never more than today have I wanted him to score big. For twenty minutes he bats like a dream. The cover drive, the square cut, and then the straight drive which stuns. Just as I start to dream, catastrophe strikes. Malinga curves one out, finds an edge, and Sachin departs at the start of the seventh over for a mere eighteen runs. 

I have never before switched off my television after a Sachin dismissal, but I take my phone and walk out the door. I dial someone special.

I don't know how long I have been on the phone, only that I am hearing applause from the nearby park. As I take my seat again, Dilshan pulls off a stunner to get rid of Virat Kohli. 161 needed now from 170 balls. About to leave again thinking I brought bad luck to India, and as Virat walks forlornly toward the pavilion, someone saunters in wearing the India cap. Dhoni has promoted himself up the order. He over-balances second ball but Sanga doesn't collect. Missed half chance? No one watching dares to move. 

Dhoni and Gambhir whittle down the target. Indians around the world start to breathe normally. No panic when Gambhir is bowled by Perera three runs short of a century. Yuvraj takes his place. 128 minutes after taking guard and with four needed to win, Dhoni cracks a signature helicopter six over long-on, 91 not-out and ten balls to spare.
 
All I hear is fireworks. All I see is tears everywhere. As birthdays go, nothing is going to ever top this!

The Final Reckoning

                                                                      

October 29,2017:

I was to get married the next day. To cut a long story short, the circumstances surrounding my marriage were far from ideal. I was in a personal crisis with nowhere to run for help. With my stress levels increasing by the second, I needed to switch-off from that world. Very few things calm me down the way cricket does. So, it was time for India versus New Zealand. India had already lost a wicket. But my heart leapt because I could spot the jersey numbered ‘45’ on screen. It was all I needed to know. For the better part of the next two hours, my little world was a happy place as Rohit effortlessly drove, pulled and flicked his way to a century. I knew then, at that moment, that everything was going to be alright.

On the next day, I personally experienced what Paulo Coelho meant when he wrote “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it”.

To this day, I consider that Rohit Sharma knock ‘a sign from the universe’ to hold myself together.

In a way, Rohit should feel that the BCCI universe has conspired to give him a chance, he wanted so badly. As he takes the field as India’s newest test opener, he will know that failure is not an option. His elevation isn’t fair on so many specialist openers in India and the knives are already out. If this isn’t going to motivate him, nothing else will.

Fortunately, he had already been in this situation before, albeit, in a different format.  The questions arose then too. Six years later, he has the best record for an opener in ODIs. The rule changes in the format, pitches and general lack of swing all played their part. What did I say earlier about universe conspiring!! But I will be doing a huge disservice to Rohit if I put down all his success in ODI cricket to these factors.  He will be well-served though to remind himself that what works for him in ODIs will also partially work for him in Tests.

When he played in South Africa, there were times when he survived through tough periods but couldn’t capitalize on the start. For someone who is known to start cautiously and then grow in confidence as each over passes by ,it was not a great sight to see him get stuck.Luckily for Rohit, he is not going to face similar conditions for a while. In addition to that, the South African attack he is going to face in India isn’t expected to be as relentless as the one he faced in 2018.  

His own ODI template should work in India and his numbers at home, although not always against world-class bowlers, indicate that. Even if he doesn’t want to adopt that, his record in Ranji Trophy should give him the confidence to perform at home.

As far as overseas conditions are concerned, his first away trip (subject to success at home) will be to New Zealand. His best innings in tests has come against New Zealand in New Zealand when his team was 10 for 3. Again, signs! That innings should, perhaps, be the blue-print for him. He started watchfully against Boult and Southee, before unfurling his shots once he got his eye in. With his nemesis Boult looming, it is easier said than done, but who said anything about test cricket being easy!

The other problem with Rohit in tests has been the fact that he has failed to take full toll when things has appeared rosy and comfortable for him. This is where Rohit would be lamenting his shot against Lyon in the Adelaide test. For the first time in years, he looked completely at ease in the format. He serenely negotiated whatever Cummins, Starc and Hazelwood threw at him. Then came that ill-timed hoick. The worrying bit was that almost everybody saw that coming. Remember Moeen-Southampton 2014?It is therefore imperative that he chooses the right balls to go after.

As a fan who has closely followed Rohit’s career, I would love to see Rohit right his test record. From experience, I too know this could all go horribly wrong. A bad run of form will probably ensure that he never dons the whites again.

But for now, the universe has done its part and it is Rohit's turn.

PS:

October 29,2018

A year had passed. My new-born son was 22 days old. While my son was sleeping peacefully, I switched on the TV to watch India play West Indies. A wicket had already fallen, but I could see the jersey ‘45’ on the screen. Again,that was all I needed to know to.By then, my life had indeed become alright.

If Rohit's latest test run does go pear-shaped, I will always have THAT October afternoon.

  

Dear Dad,

                I don’t exactly know where to start. As always, I feel awkward and slightly uncomfortable in telling you what I really feel inside. I know that you will laugh it off when you read this. But I also know that deep in your heart you will be beaming. Now that I have decided to open my heart, it is better that I let everything out.

                 Before I was conceived you must have surely had a vision- because I know you to be a man who always planned well in advance. Once I was born you must have set that plan in motion.

I wish there were a montage video showing how you used to cuddle me when I was a baby. As a baby, surely, I must have felt secure and safe in your hands. I don’t remember the way you held me but when I look back at the photos of my first birthday I am flooded with emotion and warmth.

I recollect certain incidents from my early school-life . Each night, mom dearest used to narrate stories to make me sleep. But as per routine, it was your turn to put me to sleep during weekends. I looked forward to weekends only for that reason. You used to stroke my hair in a way only a loving dad could. I really loved your caresses because I don’t remember any of the stories you said.

                Those days, I cursed sports because it cut into the time you used to spend with me. But then I am grateful to all sporting events those years because your interest made me fall in love with sports. In addition to that you found time to play with me despite your stressful office life. You were technically so good that I didn’t have to look far to know about intricacies associated with each sport. Sports played a very important part in our relationship because our conversations mostly circled around it.

               During every stage of my life, you insulated me from pressure. You always knew what I wanted and what I was capable of. You didn’t have any unreasonable expectations from me. For that, I am eternally thankful.

              When it came to my studies, you let me have a free rein. You wanted to have me close during my college days. I used to resent it as my friends used to enjoy plenty of night outs. As I matured, I understood that you felt that I needed to be protected from bad influences.

             When I was a teen, you used to tell me about your college life like a friend would. I could also feel that it was nothing but sessions to show me the right path. Those were also meant to ensure that I didn't commit the mistakes you did.

              But as I grew older those sessions became few and far between and it confirmed that I have officially become an adult. I also sensed that you felt I needed to take more responsibility. You used to squabble with me a lot. I sometimes felt frustrated and annoyed. Later from mom, I used to get inputs that it was your way of showing me that you appreciated what I did. You didn’t want me to be complacent.

             But my favorite moments as I grew up happened whenever I fell sick. The way you used to take care of me will forever live with me. I could see the concern in your eyes and relief whenever I recovered.Secretly, I used to wish that I must fall sick often. When I was healthy, you used to taunt me saying I am not immune enough.

           It is not that we always had a completely rosy relationship. I have let you down numerous times. Most of those times, even though I didn’t show remorse outside, I was so agitated inside . I wanted the ground to swallow me. I could not look into your eyes. I could not see you broken.  You never used to hit me as a parent but that doesn’t mean you were not strict. Your words would hurt more than any physical beatings ever could and you knew it. I withstood all your reprimands because I knew you would hug me the next morning. I loved the way you asked me not to take your words to heart. I knew you that your harsh words hurt you more than it did to me.

         When I was struggling to find a job, you stood by me. When I got my first job, you must have been the happiest person in the world. You would tease me that there were better jobs than mine .But to others, you boasted that I had the best job in the world.

         When I gifted you a shirt after I got my first salary, you must have felt exactly how I felt before writing this letter. You wanted to hug me affectionately and show the world what I got for you. But just like me, you didn’t let the guard down.

         Though you gave me the best of everything you didn’t pamper me. You made me realise the value of money. I know the hard-work you put in to earn for the family and you wanted me to know the worth of each and every penny you earned.

         When you gave consent to my love , I felt elated. You had complete faith in my choice. In Harry Potter series, sometimes when Harry met Dumbledore, Harry encountered a feel as though he was being X-Rayed. I felt the same when we talked about  my jobs or about my love-life. I always gave guarded answers. Now I regret that I could have been more open with you. This will always remain with me as an eternal regret now that you are no longer with me.

        Though I wasn’t with you when you passed away,I can say with complete confidence that your last thoughts would have been about me. Even at that moment you would have worried about my future. You always lived for me and my future. When you were my age, you sacrificed a lot just to ensure that your future generations shouldn’t suffer the way you had to.

        I always cheered when superheroes came on screen. But I failed to notice that someone better lived under my roof. You are the hero I never acknowledged and you are the superhero I dream to be.

Thanks Dad ! Thanks for enriching my life with your presence. Thanks for everything.

                                                                                             With love,

                                                                                            Forever Your Kozhandhai

Your grandson is 39 months old now and whenever he sees your passport-sized photo in my wallet, he takes it and keeps kissing it saying that it is his 'Sankar Appappa'. I so wish he got to kiss you atleast once in real-life..

In a matter of heartbeats

                                     

You score low marks in a nondescript exam and you feel the world around you has crashed.

Just as you are about to meet your girlfriend on your first date it torrentially rains. You curse Providence.

You see the team you support getting eliminated and take it as a personal loss.

You come out of an appraisal meeting shaking your head in disbelief because you are not promoted.

At all these moments, you look up at the heavens and ask “Why me?” It seems to you that the whole world has ganged up against you.

 Then something comes along that puts your disappointments in perspective.

One such story is that of James Taylor- a story that tells us the greatest gift we have got is life itself.

                          As noted by the celebrated international cricketer Kevin Pietersen, in his autobiography, he is built like a jockey. You can almost visualize him riding horses and jumping over hurdles on a horse-back. He did jump over obstacles though but the sport was Cricket.

                         In a Test series to decide the number one ranked team in Cricket, in strode a young man, looking like a Rey Mysterio in the world of Lesnars and Cenas. The second Test was in the balance. He joined Kevin Pietersen at the crease.  As Kevin Pietersen went berserk at the other end, James Taylor played an able foil.  34 individual runs and after a timely partnership spanning 147 runs later as he walked back dejectedly,I found an English cricketer whom I can root for.  He was likeable and dynamic. To me, he symbolized the spirit of an underdog fighting against the system – the system which thought he wasn’t strong enough or capable enough of delivering the goods.

                            

                         

                         In a must-win match against India in a tri-series nobody cared about, he struck a chord with me again. Chasing a paltry total, he saw his team-mates struggle and succumb but he held fort. He scored a match-winning 82, thus eliminating my favorite team. I didn’t feel sad because it was engineered by a player who was fast becoming one of my favorites.

                        

              The first match of the Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia set the tone for both the contestants. As widely predicted by everyone who knew Cricket, England came third in a two-horse race.

But the lone bright spot was James Taylor. He was fighting his way like an expert fencer towards his maiden ODI century on his World Cup debut. His march was cut short on 98 due to an umpiring error. Firstly he was wrongly adjudged out and on review it was found that he was not out. But then his partner was given run out from the same delivery hence signaling the end of the match.

Little did I know that this incident was a sign of things to come!

                                         

                        After the initial struggles, James Taylor was becoming a regular fixture in England’s scheme of things. I beamed when he registered his maiden ODI century against Australia in a winning cause. I felt that justice has been served after his miss earlier.

                     

Soon he astonished me as well as millions around the world, as he produced magic out of thin air repeatedly while fielding at short-leg. Short-leg is the most dangerous position to field on a cricket field. To field there requires courage and taking brilliant catches at that position demands extraordinary reactions. As he set off on a triumphant run, a part of me jumped and I wanted to celebrate with him! As much as l liked watching the ‘New England’ ODI team, I never felt attracted by their test team. The team seemed more like a machine .But in the latest team I had few cricketers I was able to cheer- Stokes, Moeen and at the forefront -   James Taylor.
                                       

                                        

                            On an April afternoon, 12th to be exact, after having my lunch I logged into twitter. I was shocked to see that James Taylor had announced his retirement from Cricket. It took me a minute to digest this news. It can’t be! There must have been obviously a mistake! No! As I looked up my timeline, I realized that my worst fears about his career had come true.

                            Then I looked up on the reason that caused him to announce his retirement – ARVC (Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrhythmogenic_right_ventricular_dysplasia

Imagine turning up for work and find your heart beating at 265 beats per minute. This was exactly what happened with him.

                            Now rewind to the agonizing miss in the world cup 2015. That incident can well be seen as a microcosm of his Cricket career - Wrongly judged and cruelly cut short for no fault of his!

 James Taylor later came to know that 90 percent of the time, this rare condition will be found only during post-mortem.  His very existence is a miracle. He could have sulked around.  He could have wallowed in self-pity, cursed his ill-luck. But that is not his nature. Fighting against odds is his modus operandi.

                          Look at his social media posts-you will never know the struggle he is going through. His posts are always tinged with humor. When I go through his posts, I find myself teary-eyed.

Imagine something you love being taken away from you because of a rare health condition. Now, think of the little things we moan about during our daily life like daily traffic, promotions, meetings, etc. Don’t we look like over-exaggerating fools?

                        Fabrice Muamba, a footballer who has the same health condition as Taylor came up with an immortal quote of his own as he tweeted to our little hero.

                           It holds true for every one of us – “having life is a great option”.