Comeback at 37

Avinash Subrmanium

Dear Sirs,

You don't now me. You'll probably never read this. And much of what is said here are things you probably know. (Or…don't want to know.) But when it comes to Indian cricket, there's little harm in reminding oneself about these things often enough so we don't get off the right track we seem to have finally managed to put ourselves back in. (And God knows we've shown ourselves good at getting derailed plenty of times in the past.) Fortunately, we seem to be doing more right nowadays. And maybe some of this might help. Then again, it's only a matter of opinion. My opinion. One, many may not be inclined to agree with at all. Like, few are likely to agree with me when I say Robin should be readied for a year or two in the Test side. How ridiculous! NOT.

Sure, Robin is the one-day King. And a great fielder, fighter, 100 per cent cricketer, team man, pressure cooker specialist, a man who leaves nothing behind in the dressing room, a…err, excuse me, but aren't these just the kind of qualities a Test player could also do with?

So why has Robin never played more than 1 Test match? And why should we let that blinker our view so much against the possibility that we might just have got this one, too, all wrong. We kept him out of the team for eight years after he made his debut. And look how wrong he's proved us. Continues to prove us. Even at the age of 37! And yet, we seem to be dead sure he won't prove good enough for the Test side. On evidence of 1 Test! (How unfair. Hey, but this is Robin. No stranger to injustice.) Maybe, just maybe, we may be wrong. Maybe the lower middle order would die to have a player like Robin to hold it together. Maybe the Test side could do with one of the best fielders in the country. And maybe the youngsters like Kaif, Yuvraj, Zaheer Khan and Sodhi could do with a plan. Maybe Robin could do with a plan.

The plan being, give Robin another 15 months or so in the shorter version of the game, bring in the young Sodhi as his understudy, throw in 10 to 12 matches for Sodhi over the period Robin readies his experience and skills for a final hurrah as a Test cricketer and set the stage for his third innings, and watch the youngsters pick up all the right things from this grand 'young' veteran of Indian cricket. Today and tomorrow. (As coach, silly, of one of our teams. Which, incidentally, is yet another reason we must try this. As future coach, something we hope he will one day want to be and be, the Test experience will only make him better. As a player now, and a coach, someday soon.) By the way, my money's firmly on Robin playing Test cricket till he hits 40! If given the opportunity. (An 'if' filled with more possibilities than Kipling's.) Ridiculous? I thought you'd say that.

Why do we underestimate, ignore, the influence a braveheart like Robin can have on the many youngsters who are sure to get a look-in over the next six months in both forms of the game? We all know cricket at the highest level is more mental than anything else. Not to mention, having a size 'XXL' heart. Two areas, Robin is right up there with the best in the world. But then, we've always devalued his skills. (Like Sachin did and Saurav continues to do, as a bowler.)

No, we cannot compare him with the failure that Jadeja has proved to be in Test cricket. Robin is different. He's never had anything easy. He works harder. He hasn't let success go to his head. He is never satisfied. He won't sell his giant-sized heart. He is always hungry. And he must be ravenous for test cricket. Now all we, and he, need is some bright spark like the guy who decided, after eight very, very long years, it was time to bring Robin back into the one-day side. Quite simply, we need someone with the gonads to decide, out of the blue, that it's time to take a chance on Robin. Again. And since we Indians so believe in signs, here's one to consider. Perhaps the forced demise of Robin as a bowler is a sign of someone up there preserving him for the test side. (I hope so.) A sign it's time for the understudy, Sodhi, to break into the 14. And a sign that it's time to ease Robin into the physically less demanding but mentally lot tougher world of test cricket. A world full of immense challenges this, 37 year young, Gladiator is most likely to relish. (Though, at 37, I wouldn't wait too much longer.)

In fact, I think I'll jump the gun, and stir things up a bit, by proposing my Test team for the next four Tests. (Which, as serendipity would have it, whoever she is, will be against relatively less powerful opposition and at home.) My India Blues, in batting order would be, Ramesh, Sriram, Rahul, Sachin, Saurav, Robin, Ratra, Kumble, Srinath, Kartik and Zaheer Khan. (With Sodhi, Laxman, Kambli, Kaif, Yuvraj, Badani, Agarkar, Prasad, Sharandeep, Harbhajan, Paul and a couple of names I most surely would have missed out forming the rest of the pool for both one-dayers and Tests.)

After-thoughts: Is it just my imagination or do we have some rivalries developing in this Indian team? Consider this, Saurav v/s Sachin v/s Dravid for the most valuable player in the side. Yuvraj v/s Kambli v/s Laxman for slots in the middle order. Prasad, Agarkar and Zaheer Khan vying to be Srinath's new ball partners.' Old Srinath v/s New Srinath for a second shot at both forms of the game. Sodhi, Sriram and Kaif for any available slot. And just about anyone for wicketkeeper. I hope it's not just my imagination. Because there's nothing like a little rivalry to kick some butt. One's own and the oppositions. Just hope they don't ever forget, it's the oppositions' butt you got really kick. And the only way one can save one's own is by doing every earthly thing under the sun to make sure India wins, I repeat, India, not you, wins. Not always, just more times than not. I mean, we've got to understand that losing is ok. But it must never become a habit. Again. Something only a team can together do. Go team India!

By the way, if some of the reports about players like Harbhajan and Reetinder Singh Sodhi being ignored by the selectors are true, just so the board can get their own back at Bindra and his association, we've got a real problem here. Both these players are young, promising and hungry. And we must not let this happen to them, to Punjab, to anyone. (God knows, we let them mess around with Laxman.) Prem brought it up sometime last week. And it's time we did something about it to make sure such things are not allowed to happen. Not after all that we're just managing to recover from.

Come on guys, make some noise! Enough noise. Hey you jokers! Watch it. We aren't going to tolerate this kind of nonsense anymore. I hope. Are we? You tell me. Tell Prem. Tell Harsha. Tell the selectors. Tell someone who can make a difference.

Avinash Subramanium

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