The Fallen Hero

It was a Sunday evening. I just reached my flat in Pune after a trip to my friend’s house. As I entered, I saw my room-mates watching something on TV. Instantly, I asked “What’s the score?” And channels were switched to SET MAX. The IPL season was on, and I had been following it for quite some time. After all, everyone goes gaga over it.

It was a match between Pune Warriors and Rajasthan Royals. As it seemed, Pune was badly down and was almost on the verge of losing (as was the case in their last 6-7 matches). I supported Pune, not because I had developed affection towards the city I am staying in (although I do), but it had my favourite cricketer – Sourav Ganguly leading the team. 

I remember the time – 1996 to be precise, when the ‘Prince of Kolkata’ debuted in the Indian Cricket Team at the Lord’s Cricket Stadium in England. I was relatively younger back then and I hadn’t noticed him much. But when I really started following Cricket, which most of us in India do, Boy Oh Boy! Was I mesmerized by this player! Of course, Sachin was the greatest batsman in the world. But there was something in him that demanded a fan-following. I loved the way he used to step out of his crease, the moment he sees a spin bowler at the other end of the 22-yards, or the way he used to pierce the offside field, packed with 6-odd fielders with an elegant drive. He was a player you’d love to watch. His opening partnerships with Sachin, was something I hardly missed. 

When he became the captain of the Indian Cricket Team, the whole cricket fraternity was deeply immersed in the after-effects of the Match-fixing scandals. Most of the cricketers, including some of the Indians as well were down and out. It was then, that Sourav led from the front and he infused young blood to the team, along with a few experienced personnel within the team. Such was the belief that they had, that they started winning overseas games as well and improving India’s overseas records under his captaincy to such an extent was by far one of his greatest achievements.

I remember reading an article wherein it was mentioned that Sourav had intentionally come late for the toss and he made Steve Waugh, the then-captain of the Australian Cricket team, wait. Steve Waugh was furious about it, but he had just got a piece of his own cake. I knew it then, that the Indian Cricket Team that we would have now, is carrying an ATTITUDE. 

After all those achievements though, the famous spat with Greg Chappel happened and everything started falling apart for Sourav. He was removed from the captaincy and was asked to warm the benches. He made a comeback with a gritty century against Zimbabwe in a test match, but we all knew he had lost the magical touch he once possessed in his batting. I have seen many people criticizing him for various reasons. But they don’t realize that India had ‘almost’ won the Cricket World Cup 2003, and by then he had played a major part in the resurgence of the team.

I don’t really know why Sourav ends up with Aussie coaches, read John Buchanan as the coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the IPL. Moreover, he ends up having a bad term with them, and frantically loses out on his place. The worst was still about to come, when none of the IPL teams bid for him in the IPL auctions. It was heart-breaking for his fans and that was evident when they burnt down effigies of SRK in Kolkata. But the team owners vied for better cricketers, who suited the 20-20 format better than Sourav, and that was obvious. I always thought, why does he still want to play? Why can’t he just take up a job as a commentator and retire with dignity? Frankly, I don’t know. Probably, he still has that passion to play cricket and he wants to contribute in every possible way. Probably, he doesn’t want to be called as an ex-cricketer with good English-speaking skills, who rather than playing cricket joined a TV channel as a Cricket Commentator. Probably, he did not want to sit in an Air-conditioned room and watch others playing his favourite game on the ground. Probably, he wanted to be in the middle of the action that’s happening at the centre-stage. Probably, he’s still trying to prove a point to the people who criticize him as a non-performer in the shortest version of cricket. 

Sourav, you’ve had enough of action and you’ve made your country proud, with all those achievements you’ve made. You have got nothing more to prove. You still have a great fan-following and everyone knows your contribution towards Indian cricket. It’s time now that you hang up your boots and play more of a mentor-kinda role for any team. Youngsters can learn a lot from you. The relentless passion that you have towards the game is unmatchable.

I had watched a video where he was asked by the journalists, about his reaction to his remaining unsold in the IPL auction, his eyes looked down and he seemed lost in his thoughts – 'The Fallen Hero’ paused. Probably he had no answers to the question.