Thursday, November 24, 2011

What afterall is so good about Cricket?

I dunno man. Whenever I visit this space and think of penning down my mind, I inevitably think Cricket. I was following the game much less all through this year and was pursuing some other vocations instead which are as fascinating and closer to nature (Anyone game for some Geology/Geography/History talk? or some refreshing dosage of eastern philosophy around compassion and harmony?). But guess what, I opened up here today and its still Cricket on my mind !! Huh..
Part of it is attributable to one Rahul Dravid. He just completed his 13000 test runs. Collossal, aint it. And guess what, it is also cathartic. For someone who had been trying in vain for few years of defending among peers, his value and even position in the test side, it was a sigh of relief and some lighthearted happiness.
Not that people did not support him or like him, but they had all lost any confidence in him or doubted his relevance or thought someone youngster was better- off filling his shoes. He seemed just one knock away from some hard browed expert comments and passionate scrutiny. Is not there the lad from the west who has compiled mountains of runs in the domestic seasons, someone uttered. Are jaye yaar ab apna kaam kare kuchh wo kya karraha hai ab mauka dede auron ko, kab tak khelega. But something was quite not right in all these assertions and I found out what. I told myself - But what when we tour outside the dusty comforts of our subcontinent into the unknown entity where batsmanship was more than driving on the up and I suddenly found all the answers in my pursuit of his support. Rest was duly accomplished in the English summer and now everyone has gained perfect confidence in their minds for his abilities. Good for him and for cricket!