A Happy Place

Scrubs is a fantastic sitcom which narrates itself through the thoughts of a funny guy named JD. JD usually has a vivid imagination and uses that to drift off very often. Given that he is a doctor in a hospital with the entire sitcom based around the hospital – its obvious that they deal with the morbid topic of death in a light yet sensitive manner. Now doctors as they are wont to – discuss patients on the death bed and they usually have a good inkling about when someone is about to leave for heavenly/hellish abode. And then they say that the only thing that can be done is to put the patient into a happy place. Jd – with his imagination thought of putting the patients in a room with clouds and lots of balloons – making them happy.

When so many legends of the Indian Team are about to leave the team – running their last few laps, one really hopes that they too are in a happy place before they leave. Firstly one hopes that the player gets to leave on his own terms and not because some fat failed ex-cricketer thinks its time for retribution. And then that the last sign off is memorable. We saw Dada go – announcing himself our before the start of the test series and then going on to hit one of the best centuries he has ever hit at Mohali. You call that leaving on a high. Kumble – knowing when it was time to go – when wickets were not forthcoming at the Kotla of all places. He quit on the last day of the test and came out to bowl with an injured finger. You call that leaving with dignity. The happy place is indeed that feeling of success or dignified pride just before you leave, with your head high.

We as a cricketing nation have been spoiled. If the Aussies has “If Lillee don’t get you, Thommo will”, we have now for almost a decade been lulled to believe that middle orders are routinely built with the quality of Dravid, Sachin, VVS and Dada with the opening of Sehwag thrown in for spicy garnishing. We have come to exect a Sachin-Rahul partnership to save us from 20/2 or the old firm of Rahul and VVS to laugh off a huge deficit and build up yet another of their triple hundred partnerships. And then to have Sachin blasting away where others fade into oblivion or to have a gritty Dada to fight off critics and the shortpitched ball to wrest away initiative from battle hardened Aussies.

We have been lulled into the belief that its our right to expect this quality – to be 4 down and have quality like VVS and Dada there at the crease. To have concentration and determination good enough to score on a cloudy day on a damp green pitch in Headingley and lead us to victory. Or to ground out a 240 odd at Sydney – while being in the worst possible form.Or to have some elegant shots to turn around a tough situation into a dominating one.

We should be grateful and hope that we ourselves get a chance to be in a happy place when they all leave the ground for good. Instead we seem to be in a hurry to see the back of champs like Dravid and VVS and the blasphemy of it all – even Sachin. Forgive us oh father in heaven for we know not what we seek. We seek a happy place for stalwarts while risking ourselves into a middle-order fresh and no where close to the quality as dictated by the Fab Four.

Its time we were genuinely scared of seeing a lineup that reads Gambhir, Sehwag, Sharma, Pujara, Badri, Yuvraj, Dhoni.. A middle order without the stamp of genuine world class.

Perhaps its our way of soothing ourselves into believing that we wont miss them – that we go round asking for their heads. That we believe that the pretenders are yet ready so that when they are gone we will have convinced ourselves that we did not really need them anyway.

One gone and three to go. 2-3 years at best by which time they will all be gone and only be names rich with history. Till then lets strive to enjoy every little drop of water in the oasis. It promises to be a long desert once the departure is all complete.

The Checklist

Just prior to the 2003 World Cup began, India were on a lean patch - losing effortlessly in New Zealand and generally having a bad start to the Cup with a less than convincing victory v/s Holland and a thumping defeat to the Aussies. Which is when Sachin took over and quite literally charged us through to the finals - with sterling contributions from Dada and the others too. But till that final it was truly Sachin's Cup. The final was another story of us choking in a final. I assume Sachin looked back at that, looked around at the young team that was promising to be so much and said to himself- "Well Never mind, I still have another go in 2007" and perhaps left it at that.

Come 2007 and yet again India were faltering but had turned things around in the home series v/s SL. But there was disaster waiting. First a loss to the Bangladeshis, then a thumping critical win against the Bermudans and finally the loss that kicked us out - a loss to the Lankans. India - one of the bets to win the cup were out - in the First Round. Total and complete disaster. Sachin had played his part in the exit by not contributing much. And thats when I believe, the checklist must have been born.

SRT would have been more disappointed than anyone else - heck it was his 5th attempt at the Cup and the runners up trophy in 2003 was the best he had to show for it. He could have had the Cup in 96 but for Azhar's dumb decision at the toss. He could have had it in 2003 but our nervousness was too much compared to the Aussies.

So then there he was - 18 years in the business, great reputation, huge achievements, many records, many accolades - but he must have felt the pinch of several things missing. Firstly and most importantly - the World Cup was not there. How could HE - the greatest of his generation leave the game without the Cup. How could HE - the best that India ever produced - tolerate 2 penny critics raising aspersions about his achievements? That he never played when it mattered? Or that he choked in Finals? Or that he could never really play in a 4th inning!

He had it all - but perhaps the thought was to put his legacy beyond doubt. After all, no one nitpicks the Don's record by saying that the Don never had to contend with so much cricket or with ODI cricket which corrupted the purity of technique.

And while the young team played without him in Bangladesh - Sachin set out a 4 year plan for himself. Yes it had to end with the World Cup in 2011 - He would win it in front of his adoring home crowd at the Wankhede. But what till then ? What would keep him motivated for 4 long years? For if he did indeed play till 2011, it would mean that he had pushed his body in international cricket for 22 years and across 4 decades.

So thats where Sachin decided that the critics after all must be put to some use - and out came all the accusations on a piece of paper.

1. Never Plays in Finals
2. Never saves matches for India
3. Never plays in the 4th inning of a match
4. Has never played under pressure (admittedly he laughed for a good 5 mins after writing this one down. After years of walking in to bat at 20/2 in test matches - cant take pressure was surely one of the best jokes he had heard)
5. Has lost the capability to play attacking cricket
6. Has never played at the Wankhede
7. Is not fit enough for International Cricket
8. Is blocking places for deserving youngsters to get into the team

And out of these - with the final aim to take the World Cup back home (so that stupid political protesters could break it again), Sachin created his checklist to start ticking off till he chose to take off from the Cricket Scene in 2011 with the Cup in his hands.

The last two years have been testimony to the pursuit of this checklist. The consistency and aggresiveness of his innings in England, the purity and reflexes of his knocks in Australia. The twin big innings in the finals in Australia to win a BIG tournament. The fighting 49 in Bangalore v/s Aussies in Bangalore to secure the draw. The 103* at Chennai to exorcise old demons. Sachin has been busy ticking off aims.

One only hopes he has a triple hundred written down somewhere on that list and perhaps a century to win the World Cup final at the Wankhede while Pushkar watches on.

Till such time, Shine on Sachin