This is the most agonising period for those of us in their early twenties and whose journey with cricket started with the arrival of Sourav to the cricket scene.The everlasting debate of Lara Vs Sachin began to occupy our Lunch hours at school.The two potential youngsters Sourav and Dravid had just begun to change Indian cricket from what it was as a one man show.The purity of Dravid and the unconventionality of Sourav stole our hearts.We were taken to a different world by the wrist work of Azhar and moved to tears seeing the painful exit of India at Eden Gardens in 1996 world cup.
It was even more painful when the one we had trusted betrayed us by involving in the match fixing scandal.We were comforted only by the centuries with which our genius named Sachin conquered the world.The two knocks at Sharjah with Tony grieg at the background...We would remember those straight sixes even in our death bed.Then came our saviour in the name of Sourav with the job of the cleaning the soul of the game and taking Indian cricket forward after our batting genius failed to be a better captain.
Then came a term called 'professionalism' in to Indian cricket.Dravid started to keep wickets.Balls were chased till they reach the boundary.We saw the entry of Yuvraj,Kaif,Harbhajan,Sodhi,Zaheer.we started beating Australia in one -off matches.Yuvraj's maiden fifty against Australia and Zaheer cracking the stumps of Steve Waugh at that Nairobi match made us hope that Indian cricket was in safe hands.We saw Kaif struggle for runs and going out of the team in agony.Over all those years one man did his job in silence and extraordinay precision and accuracy as we would often fail to give credit to one of the remarkable sportsmen of all time ,Anil Kumble.
The VVS Laxman story of the innings that changed the history of Indian Cricket and 'The wall' that made us comquer every country we tour.We were treated by the greatness and class of those amazing batsmen.Yet we would never give away that special place in our heart to anyone other than our master.Alas we had one for everyone of them!The epic innings of Sourav at Brisbane that started the remarkable Steve Waugh Farewell tour.the 271 that Dravid made at the Adelaide Oval,Laxman producing shots against australian leg spinners that English batsmen would never play in their dreams,SCG being renamed 'Sachin Cricket Ground',Sourav removing his shirt at Lords....Oh it goes and goes on and on.....
No other team would have had these glorious batsmen coming in at No2,3,4 and 5.Then we witnessed a masterstroke from the prince ,of sending a batsman to open who had never opened in any of his first class games,the move that changed Indian Cricket in the ages to come.Then there was that 'so near yet so far story' of 2003 world cup final.Chappell and co converted our team into a youth brigade.We saw Dhoni marshalling his boys and give us that elusive victory in a final after we had witnessed each and every final given away with ease.But we knew we would have been more happier if our four extraordinaty gentleman had been part of that triumph.
Sachin was a genius,Dravid was an epitome of batsmanship,Laxman was a Magician,Kumble was a veteran,Sourav was an artist.More than everything they were gentlemen whom every children can have as his idol.They demonstrated every quality that someone have to suceed.We learnt to enjoy our game and let the better team win a match.We were never really angry at them as they made us realise that it was all part of the game.
The days wont come back.The days when I used to sit back and lose myself into the grace of Sourav and elegance of Sachin at either end.The ruthless opening partnerships between them just refuse to go out of my memory.The happiness when I see a full match and predict the next day's headliness in 'The Hindu' .The desperate prayers that I made in my childhood to see an Indian win.The fake illness that I often came in the day of a cricket match and the punishment I used to get after my guilt exposed.I was happy to give anything to see a match.After all these years of being obsessed with cricket and with the feeling that some time when India is going to be at 5-1 and 15-2,there wont be a Dravid or Sachin walking in,I knew I would quit watching cricket.As for me,with Sourav and Kumble quitting and when Sachin,Laxman and Dravid would bid goodbye,a part of my life, with it, a part of me would be gone forever...
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