You as the reader maybe wondering what’s the relation between Indian cricket and Hindu Mythology? Actually if we look closer there are clear similarities.In this post I have explored these similarities so let’s go over them one by one.
Ram or Vishnu -> Sachin Tendulkar. - Vishnu or his incarnation is one of the most worshiped lord among Hindus and Sachin has been the most popular cricketer for a long time in Indian cricket. Ram never said anything wrong and followed laws and so does Sachin. Ram obeyed orders and so does Sachin ( I can’t remember how many timesime he has walked after Steve Bucknor’s LBW decisions).
Shiva -> Virendar Sehwag - Shiva is by far is sanyasi and looks very simple however he can destroy anyone when he looses his temper and opens his third eye. Viru is quite similar he looks calm and sometimes detached with the surroundings around him. However on his day he has and can destroy and demoralize any attack.
Brahma -> VVS Laxman - Brahma is the creator who is not worshiped because of a curse. VVS suffers from a similar fate , he has won India countless matches but has somehow never found a loyal fan base and somehow his failures speak louder than his successes.
Yudhisthir -> Rahul Dravid - Yudhistir was the eldest Pandavas who was soft spoken calm and fair. Rahul Dravid has almost all the characteristics.
Yudhisthir once during Mahabharat was about to sacrifice his life for his brothers. Dravid has countless times keeped wickets and sacrifies batting order for teh team.
Arjun -> Sourav Ganguly - Arjun was the best archer in Mahabharat. Sourav was the best test captain India ever had. Arjun was brash, bold and possessed a
charisma so does Sourav. Both turned battles and matches single handed by their skills and leadership.
Abhimanyu -> Virat Kohli - Abhimanuyu was one of the finest young warrior in Pandav army, however youth and inexperience led to his demise. Virat
is one of the finest young players in Indian cricket and speaks both with bat and mouth. His temper rises and falls like a tide. I hope he does not suffer the same fate and has a glorious career.
Ganesh -> MS Dhoni - Ganesh is the lord of wisdom who is known to outthink and outwit his oponents. MS with his cooland thoughtful head has won India two worldcups and is known as one of the most thoughtful cricketers in Indian cricket.
I hope to write more about this and hear from you about this post adityashukla1983@gmail.com.
February 2012
4 posts
January 2012
2 posts
Who is VVS Laxman?
Now that the drubbing is over and the focus is shifting towards limited overs cricket , test specialists are heading back home.It has indeed been a very disappointing series for players and fans and I am sure the flight back was quite painful, specially for The Laxman of Indian cricket
Calls for his retirement have grown louder and louder with each dismissal. His personal failure in England and OZ combined with huge team defeats have made life worse.So in this post let’s go over and try to understand his state of mind.
At this stage there are two Laxman’s. Let’s go over each of the them one by one.
Very Very Sensible Laxman - This is the Jekyll side of VVS Laxman. The one who’s responsible, one who lives in present and is fully aware of himself and his immediate surroundings.Jekyll is 37 years old and has a continous bad run on two foriegn tours. He has been playing only test cricket for several years and now is floudering at his forte.
His fielding all throughout his career has anything but stellar(I have decided not to talk about running between wickets). So should he retire? In any team sport n sportman’s future depends on two things 1) His performance 2) What the selectors think about the player. His performance has been dismal and that leaves the selectors with holes.However he has a glorious past. So will the selectors base their decision on his past? For several reasons I doubt that. In the holy trinity of Indian cricket, VVS Laxman is like Brahma (Brahma is the creator with the least worshipers among the trinity). Similarly VVS is a cricketer with the least fan following among (Sachin-Rahul-VVS). So that prevents the selectors from fans and media’s anger. His less than stellar fielding + running between the wickets + floundering batting + age have already made his positon quite weak.
However I doubt that the selector will drop him right at this moment.Why? because there’s no test cricket for some time and thus no need to select the team. It also
gives them time to re-focus and let the wave of anger and disappointment settle down. Only time will if he get a series in sub-continent where he could be given a chance to play and retire on his terms.
Very Very Stubborn Laxman - This is Hyde side of Laxman. The brash one , the one who refuses to accept the reality and continues to live in a glorious past.I hope this is not the case with him because if that’s the case then it will mark a sad end to a great career. He has put forward his name in the IPL auction, however I will be surprised if he get’s a contract. His batting in t-20 is like I am writing with my left hand. If teams don’t pick him in the auction the this will add insult to injury and give fuel to fire. If he decides to continue and is selected in team he will be under enormous pressure to perform in each innings and even a small failure can cause a big debate and even larger embarrassment.
With all these thoughts one simple observation. Great cricketers are not remembered by great debuts but by great farewells(Narendra Hirwani vs Anil Kumble) and I hope he gets one.
Aditya shukla
