Rejection is part and parcel of professional sport. It calls upon the individual sportsman to prove himself yet again, be it fighting an injury or a dip in performance levels, and if taken with a positive attitude can spur a redeeming revival. While making a comeback can be about adapting to changing physical conditions, recovering from injuries and reinventing oneself in terms of technical ability, it is more often than not a mental challenge that requires rejuvenation of motivation.
Mitchell Johnson’s recent exploits against England in the Ashes were an outstanding example of what a change of attitude, self-belief, and confidence can bring to performance at the highest stage.
The Indian team went through a period of transition in both formats of the game in 2013 as senior players made way for some new faces. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Shami Ahmed and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took their chances to establish themselves in the Indian side that is taking shape for a difficult season of Test cricket abroad and the World Cup in 2015.
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However, in the midst of these success stories is also the comeback of pacer Zaheer Khan who is in contention once again after he put in a number of pleasing domestic performances. Dhawan went through a period of relative obscurity after his international debut but has displayed his many qualities in 2013. The door is never closed for those who never stop trying.
The list of probables for the T-20 World Cup to be played in March this year in Bangladesh has been announced and some prominent names are missing. The Indian Premier League that is now around the corner, contributed a great deal to this list with the likes of Rajat Bhatia, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson and Karan Sharma making the cut primarily on the grounds of their impressive IPL performances. Not all of these are young cricketers, and there is no reason why we must discriminate against experienced players as long as they perform. The selection of Rajat Bhatia, who is 34, particularly indicates that there is life after 30 in international cricket.
Michael Hussey and Chris Rogers are prominent examples of cricketers who come to mind when one thinks of players who have made significant entries into international cricket at an unlikely age, and with success. Such players can provide motivation to a set of Indians who have been pushed to the margins due to their less than ordinary performances in recent times. They will be looking to make a comeback to the Indian team through the exceptional platform that is the Indian Premier League.
Here is a look at five such players who can make a comeback into the Indian cricket team using IPL as the platform.
5. Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik
The wicket-keeper batsman was recognized by the ICC as an upcoming talent to watch out for early on in his career but he has failed to find a sustained run of games in the side. The major cause of this is, of course, the fact that India already have an indispensable wicket-keeper batsmen in captain MS Dhoni. But the strength of Karthik’s will is made evident in the fact that he has made his case with the willow alone.
Karthik broke the shackles in the 2013 IPL edition with some breath-taking performances as he provided strength, balance, and fire-power to the Mumbai Indians’ middle order. India have struggled to find a competent player for the number 4 position with Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina failing to up their game in accordance with those credentials.
Karthik has the technical ability to play pace and spin with equal panache and can fill the void if he adds consistency to his displays. He is clearly a player who has massive talent, and it is a pity to find him languishing on the sidelines. The Indian Premier league as a platform that foregrounds, glorifies and rewards convincing performances with immediacy is ideal for the wicket-keeper batsman.
4. Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
The off-spinner has not been at the top of his game for a long time now, but he has put in a reasonable shift in the domestic circuit, travelling with his Ranji side Punjab to the semi-finals. He has been an integral part of the Mumbai Indians side and has been retained by the franchise.
Meanwhile, India’s spinners are facing a challenge in unfavourable New Zealand conditions. Ashwin failed to deliver in the Test series against South Africa but that is not to say that a call for his replacement is imminent. It is merely to say that the time is ripe for Harbhajan to put his hat in the ring alongside the likes of Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha. It seems that he is quite low down in the pecking order and that is not a healthy sign for the ‘Turbanator’.
The spinner boasts of a significant Test career that was marked by a flying start and given impetus by an unforgettable 2001 home series against Australia during which he picked up a memorable hat-trick that still remains fresh in memory.
He was a part of India’s successful 2007 T-20 and 2011 World Cup campaigns. The T20 format is not ideal for a spinner to showcase the range of his skills as it condemns mature cricketing attributes in the face of blind hitting. However, the performances of Amit Mishra indicate that making an immediate impact is not impossible as long as the spinner can bowl with guile and anticipation. It is high time Harbhajan brings his best game to the fore.
Virender Sehwag
8,586 Test runs at average of over 49 and over 16,000 international runs. You must be a pessimist and more criminally a novice in cricketing matters if you believe that Virender Sehwag amassed those astonishing numbers by swatting flies and having a casual approach to the game. Those numbers alone would guarantee him a place among the greats of the game.
It is true, as well as tragic, that Sehwag’s decline has been steep. The decline has been frequently put down to his denial to accept a more moderate approach to the game against his natural flair and aggression. Technical flaws have also been creeping into his game due to the weakening hand-eye coordination that served him throughout his career, which have in turn led to lack of success in foreign conditions that require greater application and footwork. Moreover, Sehwag has put himself in two minds by considering a move to the middle order where he feels he can make a greater impact.
Sehwag hasn’t been retained by the Delhi Daredevils, but the Indian Premier League would be at a loss if the franchises do not bid for an entertainer like the butcher of Najafgarh. His performance in the last IPL edition was inconsistent, but also exemplified why he is a match-winner on his day.
The way forward for Sehwag is to recover a productive state of mind, bring back the self-belief and work on weeding out the creeping technical flaws from his game. Every cricket supporter who enjoys watching uninhibited attacking play will be hoping that Sehwag takes the bull by its horns in the upcoming edition of the IPL.
Gautam Gambhir
Gambhir’s exclusion followed a string of unconvincing performances at the top of the batting order, but it seems that his continued absence from the squad has more to it. His temperament has come under a great deal of scrutiny as he is perceived to be a player who loses his cool in tense situations; something that has come to greater light with his leadership of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Gambhir was instrumental for India in the World Cup triumph, playing some significant innings, including a scintillating 97-run knock in the final, but his fall from grace has been sudden and complete. The whirlwind honeymoon success achieved by the new opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma has ensured that his name has been quickly forgotten.
The good news for Gambhir is that he has been retained by Kolkata Knight Riders. The franchise has invested a great deal of faith in Gambhir’s cricketing and leadership skills, backing him to repeat the title-winning campaign that he led in 2012.
He needs to bring a degree of composure to his leadership, return to his basic skills when wielding the willow, and pay the least possible attention to the circulation of his name in the media. The age factor is on his side as he is relatively young, and the fact that he opens the batting means that he will get the maximum possible time to influence the game with his bat.
If he can string together a set of significant performances, score over 600 runs in the tournament, and project a composed figure, then there is no reason why he can’t be bleeding blue once again.
1. Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
The left-handed maverick was one of those players who was spotted young and encouraged by former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. Yuvraj proved his capabilities at the 2011 World Cup where he was India’s biggest performer.
It is a tragedy of massive proportions that a player of such extraordinary talent was cruelly bought to earth from the pinnacle of sporting achievement, by cancer. Yuvraj has shown a great deal of fight since winning that battle against cancer to return to match-fitness. He is visibly leaner than before and made a return rather recently with a stunning knock in a lone T20 match against Australia, but failed to sustain that impact.
Yuvraj has looked vulnerable again pace and spin in his second coming, but I firmly believe in not putting that down to any lack of technical ability or skill. It is very evidently a matter of confidence, self-belief, and spending time on the crease.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to get a run of games to find form in an atmosphere of hostile competitiveness combined with an abundance of talent. The likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Ambayati Rayudu are fighting it out for his spot as of now.
Yuvraj will be up for the taking in the IPL auctions and one can be sure that he will be picked up by a top franchise which will recognize the wealth of talent, experience and skill that the all rounder brings to the table. The format is suitable to Yuvraj’s style of play and will give him the license to play without those demons of pressure, anxiety and fear that come along with playing for a place in the side.
He has also been included in the list of T20 probables, so a surprise selection given his record in the format might not be the worst idea.
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