Know the time to hang up your boots : Gangulys and Veterans !

Recently there has been a lot of drama over the exclusion of the Prince of Kolkata from the Kolkata IPL team. While the media continues to make hay while the sun is shining bright (as always), here are some of my thoughts over the issue..

The so-called great fans of Ganguly have brought all the contributions of him to the table and demanded an explanation over his exclusion from the IPL….There is absolutely no doubt in the fact that Ganguly sowed the seeds of the new Indian team, a team which now believes in itself and refuses to surrender meekly to any opposition, thing which characterized the Indian team for ages.. .However no one can deny that the performance of the player in question in the first 3 editions was below par and it did reflect on the team’s performance. He was somehow reduced to a mauled tiger..

Let us understand that IPL is nothing but a business of profit making and brand building. In business there is no room for emotions…Only Results matter. So I think the team management was not completely wrong in its decision to select only those players who were performing well at that point of time. Glorious Past of some players cannot force the bidders to select them; and Ganguly was not alone; even one of the best batsman of the century Lara was not considered..

What is the implication for the veteran players ?..They need to understand that their past glorious contributions cannot forever fetch them positions in the team..afterall there are only 11 players to select from a plethora of talented players..They need to know the time to hang up their boots..Our great spinner Kumble decided to move to a more mature role of a mentor in the IPL even though he could have been on the radar of a few teams…Gilchrist decided to quit international cricket the moment the ball from a simple catch popped out of his gloves..Gavaskar realised he could not adapt to ODI format after he scored 36 not out off 60 overs…The point is the stalwarts should leave the field when their image in the minds’ of the fans is still that of a hungry tiger and not a tamed one…( Last impressions are unfortunately lasting impressions..)..The crave to keep on going for another couple of years could actually tarnish the image built up over the years…

In films there were some actors who after a certain age decided to move on to senior roles and are still going on…some others continued to do roles as the lead actor and unfortunately made a fool of themselves on the screen..Same is witnessed in corporate world when one of the software pioneers of India moved on to the role of a mentor in the company he created..

How I wish the politicians knew the time to leave the field of politics and let new faces come in…!!!!

The point to note is the game is bigger than individuals..New faces keep on coming to the scene..The old faces should understand that retiring in not quitting or surrendering…Hanging up the boots at the proper moment and perhaps moving on to more mature roles in the same field can actually bring you praise and serve as an fitting end to their marvelous journey in the field.