The IPL Icon Players: Where are they?

It is a universal truth that age gets to everybody and I am not speaking on spiritual lines here on the mortality of human life but in terms of age as a professional hazard. As any sports-person grows older his body is bound to deteriorate in one way or the other, more in degrees in some and less in others. But the deterioration is all encompassing. The IPL has often been termed a “bazaar” where commodities are bought and sold by their merits and the service they provide. So does age significantly reduce your merits? Here are some case studies.

The icon players who were India’s best at the time of the inaugural league and represented respective cities of India like Rahul Dravid (Bangalore), Sourav Ganguly (Kolkota), VVS Laxman (Hyderabad) are three outstanding case studies of how age caught up with performance. The facts to be considered here are a little more complicated than apparent at first. The T-20 format is such that a game is wrapped up in three hours. The bowlers can bowl a maximum of 4 hours and have to spend only two hours max on the field. Does not seem much demanding at first as compared to five day drillers where a team might have to take the field for over three days at times!

But now add to these misleading dynamics the pressure of constant travelling and a 2month long tournament with teams playing within two days of each other. A whole new perception is thus created. T-20 has thus been termed, perhaps rightly so, a young man’s game.

The demands of this format further demand agility on the field so as to save every run as every run can lead to a super over or a bowl-out; as we have seen so often. A huge disadvantage for ageing gentlemen of the game.

With reasonable good performances some of these icon players did justify that class can exhibited at any stage and in any form of the game

But as they say, cricket is a funny game and you don’t always get what you expect out of it. Jacque Kallis, Matthew Hayden, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne, all in the sunset of their career have come out and humbled most youngsters on the pitch. The gap to be closed is huge between them and those in their initial 20′s.

But one may rightly ask, are they just exceptions? People who had the gift of greatness?

Let us try and level the scales with other cases so as to come to a credible resolution. Who else but Sourav Ganguly. The Knight Rider from Kolkota led his side with little success as the icon player. His performances were either below the mark or did very little to help the team’s chances. As a result, his team slumped season after season.

Ganguly’s stats in the IPL indicate his failure in the shorter format of the game. Ganguly scored in 26 matches at an average of 23.39 with a meagre strike rate of 104.67. Compare this to an average newcomer’s performance who has had lesser oppurtunities to prove himself than Ganguly. Say, Wriddhiman Saha who contributes to the team as a wicket-keeper as well. He played 20 games and scored 231 runs with an average of 28.88 runs with a strike rate of 144.38.

Well, clean bowled!

Rahul Dravid comes to the format with an established reputation of a player made for the longer formats of the game. This did not help his cause at RCB as he was phased out this season to Rajasthan Royals. Dravid captained Bangalore in the first season with dismal results and that did not help his cause. He was in and out of the team the rest of the two seasons but made the best with the opportunities he got scoring heavily at times. His stats show a much more reliable performance with an improved strike rate.

Rahul Dravid

27matches

642 runs

at an average of

25.68 @S.R

120.68

Age does catch up upon players thus no doubt but it ultimately boils down to your performance on the field and this may be constituted of more than just statistics. For instance, Shane Warne brings little to the game with his contribution of 4 overs for the Rajasthan Royals and yet his contribution as a leader and as a motivation has been huge for the Royals over the last three seasons. Similarly, Jacque Kallis not just adds to his contribution with the bat but also with the bowl.

In this aspect, the three icon players fall short. Their leadership abilities have been questioned as a supplement to their batting performances which are dwindling with time. Thus the demands of T-20 are such that each player is required to have an impact on the game. The “impact” players are all-rounders and players who can hit the ball hard and turn the face of the game. The players who used to collect and grind runs are not in vogue anymore. The icons are thus bygones in this tamasha of T-20 cricket that is the Indian Premier League.