The Lessons to be learnt from the Big Five of Indian Cricket

If there is one reason why cricket has acquired such a great popularity in India over the past decade since 1996, then it is nothing but the collective exploits of the big five of Indian cricket, namely Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and V.V.S.Laxman. Time is such a cruel thing that, it is going to end the careers of all these great men over the next three years, as these cricketing warriors have entered into the twilight of their careers with all of them crossing the age of 33, where, the careers of the peerless Gundappa Vishvanath, the stylish Sanjay Manjrekar and the resolute Ravi Shastri ended. Having grown with these cricketers, for most of the Indian fans, whose average age is 35 years, it is certainly very difficult to fathom that the careers of these cricketers are going to end sooner than later. If one goes down the memory lane, here are some nostalgic moments of each of these cricketers the lesson to be learnt for the common man from their attitude to cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar:-He made his debut against Pakistan in 1989-90 test series. Though he had some difficulty to adjust in the then star studded batting line-up, he started living up to the expectations of the Indian fans with centuries against a ferocious English attack led by Devon Malcolm in 1990 and against the deadly Aussies in the fast and bouncy Perth test in 1991.Thus he announced his arrival with a big bang. He won several contests single handedly like the Sharjah tournament in 1998 against the Aussies, the crucial world cup match against Pakistan in 2003 and the Hero cup against the West Indies in 1993.
India celebrates when he scores and suffers along with him whenever he is in anguish. The lesson that the common man should learn from him is “To be humble even after achieving all the things in life”.
Anil Kumble: He made his debut against England in 1990.Subsequently he was dropped but he returned and established a permanent place in the Indian team thereafter. Experts and the batsmen, the world-over are yet to sort out whether he is actually a leg-spin bowler or a medium paced leg-break bowler but he has already captured 598 wickets and is the country’s leading wicket-taker. His most memorable exploits include his ten wicket haul against Pakistan in Delhi test in 1998, century against England in 2007 and his bowling with a bandaged jaw against the West Indies. The lesson from him is “Do the job faithfully and it will give the required endurance and thereby people would themselves hoist you on to the top”.
Saurav Ganguly: He made his debut against England in 1996. Fondly called “Dada”, he has developed himself into an attacking player since 1998 with his promotion as an opener in the batting order. His innings of 83 against Pakistan in the Asia cup in Bangladesh in 1998, the defiant knock of 148 against the Aussies in Brisbane in 2003 and his magnificent slow-medium bowling in the matches in Canada in 1999 are his most memorable exploits. More than as a player, he will be remembered for his captaincy and forthrightness in calling a spade a spade. The lesson from him is “To harness the intelligence and understand one’s limitations and thereby contribute for the team’s cause”.
Rahul Dravid: He made his debut along with Saurav Ganguly in 1996.He is the most resolute batsmen Indian cricket has ever seen and is affectionately called “The wall”. He adapted himself to the demands of quick scoring limited overs version after being branded as a Test match material. He also took to wicket keeping for the team’s cause. His knock of 180 plus against the Aussies in the 2001 kolkata test, unbeaten 73 against Aussies in Adelaide in 2003, the images of his daring hook shots against the fiery South-African pace men in 1996 will be cherished forever. The lesson from him is “To be resolute in times of adversity patience is the key and if one follows this principle, no matter whom or whatever is the opposition, they will yield finally”.
V.V.S.Laxman: He made his debut against the South Africans in India in 1997 and was shuffled up and down the batting order to accommodate him. He was dropped for sometime and he harnessed his skills to perfection in Ranji Trophy matches. His most memorable innings have come Aussies only and no cricket fan would forget his epoch making 281 against them in 2001 Kolkata test. His run- a- ball knock of 160 plus against the Aussies in Sydney in 2000 will be talked for its sheer artistic brilliance. The lesson from him is” Be brave whatever may be the opposition because Fortune favors the brave.”

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