Back in the days during my Masters none of us knew how to
cook and the person with a practical cooking experience was hailed
the leader of the house. The food cooked by him was considered divine
and since there was no golden taste to compare with, every other food was
compared with it. The one who cooked well either had some magical
powder that they would sprinkle or had a Harry Potter's magic wand.
Vijay used to make awesome sambar back in those days and would
always credit the taste to his mother's magical sambar powder. Nobody
really bothered to figure out the truth behind the magic until one
day when hunger-the-mother-of-all-tasty-food-innovation led to it. Vijay was on
vacation and they tried to replicate or mimic his 3 step
process; 1-Open the cooker, 2-pour all the ingredients & sambar
powder, 3-close the lid and wait for 2 whistles.
To their surprise it didn't taste the way it was supposed to; so
religiously each day one person decided to try out their luck to replicate the
magic sambar but in vain; no matter what they did it didn't taste the
same. But in the due course each one had made his own version of sambar unique and tasty. They later realized that at the
end of this marathon each one had learned the art of cooking through
the hard way. And if not the absence of Vijay and urge for tasty sambar
they wouldn't have discovered the cook with in them.
Vijay returned back and resumed his sambar, and everyone were
happy and had forgotten about their potential until Vijay ran out of his sambar
powder or his magic wand. Soon
tension prevailed and urge for tasty sambar increased. Each of
them had personal experience with this magical powder but the challenge was
recreating it without the magic wand. With lot of hard work and determination and
non-magical powder their sambar attempts were leading towards the goal.
INDIAN cricket is in the state waiting for Vijay's magic to
diminish, if they start now will they might discover their next captain. MS
Dhoni emerged to scene amidst Ganguly sacking saga during which
INDIAN cricket was in dire straits, Sachin no willing to step up, Sehwag
ignored for his care free attitude. Yuvraj and Harbhajjan ignored for unknown
reasons. Selectors handed the cooking duty to MS Dhoni with some
fore-thought beyond human comprehension. Giving captaincy to Dhoni was like
handing the kitchen keys to a chef, like a seasoned chef Dhoni knew the exact
combination of spices to produce the perfect sambar.
Just like nobody questioned Vijay's cooking methods which was very
messy and crude because of the taste he brought to the table, nobody really
questioned some of Dhoni's stupid and not-so-tactical moves because of his
success. Once the magic powder and sambar was gone, there was restlessness in
the house and finally someone began questioning his cooking methods.
If Dhoni was applauded for this success it is fairer to point out his mistakes
and give him a chance to improve. So the time has come for the selectors to
wake up and smell that sambar aroma again.
Much like Vijay's 3 step sambar, Dhoni's captaincy had the method
of his own; not necessary the cook book style but methods based on street smartness
and out right courage. He took the saying "Nothing succeed like
success" to the next level. Just like how a late cut from middle stump
against Murli looks classy and stupid depending on the outcome, Dhoni's
captaincy had success to back him up and didn't look stupid. Because it worked
every move of his had a theory and a postulate written by the
cricket pundits. Moving up the order upon a good start and hiding behind
when wickets tumbled wasn't mentioned even if was evident. Two world cups
and 3 International club league tittles makes him the greatest captain INDIA
ever had if result is what every thing matters.
IPL has given that opportunity for the selectors to assess one
they many potential captains. Gambhir, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Virat, Harbhajan have had
their stints as captains. Let neither age be the deciding factor for the
future because it wasn't when Dhoni was selected, nor form be a factor which
isn't with Dhoni currently. So its a matter of stepping into to the
kitchen and trying out that sambar. It might not be the perfect in the first
attempt, but eventually will get there.
When kitchen starts to stink it's either the menu or the cook that
gets a change, INDIAN cricket is ready for a change in cook. MSD has received
enough accolades for what he has
done, time to re-access what he hasn't done. Mind you he is a
great ODI and T20 captain but the same might not be true in tests. With recent
form with Gloves or Bat he isn't an automatic choice, its a different
story that there is not clear 2nd favorite to handle the gloves, that doesn't
mean Dhoni can stay. Making me look ugly doesn't make you look beautiful should be the mantra here.
When the company is drowning its the CEO that takes the pink slip and hunt for new starts. Let the treasure hunt begin to find a captain who atleast can accept his mistakes rather than finding scapegoat. To be frank we are tired of pitch and weather blame game. Mr Selector I want my Magic Sambar back
3 comments:
At the outset looking at the headline I was eager to know how Sambar flown in u r writings,but when I took a dip in Sambar I found the cricket bat.
Interesting analogy from Tasty Sambar to success in Cricket. But as it always goes "A captain is as good as the team". The same guy, with the players in form, was victorious over an Australian team of legends having Hayden, Gilchrist, Clarke etc.
All I can say is that the Middle order is still getting to terms with the exit of VVS and Dravid. And the bowling unit's average age has also come down. The lack of quality in the spin department was also evident. So this was expected. Sacking Dhoni, not an answer. The guy is gutsy, takes the bull by its horns, whether he is batting, or while managing the field.
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