Unsung Heroes

TEAM INDIA’S UNSUNG HEROES

India has always been celebrating their batsmen over the moon for too long. I wonder if Kapil Dev would still have got his share of fame and respect had he been just a bowler like young Ishant Sharma. Kapil’s exploits with the bat earned him a lot of respect. The perception about the bowlers has not at all changed after so many of years of cricket in India.

This raised a question in my mind. Why don’t Indian bowlers don’t get their fare share of recognition even after some stupendous performances whenever India has won a big tournament? India’s recent successes in test matches abroad can definitely be attributed to the efforts put up by the Indian pace battery and the experienced spin twins. The wins at Johannesburg and at Jamaica are just examples of how good the Indian bowling attack has been. But what recognition have they received for these match winning displays?

If we go back just a few years down the line we may also find that Harbhajan’s performance were never thought back, as much as the 281 from VVS Laxman in that famous Kolkata test match against Australia in 2001. Harbhajan took 16 wickets in that test that included a hattrick as well. I have no qualms that the batsmen get the recognition in this cricket crazy country, but without the bowlers performing, the win would be meaningless. The same goes with the recent Perth test victory. People laud the batting efforts that India put up. The 93 by Rahul Dravid, 71 by Tendulkar and 79 by VVS Laxman still outweigh the crucial wickets that RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma took along with Kumble. It was truly a Jumbo performance by the bowlers as well. But they have always remained the unsung heroes of this team.

When we find the other great bowlers in other countries, we do find that many bowlers achieve stardom and they truly deserve it. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis are just a few people, across the border, who get recognized and reach the stardom with their sheer bowling efforts. Muralitharan is another example close to India’s border. Nautical miles apart, South Africa, Australia, England, West Indies and New Zealand all have a separate place of respect and recognition for their bowlers be it McGrath, Warne, Ntini, Pollock, Ambrose, Walsh, Gough, Bond, or anyone else. In fact, Makhaya Ntini is supposed to be the favorite cricketer of the crowds in South Africa. Graeme Smith or Herschelle Gibbs isn’t the crowd favorite!!! Srinath and Prasad hardly received accolades for their efforts. Agarkar’s 6 / 41 against Australia in Adelaide is a forgotten story. Agarkar was the second fastest to reach the 50 wicket mark in one-day cricket. But, these heroes have always been sidelined by the likes of Tendulkars, Dravids, Laxmans and Gangulys. I will never blame the batsmen for this mismatch. The fault is with the people who love their cricketers and the media who get higher TRPs while showcasing news related to Sachin Tendulkar, rather than news related to Sreesanth.

Ishant Sharma has come off age so quickly. Zaheer Khan has made a stupendous comeback. Stats again say a lot of things about Zaheer. He has taken the maximum number of wickets (44) in the one-day internationals played in 2007. It is just an irony that India failed to cross the first round in the Cricket World cup held in Caribbean. It shows that the bowlers have done reasonably, but the batting let us down in West Indies. What it still shows is, India has managed to play a lot of cricket after the world cup debacle and in those matches Zaheer has given the team the early breakthroughs quite consistently. Zaheer’s new ball partner, RP Singh has grown so well over the last one year that he was ready to lead India’s attack in Sydney and Perth tests against Australia. And, boy dint he manage to do that role well!!! RP’s injury gave way to Irfan and Sreesanth, who has also made a comeback from a shoulder injury, open the bowling in the T20 match and the first ODI against Australia at the Gabba. Sreesanth never looked rusty and immediately got the world’s best batsman nicking to the slips!!! Ishant’s bowling is for the whole world to see. The boy gives a sheepish smile every time he picks up a wicket, which is quite strange when we consider the current nature of cricket being played. People talk about sledging, aggression, staring, racism and a lot more, but Ishant just concentrates on the job given to him. Many people even say that, Ishant is only next to Tendulkar, to have made an impact in Australia against Australia as a teenage sensation. Consider even this to make it even a greater feat. This is Ishant’s first major tour (other than Bangladesh series) abroad.

Kumble’s efforts as a bowler is always something India will be proud of. But, as I have said earlier, these efforts are still not recognized. Tendulkar’s 15,000 ODI runs or Yuvraj’s 6 sixes outweigh the magnificent 600 that Jumbo has taken. Every wicket in test cricket is hard work. We must ask Irfan Pathan to know how much it takes to get to the 100 wicket landmark. Only then, people will know how much Kumble has done for the Indian cricket. No one, not even Sachin, would have helped India win test matches more than him.

The saddest part is, these bowlers are respected worldwide. Even, cricinfo awarded RP Singh with the best bowling performance (4-13 in T20 World Championship against South Africa at Durban) in a T20 match. Zaheer was also honored with the best bowling performance (5-75 at Trent Bridge against England) in test matches. But we Indians do not recognize these invaluable efforts by our unsung heroes.

Team India has come a long way in test cricket. They are now officially the second best side in the world. In fact, stats reveal that only Australia have a better away win record more than India since the start of the new millennium. It clearly shows that the batsmen have made their bat talk and more importantly, India have developed a potent force to destroy the world’s best teams inside 4 days, given the pitch that suits the bowlers, unlike the dead subcontinent pitches.

Time has come to give these hard-working bowlers some respect and recognition.