Steve Waugh once famously told Brett Lee: ‘If you get Dravid great; if you get Tendulkar brilliant; if you get Laxman it’s a miracle.’ The great Australian was speaking from hard experience. Laxman, a very good player at the most ordinary of times, transcends into an untouchable genius when facing the Aussies. His scores of 281, 178, 148 and 167 against the world’s greatest cricket team give credence to Waugh’s words.
Still, the elegant Hyderabadi of the same ilk as Mohammad Azharuddin inexplicably finds himself off the team rooster whenever the one dayers are on. Selectors bring out prudent points for his exclusion. One day cricket, they say, is a young man’s domain, played by fit athletes, where one liability in the field can cost the team a game.
Point taken. Laxman gives away about twenty in the field every time. But when the mood takes him, he will give you a hundred from his bat, under all conditions, against all attacks. With Dravid missing for the remainder of the ongoing series in South Africa, this is a gamble Chappell has to take. And Laxman is not too bad in the slips either. Plus, India is already carrying a lot of liabilities as of now. Suresh Raina is not and will never be another Tendulkar. Mohammad Kaif left his best form at Lord’s in that unforgettable evening in July, 2002. Whether he will ever regain that is pure conjecture.
It is okay to have an old team as long as they are good enough to win. Greg Chappell should know that. His Antipodean compatriots are winning with stunning regularity and their average Test team age is over thirty. Given, they have younger faces in the one day squad, but they are picked on the belief - similar to India -that they are good enough to deliver. However, unlike the Rainas, Mongias and Kaifs, the Watsons and the Mitchells always stand up to be counted when push comes to shove.
And that question of the ‘fit and athletic’ team? Yeah, right. We have eleven Jesse Owens in the team today.
Via: Cricinfo
