A series as big as the Indian-Australian clash always brings up old names and new, some renewing battles, others reminiscing names of men gone by. But it is always hard to see that someone is a man from the past when they are still performing and would still stand contention if things were somehow different.
Shaun Tait held much promise for Australia so much so that Tait was tipped to be the next Brett Lee. But much changed when India were touring down under. Tait complained of depression brought on by exhaustion and left Australia in the lurch. Many speculated that cricket lovers had seen the last of Tait who would no longer play the game, at least at the international level.
But Tait was found frolicking in the Australia A team in India and what’s more, enjoying his cricket with the team and leading the bowling attack. So, was this player happy to play without the pressure that comes with an international commitment that comes with the baggy green?
Tait admitted that mental and physical exhaustion had taken a toll on him and he quit when he felt he could no longer continue in the condition he found himself in. But he is equally forthcoming about the fact that he thinks his game is better suited to play the shorter versions rather than the Tests. While it would seem hard that he would judge himself on the basis of just three Tests he played, Tait perhaps feels comfortable in the controlling environs of the one day game or even Twenty20. Besides his obviously attempts to state that his zipping yorkers at express pace are made for the one day game, Tait has perhaps seen the merit in offering his services in the shorter versions where he can pace himself to avoid the exhaustion and mental fatigue that took a toll on such a young man’s career, forcing him to almost abandon the game.
Feeling like wanting to abandon it all, is something Aakash Chopra knows all about. He will pen his success in the domestic season but he has not entirely abandoned the hope of playing for India again. The man who not four seasons ago was the ideal opening partner suddenly fell out with the selectors who felt he was not scoring at a faster clip. Chopra found himself in a dilemma where people who believed he had to drop anchor for the belligerent Virender Sehwag suddenly dropped him for the very same reason. With time to reflect on the domestic circuit, Chopra went back to analyzing his game and subsequently, enjoy the free flowing double centuries that came off his bat.
But time between reflection and revival has meant his Delhi team mate Gautam Gambhir has now formed a pair with Delhi skipper Sehwag and Chopra is only too aware that finding himself at the top order is an unlikely scenario even as he hopes to makes another case, a shot in the dark, in the Irani Trophy.
