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Showing posts with label Gujarat Titans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gujarat Titans. Show all posts
Inside CSK and GT camps before the IPL final
What makes the tournament special, yet over the top
After Gujarat Titans’ stunning win against a much-fancied Mumbai Indians, planning has been taken on a whole new level at CSK. While the IPL final, in all probability, could be MS Dhoni’s last IPL match, the captain wants to focus on the process – “I don’t want players to be distracted, they can be distracted eight months later when I take the decision. Right now, if you ask me, I want them to focus on the process that has got us here.”
Asked what this process was, MSD said, “that is not for me to tell, if you can guess, guess, otherwise you will publish it and GT will know all about it, so I’d rather keep quiet.”
At the GT camp, they were anything but quiet. Rahul Tewatia was all charged up, thumping his chest as he often does after miraculous death-over chases. He could be seen urging Shubman Gill to do the same. Gill was seen smiling to no one and everyone in particular. His mates were still lining up to kiss him. It had been learnt that die-hard GT fans had been queuing outside the stadium to kiss him.
Gill, nonchalant as ever, echoed Dhoni’s sentiment when he said, “I don’t want to be distracted. I just want to focus on my process that has got me here.”
GT skipper Hardik Pandya was more forthcoming when he said, “We all know what Shubman can do, you know and we have come to expect this of him. I know he says the process is important but even before the process we have to look at if everyone is following the process and why is he only showing such results.” At this point, coach Ashish Nehra walked past Pandya, mumbling something inaudible to him.
As Pandya continued to ramble, Nehra returned and said something within earshot, “Talk to him later, or don’t talk to him, let’s discuss how Mumbai made so many runs, they should have lost by more than 100 runs, that Shami over nearly cost us.” As for Shami, he could be seen laughing, imitating the sitter that went through his hands.
Mentor Gary Kirsten looked quite unaffected by all this. Almost mirroring this was CSK coach, Stephen Fleming. While Ruturaj Gaikwad, who some are pipping as Dhoni’s successor, came forward to say a few words, “We don’t need to look at GT. We need to look at ourselves. Our strengths. Everywhere there are photos of Gill’s six-pack. Why are there no photos of my six-pack? Few know I have a six-pack. At CSK, it is not our style to be demonstrative. More so after Bravo retired. But everyone here knows I have a six-pack. I even mentioned it in a post-match IPL interview.”
At this point, everyone cracked up, but what stunned everyone was a power-point presentation that did a comparison of Gill and Gaikwad’s six-packs. While everyone continued to laugh, Gaikwad remained poker-faced.
At GT, preps for their second IPL final in a row were on in earnest. Everyone had been given copies of Oscar Wilde’s 'The importance of being earnest'. It was Nehra’s idea – “I have not read the book, and you don’t have to also, what is important is the title. And we are after the title. Once we have the title, you can read the book. Or Not.” He continued to talk briskly in Hindi, saying the focus on the title was all that matters.
Pandya echoed Nehra’s sentiment, “What Ashu pa is saying is correct, if I had been reading books then I would’ve been some modest cricket writer and not this flashy captain of an IPL winning team. We have to wear our attitude on our sleeve, you must have heard that saying. I believe, you have to wear it on both sleeves.”
In the CSK war-room, there was a secret visitor. It was GT bowler, Mohit Sharma. Sharma was ex-CSK and was seen animatedly talking to Dhoni after the first Eliminator. He had popped in to thank Dhoni, talking straight as he did after his 5 for 10 against MI. He was asking Dhoni what he thought of his speech. When Dhoni said he didn’t watch speeches, he only made them, Sharma repeated it verbatim.
After Sharma left, Pandya appeared. He too wanted to spend time with his ‘elder brother’, Dhoni. He was quite emotional and MS had to calm him down. Pandya was seen ruffling Dhoni’s hair.
Gradually, other GT members entered to speak with Dhoni and his CSK team-mates. The broadcasting crew appeared and started filming this. Ex-CSK player and broadcaster, Mathew Hayden, piped in, “It’s only in the IPL that you will see something like this. No doubt this is the greatest league in the world.”
Harbhajan Singh, by his side, agreed, “I have to agree with you, even you and I are now friends all thanks to the IPL.” Sunil Gavaskar could be seen taking out shirts from a bag, having them autographed by Dhoni. When reminded that he already had his shirt autographed by MS on Live TV, he quipped, “In India, the moment you have something precious, your family, friends and neighbours want it.”
Ashish Nehra hovered past mumbling to himself.
(However plausible this may sound, this is a work of fiction)
First published on cricket.com
A note to Rahul Tewatia
Thank you for challenging perceptions, for re-opening the selection debate, for making us look at the role of a finisher
Dear Rahul,
You may not ever play for India. If you had to, you should have in the previous T20 World Cup. But then that night happened. Again. You’re a repeat offender, offending the sensibilities of these written scripts, that proclaim repeatedly who are the chosen ones.
You are not the chosen one. Yet you choose to be. Perhaps you know what they refuse to know. Perhaps you know, you play with freedom - with a middle finger to everything that is stacked up against you.
That in itself is beautiful. To play with freedom. Very few do. The great Indian stars, once they become great or on the threshold of greatness, cannot.
You are an Indian star. But you are not great. You may never be great. That is a blessing. Great Indian stars are Virat, Rohit, Rishabh, Jasprit, Hardik and Mahi.
Just as they have their highs, they have their lows. Their lows are often far more terrific than their highs.
But you, Rahul, you achieve great things. You take the uncertainty and shove it somewhere deeply painful in the opposition’s unmentionables.
It’s great to see, that you will be mentioned throughout this IPL again. Not just as a memory of what you did in Sharjah, but what you did in Brabourne.
What did you do? What. Did. You. Do. It’s beyond how and to whom. It’s 12 off the last 2 is what you did.
There will be jokes. Jokes in awe of you. That Tewatia pulled off a Tewatia. Again.
Do you realise what that is? Tomorrow if one of those bigger names pull off something similar, they will be pulling off a Tewatia. It will be spoken as such on air. And not just by Graeme Swann.
Secretly, they are in awe of you. As they shepherd their flock, without the freedom to let loose their own batting.
***
There are two designated Indian greats in your team, Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, who opens the batting, and your skip, Hardik Pandya, who opens the bowling and bats at four. Both have played for India. And when they don’t play for India, India waits for them to turn up. To turn a corner. To regain form. To rehabilitate.
The wait can be tricky, much as it can be a carrot. Prior to this season, Gill’s T20 striking wasn’t even compelling enough for his franchise to retain him. Pandya’s fitness and lack of form, meant his erstwhile team, Mumbai Indians let him go.
You found yourself at Gujarat with them. While Gill is going through a T20 renaissance in his last two innings, his IPL career strike rate is 126.15
As for Pandya, (mostly a lower middle-order batter and finisher as yourself) strikes a shade over 150. However, in his last season, his strike dipped to 113, his batting average to a mere 14. Your batting numbers weren’t any better. Subsequently, your franchise didn’t retain you either.
While Pandya didn’t bowl in either of the last two seasons, he has now, bending his back, not just opening, but closing too.
Though you didn’t bowl in GT’s first outing, you won it with the bat 40* (24). Meanwhile, Pandya had already settled into a sustaining role, looking to bat out the innings, with his 33 (28). Pandya continued with his approach in the second game, as you blazed on 15(8) in the death overs. This match, you bowled.
By the third match, Pandya got a move on 27(18), but your batting exploded: 13(3). You sealed the deal.
While India is on the lookout for a lower order finisher who can bowl, Pandya is bang in the middle, more top order than finisher, looking to be the glue in a relatively thin batting line-up.
Previously: Pandya made the T20 World Cup. After a couple of uneventful outings against New Zealand and Pakistan, where he bowled a sum total of 2 overs. In all likelihood, he will be back in the reckoning. As too will most of India’s alleged T20 mainstay.
This may even be at the cost of outstanding performances by yourself and many other lesser names.
Already written in stone are the following: Rohit, Rahul, Kohli, Pant, Ishan, SKY, and who knows, Pandya. Or are they? Out of these, only Pandya may bowl. All these are top-order batters for their franchise.
What performances such as yours do is open the debate again – that there is an alternative. And even if you may not be the answer, there is someone else. That India can, and should move beyond the greats first, in the shortest format, as they did in 2007.
***
What makes the debate confusing is that players tend to adopt roles for their franchise which contradict what is expected of them if and when they play for India. A case in point is Rishabh Pant. Who faces a similar predicament as Pandya. Bats at four, and tends to restrain himself and look to bat through the innings.
Pant has over the last three seasons been striking at much less than 130. Compare that with the promise of the three seasons before that, which were in excess of 160. Captaincy, senior player tag, restraint, responsibility, it’s terribly confusing, and not easy to undo, as Indian stars try to change their approach from the IPL to internationals.
Sanju Samson may not yet be the chosen one, but he is an alternative to Pant. He captains his franchise, also bats at four, is flexible to move up to three; and significantly, has been striking at well above 130 for the last six years. He also goes big from ball one.
But then, against KKR, Pant rushed himself up to three, striking at nearly 200; scoring 27(14).
***
Team India tends to zero in on all-format players. While Pant has been exceptional in Tests, his white-ball performances haven’t quite cut it yet – his overall strike rate in T20Is for India is 125. In his fledgling career, Pant has already been over-scrutinised, called-out, dropped repeatedly. His comebacks have been nothing short of stunning. But mostly in Test cricket.
India waits on him, in the hope that he will transplant his Test form into the shorter format.
Just as well, the white ball auditions are on. This month, and the next one.
Go for it, Rahul. And all of you who dare to dream and defy the status quo. There is no door to knock at. It’s just the ball you have to knock the stuffing out of. India is watching.
Best to you, and all those who want to pull off a Tewatia,
Sincerely,
Gaurav Sethi
PS: Last night, Stoinis nearly pulled off a Tewatia.
First published here
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