Muzumdar, Iyer and the passing of the baton

For a generation that started following cricket in India after the economy was liberalised in 1991, the passing of the baton from the Gavaskars of the world to the Tendulkars is easy to relate to. For the generation after that, Tendulkar to Sehwag is one such example. And this is what makes us all cricket fans glued to the game we love. The beautiful spectacle of a new generation ready to take over from the glorious past is something that sport, in general, brings out best.

I started writing this with the happiness of seeing Amol Muzumdar, probably the classiest batsman in the past three decades to have not played for India, presenting the pitch report for this year's Irani Cup.

Here is a guy who was the perennial "next in line" for a good decade and a half for the Indian team. A guy who was padded up to bat next when Tendulkar and Kambli went on to make a then world-record 664-run partnership in Mumbai school cricket. A guy who scored heaps of runs for Mumbai like Tendulkar did for India and carried the spirit of the game wearing the Mumbai cap as Dravid did wearing the India cap.

But what Muzumdar stands for is a lot more than his missed opportunities. He, along with Wasim Jaffer, epitomised greatness in the Indian domestic circuit - the perfect combination of focus, technique and the innate ability to bully hapless bowlers that Mumbai batsmen have had for decades. Muzumdar excelled in the changing times of the past and that brings me to the other batsman I wish to shed light on.

Shreyas Iyer, the 21-year-old, who has had two terrific Ranji seasons to prove he is one of India's brightest young talents. He came in to bat today at 193 for 1, had a good look in and then started doing what he is known to do. Rip apart fast bowlers by driving on the move and playing controlled aerial shots. The difference here though, was that the bowlers were Krishna Das and Jaydev Unadkat. Both have had stellar Ranji seasons - Das and Unadkat have 90 wickets between them in the season at an average of 16 and 20 respectively. But Iyer went about making them look rather silly in his knock of 55 of 49.

The still head while playing across the line is a manifestation of the Mumbai coaching legacy that produces one gem after another, but the swagger and elegance is something that one develops on the foundation called confidence. He tried playing a ball pitched on middle and moving to the leg on the offside once and realised what he was doing. Come next over, Das was flicked between mid-on and midwicket off a similar delivery.

But what all great batsmen at the highest level of the game do is they convert a good day into a great one. They use a good start into a big knock on a grand stage. As soon as the main bowlers were given a break and Stuart Binny was handed the cherry, Iyer let his guard down and cut one straight into the hands of the point fielder. Something Muzumdar would definitely advise to not do after getting a start. So, for the sake of Indian cricket and a budding career, let's just hope that at the end of the day, Iyer and Muzumdar bump into each other and have a fruitful conversation on what the difference is between almost getting it done and getting it done.