Quantum of support

Dear readers,

With the Ranji finals starting tomorrow I can't help but think of two relatively unknown names who lead Uttar Pradesh into the finals. Both Shivakant Shukla and Parvinder Singh played the innings of their lives when their team needed it the most. This is what intrigues me about team sport - different people standing up and bailing the team out at different difficult times. But the sad part is that everyone's contribution is not acknowledged in a similar manner. This is the story of people who are always the best men.

Last year, Parvinder Awana from Delhi took a hat-trick against Maharashtra when we were desperate for a wicket. He got a lot of crucial wickets at times when we needed them the most. But his overall season tally didn't match up with the best in the country, nor was it good enough to get him into the North Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy. His hat-trick wasn't the only time he made a crucial contribution, the wickets against Tamil Nadu in a must win game for Delhi, crucial second-innings wickets against Baroda in semi-finals were as important to Delhi's success as Gautam Gambhir's, Rajat Bhatia's or my centuries were.

And he wasn't the only one. A lot of people played a significant role to ensure the team's success, but only a few were rewarded individually. It's because they make up the supporting cast, and aren't the lead actors that they aren't given a share of the limelight. They are expected to be contented with the collective success.

When we talk about Saurashtra's resurgence as a team, we only talk about Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja being the main contributors. Yes, they have been doing really well, but there are others too. The team wouldn't have done wonders without Shitanshu Kotak's consistency with the bat and Sandeep Jobanputra's relentless aggression with the ball. There are others too. But since only two are tipped to play for the country we tend to forget the rest and their invaluable contribution. It's just the outside world I'm referring to because the teams value their contribution and hold them in high esteem.

The same thing happens in international cricket too, but not nearly quite as often as in domestic cricket. Perhaps some of these guys are never going to play for the country, but they are the pillars of their team and immensely important to first-class cricket in India. These are the guys who ensure that one doesn't drop the guard even against a lesser known individual.

Some of us are really blessed because whenever we perform we get picked to play at the next level, well most of the times at least. But that isn't the case with everyone. For starters they're competing with the known names of Indian cricket for a spot in the zonal side. And even when they do get picked they rarely get the desired batting position or enough number of overs to bowl, and that is if they make it to the final XI. In theory, they got an opportunity and are rewarded for their performances but in practice it isn't the same all the time.

Bhatia is one such example. He was the country's best allrounder last season, and was picked to play in the Challengers this season. In theory he was rewarded, but let me tell you how it panned out for him in practice. He played only one of the two matches his team played (because they didn't make it to the finals), and his team needed well over 6.5 runs an over when he walked into to bat with four or five top-order batsmen already back in the hut.

It was his big chance and he didn't want to goof up, but his options were really limited. He couldn't bide his time because doing so would mean the asking-rate would keep rising, but getting out while trying to up the ante would ruin his only chance to make an impression. Well, some might argue that it was a tailor-made situation for him to make a mark for himself. That may be true, but just one opportunity after six years of hard toiling in the domestic circuit, and that too, in far from ideal circumstances doesn't sound that appealing to me. It would be good to spare a thought for these guys.

Personally, I can't thank these guys enough for playing their role to perfection to ensure that a few of us eventually play for the country.

Cheers