The enthusiasm of the experienced

Greatness is a function of longevity and of the ability to take pressure, says Suresh Menon on dreamcricket. He wonders at the ability of players like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid and Muttiah Muralitharan to stay motivated despite having scaled the highest of cricketing peaks.

How do they do it? How many of us have worked in the same office for 20 years, and done the same things on auto pilot? Another day in the bank, another month selling computers, another year thinking up advertising slogans and we are ready to scream. But at least the rest of us do it away from public gaze; our mistakes are discussed in a closed circle, we might just miss out on a salary increment or a bonus, and soon it will be forgotten. But these players have to deal with living their professional lives on the front pages of newspapers, their every move dissected and discussed on television.