The Hindu : Sport : The final summer of a fantastic foursome

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Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007
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Sport

The final summer of a fantastic foursome

Rohit Brijnath

Aakash Chopra’s illuminating insight on Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman

— PHOTOS: AP / AFP / K. BHAGYA PRAKASH

FABULOUS FOUR: These four men — Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman — begin what could be their last season together when they take on England in the first Test .

In the silver-haired winters of their life, will they ever call each other, on wistful days, to remember how they fashioned history? Will they accidentally meet at airports, and stop for a comfortable instant, not firm friends perhaps but having seen closest each one’s finest triumph and cruellest humiliation.

Athletes, of course, are rarely sentimentalists, they engineer great deeds, they do not dwell on them. That is left to us, the watcher. Still, as these four men, a brilliant batting posse, one name following the other almost like words in a national prayer, begin what could be their last season together, after 30,729 runs between them and 84 centuries, we are permitted a little nostalgia.

What drove Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman warrants a book. In 750 words, we can only briefly wander through their lives, a journey more illuminating when taken with a player who first revered them, then played with them.

Articulate

Opener Aakash Chopra is articulate and steady, and inevitably says "I identified most with Rahul because he was technically correct". He is respectful of Dravid, yet realistic, adding: "What Sachin can do, I’m not good enough to do. Even Laxman, what he can do, only he can do."

Dravid for him is "very approachable, if you ask he’ll give you an honest observation". In Australia, 2003, the captain admitted to Chopra that he was once primarily a leg-side player, but that he practised diligently, and had to improve because people were testing him on his off stump. Chopra was taken by Dravid’s honesty, and says "who would admit such a thing", for great players do not readily acknowledge any frailty.

Tendulkar he was simply nervous of approaching, till he learnt he had no need to be. In 2003, with the Kiwis touring, coach John Wright sends the batsmen into a huddle. And Tendulkar starts asking Chopra, who has played the warm-up matches, about Vettori’s form, about other bowlers.

Chopra is stunned. He thinks, this man, who has mastered these bowlers, is asking ‘my’ opinion. He figures this shows Tendulkar is always prepared; he also figures a legendary player is making a young man feel like he belongs.

Entertaining

Chopra’s encounter with the artist in Laxman is entertaining. Yuvraj and Dhoni, when they’re scoring at 6-7 runs an over, they ‘look’ aggressive, he explains. But "with Laxman you don’t get that feeling but he’s still scoring 7-8 an over, he just hits two sweet boundaries. And you don’t even feel bad because they’re not brutal, but hit with finesse".

He celebrates Laxman’s "grit", pointing out that the Hyderabadi has played so long "with his place under the scanner", and Chopra, himself fighting for a team place, knows what it must take for Laxman to paint beautifully under constant pressure.

Gritty player

Chopra uses “grit” for Sourav’s comeback, too. "I’ve been through such patches myself and know how hard it is to pull yourself out”. He describes Dada as "in elegance and frequency the best six-hitter I have seen", noticed that when Ganguly scored one-day centuries India often won, and admires the former captain’s "eye for talent".

He respects many things in these men. Laxman’s ability, which not all recognise, to play shots while minimising the risk, as he did while saving a Test (alongside Chopra) against New Zealand in Mohali.

Sourav’s quality as captain that allowed him to go up or down to everyone’s level and speak to them in a language they understood.

Tendulkar’s balance is stuck in his memory, or as he explains, "for a short guy the kind of shots he plays, getting on top of the ball, you have to be balanced, and his body is beautifully positioned."

Professionalism

Equally imprinted in the mind is Dravid’s professionalism, "first into the nets and last out", a captain whose calm exterior disguises an occasional anger. "He means business, he gives 120 per cent and he expects the same".

These men are older, slower, less certain. But their quality (and indeed the average-ness of the generation that followed them) is easy to measure: more than 10 years after they first played together, still we are calling their four names in expectation.

No doubt we must discard nostalgia with the first ball on Thursday. No doubt that whatever their previous contributions, they must be judged afresh on runs scored, for only the retired athlete has nothing to prove.

But no doubt many of us, who have measured much of our lives through their innings, will also wish for one last sweet summer.

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