When things are right at heart more often than not they turn out to be fine if not great. When intent is right and the means are right, more often than not end result turns out to be just right or i would say it turns out to be "Just".
When you love something or someone so much that you cant live without it, you do anything that it takes to get your love and once you get it, you do anything to hold on to it.
There can be a million distractions around in the world but when you are sure what you want to do, there are no complications in life. If you know the way you want to take, the only thing left to do is to walk on that road and walk like you always belonged there. And when you do that sky is the limit.
This is a story of few such extraordinary gentleman, who have achieved a lot in life because of their ability, will to succeed and more than anything else their pure clarity of thought. These are the men who define Indian cricket now.
Sehwag who reminds us mortals everyday that he has something in him that a lot of people would die to have. And its not the ability, its the clarity of thought that's am talking about. For him life is very simple, cricket and batting is equally simple. When he is batting he wants to hit the ball. Surely every single ball bowled at him. His first instinct, his first decisive foot moment ( if there is any) everything tells you that. There's no hiding there. He wont mind pulling the fastest bowler or the slogging the best spinner or milking the medium pacer. Because for him it really doesn't matter who's bowling and what's his strategy. He knows his and he follows his. Similarly there is nothing wrong in life, there is nothing unfair either. Oppositions don't bother him, Failures don't give him nightmares. He would miss out on hundred or a double or a triple but would never shade a tear about it. His simple theory, its not the last time i will have a chance to do that. The same goes in his personal life as well. He owns a fortune still prefers to be what he actually is. Money is no distraction coz hunger for runs doesn't originate from his stomach. Its somewhere in his heart that everything stays. And till the time it stays that way, am sure there is nothing stopping him.
Then there is Dhoni, a man who clearly makes everybody shelve their cricketing books for good. No technique, no stability, no calculated foot moment, and yet the man keeps on piling runs better than most in the game. He still keeps on playing critical innings far more frequently than his more illustrious and gifted colleagues. Tag of being arguably the ugliest batsman around doesn't bother him, neither does his changed status from being hitter to being an accumulator. His no B school pass-out but knows all the management theories around. For a man doing a commerce graduation, the language, the tone, the attitude that he brings in press conference is a treat to watch. There is never a wrong word said, the voice is never raised, even the uneasiest of questions are answered in the most dignified manner (that doesn't necessarily mean in politically correct way). Clearly he knows his way around everything. And make no mistake, when the situation calls for, he knows he needs to take his ace weapon out. So if its press conference he speaks candid truth or if its a cricket match, he opens his arms and lets loose those mighty shoulders who then take care of posting deliveries out of ground. He is a man who knows what he should do and most importantly knows what he shouldn't do.
Then there is Gautam Gambhir, who redefines his abilities every-time he goes out to bat. Every time he scores runs one gets a feeling that this is not real, this man cannot be so good, he cannot be outshining his better talented colleagues and despite of this he is clearly way pass the rest in terms of consistency, durability, determination and belief. For someone who had no fix place couple of years back, being player of the year doesn't come easy. For someone not sure of his place couple of year ago, taking a test off is now an option. For someone with limited strokes and abilities, its his jump to elite division that stands out tall. This has been a pleasant journey watching him grow, mature and slowly become a mainstay of Indian batting and if everything stays the same, i am sure we will be hearing a lot more about him in future.
And then there is a little matter of Sachin Tendulkar, who just completed a small milestone of 20 years and 30000 international cricket, and yet continues to grow in passion, continues to innovate, continues to get even the best by surprise. In this world there two kinds of players. There is tendulkar and then there are rest. When others play well, you appreciate their achievement, when he plays well, you mentally emotionally and physically become part of it. There is class written in every shot he plays. When he plays you know only he can play that shot, you know that only he could have measured that angle and could have perfected his shot to pierce the field. When others play well, they play their shots , they either find fielders or go to boundaries, when sachin plays well, there is no fielder, there are only spectators some on the field and some outside of it. And that's why even after 20 years he manages to make your heart beat louder for him than for any other player. For 20 years there has been no distraction, no excuses, no half measures. Because for him life is cricket, the world outside of it barely exists and hardly excites him. That's why every time injury forces him out, he comes back bigger better and sharper. Everyday he lives cricket, he eats cricket and he sleeps with cricket in his head.
For all these men, nothing in life has come easy, but for them it doesn't matter. What matters is they have it, they hold it with pride and with respect, they worship it, they love it and they live it. If for not these men, Indian team couldn't have been at the top and if not for these few good men, cricket wouldn't have been a such a holy place in India. Its a salute to them for what they have achieved and for reminding us the essence of loving and living.
