Have you heard about a mythical bird that rises from its own ashes??… And here there is a story of a living man, who not a long time ago was abandoned like an old navy ship. About whom, probably even no Daruwalas could have predicted a comeback that looked like as if an alien has suddenly come from the mars and joined a full house party on earth. And this happened at a time when the entire tournament was showing the signs of “getting-a-bit-monotonous syndrome”. So, Dada is back… and back in style…. Tuning himself to the million anticipations he proved once again that you can never write off a true legend… Sometimes in the past, I have always wondered why there is a section that has always resisted his presence… Was it jealousy? Was it regionalism? Or was it simply the deliberate attempts to force down his effective dominating influences? Whatever the reasons may be, but time and again he has shut those foul breathing mouths with his hard hitting bat; and this time he has done that quite elegantly.
The comeback this time is like a well-scripted movie… the background begins during the auctions where he was ditched by his “own” KKR… and then more, to put “salt-in-the-burn”, no team came forward to offer him a respectful position… But later, Kochi – the flamboyant debutant team did try twice to put Ganguly in their shopping cart; first as a best deal from the de-marketed “Stock Clearance Sale” and second as an opportunistic replacement. But understandably their plea was rejected both times by the “Excuse-Me-Type” Governing Body. And in the mean time of course “Ra-One” had to fight a bit (with words as well as performance) to win back the heart-broken angry Kolkatans. However KKR did started wining matches and the “some section” (which I pointed earlier in my opening para) did started buzzing with their co-relation analysis and hypothesis testing on constants like KKR and variables like No-Ganguly and the no. of Wins this time… But ultimately, in an extremely unexpected circumstance, like a sudden “lightening-without-the-clouds” as somebody said, he appeared in the stage (and then of course didn’t disappear like the flashes). He was selected by the supportive Roys for their new team where he found his old protégée Yuvraj Singh holding the responsibility-umbrella as a Captain. The two of them are known to be sharing a great rapport (Ganguly, during his golden days has always pushed an extra inch for Yuvraj Singh). Even after he got dressed in black, he patiently and cleverly decided not to play a few matches to get himself fully ready for a big show. He didn’t comment too much on his position, coach, captaincy or anything. And Tuesday when the time came, he successfully stole the show with his open-faced willow. The crowd that perhaps primarily came to see their home team wining end up enjoying and cheering for Dada as soon as he came to face his first ball…
But this is just the beginning; the best is still yet to come. Yes I am talking about the match Knights Vs Warriors. And if it would have been played in the background of the Edens, I would have rated it almost at par with the Indo-Pak encounter at Mohali. Isn’t that interesting to speculate what would go through in the million minds of Dada-cum-KKR fans? Will that be a similar situation like when Sr. Pathan was playing Vs Jr. Pathan and Abba Pathan came to watch the match from the gallery? Now, I wonder how SRK would have reacted on such confused supporters in the stadium. I have an inside feeling that SRK may have “warmly welcomed” Ganguly’s inclusion in another IPL team (Just joking… hee hee… I know what you all are thinking). .
Now let’s move on to the other small things of the show so far. I believe that it was not only because of the Gayle-Grenades and Malinga-Missiles that people’s eyes were glued on to their TV screens; there are many other things that are equally soothing for the eyes in this year’s edition. Here is a (partial) list of some of the enjoyable off-the-field actions:
- The Kissing Couples – Now you see that not only the Gora’s can show their intimacy publicly. Mallya Jr. can do it too in front of the camera (with ultra slow motion capabilities), in front of the Dad (I bet Pappu must have wished he had a Dad like that too…), and in front of everyone…
- The Flirty SRK – I always wonder why he keeps hugging anybody, anytime and from any sex.
- The Always Animated Preity – I think all cameras are in love with her expressions. But looking at her "original" career, one would wonder when she will have her bollywood comeback...
- Shilpa in Saree – Isn’t she looks gorgeous in that blue saree? So what she would say if you ask her about the secret of her de-aging….? Yoga of course…
- The Best Ever Cheer Girls – Yes in spite of the Bharatiya Sankriti and stuff, they are still generating those spicy vibes in the stands. And did you know that the Dadajis are also enjoying the moves through their thick convex glasses. However some of them may point out that the Cheer Queens are more decent, elegant and talented.
- The Gavaskar Vs SRK at Eden – Yes and that 3-ball cricket under the power-saving-mode Eden made us feel that Gavaskar has forgotten a woe that he had carried on for a long long time.
Now moving on to other sides of the story, it seems that the IPL has become bigger than the official international events. Players are risking injuries to continue playing while their international tournaments are just round the corner… Well the senior Indian players may justify from opting out of the forthcoming tour by saying – “we’ve won the world cup for you, now what else do you want?? Give us a break man...” But is this a good (moral) sign for the interest of international cricket? May be not… However, in spite of that I feel there is positive side to this as well. Given the fact that there is a multiplicity (and concentration) of talents in Indian cricket, many never gets the opportunity to play for their country. So, occasional shuffling of some senior players with new players may be good for the national team. I believe it’s an essential requirement for maintaining the consistency and balance of a team in the long run. The IPL has obviously proved to be a boon for many young cricketers who are lucky to be chosen, playing alongside international players and getting noticed by the national selectors in the witness of larger spectators. For some of the more established ones, the IPL is still either a platform for a pre-retirement farewell or continues to be the post-retirement honeymoon. I'm happy that once again Dada has become a part of it too...
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