The great "Trio" of Indian Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar: This man does not need any introduction, at least in India. And if he does for you, then please tell which planet you are from? You may not belong to the earth, for sure. The greatest cricketer born in India till date, he has left very less to be done for others, so no one will have any chance to be greater than him in near future. He is adorned by many names as Master Blaster, Run Machine and ‘A 5’5’’ Giant’, as Ricky Ponting has called him. In our country, India, cricket is the only religion which does not distribute and make people fight, politicians can not make use of it to play with peoples’ sentiments and increase their vote banks. It does not cause any riots, no one gets killed on its name, and Sachin is the God of this religion, the greatest epitome of it. His name is now synonym of cricket. Most of the time, the players are identified by the game they play, but in India, Sachin identifies the game itself. If somebody does not know about cricket, he will still know Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, and would identify cricket as the game Sachin plays. He is a nightmare for bowlers; he even came in dreams of Shane Warne hitting him outside the ground. He holds virtually every record in batting. With his small height, he stands tall among all his counterparts. I just request him that he continues to frighten the bowlers, sitting on th e pile of records which grows higher and higher.

Sourav ‘Dada’ Ganguly: Don’t go on his boyish looks! He will knock you down if the time belongs to him. That’s what, the most successful captain of India, Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, had done throughout his career. He always had to fight, with the selectors, with the board, for his team, for young players and ironically, for himself also, and he did it all, with glory and elan. There were few people who did not cherish his flamboyance, were furious at him at moments, but he did not mind it. He did not fear with anyone, and always strived for the team. His aggression, with distinctive leadership, brought India to new heights. Now we were winning abroad, our players could retaliate with eye-in-eye to opponents. He made the Australian captain, Steve Waugh, to wait for toss. He waved his shirt in Lords, in reply to England’s Andrew Flintoff. He filled Indian team with new spark. The opponent captains were not able to digest his tactics; they did not like him, because they never expected the ‘polite’ Indians to be furious. In the process, Sourav had few enemies, inside and outside team, thanks too his distinct and never seen style. But inspite of all this, he was just a player in the team. Perhaps, there was nothing he could have done. So, at last, he had to go, leaving his aggression and flamboyance in the players, as his eternal footprints. The day ends, the evening comes, the furious and aggressive sun has to dim its light, and vanish completely in the night. Dada could not change the law of nature.

Rahul Dravid: ‘Mr. Cool’, ‘Mr. Dependable’, ‘The Wall’ these are some names this man has earned. ‘Earned’ because he did all the hard work through out his career. Many a times, the great master blaster blasted, Dada faltered, but The Wall stood upfront, strong and resilient ever, denying to fail, denying to fall. He is the man entire team looks upon in ordeal. You would often hear ‘out-of-form’ season of every batsman in the world, but this word comes very rarely against the name of Mr. Reliable. He took even the responsibility of wicket-keeping in ODIs for many years. Like Sachin, he enjoys a clean image and respect of opponents on and off field, but not that fame and stardom the first one has, but deserves for sure. He may not be the run – machine, he may not have that aggression, but he the most dependable and reliable batsman. He does not come in the dreams of bowlers hitting them out of ground, he does not hit those high and handsome offside sixes, but he is the one who makes the bowlers to sweat most for his wicket. There is one suggestion from my side for the bowlers: You better knock The Wall down, otherwise he will be there, frustrating you, testing your patience, and slowly and silently, taking the game away from you.