The Ashes
India-Australia fourth Test preview
As I wait (yes, I still do) with bated breath to catch a glimpse of the Adelaide Test between India and Australia, a certain fear grips me.
It probably will be the last time we would see the Big Three — Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman — in action in a Test match overseas as there is a sleu of home Tests coming up as the year progresses. I don’t want to get into the debate of whether youngsters should take groomed immediately to upstage Laxman or Dravid’s place in the Test side or the legends should call it quits at the end of the series, but to have watched them grace and take Indian cricket to the greatest heights can’t be taken away.
I agree with the fact the top-five of this Indian batting line-up which has accrued 48745 runs at 50.93 in Tests, but have fallen woefully short in the last two series abroad. While it has been a collective failure, the talk of Laxman or Dravid facing the axe is uncalled for. Agreed, it is high time that Rohit Sharma stopped warming the benches and take the field, but to be showing the legends scant respect despite their ordinary run is just not on.
They still are your best bets, and one deserves more respect for having served you for over a decade-and-half. It may be the last time Laxman would (if at all he is picked in the final XI of the Adelaide Test) use his magical wand (yes, am talking about his bat) to bisect the fields to a precision that would make a surgeon proud. It could be the last time Dravid would be unleash those crisp cover drives that would have taken years of sweat and toil in the nets. Dreadfully enough, it would be the last time Sachin has a chance to script his 100th International ton in Tests in Australia.
This very thought would shatter the mood and morale of many a fan who would come to watch the greats wield their willows on Tuesday. I am not someone who advocates the theory of chopping and taking a knee-jerk reaction, but I am afraid many heads will roll at the conclusion of this series and it may bring a halt to the legends’ journey in the longest form of the game.
I don’t want to ponder about who will play, who will be omitted, who will sail this turbulence and who won’t, but there is a churning in my stomach that is slowing passing on a message which is hard to be ignored.
