Published: Jun 02, 2011, 11:41 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 25, 2014, 01:31 PM (IST)
By Dhananjay Devasper
Much like the Pirates of the Carribean – On Stranger Tides, the Indian cricket team’s forthcoming cricket tour to the West Indies seems almost anti-climactic to start with. The interest factor is low as cricketing superstars on both sides are missing, and it’s a tour where the “B” sides of both the teams will be battling it out. The weeks before this tour have thrown up a number of questions which have found no answer. The debates rage… Club vs Country… Family over Country… Aggravating or hiding injuries to earn a few big bucks in the IPL. The icing on the accusatory cake, “Sachin Tendulkar wants to get his 100th international century at Lords”. Aye, my mates, there have never been “Stranger Tides” before the start of a tour.
In the above-mentioned movie, the franchise had to do without two of its main characters Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley. This is very much similar to the Indian ODI team for the West Indies which finds itself without the services of its key players like Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan – all of whom part of the Indian team which won the 2011 World Cup a few months back.
The West Indies, on the other hand, will not have the services of “The Pillager”, Chris Gayle, to blow the Indian team away. The rest of their team is relatively new and inexperienced, though Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have the potential to keep the interest factor high.
Unlike the movie which has Johnny Depp reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow, India’s own “Captain Cool” Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be conspicuous by his absence. Suresh Raina has been handed the captaincy, and he has the unenviable task of scripting a blockbuster without any of the bankable stars.
The Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is largely centered round the fountain of youth – much similar to the inexperienced Indian team under a new captain, Suresh Raina. The tour will test India’s bench strength and in particular the young guns, who will not have the backing of the seniors to guide them on the field. It promises to be a fine test of character and it would be interesting to see how Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma, Amit Mishra, Shikhar Dhawan, Manoj Tiwary and a resurgent Ishant Sharma fare. With the pacy Carribean tracks, one would have hoped to see Varun Aaron in the team. He had a decent outing in the IPL, and it would have been worthwhile to see how he handles the pressure of an international game.
The interest factor on this tour has also been mixed, similar to the audience response to the movie. While this may not augur well for the beleaguered West Indies Cricket Board, it’s now upto the players to write a thrilling script filled with swashbuckling battles, to infuse interest in the series. Sometimes the unknown devils can spring up a few surprises. So here’s hoping for a tour that is leagues ahead of the movie.
Stay tuned….
(Dhananjay Devasper is an “IT guy” by profession and a sports fanatic at heart. He has an unbridled passion for sports and Indian achievements in sport. Extremely opinionated, he attempts offering perspectives around sports which are simple to understand and easy to relate with)
