In Indian cricket, the meek inherit the reserve bench.
Illustration/Uday Mohite
Dear Ajinkya,
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Congrats! I've been your fanboy, from the start of your test career.
A part of it is the underdog thing-felt highly protective about Dravid too. Let me be upfront. I have a serious aversion to this superpower strut, tantrummy, behave-like-royalty kind of modern Indian cricketer, mouthing MCs and BCs as celebration.
In Indian cricket, the meek inherit the reserve bench.
The system has truly messed with you over the years Ajinkya. They pushed you up and down the batting order. They've typecast you as a test player, not a showboat OD1 or T20 player. Taken you for granted, because you're quiet and don't let your unhappiness be known.
I wondered when your day would finally come, and it did.
The Boxing Day Melbourne test dawned large, and you were the boy on that burning deck-you'd run out your captain at Adelaide, Shami was hurt, Ishant not fit, Shaw had flopped, we were deeply scarred by the 36 all out debacle, Shubham and Siraj were debuting, Virat had split, preparing for the Anoushka delivery, (IMHO he should have stayed to face Starc's and Cummins's deliveries instead. I'm old school. For me metrosexuality takes a back seat when Mother India needs you, but hey that's me, nation over nappies), the Aussie media were baying for our blood, the Indian media had written us off.
There you were having to pick up the pieces and somehow propel us forward.
Enough has been written about what you did in the next four days-your field placings, your gentle but decisive captaincy, and obviously the 112 on a difficult pitch.
The Melbourne victory shell-shocked everyone. The point is that we won our greatest overseas match, from a position of nothingness.
Obviously, the plan was to keep Virat's throne warm while he was away. No one expected you to deliver such a bombshell.
Here's my thing, and the reason for this letter. You've brilliantly blocked out the white noise, and you're unlikely to wear a golden halo. More vitally, where does your career go from here?
The fickleness in us, the public knee-jerkedly wants you as our captain.
That's just daft! King Kohli is the man, and frankly I can't see him playing under you, or you playing and thinking as freely as his captain.
Plus, the system still sucks. And you don't want to deal with the bureaucratic nonsense.
But, post Melbourne, you've definitely been noticed by the Machiavellians, the megalomaniacs and the medialomaniacs, the Twitterati, test players both present and past, even Virat I'm guessing has to have taken notice of you, as a mind he can rely on in the future.
You've challenged the belief and given a wake-up call to the world and Kohli die-harders that the "incredible" can happen in Indian cricket without him at the helm.
As Glenn Close's character said in Fatal Attraction, "I will not be ignored".
My hunch, you can't be ignored from now on.
What amuses me, is the world-wide media, says, "How amazing for Indian cricket that it now has two captains, Ajinkya and Virat."
You have challenged every norm in Indian cricket, especially the one that believes only snarling Rottweilers flourish. Sensitive Labrador do have a place now.
Do well, dude, for the rest of the series. Win it if you can.
I hope my wishes don't jinx you, Jinks.
Rahul daCunha is an adman, theatre director/playwright, photographer and traveller. Reach him at rahul.dacunha@mid-day.com
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