Facts of Life taught by Team India WC Squad

I’ll be writing the full article in English and avoid Hindi as a lot of members are not acquainted with Hindi..

Lessons each player of Team India teaches

We have already seen wonderful write-ups by Pulkit and Amit relating Cricket to Facts of Life

So this serves as an extension to those write-ups

We always appreciate the players representing the nation...We try to imitate their playing techniques and also their on-field antics( Sachin’s Famous Adjustment while batting is what I mean)

So I’ve decided to go a little deeper into these players and tried to extract more from what we see on field or know about them through various media

Virender Sehwag

The Nawab of Najafgarh has been India’s star opener for quite some years now. He’s feared by bowlers all around the world and there’s only one reason to it...His audacity to play strokes...His freestyle stroke-making surely makes him one of the most lethal players...But his statement before the WC of his wish of play 50 overs shocked one and all but he proved it with a wonderful 175 in the very first match...

So what do we learn from him on a personal level??

Face all challenges bravely and be fearless

Be it Akhtar,Lee or Johnson...be it Murali,Warne or Swann...He smashes ‘em all and the way he does it leaves us all in awe...

Realise your faults

Like Sehwag realised that he must change his game we also must realise the faults and try to work on them..then any improvement that so happens would be as good as or even better than Sehwag’s 175

Sachin Tendulkar

1989-Till date..The time frame says it all and leaves nothing for me to mention..Every cricketer dreams of a career like him..every Indian wants him to play till his last breath...nobody has ever imagined who will be India’s next no.10...He is the Neil Amstrong of Cricket...or I’d rather say Neil Amstrong is the Sachin of Space....The world salutes him...but is it just his playing ability...there’s a lot more to it friends!!!

Humility

The uttermost important thing out of all qualities that one must possess..No matter how quickly u go up in a plane or no matter how daring u are to jump of that plane too(Freefalling I mean)...u still need to open the parachute for a safe landing...The Little Master has been humble all throughout his career...I can say this on a personal front after meeting him...:)

Love what you do

He’s done enough for his nation in the field...he’s been down with injuries...long innings cramp him all over his body but he still continues...and is getting better at it all this while...when critics said he must retire he continued to learn and improve...We must do the same..however tough the struggle be we must continue building our path to our destination and not get bogged down...most importantly not do it as forcefully but do it with complete dedication

Gautam Gambhir

Gauti as we call him affectionately has improved terrifically over the past 8 years to cement his place him in the team even after being discarded in 2007...from scores of 30s and 40s to an average of over 90 in 2008-09 he’s evolved as a complete player...So what does he teach us?

Adaptability

Opens in tests..plays 1-down in ODIs..captains the side when asked too...fields at various positions...he adapts to the game situation and does what he’s asked to do quite efficiently...same goes with us...we must efficiently juggle articleships, classes and college exams to our best and not complain of anything as you are doing it for your own future...

Virat Kohli

The dashing delhi-ite has become the new blue-eyed boy of the team. He’s been looked upon as India’s Future Captain(atleast by me..)..his game is pretty sorted out. He starts off slowly and sets himself up and then plays the big shots...has improved his temperament a lot and surely is here to stay...what he teaches us??

Control your temper

Virat was criticised for being too hyper on the field as well while batting he used to waste starts by losing his control over himself...so don’t get carried away by success and stay grounded

Pounce on opportunities

Kohli made full use of the chances he got and performed everytime he was called on as a replacement for a batsman...2010’s best Indian batsman and 2nd most runs overall

Suresh Raina

The only Indian to have century in all forms of cricket...he is a bag of talent but currently out of the side due to a little slump in his form...but he still teaches us something...

Know your weaknesses

SR realised that he struggles against the short ball...so off late he faces more short balls at the training nets...so we must learn our weaknesses and try to improve on it

Don’t succumb to competition

Raina faced tough competition from young Virat and comeback kid Yuvi and he succumbed to the pressure of holding his spot



Yuvraj Singh

The Punjab da Puttar Yuvi started off his career in one of the most impressive ways and showed immense potential immediately....but injuries put him down and err...a other few distractions too *blush*....but now he is back trying to regain lost reputation...so lets see what he’s taught us in his career

Avoid Distractions

Yuvi lost his focus completely mid-way through his career and also his fitness has been under scrutiny...he still has the passion to play but too many distractions spoil your career just as too many cooks spoil the broth...so we must stay focused on our path to success



Mahendra Singh Dhoni

MSD doesn’t need an introduction...he has the midas touch and whatever he touches turns to gold....A power-hitter at the start of his career and now a struggling-trying-to-be-technical player...and what do we learn from him...

Stay Calm

MSDs claim to fame has been his cool attitude even in crunch situations and he has shown the team how to hold their nerves...we also must during exams hold our nerves and not get carried away by one good/bad question in the paper that may affect the end result

When you can’t...don’t change

Dhoni’s attempt to become a technical player has miserably failed but he persists to continue which many times affects the team’s performance..so just because you have been burdened with responsibilities you don’t have to turn into a serious person..you can still stay yor bubbly self and handle all your responsibilities..



Yusuf Pathan

The elder Pathan’s big hitting has earned him the title of the game-turner...he can brutalise any attack on his day and wrap a game very quickly...What he teaches us...

Hold your emotions

How emotional must it have been for him to see his brother struggle and get discarded....any other person could’ve lost his cool and which would’ve resulted into a performance slump..likewise we too must control our emotions and keep personal feelings and differences out of our way to success

Don’t forget your family

On his way to success he saw his brother’s decline...but he hasn’t let success get to his head and both brothers still stay amicably and never miss out on a chance to thank their parents for their hard work to raise them



Harbhajan Singh

The Turbanator has spun his way into our hearts with his unmatchable spirit, on-field and off-field antics and tremendous bowling...so what does this offie teach us??

Chase your dreams

There was no doubt that Bhajji could bat...his batting has been instrumental for the team in many situations but he always dreamt of that test century that had evaded him all his career...last year he fulfilled his dream and how...two back-to-back centuries...he did and so should we..never let go off your dreams...chase them till the very end and never quit on it...

Give others a reality check

Who doesn’t remember the Bhajji-Sree fiasco..an irritating Sree was getting to Bhajji’s nerves...*slap*....but hey we need not slap any such person..rather just make him realise that he’s not doing the right thing and tell that to the person straight away without any time wastage...



Piyush Chawla

Who would’ve thought that Chawla will be turning the ball along with Bhajji at the WC...this young lad had played his last ODI 18 months back and still managed to sneak into the squad..lesson???

You do your best...God will do the rest

He kept bowling well in the domestic seasons and improved on his batting...so you too don’t think about the result...just keep working hard as chances never cease to exist...there’s one always at your doorstep



Ravichandran Ashwin

The sly bowler who broke into the international circuit with brilliant IPL and CLT20 performances...and now is the 3rd choice spinner in the WC...but does he teach us anything??

Consistency

Ashwin was consistently performing at the domestic seasons and always kept himself in the reckoning..we also must not let our performances drop be it anything we do....

Variation

Ash always keeps varying his deliveries and pace and it gets him wickets....but that doesn’t mean we keep varying ourselves and bowl everybody over...what we can do is to avoid monotony in doing a task we must find out different and interesting ways of doing it....





Zaheer Khan

Zak, The Indian Spearhead...he’s been one of the most instrumental bowlers for many years now...He’s a part of the Indian Think Tank and had it not been for his injuries would surely have led the side...so how will Zak enlighten us??

Lead from the front

Zak has been leading India’s bowling attack from quite some years now and has been doing extremely well...we must also always take initiative and lead upfront in whatever task we undertake...

Guide Others

How often has it happened that Zak advises a bowler and he gets a wicket in that very over...its only about guidance at times...if you are doing well it is crucial that you help others out too...





Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Munaf Patel and Ashish Nehra

Umm...never mind them...ok I won’t be rude and add something for them too...

Sree teaches us how to be overtly aggressive without any reason

Munaf helps us learn how to be uninterested in anything you do

Nehra shows us how to  look clumsy while doing your work

I hope you enjoyed reading this article....if not thanks for bearing me till the very end and if you skipped directly to the conclusion....very smart huh ;)....