The bravest decision Taken!

Leaving out a player is hard enough, but to take a call to leave oneself out has to be…

Rohit Sharma has many firsts to his name. First to get past 250 and bat all 50 overs of a one day international being the best of them all. In Sydney, he also became the first India captain to drop himself from the playing XI in a match. This has to be one of the bravest decisions taken by any cricketer, especially the captain. Leaving out a player from the team is hard enough, but to take the call to leave oneself out has to be the bravest. 

Rare talent

Rohit Sharma has not quite lived up to his talent in Test cricket because of his tendency to take a few unnecessary risks which when they come off look spectacular but when they don’t it causes despair among the many who expect the delightful strokeplay to continue. Delightful his batting has always been because he is one of those rare talents that can combine elegance and power. When players, who make batting look so easy, get out the general impression is that they have been casual about their dismissal. That’s not the case, of course, for they care as deeply about their wicket like any other batter who may not have their elegance. It’s just that with elegance, there will always be a casual look about every ball they face whether they score off it or get out. Whether this move means that he will call it a day in Test cricket, we should know soon.

Also Read: "He’s tried everything within his capabilities": Manjrekar on Virat Kohli

India’s batting has struggled on these pitches where there’s been a bit of bounce, and that’s mainly been because modern batters hardly ever use the backfoot and the depth of the  crease, thanks to the restriction on the bouncers and so when bouncy pitches come along, it’s their technique that lets them down. 
The Sydney Test match is called the pink Test and the third day is dedicated to the Jane McGrath Foundation with the proceeds going to the Foundation. This is a terrific initiative by Cricket Australia to help a public cause. 

Worthy causes

Similar initiatives have been taken in England where there is a similar Pink day in the Lords’ Test match in memory of Ruth Strauss, the wife of former England captain Andrew Strauss, who also passed away with a rare cancer. 

Then there is a day at the Birmingham Test match in memory of Bob Willis, who passed away with prostate cancer, for awareness of prostate cancer. It’s not simply about raising funds but also to create awareness that regular checks are so important to be able to tackle the dreaded disease.  

The BCCI does a lot of good things as can be seen by the pension scheme for former players, be it Test or international or first class players, raising the fees for women on par with the men for Tests and internationals and starting the WPL. The BCCI have also donated funds to some Olympic sports so they have done much good work  but hardly ever get praised for it. What will definitely get them the acclaim they deserve is if like the ECB and CA they get associated with a cause like both these cricket Boards have done. Then that public perception of BCCI only raking in the money but not giving anything back will lessen if not disappear altogether. 

Professional Management Group

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