The forgotten men from Chepauk
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Five years ago, in my first ever guest post on Cricinfo (other posts here and here) , I wrote,
But why have most of us chosen to turn a blind eye towards a player with all the prerequisite skills and caliber required of him? Just because he seems laid back, or is this another case of the “regional bias” that has plagued Indian cricket over the ages? The second excuse seems a bit far-fetched, considering that many players from the same zone have won places in the team in the last few years; I must stress, incidentally, that the quality of such players is never in doubt.
Although I do not know the reason, Sadagoppan Ramesh seems to the black sheep that nobody wants in the team. Is his footwork, or rather the absence of it, the cause? Admitted that this aspect is quite alarming, but his flowing strokes and awesome timing still catch the eye.
A online survey to pick the 16-member squad for the West Indies reveals the flawed and perhaps mistaken opinions largely prevalent in the minds of the average Indian cricket fan. At the time of penning this piece, Ramesh’s replacement Deep Dasgupta gets twice as many votes as Ramesh (913), while Shiv Sunder Das gets more than four times as many. I attribute this more to ignorance than to clarity of thought. Ramesh’s career stats should be a eye-opener to anyone who thinks that he does not merit a place in the team.
And today, Siddhartha Vaidyanathan, while lauding Dinesh Karthik’s 91 at the Oval says,
The last Indian opener to notch up six 50-plus scores in as many Tests was his Tamil Nadu colleague Sadagoppan Ramesh, a classic case of talent being lost. Ramesh too wasn’t a classical opener but began his career, against a fired up Wasim Akram, as if he belonged at this level.
Ramesh was soon to join the long line of Tamil Nadu batsmen whose careers couldn’t take off. Tamil Nadu has a batting history that combines underachievement and discrimination. While some maintain that their batsmen haven’t seized their chances enough, others insists that they haven’t been given too many opportunities. Ramesh, Hemang Badani and WV Raman provide recent instances of batting stars who have faded away but the list from the past is a long one, with Kris Srikkanth the only Tamilian thus far to have achieved notable success.
Ramesh is these days a forgotten entity. He (and to a certain extent, Aakash Chopra) will always remain a classic case of “what if”. I just hope Karthik does not end up going their way.
ÜberDesi
Vee Cee http://poop_v_2.blogspot.com
August 9th, 2007 at 6:34 pmThe problem with the guys from Chepauk is that once they start playing test cricket and are cast aside, domestic cricket is beneath their level and they invariably lose the fire to fight it out and stake a claim. And by that I mean scoring consistently against some of the better teams, not a 240 not out on a featherbed of a wicket against the likes of Goa.
raj http://
August 14th, 2007 at 10:14 pmVee Cee is right. When you are dropped, you make a case by notching up big scores. If you are Ganguly, 60 in a Duleep Trophy match suffices. if youa re, ont he other hand, a hallowed -Kar from bombay, just a wait for public memory to lapse after a few months is enough - you dont need any big score to make a come back. But if you are a lowly Madrasi, then you need a couple of 200’s to qualify for a comeback. And the pity is it is not that difficult to achieve those 200’s in Ranji. Laxman took exactly that route. But somehow Chennai players lose motivation once dorpped from Indian team. Even though they know that they can buck up and score a few 200’s in Ranji and make a comeback, they dont make the effort. Why? Therein lies a tale. I have a theory. The Chennai Club-league is the most organised in the country - while you will not earn as much as a India International, you earn very very well for 1/10th of the effort and dedication needed for being an Indian international. Living is not a issue. This blunts the desire to make a comeback - podhum endra maname attitude kicks in. Even a Seth like badani has caught this attitude from us. Ramesh even started appearing in TV Shows.
Still, it must be admitted that if you are Agarkar, none of the above rules apply and you will be selected for the next tour even if you take only 4 wickets in a seven match series with economy rate of 7.1
raj http://
August 14th, 2007 at 10:16 pmAnd Aakash Chopra - there’s a sad case. Despite being a indhikaaran, he has not been able to gain favour. Part of the problem is his Cricket-erudition. Have you read his columns? Very erudite and well-informed. And a good writing style too This might be a reason that the typical Cricket Assocaition wallahs do not like him. Obviously, we only want Glam Kings like Yuvraj, Dhoni not a thinking Cricketer like Aakash.
jilluthambi http://jillumadrasi.com
August 15th, 2007 at 5:29 pmamam Manchi Vaadu na enna?
Deepa http://lordlabak.blogspot.com
August 16th, 2007 at 9:57 pmI am sure Ramesh would have a big smile. Lets see if he comments here. This will reach him Anantha.:-)
anantha http://superstarksa.com
August 16th, 2007 at 10:29 pmDeepa:
Jilluthambi: Manchi vaadu = Nallavanga = Good people. Btw, my telugu sucks.
raj: Aakash Chopra IS erudite, yes.
Veecee: Thalaiva, I don’t know if that lack of motivation reasoning holds true.