On Sachin, Talent and Regaining form

/ February 24, 2013 / 1 Comment / Uncategorised

“Oh, look at this! Pujara has played twelve balls and has not scored a run, but Sachin hits three boundaries in the first four balls he played. He is great, he IS great! No other words to describe him!!”

“What are you so excited about?” Jill, my Siamese cat and Jack, my Great Dane asked.

Jack moved ahead, sat near me, gave me a queer look and watched the TV. Jill jumped up and coiled herself on the sofa.

“And he is under pressure to perform when he takes these audacious steps. There is no substitute for talent. He is the most accomplished player because he is the most talented player.” Jill said watching cricket Test match between India and Australia.

“I don’t know why we always hold diametrically opposite opinions” Jack, my Great Dane said with a tone of disapproval. “It is the hard work that pays. Vinod Kambli was no less talented; some say he was even more talented than this Little Master. And look where he is. It is all about discipline and hard work.”

“Don’t talk about Vinod Kambli. He wasted his talent, if he had any. You can’t say he was as talented as Sachin just because he hit so many double hundreds and made a blazing start.” Jill replied. “Talent or no talent, what matters is the performance.”

“I agree with Jill.” I said. “Performance is the conclusive proof of one’s talent.”

“I am happy that Sachin is in ‘form’ again. A genius like him knows how to bounce back.” Jill said.

“We differ again Jill.” Jack looked up at her and continued, “Nobody ‘knows’ how to bounce back. Nobody ‘comes’ in form. Sachin has rediscovered it. He played Ranji Trophy matches, gave himself a lot of real competitive situations. You should say he has “regained” his form. That’s simply because he worked on his game to rediscover it, very systematically. I don’t know why others can’t do it – why can’t they follow his example.”

“That’s because they have got a fat bank balance and very little talent.” Jill said knowing that she had won a point there. “I have a theory – your bank balance erodes your talent. Ha, ha!!”

“Sachin himself is a shining example to disprove your theory. There is nobody richer than him in the game.” Jack said emphatically and looked at me. “Hey, what say you?” Jack asked me.

“What’s the issue?”

“Is talent more important than hard work?” Jack and Jill both asked.

“Hmmm…….  I think both!” I said after a lot of thought.

“That’s a political answer. Contest forthcoming elections. You seem to have talent for not taking a position!” Jill said as if she was talking about Manmohan Singh.
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