Over a period of time these days … i have been constantly amazed by one fact about sport … it provides so many stories of underdog triumps .. so many stories of comebacks .. redemptions … criticial decisions … so on … it is very interesting to see .. how people manage to stay upbeat amidst adversities .. fight back .. standup for themselves .. and then one day have that big smile on ….. hope triumphs really :) ..
I thought i should document these on my blog ..
Graeme Swann : [Oct 23 2009 . Indian express http://www.indianexpress.com/news/i-wanted-to-give-up-cricket-and-become-a-hack-swann/532283/0 ]
It was in South Africa that his international career almost ended no sooner then it had begun in 1999/2000.
Such was the crisis of confidence sparked by that trip that Swann thought about quitting cricket completely. Swann made his one-day international debut in South Africa. But missing the team bus because of oversleeping did not impress then coach Duncan Fletcher and Swann, now with Nottinghamshire, had to wait more than seven years for another England call.
“When I was playing at Northants at the end I couldn’t have been further away from playing for England,” said Swann.
“I didn’t even want to play cricket – for Northants or Northampton Saints (the town’s rugby union team), let alone England. I wanted to give up and become a hack (journalist),” he explained.
“There was a lot of time when I couldn’t imagine playing for England again.”
But since making his Test bow, against India in December, Swann has established himself as England’s premier spinner.
In those seven years of waiting .. he would have doubted himself innumerable number of times .. but then .. today he finally established himself :) …
Moral of the story : Self belief is the last thing you should lose even in the worst of times
T Dilshan : [Sep 23 2009 , Indian express http://www.indianexpress.com/news/opening-the-innings-has-changed-my-life-dilshan/520538/0]
Dilshan was dropped from the ODI side September last year after his average slipped to 25.87 in 21 matches. When he returned early this year to team, he was asked to open in ODIs and he never looked back after that. Dilshan got the Player-of-the-Series award after amassing 317 runs at an average of 52.83 in the Twenty20 World Cup.
Opening the innings has changed my life .. “I am in good form for last six month or one year and I want to deliver in this tournament also. I have changed my batting order. I think this is the turning point for me.”I open the innings which gives me opportunity to play my strokes and take chances during the powerplays so that is the turning point I feel,” he added.
And look where he is now .. who doesnt remember Dil-scoop .. and all his recent antics on the field .. now it is unimaginable .. that dilshan had a 25.87 average for 21 matches !! .. and that he was actually “dropped” from the team ..
Moral of the story : Everyone gets a turning point . Wait for yours :).
Usain Bolt : [Oct 20 2009 , Indian express http://www.indianexpress.com/news/returning-to-first-love-bolt-beats-gayle-wi/530665/ ]
Triple Olympic and world champion sprinter Usain Bolt returned to his first love, cricket, on Sunday and showed that he certainly knows how to handle both bat and ball.
Bolt, who batted with his brother Sadeeki, made 13 with the bat, including a superbly struck six off Gayle’s off-spin.
“I was pretty good as a kid and my cricket coach said I should concentrate on bowling because I was pretty quick running in,” Bolt said. “I also used to open the batting for the school team but I haven’t batted for a long time,” he said. “The six was a brilliant feeling, though.”
God knows what would have happened .. if Usain Bolt was fighting for his place in Westindies team and working hard in Jamaica first class team :D
Moral of the story : Sometimes the “switch” can work wonders :) . You just need to know where to switch when to switch .
Darren Ganga and T&T T20 team in Champions League [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daren_Ganga]:
Now who hasnt read abt this :) .. Pollard’s heroics .. Ganga’s captaincy .. Pollard i dunno .. but atleast for Ganga .. this has to be “the” moment of his life … As in .. what was he before this league ??… a top order westindies batsman who was “rejected” :) … Now the sudden limelight .. ppl talking abt him as “the” man for reviving westindies cricket etc :) …
Moral of the story : Life throws enough surprises .. Wait for yours :) ..
Jacques of all trades : [September 22 2009 Cricinfo http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/425941.html]
This has been well documented here . The sudden rise of the new jacques kallis has astonished many people . Hardcore kallis fans like me arent surprised though ;) …
Anyone who has seen the high utility jacques kallis is the IPL-2 , Recent T20 would be surprised to know that he was omitted from South Africa’s World Twenty20 squad .
But look what he did to himself then .. he went back .. reinvented himself ..
“I wanted to improve my batting in the one-day formats and looked long and hard at making a few technical changes,” recalls Kallis. “Mickey Arthur and [mentor] Duncan Fletcher helped me make the necessary adjustments, but I’ll admit it was a lot of hard work.” .. If kallis .. kallis ! . the big man himself .. can go to the nets .. reinvent himself .. work on mistakes .. you and me can as well
Moral of the story : There is always scope for reinventing and re-evaluating oneself. Do your due diligence .. and it will work wonders.
Irfan Pathan “It’s not just a hope, I believe good times will return”
[Oct 25 2009 , Indian express http://www.indianexpress.com/news/its-not-just-a-hope-i-believe-good-times-will-return/532841/0]
I have always admired irfan pathan … i admire him even more after i read such … it is not about attaining success at a young age .. it is not about making a mess out of it .. it is about staying upbeat in the face of adversities .. and this 24yr old’s ongoing story is the best example for that :D … I hope he makes a comeback one day .. one big huge comeback .. so that all the naysayers keep their mouth shut :D …
““It’s not just a hope, but I believe that good times will return. I have seen worse three years ago and I have overcome that. There will always be a position in the team for a guy who can bowl and bat well. I believe that I will perform and get an opportunity to play four or five games on a trot,” he says.
Thumbsup ! Irfan :D
Moral of the story : Believe goods times will return .. and they will ..
Mohd Kaif :
[0ct 25 2009 , Indian express http://www.indianexpress.com/news/watching-from-the-stands/532866/0 ]
“Now I am three or four degrees away from the Indian team. But I’m playing well, and somewhere I know I can make it back”
“I have to make the best of every opportunity I get. Life doesn’t give too many chances,” he says with a smile, “at least not to me.”
I dont talk much about Kaif .. coz i am not a big fan of his actually :P .. except for this interview of his really i dont admire or adore him so much .. But yeah i hope he too makes his comeback again !
Moral of the story : [Same as above] Believe good times will return .. and they will ..
anonymous
October 28, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Tellollaki cheeralu suit avvanattu .. ee post content neeku suit kaaledu bangaaru :P
HalleY
October 29, 2009 at 10:22 am
Hehehe :P
Kanipinchani aa nalugo simhaniki pratika ra ii postu :P
mythalez
October 29, 2009 at 3:49 pm
who hijacked halley’s blog?
spiscelsoni
November 2, 2009 at 7:13 am
OMG…totally!
SACHIN NOT PLAY IN SRILANKA SERIES- CLICK FOR MORE DETAIL
November 10, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Temperamental fast bowler Sreesanth has been given another chance to resurrect his stop-start career, after being selected in India’s 15-man squad for the first two Tests against Sri Lanka. Weeks after being given a “final warning” for his poor on-field behaviour, Sreesanth is now a candidate to share the new ball with Zaheer Khan, who has recovered from his shoulder injury.
Sreesanth last played for India in 2008, and had his share of injuries and criticism over attitude in equal measure. During the time he spent out of the Indian team, Sreesanth played 10 first-class games for 28 wickets, including one five-wicket haul for Warwickshire, and 23 overs for no wickets against Andhra in his latest Ranji Trophy match. Clearly his selection is a gamble on promise over form. It is a big – bordering on generous – decision made by the selectors, and an equally big chance for Sreesanth to wash away all the criticism against him.
Zaheer made an expected comeback, having recovered from the injury he sustained during the IPL, and having featured in Twenty20 matches during the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and a Ranji Trophy fixture. He has not missed a Test, but has not played limited-overs cricket for India since the ICC World Twenty20 in June.
Halley
June 15, 2011 at 7:22 am
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/I-wish-no-cricketer-goes-through-what-I-have-Mishra/803518/
This is the latest addition to this series.
He has had the West Indies batsmen in knots in the ongoing ODI series but not so long ago, Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra was considering hanging up his boots out of sheer frustration at being dropped despite decent performances.
The affable spinner’s nine wickets at an average of 17.00 in the ongoing series exceed the value the figures can ever suggest. Yet, Mishra lives with the dictum of his day-to-day philosophy.
“I once took seven wickets and scored a 50 against Bangladesh in a Test and was promptly dropped in the next game,” recalled Mishra.
He could have also mentioned his dramatic first year in Test cricket in 2008 when he took 20 wickets in five games against Australia and England and yet was sent to cool his heels for the entire next year.
It is not as if he has been compensated in one-day. He made his ODI debut in 2003 and after just two games was banished for more than six years.