Axing of Sehwag, Yuvraj, Zaheer, Harbhajan and Gambhir obliterates the last trace of the Sourav Ganguly era

What makes heroes out of mortals?  Is it when they reach a certain threshold of excellence doing the seemingly impossible with ridiculous ease? Or when they show that they are still human, fallible to mistakes even though they are blessed with extraordinary talent? 

In a nation of a billion cricket experts, being an icon is not easy. Only some can be first among equals and few can transcend even that to earn a place for themselves in the annals of time. Whether the likes of Sehwag, Yuvraj, Gambhir, Harbhajan and Zaheer can be called 'greats' is for posterity. But in the mind of the common public, they will always be the heroes who played the game with dignity and invoked their passion to make the sport more relatable.

Sehwag with his questionable technique was the gladiator who purists hated but nevertheless were delighted to watch. Using the bat like a wand, Sehwag conjured magic inside 22 yards. Although suited to the ODI mode, his finest moments came when he was donned the creamy flannels with a bat in hand. He was a rebel with scant respect for the MCC definition of technique. Many of his innings stand out. But among these, the innings that greatly touched a common fan like me was his rearguard action in the 2003 World Cup final. With wickets falling around him and a target of 360, he soldiered on to salvage some pride for his country.

Virender Sehwag 82 vs Australia World Cup... by bestofodi

Of late age has caught up with Nawab of Najafgarh. Those delightful eyes have gone droopy. With rose tinted glasses fans hope for a redux of the Sehwag show. The hope for that one last Sehwag blitzkrieg is still alive but fading alarmingly fast. 

So is the case with Yuvraj Singh. The Virat Kohli of the 2000s, Yuvi had that inimitable swagger with an attitude to fawn for. But most importantly he had the gift of talent and natural flair. He will continue to inspire legions of future cricketers with the soul touching back story of how he won the cup for 2011 while cancer was slowly getting to him. It is unlikely that Yuvraj will make a comeback again to the Indian side. But from his swashbuckling 84 some 15 summers back in Nairobi to a dismal 0 in Johannesburg last year, he was a cricketer who packed a punch whenever he took the field. 

Another of Yuvi’s contemporaries is Zaheer Khan. Incidentally the match where Yuvi announced his bold arrival to international cricket was also Zaheer's inception to the Big League taking on the mighty Aussies. India’s bowling of the 1990’s was filled with mediocrity mirroring the state of the Indian nation to an extent. It lacked the killer punch, or someone who could look into the eyes of the opposition and dictate terms. Every time Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis bowled for Pakistan, Indians rued the absence of such a bowler in their own team. And then came Zaheer. He became the darling of the masses. His curved inswinger castling Steve Waugh indicated that India finally had a lethal bowler which it could be proud of. From being a quick bowler to gradual transformation to a wily swing bowler, Khan was the classic case of old wine getting tastier. Indian cricket will be well served if it can find someone like Khan in the near future to come. 

Harbhajan Singh is perhaps the most mercurial of the five. Almost imperceptibly the son of Sardar crept up the ladder to become the third highest wicket taker for India. A protégé of Sourav Ganguly, 'Bhajji' became popular with his infectious smile and jovial nature but most importantly with acute mastery over his craft. Many a batsman have fallen prey to Bhajji’s doosra. But Bhajji couldn’t handle the curveball life threw at him. With plummeting fortunes he found himself out of favour with selectors. But with none of the current Indian spinners really setting the stage alight, Bhajji can be still realistically hopeful about a future call-up. Only that it will not be in the greatest amphitheatre of all, the World Cup.

Goutam Gambhir is perhaps the least of the heroes who got left out from the World Cup probables list. But it’s not an indictment of him, only a testimony to other stars who served the nation for a longer time. Gauti was the one who played with his passion virtually on his sleeves. His face-off with Afridi became sort of a Youtube legend of chest thumping patriotism dwarfing the spirit of a gentleman's game. But in precarious situations, he was rarely overtaken by emotion, rather showing nerve of steel.

Remember the 2011 World Cup final? Sehwag, Sachin back in the hut, Malinga baying for blood. It was Gautam Gambhir who stemmed the rot and steadied the ship. Like in that match, he was the highest scorer in the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup final too. India ended up winning both games. Gambhir is a big match player capable of suddenly finding his mojo when it really mattered. Ironically the biggest stage of all will miss his steely determination this time round.

Selectors have chosen the side on merit and none of the five aforementioned heroes have done enough in the recent past to make the list. Yet it hurts for them and for their millions of fans who cheered and jeered with every success and failure, who took the emotional roller coaster ride with them. For all the matches we watched, sometimes from the comfortable refuge of home to jostling with people to check the score in front of a dingy paan shop, these five defined Indian cricket of the last decade to a large extent. They were part of the core team founded by Sourav Ganguly. With the sun almost certainly setting on their careers, the last trace of the Ganguly era has been obliterated. 

Heroes deserve one last chance at redemption, a final hurrah before the curtains get drawn. But maybe sometimes farewells are over-rated and cricket cannot afford it. The legacy they create through their momentous achievements becomes the guiding light for generations to come. In a way, they never fade away. Their achievements remain a constant reminder of their absence, which becomes conspicuous. Let us hope the Indian team picked for the World Cup remains untouched by this emotion.