Captain Speaks

Leading a side is difficult and for less blessed mortals like me it can be quite intimidating. It does not matter the level you are leading at, it is tough. For starters, if your team is hungry for success, there is an added pressure to lead from the front and coping with that is the biggest challenge you will face as a captain. That is a challenge I have always relished however though I have not been able to deliver the goods every time but then that is part and parcel of life. You need to take failures in your stride and move on and that is exactly what I have done.

Anyway coming to the point, the last time I actually captained a side was back in school and though we had quite a run I quit after we lost in the semi finals of the school tournament. Not only was I performing dismally on the field but all my decisions were back firing too which left me no choice but to admit maybe I was doing something wrong. Moreover, it was not about the on field reasons also because you win some and you lose some but off field also there was a lot of criticism one asshole I used to call my best friend had too much influence on me and I was doing everything wrong that could be done wrong. All in all I was a mess!! I did not want my team to suffer while I went through this phase. So pissed off was I with captaincy that even when I owned a team during our Annual Sports Event I passed on the captaincy to one of our juniors and my buddy Rohit Raghavan.

Now to recent events – Last match Tukul told me that he is not enjoying captaining the side and he wanted me to step up. Before going any farther I think I will just describe my relation with Tukul. Off the field he is one of my best friends and we have played besides each other since times immemorial. He backed me through my worst phases because GOD knows my lean patches are really lean and lasting. We have spent nights discussing cricket and game plans and we often jokingly say that we have spent half of our teenage discussing cricket. Anyway I have this habit of beating around the bush, so I will come back to the point. When Tukul asked me to be the captain I was repelled going by my past experiences but slowly and surely the idea started sinking in. As it began to settle in and make sense my excitement for the job in hand increased.

To understand why I am so psyched about the job in hand, let me just describe the situation I am in. We have won 8 out of 13 matches this season and Tukul’s super charged and dynamic captaincy had a huge role to play in that. Playing undoubtedly the best side we have played till now in this season and trying to fit in his shoe is scary to say the least. But then again I have always thrived when the going gets tough because that is when you prove your mettle. You stand up and be counted and that is all I will look to do. Secondly, our team is going through a transition because of the injury to Swarnendu and Subhajit and I will be leading a completely new look side. At this age egos can be quite tricky to manage. Moreover, personally I have not played besides more than half of the team for even five matches. To lead them, sounds like a daunting task.

What makes my job easy is that I have the full and unconditional support of Tukul which comes as a relief. I have an extremely talented bunch of players to help me win my first match and probably even we are going to go out there with the best team of the season. Moreover, since it’s a transition phase there isn’t a lot of expectations about results. All we need to do is go out there and enjoy our cricket and hope for the best.

P.S. – We are a fiercely competitive side and if you actually go by the fact that we are out of practice and are out to enjoy hence won’t be that good then you will do so at your own peril.