The fantastic four - Time to perform or perish for the Indian stars

“Time doesn’t stop for anyone” - all will agree with this phrase as time is not stagnant for anyone and people need to be at par with time or lose out on their ambitions and goals in life.

Today, the Indian cricket team has a bunch of established players feeling the heat and pressure to perform and find a place in the team because they were not consistent with their abilities and time flew leaving them behind with dim hopes of a comeback.

Yes, I am talking about the hottest topic of Indian cricket today- will the relegated- to- the-background ex-regular players gain a place in the team again?

Ever since the selectors showed faith in the senior players and named them for the series against West Indies A, speculations have risen in the mind of all cricket fans around the country whether our senior star players will be able to rise to the occasion, deliver the goods and make a comeback into the national side.

The four senior players, namely- Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan have been given a lifeline to perform in the domestic circuit and win a spot back in the Indian team for the upcoming international season. Each of them have been a pillar of strength for the team for the past few decades. Individually they bring a lot to the team and any strong side would fear playing against a team comprising of such talented cricketers.

These four have nothing to prove to the world today. People who know about cricket and understand the game will surely say that these four players have given a lot to their team and rendered their services to the fullest. They have been winners in their respective areas of the game, but today time has changed.

They may have nothing to ‘prove’ but certainly have everything to ‘lose’. Their reputation of being Indian team’s ‘star players’ have received a major jolt as a result of their inconsistency, fitness issues and emergence of younger and extremely talented players in the present Indian squad.

Let us first analyze the situation of our former opening duo- Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. They have been selected in the India A squad for the Test series against West Indies. It is crystal clear that the selectors are looking for someone to accompany Shikhar Dhawan in the Test matches.

The sad part is that only one of them is likely to be picked up to pair with Dhawan. Dhawan’s mesmerizing and flawless knock of 187 against Australia and his consistent performance with the bat in ODI’s has given him a permanent place at the top of the innings for India for the coming season. So, both the dashing openers from Delhi will have to fight amongst each other for the other place in the opening spot in the team.

Time has certainly been cruel to them but they have no one but themselves to blame for their dismal performance. Though Murali Vijay had also impressed the selectors in the Border-Gavaskar series after being the leading run scorer, but his place looks uncertain as he had a forgettable outing for his team in this year’s IPL and maintained the same form in the tri-series in West Indies. He has been written off as an opener for the South Africa tour, later this year, due to his lukewarm performances.

It comes as a shock to me to see our one-time-regular-opener Gautam Gambhir’s name only in the Test series and not in ODIs. It maybe because the selectors are happy to let the Rohit Sharma- Shikhar Dhawan pair continue to open for India but I feel Gambhir brings a lot to the equation for our team.

His aggressive nature is known to all and he can provide good support to the top order. His leadership skills and experience will be beneficial to M.S. Dhoni in crunch situations too. His game is well suited for the shorter formats but time has changed and the axe may have fallen on him only because he may disturb the winning combination of our current ODI team. This means he will have to perform out of his skin to have a realistic chance of making it to the team in the 50 -over game.

Yuvraj Singh had become the ‘hero of the nation’ when he helped our team to an emphatic win over the Asian neighbours, Sri Lanka, to lift the World Cup after 28 years of struggle. But today he has to start from zero. He has to perform again at his very best to make it to the playing eleven and put on the blue jersey.

After being diagnosed with cancer, he was out of the team for a long time and didn’t make a great comeback a year later. His IPL performance did not help him much either. But time has again given him a chance. The team may be doing well without him but we cannot escape from the fact that he is still needed in the playing eleven.

The shorter format of the game looks incomplete without him. He has excellent cricketing sense, provides solidity to the batting line-up and contributes with the ball too. He has helped India win all major tournaments time and again and along with Ravindra Jadeja , he can make a lethal pair of all-rounders in the team which will double our chances to defend the World Cup trophy in 2015.

The Indian pace attack consists of Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Bhubhaneshwar Kumar but it looks out of ideas without Zaheer Khan. He has been an asset for the team for more than a decade. His perfect yorkers and the ability to provide variations in his bowling is outstanding. He has been a top class bowler in overseas conditions. So, his experience and presence will not only do a world of good to the team but also to fill the gap in the abilities of our younger bowlers.

His fitness has always been an issue for the team but his recent visit to France under the guidance of a top class trainer, Tim Exeter has been heartening. Both Yuvraj and Zaheer have been slow on the field in the recent past but their present physique looks commendable as the duo have lost considerable amount of weight and are looking good to perform. They both look fresh and eager to be back in the team and take some responsibility off Dhoni’s able shoulders.

We will definitely get an answer to everything once we are done with the domestic season. However, these players didn’t have time with them but now they have been given them one more chance to knock at the selectors’ doors and earn their places back in the national team.

Let’s see who makes the most of it and who disappoints again. If they let this opportunity go, I am afraid time will never look back upon them.