The Shiny Side

On 12^th August 2013, at 31, Sarah Jane Elliott showed the world that a women’s career is anything but over once she gets married or gives birth to a child, by scoring a century in a Test match. Barely a month after giving birth to her son, Sam, in October 2012, she was fit to get selected in the Australian preliminary squad for World cup and just 10 months later she scored her debut Test century in Ashes. Her son was still on breast feeding, and she took care of him during breaks. She was on 95 not out at stumps on Day 1 of the Test match and with just a little sleep that night, she completed the ton which ensured Australia retain the Ashes.

On 11^th September 2013, Yuvraj Singh, Indian flamboyant cricketer, successfully made his comeback to the international cricket after fighting a stage-1 lung cancer which kept him out of cricket for almost a year.  A year later, he looks fitter and confident enough to make his comeback count.

On 27^th March 2013, Jesse Ryder, NZ cricketer, was beaten up at a bar in Wellington and was in the intensive care unit, battling for life for 3 days following a skull fracture. Last week, he celebrated his comeback to professional cricket with a well-mannered century.

On 24^th November 2013, Joginder Sharma, the famous Indian bowler who handed India the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, met with a fatal road accident in Delhi which led him into the ICU for head injuries, clotting and fractures and warranted a head surgery, 40-45 stitches and non-quantifiable trauma. His doctors had claimed that there was no guarantee that his head surgery could be a success. In a year from there, he returned to Ranji Cricket and last week in Tendulkar’s last domestic match took 5-14 in the first innings for Haryana.

The above is only a list of recent cricketers whose lives were thrown into a seemingly give-up position but came back stronger, fitter and with even more hunger. I am sure that history has many more people who made it great from ‘impossible’ situations. 

What did these people go through when they were pushed against the wall by life? What kept them motivated to get through their toughest phases of life and what gave them hope that they could go back to their prime? Except for Sarah’s case, all the others have gone through life-death situation. What could have convinced Jesse Ryder to keep his will strong enough and not lose hope through the three days in ICU? After his head was broken and was advised not to take up a physically and mentally very demanding sport like cricket, how come Joginder Sharma defied all odds to come back strongly?

Yuvi’s case is a classic. Chemotherapy is a very painful treatment and considering that he was struggling with a rare cancer, many might not have advised or expected him to get back to international cricket, atleast not so soon. He was backed by a nation of fans and cricket enthusiasts. A lot of people visited him in the US to show their support and keep him motivated. His friends and ex-cricketers personally visited him to show their concern. But, was all this show of solidarity enough to ensure that he made such a speedy recovery and play at the highest level? No.

Many sports persons by nature are like soldiers. They always have a war to fight in every match. They are trained from a very young age not to give up, play and live with discipline, though some fail to learn any or all of them and end up at lesser heights. The work-ethic and attitude they develop with their profession get into their DNA and there is every possibility that they apply the same solutions to real life problems too.

For instance, Virender Sehwag is a belligerent batsman who wreaks havoc with his bat when in prime form. His ‘see the ball, hit the ball’ attitude is seen in the way he talks and behaves outside cricket too. Also, the serene and classy attitude that can be attributed to Rahul Dravid outside cricket are also the defining characteristics of his batsmanship. It is very difficult to assess if every sportsperson responds to these challenges with the same intensity. It mainly depends on how connected they are to their profession and how committed they are to fulfill their dreams they might have seen and developed through their formative years.

It can be argued that Sarah Elliott could have postponed having her baby to fulfill her dream to keep playing for Australia but, the way she decided to take her dream along with her, through her marriage, pregnancy and continued working to make it true teaches us a great lesson. Many of us bound by the customs, trying to fulfill the family or social commitments drop our dreams somewhere in between and live in a false notion that we have sacrificed our life for someone else. Sarah has proven it otherwise.

The celebration of Yuvraj’s comeback by the  fans and media looks justified on the face value considering the comeback itself was a major achievement and the connect he has with cricket fraternity and their emotions about him but, the below the par performances by his own standards has proved that life doesn’t offer any freebies based on our past glories or tragedies. Irrespective of our past or the strength of our dreams, it is our performances ‘on the field’ that drives us into glory. Elsewhere, in the world, I hope the talented, yet troubled, Jesse Ryder is learning this too.