Indian Cricket's fab 4

After the massive 281* inning by VVS Laxman against the Aussies at Kolkata, the Indian middle order came to be recognized by the fab 4. Tendulkar was by the time the greatest batsman in the world, Dravid had got his famous name, the Wall, then there was the god of offside, Ganguly. This inning by VVS Laxman led to a transformation of his name from Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman to Very Very Special Laxman.

Then there was no stopping the fab 4 in the later years. Team India had the strongest middle order in the world! 1 down came Dravid followed by Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly. So it was inevitable that if the fab 4 failed, India would lose. the 4 of these always played under a lot of pressure, thriving to rise to the hopes of the Indians. When they failed, criticism as usual followed. They also had to face the toughest face of their career, the time when Chappell coached the team. Doing nothing, just creating rifts among the players. His main culprit being Ganguly. He also commented in 2006 or 2007 I guess ,that it was ‘Endulkar’ i.e end of Sachin’s career. Unbelievable comment.

Coming to their individual performances. In tests, Ganguly was always the weakest among the four. in the couple of years before the Chappell saga, Ganguly held onto his place in the team solely because he was the captain and on merit and support from his teammates. Till his retirement, he remained the weakest link among the 4.

Dravid could adjust his batting to any surface, because he batted slowly. But he had a very strong defence and hence was called The Wall. Ironically, his strength in the longer version of the game led to him losing his place from the ODI squad. Even now he walks a thin line with respect to his test slot. His performance in the upcoming Sri Lanka series will decide his future in the team.

The flick of the wrist shot to the spinners, which races away to the boundary line is one of the best shots I have ever seen. Absolutely no slogging, no hard hitting, just lovely elegant drives make him Very Very special. Today, he is not the Laxman who created magic at Eden but his recent form is more than enough to keep his slot safe, especially considering his skills as a slip catcher.

The final call is on the god of cricket , Sachin Tendulkar. Combining the skills, technique, temperament of the other three and adding some extra toppings to it, we get the world’s greatest batsman. For the last 18 yrs, his wicket has been the most priced one for each and every opponent in the world. Strongest of the fab 4 , he has been destroying the world’s best bowling attacks consistently. Even at 37 he is going on and on. I have a whole blog written on him. Just read that and remember Sach is Life!

Now that Ganguly has retired. The fab 4 is broken. Dravid and Laxman will follow. But till there is Sachin Tendulkar in the team, Indian cricket will live and cricket fans will enjoy the game. I cant imagine Sachin Tendulkar retiring nor can a billion Indian fans, all of them want him to play, play and play and succeed.