PORT OF SPAIN: An old Trini, who says he doesn't quite remember his own age and adds that he must have been born at around the same time as Charlie Davis, his favourite cricketer, is usually found hanging around the main entrance to the Queen's Park Oval. He won't look at you, won't even say "hello". At best, he'll ask you for a cigarette, and then leave without thanking you.
On Monday, though, there was a surprise in store. He startled even the security guards and made his way to the Team India bus just as it was preparing to leave the venue. He walked up to the players and asked them a question any journalist would've been proud of: "You boys, how long you think you go on as world champions?" And then he rattled off, "It's a great responsibility. Are you proud enough to handle that?"
Most of the cricketers didn't even look at him. Those who did, smiled and were gone. Agitated, the old man walked back to his usual hangout outside the gate.
On the eve of the second one-dayer, which gives the team opportunity to stamp their class on the home team, one was left wondering if the players gave his question a thought as they drove away. Were they proud of the tag that Team India carries today, that of world beaters? Do they have an idea of the responsibility it entails?
"Being world champions is not a joke. It is a great responsibility for all of us and we're conscious of it. We take great pride in it but we have to move on and keep winning. We have to keep the focus," India's middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma had said minutes after his half-century helped the team win the first one-dayer.
Had the old man heard it, he would have perhaps belted out a couple more questions. There's no better example than the West Indies to illustrate what can happen to a champion side if they don't plan for the future. They dominated the game for 20 years but where are they now?
Sharma agreed that this could be the most important phase in his career and that of his young teammates.
Virat Kohli, a few years younger to Sharma and member of the World Cup winning squad, said, "It is for us now to shoulder that responsibility. The seniors guided us till here and we have to take this momentum forward."
Rohit cited Monday's example, when he walked in to bat with India struggling a little at 61/3. "It wasn't an easy track; it was very slow and turning a bit. You needed a lot of time to keep the innings going. Till the first 35 deliveries, I didn't score a single boundary," he says.
The youngsters want to make the most of the opportunity available and Sharma in particular, who missed the World Cup, is aware of what he lost out on.
"These guys are very motivated and each of them has his own reason," says Suresh Raina.
That will be music to the ears of those who want India to build on the World Cup winning platform. Unless India manages to continue their reign at the top for the next 10-odd years, the effort that went into becoming Number One will have been wasted.
TOI
On Monday, though, there was a surprise in store. He startled even the security guards and made his way to the Team India bus just as it was preparing to leave the venue. He walked up to the players and asked them a question any journalist would've been proud of: "You boys, how long you think you go on as world champions?" And then he rattled off, "It's a great responsibility. Are you proud enough to handle that?"
Most of the cricketers didn't even look at him. Those who did, smiled and were gone. Agitated, the old man walked back to his usual hangout outside the gate.
On the eve of the second one-dayer, which gives the team opportunity to stamp their class on the home team, one was left wondering if the players gave his question a thought as they drove away. Were they proud of the tag that Team India carries today, that of world beaters? Do they have an idea of the responsibility it entails?
"Being world champions is not a joke. It is a great responsibility for all of us and we're conscious of it. We take great pride in it but we have to move on and keep winning. We have to keep the focus," India's middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma had said minutes after his half-century helped the team win the first one-dayer.
Had the old man heard it, he would have perhaps belted out a couple more questions. There's no better example than the West Indies to illustrate what can happen to a champion side if they don't plan for the future. They dominated the game for 20 years but where are they now?
Sharma agreed that this could be the most important phase in his career and that of his young teammates.
Virat Kohli, a few years younger to Sharma and member of the World Cup winning squad, said, "It is for us now to shoulder that responsibility. The seniors guided us till here and we have to take this momentum forward."
Rohit cited Monday's example, when he walked in to bat with India struggling a little at 61/3. "It wasn't an easy track; it was very slow and turning a bit. You needed a lot of time to keep the innings going. Till the first 35 deliveries, I didn't score a single boundary," he says.
The youngsters want to make the most of the opportunity available and Sharma in particular, who missed the World Cup, is aware of what he lost out on.
"These guys are very motivated and each of them has his own reason," says Suresh Raina.
That will be music to the ears of those who want India to build on the World Cup winning platform. Unless India manages to continue their reign at the top for the next 10-odd years, the effort that went into becoming Number One will have been wasted.
TOI
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