Let it Last

The niggle on his left ankle was gnawing at the back of his mind, he thought his career was over even before it had started. Then, he put the blue cap back on his head, looked up to the heavens and turned back. One month later, the tour had wound up, there were 10 wickets in the kitbag, and Sreesanth was knocking at destiny’s door.

It was a door he finally crashed through in Johannesburg after that famous propeller run against South African pace bowler Andre Nel, and those eight wickets. Sreesanth had arrived. And almost immediately, world cricket paused to ask this one question: will he last?

Will the 23-year-old be able to retain his focus after the first burst of glory that has scorched so many fledgling careers in Indian cricket? Will he be able to handle the glamour, the glitter, the baggage that comes with fame? Will he be able to manage the expectations, the injuries? Yes, will he survive?

There are some who fear the worst, but there are more who believe he can. Team India is already beginning to gather around the 23-year-old, former players are part of that blanket, and they are all keeping their fingers crossed.

Ask coach Greg Chappell, who has been backing Sreesanth all the way since that first camp in Bangalore last year. “The tough thing will be to back up and do it again because the emotional and physical strain is huge. What he’s understood for the moment, and hopefully for ever more, is that it’s not about how fast you bowl or how much aggression you show. It’s about how consistently you can put the ball in the right areas. The lesson he’s learnt, which every bowler has to, is that if you’re running up trying to take a wicket every ball, you’re not going to be successful. It’s not about bowling magic balls.”

Former India captain Ravi Shastri had a “long, serious” chat with Sreesanth the evening after that first, five-wicket spell at the Wanderers. Shastri told him not to forget his roots, his old friends, the way he came up. And, to always have his feet on the ground — whatever happens, wherever.

So, will he survive? Don’t even bother asking Sreesanth, because he is sure he can. He will point to his elder brother Dibusanth, who can bring him crashing back to earth with one look. He will then point to his middle class Kochi family, which has already survived one gust of fame in the voice of his brother-in-law Madhu Balakrishnan, one of Kerala’s leading playback singers. He will also point to the array of gods and goddesses on the chair in one corner of his hotel room, the cross, the Arabic prayers.

And finally, he will point to his heart.

But those who know him from up close know how tough it is. Team India physio John Gloster, Sreesanth’s “confidante” in the group, is trying to do the balancing act.

“It’s wonderful to see a person with natural talent making the most of that talent. And we are not talking about his dancing (laughs), because he is as good a dancer as he is a bowler. But he is lucky because he’s got a very good family network around him as well, and that’s very important,” says Gloster, who enjoys the odd night out with his friend.

“I have met his parents and they are wonderful, gentle people who keep Sree focused and committed as well. And that’s the role I think I play as well. To bring him back to earth and keep him committed and also encouraging that side to him which makes him Sreesanth. He is a bit of an extrovert on occasions, he can be a bit of a thinker on occasions. But the important thing about Sree is he knows how to relax outside of cricket. Everybody needs ways to switch off, and for him it’s music, dancing and reading,” adds the Aussie.

But Gloster, who has been with this team for nearly two years now, is a bit apprehensive, too, because he has seen the demons that lurk behind the spotlights. “Success is probably a little bit more exaggerated in India because you become a hero overnight. And the benefits are enormous if you are successful, not just financially, but also in exposure and opportunity. But you have the distractions as well. It’s very easy to get distracted by the glamour and the peripherals that come with success for a cricketer in India,” he says.

So what will he tell his “very good friend”?

“He’s got to remember that he has to go back to the basics which got him to this point in his career. Success can desert you as quickly as it comes to you,” says Gloster.

And the physical strain that will invariably follow?

“He, touchwood, has been relatively injury-free though he has those niggles as all fast bowlers do. He’s also got to realise that injury is a part and parcel of the game, being a fast bowler especially. And he’s got to accept that. There are times when they are not quite sure about their own bodies, especially the young fast bowlers. He’s at a point where he needs to not get carried away with the whole situation,” says the physio.

But yes, Gloster is quietly confident that Sreesanth can do it. “Again, he needs constant direction, he needs somebody around, whether that be family, whether that be a confidante within the team, whether it’s someone from the coaching point of view. But he does need someone to keep him going in the right direction, keep him focused. He is learning that himself as well, he knows what he has to do,” he says.

The second Test in Durban on Tuesday will be the first test: he may get more wickets, he may return without any. But as Sreesanth might say, let’s pray now.