Leapfrogging comparisons - Part I

Apples and Oranges – That’s how people will choose to describe it if two personalities belonging to different sports are compared. It can be called preposterous only if attempts were made to establish which one of the sportsmen is superior. A sportsman of any discipline is a human first and so there are chances that irrespective of the sports in which they are part of, there will always be certain common elements which we could find in them. Such commonalities could be anything. A deep analysis in this aspect would very well bring many similarities among two different sportsmen, which would have been otherwise left unnoticed. This is the first of many articles which I plan to write.

As I began this exercise, it did not take me long to decide on whom it should be penned first. It has almost become habitual for most of the writers in the world to pay floral tributes to a sportsman who retires from the game. Till then, not many would have even bothered tweeting about him, leave alone scripting an essay on him. So slightly eschewing from the rest of the world on showering unrealistic adulations, I now take up the case of the recently retired American tennis professional who is affectionately referred to as A ROD.

One of my friends, probably an Andy fan, was telling me he would soon be inducted into “Tennis Hall of Fame.” Capturing a lone Grand Slam plus not more than five masters titles in a career which spanned for 12 years, I am not sure, can be considered sufficient for a player to even dream of joining such an elite group. Such has been our practice in eulogizing a player once he announces retirement. The case was no different with Roddick. Till the announcement of calling it a day came from the former world No.1 American, no one really cared wasting their ink. Now, all of a sudden, we are seeing hundreds of articles floating in various websites and magazines embellishing him. Leave alone a detailed stuff, even if you write an epilogue, you would inadvertently end up embarrassing him further by mentioning somewhere his infamous streaks against Roger Federer. A person, who would like to have peaceful days upon retirement, would only get hurt instead.

So, with no words of praises, I go straight to the topic, seeking to find out a man from another sport whose traits and career almost resemble that of the American. First let me brief you about Andy as a professional so that when I bring here a legend whose discipline was entirely a different one, it will be vivid to everybody as to why the comparison is being drawn.

Andy Roddick has never been a gifted tennis player. His main weapon had been his serve and apart from that he had only a few limited areas in which he was good at. Normally, a server of his quality would be an instinctive volleyer. Roddick, on the other hand, has always been reluctant going into the nets despite being equipped with a decent net approach game. Normally the players who attack from the nets are viewed as aggressors in tennis and those who prefer baseline game are considered to be defensive in their approach.

As far as his achievements are concerned, he had a really good year in 2003 where he won not only in Toronto and Cincinnati back to back but also grabbed his first (and which would be his last as well, eventually) ever Grand Slam title which was at Flushing Meadows. He also owned the fastest service ever produced for some time. He has never been naturally attacking nor has he had fast legs, two qualities which are regarded as pre-requisites in the modern game. He has decided to hang up his boots finally. Thirty is not a retiring age for a tennis player certainly but still he opted for it. He felt very soon that he was done. He understood that there is nothing more he can accomplish with a game which was shrinking day by day. His game was found wanting in front of the fast paced tennis which we are witnessing nowadays. So, many such things would have appealed to him to sign off finally.

Now let me raise the curtain and introduce to you a player from the game of cricket whose professional career on the whole seems to reverberate with the story of A Rod. It is just what the doctor ordered, perhaps. Yes, I am speaking of the cricketer turned commentator from India, Ravi Shankar Shastri.

Much like Roddick, his career for India lasted only for 12 years and he had to quit the scene at a very early age of 31. He had opened the innings for India and had even played in the middle order for some time. He had never been immensely talented as a player, and to add to that, he had limited shots in his repertoire. Nonetheless he always gave his best to get the maximum mileage out of his career. If Roddick held the fastest serve ever at one time, Shastri still holds the record for hitting half a dozen sixes in an over, a feat which he shares with Sir Garfield Sobers till now. If 2003 was the best year in the American career, 1985 was unforgettable for the Indian.

For a guy who used to come down the wicket to the spinners and clear the boundary, he was never known to be aggressive. Like Roddick who was married to the baseline game inspite of having reasonably good serves, Shastri never contemplated playing flamboyant shots like square cuts and pulls. He had been quite often blamed for slow scoring which halted the team’s run rate. As a result he could never come into terms with One Day Cricket which demanded quick accumulation of runs.

When we speak of Ravi Shastri we cannot stop reminiscing about the famous Madras tie test which India played against Australia. The way he cemented himself on the wicket till the end can never be forgotten. He brought India very close to victory but nevertheless it needs to be said , a “tie” was a fair result. This is one momentous occasion in the Indian all-rounder’s career much like US open 2003 which will always remain as a hall mark of Roddick. Resembling a candle which burns brighter while meeting its end, both the Indian and the American have had their share of euphoria towards the end of their career. The former Indian batsman, playing in Sydney test down under, ripped apart Shane Warne which probably was the only stand out performance from him before his retirement. If that was one moment to cherish for the Mumbai batsman, the winner of 2003 at Flushing Meadows had the last laugh as he dismissed Roger Federer in three sets in Miami this year.

Thus ends this article, the first of its kind, elucidating the striking similarities between the former Indian legend Ravi Shastri and the recently retired American tennis idol. Though they were crippled in so many ways, they set a good example for the youngsters to follow by their sheer hard work. Let us stand admiring sportsmen of such intensity who did whatever possible in bringing laurels to their country.