Guardians of the Galaxy: Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa

Sir Alex Ferguson’s books have caused a stir on many levels. Having authored two books, the former manager of Manchester United has had some explaining to do. Rather smartly, ‘Fergie’, as he is known, chose to do it within the historic halls of Harvard University and the London Business School. In somewhat of a contrast, it is different from addressing the media. Yet, he has done a decent job thus far. One thing that I took away from the lectures was a picture. Something Ferguson showed all the players he managed. And mind you, that is a whole bunch of players. The picture wasn’t something abstract. It was a simple picture that hung on the wall. Eleven men, sitting on a construction bar at the site of the pre-constructed Rockefeller Centre. What did this dusty old picture signify?

While 11 people make a team, a team of 2 batsmen is immensely important in the game of cricket. A few days back, an article from former India batsman Aakash Chopra ran across a few social media handles. A former Indian batsman himself, I never miss an opinion shared by him. Most Indian fans would certainly remember him from the 2003 Test series against Australia down under. For any opening batsman, that is the mark. Facing up to the likes of Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath and managing to thwart the attack is certainly something special.

And here he was, rendering his opinions on how the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. Well for the Kolkata Knight Riders at least. The opinions of Mr. Chopra stated that the success of these two players in the IPL was due to a significant change in their technique. He also mentioned that they had widened their stance.

As far as many were concerned, however, these two were playing like they always had. The year 2007 was a turning point for Gautam Gambhir. The surge in his career was simply unprecedented. He was in the form of his life. Scoring a double century against an Australian bowling attack comprising of some of the world’s best bowlers is hard yards. As Kim Hughes once said: “Facing a good bowling attack is always difficult because you could get killed.”

Although Andre Russell has stolen the limelight for the most part of the tournament coupled with the analysis of Aakash Chopra, the contributions from the duo have been simply astounding thus far. Below mentioned are a few stats showcasing what they have accomplished.

• Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir have accounted 725 runs in the tournament thus far.
• Their contribution is almost 53% of the runs scored by the team.
• They have smashed 79 fours and 12 sixes.

While all that is good to hear and numbers are something people love to witness for evidence, the fact of the matter remains to be one thing. How do you account for such success as an opening pair? Although it is indeed sometimes classified as domestic cricket, they are seemingly un-comparable with the opening pairs from yesteryear.

Most of the people from my generation grew up watching some of the best opening batsmen ply their trade in cricket. You had Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist; Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag; Marcus Trescothick and Nick Knight; and who could ever forget Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana.

Yet, there is something different about this pair. They don’t play T20 cricket like it should be played. They don’t come in, smack the ball, score the 20s & 30s and head back to the dugout. They, however, do what they do best. They lay a foundation. A solid one at that. While the Knight Riders have always had the best of batting units and always had players to back them up should the openers fail, nothing can take away the contributions of the duo. They are not just any cricketer. They are special. They are relentless. And most importantly, they win you matches. Andre Russell may have won the man of the match the last few times, but it is the Gambhir-Uthappa effect that plays the most important role.

The question, however, after all, that points to the larger picture as both these immensely talented batsmen, are concerned. Will they don the blues of the Indian jersey once more? The last time Robin Uthappa played an international match was against a lowly Zimbabwe side in July 2015. Gautam Gambhir however, had a much bigger responsibility having been called up to do battle with the Indians in the horrific Test series against England in the spring of 2014.

Whether the national selectors ever pay heed to these words, as far as I am concerned, these two players will, rather seamlessly, waltz into any cricketing team at the moment. The so-called ‘Midas touch’ seems to be with them, with their blades of willow doing much of the justification. They truly are the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ for the Kolkata Knight Riders at least.

What is your opinion? Do you think the Indian team should consider recalling Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa?

Also check out – 10 Instances when MS Dhoni absolutely owned the media with his wits