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Names that bridge cricketing history
At the outset, we’d like to mention that there is no ideal selection of greats in any field in life, as in cricket. You may agree with our selection, or you may not.
By Jaideep Ghosh
That is exactly why we are putting up this feature, to get your opinion on these things.
The players selected have been icons in their countries, as well as outside. They were the cusp between modern and traditional cricket, between white and coloured clothing, television viewers to television umpires, straight drives to switch-hits.
Each has been an icon in creating history. Akram is a paragon of a fast bowler, who has overcome the limitations of his home pitches as well as diabetes to create a niche as one of the superstars of the art of pace bowling. He was also instrumental in carrying forward the mantle of Imran Khan’s charisma and leadership qualities.
Steve Waugh was a great leader for his team, but with a side like that, almost anyone would have been a great captain. Where Waugh made a difference was in the manner he overcame pretty evident technical inabilities with sheer grit and iron will, time and again hauling Australia out of the mouth of near-defeats to improbable wins. He, being at the centre of the cricketing revolution as the game changed, also carried the Aussie art of ‘mental disintegration’ to special levels.
Sourav Ganguly was where India learned to fight back. Always considered a team with tremendous skill and very little fight, India were transformed as Ganguly coaxed, cajoled, abused, argued and scoffed his way to a place where an average Indian player became a very mean street fighter. A slew of players latched on to this attitude and added skill to make India world-beaters in the limited-overs game and a fighting force in Test cricket.
Murali showed that one can get wickets anywhere. He fought off accusations about his action till the end of his career to rattle up more wickets than it was thought possible. Murali was also instrumental in making sure that the ICC bent its knees in front of his bent elbow. Technology was used to assess him and others, and that was also the groundwork for all the electronics now in use for almost everything in cricket.
You may not entirely agree with the choice of names. Players like Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne, you would imagine, should find mention in the list. Besides picking up your best from this list (there is also a poll question related to the same), you are welcome to send in your own favourites and we will pick the best of the lot.
Make your voices heard before we zero in on the best there ever was.
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