Rolling back time: Cricket legends and a game called nostalgia

For fans, it is often a chance to see their heroes in the flesh; heroes they couldn’t watch earlier. The matches have so far been held in Kolkata, Lucknow, Delhi, Cuttack and Jodhpur, where the final leg is taking place. The organisers have tried to mix in a few cities where international cricket didn’t make regular stops and that explains why crowds to the tune of 17-20,000 have regularly made it to the stadium. That is more than what any Ranji Trophy game attracts these days.

It isn’t very different for the players either. It is a chance to shine on the ground again. When Australia’s Shane Watson decided to retire from all forms of cricket, he never thought he would use his cricket skills, from a technical point of view, on the field again.

“I certainly didn’t know what to expect,” said Watson. “But the feeling in the lead up to coming to India… hitting the nets again… batting and bowling… the feeling of doing something that I know better than anything in my life… troubleshooting to try and get back to my best, that was pure joy.”

Watson added: “The real challenge is getting used to the ball hitting you again. Absorbing the blows from the hard cricket ball. But on the whole, physically, the batting is fun. The biggest challenge is bowling as it was in my career anyway. It was a battle and nothing has really changed in that regard. But playing back-to-back games last week has asked a few questions that my body hasn’t responded quite well to.”

Chris Gayle had a long international career and an even longer career playing in T20 Leagues around the world. So, one might reckon he would be better off than many of his ‘older’ team-mates. It isn’t quite the case.

“I am not the fittest but I can tell you I am strong,” said Gayle. “I can tell you maan, it is very competitive because you have guys like Fidel Edwards and Tino Best and they are still bowling at 145 kph. Those guys are bowling really quick and you have to shuffle up and buckle up to take them on. But it is a great opportunity not just for players like me but also for players who have been away from the game for a while. It is a chance for fans to see them, especially for those who couldn’t see them in the flesh while they were playing.”

There are some cricketers, like Best, who have managed to keep their fitness levels at a very high level. But to others, being part of a Legends League presents a different challenge. They can’t just come out and do what they used to, so they need to problem solve in a different way.

“I think as you get older,” said former Australian cricketer Brett Lee, who was one of the fastest bowlers ever. “The pace isn’t going to be a 160 kph anymore. Naturally at 45, that won’t happen, the pace isn’t what it used to be but there are other ways you can get batters out. I think the level of skill is still there for a lot of the players. So, we just have to think differently; there are different tactics involved now. For batters, their eyes tend to fade away after 40 and the reflexes aren’t as sharp but it doesn’t mean that they can’t bat. Everyone is going through different challenges and we just learn how to evolve based on the level we are at the moment.”

In essence, it shows that there never really is just one way to play the game. There’s strength and fitness but there is also skill, and watching the legends on the field shows them in a very different light.

For Harbhajan, though, it eventually comes down to joy. Having played the game for so long, retirement often means that a huge part of their lives just comes to a full stop. But here, they can stay in touch… even if it is just for 10-15 days.

“Mazza aa jata hai, khelna ka mazza (there’s joy; the joy of playing),” said Harbhajan. “No matter what you do in life, the kind of fun you get while playing—it cannot be matched by anything else. This is exactly the feeling that we miss the most when we get busy with life. And even though it is for 10-15 matches, it is just fun.”

Lee agrees, “I have been playing the game since I was 9 years of age, so it has been a long journey, a very, very exciting one. When you retire from sport, you lose that excitement and the energy that you get from playing in a match. You might commentate but you never ever replicate the enjoyment and the enthusiasm and the nerves that you get when you play sport.”

Given that most of these players played at a very high level, it wouldn’t be fun if they didn’t get an adrenaline rush. It has to be competitive; it has to push them and no one is prepared to take a backward step… just like the old days. No one is there to take it easy.

“The ego part is also there,” said Watson. “That is always going to be there. That is how I have been built in general. I don’t like failing, I don’t like losing. That always has been the driving point and still is. And that is why the Legends League is fun—everyone is having a real crack. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, so that has made me step up even more to see what I can do and what my body can take.”

That exactly is the lure of the league for Harbhajan too. Any sport, whether it is played at the highest level or in the gully, is by nature competitive.

“I think sport is driven by competitiveness,” said Harbhajan. “If you take that away then it will feel a little meaningless. For me, it is important to compete. And of course, you want to win each and every game. You can’t win every game but the effort has to remain the same.

“Honestly, I came into this league without a single ball bowled but once we were back, it just felt like we belonged; like we were never away.”