Life intervened. And put paid to my intention of being regular on this blog.
TBH, I freed myself of life’s entanglements a few weeks back, and thought of getting back to this.
“Let me begin with the perfect story,” I thought, and in thinking that, fell into the same trap I have warned others about in my writing workshops. Because this is how it goes: Something happens today; I think it is a good story to start with; then I think again and go “No, this is a developing story, let’s wait a bit for more context and nuance”… and in this way, the perfect story never comes.
So — a belated New Year resolution: No more waiting for the perfect story. This blog was always intended to be a running receptacle for thoughts, impressions, observations, with the occasional longform essay when some issue needed to be looked at in depth — and starting today, that is exactly what it is going to be.
For my monthly column for The Morning Context, I combined two issues that have recently exercised the cricket-watching world: Wriddhiman Saha’s very public (and very unnecessary) meltdown, and the sun that is setting over the careers of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Here it is, behind a paywall.
And here, as additional reading, is a link to Jarrod Kimber’s latest newsletter on the same subject.
There are two Twitter threads that add some context to this story. The first is by Joy Bhattacharjya, the ace sports promoter who recently pulled off the first season of Prime Volleyball in the face of opposition by the Volleyball Federation of India. And the second is what I added on to Joy’s masterful breakdown of the ills of “access journalism”.
One other piece you should read, in this context, is by Siddarth Monga for ESPNCricinfo, on the axing of Rahane and Pujara. The money quote:
Then again careers in competitive sport hardly ever end in a perfect manner. And who is to say this is the end? They will all be raging against the dying light, and don’t be surprised if there is a successful comeback or two. If it is indeed the end, it is just a fact of life – stellar careers to be celebrated, new ones to be looked forward to. Those who are feeling the hurt of the transition today might just be shepherding the next ones themselves, or endorsing them in the media.
Exactly.
(See you more regularly than I have been able to manage thus far).
Cover image courtesy The Morning Context
