Agarkar is thriving on responsibility
by Partab Ramchand
DateLine: 7th February 2007
He has seen it all and heard it all. He has been around since Javagal
Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad were India’s opening bowlers. And he has
seen himself superseded by the likes of Zaheer Khan, Aashish Nehra,
Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipathi Balaji as India’s pace spearhead. "The
most exciting discovery in Indian cricket since Kapil Dev" is
something that he is familiar with but then he has also heard the
refrain "the greatest enigma of Indian cricket."
Ajit Balchandra Agarkar has been around now at the international level
for almost ten years. He has scored a Test hundred at Lord’s – a feat
that has been beyond many greats in Indian cricket. He has won a Test
match for the country with his bowling. Yes, Adelaide 2003 perhaps is
better remembered for Rahul Dravid’s great double of 233 and 72 not out
and his 303-run partnership with VVS Laxman that brought India back
into the game. But the match could not have swung irrevocably in
India’s favour but for Agarkar’s six for 41 on the fourth day. Oh yes,
he has also got seven ducks in a row in Tests against Australia. Indeed
his Test figures - 571 runs at 16.79 and 58 wickets at 47.32 apiece
from 26 matches – sum up the puzzling nature of his career.
There is no doubt that Agarkar has not been able to make the transition
to Test cricket. But his ubiquitous qualities have marked him out as a
potential match winner in the shorter version of the game. Certainly
there are no doubts as to his claim to permanence in the limited overs
squad. And yet even here he has been in and out of the team. Hence the
term "the greatest enigma of Indian cricket."
"He has been given too long a rope" is another thing that has been
heard quite often about Agarkar. But has he really? Ups and downs are
there for any cricketer and even the best of players have had lapses in
form. Agarkar is no exception. There are times when the Indian cricket
follower is left tearing his hair in frustration as Agarkar is creamed
for fours and sixes in an over – and in a tight situation. His batting
has not exactly matched his early exploits – notably his feat of
scoring a half-century off 21 balls against Zimbabwe in 2000. On the
other hand he has come off with bat and ball when least expected. One
has to be careful writing him off for just at that moment he is capable
of pulling off a sterling performance with bat or ball – if not both!
Certainly his ODI figures underline the Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde character
of Agarkar. A strike rate of 82 is impressive but not an average of 15
or just three half centuries. In bowling an average of 27.4 is
acceptable as also a strike rate of 32.5 but then his economy rate of
just over five is rather disturbing.
At any rate like wine he seems to be getting better with age. His
performances over the last year or so have seen him cement his place in
the one day squad once and for all. What’s more he seems to be enjoying
his role of elder statesman. All the others in the pace attack are so
much junior to him and when a player is able to rise to new
responsibilities he has to be respected. It is now accepted that he is
a utility man expected to open the bowling and come back in the slog
overs to try and stem the expected flow of runs. Any decent scores from
him late in the order have now to be regarded as a bonus. That he can
still wield the willow to good effect however has been seen more than
once recently and this augurs well for the team. Still it is his
bowling that attracts considerably more attention. From his willowy
frame he is able to extract deceptive pace and disconcerting bounce
thanks to a whippy delivery that stems from strong shoulders. And of
course now and then he is able to bring off the kind of dream delivery
that cleaned up Chris Gayle in the ODI series against West Indies last
month.
As he prepares to play in his third World Cup Agarkar in his 30th year
is no more the exciting talent who burst upon the scene nearly a decade
ago. He has matured as cricketer, the rough edges have been smoothened
out and he has thrived on responsibility. His best could still be ahead
– perhaps even in the World Cup.
(Article: Copyright © 2007 CricketArchive)
