You saw thousands of people walk in and out of the dressing room. You decide to hide behind someone who can never escape the spotlight. Maybe, the crowd knew you hate the spotlight, Maybe, the crowd knew you are a replica of the wall, so, they normally let you walk.
While you thought you were on a great run, a slight blunder here and there saw you fall from the top, and a minor concentration loss was the catalyst to your fall. You suddenly had the spotlight or should I say your blunders had it?
This is wrong, you thought. This is not how you wanted to be seen, you thought. You were surrounded by people, but not the loved ones. They’re your criticisers. You wanted all to change. You wanted to change. Maybe the comparison to the wall pulled you down. Maybe you wanted to be left all by yourself, but what kept ringing in your ears are the words, ‘Team needs you’, and ‘Test cricket needs you’. With or without knowing, the time, the determination, the patience made you the last person one to play proper Test cricket.
Come Australia. The place that always produced champions. Every time the team visit Australia, there will be a lone warrior who gives it all to the country and put the name in the history books though they end up losing. When the need came, when everyone thought the King would be that lone warrior once again, you volunteered and you fitted in perfectly.
You made sure to give the team an upper hand, you made sure to keep the Test cricket alive. In the fast world, you showed how beautiful the traditional game is.
Once again, you caught people’s attention. This time, you weren’t the unsung hero but the boss, the leader who the entire nation trusts.
This is your moment. This is where you belong. The blunders might put you down once again, but you will rise. You will rise when you hear the words, ‘The team needs you’.
‘This is where you belong’ | HBD Pujara
