“Oh, look
at this! Pujara has played twelve balls and has not scored a run, but Sachin
hits three boundaries in the first four balls he played. He is great, he IS
great! No other words to describe him!!”
“What are
you so excited about?” Jill, my Siamese cat and Jack, my Great Dane asked.
Jack moved
ahead, sat near me, gave me a queer look and watched the TV. Jill jumped up and
coiled herself on the sofa.
“And he is
under pressure to perform when he takes these audacious steps. There is no
substitute for talent. He is the most accomplished player because he is the
most talented player.” Jill said watching cricket Test match between India and Australia.
“I don’t
know why we always hold diametrically opposite opinions” Jack, my Great Dane
said with a tone of disapproval. “It is the hard work that pays. Vinod Kambli
was no less talented; some say he was even more talented than this Little Master.
And look where he is. It is all about discipline and hard work.”
“Don’t talk
about Vinod Kambli. He wasted his talent, if he had any. You can’t say he was
as talented as Sachin just because he hit so many double hundreds and made a
blazing start.” Jill replied. “Talent or no talent, what matters is the performance.”
“I agree
with Jill.” I said. “Performance is the conclusive proof of one’s talent.”
“I am happy
that Sachin is in ‘form’ again. A genius like him knows how to bounce back.”
Jill said.
“We differ
again Jill.” Jack looked up at her and continued, “Nobody ‘knows’ how to bounce
back. Nobody ‘comes’ in form. Sachin has rediscovered it. He played Ranji
Trophy matches, gave himself a lot of real competitive situations. You should
say he has “regained” his form. That’s simply because he worked on his game to rediscover
it, very systematically. I don’t know why others can’t do it – why can’t they
follow his example.”
“That’s
because they have got a fat bank balance and very little talent.” Jill said
knowing that she had won a point there. “I have a theory – your bank balance
erodes your talent. Ha, ha!!”
“Sachin himself
is a shining example to disprove your theory. There is nobody richer than him
in the game.” Jack said emphatically and looked at me. “Hey, what say you?”
Jack asked me.
“What’s the
issue?”
“Is talent
more important than hard work?” Jack and Jill both asked.
“Hmmm……. I think both!” I said after a lot of thought.
“That’s a
political answer. Contest forthcoming elections. You seem to have talent for not
taking a position!” Jill said as if she was talking about Manmohan Singh.