Endorsements Don’t Allow Indians to Retire Early: Sandeep Patil

Indians, with their endorsements and opportunities of making extra money, take time to walk away from the game.

Former India cricketer and chief selector Sandeep Patil writes about Alastair Cook’s decision to retire and why his Indian counterparts may not bid farewell to the sport as early in their careers.

(Photo: IANS)

The sudden retirement of the great English Test batsman Alastair Cook must have put many of his team-mates in shock. Even I am surprised by his decision as he was getting so close to breaking some of the all-time batting records in Test cricket. However, times have changed and I am happy that in Indian Cricket, Lodha Commission did not interfere in the retirement plan of the players. Ultimately, retirement is an individual’s choice and I firmly believe in that.

Cook’s announcement earlier this week, at the age of 33, has led many to question why most foreign players – past and current – retire at the helm of their careers but their Indian counterparts take time in announcing their retirements.

If I have to say, there are more than a handful of Indian legends in just the last five years who have delayed announcing their retirement.

There is money on one side and the fitness of a player on the other. If a player is fit and contributing to the team, age should never be the criterion. The present example is MS Dhoni. He took the excellent decision of quitting Test cricket, which was a shock for me as the chief selector at that time, and for his fans across the world. But it was a courageous decision. He must have sincerely felt that his time was up in Test cricket.

What is important in cricket for selectors and for a player is to assess whether he is going to be useful to his team. I have seen many players at the NCA who were there to get fit enough to play in the IPL but were used to keep themselves away from domestic cricket, which is absolutely wrong. India’s first captain the great Colonel CK Nayudu played first class cricket till he was 50 years old and continued to perform well till his last playing days. Then there is Padmakar Shivalkar who played for Mumbai till the age of 48.

Here I would like to say that Indian players with their endorsements, contracts and the opportunities of making extra money, take time to walk away from the game, and I don’t blame them because times have changed and now the careers of current Indian cricketers are also monitored by their respective agencies.

Even if a player thinks that he is done with his playing days, I believe their contracts and endorsements do not permit them to take that final call. After all, who does not want to make money? Me included.

I would like to give the example of VVS Laxman who became my darling from day one. He did not have too many endorsements and was finding it tough to continue his playing days due to a back problem. While in rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru, he took a sudden decision to bid farewell to the game. Hats off to him.

Being a cricket loving country, we normally express strong views in selection matters like who should be a part of the team and who shouldn’t. But at the end of the day we are nobody to judge and pester the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni, and Harbhajan Singh with the question that when will they hang their boots.

When a player decides to play cricket and dreams to play for his country, he just wants to contribute. But today’s generation is under a lot of pressure. The stakes are really high and there is big money involved.

A player like me, who retired at the age of 29, wouldn’t have even thought of delaying the retirement announcement. In our days we took pride in playing for the country and the money was secondary. In my case, the day I felt I was no longer enjoying, forget contributing, I announced my retirement. But after that I continued playing cricket for Madhya Pradesh for the next five years.

It is not right to compare what players from other countries do with what our Indian players have done. There are great examples in Indian cricket where individual players have retired at the right time. But this again raises an important question that who will decide the right time. I believe it should be left to an individual player. Selectors need to judge a player on his fitness and performance rather that what position the player enjoys in the team.

A player should always remember that the ultimate goal for him/her should be playing for one’s country rather than for money. The greatest reward for any individual should be performing under any situation and winning matches for India. But the big question is how many players actually follow and believe it.

Today there are three formats of the game – Test, ODI and T20 – and I fear that players are getting confused as there is a temptation of taking that extra chance. This where a selection committee comes in. The BCCI is doing its best to give them the best of facilities, but player should understand whether he is playing for himself or for his country.

But saying all that, I would again like to wish Alastair Cook on his retirement. Well done, Cook!