Superstitions

I was hoping to write this as a non-cricket post but anyways…I tried

Yesterday, I was engaged in those daily meaningless pre-game activities that I rumble upon every time before I get to the field! Completely superstitious, like slamming the door or having the collar loose and stuffs like that. Performance was never credited to these, but failures are always directed towards not following one of those activities.

Superstitions are part of anyone who believes in winning and has a slight inclination towards the thought that everything is connected to everything in ways unbeknown to us. But, there is a very thin line that separates sanity and superstitious beliefs. How far are we away from self-confidence and believe in those things that you don’t know for sure is connected to the outcome!

I still remember my school/college days, where I had to pencil my name before I see the first question in the question paper. If in someway I was forced to see the questions before the name rule, I end up writing the answers to my true caliber, which by the way SUCKS!! End up either losing a lot of marks because of my attention (lack of) to details or doing something weird that I usually don’t. May be I was flustered by the fact that I knew that I did not follow the usual. But the outcome is of very high importance that most of us dont have the luxury to be pragmatic and hence virtually forced to follow the protocols, which is framed by ourselves out of nowhere.

Supporters of superstitions are behind the theory that If something can be thought of (=is possible) and is not known (=proven or observed) yet - it is most probably due to the shortcomings of Science and not because it does not exist. Hence the motivation towards reasoning the saner varieties that we were told to do by grannies of the household, like the viboodhi to sleep to absorb those bad waters (or something like that). Today's superstition could well become tomorrow's Science provided with the right theoretical developments.

These beliefs are harmless as long as it’s not hurting anyone on the progress. At the same time one should not let it flirt with the self-confidence. If one let their superstitious belief propose to their self-confidence, the baby that they make together is not as strong as it is supposed to be.

On ending this on a lighter note today, in one of the advisor’s out-of-town days, I asked Mr.G to get me some of the international Cricket superstitions. Here we are with some interesting ones; I guess you would know most of them. You are welcome to add something that you know!

Sunny Gavaskar always used to ground his bat first before bringing his right foot into position, while taking guard.

Kapil Dev used to wear socks first to his left leg.

Dilip Vengsarkar, who took to captaincy in the late 1980s, never shaved during the five-day Test matches.

1983 World Cup: India was down in the dumps in game against Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup. Suddenly Kapil Dev began stroking the ball. The manager of the team Man Singh saw this and shouted instructions: "Nobody would move from his seat." Srikkanath was standing outside the dressing room on this cold, windy day, with a cup of coffee in his hand. And he didn't move for the next two hours or so! He wanted to go to the loo, but the entire team said: no! It stayed that way till Kapil walked back with a triumphant 175 not out. Not just Srikkanath but the entire team stood at the same spots. It was one of the greatest knocks in any form of cricket. The miracle happened and India went on to claim the World Cup.

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar with all those big tons behind him also is the superstitious Tendulkar always wears his left pad first and when he was captain would not take off his kit till the innings was over!

Rahul Dravid, The Wall wears his right pad first as a matter of superstition.

Sanath Jayasurya, the big hitter from Sri Lanka always searches for something in his pocket while batting. Maybe it is a lucky charm. But it has certainly worked for Sanath, especially against India!

Steve Waugh used to carry a red handkerchief in his left pocket, which was given to him by his late grandfather. And then there was his battered baggy green cap that Waugh persisted with.

Md. Azharuddin’s "taabeez" always hung out when he came out to bat. No wonder then that Azhar slammed three straight Test tons against England apart from being one of the most prolific batsmen that India had ever produced.

The Bengal Tiger, Sourav Ganguly carries a photo of his guruji in his pocket when he is enters the field. It seems to have worked well in the past…does he still have his pockets!?

Remember that 10 wicket hall taken by Anil Kumble against Pakistan at the Feroze Shah Kotla? In that match as a superstition Sachin used to give Kumble's sweater and cap to the umpire before Anil was to bowl an over, and every time Sachin did it Kumble got a wicket in that very over.