The name is Valthaty…… Paul Valthaty

Its not even a month since Cricket World Cup 2011 drew to a wonderful close with the Indian team reaching the zenith of its game right when it mattered  most and here we are with IPL trying to rinse off the memories of those World Cup winning moments. Not that its easy to erase them, but, the performances of the teams in the IPL seems to ring in a feeling if the World Cup is indeed a benchmark of how good a sportsman or a team is performing. Scores of 190-200 being scored in a matter of 20 overs and many a time being chased out too by the opponents, batting innovations, bowlers attempting a Yorker off every ball and almost getting it, life is one great gladiatorial arena in those stadia. As with any sport, the idea is to go beyond that proverbial “limit”, to stretch the possible limits and compress the impossible boundaries.

And then there is Paul Valthaty. I hardly knew him and so did many who follow cricket closely, till a week or so back. Now, he seems to be the new prodigy, a wonder kid who has turned the IPL matches right over its head single handedly. Teams are preparing their strategies to counter him rather than the Punjab XI team. Nah!!!!!!!!! I have nothing to do with IPL team strategies, neither am I any good at that.

Mr. Valthaty, though, has become my favorite. Not for that malluish accent of his  , neither because I am a supporter of Punjab XI ( Kochi man… I am the Kochi man which I know had no clue how it won the last encounter with MI) nor because he got a hug from Preity Zinta for that knock of his or because he is that the exquisite batsman on whom the cricket connoisseur sings paeans about. Its all for one reason and that is because he doesn’t distort his face into expressions reminiscent of constipation problems each time he gets a century or a wicket or any other signifier worthy of praise. It seems to have become some kind of fashion fad these days for our cricketers to pump in the air or to emit their wonderful vocabulary of censored words each time they score a half century or a century or take a wicket… so on and so forth. I often wonder what makes them so angry when they are supposed to celebrate.  Media often calls it the fighting spirit of these guys but I think we can do better than Aussies for that matter.

So then, Mr. Paul Valthaty is that quintessential performer who takes the wind of the opponents sails so very silently. Now that is a gift one has to earn, because all said and done you don’t want to lose your energy pumping and jumping right when you are in the middle of a humdinger. Sachin Tendulkar is one shining example of this virtue, the little master is at his menacing best when he is silent and least expressive. He goes about his job with no fuss about it. How better can you answer a sledging bowler than bang him to the fences the very next ball? That matters and matters a lot. It tells a lot of the character one possesses. Not that the jumping and pumping ones are characterless, but, the game is all about concentration and getting things done. It’s not about the batsman who can hit six sixes of an over or the bowler who can bowl swinging Yorkers every other ball, but it’s about putting runs on board and chasing them up, taking wickets and saving runs.

I admire Paul Valthaty for that virtue and I wish he endures in him this quality in the coming days. It was amazing how he scored in that match against the CSK and then against the MI. he took 4 wickets in the match against MI. I couldn’t help but admire him while he spoke after the match in the presentation ceremony. He sounded so level-headed and straight, no airs about it.  That’s how an Indian cricketer should treat these moments of glory because you can be beaten out of your senses if you go down the very next game. M S Dhoni is another cricketer who does this commendably well. Indian cricket needs Cool guys like them who can treat each moment at the field with some equanimity.

So then, here’s wishing Paul Valthaty and other such talented cricketers all the very best and hoping to see some cracker contests in the coming days.