Life lessons from T20 cricket
Indian premier league (IPL) T20 cricket has been a welcome distraction for me in these times of pandemic and economic distress. As someone who have been following the IPL closely, I have noticed that in the midst of all the entertainment-from the monstrous sixes, curling yorkers, and swaying fortunes- T20 cricket also teaches you many lessons in life, if you observe closely,that is.
In T20 cricket, one can never be sure of a result until the last ball is bowled. The fortunes can change sides in a matter of minutes. This is similar to life itself which brings me to the first lesson. Never give up on anything in life no matter what the current situation is. Always nurture hope that things can turn around and when it does, one should be ready. A corollary to the above would be to not be off-guard when everything is going well. Things can get messy anytime and when it does, again, one should be ready with a plan B.
When a batsman or bowler is not in-form and performing badly often the commentators can be heard advising the player to stick to the basics. Similarly, in life,many times one will be having days and days on end when nothing seems to be going right no matter how hard one tries. On such days, stick to the basics-maintain your health and relationships and,at the same time, keep chipping away at the problem. Sooner than later, things will give way.
More often than not, a ‘25 run off 10ball’ cameo is applauded more than a ’50 run off 44 ball’ knock. This is because the situation demands so. Even in life, be smart, flexible and open- play according to the situation and not what one usually does by default. This will fetch you more rewards. Sometimes a rookie player would run away with the match as the opposition may have devoted all their pre-match planning to counter champion players in the other team. This shows us never to underestimate anyone. We don’t know whose story can play out on a given day. Fate is funny.
An in-form batsman or bowler always perform in a free-flowing way. There doesn’t seem to be any doubt in the mind when he or she plays. This shows your best performance comes when your mind is clutter free and when you are under no stress whatsoever. Always aim to be in such a frame of mind.
The premier batsman or bowler in a team is expected to win the match and bring the team home. There is more expectation on this particular player than the other members of the team. This means if you are good at your skill, it’s a responsibility to contribute and uplift the team and not to gloat over your talent.With talent and skill comes responsibility.
No matter how good a player is, no one can hit every ball for a boundary or take a wicket in every over. There will be balls which beat you, you may lose your wicket cheaply in some games or if you are a bowler, you will be whacked around the park at times. Similarly,in life,one can’t have everything going ones way all the time. You will botch up sometimes and that’s okay. And when you do botch up, the best thing to do is what a fielder does after a dropped catch- Forget about it and move on. If you fret over it for too long you may miss the next catch that comes your way. And life does give second chances at times.
And lastly, teams play hard for pride even when they are out of the tournament. In life too, even if everything is lost, there is always something to play for and win. Find out what it is and start again.
