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12 Saal Mein 1 Baar Bhi Nahi Chalta Hain: An Open Letter To Rohit Sharma From An ICT Fan

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Rohit Sharma [Source: @Sport360/x.com]Rohit Sharma [Source: @Sport360/x.com]

Dear Rohit Sharma, 

You and your team healed the minds of 1.4 billion people on 29 June 2024. Winning the T20 World Cup 2024 final from an almost impossible stage healed our wounds from the dreadful 19 November 2023. It gave us hope that Indian cricket is going through a safe transition and that our days of world domination in the game are nearing. 

But the team's recent debacle against New Zealand has brought disparity, disappointment, and, most of all, disbelief. Cricket is a religion for us, and players like you and Virat Kohli are nothing short of Gods for us. We kept hoping for a comeback and show of resilience from the team, but it never came. Even when you said - ‘12 saal mein ekbar toh chalta hain na yaar’- after losing the series in the second Test, we accepted, hoping that the first two games were rare instances and the team would bounce back in the third match. The fight back never came and hence from a die-hard Indian fan to our captain - ‘12 saal mein ek baar bhi nahi chalta hain’.

Cricket Is Our Pride

The Indian team has given us some of the happiest moments in our lives. We pride ourselves on the fact that Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Virat Kohli, and You have represented us at the highest level in the game. Even the newer generation of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and others give us hope that the future of Indian cricket will be in safe hands. 

Besides being proud of the fact that we have been blessed with some of the greatest names in World Cricket, our home domination is something that gives us a voice against the supporters of other nations. The last time we lost a series at home against England under MSD, we were disappointed to the same extent. But even then, dominating the world was a budding dream and had not yet been realised. With players like you and Virat on the rise then, we hoped that the days of our utter domination would come. 

We expect our captain to represent this pride and belief in our cricket team. So, your statement that things like these can happen once in a while hurt us. We never expected our captain to justify a defeat with such casual statements.

Defeat The Aussies: Heal Us

Well, I think it is these moments when you actually need your supporters to be behind you, and yes, we still believe in the team. We just hope that you and your team show a lot more responsibility and defeat the Aussies once more in their backyard. With the WTC title on the line, we expect our ‘Hitman’ to take charge and show Cummins and Co. how it feels when the opposition silences your home crowd.

Once you give us back the glory by winning in Australia and lead us into the WTC final, we will probably forget the debacle against the Kiwis. But please do give us the chance to get over this nightmare. Expect the team to do the best down under and bring back the glory and smile on the face of 1.4 Billion people. 

Yours Truly,

A Die Hard Indian Cricket Fan