Defining Sarwan's Moment
I don't know about you, but I think that Ramnaresh Sarwan is a young, gifted cricketer with a great future. For this reason, I do not see his omission from the second Test against Pakistan as a bleak blot on his career.Rather, I think if he handles it positively, it can be a pivotal point, the stage at which he begins to reflect carefully on his role and his ability and applies himself more diligently to developing his game.
For years now, Sarwan has carried a double-edged sword of confidence. He does not wilt nor does he cower in the face of aggressive attacks. This extraordinary self-assurance enabled him to become one of the youngest capped players for the West Indies, and it was even more remarkable coming as it did from the little slip of a boy that he was (who could forget the image of a towering McGrath glowering down at a defiant, unflinching Sarwan?).
That confidence grew to resemble cockiness too closely. It was an impermeable shield that could deflect attacks as effectively as it spurned advice and criticism with equal disdain. Sarwan doesn't listen, doesn't like people telling him how to play his cricket. He told me so himself four years ago when I was interviewing him. He'd conceded that if advice came from an "expert" he'd listen, "but it is up to me as an individual to pick what is right from wrong."
"You will find one or two people tell you things about my mental state and my shot selection, you will hear that from the public, and it will get me a little angry because I know for a fact that whenever I go out there I give my best," he'd said. But he'd also dismissed advice about the hook shot that's got him out so many times that opposing teams blatantly set him up for it. It was a shot he loved and nobody could tell him what to do about it.
That's his approach.
Sarwan on the go is beautiful to watch: stylish and classy with a full repertoire of strokes. His flaw has been something cavalier, an almost irresponsible casualness that leads to unnecessary dismissals. It speaks of a mentality that has not yet grasped the full weight of his role on the West Indies team. For a very long time reports of arrogance, and devotion to superstar status have surrounded Sarwan, to the extent that he has been deemed to have adopted an imperial air. Obviously, it reached unmanageable proportions, hence the decision for a drop.
Brian Lara has said that his omission was designed to "make him aware of the situation and for him to come back stronger." He also made it a point to bestow a supreme assessment, saying "Sarwan is one of the best talents in his generation, in my generation and even the generation before."
Sarwan could choose to join the crowd who see Lara's motives as based on jealousy, or truculently recall Lara's behaviour at Sarwan's age. Or he could see it as a moment when an experienced hand reaches out to steer him toward achieving his full potential. At the end of the day, it is of no consequence what Lara's motives are. He might genuinely be trying to spare Sarwan the lost time spent on correcting mistakes because he too walked that road. What matters is how Sarwan responds.
As an event in his life, it could either be a big stain, or become the episode he looks back on in a decade when he is recognised as a truly great player and says: that was the turning point.
If this can be a defining moment in his career, it is up to him to decide how it is shaped.
At the very least it is a wake-up call, for more than Ramnaresh Sarwan.