Saba Karim feels the reason behind the Fab 4 (Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman) struggling in T20 cricket was the timing of the entire T20 revolution in India. All four batters were in their early 30s and with T20 cricket considered a young man’s game, Saba Karim feels they just could not adjust to the taxing demands of the format.
While Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman achieved everything in ODIs and Tests, their T20 careers could never take off.
MS Dhoni Led India Won Inaugural T20I World Cup 2007 Sans Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly And Rahul Dravid
When the Indian team for the inaugural T20I World Cup in 2007 was announced, the star-studded trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid went missing from the list.
The trio had collectively decided that T20 cricket is a youngster’s game and that the team would be better off without them for the inaugural ICC tournament in South Africa. In hindsight, the decision couldn’t have been more correct. As it turned out, India, led by the effervescent MS Dhoni created history and won the World Cup, which in turn, triggered the birth of a T20 revolution in India known as the IPL.
Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman’s T20 careers could never take off. As it turns out, among the Fab 4, only Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid played a sole T20I match for India.
When the IPL debuted, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were the marquee players, and appointed captains of Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers respectively.
Saba Karim: IPL Came 2-3 Years Late In The Careers Of The Icon Players
Having said that, barring Sachin Tendulkar, none of the three batters could achieve much success in IPL or T20 cricket. Former BCCI national selector and ex-India wicketkeeper Saba Karim said IPL came 2-3 years later. But Saba Karim admits the star batters tried a lot in their fag end of careers but took time to adjust in the T20s.
“IPL came 2-3 years late in the careers of icon players. The track record of players like Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly has been brilliant in white-ball cricket. So, for them, it would have been easier for them to adjust to T20 cricket. I think they tried a lot, but since it was the last leg of their careers, it took time to adjust to T20s,” saba Karim said on the YouTube show ‘Khelneeti’.
Sachin Tendulkar by far has the most superior T20 stats. He played 78 IPL matches across six seasons for Mumbai Indians and scored 2334 runs at an average of 34.83 including 13 half-centuries and one century. At the age of 36, Sachin Tendulkar won the Orange Cap once for scoring 618 runs at an average of over 47 in the 3rd edition of the IPL in 2010.
The next best was Rahul Dravid. He played 89 matches, also across six seasons and tallied 2174 runs including 11 half-centuries. Starting off with RCB, Rahul Dravid moved to Rajasthan Royals in 2011 before finishing his career two years later. Sourav Ganguly played for KKR and Pune Warriors India and featured in 59 IPL matches, in which he scored 1349 runs with six half-centuries.
VVS Laxman featured in just 20 games and scored 282 runs. He represented defunct franchises Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Deccan Chargers. His average was a mere 15.67.
