The rebirth of Robin

[CG]

The challenge for Uthappa version 2.0 was to convince people that there was more to him than the phase between 2006 and 2008 when he was one of MS Dhoni’s band of merry men. © Getty Images The challenge for Uthappa version 2.0 was to convince people that there was more to him than the phase between 2006 and 2008 when he was one of MS Dhoni’s band of merry men. © Getty Images If Robin Uthappa is the most misunderstood cricketer on the circuit in India today, he cannot realistically complain. For, he has only come to understand himself in the recent past. If he was in the dark, how can he grudge someone looking from outside shining a torch and failing to see what was plainly there? On Wednesday, January 29, 2014, when he attempts to become a Ranji Trophy winner, Uthappa will be 28 years and 78 days old. By then, he can count 49 international appearances, 38 times in One-Day Internationals and 11 times in Twenty20 Internationals that includes a World Cup winner’s medal in one of the houses in which he splits his time. Someone blessed with his natural physical ability and talent, should have more to show for his efforts. That he doesn’t, is partially of his own making, partially of the circumstances into which he was born, and partially because Indian cricket sometimes turns its back on young men well before all is said and done. Uthappa, like all well brought up young men, will not brook one bad word about his parents, but the fact remains that each of us is a product of our history and geography. There is no escaping the truth that Uthappa was the breadwinner of his family at a time when he should have been a carefree young man chasing skirts. There is no running away from the reality that the situation at home – a space that should have been a safe haven – was occasionally so toxic because of the troubled marriage of his parents, that Uthappa resorted to sleeping in his car at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Today, Uthappa stands on the verge of ticking a box that every Indian cricketer dreams of: holding the Ranji Trophy aloft. “It’s been a childhood dream. Ever since I’ve played first-class cricket, it’s something I’ve wanted to experience. I remember back in 2009, I went to Brijesh [Patel] sir and I said, ‘Let me lead this team. I know how to make this team win, I will make this team win.’ I honestly believed that I knew what it would take to make the Karnataka team win the Ranji Trophy,” Uthappa told Wisden India. “I understood how the boys function, where we were lacking. In that year we gave debuts to six guys, and in the following year to two more. It’s so heartening to see that these guys form the core of this team, which is one step away from the glorious moment of holding the trophy in our hands. As a team, and as individuals we have all grown in the last four years. We’re now actually enjoying each other’s company and success.” The Uthappa who opens the batting for Karnataka, is a batsman who has struggled with injuries just when he had put in the most effort, and who played an innings of character and class against Uttar Pradesh when wickets were falling around him. What did that knock do for him? “It is comforting to know that I played like that not long ago. It gives me confidence. I’ve worked really hard on my skills for the last 18 months,” he says. “It has taken a lot for me to unlearn everything that was natural to me, then learn the right things and make it so natural that it becomes a part of my muscle memory. I’ve been through the journey and today I know it’s a part of me. I am now confident about my skill and performing my role for my team as an opener, irrespective of how miniscule or how crucial that role can be. I have to make sure that when I’m batting, my team experiences a sense of confidence and comfort in the dressing room. As an opener, I think that is the most important thing you can do in the longest version of the game. I believe I’ve done all I can in the last 18 months to make myself the batsman who gives the team the confidence to say ‘Robin’s there at one end, he’ll take care of stuff there.’” When he burst onto the India scene as a 20-year-old, Uthappa was an instant hit. He fit every Coorgi stereotype you can think of. He was a warrior, an in-your-face competitor, a muscular, brawny operator who took great pleasure in hitting the ball a long way. “I always knew that there was a lot more to my game than hitting big sixes. I definitely needed to prove it, but I had been side-tracked into so many things in my personal life before I could make good choices for myself,” says Uthappa. “I needed to play cricket for the right reasons. When I made that choice, what followed was natural. Six months into doing that, everything fell into place. I realised that I needed to do this if I wanted to live my dreams. Today, with the possession of the skills I have as an opening batsman, I know I am very close to living that dream.” The journey began with mundane cricketing aspects, including a change of grip that reduced his reliance on his bottom hand, a tweaking of his stance and a change in his back lift. “When I got on this journey, the goal was not to reclaim a place in the Indian team. The goal was to clean up my cricket. It was to play cricket for the right reasons, to enjoy the game for the high that it gave me, to be the best cricketer I could be. Along the way – and that is a growth factor – you start to realise that in order to be the best you can be, there are things that you need to do,” says Uthappa, who has battled weight gain ever since childhood epilepsy was treated with steroids that slowed his metabolism down to a crawl. Where others could lose weight through a consult with a nutritionist and extra hours in the gym, Uthappa had to bear with insinuations that his fondness for a drink was at the root of all his problems – another lazy stereotype ascribed to Coorgis. Uthappa has struggled with injuries just when he had put in the most effort, and played an innings of character and class against Uttar Pradesh when wickets were falling around him. © AFP Uthappa has struggled with injuries just when he had put in the most effort, and played an innings of character and class against Uttar Pradesh when wickets were falling around him. © AFP The challenge for Uthappa version 2.0 was to convince people that there was more to him than the phase between 2006 and 2008 when he was one of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s band of merry men. “The bane of playing cricket when you’re young is that people think you’re 35 when you’re 25. People assume that they have seen the best of you even before you get there,” says Uthappa. “I made my Ranji debut at 16, I was all of 20 when I first played for India. I see this phase as my second coming, and if I may say so, for lack of a better word, as a rebirth. I feel so equipped as a cricketer, as far my skills are concerned, my choices, my mind, my professionalism, my discipline … so many factors … this is my rebirth.” Uthappa admits that he could, and should, have done things differently. “My fitness wasn’t where it should have been. With the technical ability that I did possess, I had already played the highest level of cricket. Being 21, when I won the World Cup, I thought I could do with what I had,” says Uthappa. “I never thought that I needed to constantly improve. When I got dropped from the Indian team, I went through my own personal difficulties, and that side-tracked me for a couple of years. That’s when people said Robin is arrogant, Robin is satisfied with just making money from the IPL, when all I was doing was fighting personal battles while trying to play cricket. That’s where I lost track of why I started playing the game. I reached a place where I was not enjoying the game, and I was asking myself, is this truly how I want to play the game. I knew in my heart that I had a lot more fight in me, that I had a lot more to give Indian cricket.” Uthappa owes a bit of his rebirth to Sheetal Gautam, his enduring best friend, a tennis player who understood the demands of balancing a life in sport with thriving in the real world. It was Sheetal who sent him to a nutritionist, and there the seeds of revival were sown. “When I went to a nutritionist and began to lose weight, I scored two hundreds in three matches. I slowly began to fall in love with the game again. I began to look forward to spending longer time at the crease,” says Uthappa. “I started enjoying the success of other people and being in a group. I opened up as a person again. I had previously gone into a shell where I had become moody to the point of not being approachable.” So, was playing for India as early as he did, when he was perhaps not mentally ready to make the most of it, a curse in some sense? Would he do better if he was given a go now? “I believe now is the best time,” says Uthappa. “I can say that with a more complete understanding of my own ability. Right now, with the skills I possess, with the ability to really be a team player, I am in the absolute best shape of my life, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, to contribute to a team.” To spend half an hour talking to Uthappa requires a certain openness of mind. One moment he’s talking cricket, and the next, going to places that could make you cringe in disbelief. “I used to be religious, but today I am spiritual. With all that was going on in my life, my only solace was God. I found solace in religion. But I also saw that I was stagnating. In a lot of ways, I was limiting what God could be,” says Uthappa. “My experiences in life have taught me that you cannot limit what God is … he is in the water we’re drinking, the air we breathe … he is everywhere. To set a bunch of rules to define how you interact with God, that just doesn’t work.” Close your eyes for a second, and you might think you were listening to Sri Sri Ravishankar, J Krishnamurti or Osho. Snap to, and you see a young man in a track suit, sporting a fashionable three-day stubble and a forearm tattoo that proclaims I Am. Blink, and before you is the young man who made the inside-out lofted drive over extra-cover a staple for Indian batsmen. “In the Bible, when someone came to Jesus and said, ‘Let me go bury my father,’ Jesus said, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead,’” says Uthappa, quoting from Luke 9:60, inadvertently betraying the fact that his spiritual awakening has not robbed him of his religion altogether. “When I look at that sentence today, I realise that God made things simple for us. What I take from that today, is that I must take responsibility for my own life. Today, I make my own decisions. I’ve been blessed, and I realise that I can’t look only at one aspect of my life and complain. Everything is as it is because we learn and grow through our suffering. If I hadn’t gone through what I did, I probably would not appreciate what it is to be here today. I’m grateful to the universe, to God, because I have everything that I need, right here.” All that remains, if for the time to come when Indian cricket needs Uthappa again, for he is finally ready to properly answer the call.

http://www.wisdenindia.com/cricket-article/rebirth-robin/96321

[diga]

There is no running away from the reality that the situation at home – a space that should have been a safe haven – was occasionally so toxic because of the troubled marriage of his parents, that Uthappa resorted to sleeping in his car at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

sad.. dont think anybody knows this except his fight with obesity. hope he finds some strength in Ranji & IPL exploits although he may not wear India colours again

[CG]

He really should not have been dropped and made scapegoat for asia cup debacle against mendis.He played one game and batted ta no 7 and failed when the top guys also had no clue.U see the amount of chances some players get and guy like robin who can be a good t20 and odi player has to be given chances.He also plays the short ball well.

[Talwar Raja]

Lets see how he plays in ranji trophy finals. Selectors are watching the match. If he performs well, he will get his chance.

[diga]

Lets see how he plays in ranji trophy finals. Selectors are watching the match. If he performs well' date=' he will get his chance.[/quote'] Doubt it.. his India days are over unless he performs exceedingly well

[ThePhenomenal1]

can always have an opener in t20s, not neccesary for dhawan to play int t20s when he plays ipl - we need dhawan as test and odi opener and to control his shots. Uthappa and rahane would be good imo

[coffee_rules]

Don't count your chickens before they are hatched - about winning RT.

[cowboysfan]

Doubt it.. his India days are over unless he performs exceedingly well

pretty much,i fear he has burned that bridge.

[jusarrived]

I would any day pick him over Rayudu, Dhawan and Rohit in the ODI side . Plays the hosrt ball very well , though wing may trouble him in the ODIs he should do well anywhere . May have run out of time , as for India team is concerned .

[Lord]

Doubt it.. his India days are over unless he performs exceedingly well

you never know.good IPL can aid his comeback.still only 28 was anyway in A team last year

[jusarrived]

Doubt it.. his India days are over unless he performs exceedingly well

He was ingnored when he was in much better form in the past , so I dont see it happening it now .

[RedFever]

can always have an opener in t20s, not neccesary for dhawan to play int t20s when he plays ipl - we need dhawan as test and odi opener and to control his shots. Uthappa and rahane would be good imo

do you remember the last time Uthappa played in T20 International ? that was the most selfish innings ever. Single handedly lost India the match when Gambhir was going all out at the other end. http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/556252.html

[skindia]

@above how many times nohit played selfishly,rain came suddenly otherwise he would have capitilised,he is basically odi player.

[skindia]

After good show in domestic odi,he got chance in t20, should have got odi chances.even in 2013,he was top scorer in domestic odi.

[ThePhenomenal1]

do you remember the last time Uthappa played in T20 International ? that was the most selfish innings ever. Single handedly lost India the match when Gambhir was going all out at the other end. http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/556252.html

agreed but it was a one-off t20, maybe he felt under pressure to keep his place. Would have done him or india no favours had he got out with a dumb shot. Plus, it was not uthappa but the crap bowlers that conceded over 200! Irfan, vinay, praveen, raina got more wickets than all! Had we had to chase 140-180, im sure the score would have been less to get under d/l

[MCcricket]

Uthappa has a basic flaw in his batting , cover the stumps and play all deliveries targeting the off to middle stumps on the leg side and he will get lbw more often then not, also when he played for India he showed he was not mature and tried to play only in one gear and did not have the maturity, I don't know why people rate him, even his domestic success is limited.

[youngindia]

I don't know why people rate him, even his domestic success is limited.

exceptional ball striker like yuvraj and that makes him valuable for shorter forms .look at the match turning knocks he played ,giving fits to even the aussie attack of 2008 he has struggled to construct his innings.does not always use his powers wisely..a big shot is not the only way to attack...after an injury in 2010, he has not looked the same. His strike rate in the 2011 IPL was poor despite a number of fifties.his usp is not a compact game , to destroy with his striking ability.he has to destroy attacks and last longer. he has been struggling to achieve that the selectors just want to be convinced he can manage his innings properly.but he has to show evidence of his past knocks. he cannot play the accumulator game. he has to play like yuvraj singh. that's what makes them different from most others.six hitting and powerful boundaries are their speciality. if he cannot provide that, then there is no point.

[skindia]

Consistently making runs,why not atleast 1 series for comeback

[Talwar Raja]

We are effed for 2015 wc if we don't change the team. Non performers should go. Can some selectors show some courage and drop dhoni's friends from the team and build a new team? I highly doubt it.

[cowboysfan]

no thanks.his technique(or lack of it) has gotten worse,he had trouble handling 120k trundlers.