LONDON: In April, Giannis Antetokounmpo, an NBA star for the Milwaukee Bucks, went to a place where few sportspersons seldom do. The Bucks, one of the favourites for the title after topping the Eastern Conference, lost their way against Miami Heat in the first round to lose 1-4 in the best-of-seven series.
When one of the reporters asked Antetokounmpo if the season was a failure, the forward wasn't too thrilled with the suggestion. "It's not a failure," he had said. "It's steps to success. Michael Jordan played 15 years, won six Championships. The other nine years were failures? That's what you are telling me? It's the wrong question. There's no failure. There's good days, bad days. Some days, you are successful. Some days you are not. That's what sports is about."
Sport may well be about that but for some teams, it's about the gongs at the end. Winning title matches. Win gold or go home because coming second best does not move the needle.
Rohit Sharma and his immediate predecessor, Virat Kohli, and Rahul Dravid and his immediate predecessor, Ravi Shastri, know this feeling only too well. They have all faced some variation of the question Antetokounmpo got over the last few years.
In India's first official press conference of the World Test Championship final on Monday, Dravid was asked about the ICC title drought and the pressure associated with it. "We don't feel any pressure in terms of trying to win an ICC trophy," he had said. "Of course, it would be nice to do it. It would certainly be nice to be able to win an ICC tournament. But also in the context of things, you look at this and you see this is the culmination of two years of work. It's a culmination of a lot of success that gets you here."
To be fair to Dravid, India have had a lot of success not just in the current Test cycle but even in the cycle before that. Multiple Test wins in England, series wins in Australia, an almost spotless record at home and putting together a streak that could rival any put together by past Indian teams.
These are things that's worthy of a celebration. But — there's always a but in this context — for all their domination, a world title is a different beast. You get to live in an air worthy of greatness. Think about it in this context. They may have beaten the same opposition home and away in the group stages but if they can't beat them in the final, those group stage wins count for little.
Since the beginning of August 1, 2019 — the beginning of the inaugural WTC cycle — India have the second most number of wins with 22 (one behind England who have played 14 Tests more). But the team lost the one match that mattered the most — the first WTC final, against New Zealand at Southampton.
It was in this context that Sharma was asked a pointed question at the pre-match conference on Tuesday. While it pertained to his legacy as captain, it can generally be applied to this Golden Generation, who have developed into an outstanding red-ball unit since they started coming together as a group after the 2011 World Cup. As they grew older, they quickly developed into an all-terrain side thanks to a seam attack that eliminated conditions from the equation and a world-class spin duo that used every inch of home advantage to sharpen their already useful armoury.
The problem, though, is this team is at the end of its cycle. Four of the top five are 34 or older. If Ravichandran Ashwin plays, three of the frontline bowlers, including Ravindra Jadeja, will be 34 or over. So the window to leave behind a legacy is closing.
"I want to win games, I want to win Championships," Sharma said when asked about how he would like his tenure to look like when he walks away. "It will be nice to win some titles... every captain wants to win Championships, So I will be no different. I also want to win (the) Championship. That's what the sport is all about, winning Championships."
But Sharma is also mindful of the expectations this team faces. Like Dravid, he too was quick to downplay the pressure aspect. "We know what we have won and what we have not won. There is no point in thinking about it again and again," he said when he was reminded about the drought. "Last year when we were in Australia for the T20 World Cup, we were asked the same question, and I answered the same question. The players know when India won and when they didn't. I don't think it is right to think about it again and again."
The next five or six days will either produce more angst or an outpouring of joy, depending on which way the result goes. But whether Sharma and this team like it or not, if they don't have a title to show at the end of the week, this team will be clubbed as another side that came near but failed to cross the finish line.