Robin Uthappa Conundrum

Bangalore: The national selectors in their collective wisdom on Tuesday decided that Robin Uthappa, proud owner of the Purple Cap for scoring the highest aggregate of runs in IPLT20, was not good enough for any of the three teams to play against the visiting West Indies: the Indian teams for ODIs, for T20 and the Board President’s XI.
If the five wise men had merit as the sole criterion in the selection of the teams it certainly did not come through in their choice of players where the continued cold-shouldering of Uthappa stands out like a sore thumb.
To put matters in perspective, Uthappa, the explosive opening batsman, made 660 runs in IPL and this was one of the major reasons for Kolkata Knight Riders winning the IPL title. The next best batsman was West Indian Dwayne Smith of Chennai Super Kings whose aggregate, average, strike rate and highest score were inferior to Uthappa’s (Smith played 16 matches 566 runs, highest 79, average 35.17, strike rate 136 as against Uthappa’s statistics of 16, 660, 83 n.o, 44, 137.8.
The next best aggregate by an Indian was by the popular Suresh Raina (523) who came fifth in the overall list of run-getters behind Glenn Maxwell (552) and David Warner (528). More recently, he enjoyed a fine run in the CLT20, where he aggregated 210 runs with a strike rate of 131.25 and average of 52.5 from five games.
More than the quantum of runs it is the momentum that the flamboyant Uthappa gives to an innings that is so vital to the fortunes of the team. His batting, revamped considerably by personal coach Praveen Amre, is a lot tighter from those days in 2006 when as a 20-year-old he reveled in hitting the ball on the rise and over the top. His carefree batting style was perfect for T20 where bowlers’ reputations mattered little to predatory batsmen. Uthappa’s attitude and success made him an instant hit, particularly after the World Cup T20 triumph in 2007 took the nation by storm.
Uthappa’s penchant to boldly loft the fast bowlers towards vacant long-on and deep mid-wicket were breath-taking. Few batsmen in the world were prepared to take on fast bowlers in such an aggressive fashion and Uthappa carved a niche for himself with such explosive strokes. But gradually captains sorted him out by posting a deep mid-wicket as soon as he came in to bat. The Karnataka batsman wisely realized that he needed to work on certain aspects of his batting and thus sought the services of former Indian batsman Amre to mentor him.
After an intense stint Uthappa returned stronger, more determined and with a temperament that was willing to adapt to the needs of the team and to the match situation. But the characteristics that had made him so special, like the sudden burst of aggression, brilliant strokeplay matched with superb timing and the ability to dominate attacks stayed with him. This was a new Uthappa, someone whose skills were sharpened and fortified.
Initially his Karnataka teammates were not too happy with his changed batting style where he was willing to respect the good balls. But gradually they realized that there was a lot more to his batting than just going after the bowlers. Consequently his teams’ Ranji Trophy and IPL successes were built around the momentum he provided.
An indifferent tour of Australia earlier this year with the India ‘A’ team was a letdown but cannot be construed as the reason for ignoring him. If anything, his repertoire of strokes ranging from the pull, hook and cut to driving on the up could be an asset on Australian pitches during next year’s World Cup. An extended run would have done his confidence a world of good, particularly as others manning the opening slots have not exactly come good.
Uthappa’s 11 consecutive 40 plus scores in IPL proved that he had it in him to bat responsibly. His age, game, temperament and ability are assets that could serve Indian cricket well. Yet for reasons unknown the selectors have no place for him in any of their three teams. Are they worried he’d succeed?