Seeing me lost in my thoughts, my husband asked what the matter was.
“I was thinking of how well DK plays the rotation game,” I replied.
My husband was surprised. “What on earth makes you think so? There’s nothing ‘rotational’ about DK Shivakumar. He’s on a one-track ‘straight drive to the CM’s post’ mode. Just the other day, he cut his birthday cake. And he definitely wants to have it too!”
I interject. I was talking about cricket and rotation, not political spin-offs! The DK I was referring to is Dinesh Karthik. He’s a skilled wicket-keeper, strike batter, and entertaining commentator—and he manages all that with elan. Incidentally, he plays for Royal Challengers Bengaluru — where all the political drama is playing out!
“Ah,” said my husband, adding that the politicians could perhaps take a cue from the “gentleman’s game”, and turn on the rotation.
I quickly corrected him — it’s no longer a ‘gentleman’s’ game.
“Gentleperson’s game,” he laughed and apologised.
Now that the connection between sport and politics had been made, I wondered if the latter could imitate the former. In cricket, if there are several top-quality players available for selection, that’s a ‘good problem’ to have.
My husband agreed, but noted that ‘Spoilt for choice’ doesn’t work in choosing between candidates for a CM’s Post. That too, when two high-powered gladiators are in the fray, hugely focused on circling each other.
But as a cricket fan, I think there’s a lot to learn from the game. “Rotation can be the key,” I said, alluding to Virat Kohli. He has a superb ability to rotate the strike and keep the bowlers on their toes.
My husband agreed, “The Congress can surely make this work. All they need is to pull out the cricket videos, watch carefully, and take notes. The key strategists should have no difficulty in creating a presentation to show the High Command.”
“Exactly so,” I replied. “Alternation is the way forward. The two rivals should take turns at the top post. The rotation should be swift and continuous. The strike rate will rise with every ‘round’, keeping the Opposition gasping.”
My husband was very appreciative. “The Congress will snap you up as chief consultant; while ‘rotating’ their existing advisors!”
Mina Anand is a Bengaluru-based lawyer and writer. She tweets @minacricket
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)