There are people who are legends, there are people for whom the statistics speak and then there are people who inspires. These people are not role model but they silently prove their point through sheer determination and performance. As I was watching the recent WI vs Nz one day cricket tournament, the performance of Christopher Henry "Chris" Gayle inspired me beyond reason.
This man is probably one of the finest and most destructive player after Viv Richards that Jamaica have produced. Brian Lara certainly enjoys the title of "Legend" but Chris Gayle through his performance has lifted his status to a level where he is a sure match winner on his day. His performance in T20 over the past 3 years is nothing short of legendary folklore. In the 2011 IPL he scored more IPL runs than any other batsman – 608 at an average of 67.55 and strike-rate of 183.13 – and in 2012 did better with 733 runs at a strike-rate of 160.74, scoring eight 50-plus scores, the most in IPL 5. After lighting up the past two IPL seasons with some tremendous hitting, and treating fans in Bangladesh, Australia and Zimbabwe to some audacious Twenty20 innings. His Test and One day records are also envying by any standard. This has not only made him richest cricketer in his country but also has compelled his corrupt cricket board to reconsider their decision to drop him from National squad.
In India there are few cricketers who have stood against the BCCI and yet made progress in their career. Their careers have been cut short and most of them have faded away. The same thing could have happened to Chris Gayle. But he never gave up. He played with such a fearless cricket that bowlers across the world were nervous to bowl against him. The people who once wrote him off were forced to re-consider his talent. If you take a look at Wikipedia for Chris Gayle and go through the section "Controversies" you will realize that all the charges points to one fact that he has spoken out against the Organization that control the fate of cricket players in his country. The result was the loss of 2 years of his international career. But his love and dedication of for the game actually forced these people to take him back. This is called the power of performance.
We often find that in our day to day lives, decision made by organizations around us may not be always in favor of our well being. We try and raise our voice, sometimes as individual & sometimes as group but when the organization turns around to fight most of us leaves the ground. This brings us to the most important question "Is it necessary that the Organization has to be correct, always"? Organizations are made of people and it’s the level of commitment and integrity of the people that defines the stature of the organization. Yes the guidelines of the organizations are good to follow but it’s never too bad to question them. If Pythagoras & Aristotle did not stand against the social notion that the earth is flat then we would have done centuries of research based on a wrong social concept. Similarly if Raja Rammohan Ray did not stand against the social norm of ‘Sati’ then we would have lost many souls to this practice. Even today there are decisions taken by the government or the housing society in which you live or in the company where you work, which may not always be in the best interest of people. In these situations what should we do?
There is no right answer to this question. But if you look at what Chris Gayle have done, you will realize that he has stood his ground and have displayed a passion for his the game which allowed him to sail through the turbulence. If you stand for a cause which is right and will benefit the well being of people then you should stand your ground. Giving up is not an option but sailing forward is the way ahead but the important thing is that one should be true and honest to ones work. The key lesson here is "the power of performance". If you perform well in your field then one way or the other you will be recognized or forced to be recognized.
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