Nearing the end of an era

Amit Varma, in his column on NDTV.com, says the downhill curve has set in on the careers of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble. He also picks out the tendency of Indian selectors to first blood talent in the shorter versions of game, and wonders how a player can make the Test team while not being good enough for ODIs.

Cricketers' careers, the way I see it, resemble a bell curve. In the early phase, through school and college and the early years of first-class cricket, there is a constant upswing and a steady learning curve. Then they get used to international cricket, and settle at more or less a plateau that represents them at their best, with minor ups and down for form. Then their ability begins to decline, and they start going downhill again. There is no way back up from there