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MUMBAI. – When Tatenda Taibu arrived in the Indian Premier League, and all its riches, his ambitions went far more than just a fat pay cheque.
He was snapped up for US$125 000 at the auction, and was on his way to Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan’s team.
“Shah Rukh was brilliant, amazing, although maybe I’m a bit biased because I was his son’s favourite player,” Taibu recalls to Cricbuzz.
Taibu wanted more, to showcase his talent.
“After looking at the squad and the competition that I had, I actually didn’t think I was going to get a single game,” Taibu admits.
“We had Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, Dave Hussey, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Ajantha Mendis, Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Brad Hodge and Brendon McCullum.
“But I kept on preparing well, because the One that controls the universe might have other plans, and other plans He had. After losing four straight games, I got a chance.
“I had batted well in all the warm-up games without being dismissed. In particular, one game we played against each other I played really well on a very green track against Shoaib, Umar Gul and Ajit Agarkar. The way I prepared managed to get the confidence of our captain, Sourav Ganguly, and coach John Buchanan.”
Taibu’s selection would coincide with Kolkata breaking a four-match losing streak to win three on the trot, but the Zimbabwean contributed just 28 runs in those three games.
Looking back, he feels that his entire IPL career came down to his first innings, and his inability to convert a promising start into something more.
Picked to bat at No 5 in a game against Bangalore at Eden Gardens, Taibu walked to the crease with the home side on 46 for 3 batting first, after local icon Ganguly had been run out.
The Bangalore attack boasted Dale Steyn, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar and Anil Kumble, and the crowd was bigger than any he had played in front of before, but Taibu was not feeling overawed.
“I loved it and if anything I played better in front of bigger crowds. It was nice having such noise that you could not even hear yourself speak,” he says.
“I felt really great. I remember Kumar was bowling and I got two runs off the first ball and blocked the next one. Straight away I felt good.
“When he tried to bowl in-swing I hit him over midwicket, and when he tried to bowl away swing I hit him over extra cover. Those are the two boundaries that I scored.
“But the most profound thing I remember about the innings is that it could have made me way better than I was. Had I gone on to convert my 15 to a fifty or something, that would have almost cemented my place, but I didn’t take that opportunity.
“Steyn was brought back into the attack because I was looking set and we were starting to build an innings, and instead of just helping the ball on its way I tried to smash it for six and got a top edge (that was caught by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher).
“The other two games weren’t much to talk about, because I was coming in around the 18th or 19th over without much to do – I would just try and give my partner strike. That’s why I always go back to that first innings, which was the only time I had a chance to make something of myself in that league.”
While he had little opportunity to score runs, Taibu still collected some memories along the way.
The third match, against Delhi Daredevils, saw Shoaib Akhtar make a memorable IPL debut with a searing spell of new-ball bowling that destroyed a top order of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and AB de Villiers.
Shoaib finished with 4 for 11 from three overs as Delhi were bowled out for 110, but Taibu was just surprised to see the Pakistani pacer on the field.
“We had practised with him and the way he had bowled and his fitness levels were nowhere near international standards. He had not been playing for a long time due to an injury and had just come back to playing.
“He struggled to finish his overs in the squad games we played in between the proper matches and he had struggled with our fitness practices. So I was surprised he was fit to take the field.
“I remember thinking, ‘Either fair play to his character that he can take the field when he isn’t ready, or fair play to the trainer who managed to get him in shape.’ He bowled really quickly and swung the ball.”
Taibu was run out for seven in that game, taking on Tillakaratne Dilshan’s arm as he sped back for a second.
“He was a very good fielder but I fancied myself as a quick runner between the wickets and I thought I would make it. I actually made my ground but the bat bounced off the ground. Had the rules been as they are now, I would have made it.”
Taibu was dropped after that, and watched Kolkata go on a three-game losing streak.
KKR eventually finished sixth to miss out on the semi-finals, and Taibu found himself heading back to his old life.
“It first hit me when I got to the airport and I was left to board my flight back to Zimbabwe. I no longer had guards around me and people carrying my bag, and I’d just left a professional set-up.
“A week later I was playing a first-class game, and it was like living in a different world altogether. There was high professionalism at the IPL and then I came back home and the level was so different – even just the pace at which the game was played.
“It’s supposed to be ‘easier’ but you actually start to struggle because of the pace, just waiting for the ball to get to you, and getting bad balls that you won’t get at IPL level. I found it very difficult adjusting from that high level of cricket to going back to our franchise cricket.”
Kolkata paid Taibu’s contract out the following year and let him go – a sign, perhaps, that there was already less room for sentiment in the IPL. – Cricbuzz.
Online Reporter