FIRST PUBLISHED BY CRICBUZZ
On November 8, 2014 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Bernard Hopkins will put his light-heavyweight International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) titles on the line in a match-up against World Boxing Organization (WBO) title-holder, Sergey Kovalev. Hopkins became a professional pugilist in October 1988. To put his endurance into perspective, remember that Sachin Tendulkar made his test debut a year later in November 1989, and retired in 2013.
Hopkins has had 65 fights, winning 55, 32 by knock-out, and by every measure, has had a long and outstanding career in a brutal sport. In January 2015, Hopkins will be 50-years-old.
His story, however, is by no means the norm. Customarily, boxers are long out of the game by the time they approach that age. Formerly known as The Executioner, Hopkins has recently taken to calling himself 'The Alien' in an attempt to explain the uniqueness of his achievements and to fend off questions concerning his advanced age, which are always present and always close at hand.
Participation in elite sport is normally the prerogative of the young. It is not the most enduring occupation. Very frequently, the sportsman good enough and fortunate enough to have a relatively long career will have to confront the dilemma of when to hang up his uniform.
This is a difficult decision to get right. Many stay on too long, allowing their extraordinary abilities to erode to the point where they become an embarrassing shadow of their former selves. In 1981 at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas, Muhammad Ali allowed himself to be battered by a lumbering Jamaican, Trevor Berbick, a boxer he would have outpointed with one hand tied behind his back in his prime.
Too often, great careers that should have ended in joy and rejoicing, end in anger and recrimination instead. Players and selectors often have different agendas, and since timing a retirement is such a subjective exercise, there are bound to be differences of opinions. Sport is a tough business and what is good for the player may not necessarily be what is good for the team.
Pakistani batsman Younis Khan will be 37 in November. He has played 91 tests, averaging 51.41 with 24 centuries, and 254 One day Internationals (ODIs), averaging 31.75. He has been playing for Pakistan since February 2000, has given yeoman service to his country, and like VVS Laxman for India, has been his sides second innings saviour on quite a number of occasions.
As captain, he led Pakistan to the 2009 T20 world title in England. There was a time when he, Mohammad Yousuf, and Inzamam-ul-Haq, batting at three, four and five, formed one of the most formidable middle orders in cricket. Nowadays he is still one of Pakistan's best batsmen, and has served as something of a mentor to younger players like Azhar Ali.
After stating that he wished to be around for the 2015 World Cup, Khan was dropped from the ODI side slated to go up against Australia in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and was made to know by chief selector and former team-mate Moin Khan that his services would not be required for the World Cup:
"Our experiment with Younis in the ODI series in Sri Lanka backfired. Now all have unanimously decided to look ahead to our future with youngsters. His services for Pakistan cricket are commendable but now we have to take a step forward and he is also out of contention for the 2015 World Cup," said Moin Khan.
Khan reacted angrily, admitting he was hurt and threatening to make himself unavailable for test selection. He wondered out loud if a player like him should shoot himself, being too old to have a future in his country's colours. He decried what he referred to as Pakistan's habit of treating its great players badly, recounting that Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haqa nd Mohammad Yousuf went while crying.
For both Younis Khans and Pakistan's sake, I hope this is not how it all ends for the batsman. I have to say, however, that he has good reason to be upset.
Recalled to the ODI side in August, after being left out for 18 months, Khan played only in the first game of the series in Sri Lanka before the death of his nephew necessitated his early return to Pakistan. In the first of the two tests that preceded the ODI series he scored 177 in the first innings, hardly a score of a batsman out of nick. He made only three in the ODI he played, but it would be cruel to judge his ODI form on a single innings after an extended absence from the limited overs side.
The selectors knew the World Cup was near when they recalled him. They knew he wanted to make the trip to Australia and New Zealand for cricket's biggest prize. The fact they recalled him so close to the event must mean he was in their thoughts for the tournament. How is it logical then for them to omit one of Pakistan's best ever batsmen after a single innings? If they think his age is dragging him close to the end, and that his powers are waning, then why recall him in the first place?
The selectors are right to have an eye on the future; it is their job to ensure the smooth transition from one generation to the next. But it is a delicate balance that they have to strive to get right.
It is vitally important to identify and nurture young talent without too brusquely discarding those who have served well and long. As Bernard Hopkins has shown and may well show again on November 8, the world does not only belong to the young.
