Matthew Hayden leads the run-scoring charts in the Indian Premier League with 166 runs in three matches for the Chennai Super Kings; Adam Gilchrist has led Deccan’s charge from the front with 119 runs, hitting eight sixes in the process; Sourav Ganguly helped Kolkata Knight Riders stage a remarkable comeback the other night against Rajasthan Royals, before stumbling at the finish line, as his team lost in a Super Over. Anil Kumble, meanwhile, bagged the Man of the Match award in his first match, and briefly led the wickets tally, while Shane Warne’s big leg-breaks are bamboozling another generation of batsmen.

The one thing they all have in common is the fact that they’ve all stopped playing international cricket, and the players themselves agree that coming off a long break — something that’s unheard of in international cricket these days — is actually helping them.

“These guys retired not because they suddenly lost all their talent and were no longer good enough. They retired because they were no longer willing to take the grind of playing non-stop cricket,” says Kevin Pietersen, when asked about the success of the now-retired players. “At some point of time you have to say enough to international cricket because you can’t get up every morning and train. One has to take into account that we are a bit travel-weary, jaded playing regularly and it shows in our performances.”

Hayden, who called it quits in January after a string of poor scores, has spent the last three months surfing and cooking for his kids, before hitting the nets with renewed vigour two weeks before the tournament. Warne has switched off from all outdoor activity, spending his time as a professional poker player and only started rolling his arm over as the IPL approached. Glenn McGrath now handles the day-to-day workings of the cancer foundation he set up back home in New South Wales, while Kumble has spent quality time in the gymnasium coming into the tournament. While Ganguly took to road running to get in shape, Gilchrist admits to doing nothing remotely connected with cricket in the months of absence from international cricket.

... contd.