The 2-mile distance from fame to infamy

BORIS BECKER, at one time a force of nature, sleeps among the rats. The former tennis star is a guest of Her Majesty’s Prison Service at Wandsworth, London. The old prison, infested with rats, is two miles from the scene of Becker’s greatest triumphs at the Centre Court of Wimbledon. It’s taken him a lifetime of misjudgments and misdemeanours to travel the 2 miles — from fame to infamy.

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For a child of the 1980s, Becker — at 17, not much more than a child himself — was a thrilling sight. Tall and strong, broad-shouldered and muscular, with a mop of red hair, invisible eyelashes and very physical game, Becker made for a wondrous spectacle. He served-and-volleyed even on clay, leapt horizontally for his famous diving volleys and came up with shirts and shorts red or green or gray. He got cuts and scratches on arms and legs but didn’t seem to care. He walked on the court with the swagger of a heavyweight boxer and sent down unreturnable serves.

He became the new tennis superstar, his power making even McEnroe look dated and, frankly, feeble. McEnroe, winner at Wimbledon and US Open in 1984, didn’t win a single Grand Slam title after Becker emerged.

Those who saw him at 17 in 1985, blasting his way to the Wimbledon title, must mourn him now — those sad eyes, red and puffy, as he dragged a suitcase, presumably filled with legal documents, at court hearings in London! The idol of the teenagers is gone — he’s a felon now, in jail for being dishonest and hiding some of his money despite owing creditors almost £50 million.

The Becker story is a cautionary tale, played out before our very eyes — the seeming incorruptibility of teenage slowly chipped at by success and money and power. Disappointments in partners or friends or family, injuries and failures… Failed investments, lies and compromises… The incremental corruption of the young man in whom people saw hope. His moral fall is of an extreme degree, for he was an extreme superstar, but it does mirror the degeneration inherent in the ageing process — idealism replaced by pragmatism, zeal replaced by careerism.

Fast man

Umran Malik, the fast bowler from Jammu who’s playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, bowled the second-quickest ball ever at the IPL, clocked at 156.9 km/h, on Thursday. That’s very impressive. But the ball travelled even faster off the bat — Rovman Powell of Delhi Capitals smashed it for four on the off side. Malik bowled very fast that day, but the batsmen didn’t care and took 52 runs off his four overs, striking him for six fours and two sixers. Malik went wicketless and gave away 52 runs, the first time he’s conceded over 50 runs in 13 IPL matches.

Malik’s speed, which is thrilling when he bowls a yorker or a bouncer at a batsman’s nose, has made everyone sit up and take notice of him. He’s only 22 and the sky is the limit for him. The way he made Hardik Pandya scurry the other day was simply breathtaking, for it’s not often an Indian bowler does it. His yorkers in the same match twice shattered the stumps.

The batsman’s stroke lasts just a couple of seconds at most, and there’s nothing more enthralling in cricket than the sprint and yorkers and bouncers of a very fast bowler. Malik’s performance earned him high praise — Hyderabad coach Dale Steyn, himself a man of extreme pace, said: “If anybody thought he’s going to play for India before the start of the tournament, I think he’s semi-cemented his spot in the Indian team in the future.”

“I would say Umran Malik has been the outstanding face of the league so far,” said Sourav Ganguly, former India captain, now the BCCI president.

Non-experts weighed in, too. P Chidambaram said: “The BCCI should give him an exclusive coach and quickly induct him into the national team.”

“Take him to England for the Test match greentop. He and Bumrah bowling in tandem will terrify the Angrez!” tweeted Shashi Tharoor.

Terrifying the Brits with pace might seem like a good idea, but you’ve got to pitch the ball at the right line and length, too. For that, especially in the English conditions where the ball can swing or wobble uncontrollably, you need experience. Malik has played merely three First-Class matches and picked up only seven wickets at a very high cost (41.28). He may yet become a fast-bowling superstar, but it would be prudent to not overhype him on the basis of a T20 competition.