Will Pucovski is not a familiar name to most Indian cricket fans. However, that could change by the time India finish their forthcoming tour of Australia. Barring an unfortunate turn of events, Pucovski will get the big stage opportunities and shine in them. The 22-year-old Victoria batsman is one of the five uncapped players Australia have named in their 17-man Test squad for the upcoming India series.
Pucovski will get the opportunities because there is little doubt that he is ready for them. Every serious Australian cricket watcher, including former captains Ian Chappell, Kim Hughes and Michael Clarke, is convinced on that count.
The list of reasons why Pucovski should shine is longer. There is the talent that’s been evident ever since he made his first class debut four years ago. It has invited comparisons with Ricky Ponting and prompted Brad Hodge to speak of Pucovski as a “once-in-a-generation” player.
There is the ability to harness that special talent, deploy it to score tall and do so frequently. It shows in Pucovski’s First Class average of 55, the decades-old records he has shattered, the luminaries, among them Donald Bradman and Dean Jones, whose feats he has emulated. And then there is current form, manifested in the back-to-back double hundreds he has notched in a productive domestic season in a new role as opener.
More than anything else though, it is Pucovski’s self-awareness that sets him up for great things. Somewhat ironically, the self-awareness has displayed itself in the manner Pucovski has managed his inner torments. In a remarkable show of maturity, the youngster has opted for mid-season mental health breaks twice, both in circumstances in which others would have been tempted to continue. The first time was in late 2018, within a month of a Sheffield Shield double hundred; the second time in early 2019, in the middle of a Test where he didn’t make the final XI.
Not many early career professionals, certainly not those in high pressure jobs and high stake industries, publicly acknowledge headspace issues. They especially don't do so when they are on a roll and on the cusp of bigger things. The fear that the chance may not come again, that the world may think lesser of them, that everything could slip away, that others could step in, checks them. Pucovski’s investments in self-care and long-term career perspective speak of remarkable self-belief and sagacity. Those qualities can only stand him in good stead, as a cricketer and a human being.
So, this is the fittingly interesting backdrop that fate has set for the international debut of an individual talked of as the future of Australian batting.
What can go wrong? A resurfacing of the demons in the head could necessitate another mental health break. In itself, another break wouldn’t be a bad thing. That's unless it sparks doubts over Pucovski’s fitness for top flight cricket and triggers questions around whether the country should start looking for less fragile even if more humbly gifted options.
Selectors and administrators have been understanding so far and could remain supportive a little longer, but there will come, realistically speaking, a point where empathy would have to cede to real-world considerations. They can maybe – just maybe – accommodate a third or a fourth inconveniently timed withdrawal but beyond that, there will lie what-could-have-been questions.
Opponents will undoubtedly have heard about the bouncers that have concussed Pucovski. Twice. There is nothing to suggest that the concussions and mental health breaks are related, but top-flight sport is desperate enough to suspect a link and ruthless enough to probe the chink it hints at. Expect the strong Indian pace attack to test the upcoming star with the short stuff. The Australian tracks will support the endeavour. It will make for a trial by fire, a memorable occasion to rise up to and prove mettle.
Of course, class, temperament, form, nothing really guarantees a productive debut. Despite much going for him, Pucovski could still find runs hard to come by. A forgettable debut, however, need not mean the end of the world. Two of his country’s, indeed the sport’s, greatest ever had little to show after their first outings. Master leg-spinner Shane Warne returned figures of 45-7-150-1 in his first Test; Bradman got 18 and 1 in his. Not all flights begin with a soar. Some splutter before taming gravity.
(Manish Dubey is a policy analyst and writer)
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.
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