Sunday, Dec 19 2010
I recently subscribed to Willow TV channel that broadcasts cricket matches for Desis in States. The Match begins at 12:30 AM PST, I patiently stayed up late to watch India-SA Test from Day 1. But my luck wasn’t that good and the match was delayed due to rain. So I ended up watching the no-lesser Ashes series (well hoping for a consecutive Aussie defeat).
As soon as I went to work and finished the bare minimums that I was expected to do.. I started browsing through CricInfo for any updates. To my surprise, the match started very late. With the little time available, India managed to get a very respectable total of 135/9. I was shocked and so disappointed.. Anyone who has been following Indian cricket will tend to have very low expectations from India’s first innings against South Africa but the team managed to perform even below that benchmark. Like Vadivel says – “Only You Possible". I said to myself that I may as well call the service provider and cancel this channel. I mean we know not to expect but 136? Really? On a pitch where a decent first division team would have performed better. Every cricket team has changed over the past decade. Some have gotten better while few others have lost their dominance over the game. But Indian cricket team has been consistently inconsistent!
As ever.. it dawned on me again. It was mainly because we didn't have the right team. The selectors have never been able to replace an out of form or a retired player. There's always some deficit in certain areas of the team. When we had Dravid, Tendulkar, Azhar and Ganguly in 3,4,5 and 6 positions, we were hoping to find a good opening pair and also a decent wicket keeper batsman. Though Azhar still is irreplaceable, Laxman took his spot and proved to be a great asset to us. Then we got a splendid opener in Sehwag and one of the best wicket keeper batsmen in Dhoni. But then India lost its great asset - Ganguly - due to very many reasons. But is there anyone in the so called young circuit to fill this gap? Lets face it.. when Dravid and Ganguly were debutants in Lords they made ALL Indians sigh in relief... If Sachin failed to perform we finally had players who were capable of making up for it. I don’t expect the same magic from the young guns. But there’s not one person in the probable list that can negotiate pace bowling on a flat wicket with little grass, pace and bounce on it.
The selectors and the board are to be blamed for this. It’s not fair to blame the players, why can’t the selectors analyze the pros and cons of players? Is it that difficult? May be Indian selection squad should learn replacement strategies from IT sector. Within moments of resignation or some such escape request, IT managers are PROS in identifying replacement for their team members! On similar lines, it has been 2 years since Ganguly quit Test Cricket. Since then we have not seen one player with Saurav's dependable-yet-so-dynamic attitude. Now lets consider India's strong "bench" strength - Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, M.Vijay, C. Pujara and the list goes on... None of these guys have given the confidence that one would expect. the confidence that the player can carry the game in his shoulders if Laxman or Sachin or Dravid were to retire (personally I would be happy if these guys played for another 10+ years)
So...back to India-SA series, it was sad to watch Gambhir and Raina struggle against quality pace attack. Though Gambhir adjusted in the second innings, Raina was just looking lost in the field. He came in a situation that demanded immense concentration and patience. He started a bit shaky, hit a boundary through covers. The boundary itself wasn’t convincing as there was no balance in his position and he played the shot so away from his body that a goods train could have passed through his bat and pad. Next one, he guided the ball straight to Harris in first slip. That was a nothing shot. I couldn’t figure out what he was trying to do. When Sachin is shouldering arms to balls that is outside off, why should Raina play each and every ball? Well, this is mainly because of back-to-back ODIs and T20 matches played by these guys. It seems like they are almost determined to hit each and every ball. But test cricket warrants one to take his time and play only if a ball is there to be played. Unfortunately, the newer players are not able to accommodate to these totally different formats of the game. But as I've said earlier, these guys just want a chance to play for India but the selectors should dig deeper and identify players who really deserve to play for India. I think if selectors spend half the time, an average fan spends discussing the game, they can definitely come up with a better team. In my opinion the team should not be selected based on playing conditions instead players should be trained for different playing conditions.
Because of these gaps in Indian cricket team, classy performances from Sachin and Dhoni feels impaired and insufficient. So instead of cherishing their brilliant knocks, I am left to wonder how talented the team is but yet seems disabled. All said and done, I am eagerly waiting for Day 5 of the test match. Part of me wants the match drawn (a true miracle or rain or god just heard my prayer). But having witnessed Sachin and Dhoni fight back yesterday, I hardly could care if we lost the game.
Beyond all inadequacies, the big guns of Team India is getting prepared for a bigger and better challenge in the next test. Aren't we all taught to just hope and smile about it?
Oh! I forgot to talk about India's bowling attack. Well, you know what? Its not worth it!
Subbu
