[I am re-posting an article I wrote when I was disappointed with India's lackluster performance in the WC 2007, when they were eliminated by Bangladesh ( Pakistan got eliminated by Ireland..lol ).. I am happy to see the transition in the team India right now, on Nov 13, 2008, when they are the unofficial No.1 team in the world, as they trash A(u)ssies 2-0 in the test championship !!!!] ...
I AM WORST AT WHAT I DO BEST – Kurt Cobain
WE ARE WORST AT WHAT WE DO BEST-Indian Cricketers
Yup, so India has been knocked out of the world cup 2007. Put in a better way, India hasn’t qualified for the world cup. Would it be a saving grace that Pakistan has been kicked out before us ? That too they lost it to Ireland, no one even knows that countyr plays cricket, right ? Not really. Its time for introspection. And then of course India has to sack the famed Indian super cricketers, ala PAKISTAN.
Here’s something, what we think, Dilip Vengsarkar & co. should do immediately,
· Sack Dravid as Captain, keep him as a player.
· Captain DADA- Sourav or Sachin. Mostly, Sourav because he has the true leader ship qualities of Aggressiveness, Innovativeness and Zeal.
· Introspection needed by Sachin. He is a class act, will surely come back hard.
· Sack Harbhajan Singh , Anil Kumble and Ajit Agarkar from ODI’s.
· Bring back proven customers like Kaif and Powar and give them more opportunities.
· Time to look around for new players, who have potential to perform under pressure.
· Look for pacers who are willing to bend their backs and are innovative.
· Make people like Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel play more First class matches and improve their fitness levels and get back their pace.
· Time for Ajit and Harbhajan to don their state caps.
The famed Indian Batting line up, supposedly the best Line-up in present day world cricket, the batsmen who have more than 50000 runs among themselves, will remain strong only on paper. Twice in 2 matches they weren’t able to score 200 with this line-up. All this at a time, when people keep underlining the fact that our strength is our batting. That should talk amounts of how weak our bowling is, in that case.
So here’s the big question? Does India have the KILLER INSTINCT? I am a big optimist when it comes to Indian cricket, I can call BULL-SHYT as a fertilizer for India’s sake. But I Guess each and every one of us, however patriotic we might be, should wake up to the fact that INDIANS (cricketers) LACK THE KILLER INSTINCT. Well, India will beat everyone for the title, “ THE CHOKERS “. Tell me when was the last time, India came out of a pressure cooker situation? Whenever pressure has been applied over Indians, they crumble like delicate glass. They are not able to break out of such situations, time and again. They lack the self-belief.
One would ask why? That’s a very difficult question to answer. But let’s start with the leader. If someone were to ask me, who my favorite cricketers of all-time were? Dravid and Sachin, would be me apt reply. But of late I have had grave doubts about both of them. I will tell you why.
I am not questioning Dravid’s batting even now. I have a problem though with his Leadership skills, creativity, innovativeness and zeal. Dravid’s body language is always down. When the chips are down, it looks as if he never makes an effort to lift them up. His bowling changes, field placements and everything on the field lack the freshness and innovativeness required of a true leader. He just has 2 plans I guess- Plan A and Plan B. If both of them fail, he is left stranded. Agreed that he is not backed by his players with their performances, but that’s what a captain is for, to lift the morale of the team. Long back, when Sourav was faltering as a captain, just like everyone else, I immediately jumped to have Dravid as a captain. Because we always knew he was a good student of the game and had a cool head. But now, as he has doned the role of he captain, it has become very clear that he is not the right person to captain India.
Sourav has been a great leader in this aspect. Always leading from the front. Very aggressive. Lifts the morale of the team when chips are down. Much more innovative and creative than Dravid.
Next the little master, the batting genius Sachin Tendulkar. I have fought many battles with many people, both verbally and physically, to state that, SACHIN IS THE BEST BATSMAN OF THIS GENERATION. I have been an ardent fan of his since life existed on Earth. But after seeing his performances of late, I am having doubts about Sachin too. There was a time when I had more confidence in Sachin, than I had in myself. But tell me, how many times has Sachin performed for India OF LATE, when it mattered most?
Over the last 2 years, Sachin has started losing his sheen. People like Ponting, Yousuf and others, who are nowhere, close to Sachin’s class are taking over him. One thing that has to be considered in this situation is the PRESSURE ON SACHIN TO PERFORM. I can undoubtedly say, the burden that he carries on himself is, BY FAR THE MOST ANY SPORTSMAN EVER CARRIES/CARRIED. Trillions of people, expect him to score a century every time he takes to the field. That’s too much of an ask. But well, he has handled the pressure brilliantly for ages and so he has been called the best in the business. But of late he has been failing when it matters the most. How can we forget the 2003 WC final, The test series against Australia, The Recent ICC knockout, the match against Bangla and of course the horrendous dismissal against SL in WC’07. I guess, he is just trying too much. His contribution to the team and his 100% on the field were never in doubt, but performing when it matters, definitely is in doubt now. His peers like Lara, Ponting are smiling for that very reason. They are performing under pressure. Knowing Sachin, I am sure he will rise through all this, but all said and done, we are out of the WC yet again and Sachin’s promise to bring back the WC, sill remains a dream.
Sachin, please start playing well, I can see you play this way. Dominate the bowlers again and show the other batsmen, who the real batsman is !!!
Well, I don’t want to question the integrity of other batters in the team. That will be too hard on them. Robin Uthappa has been given a license to go haywire and that has cost his wicket. He is very young and will learn. Dhoni faltered badly, but I guess, it’s just bad luck. Let’s move onto the bowlers now. The spinners to start with. Harbhajan Singh. He should be sacked right away. His ODI stats for the last 3 years are bad, worser than a part-time bowler.
He hasn’t been taking any wickets. And almost all batsmen in world cricket, right from Australia to Bermuda are picking his doosra and spanking him all over the ground. I see no reason in persisting with him. Next, Anil Kumble. He has been one of the biggest serving cricketers in the true sense to play for India. He is a true workaholic. But I fell he is past his prime at least in the ODIs. But still he was persisted with. They said the experience would come handy. Then why wasn’t he picked? When it was already clear that he would have to sit out in big games, why was he in the squad? Ramesh Powar would have been hitting himself hard to find out the reason, why wasn’t he picked? But its time he is back into the squad and we say good-bye to 2 QUALITY SPINNERS- Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble.
Then my other favorite. Ajit Agarkar. I have been a staunch supporter of him for ages now. Almost 300 wickets at the age of 28, I always believed if persisted with, he would become the highest wicket taker in ODIs ever. Such amazing are his strike rate and wicket taking abilities. But the one thing he has been fighting all his life is INCONSISTENCY. He was the spearhead of the Indian attack many times in the past and he has faltered very badly. This world cup was no different. He was given the new ball and he sprayed it all over the place. Where did all his experience go? Munaf was denied the new ball too, thanks to Ajit. Sadly, I have to say this, but its time he is bid farewell and should be made to tread the path taken by Zaheer Khan.
Munaf came into the scene a year back, as a Tear-away pacer. Now His average pace is hardly 130Kmph. Where has all the speed gone? I agree he is concentrating hard on his line and length, so the deficiency in his pace, but this is unacceptable. Chaminda Vaas came down to bat towards the end of SL innings and smacked Munaf cleanly over his head for a SIX. Tear-Away pacer indeed!! Why isn’t he given the new ball?
Does any Indian Pacer ever BEND HIS BACK? Does any Indian pacer ever BOWL A YORKER, forget the TOE-CRUSHING YORKER? Where is the pace guys? How come the pace dies away? Irfan Pathan bowls around 115Kmph now a days. Sourav bowls around 115, so what is the difference between Irfan and Sourav now? Does one have to compromise so much on pace, to have a good line and length and swing the ball? I don’t think so, because except for Indian pacers, every pacer from every country bowls with more variety, speed and control. Indian Pace attack was so monotonous and so dead. And people said, we are strong contenders for the world cup. Heck, even I said and thought that.
I agree it is very easy for me to say all this, sitting back in my house, But as a fan, as an observer, as a great follower of Indian cricket, these are my observations. I hope India will work over them. Well, I have a feeling India never believed that they could ever win the world cup. They lack the self-belief. Here is where Greg Chappel comes into the picture? Hasn’t he been instilling these points into the players? I am sure he did. It would be pointless, accusing the coach (in some cases, killing the coach too ..lol..) for the poor performance of the team. Blame the Captain and the players.
I agree that Indian players play with huge amount of pressures than any other cricket playing or for that matter, any sport-playing nation. That is the connection between the Huge Indian population and cricket having a religion status here. I sympathize with Indian cricketers in a way in this aspect, but then the main reason for disappointment has been the manner in which India has lost matches and been kicked out of the World cup. They never had the killer instinct in them to rise out of the ashes. They surrender meekly. They don’t put up a fight. Sadly, they love being crowned, ‘the Undoubted chokers’ title.
Well, Next time I write a blog about Indian cricket, I am sure it won't be this disspointing, bcs I know Indian will bounce back. Please make the correct changes and give deserving players more chances.
India WIll shine
Cheers
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