India Tour Down Under - Preview

(Article dated December 23, 2007)

Lots have been said and written about the ‘fabulous five’ – Captain Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman – touring down under for one last battle. The importance of ending their career on a high conquering the mighty Aussies, the last Indian tour where India tasted relatively huge success by leveling the test series 1-1, the question mark over the possibility of grabbing 20 wickets with not so experienced pace attack.

But for me, this Indian tour, a score line in favor of India is imperative for more than the reasons mentioned above. What will Anil Kumble and his exuberant Indian team will carry with them is the battle for rest of the world against the all conquering Australian team in their own land. I say this because this Indian team is the only team to challenge Australia consistently well and have managed to put them on mat more than a few occasions.

The last three test series between the two teams have resulted in some intriguing combat. The epic series in 2001 saw India stop the Aussie juggernaut of record 16 consecutive wins by winning the Kolkatta test match by 171 runs after being bowled out for the same number of runs in the first innings and facing follow-on. The match saw some Godly batting display by VVS Laxman, an aficionado of Australian attack. India rapped the series in Chennai with some deadly bowling from Harbajhan Singh., the Australians where blown out and lost the battle of minds as well as the skills.

The next series was in 2003-04 down under where one expected the visitors to lose 4-0. But that saw a fighting captain in Sourav Ganguly displaying a tiger like attitude to rattle the Aussie bowling on the way to his brilliant century enabling India to hold draw in that crucial first test at Brisbane. His innings certainly inspired his team to put on fearless show there on lead by Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Shewag. The middle order batsmen fired consistently after solid opening partnerships match after match.

The third series was back in India where Australia conquered a test series on Indian soil after 35 years. This too was a closely fought encounter and could have well been 2-2 had the last day of Chennai test match not rained out.

The formula for India will be very much the same this time too. The first test on Boxing Day will be crucial as in case of any test series. Melbourne has never been a happy hunting ground for any visiting team and a draw here will be the key for a competitive series. India can snatch the initiative in Sydney by employing two spinners, enhancing their chances of taking 20 wickets. The third test will be very crucial once gain. Last time after a win at Adelaide they lost in Melbourne, this time the third test will be played at Perth. Honestly there are only two results possible – an Australian victory or a miraculous draw. If India can sneak through a draw then they have a realistic chance of an easy draw or even a win in one of their favorite ground in Adelaide Oval. Especially this Indian team will have happier memories of this ground having won here last time.

Anil Kumble will feel at ease with the situation that he is in, having seven of his batters in form. Sourav is at his life time best and his contribution and responsibility in the middle order will be decisive. Laxman has always been at his best against Aussies and the whole nation will hope he will continue his good showing this time as well.

There has been a lot of debate over the opening slot and I strongly believe opening with Rahul Dravid is a huge gamble. If the indications of India’s tour match is anything to go by then I will be keeping my fingers tightly crossed. He has always been the mainstay of Indian batting overseas and it will be no different this time. Losing him early will be a huge moral disaster for the players inside the dressing room. His loss will play in the minds of the batsmen to come thereafter and can affect their batting as well. Dravid’s sheer presence in the middle is more than enough to keep the opposition thinking and I strongly recommend not to open with him. Though he has been out of the team for almost a year now, Viru will be my choice as he can play mind games with Brett Lee and Co.

As kumble said, it’s vital that India should post totals of 400 plus in their first innings every time to give its bowlers a fair chance. Talking about the Indian bowling, my money will be on RP Singh. He has knack to surprise the batsmen with his pace and bounce. He is relatively new to Australian batsmen and the alien conditions will only help him his cause. Even Ishant Sharma and Pankaj Singh can actually be a surprise package as their height being their advantage. However, India will be missing the accurate seam bowling of Sreesanth for sure.

This series will be watched closely by rest of cricket fraternity. India has nothing to lose and have to showcase some fearless display of attitude and skill. An Indian win can certainly restore the hopes of other cricket playing nations of defeating Australia and bring the game of cricket alive which has been now dominated by Aussies for a long time.

Kirsten the Right Choice

(Article wrote a week after Kirsten's appointment as India Coach)

After controversial Chappell regime it took seven months of highly intense drama filled BCCI’s baffling administration, Ford crisis, captain’s frustration leading to overall pressure with undying media speculation has at last resulted in Team India having a new coach in Gary Kirsten.

Former South African opener will fit in as an excellent choice as he can be looked as a long term solution compared to various other names that did the rounds throughout the hunt. A reasonable and plain-speaking approach, in short as many believe a John Wright approach was required to handle the big names and also to understand the psychology of the Indian players. To say the least, this was a must after a bossy Chappell rule.

Kirsten will serve with distinction. A tactful person in nature he looks prepared to remain behind the scene. He was a thinking cricketer during his playing days and can be a good analyzer. Having Gary will actually end up being a big advantage because he has played a lot of cricket against the many senior players in the Indian team starting from Sachin Tendulkar to Yuvraj Singh and Harbajan Singh. Therefore, for sure he will be in a position to help these cricketers by letting them know how the opposition plan to counter them as he had been the part of south African dressing room planning one of these Indian’s dismissal.

Also another plus of Kirsten is he will be very much aware of the demands of modern day cricket and the physical and mental stress comes along with it.

Kirsten as a player never took things for granted, neither his place in the team nor his form with the bat. He worked hard for his runs so does he will as a coach. He also has this charm to induct a positive influence among youngsters and keeping them on toes.

Kirsten wasn’t a gifted batsman as he worked hard on his technique throughout his successful career and this will make him to show patience with some of the less gifted players. He played under Hansie Cronje for most of his career and a team was one of the top teams in the world which showed good aggression and competence. Coming up from such a background he can keep up the momentum going inside the dressing room.

Kirsten might not have coaching experience of a national team or even a domestic side but he has the ability to learn the nuance of coaching in a short span of time. Coaching an international team is not about teaching how to hold your bat grip or how to get your seam position right but it is about facilitating the players’ needs. And now if you think if he suits the best as coach, he is the most appropriate I feel. The credit should go to the coach selection committee comprising Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar and Srinivas Venkataragavan for entrusting Gary Kirsten with the job.

He will play his cards close to his chest in handling the team as a whole, the seniors, the BCCI and the Indian media. And he has already given us the glimpses of that by making himself available full-time from March, smartly avoiding the team’s tour of Australia. However, his presence as coach will be one more interesting phase in Indian cricket.

Kirsten is already into his first task meeting the team in Bangalore during the on-going third test verses Pakistan trying to interact with the players. After the Australian tour he will be presiding over the change in guard. And he has the brilliance, understanding and strength to take charge.

Dominant Indian Batsmen Silence Critics

At the start of the ongoing India-Pakistan test series there was enormous pressure and a little temptation among selectors and typical media speculation surrounding the inclusion of in-form Yuvraj Singh in the playing eleven. And with two days into the second test, the two men under the cloud Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman proved their worth for yet another time in the test team with some brilliant and breadth taking stroke play displaying authority on the field.

Sourav Ganguly before the second test said, it was his dream to score a century in his home ground. The stage was perfectly set for ‘the Prince of Kolkata’ with India already scoring 300 runs as he walked in. with less than an hour to go on the first day’s play, he played with caution and the next morning he made his presence felt with some trademark dada drives- Godly! - on the off-side. He wasn’t reluctant to put his bat to the bouncers as he pulled Shoaib Akthar and Mohmmad Sami for boundaries with ease.

If Sourav was ‘Son of the soil’, on the other end partnering him for the fifth wicket was VVS Laxman once again proved that he is ‘Lord of Eden Gardens’ as one of the banners in stands claimed. It is always a delight to watch Laxman playing his ‘very very special’ on drive against the leg spin and this time Dainsh Kaneria fell victim to his beautiful wrist work. The duo put on 163 run stand before Ganguly sacrificed his wicket trying to hit his trademark lofted six over long on to satisfy his everlasting fans who have undefined love for him.

Before all this the stage belonged to the Mumbai boy, well if your guess is Sachin Tendulkar it’s not. But it was Wasim Jaffer who stole the show on first day with elegant stroke play including 34 hits to the fence filled with attractive cuts and pulls and gorgeous drives on both sides. The flow of runs was never in question when he was at crease as he maintained a 100% testimony in punishing the loose balls for fours. Playing around him was Rahul Dravid putting on 136 runs for second wicket and Sachin Tendulkar adding 175 for the third wicket taking India to a position of strength.

The first day of second test was one of those rare occasions where Sachin Tendulkar when in full form was overshadowed by relatively inexperienced Jaffer. However, it was a pleasure to watch Indian batting dictating terms to the opposition.

If the exhibition at Kolkata is dominant, in Delhi it was efficient enough to make amends. Though few big names in the Indian batting failed in the first innings, Laxman and Dhoni took India to safety before captain Kumble along with the Hydrabadi made sure India take some sizeable lead in the first innings. Laxman silenced his critic with a help of patient and unbeaten 72 runs. After a deadly display by Indian bowlers led by skipper Anil Kumble, Wasim Jaffer provided India with a good start chasing a moderate total followed by Tendulkar and Ganguly show who did good for themselves by scoring handful of runs. Ganguly calmed the nerves in the dressing room by some aggressive batting taking India closer to victory before stumps on the fourth day.

As Test captain for the first time Anil Kumble draw lot of praise from the former captains including the ones in the team. His move to bring Sourav Ganguly to bowl with the new ball on fourth day morning was a master stroke fetching him two wickets. He shuffled the bowlers well as one would expect from him and his field placements were accurate.

And for Yuvraj, he might be at the form of his life but it is certain that it is not enough to open the doors in the playing XI. And the scenario was rightly articulated by Anil Kumble. "I think Laxman's knock was very crucial considering the circumstances. He's a fantastic player and his partnership with Dhoni was very critical for us. I don't know why there is always a sword hanging over his head. It's only a perception from those not within the dressing room. We [the team] know what quality he brings in and his role in the team is very crucial," Kumble said in a press conference in Delhi. Yuvraj has to wait a little longer.

Shouldering South Africa

The whole of cricketing fraternity might have zeroed-in on to the India – Pakistan One day series, where India already secured an unbeatable 3-1 lead or might watch Aussies bulldoze the Lankans on their way to 14^th test match victory in a row under Ricky Ponting’s captaincy; two short of Steve Waugh’s 16 consecutive wins. However on the other part of the world there is a gentleman cricketer piling on agony on his opponents match after match, series after series by scoring centuries one after the other.

Jacques Henry Kallis has just completed his 29^th test century, fifth this season in just four matches with an innings to go, unless otherwise South Africa complete an innings win over New Zealand. His last seven test innings reads 155, 100*, 59, 107*, 29, 186 and 131. He has been an unsung hero when compared to the likes of Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrict, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid or Brian Lara.

The start to his international career was an ordinary one, but Kallis blossomed into arguably one of the world’s leading batsmen with sound defensive technique, and array of cricket book stroke play under his armor. His all round ability with bat and ball and his catching as a specialist slip fielder is a metaphor to eagle’s eye. He is second to none in terms of consistency and rightly so he is trusted with the responsibility of walking in at the all crucial number three position after South African team management tried out various options.

Docile and unemotional in nature, he nailed down the No. 3 position in the South African batting order, and his quality of strokes scaled new highs since then. He has scored over 9000 test runs at a staggering average of 57.74 and also has 219 victims to his name.

A Kallis century tastes a sour flavor, tends to be a soulless affair with mileage taking primacy over bang-bang style, and he has never shown up that he is a selfish cricketer, has covered it up nicely by brining in balance between his interest in his average and his team's position. But whatever might be the case, he has propelled himself to the top of the all-time South African Test batting list.

Kallis until the emergence of Andrew Flintoff, was by some distance the leading all-rounder in the world game along side Sri Lanka’s veteran cricketer Sanath Jayasuria.

His competence with the ball is as good as his with the bat. He is capable of swinging the ball sharply at surprising pace off a relaxed run-up. He can easily clock 140Kmph taking the batsman by surprise and is very reliable in providing breakthroughs.

At the 2007 World Cup Kallis was South Africa’s leading scorer with 475 runs but was sacked for the Twenty20 World Championship later in the year for his style of play. He stood in as captain when Graeme smith was injured and lead the team to whitewash over Zimbabwe but lost the Future Cup against India 1-2. He has played some match winning and match saving knocks for his team over the years. Earlier this year he came to the party when the test series against Pakistan was tied 1-1 with the third test played at Newlands Capetown, he scored a crucial half century after South Africa was four down for 36 runs chasing a target of 161. Not just that, he bolstered his team’s attack in the absence of Shaun Pollock, picked up a match haul of 6 wickets also grabbing the Man-of-the-match award.

His consistency was aptly rewarded as he emerged ICC Test player of the Year 2005 and ICC Player of the Year 2006.

Kallis off the field is a humble person. He has established the Jacques Kallis Scholarship Foundation with the aim to combine the academic and life skills programmes of existing school structures with funding and mentoring support from him. In so doing, the Foundation will provide talented youngsters from all walks of life the opportunity to reach their full sporting and academic potential.

Jumbo Power

For once in the blue moon the selection committee of Indian cricket team has managed to save their faces by appointing veteran Anil Kumble as India’s Test captain. After lots of speculation doing the rounds following Sachin Tendulkar’s refusal to lead the Indian test team, the responsibility of a smooth transition of Indian cricket from older generation to the younger lot falls on the man who has a never say die attitude. The selectors made the right move honoring India’s highest wicket taker ahead of present ODI and T20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was tipped to be the front runner.

“Better late than never” said Kumble and exactly so, every Indian fan will welcome the decision with big smiles as we all know that he has won more matches for India than anyone else. Kumble highest wicket taker for India in both versions of the game was always under the shades of the big three of Indian cricket when it comes to leadership role. Kumble has cool headed shoulders, his feet firmly on the ground and he is a shrewd thinker of the game.

His determination and will power is unmatched. With broken jaws and plastered all over his face he came out to bowl 14 overs picking the priced wicket of Brian Lara for just four runs in the fourth test match played at St. John’s, Antigua in 2002. That was a heartening sight, a sight of a soldier taking the bullet blow still continuing to fight in the battle field. I still remember, the whole of India was speechless and sleepless as everyone was awaken that night to see Kumble battling it out in what was a drawn encounter.

Though the cricket fraternity seems to be happy with his appointment as captain, I must confess that the appointment for just a series is not a healthy signal. What does that mean? Are the selectors putting Anil Kumble on trial as captain or is that they think only one series is enough to groom Dhoni? It makes no sense to put someone of Kumble’s experience as captain for just one series. Instead, the selectors should have given the nod for the whole season, till home series against South Africa.

Kumble has an impressive record with ball in hand against the Pakistan and Australia. His strike rate against these two nations is slightly better at 58 compared to his overall strike rate of 65. He also commands respect from his fellow players and the youngsters in the team. He appears to be a silent guy but he is a great motivator and can have a calming influence over his team members.

Now while Kumble is happy about captaincy, Dhoni need not fuss over it. The leg spinner has retired from the One-dayers means he is no competitor for Dhoni to lead the One-day side. This will allow Dhoni to concentrate more on his test career as a player and lead the team in the shorter formats with a vision in mind. Kumble - Dhoni combo will be an interesting one as both of them are never short of positive energy and positive thinking.

Kumble and challenges go hand in hand; this time the challenge is to achieve equilibrium between past glory and the future hopes. Captaincy for Kumble also means, he will try and enhance his test career without doubt.

Now that Kumble has been trusted with responsibility, it is time to support him. It is clear that Dhoni will takeover from Rahul Dravid in the long run and Kumble, an ideal nominee, approaching the end of his career has one last but the tricky job on hands to engineer the transition.

Intense Encounter, Not for Weak Hearts

“Bigger than the Ashes” says former Australian pacer and present Pakistan Cricket team coach Geoff Lawson. Hearing that from an Australian who played a part in six Ashes encounters will tell you how intense India-Pakistan Clash is all about. Termed as ‘Mother of all encounters’, ‘Clash of two titans’ and more recently ‘Cricket war with no weapons,’ Indo-Pak series will make every heart beat to its rhythm.

The resumption of bilateral ties between the two rivals in 2004 and the frequency of playing against each other, certainly will not take away the prominence of this series. Try drawing a graph between emotions of the fans and tides in the Indian Ocean, you will not find any variation when the series is on.

India-Pakistan series has always been a defining and deciding series for many cricketers. And this series will be very much the same, especially from India’s point of view. The Indian team has been at the apex and nadir on world cricket at different times this year. They have managed to do the unthinkable twice; first, the first round exit in the World Cup and secondly, winning the Twenty20 World Championship at South Africa. Since the T20 triumph, there has been a huge debate over who should be in and out of the team. The senior pros have been under tremendous pressure to score big to keep their places in the team and the youngsters are ready to make every single chance count.

Last few months Indian cricket has been clouded by uncertainty with selection committee going nowhere with their vision. The players are feeling insecure and its growing rapidly with every sitting of the selection panel. The recently concluded Australian series has provoked the situation even more with the team lacking to put up a fight.

In such a situation, Pakistan tour will be of much importance in constructing the road ahead. With Rahul Dravid already in the sidelines for the first two ODIs there will be enormous pressure on Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. On the other hand, there are the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma and S Badrinath waiting to grab their slots in the ODI team.

Sachin Tendulkar who made a mark in international cricket against the same opposition nearly two decades back will once again have to depend on this series to regain supremacy and silence his critics. Ironically, in 1989 he was drafted into the team at the expense of experienced Mohinder Amarnath. Once dropped Amarnath never played a test again for India. This time around Sachin might find himself in such a situation. Same will be the case of his opening partner Sourav Ganguly for whom fitness has always been a question.

Every time these two teams lock horns, it has been a battle between India’s batsmen and Pakistan’s bowlers. It will be no different this time. Pakistan will definitely miss the service of Mohammad Asif. Asif with his wily bowling has always troubled Indian batsmen ever since he made a comeback into the national side when India toured Pakistan last year. His four for in the second innings at Karachi settled the match for Pakistan as well as the series 1-0 in their favor. Since then, Asif leads the Pakistan’s pace attack.

That tour also defined a match winner in India’s RP Singh. Singh who made his test debut in Faisalabad bowled with good pace and bounce and control in a dead pitch, managed to climb four wickets in the first innings and five in the match ultimately earning the man of the match award.

Shoaib Akhtar, though doesn’t deserves to be in the team for his attitude, might be the difference between the two teams with his extra pace. Pakistan also has a decent batting line-up with Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik bolstering the middle order. Salman Butt who has been in and out of the team has always been a certainty when playing against India. Butt has three centuries in his career and all of them have come against their rival team.

On the other hand, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his deputy Yuvraj Singh will be leading batting charts this time. Yuvraj has been in sublime form since the T20 show and will be the backbone of Indian middle order in the absence of Rahul Dravid. Dhoni is another example of players who defined their careers in an India-Pakistan series. In 2004-05, after scores of 0, 12, 7 and 3, he became an overnight hero when he was promoted to number three, smashed the Pakistan bowlers around the park for his 148 in just 123 balls. His average against the rivals is also very healthy compared to his overall average.

Virender Shewag making a comeback into the team also serves special when it comes to playing Pakistan. He is the only Indian to score a triple ton in test cricket and that came against Pakistan. He also has another score of above 250 against them in the longer version and he is in long due for a big one yet again.

India and Pakistan have so much in common, the culture, language, food, and the passion for the game. The battle between the two teams had always been intense and the history says it all. How can one dare to forget the Javed Miandad frog jump, Amair Sohail – Venkatesh Prasad encounter in 1996 World Cup Quarterfinal, Miandad’s last ball six of Chetan Sharma, the bat and ball contest between Sachin Tendulak and Abdul Qadir in 1989 or even the most recent T20 bowl-out as well as Misbah-ul-Haq’s miscue at the hands of Sreesanth in the final.

A history, which has seen epic battles setting one nation in frenzy while the other morns. No doubt, cricket fans across the two nations will be glued to the television sets throughout the series. It doesn’t get any bigger than this!

Art of Winning Key Moments

After the Twenty20 World Cup high, Indians were expected to give the Australians a run for their money in the one day format. Having said that, one was little unsure what kind of an impact will the return of seniors will be on the team, on the field as well as in the dressing room. The expectations from the new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni were high having seen his magical touch with the thinking cap on in the Twenty20 World Cup. But the question remained of how well he will be able to handle the three former captains in the side. Amidst all this a score line of 4-2 in favor of Australia hardly revels you anything, considering that India managed to have Australia on the mat many a times but failed to slice the initiative.

The sixth one day match at Nagpur provides you with more than one occasion where Australia seized the opportunity to bounce back and successfully delivered the knock-out punch. The first of those occasions was when India managed to grab four wickets with 121 on the board in 22 overs. Certainly at this point of time, the initiative was with India before Sreesanth spilled a costly catch from Andrew Symonds on two. This cost India a dear, the muscle man powered his way to his first century against India. This was his fourth score of above 75 in this series.

One of the other occasions in that Aussie innings was when Dhoni handled the ball to Yuvraj Singh, the over cost 15 runs. This happened after an excellent art of spin bowling by Harbajan Singh and Murali Karthik, both managed to apply the pressure by not conceding boundaries.

Neither captain has enjoyed the new rule of mandatory ball change after 34 overs. And this has undoubtedly taken a toll on Indian bowlers. India gave away 102 runs in the last 10 overs, 57 of them coming in the last five. Once again, for the third time in the first half of the match India lost the momentum.

Chasing 300 plus score India was blessed with a century stand from the most successful opening pair of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. The pair added 140 for the first wicket from 25 overs. There on, once again India lost the plot by sending in Irfan Pathan in place of a regular batsman. And in the end overs, the required run rate kept mounting but Indian batsmen couldn’t find boundaries. In the end, India fell short by 18 runs.

Similarly, India got off to good starts but failed to consolidate in the matches played at Bangalore and Kochi. They had Australia at 90 for 4 from 17 overs and 66 for 3 from 16 overs at Bangalore and Kochi respectively. And both those occasions Aussies easily managed a score above 300, clearly shows inconsistency in Indian bowling.

The first ODI was a wash out, but in the second ODI five of the top six Indian batsmen got of to a good start but none of them managed to score a big one.

The Hyderabad ODI saw Yuvraj play a flamboyant knock, but his ton was overshadowed by Aussie brilliance. After 30 overs they had 140 on the board, but runs came thick and fast in the next 20. Aussies managed to pile on another 150 runs in that period.

Australia’s game plan for the Indian batsmen seemed to be the same throughout the series. The Aussie bowlers attacked the off stump channel of the Indian openers and were highly successful in doing so on most of the occasions. Their opening bowlers combined well to haunt the Indian top order getting early breakthroughs, followed by Brad Hogg with his wily spin bowling never allowed Indian scoreboard to tick.

Adam Gilchrist, in one of his columns for a daily before the start of the final ODI in Mumbai mentioned that this is a closely fought series unlike what the score line reads. He said that the Aussies managed to win the key moments. And he is right; they did manage to tilt the balance in their favor every time the situation was even.

India lost the ODI series, but not many Indian fans looked bothered, as all geared up for the much hyped one-off Twenty20 match. A version in which India was crowned World Champions only a few weeks ago, the onus was on the young Indian team to prove that was just for nothing.

Australia taking on World Champions. Now doesn’t that sound odd? Indeed it was and India proved it’s worth the comment by a convincing victory yesterday.

India outplayed Australia in two areas considered to be India’s nightmare. These are running between the wickets and fielding. Such a display has prompted the Aussie captain Ricky Ponting to say that they are willing to play this young Indian team more often in the future. A comment like this can create unwanted pressure and speculations among the Indian news channels, known for their no sense hype.

Spoon feeding them for a chance of speculation was young Robin Uthappa, addressing the pre-match press conference, he said, the dressing room atmosphere is lot more comfortable. What does that really mean? Well, no one knows, and all we have to do is wait for the high voltage Pakistan series to kick start.

Meanwhile, one should not forget the way Australians exhibited their brand of cricket. They have simply mastered the art of winning the 50-50 moments.

Inzamam - The Benevolent Servant of the Game

Pakistan tour of India in 2005, third test match at Bangalore, trailing by 0-1 Pakistan was under tremendous pressure of a second straight series loss to India in a span of one year beckoning. Winning the toss and electing to bat Pakistan lost their openers with just seven runs on the board, walked in the skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq with a cool head. Looking to occupy the crease with Younis Khan for his company, Inzamam started with a cautious fifty, there on he only varied his tempo and not the temperament. He exploded the Indian attack to all corners with some beautiful drives with sheer timing and his trademark back-foot cut. On reaching his 21st century, he was picking singles at will before Lakshmipathy Balaji trapped him leg before first ball of the second day’s play. But by then with Younis Khan, he had put Pakistan well on their way to a series-leveling win. And this is Inzamam at his best for you.

Inzy is a man of strength and delicacy. Powerful hitting should be no surprise, but his sublime touch when on song is remarkable for a man of his bulk. He hates exercising and often looks a passenger on the field, but with a willow in his hands he is Rahul Dravid of Pakistan – the Wall.

There are many other Inzy moments, the 1992 World Cup semi-final knock against New Zealand, the Multan one wicket win over Bangladesh, power steering knock of 122 against India in Karachi ODI where they lost by just 5 runs chasing 350 and a marathon knock of 329 against Kiwis in a test match. Each and everyone of his knock have one thing in common – a calming influence on the scoreboard and a breadth easy dressing room atmosphere.

He led Pakistan with dignity and was successful in earning respect from his boys as well – a rarity in Pakistan dressing room. He had a calming effect on the boys getting them to give their best every time they took the field. His above mentioned knock in Bangalore in his 100th test match brought out the leader in him.

He didn’t have a good physic; with his overweight body led to names such as ‘aloo’ he was a comic character on the field. Popular for his bizarre running between the wickets, he was good in compensating that with his willowy blows. He was the backbone of the Pakistan middle order for a longtime though never had the necessity to be a lone warrior. He was well supported by Javid Miandad, Salim Malik, Imran Khan, Saeed Anwar, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan throughout his career. He neither had the pressure as what Sachin Tendulkar or Sourav Ganguly or Rahul Dravid face from their fans.

His conversion rate of centuries into a match winning one is also very good compared to some of his compatriots with 17 out of 25 resulting in a win. However, his ODI record isn’t that great, showing a sense of under achievement. Playing 378 ODIs, most for a Pakistani, he only managed 10 centuries with an average a shade under 40. Though he had the potential to anchor an innings, he preferred playing lower down the order and was criticized by many former cricketers for not taking the leading role.

In a long career as his, hardly anyone can escape poor form. He was no exception. He was also dodged with poor form especially during the 2003 World Cup where he managed a mere 16 runs from six innings with Pakistan knocked out in the first round.

On the other hand, he wasn’t always under the good books; he also faced a fair share of criticism and clouded with controversy. He had a few spats with Shoaib Akhtar which resulted in some unrest in the team for sometime. And his last one year of international cricket hasn’t been good either. Defeat at the hands of Ireland sealed the World Cup for Pakistan in the Caribbean, an event overshadowed by Bob Woolmer death. The team was under immense pressure, with being blamed for Woolmer’s death and police enquiry, he passed one of the most difficult phases of his life.

He was also blamed for influencing religion within the team and the last one year one saw more of emotional Inzamam than anything else.

Clearly he shouldn’t be remembered for every thing that has happened in the last one year. For a career that spanned for 15 years it is natural that a stain or two happens to stick on. One has to salute the courage and the greatness in him to fight out all that he came across to sign off with a smile.

Tale of Two Unsung Heroes

Big shoulders and stylish stroke play are their common features. One is the opening bat; the other a strong middle order player, can relish any bowling attack on their respective days. Both playing for different teams, have been in and out of the team throughout their career.

The reasons are plenty; Mathew Hayden who made his debut long ago in 1994 was overshadowed by the presence of players like Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor and Michel Slater through most of his career. So was the case of our very own VVS Laxman who kick started his career in 1996 played under the shades of Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Their agility on the field was always under the scanner and for the same they were in the side lines of the one-day team for most part of their career.

Everyone have their day of delight, a turning point rather sooner or later in their career. And for these two style icons, the chance to hog the limelight came in 2001 when Australia toured India under the captaincy of Steve Waugh.

Since the day Hayden landed in India, he slog-swept his way to glory by piling 549 runs in that series, then an Australian record for a three match series.

Landing in India, Australians where on a roll, on their winning streak of 15 tests and managed to win their sixteenth in Mumbai trashing India by 10 wickets. It didn’t take any time for ‘Haydos’ to stamp his mark as he steered the Australian first innings with a dominant century. Then he powered his way to a double hundred in Chennai in the final test with some fearless batting where the rest of his teammates struggled against Harbajhan Singh.

Matthew Hayden is 36, yet his eyes have the sharpness of an eagle, highly successful in dispatching the ball to all corners of the ground. It’s raining runs since his latest comeback to the one day team. He scored a whirlwind 181 against Kiwis, an Australian record for the highest individual score in ODIs just before the World Cup. That enabled him to book his tickets for the Caribbean tour. He scored three centuries ending the tournament as the highest run getter with 659 runs. He along with Adam Gilchrist made sure that their team drives in top gear every time they go out to bat. He is already the top run scorer ODIs for the calendar year 2007, way ahead of the rest in the list.

He also managed to top score in the recently concluded Twenty20 World Cup which was supposed to be a young men’s game.

All this came from a man who was dropped from both test and ODI teams in the year 2005 and got to play just two ODI since then till 2007. So what is Matthew Hayden’s Strength? Get a closer look again, you will find out that ‘strength’ is his strength. He is very strong in character, both mentally and physically.

Mental strength is VVS Laxman’s forte. He is no different from Hayden, used to many comebacks and managed to make it big the same time along with Hayden in the same series in 2001. His knock in that second innings of the Kolkata test match turned it all, once for ever. His majestic knock of 281 not just helped India to win that test and level the series but they went on to win the series by winning in Chennai as well. Doing so, he beleaguered Steve Waugh’s thought of being invincible Australians stopping the Aussie juggernaut of 16 consecutive test wins.

Hayden, part of two World Cup winning teams, Laxman was overlooked by the selectors should consider himself unlucky.

At his sublime best, watching Laxman play is something that every connoisseur of the game would like to. Wristy and willoy he can grace the cricket field with his wide range of strokes. He belongs to those rare breed of players who are good at hitting the same delivery on either side of the field. And when he does that even the opposition forgets that they are at the receiving end. His presence on the crease is a luxury and at time his stroke play even bettered Tendulkar’s.

Presently a regular in India’s test team when they play with four bowlers finds himself out when they opt for five bowlers. Whatever is the composition of the team that will not be the case when India takes on Australia down under in a couple of months.

His nickname is ‘Very Very Special’ and he stores his special for the Australians. With the tour of down under on the cards it will be no surprise if he makes yet another strong comeback. Watch out!

Indian Cricket in Safe Hands

Before the start of the tournament, no one including the players themselves gave a chance for them to make it to the knock-out stage of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup. The reasons were many, considering that a new young team with a new captain, a team without the holy trinity of Indian cricket, lack of experience in this shortest format with just one game under their belt and the team’s unproven record of winning tournaments.

At the end of the fairy-tale journey, during the presentation ceremony, the winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said, “We were not tipped favourites, nobody expected us to reach the Super Eights or knock-out stage. And whenever the expectation is less, the determination is high.” Interestingly, that did turned out to be India’s strength.

The team played with no pressure, displayed some powerful but sensible batting, the bowlers stick to their basics, where they were highly successful in defending moderate totals every time Mahendra Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat and at last youthful exuberance on the field which was beyond belief. It was a team effort as the captain correctly pointed out that this team has no stars.

The team also had established players in Sehwag, Irfan Pathan and Harbajan Singh who were on their comeback trail. The trio was under tremendous pressure as everyone thought, if this short span of time on the field is the right stage for them to prove their worth. But what was unveiled out of them was a brave display. Pathan made a comeback with a maiden first over, carrying on from there he went on to bowl a match winning spell in the final at Johannesburg. Harbajhan proved decisive in the end overs bowling some deadly yorkers and getting crucial breakthrough. Sehwag was at his destructive best in the match against New Zealand and England showing signs of his best.

In Zaheer’s absence, this young bowler from Rai Barelly took the responsibility of leading the pace attack. Rudra Pratap Singh didn’t get any man-of the match award for himself but he was definitely India’s bowler of the tournament. He provided vital breakthroughs at the start of the innings in every match. Supporting him from the other end was Kerala express Sreesanth. He wasn’t at his best in the tournament but he did manage to bowl a match winning spell in that all important semi-final against Australia taking two wickets for just 12 runs in his four overs.

The batting line-up was missing the names of Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid for the first time since 1989 but that really didn’t have any effect with the willow. After their loss to Kiwis Indians were in a situation to win every match to take the crown. As a first step they did exceedingly well to knock the home team out and book a place in the Durban final. The mainstay of Indian batting was Yuvraj Singh. Seriously, I have never seen such a clean hitting in the last decade or so. He played no nonsense shorts but still managed to score over a strike rate of 200.

Gambhir at the top of the order was solid with his array of stroke play. He held the Indian innings together in most of the matches providing the team with good starts. One thought he has done more than expectations but he proved everyone wrong by storing his best for the finals. The rest of the batsmen chipped in at needy hours with crucial runs.

The English summer wasn’t a great one on the field for the Indians as there were a dozen of catches being spilled during the one-day series. Contrastingly, what we saw here in South Africa over the two weeks was a young Indian team with vim and vigor. Dinesh Kaarthik pounced on to the one at slips to get rid of Graeme Smith was stupendous. Yuvraj Singh, Rohit sharma and Robin Uthappa were accurate with their throws, hitting the stumps every time. Opponents nightmare, India’s joy; it just appeared as if Indian team was filled with Jonty!

When the whole of India wondering what to expect out of newly appointed ‘skipper’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he preferred to stay cool and enjoy the outing. Throughout the tournament he was outstanding with his decision making, even outsmarting the so called cricket pundits. Dhoni never allowed his boys to feel the pressure; he was constantly talking to his bowlers in crucial situations and backing them up irrespective of the outcome. His marshalling of resources captured everyone’s imagination, even his opposite number was no exception. Adam Gilchrist praised Dhoni for his brilliant moves in the semi-final saying, “I thought Dhoni captained beautifully tonight. He just chose the right times to bowl those bowlers in the last three or four overs.”

Overall it was a great team performance, probably the best in the last twenty years. Clearly, India displaying no fear as its captain, outplayed all other teams in the tournament, emerged deserved winners.

As in South Africa, Dhoni and his boys did not fail to make a mark on their arrival in India. “We are told that Mumbai is a city which is always on the move. See, my boys and I have brought the entire city to a standstill today,” he said during the felicitation at the Wankhede stadium. And they certainly managed to do so.

It was a great team performance, so was their home coming. Thousands of people lined up on the streets of Mumbai braving the heavy rain to welcome their heroes. But now the focus is on the Australian series, with the first of the seven ODIs starting tomorrow it will be interesting to see how Mahendra Singh Dhoni get his act together, specially when the big three are back. What will be the dressing room atmosphere? Will there be any kind of uneasiness among the players and if any, will that have any effect on the team performance?

One has to wait and see, as I am writing this article a day before the start of the first one-day battle at Bangalore.

However, the victory on the big stage has certainly given cricket fans a big sigh of relief that the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands of these youngsters who are willing to fight fire with fire.

The ‘D’ Factor!

Actions are never in short supply in Indian cricket. With one focus on on-field actions in the ICC World Twenty20, there is a high drama happening in Indian cricket off the field. Since taking charge of the Indian team in 2005, Rahul Dravid has taken a couple of best decisions only in the recently concluded England tour. One was to consider the older players out of the Twenty20 side, making the selector’s job easier and the other is resigning as India skipper. Doing so, Dravid has now become the only Indian captain to give away the hot seat when on prime.

For the man known for his commitment and dedication, who have shouldered the responsibility of senior men alongside Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar over a decade to shy away from the responsibility, is very disturbing, even if the decision was right.

Also, the timing of the decision has to be questioned. The Indian team is scheduled to play Australia and Pakistan at home and then will tour down under. Dravid is a thinking cricketer and am sure he would have considered all this into account before taking the final call. So what has made the ‘Wall’ to crack?

The ‘Wall’ cracks

It is a known fact that the administration in Indian cricket has always been under scanner with an unprofessional approach. Dravid was insisting for a media manager and a professional team manager for a long term appointment since the day he took in-charge of the team but that never happened, the one tour one manager formula continued. This kind of approach should have definitely unsettled the team with the captain trying to strike the chord with every single manager every tour. Adding to the woes, BCCI is yet to find the right candidate to replace Greg Chappell who resigned as India coach after world cup debacle earlier this year. However, India is set to play its sixth series with the position of the head coach still left vacant.

The advantage, more so a privilege of being a sportsman along with a few other professions is the opportunity to enjoy every day at work. Being so will allow you to remain competitive and excel at what you do. When the fun goes out, its time to move on and Dravid has just done that. It was evident that his batting took a big dip during the last tour and he was clearly unhappy about it.

There can be a few reasons behind it. It looks like he has no time to concentrate on his batting. Being a captain is an honor, but it’s unfair to expect a captain to keep thinking about contracts, coaches, schedules and other such issues in which case he will hardly have any time to think about the game. And it’s too much of an ask. If this is why Dravid has decided to step down, then it is not a healthy sign for Indian cricket. Even the guy who takes over from him will have to face all such hurdles.

Commanding with confidence

The selectors have decided to pass on the mantle to Mahender singh Dhoni, which is a positive move in the right direction. So far he has done a fabulous job with his thinking cap on. Dhoni and Dravid are like two opposite poles with contrasting personalities. Dhoni goes crazy with big riding motorbikes and his long hair-styles unlike Dravid who is calm, cool and composed. Dhoni knows no technical correctness with his bat in hand whereas Dravid all about technical perfection. Yet, if you have a microscopic view you will find that both are astute thinkers of the game, hard workers and have the willingness to learn and they are on the button all the time.

Dhoni has shown enough evidence of being a captaincy material. The first of it was evident when he opted for slow bowlers for the bowl out against Pakistan instead of regulars. That was a master stroke. He marshaled his troops well especially in two must win games against England and South Africa. His game plan was superb and the confidence he showed on his young team was remarkable. He kept his nerves cool during crunch situations and executed his game plans well. His decision to bowl out Harbajan Singh and R P Singh knowing that the final over might be crucial against Australia in the semi-finals yesterday turned out to be an excellent decision. In spite of Joginder Sharma’s expensive first over he backed his fifth bowler to bowl the last over and the whole plan paid off.

Throughout this Twenty20 tournament it was no surprise that the players where allowed to do what the wanted to. Dhoni has no fear, so was Team India. They fancied their chances, took that odd gamble and more importantly as Dhoni said in one of the match presentations he believes in the teams ability and backing up the same. That was apparent every time he won the toss and elected to bat knowing that batting is India’s strength.

So then, the hot seat of world cricket is dominated by the D factor at the moment. It was Dada, then Dravid and now Dhoni donning the leadership role.

Perseverance needed

So far so good, the selectors have done well to look out of the trinity of Indian cricket – Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid. Now it is time for the younger generation to take the responsibility and drive Indian cricket forward.

It is now more important for the selectors and the BCCI to give Dhoni a long run and support him by providing him with all his needs. It really doesn’t matter if we lose a few matches, it is more important that we build a good competitive team. And for Dhoni, it will be a challenging season ahead. A packed schedule with lots of travelling involved, strong opponents in Australia, Pakistan and South Africa Dhoni’s biggest challenge is to keep his head cool.

Passing on judgment on his captaincy now or even after the end of this grueling schedule will be unfair towards Dhoni. Instead it is very important that the selectors, the BCCI, the media and the fans support Dhoni and his young Indian team all along the journey of building a vibrant outfit for the 2011 World cup to be played in Indian sub-continent.

Therefore, it is time for us to get prepared to face a short-term pain for a long-term gain. And let’s hope the ‘D’ factor delivers well for Indian cricket.

Cricket Boards’ Unison to Venture into the Unknown

Only a week ago cricket’s new baby, ultra-limited over cricket, as referred by Sunil Gavaskar in a television program during an innings break, was unveiled with the launch of ICC World Twenty20. But now with hardly a week in this new game of excitement, the format is all set to produce an ultra wave as the cricket boards’ of India, Australia, England and South Africa has joined hands to launch the Champions Twenty20 League last week. Possibly, this may be a sign of things to come ahead and promises to induce a sea change in world cricket.

For a sport that was so far been dominated by international bilateral ties this is an exemplar of taking the so far neglected domestic level of the game to the public. Many would think that the launch is a counter attack by BCCI over the Essel Group’s ICL but considering that the initiative was taken by cricket boards of four nations and with the presence of super stars like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Glenn McGrath and Stephen Fleming during its glittering launch a few days ago, this clearly is a serious business. Serious enough to make ICC President Ray Mali to take a flight to India, just a few hours after the start of World Twenty20 extravaganza in his homeland.

The first of the Champions Twenty20 will start next season in 2008 comprising of eight teams which will include the finalists of the domestic Twenty20 competition of these four nations. The domestic T20 has more significance in other countries unlike India where the inaugural competition this year went almost unnoticed.

To counter this, BCCI has announced their next move, that is, to launch Indian Premier League (IPL) to be held next April, lasting for 44 days with 59 matches. In contrast to this year, domestic T20 next year is expected to rule the domestic season.

The BCCI has taken a cue out of Football’s English Premier League of franchising teams, a significant step that will change the dynamics of the game. The teams can be bought by a corporate, can be owned and managed by themselves including the selection of players. Now this is a unique concept in cricket where so far the players were associated to only one broad can now be bought for a competitive price to play for their team.

So how much will Tendulkar cost? Then what about Shane Warne? The Indian is the richest cricketer in the world. Will he be the most expensive? Which teams will these guys sign contract with and for what price?

All this will create a public interest ultimately making them to follow domestic cricket. Now this looks a nice way to keep the people pinned to the game but to what extent will this be successful? This is something that we have to wait and watch.

We all know BCCI is a king maker when it comes to marketing telecast rights and the in-stadia rights but what about pulling crowed to watch matches in grounds? The Indian board has done its best to schedule all these matches in the evenings hoping to have a capacity crowd.

Financially this format is more rewarding for the administrators, is so for the cricketers. The total cash prize involved in Champions Twenty20 is $5 million, including $2 million for the winners, the highest for any domestic competition. Now this is clearly a big motivation for the players, specially the fringe ones.

What will this do is it will make the domestic competition more competitive and enthralling to watch. This initiative will also boost interstate cricket.

All this is fine. We all know that no competition can be a success without star presence. The international fixtures are jam packed for team India that they play almost the whole year. This not only yanks the cricketers but also the spectators. It takes too much of time and energy for a person to keep track of everything that’s happening in world cricket. Having taken all the initiative to take the game to a new level the ICC and the BCCI has to find out ways to cut short some of the international schedule of the Indian cricket team enabling the players to take part in such domestic tournaments.

In the proposed league, the gains are substantial in financial terms but how much will it cost the game itself?

What will be the state of the traditional test match cricket that we all love this game for? Will such a raze take away the shine of the game? Are these proposals the signs of end of an era and beginning of a new one? Rather passing the judgment now let’s welcome cricket’s baby and enjoy its beauty as we did for the last one week.

Twenty20 – Survival of the Fittest

Mobile phones have replaced landlines; fast food centers have substituted restaurants reflecting a huge transformation in terms of urgency. The globe is moving towards an era where time is everything which resulted in Twenty20, cricket’s latest avatar.

Twenty20 cricket match is like watching an Indian movie where the three hours is packed with action drama and comedy mixed in equal proportions. Similarly, the ‘mini-pyjama’ version is no different. It supplies action in the form of powerful hitting, drama on the field with some sizzling stops, dropped catches and some verbal exchanges which was an ingredient this English summer and the range of innovative shots like scoops along with butterfingers on the field will showcase you the funny side.

This version gratifies those who have no time and patience to sit through the entire day’s play to savor the excitement they look for. It will be raining sixes and fours amid those glamorous girls - the cheerleaders, dancing to the tunes of hip-hop music around the boundary line.

The new born version is all set to take the center stage in South Africa as International Cricket Council (ICC) is looking forward to establish the game in the countries like U.S, Canada and Japan and restore the fan following in England - the home of cricket.

Neophytes

Though all the teams are relatively new to this format with a few games under their belt, there will be no shortage of excitement. England are more experienced in the format as they have played six Twenty20 internationals while Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have played five each, Pakistan have played in four games, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh in three matches.

Surprisingly cricket’s financial powerhouse, India has played only one game against South Africa in Durban last year along with Zimbabwe. The other teams in the tournament are Kenya and Scotland who qualified after topping the World Cricket League earlier this year.

What to expect?

Entertainment is a guarantee though what is unclear are the teams’ tactics. At the same time one thing is clear is that the Indians will be without their most experienced and celebrated trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Zaheer has also been rested and leading the team will be the poster boy of Indian cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Indian team management has looked at this tournament as a platform for those out of the team due to poor form but proven match winners in Sehwag, Hanbajan and Irfan Pathan to stage a comeback. They have also provided some promising youngsters to make their claim for a place in one-day and the test team.

On the other hand, Australia will be at full strength bolstered by the return of Brett Lee replacing retired pro McGrath from their World Cup squad. Ricky Ponting’s men have sent out a strong signal to the rest of the teams that they are all set to add another Championship trophy to their kitty.

Interestingly, England have packed their squad with specialists in this format but at the same time there are players like Jeremy Snape and Darren Maddy who are unsuccessful internationals in their mid-thirties.

The Rules

There are a few new and interesting rules scripted for this format. The most interesting and eye-catching one will be the ‘free-hit.’ The batsmen will get a free hit everytime the bowler oversteps, the batmen cannot be dismissed except that of run-out. The field cannot be changed and it will remain the same as that of the previous ball.

Another interesting aspect will be the bowl out concept. Cricket’s answer to penalty shootout in Football or Hockey, in case of a tie, where the captain has to nominate five players who will have a roll of their arms at the stumps.

The Favourites

Australians will be the favourites to start with though the experience that England, New Zealand and South Africa posses with Twenty20 featuring in their county circuit, these teams will have a chance to win their first major tournament as they are the only teams among the top eight test playing nations not to win the World Cup.

The recently concluded World Cup in Caribbean failed miserably to provide any kind of excitement for the fans as it was stretched for over six weeks involving lots of one side matches. However, it will all be different this time. A two week tournament with only 20 overs per side there is very little time to react or recover.

Twenty20 will provide instant delight to the viewers as the cricketers will tune themselves for the hit-and-giggle formula. It can also be said as, the game of cricket for people who don’t like cricket.

As the cricket’s shortest version is all set to kick start in a couple of days time the Twenty20 mantra should be ‘survival of the fittest.’

India Continues to Gamble with All-rounder Slot

With three matches to go in the on-going Natwest trophy, India’s quest for a complete all-rounder is still on. Indian team has underperformed in all the four ODIs so far and their batsmen have let them down yet again. The team filled with super stars faces deficiency in their batting line up, killer instinct in their bowling department and their fielding is no where near international standards.

The impact of pyjama cricket has resulted in batsmen easily manage 300 runs in single day of a test match. A decade back a score of 225 was considered to be a challenging one in the limited version but today teams easily chase 350 plus totals. If you carefully look at the transformation that the game has undergone you would notice that batsmen at No.7 & 8 have contributed far more with bat and ball than it was in early days of cricket.

Today teams like England, Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa play with eight batsmen and six bowlers who can do the job at any given time. For England, this summer, contributions from Stuart Broad, Ravi Bopara has been outstanding in all departments. And not to mention Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff, they have always delivered when it most mattered. The former has been their mainstay for the past two years and the later has a big heart and fires every time with bat and the ball. Stuart Broad batting at number eight has the ability to hold the crease and also to hit some boundaries at will. England’s fielding is a big plus, especially in this series against India. They managed to save nearly 30 to 40 runs every match because of their eye-catching field work.

Looking at the other side, India was clearly outplayed in three of the four matches played so far and the absence of a complete all-rounder has exposed the team under the bad light. The only match they won at Bristol was a narrow escape by nine runs after scoring a mammoth 329 was over shadowed by the brilliance of Dimitri Mascarenhas with the bat as the required run rate was reaching the sky. This just proves the importance of having a quality all-rounder at number eight.

This same Indian team was highly successful in 2005 during which they even managed a record 17 successful chases in trot. The only difference now and then was the presence and the thriving performances of Irfan Pathan. Many looked and portrayed him as the next Kapil Dev in the making but that hope took a twist when he lost his rhythm completely. He is out of the team for nearly eight months now and his current performances in the African tour with the A side was not up to his potential.

There are not many in the wings to fill that slot either, and that is a huge concern for the team management as well as the selectors. Ramesh Powar and Piyush Chawla have not contributed with the bat and their failure has taken a big toll on the other members of the team. In the ODIs at Edgbaston and Old Trafford both these players failed to occupy the crease, to rotate singles and give the strike to Yuvraj on both those occasions and neither of them managed to clear the rope consistantly.

Ajit Agarkar still surprisingly considered to posses the all-round ability from selectors point of view has never managed to contribute significantly with the bat throughout his ten year career. He is one of those rarest breed of cricketers who has been consistent in being in and out of the team and probably has made the most number of comebacks!

Though Sachin, Sourav and Yuviraj provided India with the option of some slow bowling, they haven’t seen any success in this series so far. The trio have bowled 26 overs at an economy rate of 5.65 with just one wicket between them.

With India struggling to fit in six bowlers and players who can contribute some valuable runs at number 7 & 8, the presence of two wicket keepers in the side is to be questioned. It is accepted that keepers who can contribute well with the bat are considered to be an all-rounder but what is the point in keeping one as a specialist batsman when the team is in need of someone like Jacques Kallis. Taking no credit away from Dhoni and Karthik, I believe one of them should be dropped to accommodate someone who can bat and bowl well.

There are not many in the pipeline, though there are the likes of Praveen Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, who can bowl some good medium pacers and has the ability to vary his pace and can be handy at during the final overs. The other is the elder brother of Irfan Pathan, Yusuf who is an off spinner. Both these players are hard hitting batsmen. Yusuf has been provided with an opportunity to exhibit his talent and Irfan, a proven match winner has been provide with a comeback platform as Pathan brothers are set to tour South Africa for the Twenty20 World Cup this month. Praveen Kumar should consider himself unlucky to miss the flight but he can keep his hopes alive as India is set to play more ODIs in the days ahead.

The Natwest series might be decided today at Headingly but India should be prepared to look ahead and give many of these hopefuls a look in.

It’s high time that the selectors throw these talents in the deep as India is set to play more ODIs against Australia and Pakistan at home. There cannot be a better stage for these youngsters to prove themselves than their own backyard.

The Indian Cricket League Saga

The surfacing of Indian Cricket League (ICL) promoted by Essel Group is a development that could have a long term impact on Indian Cricket. However, will this be a positive development or will it carve up the already dispirited Indian cricket into two rival factions? This will be the question that will do the rounds in the minds of every cricket fan in India in the coming days.

“Out and out commercial venture," says BCCI President, Sharad Pawar in his latest stand on ICL. Since the time Essel group has taken the step of fledging ICL, there has been a stir in Indian cricket with the game’s governing body Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken a tuff stand.

It all started with the Subhash Chandra, Chairman of ZEE Telefilms announcing the name of former cricketer Kapil Dev as the Chairman of the newly formed league with the vision of grooming young talents. This has certainly left the heavy weights of BCCI in unrest. As a result, the Indian board threatened to ban the league as well as withdrawing the player’s benefits such as pension.

Kapil is presently employed with BCCI as Chairman of National Cricket Academy.

"Players who take part in the ICL will never be eligible to play for the country again. It is up to the players to decide what they want to do," said Niranjan Shah, BCCI secetary. If you look at various such statements made by the BCCI officials’, one just gets a feeling that they are unnecessarily disturbed with the emergence of ICL.

On the other hand, there a few serious questions that are unanswered by the ICL. This being a Twenty20 format, how you expect a young cricketer to learn the nuance of cricket. There is no way one can learn the finer points of the game by playing the new version of cricket. All one can expect is some slam-bang power hitting and nothing else.

Already the toll of One day internationals has its effects on test cricket and there are not many classical test innings where the player is equipped enough to play the whole day to save a test match. There are not many batsmen who have a perfect technique but still have managed to survive in international cricket for many years. But then their flaw in technique comes wide open in test cricket. Hence, the new breakaway league cannot create bench strength as they claim.

Meanwhile, there are lots of former International players being approached by ICL and Brian Lara became the first international to sign to play for them. The huge money involved in the process has definitely tempted a few current crops of cricketers like Stephen Fleming to think of an early retirement. Sri Lanka’s Marvan Attapatu who is struggling to get back into the national team has now got his annual contracted terminated from his board to play in the ICL tournament. Next in line are all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Habibul Bashar, and JP Yadav, who most likely will be the first Indian to play for the league.

The list doesn’t stops here, there are like of Glen McGrath, Shane Warne and many other names are doing the rounds.

The ICL, as a significant step has now done something that even the cricket’s powerhouse BCCI is yet to do – launching an official website. All this has added spice to the spat of the two biggies, with a few questions have been raised over the BCCI’s administrative efficiency.

Joining the war of words was yet another prominent political personality, Lalu Yadav, the Union Railway minister and also the President of Bhiar Cricket Association coming forward to offer the ministry’s grounds for playing matches. This has certainly added spice to the whole issue.

Another interesting thing that one should wait and watch is, Is this the beginning of a World Series Cricket style breakaway league? Although media mogul Subhash Chandra said he will never do a Kerry Packer, there is every sign that his Indian Cricket League could well become one, if Chandra's ploy succeeds.

The birth of ICL has received mixed response so far from various former and present cricketers. As for as I am concerned, ICL’s intentions are very clear that this nothing but a money making venture.

ICL can never be a parallel body to BCCI. Therefore, it’s high time that the Indian board focus on developing the game in the country rather than loosing its sleep over ICL.