Selection of injured players continues in Indian cricket.

Disaster of England tour is still fresh in the minds of Indian cricket lovers but I think Srikkanth led selection committee and BCCI have forgotten that disastrous tour of England and that's why they again repeated the mistake by sending injured Ishant Sharma on the all important tour of down under. How often we see injured player travels with the team and enjoy the paid holiday from BCCI. Zaheer khan returned from the tour of England after bowling just 2 overs in the  test match at Lords. Zaheer failed to complete the tour down under twice in the past and this time also scene is not that great as well.

It is good that Harbhajan is not selected for this tour otherwise one more injured player had travelled with the team. Recently it is revealed that Harbhajan is carrying the shin injury for long time and he will going to miss out entire Ranji season for Punjab. Actually BCCI don't have any plan in place to control the injuries to its key players. Cricket fan can understand that injuries cannot be controlled but BCCI can atleast take an initiative that injured player don't board the plane for the important tour. But that is also not happening. Every player try hard to get selected despite injuries and eventually fan suffers due to  below par performance of the team.I think time has come to punish the players who hide their injuries and make themselves available for selection. Recently Anil Kumble resigned from the post of Chairman-National Cricket Academy because  board didn't accepted his injury management programme. So it is clear that BCCI is not serious about injury management. Not accepting Kumble's word is disaster because Kumble is legend and he hhas played cricket at highest levels and knows all about injuries that hampers the player's career.

Even after getting to know that Ishant is not fully fit, he has been not replaced and board allowed him to continue on the tour. What happen, if Ishant play first test in Melbourne and breaks down after one or two over? Just like he broke down and  left the ground in Canberra practice match where he just bowled 5.3 overs and for rest of the match he was sitting in dressing room with his troubled ankle. Even team manager Shivlal Yadav also lied to the media and fans, stating that Ishant was supposed to bowl only six overs. What kind of excuse is this? I remember, when Greg Chappell was hooted by the Indian fans he showed his middle finger which created lot of anger among fans, but the BCCI, Vice-President Rajiv Shukla gave senseless statement in favour of Greg Chappell that finger of Chappell had some pain and he was trying to cure his finger by raising it. Such senseless statements are regular from BCCI officials and selectors in defence of their acts. If we hear some senseless statement from K.Srikkanth about Ishant's injury, we will not get surprised at all, because we Indian fans are ready for such senseless statements.

When India returned from England this summer, selectors clearly said that they will pick up only fit players for the next tour but they again repeated their mistake and picked up injured player like Ishant Sharma for the series against West Indies where Ishant performed below par and picked up just 9 wickets in 3 test matches. Everybody knew Ishant picked up ankle injury on that England tour, yet selectors selected him.Selectors still had that chance to test the Ishant Sharma ahead of all important Australia tour by asking him to play in Ranji game during ODI series between West Indies and India but selectors failed to do so and that's why injured Sharma is on that tour. Now Indian bowling looks hopeless as there is question mark on Zaheer's fitness as well and only solace India have in bowling is new pace sensation Umesh Yadav. Abhimanyu Mithun and Vinay Kumar failed to impress in the first practice game at Canberra. I think Ishant must be recalled and Irfan Pathan must replace him immediately as latter is in good form and rythm while former is injured and don't look good to complete the tour.

In the decade of 90s, injured players were easily got selected for the matches because of their good relations with then physio Dr. Ali Irani who always recommended injured players for selection just on the basis of relationship and that's why he was fired from the job and foreign physios took over but trend still continues and injured players are still finding place in the team and in-form players are ignored. I am not at all hopeful of India doing well down under this summer as well, where they failed to win single test series in past and this is just because of wrong selection. I hope BCCI wake-up before its too late.

Lord once again hurt India

 

While I am writing this post, the epic test match is in anti-climax stage and climax is more or less certain unless some drama happens before that, in anti-climax.

The first test match of 4 test match series between India and England got underway  on 21st July and four days are over with home team enjoying the distinct advantage while visitors are struggling hard to save the test match. This epic test match saw brilliant display of batting from Matt Prior, Kevin Pietersen and Rahul Dravid, as both  Dravid and Pietersen got brilliant hundreds on a testing surface, brilliant bowling spells from Praveen Kumar, Stuart Broad and Ishant Sharma. Misery of  great Tendulkar continued at this ground as he failed to cross the thirties on this very venue one more time and century on this ground is still far away from him.

If we talk about England I think they batted in tough conditions and also bowled in batting friendly conditions, while Indians got the best batting conditions to bat and best bawling conditions to bowl but failed to take advantage of that and England turned the tide in their favour by battling it out in tough conditions. But Indians were unlucky to lose its premier fast bowler Zaheer Khan on the first day due to injury and other 3 bowlers failed to make any impact on Day 1. Dropped catches of Trott and Pietersen also aggravated the wounds of Indian bowlers and it is pity that, captain who dropped those chances. So far in this match captain Dhoni dropped four crucial catches and India paid dearly for that.

Tactics of Indian captain in the field were also far from the reality so far. When Ishant was bowling well on Day 4, he didn’t continue him after lunch and that’s where match slipped from the hands of India. Mistake even became more visible when Ishant returned with new spell and immediately picked up the wicket of Eoin Morgan which clearly showed that, had Ishant bowled just after lunch India must have got into the comfortable position and could have thought of winning the match but Dhoni failed to take advantage of the moment.

Moreover, in first innings Dhoni batted for 102 balls and scored just 27 runs and didn’t force the issue, as if he was out there to save the test match in first innings of the game. Had Dhoni played his natural game, Indian would have reached closer to the English score in first innings but Dhoni kept playing defensively and finally got out to he new ball. Dhoni used these defensive techniques in his batting many times but he failed often while playing defensively. He has to understand that, he is not technically sound as Rahul Dravid, so he has play his natural game and score runs which will help Indian team in winning more test matches. We all saw when wickets were falling Matt Prior played his natural game and got his team out of the trouble by scoring brilliant hundred. Dhoni has to learn that. Also there is saying offence is the best form of defence.

In the past few matches, Dhoni’s wicket-keeping standard has gone down considerably and he is out of form in batting as well. We all know, how capable Dhoni is, with the bat but only when he play his natural game. I think time has come, when Dhoni have to think about his batting and have to accept the fact that he is not a technically sound batsmen and have to play his natural game under any circumstances and I can vouch, if he will play his natural game he will certainly score more runs in his test career and if he try to kill his natural instincts then I am afraid he will not survive much in the highest format of the game for too long.

So India is on doorstep of defeat at Lords and tough times ahead for Dhoni and his team which is also struggling with disease and injuries to its premier players.

Litmus test ahead for Dhoni and his men

 

After reasonably successful Windies tour Team India is confident of doing well in upcoming series in England. Although Team India won both ODI and Test Series in West Indies but that win is not emphatic enough considering the huge gap of ranking between the two teams. India, the No.1 ranked team expected to win the series with either whitewash or at least 2-0 but they won it by 1-0 which is not considered substantial win considering  the weak opposition and sub-continental like conditions. Although win is win.

Now Indian team will face the English challenge and this tour will establish Indian team’s supremacy in world cricket, if they will win this series and victory in English summer will certainly clears all the doubts over Team India’s ranking, which has been raised by various cricket experts world over. But series is not going to be easy as England is deadly dangerous in their own backyard, also they are confident side after five series win in a row which includes victory over Australian team in famous Ashes series down-under.

So stern test ahead for Dhoni and his men.From West indies tour India gained few things and one of them is the bowling. Before this West Indies tour there were doubts about Indian bowling especially in fast bowling department but those doubts are clear now and India have good fast bowlers in Ishant Sharma who grew in stature after this Windies tour, debutant Praveen Kumar impressed in batting friendly conditions and Munaf Patel also played his role. So as Zaheer Khan returned to the side,Dhoni have the option of going in with 3 quality fast bowlers and in helpful conditions of England Indian bowlers will certainly do wonders especially Praveen Kumar who has given born to lot of expectations because of his special swing bowling. So if England prepares the bowling friendly wickets then their batsmen will also go through the big test against the Indian seamers.

As far as batting is concerned, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman are in good form but return of maestro Sachin Tendulkar, who is in sight of his 100th ton in International cricket and opener Gautam Gambhir will certainly boost the batting of this Indian team. Form of Raina is also good and it will going to be a difficult choice for Dhoni to go with Yuvraj or Raina. Sehwag will join the team in 2nd or 3rd test match depending on his fitness and that will further boost the Team India’s batting but for one man this tour will going to be a very important and that man is Abhinav Mukund who had disastrous debut in West Indies but came back well in 2nd and 3rd test and hence earned the berth for England tour. If Mukund will play well in first two test then it will certainly boost his confidence as well as India will also get the new solid batsmen who will easily take the place of Rahul Dravid after his retirement.

So exciting series in prospect and Indian team have to play out of their skin to beat England in England and it will not going to be easy but also not impossible as Indian team defeated England last time when they toured under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. India can take inspiration from that tour and that will definitely make their job easy.

Talking about success of the Indian batsmen, well they have to play  the deliveries late in English conditions and that is the only mantra to score big runs in this series. Remember No.1 ranking is on stake for Team India and win on this tour will going to shut the mouth of every person who doubts India’s No.1 ranking status on Test Cricket. Dhoni has not lost single test series so far in his career as a captain, so his reputation of no series defeat is also on stake.

Run-rate dipped in absence of mighty Sehwag….

 

He made his debut for India as a middle-order batsmen and scored century against South Africa at Bloemfontein in his debut game. Looking at his batting style Sourav Ganguly who was captain of Indian team during that period asked Sehwag to open the innings and after that move history of Indian cricket changed many times  and new chapters added to the history of Indian cricket.

Currently Sehwag is the most ballistic opener in world cricket, in all forms of the game. His sheer presence in the middle, creates nightmarish situation for the bowlers around the world. Nobody expected this success of Sehwag considering his unique hand-eye co-ordination technique in which footwork is minimum. But lack of footwork did not  affected Sehwag’s progress in international cricket, especially in test cricket where technique is considered above everything.

Indian team won many test matches in last decade only because of Sehwag’s quick start at the top and it is Sehwag’s brilliance which helped Indian team in becoming the king of World Cricket. Sehwag is a completely unique batsmen in world cricket not because of his style of playing but also because of his views and thinking about his own batting. There is no complication theory in his batting as ‘ball is there to hit he will hit it’ and in doing so sometimes he dispatches good balls out of the ground as well. He is having clear mind and simplistic approach which makes him stand out above all the cricketers.

Why did I wrote so much about Sehwag. Answer is simple Indian team is missing him badly  So far in 3 innings of two test matches,  Indian opening pair of Vijay and Mukund struggled badly and their pair didn’t survive for even 5 overs. So in the absence of Sehwag Indian team is missing some zing at the top but good starts are not only the factor, Indian team’s run-rate also dipped badly in the absence of Sehwag. Indian team with Sehwag at top, scored at an average rate of 3.70 runs in last decade in the test matches they played and in first session of the test match, team India scored at an average rate of 4.60 runs in last decade.

But in West indies, now , run-rate of Indian team shattered badly as their average run-rate in two test match is paltry 2.20 runs and in first session it is worst as it dipped to 1.80 runs which clearly shows what impact Sehwag has on the game when he bats. Looking at other aspect of this, Sehwag, with his blitzkrieg batting dented the psyche of the opposition bowlers which helped middle-order batsmen to play comfortably without any pressure. Hence Sehwag factor made batting  easy for the great Indian middle-order. Credit for much of the Indian middle-order success in last decade goes to Sehwag and now we can see easily how Team India’s batting and run-rate is struggling without Sehwag and that too against weak bowling line-up of West Indian team.

So Sehwag is the man for all season for Team India and lets hope he returns to cricket with England series next month and increase the run-rate once again. His batting is like rock music which force bowlers to dance on its tunes

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Dravid, Sachin and Laxman are still backbone of Indian Cricket...

 

India won its first test in Caribbean after little struggle but this test match also highlighted that how much we depends on our senior pros for victories in test matches. Many cricket pundits and media again and again raised question over the age of our stalwarts. If possible these so called cricket pundits and media will definitely retire our senior greats and leave the blank space which will kill the Indian cricket. Indian cricket team  has failed to fill the Sourav Ganguly’s place yet in test squad, its almost 3 years, since that No.6 spot is vacant, chopping and changing happens all the time on that spot. India tried Yuvraj, Raina, Pujara, Badrinath but all of them failed to fill those big boots of Sourav Ganguly, so forget that we have players who will fill the boots of greats like Rahul, Sachin and Laxman atleast for next 2 years. But it can happen if these youngster learn from these great players.

I am not against the policy of inducting youngsters in the test team. It is good that India have so many talented youngsters but they need experience and that experience they will get when they will play alongside greats like Dravid, Laxman and Sachin who will teach them how to handle different situations and conditions which will certainly help them to  perform well at International level and it can only happen when these stalwarts play for next 2 to 3 years. Youngsters like Kohli, Raina, Pujara, Pandey, Badrinath will certainly benefit by sharing the dressing room and pitch with these greats of the game. Look at the innings, Rahul Dravid played in  first test match, can we expect from any current youngster to grind the way Dravid did at Sabina Park which eventually helped India win the test match. There was great learning hidden in that innings if any youngster wants to learn how to bat on difficult pitch and difficult situation.

Kohli debut made his debut in first test match of the series against West Indies at Sabina Park, Jamaica, but he failed to translate his success of shorter version on test arena, He clearly lacked the technique and temperament to play in longer version and for that he has to  look upto Dravid, Laxman and Sachin and that will only happen when he will play more cricket with these stalwarts. Kohli is a fine young batsmen but he has big technical flaw in his batting which will trouble him on the pitches which will assist the swing and seam bowing. He commits himself early on front–foot and play across the line, bat facing mid-wicket. This shot looks good on flat wickets but it will certainly trouble him on the moving pitches. But he can take help from Rahul Dravid to rectify his technical flaw and this is where experience of our stalwarts become handy.

Media and cricket pundits must stop speculating about the retirement of our greats and allow them to play freely till the time they wish. Our stalwarts know when to retire and they will certainly retire when appropriate time comes. Till then we have to enjoy their batting and keep cheering them because Sachin, Rahul and Laxman are still backbone of Indian cricket.

No scarcity of fast bowlers

 

Batting of Team India don’t have any worry as there is enough talented batsmen available in India anytime. It was shortage of quality fast bowlers which caused lot of worry and raised lot of questions whenever our experienced fast bowler decided to retire. India never had luxury of six seven quality fast bowlers playing in same era. India always had only one quality fast bowler who carried all the load of fast bowling and around him few mediocre bowlers played but never gave enough support. So question raised who is next? Right now Indian cricket is going through purple patch and everything falling in place. India is No.1 in test ranking, won the World Cup, No.2 ODIs, doing well in T20 but only question that haunts among all these success and that is do India have the quality fast bowlers or who is next Zaheer or next Kapil or next Srinath?

Right now India have good young quicks and waiting for their opportunity. First and foremost name is Deepak Chahar   from Rajasthan. He is 19 years old and made his Ranji  debut  this season against Hyderabad and what a sensational debut that was. Rajasthan bowled out Hyderabad for just 21 runs in that match and Chahar was instrumental in that collapse as he picked up 8 wickets for just 10 runs. He is among Top 3  wicket-takers, this Ranji season. His bowling played crucial role in Rajasthan’s first Ranji triumph. He possess lethal out-swingers with good pace.

Another guy who stormed into the scene is Varun Aaron from Jharkhand. He is 21 years old. He is currently India’s fastest bowler. He came into lime-light when he bowled the fastest ball which clocked 153.7 km on speed gun in Vijay Hazare ODI tournament against Gujarat. He consistently bowls at 150+ speed. He struggled with few back injuries earlier in his career but he recovered well and now  known as Jamshedpur express in domestic cricket. Currently he is playing in IPL for Delhi Daredevils. One more shining star from  Jharkhand after Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Saurabh Tiwary.

Umesh Yadav play for Vidarbha in Ranji Trophy. He is 23 years old. Umesh is very sharp and quick. He consistently hits the 145 km mark. His bouncers are very lethal, ask Sachin Tendulkar, who was hit on the  head while practicing against Yadav in nets. He is playing for Delhi Daredevils in IPL. He got into Indian team and toured South Africa last year but did not get the opportunity to play the game on that tour. He played couple of ODI games for India last year. Good prospect.

Ishant Sharma, everybody knows about him. Very talented young bowler, made sensational debut in Australia couple of seasons back. He is 22 years old. He came into lime-light when he troubled Ricky Ponting and picked his wicket. After that he lost his way somewhat and did not play consistently for the country. He missed the World Cup as well. But IPL 4 has given him new life as he is bowling fast and looks in great rhythm.  He picked up his first fiver of IPL yesterday against Kochi where he bowled unplayable deliveries to Kochi batsmen. It looks like he worked hard on his fitness and on his bowling during lay off.

Jaydev Unadkat is more bowler who emerged from Saurashtra. He is 19 years old. He came into lime-light in last year’s IPL when Akram praised him and express high regards for this youngster. He is left-arm bowler. He had consistent Ranji season. He was selected for South Africa tour last year  and made his debut in 3rd test match of the series. Although that outing was not impressive as he remained wicket-less in that game. But he is young and under Akram’s guidance, he will become real force in future.

Abu Nechim, playing for Assam in Ranji Trophy.  He is 22 years old. Another very talented young quick bowler. Abu bowls at the speed of 140+ km consistently with very good line-length. He is playing for Mumbai Indians in IPL and done well at domestic level.

So India have serious bowling talent and this talent is waiting for their chance eagerly. They are raw and quick. Good thing is that they all are under 23 years of age and bowling at 140+ km speed consistently. BCCI have to give them chance in coming series against West indies and nurture them for future as India have to play lot of cricket this year. Currently India is blessed with good fast bowling talent and BCCI and selectors have to blood these youngsters in the team and give them enough opportunity and also support them even if they don’t do well in 2 or 3 games. In past, India never had so many options in fast bowling, but now India have the option and its time preserve these young fast bowlers and help them in becoming world class performers. The country which had scarcity of fast bowlers, now have plenty of them at their disposal but will BCCI give them enough opportunity is a big question because talent is nothing without opportunity.