ATTITUDE, STRUCTURE OR BOTH?

I am a huge fan of Harsha Bhogle.. So it came to me as a big surprise when he had to say this about India T-20 loss-- "There is no point blaming the pitches and the bowlers in domestic cricket for the inability to play short-pitched bowling. Gavaskar emerged from the same school, as did Tendulkar, Dravid and even Laxman."

I totally agree with him that attitude plays a very significant part in a player's life but to say domestic cricket is not responsible as Sachin and Gavaskar are products of the same system is to be a little too optimistic.. What about Raina,Yusuf and many others who cannot play the short ball.. What about the loss of pace of many bowlers just after an year of International cricket..For almost two decades now, India has missed a genuine all rounder.. Just when you think the fielding standards could not get worse, Indian players prove you wrong! And the biggest fact-- What about the total failure of the domestic system to produce a genuine fast bowler (Harsha has only mentioned batsmen in his statement).. Just talent is not enough.. It needs to be harnessed.. You might have a special stone but you need to chip off the rough edges to turn it into a statue! Players need to be developed in all aspects of their game so that they arrive fully equipped with the basics expected of a cricket player at the world stage.. And for this, a proper and efficient domestic structure is important.


It is next to impossible to replace cricketers like Gilchrist, Hayden, Glenn, Warne and Bevan, who formed a considerable part of the invincible Australian team.. But Aus have found Nannes, Johnson, Warner, Bollinger, Watson, Tait, Clarke, Hussey and many more cricketers with the potential to carry on the mantle of their dominance, if not invincibility.. SA have rebuild a strong team after the 2003 WC loss and have found AB, Duminy, Morne, Botha, Albie, Smith and others on the way..Steve Waugh was replaced by Ponting as captain of the ODI team and Clarke has replaced Ponting as Captain of the T-20 team, taking their T-20 game to the next level.. Sri have also come up with players like Kapugedera, Chandimal, Dilshan, Malinga and Mathews.. And what has India come up with? Vinay, Saha, N.Ojha, Munaf, Sreesanth? It hardly seems like the young cricketers can take Indian cricket to the next level. India is surely missing a good deputy to Dhoni. V.Sehwag, with his carefree (sometimes careless!) attitude is no good to handle the tough job of captaincy in absence of Dhoni.

Is Jadeja the replacement for Kumble? Are the young guns of India like Raina and Kohli capable of maintaining the high standards set by the likes of Sachin, Dravid and Laxman in tests? Is the board ready to face the tough challenge of finding suitable men to fit in the big shoes of these legends? While most foreign players gain experience and mature into better cricketers at the international level, Indian players start to find their weaknesses here!

"Short bowl problem returns to haunt Gilchrist".. "Kallis, once again done in by spin".. "Ageing Nannes cannot bowl at 150 kmph anymore".. Perhaps these r the statements never heard off in Cricket.. This is because the standards of fitness and the basics imparted to these players during their domestic career are far better than in India, turning them into true professionals.. Just like stardom and money, some problems seem to be part and parcel of Indian Cricket only.. :P