THE REAL PICTURE

2011 WC- A good chance for India to redeem itself.. really?? Recently,India lost to SRI, AUS and SA (In India).. The fact is that UV performed with the bat for a couple of years and then Gambhir took the mantle of scoring runs for the next couple..Infact, sans Sachin and Dhoni, no one has been playing good,consistent cricket..

Gambhir forgets to drag his bat now..UV has decided he has fielded enough to sleep on the field for the rest of his career..Nehra doesn't seem to know cricket has three dimensions,v.i.z, batting,bowling and fielding..Sehwag cannot adjust according to situation, never mind if Dhoni and Symonds can..Yusuf, Raina and many others hop like frogs while facing the short stuff..Irfan has lost his swing.. Ishant has lost his pace and nip.. And what has the board done about it?? No warnings, no deadlines to any player, no steps to rectify the basics of various players or to improve the domestic structure.. Instead they have introduced "fresh legs" in the form of Vinay kumar and Saha, who at best, look good to play ...at school level presently..

It is amazing to find no pace drop,lack of commitment, poor basics,stardom or uni-dimensionality in most foreign cricketers.. I think it would be in the best interest of Indian cricket that they forget about the 2011 WC.. Start from the scratch.. Improve the pitches,facilities and the domestic structure..Teach players the right basics.. Make performance the main criteria for all players..Build a team for the future.. For how long is Sachin going to stay? What about bowling once Zaheer (best of the Indian attack ) retires? One can certainly guess the standard of test cricket in India in the near future..Its high time board and players realise what is and work towards a better future..

WI CRICKET

Once the most feared cricketing nation in the whole world, West Indies are regarded nothing more than minnows in the modern era.. The manner in which this downfall has resulted is far more painful than the downfall itself.. The issues between players and the board as well as the baffling selection procedures have only contributed in the gradual slip.. It is really sad to see that there is no one to carry on the mantle of fast bowling left by the great Embrose, Walsh, Bishop, Holding, Marshall et al..Its been six long years since Dillon hung his boots in 2004 and WI have not been able to find an apt replacement.. Edwards, Taylor and Roach are too inconsistent while Rampaul and Sammy hardly fill in the big boots left by their predecessors..



The fielding standards have never been the best in case of WI but to see them worsen further saddens u no end..Fielding of some of the international players like Sarwan,Chanderpaul et al can put school boys to shame..Also, the current crop of batsmen, barring Gayle and Chanderpaul and Sarwan, do not seem to be the right replacements for Carl hooper or Jimmy adams or Ridley jacobs and certainly not for the batting greats Greenidge, Haynes and Clive..The result is extra pressure on the likes of Gayle which leads him into curbing his natural game and thus,indirectly hurting the chances of his team..



So what can be done?? For starters, i think Gayle should be replaced as captain by a more innovative, flexible and positive personality like Darren Ganga.. Gayle seems to be a quiet personality and has been ineffiecient in inspiring his team to better performances and raising the player confidence levels.. Players such as Richards, Darren bravo, Rampaul, Bernard and Miller, who just seem to be there to complete the x1, can easily be replaced by the likes of Barath(an attacking opener), Simmons(One down batsman and an excellent fielder),Stewart(an all rounder),Sherwin Ganga (an all rounder) and Dave mohammed (a spinner with a big heart).. Why not go for a full fledged bowling attack comprising of a fully fit Taylor,Edwards and Roach with Dwayne Bravo,Pollard,S.Ganga and stewart as all rounders while the batting consists of D.Ganga,Gayle,Simmons and Chanderpaul, the rest of the players mentioned making up the squad! Lets hope WI rediscover their cricket and once again, play with the unique style they are known for..

ZIM TRI-SERIES -- IND VS SRI

The highlight of this match was the period from 11th to 17th over in the Sri lankan innings when S.Raina ,somehow, forgot to convey to the umpire he wants the second powerplay.. Wonder what would have been his reaction like when umpire's broke out this news to him after the 40th over, had this not been brought to his notice before the 18th over.. Going furthur, i wonder what Jadeja is still doing in this team! Aren't we looking to give youngsters a chance? Pankaj Singh could have been tried out today with Ojha and Mishra in the team and Yusuf and Rohit as the supporting spin bowlers.. I think he is just there to complete the squad and might just return back without a game..

The fielding once again left a lot to be desired.. the couple of run outs India managed today might just cover the reality.. This type of fielding is just like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy evening!Indian players flirt with the current fielding standards for a series or two and then return back to the comfortable.. Failure to gather the ball cleanly by Umesh Yadav resulted in a missed run out chance.. Mistakes can be made by any indivisual but its the manner of commiting the mistake that needs to be considered here.. He clearly took his eyes off the ball while gathering it, indicating,once again, the lack of right basics among the younger players.. BCCI would do no harm to Indian cricket by buliding up an academy to harness the talent of young guns of India(Just talent is not enough;it needs to be nurtured (Ishant, Irfan, Munaf, RP, Sreesanth, Uthappa, Rayadu, S.Tiwary and Nayar and Yusuf would certainly bebefit from this academy) by making the domestic structure more productive by improving the pitches and facilities available and making performance the basis of selection..

Coming to the Indian batting, Yusuf and Raina could well have been given a break so they could rectify their problems against the short stuff, giving the likes of S.Tiwary and Uthappa a chance..Also, i do not understand the logic of the think tank in pushing Raina lower down the order..He is an attacking batsman and cannot anchor the innings as effectively as a Dhoni or a Rohit can.. Anyways, its a great opportunity for young players like Kohli, Dinesh and Vijay to showcase their talent and cement their place in the side..

ZIM TRI-SERIES

Four specialist batsmen, two
wicketkeeper-batsmen, three bits-and-pieces spinners, and six bowlers make up the Indian squad..A closer look at the selections made would give a possible idea of the basis on which the younger players r selected..3 players are from the south(Vinay,Ashwin and Vijay),the same zone as that of the selection committee chairman, K.Srikkanth and 1 player from each of the other zones ,v.i.z, Dinda(east),Pankaj (North),Naman(central) and Jadeja(West)..Perhaps giving I.Pathan a chance instead of Pankaj would not have been such a bad option.. What has Naman done to get a chance ahead of Uthappa??Perhaps a player from the central zone is a must!! Dhawan has been waiting for a chance for a long time..And wonder what Jadeja is still doing in the squad!! S.tiwary would have been a far better option..

Its not that all the players not included r undergoing some process or being worked upon in an academy to fine tune their skills.. Why not give India's best a chance?? Why to always look at quantity and not quality?? How can a player completely clueless on how to bat when it comes to facing the short stuff be selected as the stand-in skipper of an international team??And only selectors know what skills has Kohli exhibited to earn the vice-captaincy!!..Perhaps,as usual, selectors thought India would certainly make it to the finals of this series, come what may, and all the hue and cry,risen after the WC loss, would die down!! A loss to Zim would is not expected to act as an eye opener of these "blinded by money" selectors but certainly hints at the present levels of Indian cricket!! :P

BCCI

"While everybody is talking about lack of fitness now, I brought to the team management's notice the fitness problem - not only with bowlers, but the team as a whole - last year," says Venkatesh Prasad, India's former bowling coach who was sacked last October, no reasons given. Kirsten's complaints last year weren't taken in the right spirit either, and he was subsequently gagged.

Sachin Tendulkar applies for rest every now and then and that can be put down to his age, and also that he has earned the right to pick and choose. Can an Ishant Sharma, considered by most experts a promising test bowler, say no to yet another meaningless ODI series? Especially knowing that in India, the money and fame are lost as rapidly as they r gained.. BCCI says nobody is forcing the cricketers to play. It is open to conjecture whether it is insecurity regarding their places in the side or the BCCI doesn't want to rest star players because of pressure from broadcasters, who have overpaid for the TV rights, that players keep playing even when not 100% fit. The way they have handled Ishant is an indictment of how the country's top talent is regarded. After having selecting him for almost all the meaningless ODI series played on flat tracks in recent times, they have barred him from playing county cricket where he might just find time to sought his problems on his own and grow into a better cricketer.

The amount of T-20 cricket being played is not helping the out of form bowlers much either..In May 2010, the fast-bowling cupboard is bare..The selectors seem intent on damaging the careers of both the back-up spinners, Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra..The schedule is still just as ridiculous..A lot more work needs to be done by the BCCI other than just banning IPL parties..Though the fitness levels even without it are not at par with most international school level players,the tight schedule is often blamed for the burn out of Indian players..Now do the board and players really care? Do they have in mind to stay fresh for the WC 2011? Now,it remains to be seen if they rightly decide not to take part in Champions League,2010 or will they go for money and stardom as usual.. :P

MSD

If Dhoni fails to lead India back to winning ways in the Asia cup, he may face the axe.. I completely agree!! It his his fault if Nehra cannot field..He should go and field on his behalf..It is his fault if Gambhir does not drag his bat in..He should go and drag his bat down!!..It is his fault if seven players go to a pub just after a WC loss.. He should join them!..He is at fault if Indian pacers loose their pace..It his his fault if Irfan forgets how to swing a cricket bowl..It his his fault if the likes of Raina and Yusuf cannot face the short stuff..

The BCCI is now going to closely monitor Dhoni's performances as skipper in the tournaments to come and decide on his fate as the captain of the T20 & ODIside..All right then! Why not try and make a Sehwag or a Harbhajan or a Raina the captain of this team? On a serious note, change for the sake of change is never advisable for progress.. Can anyone in this team do a better job than Dhoni at present??World cricket might just loose a great captain to boards foolishness!!.. Lets hope India wins the Asia cup or else, there are many more dramatic episodes to be witnessed in the soap opera that is Indian cricket!! :P :)

STARDOM

Indian Cricket--Where stardom ranks higher then the game itself!..In the last couple of years or so,India has lost the world T-20 miserably.. lost the champions trophy.. lost to AUS and SRI in India.. almost lost a test match against BAN.. lost a couple of matches to SA in India..and yet, people said they were strong contenders for this year's world T-20 with stars like UV,Yusuf and Raina (of course,bowlers not included!!).. :P

Just talent is not enough.. It needs to be harnessed.. 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..I hope BCCI is aware of the reality!!

ICC should get Ireland and Afghanistan to play more ODI and T-20 matches.. Promote test cricket between good and strong teams (instead of a AUS VS BAN series!) .. Give players (especially Indian) lesser salaries and lesser hectic schedules.. Instead of commercialising cricket to choking point,make cricket watchable once more!!...

SA CRICKET

Instead of being among the best teams in the cricketing world, South africa have always performed dismally in the ICC tournaments..They always have to "build" an innings in middle overs of a T-20, no matter what the situation is.. Albie Morkel is hardly capable of batting higher up the order while there is still any hope of a victory!..The racism and color issue do not help the matters either..Johan Botha has proved to be a far better captain in terms of his flexibility,innovation and team selection than Smith in the limited opportunities he has been provided with.. Perhaps they think " Oh! We are not going to be the one's to break the trend of SA losing in all ICC tournaments.. We have to show our capacity and ability to carry the tradition forward!!" :P

INDIAN CRICKET

The weakness of many Indian batsmen against the short bowl and the absence of a genuine pacer are the biggest indications to BCCI to use its money for betterment of pitches, stadiums and facilities (Gym etc) available to the players.. Praveen,ZAK,Ishant give a skeletal luk when compared to a Steyn or Lee or Freddie!!

Gautam Gambhir was reprimanded for a true assesment of Rajasthan Royals on the day.. Players get away with the so called "sledging" though..and anywayz ,there r far more important matters to luk into in Indian cricket.Perhaps improving the domestic structure , harnessing the ample talent India has, finding a genuine pacer (atleast improving ...the ones already on the scene) are some of the issues demanding more attention than such a statement..

INDIAN CRICKET

Cricket has three departments , v.i.z, batting,bowling and fielding.. India lacks a genuine pacer, an injury prone Nehra leads the attack with Zak, Vinay forms the back up, Jadeja and Yusuf are the back ups for Harbhajan.. Indian fielders can be put to shame by an average Irish fielder.. Most of the matches won by India are on account of their batting prowess that forms only one dimension of cricket.. Fascinating!!

Why Sehwag is not reprimended for his carelessness? ( There is a thin line b/w being carefree and careless).. Why can't Indians field even though they r "professional" cricketers? (Ireland team is far more commited even though most members play cricket only as a hobby!).. Why has Irfan lost his swing? Why has Ishant lost his nip?

Why does the pace drops within a year of "earning" the Indian cap (It seems getting the Indian cap is easiest of all.. Saha and Vinay kumar are latest examples..).. Why cant there be a academy (Given the amount of money BCCI) so as to harness the talents of Irfan, Sreesanth, Uthappa, Tiwary, Rayadu etc..

WORLD CUP T-20

Sometimes , everything in cricket, seems to be strange.. Someone ask the AUS selectors where was Bollinger! .. Where was Irfan (for T-20 and in WI, where the conditions support slow and medium pace bowling).. Where was Vaas (Welegdera was his replacement!! ).. Why Jayasuriya came to bat as a tailender?.. Everyone knows WI pitches are slow (Except Barbados).. Still faster men were given whole quota of overs by most captains irrespective of performance on the given day!..