In a 'Royal' Mess

I am not talking about Big Sister's Rajasthan Royals, but the other royale team from down south. Yeah, it is a team which has played 4 matches already(a match every alternate day), as their owner(the 'King' fisher boss) wanted to play as many matches as possible before their charismatic(?) leader leaves. Well, now he might very well hope that this man who was appalling both as a leader and a batsman leaves as soon as possible. The other big English guy is already on the flight back. No, not to play the first test at Lord's, but to undergo 'yet' another surgery. This year IPL's two big auctions who are paid a bomb have contributed nothing to their teams. Oh no, in fact they have contributed, to their defeats that is.

After watching yesterday's defeat of Bangalore to Punjab, I was so disappointed(No, I am not a Bangalorean). But, I will continue to support this lackluster outfit for another 3 or 4 matches for just one man, the great Rahul Dravid. He has been outstanding so far, and looked by far their best player.

I see a lot of problems with this side even this year despite a good first match. Firstly, the ownership. It is inevitable to compare with EPL here. How many know Manchester United as Malcom Glazer's team? Not many, Manchester United is known more for its players and manager rather than the owner. Vijay Mallya needs to learn from his other owners in IPL, who are more than happy to be out of the limelight, and be patient owners. Classic example would be Deccan owners who never out spoke in the public, and let the results speak this year. Secondly, Kevin Pietersen. In the match against Punjab, during toss, he had no idea what his team was. That is unpardonable. It shows lack of interest, lack of commitment on his part, and his only motto seems to milk his owner as much as possible before he leaves. Look at Warney, look at Gilly. They have been marvellous leaders so far. No wonder, England got rid of him from the captaincy. He seemed to have no clue about Indian players in the team. Why was Vinay Kumar taken out after bowling just one over? He persisted with the poor Kallis who has given 51 in this 4, while Vinay Kumar has given just 4 runs in his over. He should have learnt a lesson or two from his Hampshire captain who inspired a 18 year old unknown like Kamran Khan to bowl as well as he did against the likes of Gayle and Ganguly. Thirdly, the think-tank. It is so disappointing to see no Indians at the helm of affairs in this team. After all, it is the Bangalore team, and you have KP, Kallis, Ray Jennings and other unknown foreigners leading the way. Ridiculous. Not once in the field I saw KP or Kallis consulting either Dravid or Kumble. It is these two who have handed their only win so far .Lastly, the spirit in the team. No one including some of our big players did not look motivated and spirited while defending a decent 168 against Punjab.

They need some immediate changes. Otherwise, they might very well set a IPL record of losing 13 games in a row. They need to pull up their socks big time to avoid yet another embarassment. If I was part of the think-tank, some changes I would like to see 1 ) Kohli to open with Ryder, and Uthappa warming the bench. 2) Have Steyn play all matches. 3) Play Shreevats Goswami as the Keeper. 4) Kallis bowl as less as he can. 5) Rotate Roelof van der Merwe/Taylor/White.

Who's Next?

Captain of India in its worst ever World Cup performance, controversy leading to his resignation as captain(after leading India to its first series win on English soil after more than 25 years), flak for being the leader of a non-performing city based 20-20 side(despite being the only performer), struggling for his best form in Test matches, then made to open in Australia when he is desperately out of form to accommodate Yuvraj(when the ideal thing would have been to allow him to bat at 6), an average of about 25 in SL series, just 2 hundreds in over 2 years(one against a lowly Bangladesh) , averaging 32 in last 2 years, career batting average dropping from a bradmanesque 59.38 (best in the world then) two years back to a mere 53.3 now, an average of 23 in the ongoing series, and now being out of Top 20 test batsmen for the first time in 11 years, Can anything go this disastrously wrong for any player? Well, it can, as it is proven here. And so who’s next to quit? Rather, who next for the media to target? Well, this is not even a 1 dollar question and the answer is obvious.

“The Wall cracking brick by brick”, “The Wall crumbling”,”He feeling the pinch”, “He is the only one of fab 4 who has not fired” and so on. Lot is written about him, lot is being discussed about him, and I am pretty sure LOT is going through that man. Otherwise, you don’t see him miss a straight ball and get castled (2nd innings, Delhi). And as experts say, it is tough to score when not in a relaxed frame of mind. So, will he be back in runs in a new stadium, a new pitch, and significantly in his wife’s city where he averages 65+? I don’t know. But, all I can say is he is one big innings away from finding his touch. When I say big, I mean a 100+ score.

The upcoming Nagpur test will be remembered for events like Dada’s last test, Laxman’s 100th test, Dhoni’s first as official captain, India regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Harbhajan’s 300th test wicket(on 299 now), Fab four playing together for one last time and Kumble being with the team for the last time(may be to lift the trophy). But, this could also be a last for the man I am talking about it. Will he call it quits if he fails twice in the next test? Should he? Does he still have something to offer for Indian cricket? Here is what I feel. He himself knows the best when to call it a day, and I would be glad if he takes the decision rather being forced by external entities.

But, here is what I think should happen. If he fails in the Nagpur test, OR if he performs well in Nagpur but fails again against England, he should call it quits after the 2-test England series.

This was posted in cricinfo blogs.
http://blogs.cricinfo.com/inbox/archives/2008/11/whos_next.php
Very interesting comments there...

Time to go, Jumbo.

I was skeptical about MSD taking over India in tests.But from what I saw today(4th day, first 30 odd overs of Aussie 2nd innings), I feel it is time for him. I have to say Kumble's captaincy was uninspiring and bowling lackluster(It has been for quite some time now).From the moment he stepped on to the field today, there was a drop in pressure, and from the moment he took over the ball, there was a rise in the scoring rate too. India, who fought back splendidly through Zaheer,Bhajji and Ishant were sorely let down by Kumble.All the bowlers looked pumped up when MSD was in-charge, and they gave that extra 10%. Frankly, I am not a big fan of MSD, but I have to accept this guy has some charm, and has the ability to spur people(Perhaps, a true leader?).

Kumble, sometime back said he is targeting 700 test wickets, and with his current form/fitness, he would need to play 2 more years to achieve this target.If I were to advise him, I would say " Jumbo, You have done a lot to indian cricket and you are arguably India's best test match-winner and this is the time to say adieu".

Changes I would like to see for the Mohali test.
-> MSD taking over from Kumble
-> Munaf/RP in the 11 as the 3rd seamer(Mohali, early in the season assists seamers, and I prefer Munaf over RP)

A sad decline

"Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman have all enjoyed purple patches of late, and the real reason for India's batting being so rudderless in this series can be found in the decline of Dravid. Once as dependable as an Audi, he hasn't found the high gears for nearly two years now, with match-turning efforts like the 92 in Perth becoming the exception rather than the rule. The more he struggles, the more you wonder whether the old solidity will ever come back." aptly says Dileep Premachandran of Cricinfo

My Dream Test Eleven

Well, I was asked by a colleague of mine to put forward my dream test team over the past 10-15 years(say everyone who played after 1995-96).It is also assumed that every player is at their peak(a peak for a good/great player lasts for atleast 2-3 years I believe). So, here is my eleven.

1.Matthew Hayden
2.Virender Sehwag
3.Rahul Dravid
4.Sachin Tendulkar
5.Brian Lara
6.Jacques Kallis
7.Adam Gilchrist(Wicket-Keeper)
8.Shane Warne (Captain)
9.Wasim Akram
10.Muralitharan
11.Glenn McGrath

12th Man: Ricky Ponting

If I were to name a squad of 14, the other two who would make it are Steve Waugh and Curtly Ambrose(the 3rd pacer).Some players who just about miss out are Flintoff,Vettori,and Shaun Pollock.

It is strange that world cricket has not seen many top openers over the past 10-15 years. Langer, Jayasuriya, Graeme Smith, Gibbs, Saeed Anwar come close but Sehwag just makes it because of his outstanding record/attacking capability.

I pondered over a lot on my all-rounder with Pollock,Flintoff and Kallis being the contenders. But, I had to go for Kallis for his solidity in the batting. With all stroke-makers around, Kallis would nicely fit in between Lara and Gilly. Its basically a trade-off between batting all-rounder and a bowling one.

Let me know your thoughts on this team of mine.

10K to the unsung hero

Some of his top records:

10000 test runs in the shortest time span

Best average among players with 10k+ runs

Highest run-getter at No.3 in tests

Most 100-run stands in tests(72)

Best average in 4th innings in team wins/draws

Second best away average with players of 4000+ runs, first being Wally Hammond

The best of all...

Third best average in team wins/draws(72.41), first two being Don Bradman and Gary Sobers respectively

These stats show he is one of India's best match-winners in tests. But, did he get his fair share of credit? May be NO. For me, he along with Anil Kumble are the unsung heroes of Indian cricket. Ironically, these two have won the most number of test matches for India in the past decade.

Sehwag's 319 is making the headlines everywhere(aptly so), but Dravid's 10K achievement deserves a bit more than what is seen. Even the cricket plaudits seem to be carried away with this Sehwag masterclass. Well, it would have been a surprise if something like this did not happen(Dravid being overshadowed).

RD has atleast couple of years left in him,and hope he wins more matches for India. Cheers!