The India Australia Test Series
The India Australia Test Series
The Indian team has got itself in to a position, that everyone can have a "Say" on them. No one expected the team to go out to Australia , win the series and come back. What was not expected was the way in which the team has performed. The first test at Melbourne one thought was close. It was not so, as the tests in Sydney and Perth revealed. Aussie won at Melbourne and then set the stage for Sydney and Perth to follow. We were thrashed in Sydney and humiliated at Perth and with the Captain cooling his time at the side lines for the fourth test at Adelaide , one can expect a 4- 0 whitewash and with that we would have maintained our overseas record of loosing all test matches that we play in the recent past , intact. It was disappointing that the team is not putting up a fight of any sort ( read batsmen )
This was coming . The trio that we relied on so heavily in the last decade were the ones who let us down. As we look at the way they were dismissed , it was clear that age was not on their side. The 'Wall" was breached and cleaned bowled for close to five times. That tells you something. Either he is not sighting the ball or is not quick enough to get to the pitch of the ball . Sachin is someone who needs to think as well. Is hitting the 100 the century the only thing on his mind ? The less we talk of VVS , the better. He has done poorly in England and now at Australia he has performed no better. We have a talented Rohit Sharma cooling his heels in the dressing room not being tried out , reputation matters more than current situation. I was also surprised by comments by some of the Indian batsmen ( read Dravid , Kohli ) who said that someone should put their hands up and play a long innings to save the Sydney test… Who could be this someone ? It had to be themselves rather than the Ashwin ( he was the second highest scorer and they dropped him for the Perth Test! ). To me this statement reflected the self confidence the batsmen had on themselves.
When Gavaskar had a go at these three legends just ahead of the Perth Test , he did not have too many admirers for what he said. But post the Perth test , I am sure many people are on his side and asking for a honourable exit quickly for these cricketers who have held centre stage for a long time.
The fact is that these people have probably held on to their positions for "just that bit too long" and we have lost the opportunity to try out any alternative. That to me is the bigger problem that the team is going to undergo than the current crisis of not being able to score well . Youngsters need time to settle down and prove themselves and they cannot just fit in to these legend's shoes straightaway. This is where succession planning comes in and in that context , the Selection committee has not done a good job.
Couple of thoughts to consider :
Keep the legends in the team to play only in Home Series till they decide to end their careers !! They cannot and will not fail on home pitches… they are all batsmen friendly and spinners can be tackled. On the other hand expecting youngsters to do well overseas is challenging but that is the challenge to sign up to .
Blood Youngsters for away tours-- We may loose matches , so what ? It cannot be bad than what it is today !! Over time , the youngsters will start delivering.
I do not see nor hear about any of our young talent playing County cricket UK under testing conditions where the ball swings and seams as well ? Why ? IPL is more lucrative than county cricket but it does not help you play the longer version on foreign soil. The Board should have developmental programme signed up. If you can do this for the umpires why not for the cricketers who play the game.( There is a umpire exchange program today- Peter Hartley a UK umpire officiated in the Ranji matches and we have one of our umpires in UK officiating county matches )
Same goes for playing on Aussie Pitches. Send more players on Emerging Cricketer tours ( for heaven sake , include Emerging players and not players who are in their thirties
Create more batsmen challenging pitches in India as possible
We need to build a world class team not just for one Trophy but to be on top on all versions and on all venues.. That should be the mission statement for BCCI and selectors. For the positive Balance Sheet that the BCCI has , this is a simple doable for them.
The Indian team has got itself in to a position, that everyone can have a "Say" on them. No one expected the team to go out to Australia , win the series and come back. What was not expected was the way in which the team has performed. The first test at Melbourne one thought was close. It was not so, as the tests in Sydney and Perth revealed. Aussie won at Melbourne and then set the stage for Sydney and Perth to follow. We were thrashed in Sydney and humiliated at Perth and with the Captain cooling his time at the side lines for the fourth test at Adelaide , one can expect a 4- 0 whitewash and with that we would have maintained our overseas record of loosing all test matches that we play in the recent past , intact. It was disappointing that the team is not putting up a fight of any sort ( read batsmen )
This was coming . The trio that we relied on so heavily in the last decade were the ones who let us down. As we look at the way they were dismissed , it was clear that age was not on their side. The 'Wall" was breached and cleaned bowled for close to five times. That tells you something. Either he is not sighting the ball or is not quick enough to get to the pitch of the ball . Sachin is someone who needs to think as well. Is hitting the 100 the century the only thing on his mind ? The less we talk of VVS , the better. He has done poorly in England and now at Australia he has performed no better. We have a talented Rohit Sharma cooling his heels in the dressing room not being tried out , reputation matters more than current situation. I was also surprised by comments by some of the Indian batsmen ( read Dravid , Kohli ) who said that someone should put their hands up and play a long innings to save the Sydney test… Who could be this someone ? It had to be themselves rather than the Ashwin ( he was the second highest scorer and they dropped him for the Perth Test! ). To me this statement reflected the self confidence the batsmen had on themselves.
When Gavaskar had a go at these three legends just ahead of the Perth Test , he did not have too many admirers for what he said. But post the Perth test , I am sure many people are on his side and asking for a honourable exit quickly for these cricketers who have held centre stage for a long time.
The fact is that these people have probably held on to their positions for "just that bit too long" and we have lost the opportunity to try out any alternative. That to me is the bigger problem that the team is going to undergo than the current crisis of not being able to score well . Youngsters need time to settle down and prove themselves and they cannot just fit in to these legend's shoes straightaway. This is where succession planning comes in and in that context , the Selection committee has not done a good job.
Couple of thoughts to consider :
Keep the legends in the team to play only in Home Series till they decide to end their careers !! They cannot and will not fail on home pitches… they are all batsmen friendly and spinners can be tackled. On the other hand expecting youngsters to do well overseas is challenging but that is the challenge to sign up to .
Blood Youngsters for away tours-- We may loose matches , so what ? It cannot be bad than what it is today !! Over time , the youngsters will start delivering.
I do not see nor hear about any of our young talent playing County cricket UK under testing conditions where the ball swings and seams as well ? Why ? IPL is more lucrative than county cricket but it does not help you play the longer version on foreign soil. The Board should have developmental programme signed up. If you can do this for the umpires why not for the cricketers who play the game.( There is a umpire exchange program today- Peter Hartley a UK umpire officiated in the Ranji matches and we have one of our umpires in UK officiating county matches )
Same goes for playing on Aussie Pitches. Send more players on Emerging Cricketer tours ( for heaven sake , include Emerging players and not players who are in their thirties
Create more batsmen challenging pitches in India as possible
We need to build a world class team not just for one Trophy but to be on top on all versions and on all venues.. That should be the mission statement for BCCI and selectors. For the positive Balance Sheet that the BCCI has , this is a simple doable for them.
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