Dravid returns to play one-day matches

Yet again! As expected Dravid is back in India's one day squad.

The Wall returns

In my opinion it is a backward and regressive step as I stated in one of my earlier posts.

Selectors and Rahul Dravid

I hold Dravid in high esteem and I sincerely think India will benefit in this series from Dravid's return. I delved upon some of the reasons for Dravid's inclusion in probables in the above post. There could be one other reason - selectors might want to put positive pressure on a player who is not performing well (read Rohit Sharma). They might be sending a message that no one can take India cap for granted. The thinking is good but their action is not as good . Instead of looking at Dravid (after 2 years of ignorance) they could have looked into some other players with immense potential - Pujara, M Vijay, Rahane, Naman Ojha, Badrinath, Shikhar Dhawan.

I also feel for both Jadeja and Rohit Sharma. Jadeja was never given enough chances at international level to prove his worth while Sharma, when he got a chance, mostly batted at either 6 or 7 where he could not contribute much. Both of them are talented players and I am sure they will do well in future.

I don't want to make a case for Sharma or Jadeja but I think Dravid's inclusion was not a good decision. What is done cannot be undone but selectors should start thinking about the time when Sehwag returns to the fold; who will they drop?

BCCI Ka WADA - II

The story so far...

All ICC member countries had to submit to WADA compliant code by July 31 this year. The deadline came and went but BCCI did not do much about the code. The Indian players had concerns about the privacy and procedure involved for drug testing. The players presented their case to BCCI and BCCI acceded to their request.

The players are wary about the whereabouts clause of the WADA code under which they had to mandatorily disclose their location 90 days in advance. As per the clause they had to provide an one hour window each day when WADA representatives could visit them and perform a random drug test. If a player was found to be missing at the specified location and time by WADA representatives, a strike would be recorded against him. 3 such strikes would invite a 2 year ban on the player.

This clause was clearly unacceptable to Indian players. Other cricket players too have voiced their concerns in past but their boards have not done anything about it; all other boards have silently accepted the code. Many other leading sport persons includeing Tennis ace Roger Fedrer and Golf's numero uno Tiger Woods too have unhappily accepted this code.

Many sporting bodies and leading sport persons, on the other hand, were shocked when BCCI refused to sign on the WADA code. Sports minister MS Gill, ace shooter & Olympic gold medal winner Abhinav Bindra and Secretary General of Asian Olympic Council Ranbir Singh were among the many notable figures who spoke against the BCCI. They said when all other leading player form cricket and other sports can accept the clause why can't Indian cricketers.

WADA has put in such a clause for a reason. WADA wants to do a random surprise test so as to catch the culprits. With advanced technology, it is possible for a capacity enhancement drug user to wear off the effects of drug in 24 hours and escape testing. WADA is aware of such technology and hence it has put in daily whereabouts clause.

Even though some other sport personalities have tacitly supported BCCI but general opinion is against the BCCI and Indian cricketers. On the face of it it looks as if BCCI is flexing its muscles again and this time it has take IOC and WADA as an adversary. but i think BCCI refusal has more positives than negatives. In next few posts I will explain why.

Statisitcs say it all

Cricinfo has compiled and published some interesting statistics around English middle order today. It provides empirical evidence to some of the comments I made in my previous article.

English conundrum

The Cricinfo stats reveal that English middle order is worse than all other leading test playing nations other than NZ, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. To read the details follow

How good is England's middle order?

English conundrum

I was thinking of posting article II on BCCI Ka WADA but I could not resist commenting about English selectors predicament after reading the following article on Cricinfo

All change for The Oval?

The article talks about different middle order batting option for 5th and final Ashes Test. The article discusses as many as 14 options for middle order and, as its title suggests, hints at making wholesale changes in the team. An excerpt

England's humiliating innings defeat at Headingley has thrown the Ashes wide open and turned this weekend's squad announcement into the hottest topic of the summer. With Kevin Pietersen missing from a flat-lining middle-order, changes are sure to be considered, particularly at Nos. 3 and 4. But which players will front up at The Oval? Cricinfo casts its eye over the leading contenders

There have been many similar discussions from leading cricket analysts. In my opinion it is quite humorous that things have come to such a state. It is all media speculation right now that English selectors will change the team for final test but the selectors have made matters worse by going along with the media speculation. If England want to build a strong team in near future they should truthfully answer following Q:

1. What does selectors want to achieve by considering players for selection who were not even in radar before the 4th test started?
2. Should the selectors even debate on a player who is touching 40 and was a failure at International circuit (read Mark Ramprakash)?
3. Or should they consider someone who retired long ago because he could not take too much cricket related stress and repeatedly refused to come back to International cricket (read Marcus Trescothick)?
4. Does any of the current batsmen, apart from Pietersen and Strauss, inspire confidence?
5. Is it a happy situation that Flintoff is the second best batsman in the team after Strauss (Pietersen is nursing an injury)?
6. Is there something seriously wrong with English cricket? England has not produced a single batsmen who has averaged more than 45 in last 30 years or so.

I do not know the answers and I am not sure what ails English cricket. I just shred to think what would be the future of home of cricket. For now I will support England for 5th test even though it will be extremely difficult for them to surmount a rejuvenated Australian team.

BCCI Ka WADA - I

The title of this post is not a pun on WADA (World Anti Doping Agency). Wada is a Hindi word that means commitment; BCCI is committed to cricket and more so to Indian cricket. And this commitment has brought BCCI at crossroads with WADA.

WADA was setup under the auspices of IOC (International Olympic Committee). WADA's main aim is to fight against doping in sports. It is the only credible, independent and official anti-doping body. ICC is signatory to WADA norms due to which all ICC members and hence cricketers are supposed to comply to WADA norms. If ICC and its associate members accept the norms, cricket as a sport, will gain more credibility. This can also make IOC to include cricket in Olympics and Asian games.

As things stand, BCCI has refused to accept WADA code especially the whereabouts clause of the players. As per the clause players are supposed to inform WADA about their 3 months itinerary in advance so that WADA can use this information for random dope testing.

BCCI and the cricketers say it is not possible to define 3 months plan well in advance especially when players are not playing active cricket. They also say that releasing such information is a potential security threat for the players. On the other hand WADA says the code has been well accepted by players and sporting bodies world over; it has been put forward after much thought and scientific analysis.

Both WADA an BCCI have valid points. In next few articles I will post my opinion on this issue. For now I will just say that BCCI's refusal to accept the code is not only good for cricket (although it has some negative ramifications) but also for other sports.

Keep on reading...

For all those who are following Ashes

Are you England in disguise?