India's test team selection does not inspire confidence

Australia in India 2012-13

Is Test Cricket important? It is for some of us but I feel that India's selection committee and BCCI think otherwise. The selection, in my opinion has gone very wrong in recent times - specifically after the new coach is in charge. From being No.1 test side we are languishing near bottom.

I hope I am wrong and Indian team does well against Australia.

Let us look at some of the changes.

1. Shikhar Dhawan - I don't think he has the technique to survive at the highest level in Test cricket. He has done well in Ranji Trophy and he should be given a chance but limited over cricket will be better for him. Alas! There is no place in limited over cricket with India doing well.
2. Ravindra Jadeja - Almost similar case as Shikhar Dhawal and our captain thinks he is the greatest all-rounder ever born.
3. Ashwin & Pragyan Ojha - A country that has produced some of the greatest spinners does not even have a decent option. Both are defensive bowlers with little variation. They can contain runs but the question is can they take wickets.

Somehow the whole bowling unit does not inspire confidence. Only time will tell if my reading is wrong. I sincerely hope I am proven wrong and we win the series.

Dhoni - My way or the highway

About 2 years ago, I had written an article on Dhoni's courage and his strange ways.

 Dhoni's strange ways

This article was written before India's 2011 world cup victory. Since then India has lost many series. The team's form has gone from bad to worse. And there is no end in sight.

Former players, selectors and cricket experts are asking for Dhoni's head but all we hear is some promises made by Dhoni. What is happening? Let us try to dissect the current state of affairs.

Is Dhoni still a good leader? I think so. He stands by his players and his decisions. He usually does not find fault with system.
Has his courage deserted him? No, but he has become autocratic and has started thinking that he is right and others are wrong.
Should there be a change in leadership? Maybe, selectors would know better but they should not be influenced by BCCI's managing committee. Maybe they can give a break to Dhoni for upcoming Australia series.
What is the solution? There are number of things that can be done but firstly selection should be left to selectors; Dhoni and/or BCCI's managing committee should have no role in it.
Are there any other reasons for recent defeats? I think coaching staff is not up to the par. Read an article which I wrote about a year ago  Can this be the reason for India's recent performances?

Read another article which highlights Dhoni's role. Undaunted despite defeat

As a fan I can only hope that India goes back to winning ways soon...

This aint a "I told you so" post

Team selection for Zimbabwe Tri series 2010


Last month I wrote a post about poor team selection for Zimbabwe tour.


Unfortunately my premonition about a poor series for India came true. Far from being poor, we were dismal in Zimbabwe. The sad thing is that it was bound to happen as there is no system governing Indian cricket - both BCCI and Media are at fault.


What has BCCI achieved? Are there any new finds? Have they identified any new talent which was unknown before? Have they boosted the moral of new players? Have they done justice to the fans?


Far from it. Team India has been relegated to number 3 position in ICC ranking...


On the other side of system, Media is blind even after having the advantage of the hindsight. In last few days there have been many media stories castigating the players and the team. How callous and irrelevant? They could not recognize that young inexperienced team, however talented, was never going to win matches on their own. I am sure if 1 or 2 players were part of the regular squad, they would have excelled. Alas! that never happened.


All is not lost though. We can still learn some lessons:
1. BCCI should only play reasonable number of matches in a year so regular players are rested for important matches.
2. BCCI should adopt a rotation policy to give young talent a chance and build bench strength rather than making wholesale changes.
3. Media should not become over-enamored by young talent and try to provide positive criticism.


Whether it will happen. I have my doubts but we all have to do our bit to "save the tiger"...

Message from England! BCCI - Are you listening?

I read an interesting side story after recently concluded England-Bangladesh test series.

http://www.cricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/462319.html

An excerpt

"Steven Finn has had an impressive start to the summer and will now undertake a strengthening programme similar to that recently undertaken by Stuart Broad," said Geoff Miller, England's national selector. "This will also rule Steven out of the NatWest Series against Australia and Bangladesh before his preparation for the npower Test series against Pakistan."

 Finn is a young lad with oodles of talent. He has been undoubtedly the best bowler of both sides and has been the find of the series. Much like Ishant Sharma or Irfan Pathan in their early days. And what does England do - send him for strength training without even considering him for domestic tournaments.

Is it strange? Far from it.

It is the right way to nurture young talent. He is being told that success is not easy so the young lad should better work on it.

There is a lesson for BCCI, Indian Media and India team fans. We have a unique affinity for young talent. Whenever a young player bursts on the scene, we want him to participate in each and every game, however insignificant. We shower him with excessive praises and slowly burn him out. We always try to find the next Kapil Dev or Sachin Tendulkar.

Look where are our yesteryear bowling talents today? Munaf has dropped pace, so has Irfan, Sreesanth has attitude problem as got too much praise initially, RP Singh in no longer accurate and Ishant is wayward.

It is easy to blame all these players but we have to look within ourselves to find a solution.

We should give some time and mentor a new player properly - play him in full domestic season, slug it out on the ground with no fans, train hard, give him chance to play in few internationals so as to acclimatise him different cultures and grounds, take tips from senior players.

BCCI - Are you listening?

ICL was good for cricket

It is a common knowledge that ICL was the first professional T20 league in India. Mr. Subhash Chandra, of Zee fame, announced ICL much before India won the inaugral T20 World Cup. It was announced immediately after India lost in first round of World Cup 2007 held in West Indies. At that time very few people in India knew about T20. And travesty is BCCI resisted entry of T20 cricket in India.

  

ICL was a moderately popular league but it could not survive the onslaught of cash rich BCCI and financial ressures. It sparkled for few seasons before it died down. Its promoters are trying to salvage some pride by engaging BCCI in a legal battle. In all probablity nothing will come out of the legal battle. By launching T20 in India and giving respect to neglected domestic players in India, ICL spawned a whole new era. It gave the cricket world following:

• IPL and the only Mr. Modi we know - ICL was initiated and run by a certain Mr. Himanshu Mody. IPL would never have started unless BCCI felt the heat from ICL. Today IPL is hugely popular and Mr. Modi is a househld name.
• New techniques like overhead moving camera - this innovation was first introduced in ICL.
• Excellent talent like Ambati Rayadu, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Rajagopal Sathish.
• Respect for domestic players.

A healthy competition is good for everything. Although unlikely, revival of ICL may give rise to betterment of IPL and Indian cricket.

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.

Random Musings

• England has saved the first test. Whew! And what a test it was; Australia was so close to winning it. Even though there was no result, it was a very good advertisement for test cricket. The stadium was full and every ball was being cheered by crowd.

• Hindsight is always 6/6. After Pakistan lost the last test match many analysts questioned team composition. Checkout Former players question team composition Pakistan's cricket is troubled by many factors and team composition could be one of them. In my opinion, rather than criticizing the team after they lost the game (which they could have easily won), former players should try to improve Pakistan cricket as a whole. I think, whatever the team composition was, they should have overcome a paltry target of 167.

• John Buchanan has written some abrasive statements in his new book titled 'The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20'. It seems, after following various media reports, Buchanan has created some new controversies. Read Buchanan takes swipes at Indian stars to checkout what Buchanan has written. Buchanan has got it bang on - these controversies (whether true or untrue) will make the book profitable. Read one of earlier posts Buchanan and the art of remaining profitable to know more about Buchanan style.

• There has been some rumor about Saurav Ganguly running for BCCI chief's post. Yes, it is just a rumor and Ganguly himself has not commented anything. But if he does become BCCI chief, it would be best thing that has ever happened to BCCI. It would be a rare occurrence when an esteemed cricketer, like him, holds such a vital administrative position in BCCI.

• It feels very sad when you read headlines like Advantage Bangladesh for preview of 1st test match between WI and Bangladesh. I do not have anything against Bangladesh; in fact, I want them to become a serious test playing nation. But the fact is that they are enjoying this advantage because of weakened WI side not because of their own strengths.

IPL is HOT

What about IPL? It has been a month since it got over. Well! A news about IPL just came in...

Excerpt from Behind NFL, MLB & NBA there is IPL

The IPL has emerged as one of the top five most valuable global sports properties in the world. The IPL, which is just two years old, has been placed fifth globally, valued at $ 1.6 billion, behind the established American giants.

Are you kidding me?

I do not know what method did they use to arrive at the results or how scientific was their analysis. But it certainly proves few things:

• Mr. Modi is a great administrator - He has made his mark in the history of cricket. India and BCCI was wary of T20 cricket to the extant of repugning it. Mr. Modi, I must say against all odds, not only conceptualized IPL brought it up in a very short period. And of course made it hugely successful.
• India loves shortest form of game - Why do you think IPL is a USD 1.6 b property?
• The money in cricket world flows from India - What would a billion crazy fans do without cricket.
• Whatever ICC might do to control number of T20 matches, T20 cricket will grow.

I am sure BCCI and IPL governing council would be proud of this news but they must realize that along with adulation comes the responsibilty. BCCI and IPL must use this opportunity to make cricket world much better:

• IPL must use the money judiciouly to develop domestic cricket. It must nurture cricket in small towns and reach out to
• BCCI must support ICC in developing cricket where it is not a major sport.

Mr. Shahrukh Khan has a winner in his hands even though KKR has not made a strong statement on the field.