Sunil Gavaskar comments

In a recent article in The Hindustan Times Mr. Gavaskar wrote

Virender Sehwag speaks like he bats and that’s why he is so refreshing, for there are no diplomatic niceties for him. He thinks that Bangladesh are an ordinary side incapable of taking 20 India wickets.

Read the complete article at When batsmen leave their teams and fans demoralised

Read more about the 'Ordinary' analysis at An 'Ordinary' Sehwag and An 'Ordinary' Bangladesh

An ordinary Bangladesh

India in Bangladesh
1st test, 2009/10 season

It is true that Sehwag called Bangladesh an 'Ordinary' team. Was it a figure of speech? Or Was it an hyperbole? No, it was straight talking. Sehwag does not mince words while talking and he talks straight from the heart. Read my previous post on the same subject.

An 'Ordinary' Sehwag

However, Sehwag shot himself on foot, or so it seemed, when India got out at 243. Media went GaGa over it and Bangla fans went delirious. But did anyone realize that India had one poor session when they lost 6 wickets. In the morning session they were going great guns and last session too was OK. It was only after lunch that they floundered.

To further substantiate my point, I did some research on the past performances of Bangladesh. I checked test match data of last 2 years and compared it with India's. It is considered that in last 2 years Bangladesh has improved tremendously. But the data proves that there was nothing out of ordinary in Sehwag's comments.


Bangladesh scored under 200 in 11 innings out of 21 completed innings - more than 50% times. If we consider under 250 scores the percentage jumps to 80%. If we think scores of 254 and 259 are also under par than the percentage jumps to 90%.



India, on the other hand, just has 4 out 28 under 200 innings - a very low 14%. India also had 11 450+ scores in last 2 years whereas Bangladesh had none. Another interesting inference is Bangladesh lost 20 wickets more often than not - 21 out of possible 24 innings.

It is not a comparison between India and Bangladesh. India is at the top while Bangladesh is at the bottom of ICC test ranking. I collated the stats just to prove the veracity of Sehwag's statement. Bangladesh are truly 'Ordinary'.

An 'Ordinary' Sehwag

India in Bangladesh Test Series - 1st Test
2009/10 season

Sehwag is a misfit in Gentleman's game. He is an 'Ordinary' person with Extra'Ordinary' batting skill. He does not believe in slow nature of test cricket, makes his own rules about the batting and more often than not talks straight.

He makes (Seh)wacky comments which are sometimes misconstrued. Yesterday was an another exhibition of his Ordinary nature. He said Bangladesh is an Ordinary team which evoked surprise, shock and awe. It is true that it would have bruised, nay, shattered Bangla ego but the comment, in itself, was not out of Ordinary. It came out naturally and was a straight response to a straight question. Sehwag does not know how to polish the words. He calls a spade a spade.

Read my recent post on another Sehwag comment and forget about yesterday's press conference.

Trust Sehwag to entertain you - Always

In essence he is (Seh)wack - See the ball hit the ball.

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.