The 2011 Cricket World Cup isn't far away but there are so many questions I want to raise. When I think of the Indian team, I want them to be at the best and I saw glimpses of that when I watched the Indians power their way through to the final in South Africa 2003, only to disappoint at the last hurdle.
I remember waking up every morning during my University days in Manchester, heading to the Springbok pub and chilling with my Desi crew cheering away " INDIA, INDIA, INDIA, OYE, OYE, OYE!!!" It was probably one of the best times I had at Uni as nothing was more important than bearing witness to India inning over and over again (except for the double hammering we took against the Aussies).
What was great about that 2003 World Cup side was that it possessed a good mix of youth and experience. And that is what worries me when it comes to the Indian side I see at the moment. In 2003, we had fielders such as Yuvraj Singh and Mohd Kaif, who were lightning in the field, full of energy and were more than useful with bat; on show in the 2002 Natwest Series Final against England, when chasing a massive score over 300, India collapsed to 140 odd for 5 and found themselves stealing victory from the jaws of defeat through these two youngsters displaying maturity beyond their years.
All that you see now is India playing safe cricket and playing guys who have been in the side for a while and have previously performed. What about the youngsters who are performing in the domestic league and for India A. What do selectors have to say when they pick players such as R. Ashwin, S. Tiwary and Tyagi but barely play them. WHY? WHY? WHY? Chateshwar Pujara (3 triple hundreds in the domestic league in the 5 day format and currently doing pretty well for India A) isn't even being considered for a spot. I am not saying he should be selected but why not try him. What about Rahane, Monish Pandey and Gony?
India should be trying out as many variations as they can before the World Cup to find a settled squad. It doesn't matter how many games they lose. Australia are doing the same. Yes, they lost the series with England but when the time comes, I know they'll bring their A game.
Forget about the youngsters that have not been considered, what about players such as Robin Uthappa and Irfan Pathan, both of whom have showed so much promise as youngsters as well during the just concluded IPL 3. These two exclusions really baffle me as I've always rated Uthappa as an explosive batsman, who can be used in the opening slot during the power play overs or lower down, when lusty blows are the order for the day. When it comes to Irfan Pathan, I am to be honest, at a loss. Our next Kapil Dev has found it hard if not impossible to make it back into the squad. This coming from a player who made such a promising debut in test cricket against the Australians and has proved to be a very useful batsmen as well with stints either opening or coming one down. I don't think anyone can forget his hat trick against Pakistan in the test series in 2006. That is what he is capable of. Since his inter-costal injury a few years ago, he has dropped in pace (due to what I think is the poor management of his injury by the Indian physio) but is still able to swing the ball both ways and is his batting hasn't deteriorated either making him a very handy cricketer...more than I can say about Ravindra Jadeja, who showed so much promise with his batting, electric fielding and useful left arm spin but as since been the cause of a number of run outs and his batting has only raised an eyebrow when India have been in a losing situation.
Something else that has really bothered me over the last year and a half has been the treatment of Ishant Sharma. He is one bowler India possess that does have some real pace in him. He is extremely tall, a bit on the thin side but very nippy. He gets good bounce and wow did he impress with his bowling spells to current Australian captain Ricky Ponting, when India toured Australia. Since then, Ishant has had some good performances, mainly in the Test arena but he has proved consistently expensive in the limited overs format; conceding far too many runs for the wickets he takes. He is currently in and out of the national squad and I wonder;should he do what Zaheer Khan did and go to England and get some county experience as Zaheer came back a changed man. He was stronger and a lot more accurate. What Ishant Sharma needs is a boost in confidence as well someone else besides people in India telling him what to change when it comes to his bowling. Why is it that all Indian bowlers that are relatively quick slow down as if they don't want to put in the extra effort or they'll get hurt...JUST DON'T GET IT!
Now for one of the topics that really gets to me...YUVRAJ SINGH.
Now here is a guy who at his best is close in comparison to the best of point fielders, a useful left arm slow bowler and on his day, is the most destructive batsman one is likely to see; clearly on show during his 6 consecutive sixes in the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup.
What has happened to Yuvraj Singh over the last few years is very distressing as here is guy with the world at his feet and look at him now. Once one of the fittest guys in the team and now he wears a knee brace consistently due to the knee injury he suffered prior to the 2007 World Cup. He has yet to get it operated and has since gotten more and more out of shape, which was evident during IPL 3.
He needs to be in his best physical shape if he is to be useful for his country and that is why I don't understand how the BCCI are treating him. He was partying during IPL 3 and that should not have been allowed to happen.
This is where BCCI has to do something positive and get India to the level it has promised to reach for so many years. It is positive thinking like this that will make Team India a more a consistent force to be reckoned with in World Cricket.
I remember waking up every morning during my University days in Manchester, heading to the Springbok pub and chilling with my Desi crew cheering away " INDIA, INDIA, INDIA, OYE, OYE, OYE!!!" It was probably one of the best times I had at Uni as nothing was more important than bearing witness to India inning over and over again (except for the double hammering we took against the Aussies).
What was great about that 2003 World Cup side was that it possessed a good mix of youth and experience. And that is what worries me when it comes to the Indian side I see at the moment. In 2003, we had fielders such as Yuvraj Singh and Mohd Kaif, who were lightning in the field, full of energy and were more than useful with bat; on show in the 2002 Natwest Series Final against England, when chasing a massive score over 300, India collapsed to 140 odd for 5 and found themselves stealing victory from the jaws of defeat through these two youngsters displaying maturity beyond their years.
All that you see now is India playing safe cricket and playing guys who have been in the side for a while and have previously performed. What about the youngsters who are performing in the domestic league and for India A. What do selectors have to say when they pick players such as R. Ashwin, S. Tiwary and Tyagi but barely play them. WHY? WHY? WHY? Chateshwar Pujara (3 triple hundreds in the domestic league in the 5 day format and currently doing pretty well for India A) isn't even being considered for a spot. I am not saying he should be selected but why not try him. What about Rahane, Monish Pandey and Gony?
India should be trying out as many variations as they can before the World Cup to find a settled squad. It doesn't matter how many games they lose. Australia are doing the same. Yes, they lost the series with England but when the time comes, I know they'll bring their A game.
Forget about the youngsters that have not been considered, what about players such as Robin Uthappa and Irfan Pathan, both of whom have showed so much promise as youngsters as well during the just concluded IPL 3. These two exclusions really baffle me as I've always rated Uthappa as an explosive batsman, who can be used in the opening slot during the power play overs or lower down, when lusty blows are the order for the day. When it comes to Irfan Pathan, I am to be honest, at a loss. Our next Kapil Dev has found it hard if not impossible to make it back into the squad. This coming from a player who made such a promising debut in test cricket against the Australians and has proved to be a very useful batsmen as well with stints either opening or coming one down. I don't think anyone can forget his hat trick against Pakistan in the test series in 2006. That is what he is capable of. Since his inter-costal injury a few years ago, he has dropped in pace (due to what I think is the poor management of his injury by the Indian physio) but is still able to swing the ball both ways and is his batting hasn't deteriorated either making him a very handy cricketer...more than I can say about Ravindra Jadeja, who showed so much promise with his batting, electric fielding and useful left arm spin but as since been the cause of a number of run outs and his batting has only raised an eyebrow when India have been in a losing situation.
Something else that has really bothered me over the last year and a half has been the treatment of Ishant Sharma. He is one bowler India possess that does have some real pace in him. He is extremely tall, a bit on the thin side but very nippy. He gets good bounce and wow did he impress with his bowling spells to current Australian captain Ricky Ponting, when India toured Australia. Since then, Ishant has had some good performances, mainly in the Test arena but he has proved consistently expensive in the limited overs format; conceding far too many runs for the wickets he takes. He is currently in and out of the national squad and I wonder;should he do what Zaheer Khan did and go to England and get some county experience as Zaheer came back a changed man. He was stronger and a lot more accurate. What Ishant Sharma needs is a boost in confidence as well someone else besides people in India telling him what to change when it comes to his bowling. Why is it that all Indian bowlers that are relatively quick slow down as if they don't want to put in the extra effort or they'll get hurt...JUST DON'T GET IT!
Now for one of the topics that really gets to me...YUVRAJ SINGH.
Now here is a guy who at his best is close in comparison to the best of point fielders, a useful left arm slow bowler and on his day, is the most destructive batsman one is likely to see; clearly on show during his 6 consecutive sixes in the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup.
What has happened to Yuvraj Singh over the last few years is very distressing as here is guy with the world at his feet and look at him now. Once one of the fittest guys in the team and now he wears a knee brace consistently due to the knee injury he suffered prior to the 2007 World Cup. He has yet to get it operated and has since gotten more and more out of shape, which was evident during IPL 3.
He needs to be in his best physical shape if he is to be useful for his country and that is why I don't understand how the BCCI are treating him. He was partying during IPL 3 and that should not have been allowed to happen.This is where BCCI has to do something positive and get India to the level it has promised to reach for so many years. It is positive thinking like this that will make Team India a more a consistent force to be reckoned with in World Cricket.
