India - back to the learning curve

Indian cricket, whether it is the test or the ODI version, is back to the drawing board where most of the players are learning their way around. Yes, there are seniors involved but they are now learning how to play with new players as well as realizing that they now don the mantle that they depended on others like Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag (to name a few).

Sehwag might be still in the scheme of things in test cricket but looking at his reflexes, it will not be for long. Gautam Gambhir would have been the ideal choice for the person whom MS Dhoni could depend on, for the rebuilding process. But, Gambhir himself is undergoing a process of bad form (which brings in gaps in technique and skill). Virat Kohli is now showing everyone why the option of having him as the captain of the Indian team is such a bad idea - he is in the midst of a lean patch that every player goes through after a successful first stint. We all know what the veteran legend is going through but let us assume for the time being that he is not available for selection (Blasphemy!)

Yuvraj has shone in the shorter version but very clearly he is not made out for the longer version. This then means that there are multiple slots that remain in the batting order, assuming Pujara, Gambhir and Kohli are there in the top six:

• Opening batsman - Murali Vijay did well in the opportunities he received but those were few years ago and then failed to deceive in overseas tests. Abhinav Mukund did decently in some of those overseas tests but has lost his form in domestic matches. Ajinkya Rahane is another option to look at, but I think he is more cut out for the middle order than the opening slot. The Indian think-tank should do well to keep Vijay and Mukund in the running unless there is an extraordinary talent on the scene.
• Middle-order - Here, there are two slots up for grabs and the selectors favourite choice at this time seem to be Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja is no No.6 batsman while Rohit Sharma has failed more than delivered in the many opportunities he has received. Who else? As mentioned earlier, Rahane should occupy one of the slots and then leave No. 6 to MS Dhoni. In the ODI's however, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina will walk in without a doubt - there is no room for anyone else. Jadeja has been bowling well recently and he will continue probably at No.7 then.

Who will play at No.7 then? Ravichandran Ashwin. Not because of his bowling but due to his great performances with the bat and he has showed that he can do a good job even in overseas conditions. His form is not so great with the ball but then we can wait, as he has the talent.

Let us go to the bowling side then - who are the best four bowlers for India then? Whenever Irfan Pathan is fit, he will provide balance to the side and he can be direct competition to Ashwin. If not, both of them can play parts of both and provide the best options for positions 7 and 8. With the next test series in India, obviously India will have to go with two spinners and on current form and performance, Pragyan Ojha is the ideal candidate to go with Ashwin. The two new-ball overs will then have to be Ishant Sharma and Asok Dinda, though I am not so convinced about Dinda's ability in test matches. If Sreesanth and Praveen Kumar can return to top form after recovering from injury, they will be a good addition to the squad. Shami Ahmed and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar have done well and it will be good if they are given a long lease in the Indian dressing room.

What will help is that the selectors should ensure all these bowlers talk regularly and keep improving - this is where the bowling coach should play a big role. Whether the current coach has played in India is a different issue but his impact should be seen (there is no point in blaming Duncan Fletcher alone). With a younger team, MS Dhoni should be able to solve most of the problems on the field but then he has to become more vocal on the field. It is good to be cool on the field but maybe he has to show more emotions now! He will play the crucial role of moulding the unit that he has to a world-class side again. The BCCI should organize matches against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe away so that these matches will be used to test the new combination thoroughly. Only then, they will be ready for the bigger tests.

Indian teams announced

The Indian teams for the New Zealand series as well as the T20 World Cup were announced today by the selection committee who were meeting for the last time under Krish Srikkanth. The selectors also announced the 'A' squad to travel to New Zealand and it is quite interesting to see the names that have been included in the squads. Let us go through each one of the teams below:

• Test team against New Zealand at home - 
• VVS Laxman was in the limelight and everyone were looking at what the selectors thought would be - drop him or give him a chance to regain his form back. Yes, Laxman flopped during the tour Down Under but who did well (other than Virat Kohli) on that tour? If Rohit Sharma was given five chances in the ODI to improve his form, why not give Laxman another chance? 
• Rahane gets into the test squad on the basis of his good showing in first-class cricket - mostly an insurance for unexpected injuries to Sehwag or Gambhir. But, the question still remains - why are we forcing Rahane in the opening slot? Why not look at him in the middle-order? Kohli, Pujara and Rahane will be the fulcrum in the middle-order around which the Indian future will revolve. 
• Suresh Raina in test squad is as astonishing as the return of Piyush Chawla in place of Rahul Sharma - question here is whether Rahul was admonished for his doping offence in Pune. 
• Ishant Sharma's fitness has not been proved since the end of the Australian tour - do we have any insight further?
• T20 World Cup squad -
• Did Harbhajan Singh's county stint helped him to gain a slot in the T20 World Cup even though he did not play any T20s? 6 wickets in 4 first-class matches and 5 wickets in 2 List A matches does not give confidence to anyone! Does he replace Pragyan Ojha? Why? Ojha played just one match in the recent series and got hit in the nets - was the injury so bad to warrant his ouster?
• Yuvraj Singh has not played any cricket - forget first-class or club cricket (other than the warm-up matches at NCA). How was he selected? Is it based on emotion more than form?
• Rohit Sharma makes an appearance once again - on what basis? Based on the form that he displayed in the Sri Lankan ODIs? Come on, Srikkanth and team! You could have done better.
• Piyush Chawla once again to replace Rahul Sharma. Was his inclusion made as a good-luck charm? Remember that he has been a part of the T20 and Fifty-overs World Cup squads! There is no other reason for his presence.
• Balaji has done well in IPL and has matured with age. He is a good choice probably taken due to the slow tracks in Sri Lanka. But, the pace of Balaji as well as Pathan will be making the Indian team very similar in nature!
• 'A' team to New Zealand
• Abhinav Mukund did no do well on the West Indies tour but he has been retained - this is good for a change. Giving him a continuous reign under the Indian cap will do him good in the long run.
• Vinay Kumar and Rahul Sharma make it to the 'A' team from the senior team - must be depressing to receive such a 'reverse promotion'. They will do well to perform on this tour and make a comeback.
• Jayadev Unadkat is back! God knows where he goes between his appearances for the Indian cap (either 'A' or senior team)
• I am personally looking out for Ashok Menaria, Ambati Rayudu and Surya Kumar Yadav - they should grab these opportunities to stand out from the crowd.

Eng-Ind series - Time for Post-mortem - Part V

Is the Indian domestic cricket strong enough? Are we producing cricketers who are capable of representing the Indian national team? What are the performances seen in the domestic cricket that one can take solace from?

A list of the batting performances (combined numbers from Ranji and Duleep trophies) will show the leading run-scorers (in descending order of runs)


Many questions arise after looking at the list. The top 20 batsmen in the country shows two veterans in the list - two players who represented India as openers in the recent past - Aakash Chopra and Wasim Jaffer. Either of them were not in the contention when India lost Sehwag and Gambhir in the English series. They were not spoken about in any of the probable list either by the selectors or by the expert panel. Was age a factor in their rejection? Are we not ignoring these players and choosing others who are younger but not so competent enough? Though, one must mention that Abhinav Mukund appears second on the list.

Badrinath has been playing and scoring heavily on domestic pitches - one wonders why he was not part of the Emerging tournament? Has the selection committee already taken an opinion about him? Will he not make a comeback to the international team?

Manish Pandey appears as No.3 but if one remembers, he was banned by the IPL Governance Council for few T20s (trying to bargain his way with various IPL teams). A similar offence was done by another youngster (Ravindra Jadeja) in the previous version of IPL. What has the BCCI done in this matter? How are the younger players being mentored on the issue of money management? Anil Kumble had given a presentation to the BCCI on these aspects - has it moved forward? No word on how this is progressing now.

Rohit Sharma appears on the list - another player who has lost his way in the limelight. Cricketers like Ian Chappell have praised his technique so many times in his regular columns but Rohit is still not the list of players that the selectors will put up for any tour.

Similarly, a list of all bowling performances shows the list below


Bhargav Bhatt played the Emerging Tournament in Australia but if one remembers right, he was sent as a replacement once Rahul Sharma was injured. Sreenath Aravind was another bowler who got injured after getting selected for the tournament.

As in batting, the bowling list contains veterans like Jai Prakash Yadav, Sunil Joshi and Murali Karthik in the list of top wicket-takers. Another reflection of the lack of bowling riches in the country. One wonders where is Pankaj Singh as the No.2 wicket-taker - he is one who has potential if one listens to the likes of Aakash Chopra. Iqbal Abdulla is another player to watch in the future.

It is good though to see players like Mithun, Vinay Kumar, Ashwin, Yusuf Pathan, RP Singh in this list - proof enough that they are plying their wares in the domestic tournament earnestly.

Similarly, the Emerging Tournament squad contained players who have the potential - Ajinkya Rahane being one of them - but need the right exposure to hone his technique. The Tiwarys - Manoj and Saurabh - have been around for long time now but have not done the path-breaking performance to get noticed by the world. Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron are the two bowlers whom India expects to bowl 140+ (if they dont get burnt out that is).

The others in the list are not so famous right now and there has been no sound-bites about these players in the media as well. Will they get proper chances in the future? Or are they one-off performances by these players only to fade away from the forefront? Have the Talent Scouts (are they still on BCCI rolls?) identified any future stars from these players?

Related articles

• Eng-Ind series - Time for Post-mortem III (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Eng-Ind series - Time for Post-mortem - Part II (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Eng-Ind series - Time for Post-mortem (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Eng-Ind - MSD needs a break (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Indian cricket - Beginning of the End (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

India tour starts in England later this week

The Indians have still not played their last day in the Caribbean at the time of writing this post. They start their tour in UK on the 15th with a tour match - 5 days to move across multiple time-zones and much tougher opposition. The Indian team composition will also differ (6 changes from the one that is playing West Indies).

Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir will be the prominent reinforcements to the Indian team. Virender Sehwag will be available from the second test onwards - Abhinav Mukund will play the role of an opener in the first test after performing his role to the best abilities. Dravid, Laxman and Sachin will be the strong middle-order that can take on any team in any conditions. They will be probably playing their last series in England and definitely looking forward to a fitting farewell. Suresh Raina has shown that he has got over his earlier weakness against the short ball by scoring fifties in this series. The inclusion of Yuvraj Singh is a good option to have but will he be present in the playing eleven? Very unlikely.  

The bowlers on the other hand will get a boost with the return of Zaheer Khan. The best left-handed bowler in the business today, Zaheer will provide the guidance to the rest of the pace bowlers who must have been tired after the latest test series. How quickly the likes of Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar recover from the travel and test match rigors remains to be seen. Ishant has come of age in the WI series and he will be raring to go. Praveen Kumar showed that he can be an asset in the test match scenario just like the ODIs. Add Sreesanth and Munaf Patel to the mix and you have a world-class combination that the English team management will be worried about. W Saha and Amit Mishra might be the journeymen in the tour who will play the tour matches but will do no more duties in the test matches other than carrying drinks (unless a severe injury puts out the keeper or spinner).

Leading this team from the front will be the best captain of India (even better than the successful Sourav Ganguly) - MS Dhoni. He has already toured the Old Blighty (under the captaincy of Anil Kumble) earlier and with the company of Duncan Fletcher must be ready with the strategy to lead his team to victory in the series against the Andys (Flower and Strauss). He showed glimpses of his batting form while his captaincy with the beleaguered team has been brilliant and spotless as ever.

My take on the test series - an Indian win (1-0) or a drawn series (1-1).      

Related articles

• WI-India 2nd test - Laxman and Ishant nearly make it 2-0 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• WI-India 1st test - Dravid helps India take lead (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)