A POINT TO PROVE?

By his standards, Sachin Tendulkar did not have a good time so far in the IPL.But in the third edition, the great master seems to be determined in putting up a good show.

Sachin is all guns blazing and the latest team to fall prey to his bat is the one captained by Saurav Ganguly.The pitch seemed a bit tricky when the Knight Riders were batting but Sachin put all that to rest with another of his grand exhibition of stroke play.It was in the match against the Anil Kumble led Royal Challengers that Sachin paid dearly for his experiment of playing inside the line of the ball to the leg side.

The rich vein of form continues and recently a show on television wanted to know the reasons why Sachin is not willing to play T20 for the country.Let Sachin enjoy doing the thing that he loves the most-scoring runs for the team that he plays for.

Looks like Sachin wants to prove a point about playing in the IPL.

That is not good news for either the rival teams nor their bowlers.

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IT IS TIME

The decision of the management of the Indian team on the non-inclusion of Saurav Ganguly in the Rest of India for the forthcoming Irani Trophy has reignited an old debate.

Is it the right time for Ganguly to quit? I have always been a great fan of Ganguly the batsman and Ganguly the captain. But the left hander from Kolkata has to retire. Saurav Ganguly was failure in the entire series in Sri Lanka where he scored less than 100 runs in the six innings. Even during the Australian tour, Ganguly scored few runs and got out at the most crucial of times. It appeared that he lost the appetite to stay at the wicket.

In many respects, Ganguly is frank and forthright and that is one reason why I respect him. But when it comes to his retirement, Saurav is not able to take decision. To use a cliché, it is like clutching straws.

In this context, the comments of Amit Varma make a very interesting read.

WHO WILL PLAY AND WHO SHALL TAKE THE REST?

It is going to be a difficult choice as far as the playing eleven for the first test is concerned.

It is certain that three spinners will be fielded with the hope that the result goes India’s way. It is also not misplaced considering Pakistan batsmen could not handle the spin of the South African. If the think-tank decides to have two faster bowlers in the eleven, problems would arise.

Wasim Jaffer is a certainty since he is the only specialist opener in the side. Dinesh Karthik performed admirably in England at the top of the order and so he might get another opportunity. The problem is with the fact that the team has another keeper in Dhoni. Even as the test credentials of Dhoni are not proven, the selectors would not like to invite hostile public reaction. Let us not forget that Dhoni is the current favourite of the nation, even without the long hair.

It is a no-brainer as far as Sachin and Rahul Dravid are concerned. These two are a must for the playing eleven. That leaves only one more slot to be filled and there are three contenders in the form of Saurav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. Of these three the claims of Ganguly are the weakest. I am a great supporter of the left-hander from Kolkata, but he does not inspire much confidence. Laxman is too good a batsman to be left out while Yuvraj is in the form of his life brimming with confidence. It would be unjust not to give him an opportunity.

I have a solution. Since Dinesh Karthik is a wicketkeeper who also opens the innings, it would not be unwise to drop Dhoni. That would give the selectors the choice to pick Yuvraj and Laxman. If dropping Dhoni is not an option, as it seems, then a rethink should be made about the idea of playing three spinners.

Of course, the selectors can always spring a choice like asking Dravid or Laxman or Ganguly or even Yuvraj to open the innings partnering Jaffer.

It is a million bucks question as to who is going to be ‘rested’?

A COUP?

The resignation of Rahul Dravid looks like a coup of some sorts. This conspiracy theory of mine may not stick but Indian cricket has always had the reputation of being in the hands of the worst script writer that Bombay films ever had.

The appointment of Sachin Tendulkar as the Vice-captain before the World Cup in the Caribbean was something that was touted as a masterstroke by the selectors. Sachin, it was argued, would provide valuable inputs to the team think-tank and also would play more ‘responsibly’. We all know what happened in the World Cup. Sachin himself put on highly forgettable displays against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It was only against Bermuda that the bat of the great man talked.

In the tour to England, Sachin played with a rare freedom especially in the one-dayers. The test series was won and the one-day series was lost in the last match. But the success of the tour has soured now with the dramatic announcement made by Dravid.

One has to take the appointment of Dhoni as the captain of the team for the T20 World Cup in the right perspective. As is the case now, the likelihood of Dhoni taking the mantle from Dravid appears remote with Sachin being the clear frontrunner. The Mumbai lobby led ably by Sharad Pawar has been very efficient plotting the downfall of Dravid. Various satraps connected to the ruling body of cricket in India have made noises over the strategy of Dravid. The Chairman of the selection committee, Dilip Vengsarkar was, reportedly unhappy over the defensive approach of Dravid.

It is true that in some instances, the strategy of Dravid appeared to be less than sound. The decision of not enforcing the follow on in the third test when England was on the mat baffled everyone. Dravid defended himself on the ground of giving the bowlers time for recuperation. But then every captain has his own way of making decisions.

Now the decks are cleared for the anointment of Sachin to the top job. There is a report in the media about an interview given by Sachin during the tour to England. All these, only add to the rumors and the innuendoes that very much characterize Indian cricket.

I hope to be proved wrong.

GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE

Peter Roebuck writes in The Hindu (Saturday 04 August, 2007) about the stellar roles played by Saurav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan in the famous test win over England at Trent Bridge.

Not long ago, both Saurav and Zaheer were out in the dumps. Ganguly was stripped of his captaincy and then lost his place in the team. Clearly, the lefthander was sitting on his achievements as a player and as a captain as well. The writing was on the wall, as the cliché goes.

Zaheer was not bowling his best and worse, there were reports of indiscipline. Zaheer was perceived to be someone who was not really playing for the team.

Now, both of these fallen heroes have to use another oft-used cliché, risen from the ashes. In a way the credit for the turnaround should go to Greg Chappell. It was during the reign of Chappell as the coach of the Indian team that these two players were shown the exit.

Chappell could not achieve much given his propensity to talk hours about the ‘processes’ and ‘experiments’. But if a small kick in the backs could achieve some tangible benefits, then it is a success. The much-maligned coach could now bask in this glory.

Let us give credit where it is due.

WILL LAXMAN MAKE THE CUT?

This tour of England is going to be remembered for a long time in the history of Indian cricket. It is not because of the possibility of India emerging winners; it is because a number of greats are surely on their last tour of the Old Blighty.

Sachin Tendulkar made his mark and his first century in test matches in the course of a match saving innings in the company of Manoj Prabhakar. In the subsequent tours too, Sachin made runs at the most critical of moments.

Saurav Ganguly set the cat among the pigeons by scoring a hundred on debut at Lord’s. It was a knock that surprised all. The present Chairman of selectors was extremely critical of the then selectors picking the left-hander from Kolkata for the tour. Even in the last tour, Ganguly contributed significantly to the team cause. The hundred at Leeds after electing to bat on a seaming wicket was a truly captain’s knock. Even in the Natwest finals, Ganguly opened the innings in the company of Sehwag and set the ball rolling for a famous victory. However, in both instances, Saurav was overshadowed by his teammates.

It is difficult to speak on the achievements of Rahul Dravid. In his debut test, Dravid scored only 95. Those were the days when Dravid seemingly was unable to convert fifties into hundreds. But the last tour, Dravid made all the difference between the two teams as far as the test matches were concerned. The English bowlers could not breach the wall. The one-dayers also showcased the talents of Dravid.

V.V.S. Laxman has taken on the best of the bowlers with ease. But he missed out on the runs in the last tour. In between Laxman was not included in the squads for two World Cups and was ‘rested’ for some test matches. Never has been Laxman given the merit that he richly deserves.

In the match versus Sussex, Laxman made a half-century but there was disappointment in the first innings against England A. With Yuvraj and Karthick in the reckoning for a middle order slot, things are not rosy for Laxman.

It would be great for Laxman and for his fans like me if he makes the cut and scores runs. A failure would put a big question mark on his future in international cricket despite his enviable record.