Category: Cricket

Sachin is going to be unavailable. Ganguly will be serving a ban. This opens up two slots in the playing eleven in the Indian team for the WI-India-SL ODI series. Great opportunity to try out some newcomers. I hope the selectors don’t fall back on the discards like Mongia, VVS and others but instead give some newcomers proven in the domestic tournaments, a chance to prove themselves at the international level. This will help expand the talent pool when it comes to selecting the team for the next World Cup.

Greg Chappell landed the job of the coach for the Indian cricket. Given that Ganguly was in favor of him, its a sign that Dada is still a force to reckon with behind the scenes in Indian cricket. I just hope Chappell can influence the selection to a point where India is not simply re-cycling the same superstars from match to match (only to end up with the current pathetic world ODI ranking). He managed to convince the committee that he is the best choice for the job. Its time now for him to convince the Indian cricket crazy public that the committee made the right choice.

Personally, I am glad its not an Indian coach. In case you haven’t been following Jimmy Amarnath took 2 hours to complete his allotted 45 min interview thanks to computer trouble. He brought along a relative to help with the computer. Just one more reason our former stars might not be good fits for job in this day and age of technology driven analysis and strategy.

A floundering team like the West Indies have taken a bold step. They have dropped Lara, or rested him! (yeah, right). Its time India did the same. Sachin, Ganguly, Kaif, Pathan, Kumble, Nehra, among others need a break from the game. This is a perfect time for India to experiment with some new fresh talent. This will give India a great opportunity to broaden the scope of selection for the next world cup. How about a new look 14-member squad for the next one day series against SL and WI:

Virender Sehwag
MS Dhoni (wkeeper)
Rahul Dravid (Captain)
Yuvraj Singh
S. Sriram
Venugopal Rao
RS Sodhi
Joginder Sharma
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
SS Paul
Romesh Powar
Hemang Badhani
JP Yadav

The intent of going in for a new look team is not to get rid of our (I dare say, jaded) superstars. Instead, its an opportunity to give the up and coming stars some international exposure and see how they perform. This will help broaden the pool from which the final 15 for the next world cup can be selected. Afraid that India will get thulped witha seemingly second string team? Not to bother, check out India’s current standing in world one day cricket. This is what our superstars have achieved in the last couple of years. It can’t get worse.

The contenders as reported in the press: Greg Chappell, Tom Moody, Mohinder Amarnath, Sandeep Patil, Dean Jones.

Firstly, I think Indian coaches should be eliminated from contention. Sorry, but I think an Indian coach will succumb to too many pressures — zonal, political, personal etc. I don’t think Indian cricket has reached a stage where it can accommodate an Indian coach.

As for the phirangs, IMHO that top cricketers seldom make good coaches. If you agree with this, Greg Chappell is automatically eliminated. That leaves a choice between Tom Moody and Dean Jones. I think both of them are pretty good, but if I have to pick between the two I would prefer Tom Moody because he is an all rounder. It helps to be intimately familiar at a personal level, with all aspects of the game. In this respect I think an all rounder is best equipped.

I have a strange suspicion that someone other than those mentioned in the press will eventually be chosen. Anyway, it should be interesting to see who eventually makes it. A strong communicator and a good thinker who is not afraid of any consequences is the best choice.

Woolmer thinks Viru is like Bradman. That’s quite a compliment especially coming from a shrewd thinker like Woolmer. The irony is that every few years we produce a Bradman-like player — it was Gavasker in the 80s, Tendulkar in the 90s, and Viru is the 2000s — the team as a whole can never unfortunately deliver consistently. I wish everyone especially Indian cricket fans stop praising individual team members to the skies by making such pointless comparisons and instead focus on the team performance.

Its time to open the flood gates and romp in youngsters to form a new look ODI team in preparation for the next world cup. Viru has to play a big role in grooming the team for the next world cup (perhaps as captain). Pak has come so far only because they invested in their youngsters and dumped 7 of their top players after the last world cup. Its time India did the same.

Good show Pak. Well deserved. On their way to a fine series win. India clearly has lot of talent but lacks spine, good leadership and most of all good strategy. Time for a fresh start with John Wright’s departure. Personally, I think India must make some drastic changes to the one day side.
The senior players must be phased out in favor of younger promising talent. This would require some tough, careful decisions to be made with an eye on grooming a team for the 2007 world cup.

India is struggling at 65-3 — huh! So what’s new about it? Our top celebrities Sachin, Viru and Dravid are cooling their heels in the pavilion after playing useless knocks. The good news is that it opens up a golden opportunity for the next generation of Indian celebrities (Dhoni, Yuvraj, Kaif, Agarkar, Mongia) to rise to the occasion and take India to victory. It certainly sounds good to hear but a tall order to accomplish. If you are a die hard Indian cricket fan, this is a great chance for you to raise your hopes.

Pak did well to run up 303. To give credit to the Indians, I think they restricted Pak to a smaller score than they should have reached given the flying start from Afridi. Given Indians recent performances and our typical lack of spine when it comes to chasing big score, a defeat seems very much on the cards. I hate to be so pessimistic, but that’s how India has performed lately.

Pak has a gett-able target. India struggled and then recovered to put up 249. It hard to see how India can defend such a small score against the solid Pak batting line up. To start with India never really has a plan for Afridi. At a min India must knock out his wicket early if it even stands a chance.