Today Anil Kumble announced his retirement from ODIs. An era has come to an end. I am sure Anil will look back with mixed feelings of pride and sadness. Pride for all the wonderful moments of happiness of being part of the winning team; sadness for all those moments when a thorough gentleman like Anil was treated shabbily.
For my point of view Anil epitomizes all that is right in Indian cricket. He is a great trier and has tremendous mental strength. His unorthodox bowling style has always made him an easy target. Some said he could not spin the ball. Other maintained that one should not treat him as a spinner but should consider him more as a medium pacer. There were some problems in his personal life which Anil handled superbly. In spite of all this Anil prevailed.
Anil has never been a turner of the cricketing ball. His craft was variation of speed and bounce. He introduced these sutle variations in his bowling and out thought and foxed his opponents. His ODI career lasted for 17 years. That is a testimony to the man's greatness.
So here's to you Anil. You have being a fierce competitor, a gentleman and a pillar of strength. Over the years your contribution in the team was overlooked or under appreciated. You took all that in your stride and continued to perform with unflagging determination.
This blog from a fan who wishes to thank you for all your contributions. You have left an indelible mark in Indian Cricket.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The State of Indian Cricket
By now India is in a state of shock. We have experienced one of our worst losses in recent times. We lost meekly to the former minnows of cricket Sri Lanka. Not only did we lose but we lost heavily.
The knee jerk reactions have begun. Sack Greg Chappell, ask Sachin to retire, give the captaincy back to Sourav. BCCI should accept responsibility for the loss. It should be accountable etc. Cricketers should be told to quit advertising and concentrate on their games.
Here's my two cents on the topic. Who is responsible for the current state of affairs? According to me sadly it is the Indian fan, who has let his emotions overrun his thoughtful mind. That Sachin Tendulkar was way past his prime and allegedly match winning abilities was obvious for a long time. However we like to dwell in the past. If Sachin, Rahul, Dhoni and company are demi gods, it is because we have given them the demi god status. If they are getting a lot of ads, it is because they are considered eyeball grabbers. Because the Indian fan watches and worships them. The Indian cricket team is filled up with prima donnas, individuals who some times provide a flash in the pan performance and retain their place in the side.
Why did we lose and why do we always lose? Look no further than the Bangladeshis and Lankans. What was the difference between them and us? One they played as a unit and second they had this insatiable passion/desire to win. Did we see these ingredients in our team? No. Have we ever seen this passion in our team? Sometimes may be. Possibly during the era of Sourav's captaincy. Look at the Bangladeshis body language during the India-Bangladesh match. They were charged up and wanted to win badly. This reflected in their fantastic fielding and in their devil may care attitude in batting(specifically Tamim Iqbal's). They worked towards a plan. Choke the flow of runs during the Indian innings and take the Indian bowling attack apart during the earlier overs and the match is ours. It worked. Proves another point. We have become predictable for our opposition and our weaknesses remain our weaknesses.
Who is to blame for the debacle? There are a number of heads in the noose.
Sachin Tendulkar
Some people might say I have been harsh on him. But I do not think so. Here is a person who has scored enormous amount of runs in world cricket. However for all those knocks, I doubt too many have been match winning. Also I doubt if he has delivered when it mattered the most. The last match winning knock probably was in the WC 03 against Pakistan. The man is running out of steam. It is time the Sachin Tendulkar juggernaut is given a decent timely burial.
You get out on a duck. It happens. That's cricket. But the manner in which you get out is pathetic. A person who has scored 15000 ODI runs should not be out playing an outrageous shot. Sachin, you have no one but yourself to blame. Time and again you have flattered to deceive.
Greg Chappell
I am sure Greg Chappell has already been identified as the possible "bali ka bakra". The fall guy for the debacle. I am sure the BCCI will be waiting with its knives out for you. Man, I hate to be in your shoes. Dealing with prima donnas, BCCI politics and cricket mad Indians is not a straight talking Aussie's cup of tea.
However I do not blame you for Sourav's poor running between the wickets, Sachin's inability to handle an incisive bowling attack, Rahul's tentative captaincy, poor Indian fielding. A coach can only do so far as to provide the means and suggestions to improve his team's game. If the players do not play along what can you do.
To your credit you did try bringing in fresh blood like Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Dhoni into the team. Unfortunately Raina was not up to the rigors of the game, Dinesh did not get a chance to display his mettle in WC07 and Dhoni did not live up to his reputation. I am sure people will forget the fact that this very Indian team has the record of most consecutive victories while chasing a total under your stewardship as a coach. I would not fault you for not trying; some things clicked some stuck out.
I blame you for this. There was rote setting in the team. You knew it but did not do anything about it or were helpless. If you had raised your voice against the same it would have enhanced your reputation. Unfortunately it was not to be.
Rahul Dravid
Rahul do not take this personally. Some players are born to be great batsmen and some great leaders of men. You are a great batsman, a trier, who wears your commitment on your sleeve. But you are not a great leader of men. You just do not have the charisma to lead. You have passion for the game but it remains bottled up within. Bring it to forth, let the world see it. Leadership is all about words and actions. More action then words. Your body language leaves lot to be desired. When the chips are down, your team looks to you for inspiration. But you do not cut out an inspirational figure or a figure that invokes confidence.
Advice for you Rahul, let go your captaincy and concentrate on your batting.
Team India (Indian Cricket Team)
What can I say?
poor application in batting,
bad running between the wickets,
no rotation of strike,
No stealing singles,
Poor/Non-existent conversion of ones to twos and twos to threes,
Poor fielding, (Cannot remember a direct hit on the stumps by Team India)
Inconsistent bowling,
Poor bowling at the death(Can anyone please teach our bowlers that!!!!)
We were pathetic in all departments and deserved to lose. I think we need the Indian team coach to be an ex-army guy who will instill discipline and fear in our team.
BCCI
The coffers are full. The TV rights for '11 WC has been negotiated. The BCCI has achieved its goal. About improving the game, who cares? The BCCI needs to start investing in cricketing infrastruture. The issues remain unchanged. We do not have a genuine wicket taking fast bowler in our ranks. Kumble is at the sunset of his career and Harbhajan is not being effective. The land of the great Indian spinners is not being able to produce class spinners. Our batsmen have proved time and again, they are not mentally tough. We as a team depend heavily on individual brilliance than team work. Our fielding.... Let me not go there. Cricket has become a complete sport where every one is expected to deliver in more than one areas. When will our players learn?
The only positive statement that I hear from the BCCI is the thought of working towards the '11 WC. This might seem far fetched for some but let's ask ourselves the question, if not now when? Given that a lot of **senior** cricketers are at the fag end of their careers, we need to start rebuilding Team India in the right earnest.
Our Expert ex-cricketers
Just a few days back all the ex-cricketers were gung-ho about the Team India. We crash out the WC and every one is talking about change and poor application. Guys the players are the same. Mr Atul Wassan, where is your whole hearted support for Sachin now?
Another bull shit story doing rounds is that we should not have a foreign coach. Mr Expert, Dave Whatmore is the Bangladeshi coach. Tom Moody is the Lankan coach. It was because of John Wright and Chappell that India nowadays wins matches(tests and ODIs) abroad. Under Chappell's tutelage we won matches chasing for 16 consective times. So let's not jump the gun about the foreign coach thing. We had Indian coaches before, what was the team's performance? The view point should be to get the right coach, Indian or foreign does not matter.
Those are my views. What are yours?
The knee jerk reactions have begun. Sack Greg Chappell, ask Sachin to retire, give the captaincy back to Sourav. BCCI should accept responsibility for the loss. It should be accountable etc. Cricketers should be told to quit advertising and concentrate on their games.
Here's my two cents on the topic. Who is responsible for the current state of affairs? According to me sadly it is the Indian fan, who has let his emotions overrun his thoughtful mind. That Sachin Tendulkar was way past his prime and allegedly match winning abilities was obvious for a long time. However we like to dwell in the past. If Sachin, Rahul, Dhoni and company are demi gods, it is because we have given them the demi god status. If they are getting a lot of ads, it is because they are considered eyeball grabbers. Because the Indian fan watches and worships them. The Indian cricket team is filled up with prima donnas, individuals who some times provide a flash in the pan performance and retain their place in the side.
Why did we lose and why do we always lose? Look no further than the Bangladeshis and Lankans. What was the difference between them and us? One they played as a unit and second they had this insatiable passion/desire to win. Did we see these ingredients in our team? No. Have we ever seen this passion in our team? Sometimes may be. Possibly during the era of Sourav's captaincy. Look at the Bangladeshis body language during the India-Bangladesh match. They were charged up and wanted to win badly. This reflected in their fantastic fielding and in their devil may care attitude in batting(specifically Tamim Iqbal's). They worked towards a plan. Choke the flow of runs during the Indian innings and take the Indian bowling attack apart during the earlier overs and the match is ours. It worked. Proves another point. We have become predictable for our opposition and our weaknesses remain our weaknesses.
Who is to blame for the debacle? There are a number of heads in the noose.
Sachin Tendulkar
Some people might say I have been harsh on him. But I do not think so. Here is a person who has scored enormous amount of runs in world cricket. However for all those knocks, I doubt too many have been match winning. Also I doubt if he has delivered when it mattered the most. The last match winning knock probably was in the WC 03 against Pakistan. The man is running out of steam. It is time the Sachin Tendulkar juggernaut is given a decent timely burial.
You get out on a duck. It happens. That's cricket. But the manner in which you get out is pathetic. A person who has scored 15000 ODI runs should not be out playing an outrageous shot. Sachin, you have no one but yourself to blame. Time and again you have flattered to deceive.
Greg Chappell
I am sure Greg Chappell has already been identified as the possible "bali ka bakra". The fall guy for the debacle. I am sure the BCCI will be waiting with its knives out for you. Man, I hate to be in your shoes. Dealing with prima donnas, BCCI politics and cricket mad Indians is not a straight talking Aussie's cup of tea.
However I do not blame you for Sourav's poor running between the wickets, Sachin's inability to handle an incisive bowling attack, Rahul's tentative captaincy, poor Indian fielding. A coach can only do so far as to provide the means and suggestions to improve his team's game. If the players do not play along what can you do.
To your credit you did try bringing in fresh blood like Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Dhoni into the team. Unfortunately Raina was not up to the rigors of the game, Dinesh did not get a chance to display his mettle in WC07 and Dhoni did not live up to his reputation. I am sure people will forget the fact that this very Indian team has the record of most consecutive victories while chasing a total under your stewardship as a coach. I would not fault you for not trying; some things clicked some stuck out.
I blame you for this. There was rote setting in the team. You knew it but did not do anything about it or were helpless. If you had raised your voice against the same it would have enhanced your reputation. Unfortunately it was not to be.
Rahul Dravid
Rahul do not take this personally. Some players are born to be great batsmen and some great leaders of men. You are a great batsman, a trier, who wears your commitment on your sleeve. But you are not a great leader of men. You just do not have the charisma to lead. You have passion for the game but it remains bottled up within. Bring it to forth, let the world see it. Leadership is all about words and actions. More action then words. Your body language leaves lot to be desired. When the chips are down, your team looks to you for inspiration. But you do not cut out an inspirational figure or a figure that invokes confidence.
Advice for you Rahul, let go your captaincy and concentrate on your batting.
Team India (Indian Cricket Team)
What can I say?
poor application in batting,
bad running between the wickets,
no rotation of strike,
No stealing singles,
Poor/Non-existent conversion of ones to twos and twos to threes,
Poor fielding, (Cannot remember a direct hit on the stumps by Team India)
Inconsistent bowling,
Poor bowling at the death(Can anyone please teach our bowlers that!!!!)
We were pathetic in all departments and deserved to lose. I think we need the Indian team coach to be an ex-army guy who will instill discipline and fear in our team.
BCCI
The coffers are full. The TV rights for '11 WC has been negotiated. The BCCI has achieved its goal. About improving the game, who cares? The BCCI needs to start investing in cricketing infrastruture. The issues remain unchanged. We do not have a genuine wicket taking fast bowler in our ranks. Kumble is at the sunset of his career and Harbhajan is not being effective. The land of the great Indian spinners is not being able to produce class spinners. Our batsmen have proved time and again, they are not mentally tough. We as a team depend heavily on individual brilliance than team work. Our fielding.... Let me not go there. Cricket has become a complete sport where every one is expected to deliver in more than one areas. When will our players learn?
The only positive statement that I hear from the BCCI is the thought of working towards the '11 WC. This might seem far fetched for some but let's ask ourselves the question, if not now when? Given that a lot of **senior** cricketers are at the fag end of their careers, we need to start rebuilding Team India in the right earnest.
Our Expert ex-cricketers
Just a few days back all the ex-cricketers were gung-ho about the Team India. We crash out the WC and every one is talking about change and poor application. Guys the players are the same. Mr Atul Wassan, where is your whole hearted support for Sachin now?
Another bull shit story doing rounds is that we should not have a foreign coach. Mr Expert, Dave Whatmore is the Bangladeshi coach. Tom Moody is the Lankan coach. It was because of John Wright and Chappell that India nowadays wins matches(tests and ODIs) abroad. Under Chappell's tutelage we won matches chasing for 16 consective times. So let's not jump the gun about the foreign coach thing. We had Indian coaches before, what was the team's performance? The view point should be to get the right coach, Indian or foreign does not matter.
Those are my views. What are yours?
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