Sunday, November 26, 2006
The Uproar
Nov the 22nd: India bowled out for 91 chasing S.A's 248 in Durban.
Nov the 23rd: Everybody, starting from ex-players to Members of Parliament(can you believe that?) criticise India, calling for axes on players, even the coach. And the local TV channels have a field day verbally bashing up the Indian team(seems thats their modus operandi everytime India lose).
Is the India team really in disarray? Yes and No. Everyone here is over-reacting. It'd been almost after 2 years that India had last played any international cricket match on a pitch as fast and bouncy as the Durban wicket. India's been playing matches on either flat or slow turning wickets. After the stupendous success India enjoyed during the early part of Greg Chappell's leadership(remember the highest number of One-Day international chases), India were having a dry run even while playing on the kind of wickets they are broughtup on -first the West Indies, then Malaysia, then Champion's Trophy.
If you actually look at Indian team's performance, atleast during the period under consideration, the success or the lack of it can always be attributed to the Batting performance. The record-breaking chase can be attribute to the form of Yuvraj, Dhoni, Dravid and some cameos from Pathan, Raina and others. In the West Indies, almost everyone looked out of touch, making part-time spinners(would you believe it) like Gayle and Samuels look like unplayable bowlers ala a Muralitharan or a Shane Warne.
In Malaysia, our Batting couldn't counter the 'pace' of the Brett Lees and the Taylors on slow tracks, followed by Champion's Trophy, where again the Batting was found wanting.
Having seen such performances, would you really be surprised when India gets shot out for 91 on a wicket taylor-made for the Ntinis and the Nels. Give me a break!
The Woes are self-made
The mire the Indian team finds itself right now is self-made, and sadly everyone knows that including the BCCI. All wickets in India used for playing the local first-class matches are either flat tracks or rank turners. We can only boast of a pitch or two, like the one at Mohali which has green cover where fast bowlers can really show their skills, and test the technique of batsmen against moving deliveries. What's the result? We create batsmen who are very good
on flat tracks. Batsmen who are very good at playing through the line of the ball, who develop the 'art' of manoeuvring deliveries off slow tracks. They are never intimidated by fast bowling because genuine fast bowling hardly exists in the national circuit. Because the conditions here make youngsters believe bowling is only for spinners, who can turn and make good use of slow tracks. What more, people at the helm are hell bent on believing we should persue being a 'spinner production center'. And then what happens when India visits an Australia or a South Africa, most often than not have few batsmen who can do well in those alien conditions and often no bowler to make the best use of the conditions on offer. The opposition, make merry of the situation, prepare fast, bouncy tracks which can help fast bowlers, which they normally abund in and win the tournaments, hands-down. Nothing I've said so far is coming out of some thesis on Indian cricket, but from an understanding that every Indian concerned about Indian cricket knows even if he is remotely interested in the gentleman's game. I'm reiterating this fact, just to remind the people that it's not right on their part to over-react to defeats like that at Durban(Even as I write this, India is tottering , yet again chasing a big total at Cape Town).
Reform Indian cricket
The people who run cricket need to understand that the solutions to such debacles that Indian is associated to, need to come by addressing the system as a whole. Not just by dropping somebody or criticising the coach or the captain. An approach which can identify the need for preparing bouncier, faster tracks in India, for the local matches. I know we wouldn't want to lose our speciality in playing/bowling spin, but we need to have pitches which can equip our players to matchup to all conditions. This will help in producing batsmen who have good amount of aquaintance with such tracks so they don't find themselves totally alien to such conditions abroad. It can also help produce bowlers who can make the opposition think twice about preparing bowler-friendly wickets. Lot of that effort depends on how well funds are distributed , and BCCI being the richest sporting body in the world, it couldn't be difficult at all. That's for the long term. For the short term, we need to be smart in team selection. Have players who can handle these conditions well. People like Laxman and Ganguly, with their experience would have been of good help. We need to show some restraint in our criticism, encourage our players, provide them with emotional support. Inspire them to come out fighting so that they try and give their best to win for India.
Media have a role to play
The media needs to show some responsibility here. They could do better than just crucifying the Indian team whenever they lose and blow the trumpets of victory everytime they win. One day they create a hero out of a nobody and the next day write an epitaph to the same player's career. They've got to be constructive in their criticism, not criticize players so much that they develop fear of losing. Ex-cricketers are sometimes guilty of criticising current players way too much, knowing very well the enormity of pressure on modern-day cricketers.
Support them
You can't create an all conquering team from no-where. Even in the presence of Sachin and Dravid, two of the best batsmen of the moder-era, it would be too harsh to expect India to win either the One-day or the Test Series in S.Africa. At this juncture it would only be wise to support our team while they're struggling and hope they could put up a good show, may be a memorable fight back.
The Uproar
