With everyone going all out against the Indian team in recent times, there is a buzz around media and public that the state of cricket in India is getting close to one of its worst patches of ups & downs. But is it so? The romance of wins and the tragedies of a loss are so daunting either way. On one side is Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's most successful captain and on the other end, are the statisticians who are putting out all sorts of figures about India's results abroad.
We have had the struggling times of Kapil Dev, the stressful problems during the Azharuddin era, the captaincy failures of a modern day legend in the form of Sachin Tendulkar and the consistency issues during the reign of Ganguly, the first captain cum leader of Indian cricket. All of this has happened before.
What makes this run of bad form different than that in the past times? Indian cricket is in a phase of transition where the top 6 batsmen in test cricket have all changed viz. Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly & Laxman. The players are finding their feet at the International level amidst the fluctuating schedule of T20s, ODI cricket and test cricket in whatever time left.
There is less amount of Dravid'ish leaves that would frustrate any fast bowler after he had come a long way sprinting from the run-up and neither there is that carefree attitude of a Sehwag going hammer and tongs without any fear whatsoever. Indian cricket is stuck in a state of power plays where there is a choice between going hard and risking the top position or staying on the back foot and trying to consolidate on the already existing good platform provided by the players of previous generation. The abroad story is packed with a touch of inconsistency and mind games. The fact that the batsmen are already on the back foot before the bowler's delivery stride, is a deterrent in itself. "Half the battle is won in the head", they say.
Is BCCI doing enough to help the players practice for the conditions that they are likely to face when they go to South Africa, New Zealand and down under? It is a clear case of BCCI's topmost priority being that of earning than learning! Why is the richest cricket body not able to give net practices on a concrete cement pitch with a wet tennis ball, which would enable the bowlers to bowl fast and in return, make the batsmen play at deliveries skidding on to the bat! With Indian batsmen susceptible to short bowling and half the team falling to short deliveries, you might even see foreign spinners bowling bouncers at them in the near future.
"It is temperament that separates the men from the boys" and Indian cricket is still struggling to make a swift transition from the previous to latter. With one foot in the corridor of uncertainty and another in that of monetary gains, it is upon the players to decide where to end up with both feet. The captain has done his bit already by winning all that he can and by being the most consistent batsman along with Virat Kohli. Kohli has taken to the responsibility like fish to water and has now become the Tendulkar of the early 1990s wherein his early dismissal often leads to a loss for India. It's high time where the spinners find a way to pick up wickets and put the opposition in a strangle hold. The fast bowlers for God's sake need to understand that not bowling well on bouncy and seaming wickets abroad, is nothing short of a cardinal sin.
With experts, media and the huge fan base in India expecting a win every time, the loss is bound to give scope for criticism. But, how far to go with it, is an aspect left to everyone on their own wish. Indian fans must realize that their team is going through a change of guard and has been relatively successful unlike the Australian team post McGrath, Warne, Hayden and Gilchrist. To be a true lover, there is a need to understand the dynamics of this ever changing game and not always, look at it through the narrowed frowning eyes full of suspicion and insecurity. Nobody plays to lose or get beaten. It's the process that is to be looked at and with the World Cup coming closer, precisely in 2014, I feel Indian cricket will be better served with experimentation and a swift transition right now itself.
Let's give our Indian team, a chance to go out on the park, and struggle for every win. Let us all enjoy the process and back them irrespective of a win or a loss. The same stroke filled approach that won the Champions Trophy is now leading to defeats with a win here & there. From being World beaters in their own den, the Indian team will rise to the occasion somewhere down the line, once the players get an exposure to how playing conditions outside India are. As the saying goes,
"It's time to prevent and prepare, than repent and repair", Indian cricket finds itself in a similar state. What lies with us, is the responsibility of backing our own players with same exuberance and passion, much as the way we do, when they are on a winning spree. For Indian cricket's betterment, the jigsaw puzzle of 11 pieces needs to fit in soon, which I believe is not that far away from achieving!
We have had the struggling times of Kapil Dev, the stressful problems during the Azharuddin era, the captaincy failures of a modern day legend in the form of Sachin Tendulkar and the consistency issues during the reign of Ganguly, the first captain cum leader of Indian cricket. All of this has happened before.
What makes this run of bad form different than that in the past times? Indian cricket is in a phase of transition where the top 6 batsmen in test cricket have all changed viz. Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly & Laxman. The players are finding their feet at the International level amidst the fluctuating schedule of T20s, ODI cricket and test cricket in whatever time left.
There is less amount of Dravid'ish leaves that would frustrate any fast bowler after he had come a long way sprinting from the run-up and neither there is that carefree attitude of a Sehwag going hammer and tongs without any fear whatsoever. Indian cricket is stuck in a state of power plays where there is a choice between going hard and risking the top position or staying on the back foot and trying to consolidate on the already existing good platform provided by the players of previous generation. The abroad story is packed with a touch of inconsistency and mind games. The fact that the batsmen are already on the back foot before the bowler's delivery stride, is a deterrent in itself. "Half the battle is won in the head", they say.
Is BCCI doing enough to help the players practice for the conditions that they are likely to face when they go to South Africa, New Zealand and down under? It is a clear case of BCCI's topmost priority being that of earning than learning! Why is the richest cricket body not able to give net practices on a concrete cement pitch with a wet tennis ball, which would enable the bowlers to bowl fast and in return, make the batsmen play at deliveries skidding on to the bat! With Indian batsmen susceptible to short bowling and half the team falling to short deliveries, you might even see foreign spinners bowling bouncers at them in the near future.
"It is temperament that separates the men from the boys" and Indian cricket is still struggling to make a swift transition from the previous to latter. With one foot in the corridor of uncertainty and another in that of monetary gains, it is upon the players to decide where to end up with both feet. The captain has done his bit already by winning all that he can and by being the most consistent batsman along with Virat Kohli. Kohli has taken to the responsibility like fish to water and has now become the Tendulkar of the early 1990s wherein his early dismissal often leads to a loss for India. It's high time where the spinners find a way to pick up wickets and put the opposition in a strangle hold. The fast bowlers for God's sake need to understand that not bowling well on bouncy and seaming wickets abroad, is nothing short of a cardinal sin.
With experts, media and the huge fan base in India expecting a win every time, the loss is bound to give scope for criticism. But, how far to go with it, is an aspect left to everyone on their own wish. Indian fans must realize that their team is going through a change of guard and has been relatively successful unlike the Australian team post McGrath, Warne, Hayden and Gilchrist. To be a true lover, there is a need to understand the dynamics of this ever changing game and not always, look at it through the narrowed frowning eyes full of suspicion and insecurity. Nobody plays to lose or get beaten. It's the process that is to be looked at and with the World Cup coming closer, precisely in 2014, I feel Indian cricket will be better served with experimentation and a swift transition right now itself.
Let's give our Indian team, a chance to go out on the park, and struggle for every win. Let us all enjoy the process and back them irrespective of a win or a loss. The same stroke filled approach that won the Champions Trophy is now leading to defeats with a win here & there. From being World beaters in their own den, the Indian team will rise to the occasion somewhere down the line, once the players get an exposure to how playing conditions outside India are. As the saying goes,
"It's time to prevent and prepare, than repent and repair", Indian cricket finds itself in a similar state. What lies with us, is the responsibility of backing our own players with same exuberance and passion, much as the way we do, when they are on a winning spree. For Indian cricket's betterment, the jigsaw puzzle of 11 pieces needs to fit in soon, which I believe is not that far away from achieving!
No comments:
Post a Comment