Cynics and emotional quotient in Selection

"I think everyone needs to perform, as it is a team game. You can't take your place for granted and I can assure you that is not the case with any of the players. In India, it really doesn't matter whether you are 31 or 32. As soon as you cross 30, I think people start talking. It is not fair to judge someone by just one performance or just one series, especially when someone has performed for 10 years. I understand when he is a newcomer, though that is unfair as well. You cannot judge a player by just one series. But when you have played for 10-15 years and contributed to all the victories that India have had in the last 15 years, it is not fair to pass judgment.

I think the first Test match is going to be important. The batting will have to click and I am confident about that. If we put runs on the board, we have got the bowling to pick up 20 wickets. The key will be to maintain our intensity throughout the Test. Australia will keep fighting and we will do the same. And if we fight till the last ball is bowled and not give up, I think we have a great chance. “

Spot on mate. Anil Kumble. But any takers for this ? Unfortunately in a cynical country like India, nobody would take this.  Writing off people is a pastime. A person might never know what a Test match is all about or how many Test venues India has, but then he would have every right to say his crooked opinion on selection issues, quality of a player.  Somebody would still say Tendulkar never won a match for India in his 19 yr old career. Or may be Dravid is an useless player as he always plays slow.  Dude did you bother to look at the match conditions which made Dravid play like a crawling cat ? 

Today Ganguly is everywhere in the print media, electronic media. The news anchor won’t know a bit about Ganguly ’s profile if he bowls left arm medium or right arm fast or a chinaman, but she would first jump the gun and say “Ganguly’s time is up”.  Sambit Bal in cricinfo writes a sensible piece on the possible replacements of the Fab four (if you still want to include Laxman in the retiree list despite he is few months older to Ponting).  The replacements aint ready. They showed promise, but faded out.  Sharma, Raina, Badrinath promise good, but they don’t deserve a cakewalk to the team. Let them prove the worth of their bite of the cake in domestic games and then open up a red carpet welcome in the Test team.  Yuvraj Singh is still a mystery and he invites sheer disgust and frustration to see such a class act go waste to Page 3 shenanigans.

“When Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid made their debuts together in 1996, they did so emphatically: there was no looking back. But not since Yuvraj Singh, whose failure to establish himself as a Test batsman has been one of Indian cricket's major disappointments, has there been a batsman who can be called a natural successor to the batting greats. S Badrinath ticks most of the boxes. He has done the hard yards in domestic cricket; is a big-innings player; averages over 55 in first-class cricket, with 15 centuries; has a sound technique, and as glimpsed briefly in one innings in the one-day series in Sri Lanka, perhaps the temperament. However, Ishant Sharma made him hurry on a slow pitch in the Irani game, and while it will be unfair to judge him on one match, it will be fair to say that Badrinath, too, failed to grab his chance.

Both Rohit and Suresh Raina have shown that they can play a range of strokes and innovate when the situation demands, but their CVs fall short when it comes to the longer version. Rohit averages 37 in first-class cricket, with a lone century in 29 innings, while Raina averages nearly 48, with six centuries in 67 innings. The evidence is promising, but not yet compelling. There was good reason neither made it to the Rest of India team for the Irani Cup. “

Can anything go more spot on than this.  Sensible and practical stuff. Rather than shouting over the top “go away you seniors”, let’s have a lookback session, appraise the facts and then draw a conclusion which is practical, logical and open ended. Is not extreme and is not emotional.  India has huge emotional quotient. Be it for players or actors.  Difficult for us to get rid of it. The plain logic suggests that Fab four have been the anchor of the team in last 12 years.  Laxman for moreso in last 8 years.  I expect a sensible decision out of the new selectors, not like the crash bang bang batting style of Srikanth in his hey days or his loose verbal volleys while being on TV.

My choice of team :

1.    Sehwag

2.    Gambhir

3.    Dravid

4.    Tendulkar

5.    Ganguly

6.    Laxman

7.    MSD (wktkeeper and vice-captain)

8.    Kumble (captain)

9.    Zaheer

10.  Bhajan

11.  Ishant

12.  Munaf Patel

13.  Rohit Sharma

14.  Pragyan Ojha

Selective amnesia

Sourav or no Sourav tomorrow, but no Badrinath and Rohit Sharma please. Would prefer Yuvraj or Kaif, but no Badriz or Sharmaz...

Nasser Hussein turns the tide

Usually the English media and the cricketers have been critical and wary of Indian playing conditions and many times they have skipped the tour to the country. For example in 1987 World Cup, there were no Ian Botham and David Gower in the side that went on to the final losing to Australia by 7 runs. Darren Gough and Andy Caddick – the 2 leading English fast bowlers of early 2000s for England skipped the 2001 tour to India . Their 2006 tour to the country was marred by injuries and suspicious virus that finally turned to a depression for Marcus Treskothick confirmed the doubts in Indian minds that England don’t pay the required dignity and respect to the Indian cricket, it deserves. May be the fact that India uprooted England as the ICC powerhouse or may be the fact that England now cannot have its own way in ICC or may be the fact that the English media and players yet take India to be a country full of pied pipers and snake charmers. May be they also think that conditions in India are very hot and humid, the pitches are slow and low and the crowd is bad mannered. Quite of it could have been true until late 90s, but then now the things have changed. Many players in the ill fated tour of 1993 suffered from stomach disorders (how much that’s related to Indian spicy food is a subject of debate).

England have toured the country for a Test series 2 times in this decade and just 2 times in 1980s and 1990s. Contrast that to a England tour to West Indies or South Africa. The upcoming series would be the quickest home series India plays against England in long memory (that I have). And we almost see a strong England side (as they believe and the players that make to XV) touring India subject to the condition that none of the selected player falls to injuries or pulls out of due to varied reasons. Lack of England’s top players in IPL was another example of how England sees India. But then not all the players see India in the same light. One such player is Nasser Hussein who has been a prolific England captain who actually transformed the England side from worst Test playing country (those days in late 90s, BD were not a Test playing country) to one of the most competitive team in Tests. Michael Vaughan built on the legacy of Hussein and the results were visible in the streak from 2003 – 2005 when England won almost everything they played.

Hussein in 2001 tour captained his weak side to a series loss of 0-1 with actually his side holding upper hand in drawn Tests in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. He got Tendulkar stumped for the only time in his Test career to Giles by bowling a constant nagging leg side line round the wicket. It was negative tactics, but then Hussein always believed in keeping the runs flow in check and he constantly lays stress on keeping the run flow in check to score points over opposition. The point I am trying to drive across is that the same man has now said some minty sweet and cool words about the tour to India which should act as an eye opener to the prejudiced English media and players.

Here it goes :

India is a fantastic tour, one I've never had a problem with. Everything about it is just great: you realize how lucky you are as a cricketer; they love the game; you are the centre of attention; the hotels are great; the food is great; the crowds are great - it's just a wonderful tour to be on.

You don't get specifically ill anymore and you are looked after very well. But the cricket is tough and one of the pieces of advice I would pass on to Kevin Pietersen, as captain, which I learned on my tour there, is to try and stay in control of the run rate out on the field.

You have to try and control the emotion of the crowd, keep them subdued when the likes of Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and of course, Sachin Tendulkar are batting. If you can do that and quieten the crowd then you're on top of the game, but if you just go in without any plans and start getting smacked around, then things can easily slip away from you and suddenly you find yourself batting last on a turning pitch.

England need to put the pressure back on the Indians and that first Test in Ahmedabad is even more important than usual because if they can get to Mumbai still in with a chance of winning the series, you'll be amazed how much the Indian public gets on their own players' backs.

And then his views on Fab four and the seniors :

Those players have a really important series coming up against Australia which will go a long way to deciding what England are actually facing on the field. If they go well in that, you can expect a very confident India side. There has been a little bit of a shift in their selection and the senior players - the Dravids, the Gangulys, the Tendulkars, VVS Laxman - because they haven't performed for a while. Youngsters are starting to knock on the door more and more, but the one thing we all know is that you can never write off India's star players.

Michael Vaughan was dropped off the touring party for lack of form and fitness (mental more than physical). But then didn’t he already clarify that he is not in right state of mind to tour India. He would utilize the time to regain the fitness to be back for West Indies tour in Mar – Apr 2009 (before Ashes). Another prejudice towards India. England doesn’t have any more domestic cricket and he is misfit for international cricket for time being. So how is he going to ensure he is back to scoring runs again ? Playing in domestic cricket in South Africa or Australia ? If yes, then why not India ?

Thank You Ayaz

This one from Ayaz Menon comes as mint Candy for Rahul Dravid and one of the rarest sensible articles from anyone in the print or electronic media. Kudos to Ayaz. Very well said. I loved it.

“The more significant aspect of Dravid’s performance I believe, however, was his splendid catching at slip. The diving effort to get rid off the dangerous Viru Sehwag was breathtaking in its execution, and match-winning in its impact. Quick-silver reflexes, terrific anticipation coupled with great ball sense showed that Dravid’s cricketing instinct was hardly blunted, and that he was not mentally burnt-out

“Dravid’s fielding performance has been quite the opposite. He is already Test cricket’s second highest catcher (176 in 125 games), but importantly, has taken a whopping 16 catches this year in just 15 innings, which would not be possible for somebody who has lost his edge. Indeed, right through the year he has caught so brilliantly that his struggle with the bat must seem a surprise. But in his fitness and his superb catching also lies the hope that his batting woes will pass. For the all-important series against Australia, Dravid has made all the right preparatory moves.”

Very rare for us to find a impartial and factual article on seniors this days when a single cheap dismissal invites write-offs and louder calls to buzz the player off the team.

Bengal imports Murali

Bengal gets a Sri Lankan import -- Chuck.

Mendis would have been a better option. He could have been unearthed and exposed and made to look a very ordinary bowler.

Whose series is this ?

Sachin Tendulkar has said it right when he said that the series against Australia is not about the seniors but about the 2 teams. 2 of the best Test playing teams who have played some epic series this decade and perhaps this one is going to be no different. Go to any channel or any newspaper, the pre-series talk is specific to the future of the seniors and how they are over aged and how much they are liable to the team on basis of just 1 failure in Sri Lanka. Any ex-cricketer who has lifted some bat in international level or state level assumes importance when lured by the money in the media. And so we now have likes of Venkat Raja, Surendra Bhave who havent played at international level, to select the Test team for Australia series and yet again the questions would be does SG deserve a place ? When would seniors be dropped ?

M'con guys we got to discuss more about other aspects of the series, the selectors, the new regime of BCCI, the upcoming series and stuff like that. But we are stuck with 4 guys. Team doesnt revolve around this 4 people. They form the middle order. There are openers, there are bowlers and then there are wicket keepers. All possible micro analysis and micro management of every move of the 4 middle order batsmen is being done and every move is dissected with a surgeon's precision.

Time and again, on this blog I have said, yes the seniors would go one day. We should have replacements. But who ? Somebody who has succeded in T20 goes straight to Tests ? How many of our media experts or some bored writers (pun intended) know Test match rules ? Survival is the key in Tests. 20 overs is little less than a session in a day out of 5's play and you got to win sessions to win a Test.

Another silly discussion going around the corner is Greg Chappell. Media seems to be obsessed with him. Ok he is with Aussie team now as a coach cum consultant or whatever role it is. And if he gives some inputs to Aussies, then wats wrong with it ? He was with us during 2003-04 series, Bobby Simpson was consultant during 1999 WC, we have had John Wright and now Gary Kirsten as coach. Never did NZ and SA come back and charged us that may be this coaches are giving secrets about them to India. Then why this fuss over Chappell ?

Real battle would be right there in the middle of the ground. And when it would begin the coaches and every other thing would take the backseat. Can't wait for the series to begin. And as VM correctly pointed out pro-senior posts have no taking. I would sincerly advise all the bloggers (not media buffoons) to have a wide perspective, apply some brain before writing anybody off. Before prejudicing anybody, lets have his options ready.

BCCI.tv

Finally BCCI has its own website www.bcci.tv and trust me its very good to start with. Its updated, its got good looks. Go watch it. I would rate it 7.5 on 10.

Irani Trophy Review Day 1,2, 3

The RoI has set a target of 378 to win for Delhi. And that’s a formidable total, which didn’t quite look possible at the end of day 1 when the team was shot out for 252. Despite Sehwag heroics in Delhi’s first innings, RoI bowlers did a good job to take a 75 run lead which came in handy in the second innings. And after Dravid saw off the threat from Ishant Sharma, the 75 runs were always going to hurt Delhi in long interest of the game.

People might have different ideas about Dravid’s contribution to the RoI, but he was the difference between a target of below 300 and the current one of 378. Rest of the batting around him except MSD collapsed around him, so in a way RD stands vindicated and that gives a message that he is not finished and he ‘s got lot to offer to the India’s test fortunes. For Delhi Ishant Sharma in both the innings and Nanda in 2^nd innings were the exceptional performances. And that sounds alarm bells for Australia as Sharma managed to get lot of bounce and pace on a benign wicket. Bangalore, Mohali would for sure offer more bounce and help to seamers than this Vadodara pitch.

Dravid made valuable contributions of 46 and 69 to the RoI batting and was instrumental in forging partnerships with Jaffer, Badrinath who disappointed, Laxman (will he be under scrutiny?) and Dhoni of course. He saw off the threat of Sharma who troubled him in 1^st innings. And that’s the difference between a good batsman and great batsman. You wont fall for the same bowler again in the same style.

For RoI Munaf Patel was the standout performer along with Zaheer Khan who got Gambhir early and now critics have started baying for Gambhir’s blood after an indifferent SL ODI series and the first innings failure out here. Proves that how fragile are the critics who need top performance, but forget to note that they come across as a headless chickens. 4 wkts for Munaf in my opinion complete the resurrection of the bowler who promised much but fell out ultimately to the demands of international cricket more to his laidback attitude than the talent. I feel he s got back his pace and also the zip and fire is back in his belly.

And if there were any slim chances for Delhi to win the IT, they are gone with Zaheer Khan nailing Virender Sehwag. Does that also mean that Virender Sehwag should be kicked out of the Test team (0,37 , 43, 3) ? Tough task , somebody got to stand up and perform.

Standout performers :

Delhi :

Ishant Sharma

C Nanda

RoI

Rahul Dravid

Munaf Patel

Zaheer Khan

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

While writing this post Delhi need 369 more runs to win with 9 wkts in hand and little over 2 days of play remaining. I am sorry to say but the critics , journalists, Rakhi Sawant’s cousins and bloggers baying for Rahul Dravid’s blood have got to shut their mouth. A possible RoI win in the store :)

Rakhi Sawant's cousin

Mukul Kesavan,

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/371078.html

You headless chicken, nothing can get worse than this out of your ridiculous brain. Get some new views dude. You speak like those fool hardy journos who are just out of masscom course and fresh into job. You no different than Rakhi Sawant........ A worthy cousin of her, perhaps lost in Kolkata's Bahu Bazaar :D

ICL Sawant'ed

So thats the commitment of ICL to benefit the "young cricketers" of India !!!. Rakhi Sawant to be the lead or head cheerleader for the ICL crap beginning Oct 10, 2008. Thats the last straw in the ICL's coffin. Its gone. Promotions and out of the box thoughts have gone nude.

All I can say is have a huge laughter when you see ICL games by chance during the epic Australia series. Grow up Mr Chandra!! Get some good ideas to counter IPL. Who wants funny wamps or skinny lasses (or dimwits) in "cricket" ?

One end we have Kapil Dev and Tony Greig in the ICL board and then we have Rakhi Sawant. Utter crap and childish!! Whats Rakhi Sawant going to do when a four or six is hit ? Pull down her "clothes" and scream with willy eyes which would put Murali to shame :)). Or is she gonna run down to the batsman hittin six and smooch him ? And then there would be a headline "Rakhi Sawant Showzz"

Feedback needed : What do you think about Arm Ball

Guys,

If you could do me a favor it would be of great help as it would help me improve my writing and language i use here on the blog and while commenting on the blogroll. I get a feeling that i m being perceived as a hardliner with some strong views on few issues like junior vs senior debate or tour to Pakistan. i dont want to sound rude or harsh to anybody i visit, but i also feel the comments should not be taken to a personal level or they are just a part of discussion / debate on the subject of the post. Nothing personal and nothing hurtful. If i have hurt anybody with my strong views then I apologize for the same. i agree that i am passionate about the game and i do have strong opinions on some key issues like Saurav Ganguly or seniors or tour to Pakistan.

The point i am trying to come to here is I write what i feel on the issue on the blog. Yet I dont get many discussions or comments to be honest as i should, looking at the few other blogs get on the same issue. I dont know what the real issue is, but i would really appreciate if you could let me know the honest and if possible blunt feedback being assertive on the quality of posts and the language style I have. I would ensure that I implement the valid suggestions and tone down the language if it appears to be harsh or a bit strong.

I would really appreciate the regular visitors of this blog to take some time out and do the needful for me. it would really help me out in knowing where I stand and help me in removing the frictious gaps.

Thanks,
Buzz

Let the action begin

And politics, critics, writeoffs, bloggers, swayambhu experts take a backseat and watch the ball taking on the bat in Irani Trophy in Vadodara. Let the best team win and let the greats perform to their potential and try to stick a win-win situation for all stakeholders except those who in wave of emotions write cynical posts and ask for ridiculous measures to boost their cranky ego.............

Play..........

Irani trophy Kick Starts

Take this game which begins Indian domestic season in one of 2 ways :

1. Beginning of the end of fab four should they fail to perform in this game.
2. A warmup for fab four (RD and VVS) before Test series begins on Oct 9.

Critics have been very unfair to the Fab four after the SL failure and most of them have been written off. Too much has been read into Ganguly's non inclusion in RoI squad. Tendulkar has been accused of feigning injury and opting out for "mystery" reasons. Dravid has been scratchy in form. And VVS just 33 now has been always the one on the edge. He has been performing consistently as unsung hero, but he is the one who has been always put on sword, be it Yuvraj hitting hundreds or Badri hitting a domestic 100.

Pretty unfair. I have been ranting on this space for support of fab 4. Yes. I dont feel this is the time to see the 4 greatest batsmen of Indian test history as of yet. Not long ago in England the 4 combined to produce a spectacular 1-0 win and then back home against Pakistan. Dravid shot back at Perth and Tendulkar, Laxman continued their love with Sydney down under. Ganguly played a series levelling 80s in Kanpur when nobody else crossed 70. RD scored a 100 in Chennai in the same series. Didnt he ?

Tomorrow on a flat track the match would be played with more than usual interest from everybody. Selectors to bloggers, media from print to electronic. Yes every body. From Dubai to Bombay, USA to UK and Bangalore to Pune. A question on Kumble's leadership skills, a delicious contest between Sehwag-Gambhir and Zaheer along with 2 spinners. Ishant testing Rahul Dravid who would once again step early in innings given the opening combo of Patel and Jaffer for RoI. Laxman at 4, Badri and Kaif at 5 ,6 with Dhoni at 7.

What if Kaif performs and Badri fails ? Badri has got one more chance to impress selectors may be for 2nd test ownwards then. And what if both fail ? What if RD and VVS hit good form ? Lot of questions, but no answers right now. Speculations are on, the swords are ready to come out of the shells to cut the seniors to pieces. Most crucial home season for India. 6 tests against Ashes opponents. Followed by a tour of Pakistan and NZ.

Good to hear that Yuvraj will lead the Board Prez XI against Australia in a tour game. May be this is one more chance to resucrrect his fading Test career. Guess its got to do with his attitude and mindset more than his ability and class. Class and talent are no doubt supreme. He needs to redefine his priorities and refocus on game. He should be the first candidate to replace a Fab 4 than the T20 kids.

May be we are at the cusp of either a new phase in Indian cricket sans Fab 4 or a major victory against all odds and time. I would support the second option. I dont know if i would like to see the game without the fab 4 playing Tests. After all i am used to see Tendulkar for 19 years of 22 years of following the game.

Start off the Verbal Volleys Guys

This is very uncharacterstic of Aussies to shoot no verbal volleys before the series starts and no tall claims and no registration of bunnies as well. Winds of change ? More than Aussies we have seen Indians kicking the butts of Aussies with verbal kicks....Viru, Bhajji and Gambhir leading the way and Tendulkar putting the pressure right away on Aussies by terming the series bigger than Ashes :)

Damn ICL

Frankly who bothers about ICL and ban on players from countries like Pakistan or Sri Lanka or even England to play domestic cricket. Forget retired players from non Indian countries. Talk about the current players from India who are playing in ICL. Even if the ban on them is lifted frankly speaking how many of them are good enough to play for India in near future ? And if there are not many then what difference does it make if the ban stays or ban goes off. T20 is not going to make the "young players" ready for longer version of the game.

Is ICL planning to do anything for first class cricket ? Teaching the young guns the nuisances of longer format ? Getting the benefits from players like Inzamam, Lara, Gillespie and Dev himself to the young players ? T20 isnt going to help the players in long run if ICL really wants to benefit this youngsters as it claims. Yes it can make them cash rich, but zero on experience.

I dont bother on knowing how many brownie points ICL or IPL scored over each other. To hell with that. Let me find out if ICL brings some value to the table to campaign for lifting the ban on rebel players. Till then let the ban remain. Frankly I dont care and dont give any hoots to what Attapattu got to say or any greed Tunga wants to have to get a pie out of IPL riches.

Scrap Pakistan tour

Pakistan has suffered yet another terror attack, this time in Islamabad within the vicinity of President 's office and parliament. Reports suggest that this is the deadliest attack in the history of Islamabad. Rawalpindi is one of the venues where India is supposed to play a Test match in January 2009.

PCB would receive one more jolt in its arm over the future of international cricket in country. May be they should look for owning Sharjah stadium to host its "home test matches" as they did in 2002 against Aussies.

I have no qualms in suggesting that India should scrap its 2009 tour to Pakistan and be ready to face whatever financial losses owing to the pull out. Player security is more important than vote politics in ICC and BCCI should immediately cancel the tour unless the situation in terror torn country doesnt improve.

I am sure that now PCB would stop comparing the Delhi blasts to their internal security issue. And this politics would stop. Pakistan is a dangerous place to be in and to tour. Today's deadliest attack proves the same.

Ranatunga vs BCCI

The fat old man Arjuna Ranatunga has revoked the ban on SL players who defected to ICL. They are free to play in SL domestic cricket. Wow. But who are they ? Attapattu, Arnold, Chandana and Jayantha. Not good enough for international arena, as they are either aged old men or retired or inept. But anyways SLC has said they cannot represnet country. Agreed.

For sure this move has enraged BCCI. And now can Arjuna Ranatunga depend on BCCI to help SLC bailing out of the financial crunch it is in ? What would he do to get dollar notes ?

Suicidal move I guess. And now BCCI would have SLC as its deadmeeat. One more blame in BCCI's feather. Some bodies are always meant for being jinxed and doomed. BCCI is one of them. Unfortunately here BCCI would win hands up over willy old fox.

Interesting off the field battles ahead.

BCCI

Those who like to detest BCCI for every wrong happening in cricket world would be a bit shocked to see Modi offering olive branch to belaugered BCB in form of more lucrative IPL contracts to BD players, however thats a different issue whats the quality of those players and how much dollars they would be able to pull out of franchises' kitty ?

I mean its ridiculous to blame BCCI even if CA doesnt tour Pakistan. Ok BCCI markets the game well in India by hook and crook, its got IPL which shook the base of English cricket so much so that ECB had to hook onto the devil spirit of Stanford 20/20 to save its cricketers from fleeing to I(C/P)L. Wont Stanford prize money create a rift among so called united English team if it wins a game and manages to get the price money ? Playing XI get a million each and the 4 players on bench get 25% of a million. Wow.

Now if 13 Bangla players ditch their national colors to play for ICL, how come BCCI comes to picture and how do they cause it ? Didnt we speak of end of BCCI's monopoly in aftermath of WC 2007 when ICL was born and India lost in first round of 2007 WC ? And then didnt IPL happen and it took everybody by storm ? Television viewership went on max high, the auctions were innovative, they gave a market value to the players and tagged them with a dollar tag.

PCB cries foul over CA not touring them. Bloggers blame it on BCCI. How ? Despite being alleged to have shunned the Test cricket for T20 games, India play 11 Tests over next 5 month period home and away. Pakistan and SL play none. Only Australia play more than India with 12 Tests home and away. Have we seen any T20 international game being scheduled in India on cost of a Test ? There could be a huge temptation to play in a T20 quadrangular in Toronto in October as most of the players playing T20 for India would be free except the openers and skipper MSD who would be doing national duties against Australia.

The thing is the boards like BCB or PCB or ECB are not able to get their things right and set their house in order, so for every wrong thing happens to them, the authors, the bloggers and the media jumps the gun to blame BCCI. Take BCCI out of picture and then lets see how ICC manages finance to "globalise" the game and run the game worldwide !!

Though I am not supporter of BCCI and not pro Sharad Pawar. And yes the doping has struck WI cricket too with Xavier Marshal testing positive in the Stanford 20/20 for 20.

GOD Speaks

Sachin on his records spree. Perhaps that should say it all and shut the critics off that he is selfish and plays for records.

"I don't think much about records. I want to enjoy my game. If players focus on their performance, records automatically fall into place. I focus on playing the game well. If it (new landmark) comes in doing so I will be
happy"

And then on retirement talks. More disappointment for critics.

"I think you are at the wrong press conference."

On India - Australia test series

"It's going to be an extremely well-fought series which would be played in the right spirit and the cricket would be played very hard"

Ponting in his nemesis land

Can Ponting turn the tides in a country where he averages a miserly 12 in 8 Tests ? Can he cross his highest score he got in India 12 years back ? Can he get past the nemesis called Harbhajan who has now dismissed him 9 times (7 times in India) cheaply ? Would having a turban'ed Kumble down the other end work for India's favor ?

PCB

PCB is sueing CA for touring India despite Delhi bombings and not touring Pakistan over "so many daily bombings". The PCB presumes that Australia has been adopting double standards on visiting India and bunking Pakistan. The reasoning they offer is silly and stupid to say the least. India is far safer country than Pakistan in every sense and despite the terror trail, the country doesnt assume that its on the way of becoming another Pakistan where everyday a bomb or 2 goes off killing many innocent people.

My point is not being going political. PCB should look into one of the factors that why every country is refusing to visit Pakistan except India (vote bank politics to the fore again for BCCI in ICC politics) ? 5 countries refused them to visit for CT, WICB has not shown much excitement in touring Pak for Tests. Again the security issue.

How is BCCI responsible for any other team not visiting Pakistan ? BCCI has supported Pakistan Board in every situation. Right when no other country toured Pakistan or is willing to, BCCI has sent its team and would be sending one in Jan 2009 for another series which would mark the return of international cricket for Pak and in Pak.

Australia has never toured Pakistan since 1998. Their 2002 series was played at neutral venues in Sharjah and Sri Lanka. BCCI wasnt a factor then as Homer rightly puts it. Money might be a factor for Oz to tour India. But then havent the PCB been benefitted by the Indian money ? Almost every year since 2004 we see a India - Pakistan series home and away. To such an extent that it has almost robbed the excitement and tension associated with a India - Pak game.

The fact is Pakistan is no more a team it was. Its gone weak and has been trampled by the antics of the admins and the maverick players. The way Asif and Shoaib have been handled, the way Lawson and Malik are being made insecure, the way Younis Khan and Inzamam were treated. Not to say about the 2 Ws. And isnt it sick to see Pakistan playing no Test match this year. ALright lets assume if Oz had toured Pak, then 3 tests in a year ? Is this good omen for a major Test playing country ?

PCB should get its act right rather than going behind CA's ass.

Youngsters

Robin Uthappa out for 2.

Suresh Raina out for 0.

Badri out for 1

Rohit Sharma out for 15.

This is the match scorelines for Test youth hopefuls vs Australia A where the home side were blown away by Shaun Tait first and then Luke Ronchi with a superb 100. The same team which lost to NZ by 129 runs yesterday, blew India A team which had as many as 8 players with international experience.

Badrinath has been spoken of in high esteem by many players and bloggers. He got a chance to prove himself in SL ODIs, failed. He spoke about how bad he was being treated by selectors and promptly was drafted in the team as Sachin's replacement for ODIs. And now when he got a chance to prove a worthy contender for aussie test series with "seniors in decline", the chap failed. Does that sound as class ? Or a talent ? Cmon dude, you got a chance to lead, you failed. You lead India A in Emerging player tourney down under, you failed. You still feel good enuf to be in the contention for a Test slot ? Performance. Where 's that with the bat ? We need runs under your belt sir, not vocal chord decibel strength.

Raina was very good in Asia Cup against BD and UAE, but failed to Tait -- the bowler who is on a return from the break and doesnt figure in Test XV of Aussies. Uthappa is on a way out to exile for long term. Rohit Sharma, who is being viewed as next Sachin or next Richards (some ex-player said) failed once again.

If this players we expect to replace the likes of Tendulkar, Ganguly or Dravid, then I am sorry to say we are next West Indies in making. This players can be found in Page 3 parties, TV ads, commercials, shaking a leg or 2 in a dance show, but would hardly be found performing where they are actually meant to. And when they get blown by second string Australian team, think of what Lee, Clarke and Johnson would do to this guys. Do we want to loose the series 0-4 inside 3 days ?

Once more the debate is out there for everybody to participate in. There are scores from seniors who have one odd failure in Lanka and the youngsters who were blown away on a flat wicket on a subcontinent track. We got to decide do we need likes of Rainas, Sharmas or Badris ?

Or the likes of Virat Kohli who has been getting better and better in the game against Sui gas in Nisar trophy. 52 in the first innings when nobody else crossed double figures and 81* right now wiping out the lead Sui gas had before. If there is one contender for Test team, then here it is. Virat Kohli. Sheer genius.

Think about it.

Performance matters

Lets have a decent performance criterion to judge the merit of player in the team. No public sentiments, no media pressure and no age limits. Teams dont get selected in the way we want them to happen in India. A bad series and writing people off who have had successful times till one series back doesnt sound logical. To me thats whimsical.

Performance is the key. Thats it. Doesnt matter if the player is 38 or 18 or 28. Certainly not on basis of a whimsical selector who on an average in India hasnt seen the dawn of international cricket doesnt has a right to decide the future of a player who has played in hundreds of Tests.

It doesnt sound logical that Venkatpathi Raju take a call on Anil Kumble's tenure as skipper or Ganguly's future. For one, he played under Ganguly in 2001 Oz series and his international career never kicked off as he played second fiddle to Kumble in 90s. Or for that matter a Bhupinder Singh would decide on Rahul Dravid ? Or a Jagdale on Laxman ?

Get real guys. Aint we showin typical Indian ingratitude to the icons who have given only happiness in otherwise gloomy scenario (terror, slowdown, reducing jobs etc etc)in the country over a decade ?

Funny EnglishBone

I bet my ass, nothing more funny can be found than what Scyld Berry writes on England 's Ashes chances against Australia. This is when they have won a solitary test against SA in a dead rubber contest and a few meaningless ODIs against tired jaded SA. They are yet to tour India and WI before the Ashes kicks off. Enjoy the excerpts :

England end this soggy non-summer in rude health: in every format they have the right mixture of experience, youth and scope to grow under a captain who pursues excellence with an un-English zeal. Australia have not only passed the peak that was personified by Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, they are showing further signs of fatigue and decline. England to regain the Ashes in 2009? Steady on. Let's just say, at this stage, there could well be only one game in it, not five.

The Australians, therefore, have already creaked at the seams, and that process looks likely to accelerate this winter. This is because some of them are serving two masters, both of them pretty greedy, so instead of being fit and raring to peak against the Poms by July next year, they will be as knackered and injured as England have been going into the last 10 Ashes series – except for 2005.

If England are lucky, as they were at Edgbaston in 2005 when McGrath stepped on a ball and effectively injured himself out of the series, Stuart Clark – who is horribly similar to McGrath – will be exhausted by the winter schedule, though he is sensible enough not to have signed for IPL, yet. Brett Lee will be 32 by next summer, and averages 40 against England and almost four runs an over; so whatever Australia's pace resources are, they cannot match up to Steve Harmison, Andrew Flintoff, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad and Simon Jones, provided four of them are on song.

Aussie Tour, BD Defection to ICL and Munaf Patel to Baroda

With the unfortunate and condemnable (i guess thats too little a word) blasts in the capital city of the country, the Aussie tour might run in trouble and we could see the typical antics from the Oz and then their enemies Poms to follow. There are already reports emnating from Ozland about the security apprehensions in the country and it might happen that the tour could be scrapped.

Unfortunately the venues Aussies play in India are the cities which were hit by the terror blasts. Tour games happen in Hyderabad and Jaipur. The first Test happens in Bangalore and Delhi hosts 3rd Test.

Not the right forum to say but I strongly feel that the "government" (if any) headed by the Italian blonde babe and her puppets should come out strongly on the home grown breed of terrorists. Having said that if wishes were horses, then we would have been a better country than what we are now.

Meanwhile BD players are on line to sneak into ICL many of which are current players who played last in Australia in addition to the discards like Bashar and all. Frankly who bothers if BD play IPL or ICL or international cricket. If this defaction happens, its good for international cricket and a bit bad for Mahela Jaywardhena s men. They wont get free bunch of wkts for the cheat and Mendis. Ian Chappell writes a very good write up on place of BD in international cricket here.

Munaf Patel moves to Baroda from Maharashtra in Ranji trophy. I hope the lanky bowler makes up for his renewed vigor for international cricket in his new team and improves on his work ethic. If he maintains good form in international cricket, Baroda might miss him in Ranji games.

BCCI must do whatever to ensure that Oz tour is not scrapped. And the chief has a major say in the government affairs as he is also a minister in bunch of Union jokers :)

End of Symmo ?

So what was feared has come out to be true. Symmo isnt figured anymore in Oz squad for Indian Test series and that practically sound an end for him. Tough to understand the reason why he snubbed the team meeting for fishing. Was that more important for him than 4-5 yrs of fruitful and rockin career ? Thats where defining the priorities come to picture. You got to think whats more important for you ? And thats when you got to take the call and act accordingly on the choice you make. Symmo made a wrong choice and he is paying huge huge price for it. Not only it is unfair for him, but also for world cricket.


Barring Symmo out of the Indian tour, the gloss of the series has been lost. I fear the next generation of players from both teams wont be able to sustain the intensity and passion we have seen in the series in this decade. The classic tag might soon be archived. The maverick nature of pros like Bhajji and Symmo is essential to keep the flare alive for the series. Would you shell out hard earned money to watch McGain bowl to Rohit Sharma or a Suresh Raina ?

Aussies have chosen a weak team, which gives India an edge to start with. Experience is the key in crucial series and India has aplenty of it. Even if you take out 109 out of the cumulative experience, you got 150 from Tendulkar, 132 from skipper, 97 from VVS, 125 from RD, 70 from Bhajji and 60 from VS + 53 from Zaks. Stack that against Aussies and you see India way ahead of the fiercest rivals.

Only 4 players -- Ponting, Hayden, Katich and Clark(Pup) have played a Test in India before. And Hayden, Ponting are injured. Aussies lack a genuine spinner. Ok McGain is a M, but he is not Mendis or a chuck, so Indians wont submit to him. Krezza is a rookie, Boulinger and Siddins wont get a game. So its more or less in the hands of Lee, Johnson and Clarke to share the load of bowling.

Jacques and Watson/Katich/Hayden 's opening pair doesnt look as intimidating as Hayden and Langer. Batting looks a bit settled with Clark and Hussey as main anchors.. It would be the last time the Fab 5 of Indian cricket would take on the Aussies home or away. And nothing short of classic series win would suffice for the greats of Indian cricket.

Whatever be the team compositions, the series promises to be a cliffhanger and close one. Depends if it would be classic as 2001, 2003 or 2007. Wish that Symmo is out for now and would be back soon. He would be certainly missed, after all we have not forgot that he took the Test away from us in Sydney no matter riding on luck and bad umpiring.

Bunny Ponting

How about Bhajji and Ishant Sharma naming Ricky Ponting as their bunnies together. Ponting has had absymal record in India, thanks to Bhajji and before Adelaide Oval 100, Ishant Sharma troubled Ponting in Australia. To add to his woes, he is coming straight out of the injury. Not enuff match practise. Distractions in form of Fishgate, a weak team and lack of experience are other issues in front of Ponting. Why dont Indian players esp bowlers or Sehwag start the mental disintergration job for Aussies ?

Would be interesting to see how tough minded Aussies cope with this ?

SL worthy of Spirit of Cricket Award ? Noooo

How can Sri Lanka be awarded the ICC Spirits of the Year award when they have two illegal chucker bowler in their ranks in :

1) Muralitharan

2) Lasith Malinga

Aint they killing the spirits of the game ? Isnt the Chuck earning cheap wkts against the likes of BD and Zim ? 200 odd wkts in 23 Tests against this 2 minnows. Is that boosting spirits of cricket ? ICC adjudicators (minus Siddath Vettimuny) got to answer that. IMHO SL kill the spirits of cricket in worst way like no other team in the world does.

English Double Talk

When IPL was underway, England spoke of how 20-20 would hamper the international cricket and how bad it is for the spirit of cricket. ECB didnt allow its contracted players to sneak into IPL and as a result the English cricketers were stuck up with a loveless relationship with glamourless NZ and won the series. But were rightly deflated by South Africa later, which saw the end of Michael Vaughan as skipper and perhaps as cricketer too.

Now on a roll for time being with a test victory and 4 ODIs on trot against SA, for English authors it seems like England is the BEST team in world and they can rightly topple Australia from top of test and ODI tables. They have scant or no regard for Indian tour. They see it as a forced opportunity and they are furious about the choice of venues for ODIs and Tests.

If English calendar has its own importance, then so does Indian calendar. Nobody cannot disregard India's calendar in international cricket. And now English media is going gaga over Stanford 20-20 Super Series in Antigua in October. Now that England is on winning ways and is involved in some serious money encashment, the talks about 20-20 overdose and Test spirits have taken a backseat and every day you would find an English author whinning how good the Stanford SS would be and how united England team is. Sad to see that English authors still see India as a country where their players would fall sick on the day of a test match or it is polluted and a dustbowl. Guys, you are not needed anymore. Your series isnt that lucrative as Australia's. You won a test series last time against India about 12 years back. Since then you lost 2, drew 2. Remember last Indian tour -- 6-1 defeat in ODIs.

why this double talk ? If India runs IPL successfully and English players aint part of the cash bonanza, IPL is a threat. But on the other hand Stanford Super Series is rewarding for England given the fact they are fancing their chances on victory bowl of 4 ODis vs SA. How come such a shift in paradigam all of a sudden ?

That is aap pahne to chaddi, hum pahne to pajama. Why ?

Punish hime for his misdeeds!!

This dude takes on the support of vengsarkar and Sharad Pawar to be in the team. This man in his last ODi scored a 90 and a 100 in one before that. He has been suggested to retire from international cricket, cos he is no good and he plays for himself. He has slowed down, his reflexes are weak, he is injury s pride and cricket s curse. He has been shunned by Pepsi for youngistan meri jaan campaign for the kids who are not even the age of the number of years the man has played selfish cricket for India.

Famed for most 90s in a year than the combined number of 90s and 100s the youngsters of India have scored in their career, the man is now a burden on the team and a roadblock in a youngster s career. His replacement in ODI series against SL set world on fire with the scorelines of 28*, 6, 3 and has created noise to be in the team after years of ignorance.

The man is termed GOD by few fantics and is termed by Sir Don as replica of himself in his younger days. One of the very few batsmen to have conquered the legend of Shane Warne, this man has made 81 hundreds in international cricket, which any youngster of today can make it. Its a kid's play to score 81 tons of which 18 are against Australia and 11 against England.

He hails from Mumbai and is city's last batsman of note. Old, selfish, sucker, this man has been nominated for ICC ODI player of the year 2007 when he scored 1310 runs in 28 games with 1 100, 8 90s. Selfish right. Eight 90s, if converted to 100s make the count to 50 in ODIs and 90 in all. This man now is a liability on the team and at the max should go and retire himself from the international cricket.

This man is Sachin Tendulkar. The ugly face of Indian cricket.

Inconsistent Selections

By dropping Saurav Ganguly out of the RoI squad, the selectors have opened a pandora box. They have let the cat out of the bag. The axe is totally unfair and uncalled for. The grounds on which Ganguly has been dropped aint satisfactory. Since his comeback he has had one dull series and since he has been the one on tight rope ever since he lost his captaincy, he was dropped.

If we look at the stats since his comeback he stands tallest amongst all batsmen in 21 Tests in the duration (Dec 06 - Sep 08) with 1600+ runs @ 46. Not even Dravid, not even Tendulkar or Laxman have scored this many runs. So whats the criteria for selection committee to drop Ganguly ? Form ? Fitness ? Politics ? What ?

I still reiterate that the so called young guns aint ready for Test transit. Unfortunately the guys who were supposed to have eased out to the test mode aint confident over their ability. You can say some of them have been unfair like Kaif who got an axe following every worthy inning he played (91 against England 06, 148 vs WI 06)or you can say some of them didnt deserve to play 23 Tests who yet to date dont know their responsibilities. Yuvraj, that is.

By far Kaif and Yuvraj should have been ready to take the Test places, but they are not. Unfortunately Australia is not the team against which you can throw in young rookies citing change or transition. Success against them might boost them and the road to fame would be easier, but in case they fail then the career would be gone and finished. We certainly wont need a future prospect ruin his chances this way.

To be very honest, SL series is the only series in many years when the Fab Four have failed. Australia 07, Pakistan 07, England 07, South Africa 06, West Indies 06 -- all series have had Fab four firing the guns. You got to be consistent in deciding criteria to drop or retain a player. Performance should be the single most criterion to judge a place. Doesnt matter if the player is 35 or 25. Rohit Sharma hasnt played any significant innings post CB series 2nd final. Yuvraj Singh has squandered away all starts he has got in ODIs. The 2 guys are integral part of ODI scheme of things.

And Ganguly isnt. I wont yet write off Saurav Ganguly. He is a fighter and he would claw back in the team with even greater vengenance than before. He can be down, but not out. He would fight out this crisis and trust me he would emerge victorious yet again.

Mendis Diarrohea...

Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lankan spinner, has said he will need to find ways to beat the Indians after they managed to play him reasonably well during the recently-concluded one-day series.

Mendis forgets that there are 8 other teams than India that he is gotta play cricket against. And for another year or 2 there is no test / ODI cricket scheduled against India. So dood come over of India fantasy. And when you tour next time to India, I am sure you would be sorted out. And when great Shane Warne was nipped into the oblivion, then who the hell are you dood.

Irani trophy.

The selectors choose the RoI squad for the Irani Trophy -- the season kickass starter today. And the choice of skipper (MSD or AK) would say a big deal about the plans to come for the rest of the season. RoI is going to be virtually the Test squad going to play against the Aussies minus the openers and the premier bowler who troubled Ponting down under -- Ishant Sharma.

If MSD plays, then it doesnt make sense to pick one more keeper. If MSD is up for Tests, then I dont think PP or DK are playing unless MSD is injured or Gambhir gets a slump in the form. So i dont see any reason for Karthik or Pappu Patel to play.

Fab four and Kaif along with Raina would form the batting line up. Zaheer, Munaf, Santh and RP could be the front runners for the pace attack and with Kumble, Bhajji forming what we call as the spin attack.

Fingers crossed.

Update :

The squad is declared with Ganguly not bein selected for the trophy. That doesnt mean his career has ended. He would be right there to take on the Auzzies in Chinna stadia. And few pointers if the squad indicates :

1. MSD got to wait for Test captaincy a bit longer. Pretty logical.
2. No new "yung shot" for test series against the best.
3. Jaffer -- bhai konsi chakki ka aata khate ho ? 175 runs in 11 innings and you still in dude. Ganguly 600+ in 11 innings and he finds himself out. Perhaps thats an advantage Mumbai has when its got a reputed ex-player as selectos head. No matter how irrelevant it might seem as cricketing logic might suggest. Rohit Sharma still finds a place. Dhanya he.

Comment karo bhai.

MSD worth Test Captaincy ?

Every one is saying "give Tests captaincy to Mahendra Singh Dhoni". Few say "Sack Kumble". Another few say "Let Kumble play till he wants and then as natural progression, the test captaincy would go to MSD".

Now a question from my end to those who savior MSD as Test skipper. Dhoni took a break from the SL Test series complaining of fatigue. A break where he walked the ramp, did endorsements and stuff like that. In a nutshell everything except cricket.

Kumble s men struggled to a rookie and a cheat in Lanka. Lost the series. Now MSD came back and won the ODI series for India. Fair and awesome.

Before we create a hype about his captaincy for Tests, did somebody ask Dhoni if he is ready to play Tests again for country or is he happy leading India in ODIs and T20? What would be the priorities for Dhoni in december 08 -- Champions Trophy or India England Test series ? Does anybody know the answer ?

Why did MSD take a break during SL test series ? Didnt he think to take a rest during IPL (haha) or the 2 meaningless ODI tourneys in June ? Why did he play in Kitply Cup and Asia cup and skipped the Test series ? And is it worth to give the captaincy to a player who is selective in representing the country on international level ? Dont they say that Tests are the ultimate challenge for a player ?

Would somebody like to address this question ? Committed players look for taking a break from meaningless ODIs and T20s, our skipper takes it from the meaningful Tests. And didnt he see how his replacements worked in Test matches ? Dropped chances which could have turned the series either way ? Didnt MSD feel that he was being missed by the team in Tests where he has evolved to a great deal in past 1 yr starting Lords 2007 or even during the Windies tour of 2006 ? Some questions which MSD or ppl supporting him for Test captaincy got to answer!!

Commitment and Bangladesh s place in International cricket ?

Alright, the rare lull in Indian cricket. No games, no international fixtures. All cool and calm. Cricketers free to do what they want to after a long gruelling season in the past and upcoming. Dhoni decides to get a degree for himself, Yuvraj decides to walk the ramp (thats what expected of him this days) with Sania Mirza givin sleepless nights to Shahid Kapoor (Sania s beau), Zaheer decides to make a mock of himself on the ramp.

What the heck do seniors do ? Rather than sitting home with retirement announcements, they make themselves battle ready by playing for different teams in available first class tournaments in India at the start of season.

1. Sehwag and Gambhir play for Delhi in Nisar Khan tourney where Ranji champ takes on Pakistan's domestic champ. They also play for Delhi in Irani trophy later this month as a run up to the Aussie series.
2. Rahul Dravid -- the ex Indian captain decided to play in Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai for Karnataka as non captain. Thats something to get back in the groove.
3. Tendulkar the fallen corporate brandsman now declares himself fit and is available for Irani trophy. Robbed a slot for "youngster" in Irani trophy?
4. MSD, AK, SG (currently training in Eden Gardens) are expected to play for RoI in Irani trophy with AK or MSD as skipper (remember captaincy debate ?)

Have you heard of any such news from the young players tipped for replacing the Fab 4 ? Raina, Sharma any one ? Sharma has been in poor run since IPL days and has he decided to do anything to get rid of this ? Did you hear Yuvraj slogging out in nets to come out of lump ? That says about the commitment the young generation has for cricket. And we want this lurky lads to represent India in its most important series ?

Meanwhile BD lost yet another series to Australia and has invited some more questions over its place in ODIs and Tests ? Do we need headless chickens to play for the sake of expansion of the game and get thrashed every game they play ? Not even a single game BD could run close to Australia's second string XI who played in this series. So what is the use of them playing the ODIs at the top level ? Degrade them. Have best 8 teams play each other. May be that wud not help likes of Murali who like to increase their wikat count by hunting poor Bangaladeshi batsmen in heaps.

Rahul Dravid

Is the guy over or finished ? Should he retire and make way for geeks like Raina or Sharma ? Rahul Dravid, who not so long ago was the indian skipper and one of the mainstay of Indian batting in ODIs and Tests. He was the man who won us the series in West Indies after 35 years and in England after 21 years. Mean achievements ah ?

And not to mention a superb run with the bat during Ganguly's era. Hand in epic victories in Adelaide, Headingley, Perth (greatest of all overseas win), RawalPindi, West Indies and many such far away neverlands where India was never successful historically. He has been struggling for runs this year and the last year. He has been looked pedestal against the likes of Mendis and every cheating Muralitharan, but that doesnt take away the gloss away off a superb batting career for India.

He has been the captain who has been under severest of media scrutiny and undue pressure from ex-cricketers who were like a whiff of sand before him. He had to deal with the tantrums of an ego rich coach in Greg Chappell and then deal with the post world cup failure of 2007 and a coach less period for most part of 2007.

I dont think Dravid has finished or should retire now or in a year. He is just 35 and the law of averages has stuck him for the first time in 9 years. Thats fair. Every batsman goes through a high or a low and this is not a new phenomenon. Going on since 1876 when Test cricket began. The crap media scrutiny has began few years back. He has had to face most of the scrutiny in the past 3 years since the era of Ganguly as captain ended. First he was hailed for his winning ways with Chappell, then he was accused of plotting SG s down fall which appeared kiddish to me. The blokes have played their test cricket and odis together like conjoined twins. They have been delight to watch and the media goons got nothing better than plotting 1 against the other.

And then Dravid was compared to peerless Tendulkar. They both dont compete against each other, they play with each other. No other pair has ever made more runs for 3rd wkt partnership than the peerless pair of Tendulkar and Dravid. Occasional success of over enthusiastics like Raina and Sharma cant force the man of stature liek Dravid to go back and call curtains on his peerless career. And neither can any of the selector present or the future who were not even as half as good as the man from Bangalore himself.

I back Dravid totally to come good against his fav opposition in his home turf where he doesnt boast a very good record (60 in 2004 against Aus is his highest), yet he would overcome his nerves and resucrrect his career for another 2-3 years. Critics better watch out and be prepared to fag yourself in the dust bowl nearby.

Gary Hit Wickets Himself

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is "ready" to captain India in all forms of the game but added that there was no immediate need for change because Anil Kumble was doing "an exceptional job" leading the Test side.

"He [Dhoni] is ready for it [Test captaincy] but there is no need to rush as of now. Anil has done an exceptional job, he is a great leader. He is prepared to do 30 overs in a day but he is on the other side of the physical side of the game

Well said Gary. I really doubt the timing and the validity of this statement, right before the biggest series of the year is set to begin in a month s time. Alright MSD is cool cucumber and is very inspirational skipper in short format of the game, but then has Kumble lost it ? He is still fit to play and is very good candidate to lead India in his home ground against Australia on Oct 9.

This kind of immaturish statements which is also holdin quite a paradox is not needed on coach's part and that raises questions over Gary Kirsten's commitment to the Test team. The blokes he coaches in the Test team are one time opponents of the dood and I feel there could be a certain awkwardness in Gary s mind to tip the Fab 4 or skipper.

Whatever it is this is not a good statement to make. With time MSD is set to get the Test captaincy as well, no doubt. But not by replacing Kumble just cos MSD has won a ODI series in SL. Replacing Kumble wont be a very good gesture to return to the immense and invaluable service Kumble has given to Indian cricket since last 18 years. And Gary might not get this, but the selectors got to get it in their head.

England s resurgence, Roy s indiscipline and Mahela s fool paradise

Mahela thinks that India gave in to the pressure created by Sri Lankan bowlers in the recently concluded ODI series which his team lost 2-3. May be he forgot that his top order always collapsed barring 1st ODI and before team could reach 100 runs most of the batsmen were back in the hut. Thats what you call fool's paradise. Good for him if he s got to cool off his bruised ego and a pride swayed in loosing back to back ODi series at home turf.

There are already talks of how England is resurgent and how they can take on Australia in both forms of the game. Alright, they have done a terrific job of beating Zulus 4 times on trot. But resurgence good enough to beat Australia ? Every time England wins a series after a long spell of losses, they come back and claim they are ready to take on Australia. Chill off Poms. Before they get ready to face off Oz next season, Poms got to take on India in India and West Indies in West Indies. That counts for some efforts right doesnt it ? Last time they toured India, they lost 1-6 in ODIs. So guys take it easy. And two claps for KP and Freddie. Still England dont look intimidating as a ODI side.

And have we seen the end of Andrew Symonds ? If so then its a huge loss for the world cricket. He is too good a cricketer to loose to a phishin session. Attitudes cost players dear but then they got to look at his utility and presence in the team. His roles, responsibilities. Rather than showing him the door, a closed door one on one feedback sharing team 's concerns with the maverick dood would have been a better option. may be Australia can afford loosing Symmo given their rich bench strength, but any other team cannot think of loosing a player like Symmo. Look at pakistan, they lost Shoaib and Asif, they are no more the same team they were before. A choice finally has to be made out of the discipline and value of a player to the team. Australia are already into a transition mode and they got to take a call if they can afford to loose a player of caliber of Symonds for the tough season ahead which involves India series, African safari and of course overhyped Ashes in England. They have already lost Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Gillespie , Martyn and Hayden is injured with no visible decent spinner in sight, it would be tough for them to beat India in India.