Aftermath

So India as expectedly is out of the T20 World cup just like they did in 2009. So its safe to conclude that they are not good enough in the format despite boasting of so called successful sporting league that’s none but one man show thus far. The worst effect it has had over the national team is that they forgot the intensity needed to display in the team as playing together. Dhoni famously said for the need to be in the semis for an IPL when the owners pay them so much money. What about the national team when more than billions watch the team play and put their hopes and expectations on the players to do well, if not win everything they play. At least they expect the best players could put in every game and then they lose, nobody would complaint.

We are not a good T20 team and we should accept the fact with the pinch of salt. IPL is not cricket and it can be watched for fun and excitement, but never it can replace the pride and honour to play for the country. Few players have felt that playing in IPL would get them the booty securing their lives and playing for India is an added bonus that gets them the additional money. So performance goes for a toss. Such players are:

·         Yusuf Pathan

·         Yuvraj Singh

·         Zaheer Khan

·         Rohit Sharma

·         Dinesh KArthik

·         Murali Vijay

·         Harbhajan Singh

The intensity this players shown in the IPL was amazing and sadly that intensity on the field in Indian colors was missing.  How many wickets did Zaheer and Harbhajan take in the games they played ? 0. They have 235, 208 wkts in ODIs respectively, 245 and 355 (approx) wickets in Tests respectively and are the leftovers of the side that Ganguly made in early 2000s. Sadly Lalit Modi has spoiled this cricketers.

The captaincy was baffling, he made same mistakes every now and then. Preferring over Jadeja even after his class was exposed time and over, ignoring Chawla (though he did not deserve to be here at first place) playing 2 spinners on a fast bouncy tracks, having pedestals as bowlers (Zaheer, Nehra, Vinay LKUmar can never bowl short balls the way Indians faced from mediocre West Indies team) and repeatedly coming down the order despite the fact he is well known player for short and spin bowling than the likes of JAdeja, Pathan and so forth.  Bowling first was good option when they had the form of 2006 in ODIs when they won everything chasing. But then they had Dravid and Tendulkar in the team who can face short bowling with aplomb.  It was pathetic to see Gambhir jumping to the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Kemar Roach in the T20s when he has had dominated better bowling attacks home and away.  

So what are the factors that led to Indian exit in the World T20s when the weaker and pathetic teams Lanka and Pak got through to the semis:

·         Poor team selection : Everybody said so, I say the same. Srikanth erred in his Chennai prem and ignored the better in form players of IPL – Manish Pandey, Robin UThappa and Virat Kohli who’s had wonderful ODI season this year. In the bowlers he preffered Nehra, Zaheer, Praveen Kumar and Vinay Kumar who never form a quartret to frighten the opposition. Dinesh Karthik was opener and Vijay was replacement to Sehwag, whose absence in both T20 editions was felt. Needless to say he is one of the 2 batsmen successful in ODIs and Tests for India over a year now.  What can you expect of team that has Vijay and Karthik as openers in comparison to Watson, Warner (Aus), Jaywardhene(SL),  Keiswetter, Lumb (England) and even bugger Akamal (Pakistan). Not to forget Gayle for Windies.

·         Sehwag’s absence was hugely felt. He cannot be replaced by duds like Karthik or Vijay, even they hail from CSK.

·         Dhoni’s fascination for PAthan and Jadeja. He is turning the mules to horses when they do not qualify even as Asses.

·         Its time to call curtains for Jadeja and Pathan in the LoIs. They are not just good enough for the highest level of cricket. Not good ethically and not good physically.

·         Dhoni erred in tactics. He kept taking on bowling first and then opted for part timers.  When the track was bouncy, he opted for spinners.  Many times he came lower down the order than Pathan and Jadeja.

·         Selectors chose the team on reputation and not on the form and fitness. Regional favoritism was shamelessly displayed.

So who are those bakras who should be axed but wont be:

·         Harbhajan Singh from T20Is. He is best bowler for Tests but no more for ODIs and T20Is.

·         Yuvraj Singh from all three till he comes back leaner, meaner and fitter.

·         Vijay

·         Karthik

·         Pathan

·         Zaheer Khan from T20s and possibly ODIs too. He is not that effective in LoIs now.

We have had enough of IPL ruining our chances in international formats. None of the cricketing fraternity is gonna remember IPL winners years on from now, but yes the world cup winners would be. I don’t find anything wrong in Dhoni’s statement that IPL parties played a big role in the exit. Likes of Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Raina, Rohit, Zaheer, Pathan were regulars in IPL nights.  They were exhausted and by the time real test came, they were croppers.

IPL should be scheduled far away from the ICC events. Next year India hosts its biggest sports event in CWC ( way bigger than C’wealth games). So if IPL is scheduled before it, we should kiss the dreams of a world cup win good bye.

If a large responsibility lies on coach, skipper for this debacle, a lot of it lies with selectors too and Kris Srikanth at the max for the continuous dubious teams he is selecting.  The replacements for Yuvraj, Pathan and Jadeja are right here.

Kohli  for Yuvraj

Uthappa for Pathan with an added bonus of wicket keeping. That’d keep DK away

Pandey for Jadeja.

Yuvraj Singh is more on reputation than the form now.  He deserves rest to sort out his off the field problems whatsoever. Jadeja and Pathan are not over franchisee class, perhaps they should stick to the franchisee cricket. Dinesh Karthik, Vijay and other lesser TN players would keep coming and harming the chances of Indian team as long Srikanth, the worst selectors chief ever in memory, is around.  Sacking Dhoni and Kirsten for T20  failure would be a unfair thing to do as they have done commendable tasks in Tests and ODIs, the formats that really matter.

After all lets accept that T20 is not India’s cup of tea despite boasting of a chicken tandoori item called IPL.

Dinesh Karthik in numbers

Dinesh Karthik is a hot issue debated over and over on this blog. Does he deserve consistent selections in all 3 teams despite his consistent inconsistent performances with ball (oops he does not ball), bat and gloves (he seldom keeps).

 

Lets have a look at his performance in each of the 3 formats over last 15 months to give him some benefit of doubt.

 

Tests

 

Last 12 months he has played just 1 Test against lowly Bangladesh and has scored just 27 runs. So let’s rewind a little bit more in the past and have a look at his figures:

 

Okay for 24 months:

 

Here are his figures:

 

4

69

27

9.85

0

-

-

-

-

9

0

 

Played 4 Tests, made 69 runs with a highest 27 against BD. Average of 9.85.  2 of this tests were against SL, 1 against NZ and 1 against BD. Made 36 in 2 against SL in a series which saw dooms for the Fab Four of the Indian Test lineup. So if the fab four failed who is he to succeed ?  And then in 2009 he played one against Kiwis and made just 6.   Took 9 catches and no stumpings.  Career average is 28 odd runs per innings in 23 Tests, major chunk of which he played in 2007 when Sehwag was out of the Test squad thanks to DBV.

 

So whenever any player in Tests gets injured he is named in. Mostly when MS rests or injured.  In SL he was competing with Parthiv Patel who played his last Test till date in 2008.

 

Tests Verdict : Failure.

 

Reason he is in : Selectors fail to see beyond him as reserve wicket keeper in Tests and though he is said to have worked over his batting, the same does not reflect in the figures.  So the only reason he is in is due to the quota system reinforced by Mr Srikanth.

 

Now lets have a look at his T20I numbers:

 

He has played just 8 games and he has made 87 runs in those 8 games. Highest is of 31* he made against SA, India’s inaugural T20 game, Sachin’s only T20I and his only match winning innings for India.

 

8

87

31*

17.40

0

-

-

-

-

4

2

 

Average of 17.40 for a frontline batsman opening or in the middle order is very poor. He has not kept for India in T20Is in recent memory thanks to the captain who is a keeper. 

 

T20I verdict  : Failure.

 

He is in just cos Srikanth blah blah.

 

ODIs

 

In 2 years he has played 15 games and has scored 439 runs with an highest  of 79 vs SA in the same game when Sachin scored 200.

 

filtered

15

439

79

39.90

0

-

-

-

-

4

2

 

High average of 40 almost, thanks to couple of not outs he’s had and that’s bulged his average to a flattering figure of 40.

 

 

Further breakup of his figures against teams show following:

 

v Bangladesh	1	34	34	34.00	0	-	-	-	-	0	0
v New Zealand	1	4	4	4.00	0	-	-	-	-	0	0
v South Africa	3	134	79	44.66	0	-	-	-	-	0	0
v Sri Lanka	5	115	48	57.50	0	-	-	-	-	3	2
v West Indies	5	152	67	38.00	0	-	-	-	-	1	0

 

He has played as keeper in 2 of this 15 games and as a fielder in 13. Has not played against any strong opposition barring SA and the innings of 79 takes his average to 44.66 from 21.  Has had just 2 50s in the 15 innings he has played.

 

Further breaking down to his scoring pattern he suggests following:

 

5 scores of less than 20 with one not out.

2 50 plus of 67 and 79. 

6 scores between 30 and 48.

 

He has not played a single game against Australia, England and Pakistan – teams with better bowling attacks than Sri Lanka or West Indies or NZ.

 

He has got a decent record in the ODIs in this time frame yet he does not draw any awe getting him into teams consistently.

 

He is in for the Zim tri series ahead of Pandey and Uthappa besides many other players who succeeded in IPL 3.  What’s going to be his role in the ODI team keeping the WC’11 in frame of mind which has already a settled batting line up : Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Raina, Kohli.

 

Where does he fit in ? Does he compete with Kohli along side Uthappa and may be Pandey who are less likely to appear in the ODIs ? Is he going to be a replacement for either of Tendulkar / Sehwag should one of the two get injured? In that case Gambhir steps up and opens. What does Karthik do there ?  And if he has to be played in the capacity of a keeper, then a lot better replacement for him would be Uthappa who kept decently for RCB in IPL 3.  But would Uthappa get a chance to play few ODIs to claim his lost place ?

 

His cameos in  England 2007 ODI series are forgotten but they did play a major role in cementing him as a floater in the middle order which still had Dravid and Ganguly in the team along side Sehwag, Tendulkar,Yuvraj and Dhoni.

 

Angry reactions

Some angry reactions:

·         Why there are no Pandeys, Uthappas in the Indian ODI squad to Zimbabwe ? Why do Pathan, Jadeja and Vijay continue to find a place in LoI cricket ? They aint worth it. Dinesh Karthik is forever inked in the team.  Whats Srikanth upto ? How long are we going to see the likes of Pathan and Jadeja in the teams on the name of being young and promising. There is got to be a time when the promise has to be delivered. We already have had lads who promised a lot but delivered nothing.

·         Short balling has been the nemesis of Indian batting ever since they started playing cricket. That went off for a while when the Fab Four took over followed by Sehwag. But take this 5 out and the culprits are out to seen again. Gambhir, what was he thinking when he nicked the one to the slip yesterday ?

·  

       Ditto for M Vijay. He had a good IPL, agreed. He is not new to international cricket anymore. He has toured alongside Indian teams since 2008 and has been the part of dressing rooms since Delhi Test of 2008 when Gambhir was banned. He played decent knocks in Tests but when Saffers came along he flopped in Nagpur Test this year. After that failure he has played ODIs and T20Is for India without any success. All bcos he hails from same state as chief of selection committee.

Thank GOD, the next World Cup is in India else this batting lineup was not good enough to set right the dismal record of 2007 WC.

Lack of intent

The most shocking and irritating thing to look at today's Indian performance is they lack the intent and intensity to play at highest level.  Nobody wants to win and go to the semis. Esp likes of Pathan, Zaheer, Jadeja, Vijay, Karthik etc.

India crashes out!! (Would as of now)

Lets brace ourselves for another repeat of England 09. Same mistakes, same players and same team. Some things hardly change. Ravinder Jadeja is awful player, his IPL ban proved it. And he let go of some more chances that came his way. He gave 27 runs off 2 overs totalling 65 runs in 4 overs including 9 sixes.  He dropped catches and then he misfielded.

The pitch was supposed to be damp yet there was no trace of fast bowlers in the attack. Zaheer looked pathetic, something a spearhead would be shameful about.  He has not got a single wicket in the tournament. The bowling reserves for fast bowling looks pathetic. R Vinay KUmar and yet to come Umesh Yadav.  Vinay Kumar does not find trust in Dhoni and Umesh Yadav now turns irrelevant.

Even today Dhoni went in with part timers. Raina, Pathan and Jadeja.  Harbhajan was finished off earlier and played off safely. And then it was run feast for Gayle who played magnificent for 97 runs. Fielding was at its worst.

And when it comes to batting lets not talk about the short stuff. Vijay continues to disappoint and he finds place in Zimbabwe tour, thanks to Srikanth.  Dinesh Karthik finds his place too. Good going Srikanth. Himself being an opener he forgot the importance of a good opening start. In absence of Sachin and Sehwag, the opening for India looks awful. Sachin does not play T20Is, but Sehwag is being missed.

India's campaign is over. 3/46 in 9 overs.  T20s is not India's cup of tea anymore when we boast of IPL a so called world beating sporting league.

If Jadeja, Vijay and Karthik are Indian batting future then GOD save Indian cricket.

Ashes in World T20.

England are on roll and they stream rolled past SA by 39 runs. They also became first team to go through in the semis. They are most likely to joined by Australia tonight. And if everything goes per plan then an Ashes repeat seems likely in this edition's World T20 final.

An England vs Australia Final.

Statistical chance of Pakistan

Pakistan still have a slim chance to be in the semis through back door. This is how :

• England beat NZ in the last Super 8 game.
• Pakistan beat SA good enough to leap ahead of SA and NZ in terms of NRR. That could be a positive sign for the belaugured "mentally retarded" players.

Will 2009 Pakistan turn up. Thats every one's guess and no marks for that.

Alam says Pak has retarded cricketers

Pakistan are out of World T20 and the defeat is being blamed on Intikhab Alam who called the team as mentally retarded cricketers who cannot talk in civilized way and cannot dress well. Thats pretty much evident in the way Afridi abuses players and bites the ball.

This year the team cant make an excuse of lack of international cricket. They are playing a lot and losing a lot. It seems they dont want to win. They are playing to lose. Banned cricketers are marrying and practicing in India.

The players take oath on their religious book to ensure they would revolt against captain. That proves the team ethics and respect each individual has for each other.

And when a lunatic like Ijaz Butt leads PCB very little can be expected out of the players who at the max are awful lot indulged in mud slinging than playing for the pride.

Intikhab Alam timed it right and he d ensure that Butt is dislodged this time.

Awful team selection

If likes of Jadeja and Pathan are going to play ahead of Chawla and the IPL heroes Ojha and Mishra, then GOD bless India and its world campaigns. If on basis of 1 innings of IPL likes of Pathan are going to be given chances galore when the fact is proved that he is a lame duck in international games,, then god bless MSD and his team.

The team selected for this campaign was always flawed where one or 2 IPL games were benchmarked and the so called stars were rushed in. Pathan and Vijay are prime examples of this selection headed by Mr Srikanth.

For the must win game tomorrow if India has to win a game then Jadeja should be replaced by Chawla. Jadeja cant bat and cant bowl.  Unfortunately Vijay cannot be replaced. Karthik is even poorer than Vijay.

India's campaign right now resembles 2007 when they lost opening Super 8 game but it could soon go 2009 way if they lose on Sunday.

A lot will depend on which Xi plays tomorrow.

Awful India hurts its chances in World T20

India's performance against Australia was pathetic and ridiculous at its best. Bowlers did not turn up, Srikanth's implant in the team continued to fail as expected, captaincy was insipid, the bowlers like Jadeja and Pathan continued  to baffle and the batting was at max awful. Rohit Sharma turned up for sure, but his brain freeze in 18th over cost India the game, howeverr the chance to win was very little.  I believe Jadeja would be shown the door in the next game. He is not a T20 player. He gifted game to England last T20 with bat and today to Aus with ball.

Period. Nothing deserves more on this shambolic performance by India in years. Thats worst in years.