Missed out on homework, Gang of 4 miss out on Mohali Test

Micky Arthur is no longer a Mickey Mouse. He has come out as a roaring lion in a foreign country, playing everything to the media, in front of media with the blessings of Cricket Australia and backing of Michael Pup Clarke, who himself has graduated to a big black greyhound after the homeworkgate or presentation gate. 

In my career, I was always asked to prepare presentations for the yearly appraisals and I obliged a few times, skipped most of the times. But I was never axed or I never walked out of the job, for it was the only thing that kept my lifestyle going. But then I never play international or state or national cricket. 

Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Khwaja and Mitch Johnson do. They play some serious cricket. Leaving out the Pakistani born Australian player, the other 3 were some serious Aussie cricketers. And as Micky Arthur says they violated the discipline, team ethics and Clarke says the suspension was not based out of one isolated event, but many off the field events. 

Really folks ? Are you that serious ? Are you serious to claw back into the series and try to level it ? And look beyond this series to the biggest test series coming home and away ? Ashes ? You just got rid of your best bowler of the tour who would have enjoyed on the supposedly fast Mohali pitch. You got rid of the only  player other than Michael Clarke to have scored a 100 on Indian soil -- Shane Watson. He is so miffed now that he might leave test cricket and commit himself to T20 cricket altogether. What a loss. 

Arthur has scored a self goal or in cricketing terminology a hit wicket. Whatever be the reasons for the indiscipline or not coming up with the 3 points for self improvement, you don't kick out your players on the eve of the crucial Test match coming up which could be played in typical Australian conditions.  

Look at Indians or Pakistanis or Sri Lankans. They often violate discipline, but they are never thrown out. Look at Pakistani players, they dont talk to each other, but no coach has the power to throw a single Pakistani out of a tour. Heard anytime ?

Micky Arthur joins the list of whacko Australian coaches -- John Buchanan before him who need some wind, some fresh air, some sanity need to be injected in their minds. They don't know a word on player management.  If there was an issue within the team, why throw it open in the media and in a foreign country ? Just because some players did not make a presentation.

Sure there was a breach of coach's orders, but in a situation where you need your best players to stand up to the alien conditions, you need to find alternate ways to crack the whip. Not deselect 4 players, one of which is the vice-captain. And if you ask the players to come up with 3 points to improve, then what the hell are you for ? Are you doing your job Mr Nutcase ? No you are not ? 

As a SA coach, you had the knowledge of Indian conditions, yet when you bring your latest team here, your team folds up without a fight and what the hell do you do ? Suspend 4 players on not doing a homework. Bad ass Mr Arthur. You sound like a sicko principal of school who would not accept anything less than 100 marks out of 100 marks in every subject.

Expectedly the ex-cricketers ripped apart the Mr Bad Ass of Australian cricket, but he got some support from the media.  

In the end the question arises, what if this action was for nothing. What was the cost involved in the axeing of 4 players ?  A series loss in India, a chance to boost Ashes preparations lost ? The next series you play is Ashes in England where the team has lost twice in 2 tours. What would be the result if Pattinson and Johnson were both available to play in Mohali test ? 

You just made a selection harakiri in the 2nd test, lost badly and to cover up your tracks Mr Bad Ass, you axe 4 players on not doing the homework.  Poor call......You ought to lose your job dude.

Ranchi will not host Dhoni's IPL games but his ex-captaincy rival's IPL games

Ranchi too will host IPL games.. But it will not be homeboy's franchisee games. But for the captaincy rival, now ousted, Gambhir's KKR.

It would have been just apt to move a couple of Chennai Super Kings games from Chennai to Ranchi to honor Dhoni's iron fist loyalty to his boss N Srinivasan....But I bet Chennai is CSK's ticket to the finals of IPL every time. That is where Srinivasan can flex some of his power to make some adjustments in the points table when results don't go right for CSK....

Adjustments as in some muscle twisting, pitch doctoring, threats to the other IPL teams (ahead of CSK) to get them banned from next edition of IPL, if they don't comply in letting CSK route them.

Just saying a doubt that millions of Indian cricket fans have in their minds when they see constant inroads of CSK players in the national team.

Sangakara rises from the rubble like "The Dark Knight"

Sangakara quote : 

Gavaskar was a fantastic batsman, and I'm very privileged to have had a career where I am able to go past him. Still I am three centuries behind him, but hopefully I can go beyond him on that count too. I'd still like more runs and more wins. I think that's what motivates all the guys who play."

Yes sir, Sunny Gavaskar was a tremendous batsman in all conditions. Against pace, against spin. In home conditions, away conditions. Excelling against the topmost team of his era -- West Indies without a helmet and scoring 13 hundreds against them. No cheap runs, no cheap hundreds. Grinding hundreds, match saving hundreds.

Sangakara, on the other hand has a lot of cheap runs, cheap hundreds against BD, Zimbabwe. When SL dont find a test opposition, they either invite BD to maul or visit poor Zimbabwe, who are happy to host any team for their lack of cricket and opportunities to budding cricketers. 

He has set a target of "35 to 40 hundreds" to the younger SL batsmen like Thirimanne, Mathews and Chandimal. Hopefully they are not cheap hundreds, if those guys get there when they finish.  Unfortunately the SLC has postponed all home Test series till 2015 in the greed for more money. They do not play more Test cricket after this test series until October and again after that not much tests again (except for a series against Pak). 

A lot has been said on this blog about this 2 SL batsmen (him and Mahela) on how they blabber and make cheap runs.  Only if this folks could have had an appetite for positive cricket, the SLC would not have been deemed as a Test cricket killer board.

Selectors are not making tough calls, they are making stupid calls

Cricinfo mentions that the Sandeep Patil led selection panel is taking hard decisions. It gives the examples of Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan and latest Sehwag.  Yuvraj Singh did not get a long rope when he made a comeback to the Test team this time and he did start strong with a 74 in Ahmedabad. But later on his form tapered and he was dropped. 

His scoreline read 32, 11 in Kolkata, 74, DNB in Ahmedabad, 0 and 8 in Mumbai.  Average of 25 in 5 innings. 

Who replaced him ?  Shri Ravindra Jadeja. Failure with bat, decent with the ball. He shall be persisted with the rest of the test series vs Australia. And will he go to South Africa ? Probably yes, unless he form does not miraculously fade away. 

He is deemed to be an allrounder. An allrounder who can bowl more than he can bat. They say  he provides the 5th bowler option to the team. But he disturbs the batting balance. He is no good enough to score more than scratchy 20s or at the max 30s. What if the top order fails and #5 and #6 are just done with a match saving (or turning partnership)? Will his batting help  if he continues to make scratchy runs ? 

India's next Test series is against SA, NZ and England away. At the max there will be 1 spinner, top 2 if a turning track is provided. Will Jadeja be good enough to be # 2 spinner in away conditions ? If the selection panel says we are grooming the openers for away series, why not groom the # 2 spinner ? Wait do we need to ? We have 3 spinners already, 3 main spinners who are primarily bowlers. Ashvin, Harbhajan and Ojha, 

Will Jadeja be good enough to surpass 2 of the above gentlemen to be # 2 spinner and still bat at 7 ?  The guess is very simple to make. Like Dravid says, India needs to identify its overseas attack. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar might be handy in seaming, swinging conditions, but India will need a pace bowler too. Some one like Steven Finn or James Pattinson.  Umesh Yadav comes close to that but he is out injured and he would make a comeback through IPL. But is IPL a benchmark to judge Test fitness ?

So coming back to # 7 question, if not Jadeja then who ? Dhoni then will need to move back at 7 and a frontline batsman will need to come back. Either Raina, Yuvraj or Rahane or even Sehwag, form permitting.

Did selectors have a plan on who will partner Vijay in Mohali ? Dhawan or Rahane ? If Dhawan is the answer, as he is a natural opener, then what happens to Rahane ? Is he another Manoj Tiwary ? Why is then Rahane even in the team ? 

If Dhawan plays then will he continue to play in South Africa too even if his form dips in IPL and subsequent domestic season later this year ? For that matter Vijay too ? What if Gambhir finds form in IPL, ODIs in England, SL and then domestic season ? Will he continue to be ignored ?

We never would know the answers to the questions because the Indian selectors do not communicate. They continue to operate in primitive days when communication was hard to make. BCCI does not explain the logic behind selections, omissions.  And god knows till when they will continue to operate in this mode. 

So it is very wrong to say selectors are taking hard decisions.  They are making stupid decisions with no logic in it, no substance to it. 

Sehwag finally dropped

I am little confused over Sehwag's drop from the next 2 Tests against Australia. He was long due for consistency and that was not coming. Too many similar dismissals, too many low scores and after 27 runs in 3 innings in home tests vs Australia the axe was due and that happened. 

I will not go in stats,  they are too visible and available on news channels and cricinfo. 

But guys like Sehwag are beyond statistics and numbers. They are gifted players who arrive once in a while and while they are around, the opposition fear the team. Unfortunately off late his form had dipped to such an extent that the very foundation he and Gambhir led in their prolific times was shaken. The long partnerships were not coming, they were losing their wickets in a predictable fashion and too early. 

When legends were around, a quick wicket or 2 did not matter much as Dravid or Laxman or Tendulkar would control the slide. But now with the legends at 3 and 5 gone and Tendulkar nearing his end of career, the onus was on the Delhi duo to hit the purple patch and be more consistent. 

Unfortunately they lost the runs and form at a very wrong time. As a result the team in Mohali will be altogether a new look one. A new opening pair in Vijay and Rahane / Dhawan followed by run machine Pujara, Tendulkar, Kohli and Dhoni. The number 7 is for a scratchy dog who will scratch, scratch and scratch and then shoulder the arms to ball and get bowled.

The next test tour of India is to SA, NZ and then England in next year and half. With the most prolific openers out of the team, it shall be upto the new pair to establish themselves and settle before the tours begin. But that is too far right now. First there are 2 tests in this home series to deal with followed by IPL, a few A  tours, a monsoon season and the home season.

Logic shall suggest Rahane to partner Vijay in the 3rd Test as he has been in the team for almost a year now and still waiting for his debut. But then it is Dhoni and we never know what he shall think.

On a lighter note, may be Sehwag should start playing for CSK and sign a declaration to MSD and Srini that he does not harbor any captaincy ambitions. That might be his ticket to reclaim his spot back.

Sehwag for sure is not done and it is not the end of road for our guy.  He will be back and will return stronger than ever. Sehwag is one reason I shall continue to watch cricket after Tendulkar retires sooner than later.

England's Ashes bragging begins

Have a look at the cricinfo's page for England vs New Zealand Test series. You'd find a lot of blabbering and noise on Ashes prospects and England's almost sure Ashes win home and away.  

New Zealand has for a start dented the confidence in the start of 1st Test match on day 2. Latest England were 5 for 86.

This constant Ashes bragging is not only belittling of their immediate opponent, but it also is a sign of rudeness.  England have clinched Ashes and they defeated India in India. Great, but they have been pathetic in their home series before Ashes. 

Their best spinner is in doubt for the Ashes and England management has little faith in Monty Panesar.  Stuart Broad has his own set of problems and Steven Finn cannot continue to break stumps and get away. Very soon that shall be termed as a no-ball.

And soon as I write this, the 6th wicket is gone. Compton and KP have scored ducks, hyped Root has scored 4. Cook 10 and Bell 23. The conditions are pretty English, overcast and damp. And still a newbie bowler has troubled England. 

England might still recover and win this test match and probably the series as well. But it shall serve them good if they focus right now on Kiwis series and worry about Australia little bit late.

Shri Rahulji Gandhi is the MoM for Hyderabad Test

So who will be the man of the match ?

Ravinder Jadeja ?

If he is the MoM, then  for sure he will be the keynote speaker in the Wharton university replacing Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal. And as a reward he is already standing in the 2nd slip ahead of Tendulkar, who rarely stands in slips. Guess what, he has so quickly replaced the likes of Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman who used to stand in slips in their playing days.

Cheteshwar Pujara or Monk Vijay ?  Monk Vijay should be keynote speaker in IIPM or Kalavati Devi Institute of Technology and Science in Raibareli, UP.

None of the above. 

It will be Shri Rahulji Gandhi, the Congress VP, who has guided Indian team with his ability and silence on a ground named after his dad Rajiv Gandhi to a memorable victory. 

So lets cheer up for Shri Rahul Gandhi, the MoM of Hyderabad Test match, first such instance in the history of Test cricket that a non-player has become MoM.

Chennai Super Kings defeat Australia yet again

Chennai Super Kinks have now defeated Australia 2 out of 2 times. Way to go Uncle Srini. What an inspired selections he has forced. Dhoni in the first test match. Ashvin all over home season taking quick 75 wickets in a year and half,  ignoring all of his overseas failures. 

And then Sir Jadeja. Failing as a batsman, does not matter. Bowling out Clarke 2 times in 2 innings.  12 wickets now in 3 Test matches. I think he is the fastest Indian to reach 12 Test wickets.  

Old Monk, the next one. 167 rums were the best 167 runs any Test player has ever made in the history of Test cricket.   He wanted to show the world what he is capable of. Yes sir, we all know what you are capable of. One century now and he will milk it for next 10 odd test matches. Who knows he might even have earned a ODI and T20I recall. IPL is now less than a month away. CSK are fixed semi-finalists anyways and M Vijay will take them extra yard to the finals.

So who needs Harbhajan now ? Or even Ojha ? Get in any random fast bowler of Chennai Super Kings or a TN fast bowler. Who needs Zaheer Khan ? Or Umesh Yadav.

Meanwhile Australia are disgracing themselves by 1) muddled selections 2) giving wickets to likes of Ravindra Jadeja making him look best ever Indian spinner in eyes of Indian commentators.  

India go 2-0 up and the Border Gavaskar trophy is almost earned back. Thanks to Chennai Super Kings. N Srinivasan will be a hot commodity in England now and for sure ECB will consult the guy to loan his match winners to England team for Ashes series so that England can retain Ashes home and away. In return England might also send few of its players for a full IPL.

Picking up Jadeja is not a best move in interests of Indian cricket in long term

Sir Shri Shri Ravindra Jadeja is bent on proving his critics wrong by performing little bit better than the expectations. But he is excelling only as bowler and underperforming as a batsman. At # 7 he ought to be better than what he is contributing.  He might take few more 2s or 3s in remaining 7 innings of this series and not contribute much with the bat, the captain Dhoni will praise this guy as if he is the best Indian cricketer around. 

But what will happen when India tour SA and NZ next year ? Then will he be needed as 2nd or 3rd spinner ? What if he does not improve as a batsman ? Will he not be a liability then? Should not a batsman be tried out at 6 and Dhoni drop at 7 ? Ojha and Ashvin or Ashvin and Harbhajan are good enough for any touring team. 

And in Kumble's era he and Harbhajan were too good for the visiting lot. But post Kumble, the spin stock in the country has dwindled and Harbhajan is no longer the bowler he was till 2008 and probably he might never be again. And that is why we see selectors making some real comical selections like bringing in Jadeja as allrounder or dropping Ojha or out of nowhere bringing in Rahul Sharma and then dropping him. And yes Piyush Chawla too. 

And Dhoni has been guilty of pushing Jadeja ahead of Harbhajan. Harbhajan is on a comeback trail and he needs his captain's confidence. Very often you see Harbhajan being brought in after Jadeja and Ashvin. That is an insult to the bowler who has played 101 tests and has highest wickets among the bowlers currently playing Test cricket. 

But the best thing Harbhajan Singh can do to get back his lost respect and position is take a 6-for and shut down his critics. And that shall be a warning sign to Sir Jadeja to improve his batting or get lost.

Dhoni 's masterclass 224

So finally India conclude the hard fought win in Chennai by 8 wickets, the largest over Australia in terms of wickets. It was a foregone conclusion since day 3 when MS Dhoni surprisingly scored a career best 224 of 265 balls and that swinged the match India's way.

MS Dhoni is the sort of guy who keeps you on his toes. You cannot form an opinion about him and stick to it. He shall always surprise you. When the entire world  thought, he has lost his TEST mojo, he came back with the innings of 99 and 224 in last 2 completed innings. One of them resulting in a draw and other swinging an even match in India's favor.

One must admire the cool and calm nature of MS when it comes to leading the team. Surely he has got issues in backing his favorite players who more often do not perform, but he surely steps up when needed. In the recently concluded ODI series vs Pak, when India were 5 for 29 on this very ground, he stepped up and scored a 100.

His hair have greyed out and so has his beard, but one thing that still amazes the cricket mad fans of this country is the coolness and calmness he brings to the crease. And several players have attributed that. He might have issues in handling of Sehwag or Yuvraj or Harbhajan, but one thing he never lets go and that is his ability to hit the bad balls and dent the confidence of spinners. 

I am not a very big fan of Dhoni's captaincy in TESTS post 2011 for all he has done is backed his franchisee players and sidelined the real performers and that debate is still on and will continue in future. He has promoted himself to # 6 spot in the lineup, once occupied by VVS Laxman when Sourav was around and later was a musical chair between Yuvraj, Kohli and Raina. Now that the greats are gone and the young lads have stepped in, the #6 spot is now gone to Dhoni. And the impact is immediately visible. 99 and 224 on # 6 in Nagpur and Chennai.

Later today in  the press confrence he did mention that India has found a "Settled" combination at least for this series. What this means is there is not going to be major changes in the batting lineup and the bowling lineup.

What this also means is Jadeja will continue to play at # 7 in Indian conditions and continue to perform poorly with the bat. And yes take 3-4 wickets in a test match with his "hard to get away" bowling.  And with Harbhajan in the team, the best bowler of England series -- Pragyan Ojha will continue to sit out. 

Vijay is not going out so soon and so is Sehwag after the 1st test failure. And so Gambhir, Rahane and Dhawan shall need to wait for their turns to play in the final XI.

Ideally in my opinion the #6 spot should have gone to Rahane and Dhoni should have played at 7 or swap the positions. And Ojha should have come in at an expense of one fast bowler, who seem surplus in the kind of tracks Chennai offered.

But for now let us savior the master class effort of Dhoni, the wicketkeeper batsman in this test and ignore the selection anomalies and follies of Dhoni, the CSK and India captain.  

At times I have felt the need to switch off Indian cricket ever since the likes of Ashvin, Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, Vinay Kumar have come in and started playing for India. But then for every Sharma or Jadeja, there is a Kohli and Pujara which ultimately overcomes the need to switch off.

I do not like the current team as much as I liked Ganguly or Kumble's test team or for that matter Dhoni's test team until the IPL kicked in its evil sons in the Test teams as well.  For me the nostalgia of Ganguly and Kumble's eras will always override momentary wins of Dhoni's IPL shaded test teams.