His innings of 124 in Nottingham against India before he played on Zaheer Khan was his last innings of substance in Tests.
He would surely be clubbed amongst the best English captains of all times and one of the best captains of this decade along side Steve Waugh, Saurav Ganguly, Stephen Fleming and to an extent Ricky Ponting.
in addition to some decent performers like :
indicates that the mission youngistan launched in 2008 CB series hasnt quite worked out as per the expectations. The core players who perform have remained the same all through out the 2000s. The ones who made their debut and mark under Sourav and Rahul. The top scorers in last 2 year bull run in ODIs starting Pakistan series home are same who have been the top performers in 2003 world cup and then in subsequent years.
Dravid was dumped after just one poor series in India vs Australia and more for his age. But the fact remains that India has found no good batsman than him in the conditions prevalent in WI series 2nd ODI. When the ball swings, there are no better batsman than Sachin and Rahul at the crease. I dont know if Rahul would ever play a ODI in his remaining career, but he is way better than the likes of Sharma, Raina and Karthik including Y Pathan even at 36.
The core batting group for India remains Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar (choosy in ODIs), Yuvraj, Dhoni even today which was no different than the Sourav era or even Dravid era. So what different has Mr Vengsarkar led selection panel achieved ? Threw caps at will to some undeserving players like Sharma and Y Pathan who has more ducks than 50s in his career so far. Vengsarkar was instrumental in rise of Tendulkar 22 years back, but he failed in the vision to bring similar players or half the 10% of talent of Tendulkar to the forefront. The replacements of injured players are those who cannot be relied to be long term players in ODIs.
You cannot expect the likes of Badri, Karthik or Sharma to play for India for even 2-3 years with their temparament. Screw quota allegations or being hater of TN charges on me, the field performances suggest that the likes of Raina, Sharma and Pathan -- the 3 next big things predicted in 2007 have failed. The mission 2011 has lost its direction a bit for now.
The bowlers look even more concerning. Barring Zaheer Khan and occasionally Praveen Kumar on swinging wickets, there are no express bowlers of caliber of even a Umar Gul who supposedly thinks reverse swing is an art gifted by GOD or even Bret Lee or Albie Morkel. Spin bowling is in tatters. Harbhajan is a bowler who likes more to contain than strike. Ojha is relatively new to the field, but its difficult for him to pip Harbhajan and find a consistent place in the team XI.
There is a question of intent on the so called young gifted players in the side. Are they motivated enough to play for the country? Why is it they shine in IPL, but fail to make any impact in ODIs or not considered worthy enough to replace a Dravid or a Tendulkar in the Tests. Laxman would be the last one to go of the Fab Five in Tests, but with whom he would rally along when Sachin and Rahul are gone ?
It took a while for Ganguly, Dravid and Kumble to make a mark in the ODIs. Tendulkar made his 1st 100 in 6 years but then a Indian 100 in ODIs was a rare phenomenon. It was hard to believe then that it was Siddhu who hold the record for most 100s in ODIs. If they took some time, but then there was never a question mark on their intent and competency. More over their attitude. It never struck to the viewers then that this players wont be the ones they turned out to be.
We dont even see the spin bowling today to be as reliable as it was when Kumble was in his peak in ODis. It was Azhar who used to throw the ball to Kumble in first 15 overs and he used to strike back immediately. Now is there anybody who has the attitude of Kumble, let go his skills. His attitude was even evident in IPL - 2 final which was inconsequential by every means. Not only he did lead by front, but delivered with the ball too. I bet if you can expect that today from his partner and so called lead of bowling.
A number 8 team in ODis beats the best ODI team of last 2 years with 100 balls to spare and 8 wkts in hand. Thats ridiculous to say the least. And picture turns even more pessimistic to see the way the likes of first 3 and then the next 3 after 4 and 5 went. If the likes of RP singh can last for 75 balls, then why not Mr Sharma or Mr Pathan ? Or for that matter Mr IPL Dancer ?
Its time to look for new players for the slots of Rohit Sharma and Yusuf Pathan. May be Pathan can be a good bet in WC'11 in home conditions, but he would certainly be a cropper in abroad. Its time to look for players who are hungry to make their mark in the international cricket, not necessarily the best of talented players but the ones who are ready to put their best and even beyond that for the country, not just IPL or domestic cricket.
I rest my case.