From: pvr@rice.edu (Narasimha Pvr)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket
Subject: Prabhakar's behavior and his comments (Re: Reflections on the ...)
Date: 6 Apr 1992 21:47:32 -0500
Organization: CS Dept, University of Texas at Austin
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

In article <1992Apr5.071731.7780@casbah.acns.nwu.edu>, sidi@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Sadiq Yusuf) writes:

> In article <9204020530.AA28323@barred.owlnet.rice.edu> pvr@rice.edu (Narasimha Pvr) writes:

> 	Things are not great, but I don't think we get that from
> Prabhakar's comments. Prabhakar is a hot-head, a streetfighter. He often
> gets carried away and makes statements, says things that shouldn't be said

I often see people making that claim. Can you give me a few instances of
Prabhakar "getting carried away and making statements" (apart from this one)?

I agree that he is, as you say, a hot-head and a street-fighter. I don't
defend him on that. But there is a difference between bad behavior on the spot
(which is very often spontaneous) and making a comment to press.

When you bowl a beamer to Martin Crowe, you don't think much. You do it
spontaneously. Because you are a hot-head. Because you are not a sport. But
when you go to press with a statement on a serious thing, you have some time
to think. Almost all Prabhakar's bad actions were spontaneous. I don't recall
any statements by him earlier which tell me he gets carried away and makes
statements.

Also, note that Prabhakar wasn't the only one to criticize Azhar. Bedi,
Pataudi and Vengsarkar also did it after the tour (the last two in the same
magazine). So, I don't see why everyone singles out Prabhakar atacking his
behavior and thus dismissing his criticism.

> and commits actions he's sorry for later ( at least, I hope he's sorry for
> some of his actions :-) I think his statement here is of that ilk. (BTW, I

What you are referring to are actions committed in the heat of it (I am not
justifying them). But when he went to press, he might've thought of it for
some time (and even consulted some players or seniors).

> think it's pathetic that he went to the press critising his captain. No
> player ever ought to do that, no matter what he thinks privately, just not
> done. It's even worse than Bedi's statements in England, and his "throw 'em
> into the ocean" incident in Australia. This is IMHO, BTW)

If he (and the team) thought Azhar was pathetic, he did a laudable thing by
saying it loud. If he was selfish (like, say, he wanted Kapil (of his zone) to
be the captain or was acting at the behest of some selfish group of people)
and wasn't sincere in his criticism, it's bad. There is no way we can know his
exact intentions. But the fact that he wasn't alone in his criticism makes me
think the feeling is shared by some other members of the team. It's just my
perception of the situation.

Bedi's celebrated Pacific ocean statements are definitely in a worse taste. He
wasn't doing anything good by his comments. Prabhakar, OTOH, was voicing the
popular opinion in the team (if that be the case, that is) which is good
because no team can have a captain who, after 2 years of experience as a
captain, is still perceived by his team mates as a bad captain. So, I
don't agree that this is worse than Bedi's comments. [This is IMHO, BTW :-).]
No one can beat Bedi! :-)

> >MANJREKAR:

> 	Agree with most of what you say here. Not enough experience, just 2
> years younger than Azhar and much fewer tests. Hasn't captained Bombay
> enough, and didn't do that well when he did ( I still can't believe we lost
> the final last year. *sob*). May be a good prospect in the future, tho

Don't sob :-). Be proud that your team gave the cricket fans in India some
nice cricket in that match. It was a good match and I'll remember the match
for a long time. It was too good for a Ranji match. Who won or who lost is not
that important in such a match.

> maybe he he shouldn't be. I say, stick with Azhar , and groom someone
> younger as the vice-captain after a few years. That someone can be made VC
> in a couple of years time, can stay VC for maybe 3 years and still be
> captain for 10 years after that :-) Yes, talkin' 'bout SRT :-)

I don't think we need to wait for a couple of years to make him VC. He can be
made now itself! What's wrong with that? Have him as VC. Make him captain in
3-4 years. Then we will have a good captain for India for 15 years! :-)

If Tendulkar starts doing well (upto his potential) in the coming few years, I
don't think making him skipper at 23 will be that bad (i.e. with 7 years
experience)!

Seriously, is age that important? Remember, Manjrekar came into intrernational
cricket at around the same time as did Tendulkar (Manjrekar played WI (only
one test, I think) in a home series and then he went to WI under Vengsarkar.
Those were the only series he played without SRT in the team). His experience
as the skipper of Bombay is also very little (courtesy Veng and Shastri). So,
he hardly has a lead over SRT.

When one talks about SRT, people may have a small kid in mind and may object
strongly to making him VC now. But, he has an experience of 2 years and 4
months. If he came into the team at 22, people would've strongly consiedred
him as a candidate for the VC spot with the same experience. Somehow, people
attach more importance to age than experience.

> >PRABHAKAR:
> >
> >A friend suggested his name. Not a very bad choice, especially if there aren't
> >many good alternatives. He is doing well both with the ball and the bat. He is
> >a sheer fighter and can motivate the team well. However, he is also not very
> >experienced like Manjrekar. Also, his temperament goes strongly against him.
> >It may be not advisable to have him as the captain for that reason. Moreover,
> >his personal performance, though not bad, is still inconsistent. He needs
> >some time to mature into a good bolwer. So it is better to let him concentrate
> >on that.
> 
> 	Strongly disagree !!! Please, please, not Prabhakar. The man is a
> streetfighter, maybe it's neccessary to have one  in the team. But captain,

Rest assured. I am not a selector! Even if they make me one, I won't select
Prabhakar. I assure you of that. :-)

I was merely listing all the possibilities and giving my opinions. I wasn't
claiming he would make a good captain. In fact, I said his temperament would
go strongly against him.

--------
PVR Narasimha Rao