From: pvr@rice.edu (Narasimha Pvr)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket
Subject: A point of view on the captaincy (Indian) issue
Date: 6 Apr 1992 17:38:19 -0500
Organization: CS Dept, University of Texas at Austin
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

This a from a mail from a good friend, who is a big cricket fan, but doesn't
like to write his views on net for some reason. I am just reproducing part of
his mail (of course, with his permission). Though I don't subscribe to all his
views, I find his views interesting.

His name is Jallepalli Srinivas. His email is jalle@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu.

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I thought about the captaincy issue and I came with the following
2 conclusions:

1) It is best for Azhar if he is able to concentrate on his batting
   alone.
2) It is bad for the team if he is dropped (maybe good for Azhar) and
   if either Kapil or a new guy is appointed as the captain.

                 Our selectors started the tradition of dropping
captains whenever we lose with Kapil in 1987. Both Srikkanth and Veng.
were worse as captains (the whole world knows that veng is a loner!)
and captaincy virtually destroyed their careers. There is no doubt about
that.
                 If they persist with their policy, then, more important
issues like bad bowling or irresponsible batting will get clouded and
everyone will start blaming the captain for all the ills of the team.
It will be hell for him especially if he is not in form. It is
psychologically reassuring to blame the captain rather than bad bowling
or such other basic deficiencies. Hence, everyone indulges in it at the
first opportunity. Instead of making the captain responsible for the team's
fortunes, we'll get best results if we weed out bad performers even if they
be senior players. Everyone needs to be told that he is responsible for
his part and blaming the captain wont save him. Sure, we must have the best
possible captain. And, I again feel that Azhar is the best choice at the
moment. If he were as bad as Veng., then, maybe we should go for a desperate
measure and get Manjrekar or Prabhakar (or More) or whatever b'cause we can't
get any worse! Going back to Kapil will be a mistake, they should have gone
back to him 2 yrs ago. Now, it may (I'm not very sure, if it doesn't then we
will have real trouble on hand) benefit the team temporarily but it will leave
a big void after a couple of years. U cannot drop Azhar, try someone else, get
Azhar back and expect him to be just as effective! He will definitely fall in
the eyes of his teammates as a captain! This issue has a lot of potential
for psychological damage. If Prabhakar could openly blame his captain, surely
u can expect that atleast a couple of other guys as well don't value Azhar
much as a captain. This should be curbed and the board should send a strong me$
message that he is the captain for good. It was, first of all, the board's
mistake to have fallen for this urge to blame the captain (when it dropped
Kapil--but, remember atleast 50% of the junta then blamed Kapil (his field
placements) for our semi-final loss) and they realised it and that's why
they repeatedly assured that Azhar is THE captain of the 90s. If they wilt
now, it will again be--sadly--history repeated. The question is not whether
the present captain is good enough, it is are u sure of a better captain?
There is some possibility with Shastri, but he hasn't been captain for long
(that is when ur real relations with ur teammates and how u relate to them
come out) and I'm not sure if he CAN be a better captain. And, it is very
unwise to make a move now without being sure. Things that go against Shastri
are: he is considered selfish and this may not always benefit the team (it
sometimes may), in the long run he may hurt his teammates with his aggressive $
style. U can put despo fight if it is only for 1 day, ur long term strategies
do not come out then! Mind u, he might have something! All I'm saying is I'm
not sure. He has been very unlucky in the sense that he has either angered the
board or was hopelessly out of form when we needed a new captain. So, we just
don't know how good a captain he could've been! Of course, the primary goal is
not to know how good every guy can be as a captain!

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PVR Narasimha Rao