From: 9063iyerm@vms.csd.mu.edu (Murali Iyer)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket
Subject: An attempt to follow-up on Mohan's "Indian Team - What now?"
Date: 11 Jan 1993 19:05:53 GMT
Organization: Marquette University - Computer Services
Reply-To: 9063iyerm@vms.csd.mu.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: vmsa.csd.mu.edu


Mohan has spent some valuable time{I should know, he has yet to reply to my
mail of almost a fortnight ago:--)} in churning out a highly interesting and
well-thought-out reflections on what went wrong and what should be done to mend
the situation {201 lines! Gimme a break, maan. I had to extract it and read it
at leisure to be able to put that sharp pencil to use. By the time I finish, I
shall be needing new pencils.:--)}. I am sure including extracts from your
article, this one will exceed 200 lines. Folks, if anyone wants to follow-up,
please chop this article off to the minimum. Or else... I can see Spaceman
gnashing his teeth in frustration/anger. :--) :--) 
  

>The tour of S.Africa is over and the Indian team has to rebuild.  This
>concept of rebuilding seems to a never ending process in Indian cricket.
>Just when it looks as though a good team has been put together, a string
>of weak performances turns the wheel back.

We have been hearing this rebuilding stuff since mid/late eighties, when
Mohinder (Kirmani, Binny, Vengy, et al) was dropped under the guise of infusing
fresh, young blood into the team. Mohan has hit the nail on the head when he
says "Just when it looks as though....." above. This team never got off the
ground in the form that it presently is. From a partially successful team which
toured England and played some highly entertaining cricket, quite a few names
are missing. Even though the new names are not unworthy of the places they have
secured, the wrong players were dropped or given the feeling of insecurity,
IMHO. A player like Sidhu could have gained a lot in confidence if he had been
persisted with, if he was seen as a prospect for the future. He is definitely
not the player he started off as, and was a highly useful cog in the wheel that
rolled upto the semis in the '87 WC. Sidhu is just a name that came to my mind.
Substitute that with any player who is now being thought of as a replacement
for one of the current players, and that's the point I am trying to make. 

>So, at the end of yet another Indian cricket tour, I suppose it is time
>for yet another what-went-wrong type of analysis.  Again, like in some
>of the previous attempts, it is really difficult to lay the blame on any
>one particular aspect of the team's cricket.  

Perhaps it is more appropriate to say that you are trying to analyse and see
what went wrong, rather than *blame* someone/some aspect for the debacle. After
all, we don't want to give the impression that we are out witch-hunting. :--)

>BATTING:
>~~~~~~~~
>It is perhaps too easy and too tempting to say that the batting has been
>the only weak link.  

       <some stuff deleted, about the Indain batting *failure*
                    clicking all together>

>SA.  So, what went wrong with the batting?

The losses in the ODI's played a major role in defining things negatively to
the Indian batsmen. They were lacking in self-confidence and were not mentally
prepared to face a professional attack. The basic difference between bowling
and batting, is that even if we make a few mistakes in bowling, the worst that
can happen is that the batsman gets six runs off each mistake. So, players who
generally worked less hard and were not in the right frame of mind -- and body,
as Mukesh Kasanjee pointed out -- to take on the well-prepared attack of the
RSA'ns. Lack of interest in practice sessions has been the bane of the Indian
team (and Pakistan team until Imran arrived on the scene, from what I have read
long ago) since time immemorial. 

I am gradually tending to agree with the TOI reporter, Sundaresan?, that the
Indian players have been gallivanting around the world at the cost of some
serious cricket. Taking their places for granted, taking things too easy.
Nothing could be more dangerous than this last mistake. In this current day
competition, no team can afford to rest on its oars. Period. Australia learnt
it some time ago, and are now back with a bang. England never gave up, it just
lacked quality players for some time. Pakistan has the goods, and the batsmen
are the ones that need to re-awaken(the talent is there, it is just failing at
this moment). WI are going to be back in full force soon, by all indications.

So, when the whole cricketing world is working hard, it is the Indian
cricketers who need to wake up and catch up. I don't for a moment doubt the
credentials of players like Azhar, Manjrekar, SRT, Kapil, Manoj, Shastri(yes,
Ravishankar Jayadrath Shastri). They have taken things too easy for too long.
Everyone is not Vishy, after all. He could afford to take it easy(even though
it cut his career short by half a decade). 

>Openers:
>~~~~~~~~

>India too.  Eversince Gavaskar left the scene, the terrible vacuum has
>not been filled at all.  They have been filled by weaklings, nogooders

Even when Gavaskar was around, after Chauhan left(was forced out), it was touch
and go with Srikkanth in the middle. Srikkanth had to adjust his game a lot for
Test cricket, and Gavaskar's presence is the one factor which stabilised
Srikkanth's game.

>or pretenders.  This is the first problem the selectors are going to
>face when it is time to select a team for the England games.  They need
>to select two good openers.  

Bhave was touted as one, but his failure in the one BP XI may have cost him a
place. Now, Kambli may be asked to open, if he is selected! Raman and Jadeja
may get just one more chance, since they did not fail absolutely completely.
:--) 
 
>I think it is time the selectors really started thinking in terms of two
>different teams; for tests and limited-overs.  This experiment can be

I am sure they are going about it right now, though it has been on a low-key
for sometime now. Kapil's Devils' success in the '83 WC kinda prevented this
concept to take root, but that euphoria has definitely died down now. :--)

>is time the selectors started to think of serious openers -- not merely
>part-time bowlers who can bat.  I don't know what the alternatives are,
>but that, I think will be the place to start.

Prabhakar had gone on record that he *wanted* to open and was a regular opener
for Delhi. His argument was, he was after all selected to the Indian team based
on his performances for Delhi, and what did he do for Delhi? Open batting *and*
bowling. So, he is game for that position of dual opener. Whether it is good
enough for the team is the question. He seems to have justified his choice with
that 60 plus knock.

>Batting Attitude:
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have already said what I feel.

>CAPTAINCY:
>~~~~~~~~~~
>
>In the past, I have shouted down people who have called for the head of
>Azhar.  More so, because I was tired of the constant hacking-syndrome
>which seemed to be so dominant in the selectors' minds in the 80s.  I
>attempted to lean on the side of stability as against constant change at
>the helm.  However, Azhar has just not been able to provide leadership
>in the last few seasons.  His control on the team is waning.  It is no

Azhar never had any control, IMHO, on the team. Wasn't it just before this tour
that he said he would be strict and more authoritative with the players "in
future"? He seems to be too soft and unwilling to tell an erring player what he
expects from him. He has gone on record that he expects each player to
understand his own role and deliver. Fine, as long as the players are capable
of understanding. I think a captain should take a deeper interest in a young
player's development, attitude, etc.. Perhaps Azhar is learning these lessons,
but the tuition fees are too high!! 

>of `positivism'.  That is not good for the future of Indian cricket.  My
>feeling is that Azhar will benefit from a few years off the pressure.

I don't want to sound like a trigger-happy fan, but I tend to agree with Mohan
that Azhar should be asked to observe and learn. :--)

>All roads seem to head in the direction of Kapil.  It is really sad that

If I remember right, after the OZ tour, I had written often and at length that
Kapil should be made captain if there were grounds to suspect Azhar was not
mature enough to lead a national side. The counter arguments were also sound,
but it looks like Kapil is after all the one choice that is staring us
in the face. I am not saying this with an "I told you so" expression, but am
quite sad that Azhar did not utilise the second chance to his advantage. 

>Azhar may make a good captain.  But, he surely has to wait and mature
>before he gets the chance again.  In the meanwhile, the responsibility
>of captaincy should fall on Kapil to:

>. re-develop the team -- its morale, discipline, style
>. develop a future captain

Good points.

>Azhar is one such future captain.  With this in mind, the selectors
>should make him Kapil's understudy.

>There are some FRIGHTENING rumors that Prabhakar may become captain. 
>I hope these are false.  

I join you in your hope/prayer. BTW, where did you hear *that*?

>MANAGER/COACH:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>IMO, Pataudi would be best.  He does not need the money.  He is quite
>commited to the cause.  He is good.  He will give off his very best,
>purely for the reputation which will be at stake.  Moreover, he is
>distictly connected with that golden era in Indian cricket when the
>spinning-quartet of Bedi-Chandra-Prasanna-Venkat were on song.

>Gavaskar would be ideal.  However, I rather suspect he has fought too
>many wars with too many people at the helm to be given the chance.  But,
>one of these HAS to be appointed for the better of the game in India.

Sorry, but Wadekar has already been retained. 

IMHO, Pataudi is not one to devote so much time and effort to serve somebody
else(BCCI, Indian team in this case). And I doubt if he has ever done any
coaching. In his days, easy-going cricket was the norm. Almost everyone
depended on his natural talents to perform. :--) 

Gavaskar is definitely contributing his mite to the team selection process,
rest assured. The grapevine has it that his words carry a lot of wieght in most
decisions taken by the board/committee.

>BOWLING:
>~~~~~~~~

You are once agin right in saying that our bowlers do not finish off the job
they started. Prakash Padukonw was fond of saying that Indians in general lack
that "Killer instinct", though I believe that the present day is making up for
that, slowly but surely.

>PITCHES:
>~~~~~~~~

>Start mending at home, where you can!  The dead Ranji pitches MUST go.

Ahha! There you go. That's the first place we should start.

>Our batsmen are deluded by the big scores they make on the circuit, only

Exactly what Kapil said after the OZ tour. 

>Well, this is just a first attempt.  Sharpen your pencils and lets get
>talking...

And what an attempt! And to add to it, I have written so much! Hope it makes
*some sense* atleast.

-Murali

p.s: Sudhama Gopalan has pointed out an error on my part in one of my posts. 
He is right, I meant Vijay Yadav but wrote Rajesh Yadav. The latter is a
pace-bowler, right?
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket