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will india follow oz fate?

by Bored Member

by straight point

carrying the debate forward from bored guest MTV's well written post, Hayden's exit makes oz like the rest of us (welcome on bored, sir!) and friend soulberry's comment there...

So, it is up to the rest of the world to make sure they keep their standards high and delay the settling in process for Australia for as long as possible.
very thoughtful indeed SB!...

but much as it pleases me to see oz getting a taste of their own medicine in good and regular doses these days...it also worries me that we too are staring at a looming transition phase...thanks to bcci's muddled approach, and youngsters too, for not upping the heat with their sheer performances...

we are winning consistently, and that's also blurring the vision somewhat...

there is clear thought going into this which says that since we are winning so why should we change? to which i don't agree and i have my own reasons...

first, to bring in new players when we will be losing is what we are waiting for? don't you think this approach puts enormous pressure on team to keep the momentum going and also it doesn't give that new player some breathing space which any new comer needs? and if you are still not convinced, ask australia...they are feeling the heat, exactly for the same reasons...

i am of the firm belief that there is no better time to induct a fresh player when team is winning...he joins the happy and relaxed dressing room...gets his own time to be at peace with himself and team...while there's is no undue pressure on him straight away...like any player who walks into pitch after the fall of wicket...the batsman who is in takes the charge for a while...letting the new batsman ease into the situation at his own pace...

but do we still know (for sure) who we have earmarked for the replacements of our giants...? if we don't groom them now in this atmosphere when team is winning then when will we?

...and it's not the question of our pedigreed batsmen only...do we have enough (fit) bowlers in line-up say after zaheer? or if an injury forces ishant to step aside for a while...?

what measures are being taken for bringing bowlers like sree-santh back into the main stream...? where is dinda who was selected recently...where do munaf, balaji, rp and irfaan pathan stand in queue...?

dravid we all know is struggling for couple of seasons, if not more...and we have still some time left for nz series to begin...

why not 'rest' dravid for nz tour and give a chance to players like bardinath, pujara to be in team and see if they can be eased into the current setup...what was stopping us to rest some players from ODI team too for sri lankan tour to see how will they fare against the likes of M&M...?

but what do we get from our selectors...? while praveen gets in the team without any performance to back-up...players like mishra are shown the door coz they are not 'in' as far as captain choice of players concerned...

i know it's for odi's but the selection policy for tests as well as odi's should always fall in line with the vision we have for our team...

we are standing on threshold of a great opportunity...but one wrong move can derail the entire process...if the plan of phasing out seniors...the vision of making team india no.1 in all streams is not followed clearly, then i am afraid we too will go the oz way...and the pronouncement that we want to become the no.1 team will be as meaningless as a dead rubber match...when team plays for pride if nothing else...

remember what sehwag said recently...
it’s easier to get on top but staying on top is the tough part coz fierce winds blow on top...

12 comments:

Gaurav Sethi said...

SP, one clear diff between Oz and Ind is that with our ODI side the transition started a while back. Oz had two similar teams, and as we've known in the past, when the openers go off the boil, you've had it.

Somehow, retirements are being planned too - first Dada, Jumbo, next RD, then VVS, and when the world ends, SRT.

The next bunch of Srs has been in place for a while - MSD, Sehwag, Bhajji, Zaks. (soon you'll have to go after them)

We may have a lost a year on Dada, developing a new player, but his form was unexpectedly good. Dravid is a dicey one. And it's how boards treat star players, as being rough on them reflects badly on the country's cricket ambassadors.

If anything, I'd like to see them develop more bowlers, esp quicks, rotate them, a least in ODIs.

straight point said...

i was surprised too with zahir getting selected for this ODI series for all the workload of bowling his heart out since his return...

if we lost about a year in ganguly case then what about dravid NC...?

badri's form came and went waiting in the wings...and i afraid same will/can happen with pujara...

jadeja's selection is good one for odi's but did selector had word with pujara's that you too are in radar so that they don't feel disheartened as well...

its all about keeping fringe players motivated enough...and good selection doesn't leave so many un-answered Qs isn't it?

Gaurav Sethi said...

They've gone on enough abt the more Zaks bowls, the better he gets. Could be true as earlier he broke down after one test. This way he plays 7 tests, 20 ODIs nonstop, and the injury heals by itself.

With Dravid it's makeup for the all the payback from Colonel. If not for Cheeka he would've been history.

Fair point about Badri, Pujara. But don't worry to much abt Badri, he was never meant to be - not a star player. Yuvi is.

straight point said...

so you mean this 'badri' was never meant for 'barsaat'... :)

Anonymous said...

I don't really see a reason to panic about the ODI squad and its future. Wish could say the same for the Test team. There is indeed a clear lack of long-term planning. As SP pointed out, beyond Zak-Ishant, you don't really have that kind of bench strength in the pace department which can instil fear in opposition's mind. In case Zak-Ish sit out, be it form or fitness, I don't see temperamental Munaf (he has done decent in whatever opportunity he got), psycho Sreesanth, haywire RP Singh or innocuous Irfan troubling rivals. We badly need a supply line here, especially in Tests.

Anonymous said...

It may be too early to start comparing them with the OZs. India needs to lift the world cup and then repeat the feat 2 more times in a row. Oh and they need to win 15 or more test matches in a row twice.

There is much to do. Aussies used the talent they had at the time to full benefit and now they are missing McGrath and Warne dearly. But as they say, this phase too shall pass.

No offense meant, it was a good comparison

straight point said...

som

very true...problems have this nack of coming from unexpected quarters...same way i see more problems coming from bowling front than batting...but its batting most are focusing on...

straight point said...

no offense taken as well Fan... :)

a warm welcome here...hope you will keep dropping by...

its always good to find alternate views to carry debate fwd...and u have good points when u say we still have to go long way to be called no.1 in real sense...but we do have chance and that's what matter in the end i guess...now if only we grab our chances well... :)

Q said...

I feel SP that you are worrying a bit too much a bit too soon... maybe its cos ur passionate abt the game but take an outsiders view and one feels that India has it well covered. Today India has the ability to field 2 good international teams, something Australia could boast of a few years ago..

The ODI team is well settled and none of the players seem to be going anywhere for atleast another 5 years...

Sehwag, Gambhir, Raina, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Virat Kohli, Jadeja, Dhoni, Uthappa - u cant even fit all these in the same team and I havent even mentioned Sachin.

As for the test side one needs to look for men to replace Dravid, Sachin, and VVS in the next few years. And In Rohit, Raina, Pujara, and Kohli India have able men to do the job.

There is no need to panic.

Im sure Pujara has been give some sort of confidence from the selectors or someone that matters.

On the bowling front the spin is well handled with Bhajji, Ojha, Chawla, and Mishra.

As for pace bowling, even there the reserves are a long list.

Besides Zak and Ishant uve got RP (remember what he did in England?), Sreesanth (soon back from injury), Munaf (just needs some psychological support), Gony (has lots of potential), Irfan Pathan (shorter form of the game), VRV Singh, and the likes of Balaji, Kulkarni, Praveen Kumar, The U-19 bowler I forget his name (played for daredevils)...

Its a whole fucking assembly line man, wat r u worried about?

straight point said...

may be q...but its better to be cautious and thinking ahead rather then when it happens...

about bowling though it looks like good line up on paper but actually apart from zak,ishant and to some extent munaf...no other give you confidence of penetrative bowling...

RP, SS etc seems to have lost their way...and it will take some serious handling of these two before they can again be the force to reckon with...

and thats where the worry is...not so much about batting but bowling...

sraghuna said...

Amen to the sentiment behind the article but I stand by two axioms for success i.e.
a)if it isn't broke then don't fix it &
b) winners do things differently ... so buck the conventional wisdom & induct fresh talent after accurately determining the point of inflection for the team as a whole.

straight point said...

after accurately determining the point of inflection...

this is where i think subjectivity of decision comes in Sraghuna...