Did Dravid and Laxman have to leave now?

'VVS Laxman: a wizard among muggles'
 - Sharad Ugra

Krishnamachari Srikanth, who ends his tenure as Chairman of Selection Committee, BCCI, made his final selection of the Indian team last week, for the home series against New Zealand. Now he is being forced in to making one more change to that with the sudden departure of VVS Laxman.

Laxman, in his retirement speech said he listened to his 'inner-voice' and made up his decision. He wanted to give the youngsters a chance against the inexperienced Black Caps' bowling line-up. Inner-voice does exist for many people especially ones like Laxman, who spend time even for the tiniest of intricacies. But to an observer, it's plain simple to know what caused that 'inner-voice' or was it actually something from the inside that told him to leave. 

That inner-voice is like an oracle spread everywhere. Two bad tours away from home for the top-ranked team in the world and the media and the public are calling for his head. The same applied to Dravid though in a milder sense. Getting bowled on countless occasions in Australia and it is enough to be termed as the end of his career. To be frank, yes even to me it appeared that they are nearing their death as a batsman. But it is to be expected. More than 15 years of cricket and nearing their forties. And continuing to be frank, if India had done well and there was no public outcry, both these legends would have taken the field against New Zealand. These are people who share a beautiful romance with the game. They have enhanced its beauty with their skills. They would never want to leave it. No inner-voice could stop this romance.

Yet something did. To cut a long story short, Srikanth and his selection panel were primarily responsible for this. When India toured England in 2011, the squad had several people already injured and a lot of players who had played a handful of tests between them. And when one of the fast bowlers opted out of the tour, they replaced him with a guy who last played three years ago. If the selectors hadn't ignored the injury worries, the settled middle order wouldn't have been needed to adjust their positions causing unnecessary instability in the lineup.  

That Dravid, Sachin and Laxman would retire in the near future was a known fact for every cricket viewer since the past 2-3 years. And so if the current rotation policy (that is being implemented in the ODIs) was done for tests, we would have had Kohli, Sharma, Raina, Pujara and Yuvraj in a better state. India played enough tests against Sri lanka in recent times and also plenty of home series. The ICC's FTP is public for anyone to know who plays whom when in the next 5 years. So an England tour of such proportions (with the 2000th test and all) could and should have been better planned. If there was a backup opener who was slightly experienced, Dravid wouldn't have needed to open. And neither would Laxman have come in at No. 3. Slightly better performance in England and the mindset would have been positive before going Down Under. I am deliberately ignoring the bowling department here. It is already weak adding more pressure on the batsmen.

Again with the current selection of the squad for the New Zealand tests and the world T20 there are a few eye-brows raised. 

To answer the title of this post, yes, they had to leave now or maybe by the end of this year (because I feel they should have played in front of the home crowd before they left). But we were grossly under-prepared for their departure. Now when India go into the tests, the middle-order has a void, that was to be expected but with no one prepared to fill it. Raina's knees go weak on hearing the word 'short'. Kohli is learning what temperament is, in test cricket. Rohit Sharma has forgotten who he was supposed to be. Pujara is unsure if he is fit again. Yuvraj, well the tumor apart, if only he was the player in tests as he is in ODIs.

Whenever there is a transition, the torch is passed on. But Dravid and Laxman haven't been able to do that. They have left the torch to be claimed by whosoever comes first. And then pass it on among the rest in contention.

The Legend Goes On

So Sachin Tendulkar is getting more and more human now, ironically coinciding with the discovery of the 'God' particle. Why do I say this now? Because more and more people have started talking and writing about something which was considered blasphemy a few years ago!

Sachin withdrawing himself from the upcoming Srilanka tour has added more fuel to the debate which started with THAT ('slow') century and the retirement of Rahul Dravid. Whether or not Sachin should quit. The reasons they say - him preferring the 100th-hundred match against Bangladesh and the IPL over the Srilanka tour, making him look selfish and choosy, of BCCI giving in to his whims and fancies. 

Should Sachin quit? Well, this question was raised or rather demanded by Ian Chappel nearly 6-7 years ago. Sachin had taken it upon himself to answer that and he sure did. So even now let us leave the choice to him. Oh and about the BCCI intervention, neither did they intervene with Ganguly or Kumble, nor with Dravid. If not more, Sachin is at least in the same ranks as these gentlemen. 

Now about Sachin missing the tour to Srilanka. My guess is, either he is too bored of it or maybe thinking that in the next 1-2 years he can definitely tour it 2-3 times. On a more serious note, this Srilankan tour is clearly not bigger than the IPL or the Asia Cup. 

Moreover regarding the IPL, it is an exhibition of cricket on the international stage. There have been former legends who have come out of retirement to play in it. Isn't it only fair that Sachin plays in it? There was a time when you could point your finger at the IPL and say it is spoiling cricket. Not any more. The IPL is not the root of all evil in Indian cricket. There might be corrupt people involved with it but it is in no way deteriorating the talent out of people. Our players have problems of their own. Barring one person, not a single batsman could negotiate the moving ball in England or the pace and bounce in Australia. The IPL is not responsible for that. Virender Sehwag is yet to mature and learn to play outside the sub-continent. That is not because of the IPL. Suresh Raina has evolved into a very good batsman. But he still hasn't learnt to play the short-ball, despite the whole world laughing at him. That is not due to the IPL. So there are graver concerns for Indian cricket rather than the IPL.

Lastly, how did all these negative adjectives once never even thought off with respect to Sachin, surface? How could someone even doubt his patriotism? That is definitely not something I associate with someone who flew back to England, scored a century and put India back to winning ways in the World Cup, just a couple of days after losing his father. There are few people who love their batting so much that they would relinquish the national captaincy to improve it. And about him being choosy, it becomes slightly necessary when you are nearing 40 years of age (add to it 23 years of cricket). India have learnt to play without Sachin, and have enough members in the squad to compete in the next World Cup. So Sachin's one spot does not trouble the future planning as much. And every time he has walked out into the middle, he has made that moment brighter for you. So cheer up. Be thankful that we can still see him play.

While all of you are still discussing about giving him the Bharat Ratna, stop complaining he was selfish during that hundredth hundred and rather gift that ton to him for his other 99. He will surely be more happy than receiving the Bharat Ratna. 

Oh and dear Sachin, you know how my respect will grow more for you? Take that mic and announce that all this while you've played for the country without thinking about the records. But you just want that one more century to complete 50 ODI centuries. I'll be in the front row, standing and saluting you!

Foul Play!

This IPL has had more drama than excitement. The 28-run over courtesy Albie Morkel or that fiery exhibition of fast bowling by Dale Steyn or an over full of class exhibited through 6 fours all round the ground by Ajinkya Rahane standout as performances of this season or perhaps the best ever in the tournament's history. But for a drama, you need people to perform negative roles too. Unfortunately, we have had our bunch of players volunteering for that. 

Mumbai Indians had come into the tournament as favorites. A couple of good buys in the auction and the presence of two of the most intimidating players in the 20-over format made up for a strong team on paper. But when you have a bowler who is equally short-tempered as his skipper, throwing the ball down in protest to a wrong umpiring decision, you know clearly that it's not cricket that is being played out in the middle. Not only did Harbhajan Singh clearly give a piece of his mind to the umpire, but also encouraged Munaf Patel to do the same. Harbhajan's IPL indiscipline were already in the news 4 years ago, when he slapped another team mate. But at least now, as captain, there was to be a bit more maturity expected from someone who has been the lead bowler of the national team for quite a long time. Clearly, Harbhajan was in no mood to behave even remotely as the man whom he was replacing as captain. More than that, Sachin's presence as an individual was missed on the field. For the man himself has been at the receiving end of many such umpiring errors. And in each of those situations, forget a change in temper, not even a word was spoken in protest. 

Ravichandran Ashwin is following exactly on the same path as Harbhajan. After becoming the lead spinner of the national side, he has forgotten the knack to take wickets, merely being in the side as a bowler who can contain the runs. But that's just not it. When he tried 'Mankading' Steven Smith in the match against Pune Warriors India and later charged into him for an apparently heard 'swear' word, it was clear that Ashwin had succeeded Bhajji in every sense. The umpire's presence between the two was only physical. Ashwin took no notice. The law of averages had definitely struck Chennai Super Kings, who had been winning the Fairplay award many times previously. It was evident in their second match itself when Doug Bollinger tried multiple times to block Naman Ojha while the latter was trying to get to his crease to complete a run. 

We have imported a lot of things from the football premier leagues. The league format in itself, regional clubs, foreign players and the transfer window. It is time we borrowed the concept of yellow and red cards from them as well. At least introduce the concept in IPL. The concept is clearly not new to cricket as Billy Bowden had already 'red-carded' Glen McGrath although jokingly. Now as players get serious about their attitudes, let the refereeing also get serious. Ban a bowler from completing his over by showing a yellow -card. Send him off the field by showing him a red-card. Something similar for batsmen and fielders will be a more innovative idea to IPL matches than that stupid 'Time Out' break. And there can even be sponsors for the cards. Although I feel sad that such measures have to be taken in a gentleman's game. 

I think the Fairplay rating is a good measure as of now. The ones on the top don't interest me. If you come and play the game normally you remain at the top. Fairplay points are not won. Rather they are lost due to indifferent behavior on the field. 

Game Over, Punter?

Australians are like women. Both love pink. You can see Australia wearing pink arm-bands in tests, though it's for a noble cause. At the same time, they show no sentiment or regret in giving the pink slip to it's players however legendary he might be. 

Though, as I write this, Ricky Thomas Ponting has not yet retired from any form of cricket, it is safe to assume that he has been shown the pink slip by the selectors. And the announcement is due in the near future. 

37 might not be the age you'd want to be at when playing, but the quality of players I have grown up watching has disproved that completely. Ponting is the Australian example. The very fact that he remained in the test squad despite a string of poor run as batsman and post-captaincy is enough to convey his greatness  to the Australian team as none among Border, Taylor or Waugh managed to do that. 

Across the ocean, Ponting might not have many fan clubs. But he is the best Australian batsman I have seen play the game. Bradman might be their Don, but there are only statistics and articles on him. Bradman's is a legend based on numbers. Ponting's is numbers plus style. There are few who play the pull shot as convincingly as him. There are few who drive the ball with such high back-lifts. There are few who lift the ball straight over the bowler so nonchalantly. Forget the shots. There are very few who leave the ball so beautifully in cricket. 

It is a pity to see a man who led his team in his previous match, who led his team to 2 consecutive world cup triumphs, who is their highest run-getter, get dropped for poor form. Statistically yes. His run has been poor. But as the cliche goes, isn't class permanent? The last test series against in India proved the cliche. He had lost his No. 3 spot. He had lost his captaincy. There was only one thing he could depend on, trust on. Himself. The  batsman in him that was 20 years of international age. And the trust paid. The double century and the century couldn't have been timed better. Still, Australia just drop him overnight? How long can they continue to be as hard-hearted? Now the era in ODI's is beyond Ponting. Perhaps tests too. Now I don't see Australia softening in the near future. 

Technically and on paper, Australians are being professional. No room for inconsistency. But once the player gets close to the people's hearts, I wonder how the selectors get brave enough for this. This is a situation unimaginable in India though it is on the verge of happening. But as Ravi Shasthri might say, all good things have to come to an end. The sun is definitely setting on the Golden era of cricket. 

The West Indian in me cried after the 2007 World cup. If there was an Australian in me, I'd be in a state of mourning now. 

The Bleeding Men in Blue

April 2, 2011 seems like a day millions of ages ago. And the sudden occurrence of the IPL, a week after that is not the reason anymore. 

When the No. 1 ranked team in the world got thrashed by the English at home, it was disappointing for billions in India. But we never wrote them off. It was just considered an off-season. A nightmare which lasted for two months. We tried defending them with the little positives that were left from the tour. Blamed the IPL once more. We called them over to the land they had colonized once and chased them off yet again. We even tried erasing the past with the hopes of that elusive century and that brutal double-century. Things were back to normal. At least on paper and in our hopes. 

Then the mind games for the trip Down under began. Touted as the easiest Australian team ever, articles started getting published on how we will be beating them. Whether we would win 3 or 4 test matches? Whether Dravid would score a century first and then he and Sachin score centuries together in the next to bring up the half-century and century of centuries. I am using the word 'centuries' as much as possible now just as a reminder to the Indian team about it's existence. 

Losing the first three test matches to THIS Australian team? Seriously? This is not the India I know. I have kept on supporting India in its growing phases, in all their defeats in the 90s and hoped that one day all these struggles will end. We would build on the failures to become a strong team. When Dravid, Laxman and  Harbhajan turned the Kolkata match on it's head and won it, I thought yes these men have it in them to go and beat the world. When Sachin Tendulkar kept on making all our dreams come true by producing centuries after centuries, I knew it was only a matter of time before we performed as a team and dominated this sport. With able leadership from Ganguly and Kumble we strode on to successes never even expected of. Beating England, Australia, South Africa and the West Indies in their home turf we climbed onto the podium. But instead of standing there, we just tumbled down. All the hard work of the past 15 years just washed down the drain with the past 7 away tests. 

3 of the men who are responsible for bringing India this close are still there. One has never been criticized. One went through the toughest 2 years of his career to give us a few good moments of the England tour and the other, the relatively low-profile one has his head on the guillotine now, the blade about to fall. But come to think of it. We are back playing the same old blame game. Yes, we call them Gods and Legends, but these humans have done more than their part. In the past 15 years India has achieved whatever that could have been achieved since cricket started and THAT is because of these three and a few more who have ended their careers. 

At Kolkata in 2001, Dravid and Laxman were just 5 years old in cricket. And in test cricket that is still childhood. Harbhajan was barely out of his teens when he got the hat-trick. Such was determination of the young India that Ganguly could build together an ambitious team. Today, Sehwag is almost as experienced as the big 3. Gambhir, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Ishant are 4-5 years into test cricket. Kohli has shown that he is more matured than his age. And the Indian team itself is in a much better state than we were back in 2001. Yet we couldn't compete with a less-stronger Australian team let alone defeating them. What we used to expect of Sachin in the 90s is being done of him, Dravid and Laxman these days. The team is dependent on these three and on Zaheer to a lesser extent. 

This is exactly the stage for Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Kohli, Sharma, Dhoni and Ishant to put up their hands up and say 'Yes I can carry this team forward'. I would love to see one of the youngsters ask the seniors if they could bat in their positions, just like Sachin asking Azharuddin if he could open. May be a Pujara asking Dravid if he could walk in at one-down or a Kohli asking Sachin if he can bat at No. 4. 

Instead the responsibility is still on the Big three and the criticism too! If the youngsters are waiting for them to retire, it will bring us back to square one. Their careers a waste for Indian cricket. Their achievements only personal. I don't want to see a Kolkata once more. Instead repeat Multan, Jo'burg, Headingley or Adelaide! Or make new grounds as famous as these! 

I used to say Sehwag and Gambhir are the most dangerous opening pair in the world not because of their batting but that their dismissal brought to the crease the best batsmen in the world. Now it's time they become dangerous on their own. And the middle order learns to stay on their feet. 

So much said, there is one more chance for salvaging some pride in the Adelaide test. Youngsters play or not, Sachin, Dravid and Laxman just this once more. Before you separate, make me nostalgic. Please!