The Day I quit International Cricket…

The title may be deceptive and one may think that this is written by an ageing Indian Cricketer, but that isn’t the case. The post is written by just another ardent cricket fan who belongs to the most cricket frenzy nation in the world.

I was never a believer of the adage that cricket is a religion in India. You don’t talk about your religion to anyone and everyone just like that. Do you? You pause a bit, think twice and then talk about any religion so that the sentiments are not hurt. But the case is exactly the reverse when it comes to cricket. You comment about the players and their techniques and even families to complete strangers. Cricket in India is much more that a religion and for many it has been important than their career. [Ask the people who have failed/got bad grades in their board / university exams because of the Cricket World Cups]. Cricket is the best conversation starter in the nation and makes one feel comfortable with the other person within minutes. But, for a sport to become an integral part of the billion people in Nation there must be something spectacular about the sport. Is there something really special about this sport that makes us eat, sleep and pray Cricket?

On deeper introspection, I find that more than anything else Cricket is associated with our psychology. I may not be able to speak for the people who used to watch cricket even before India’s premier world cup victory or the test match era but I can certainly vouch for the guys born in the 80s. I still remember the BOOST Ad which made me a mad fan of Sachin Tendulkar. As a 6 or 7 year old, you get inspired when a 16 year old smashes the world deadliest bowlers. You get attracted towards a person when you hear stories about him batting with a shirt full of blood. You get goose bumps when a diminutive baby-faced teenager looks into the eyes of Merv Hughes and Craig Mcdermott. We started to create an alter ego of ourselves of what we saw from the little champion. It was a story of courage, a story of hope that gave us a cushion to think that we are not what we are.

Cricket instilled a lot of patriotism in us and gave us a big mountain, to hide our problems. We had something to look forward even in our turbulent times. We suddenly had something with which we are not directly associated but felt as a part of. The 1996 World cup quarter finals victory against Pakistan gave us more joy and pride than Pokhran II. We were a nation obsessed by Cricket by then. Thanks to the jam-packed schedule and the introduction of a bunch of talented new players in the side.

From a single super star who was driving the nation behind him with his bat, we suddenly had Fab-3. Even the regionalists were forced to follow the game and come along as the Fab 3 were from the different zones of the country. We were suddenly watching India 2.0. We were with the Indian cricket team throughout the year. We celebrated when they won, we cried when they lost and we stood with them during the darkest times like the match fixing.

The reason for such unbridled love and affection towards the team is not a one off affair. It is the result of the joy and happiness which the team has provided us over the years. They have helped us to forget our personal problems and have made us cheer for them wherever they go. People who live far away from home for ages also have a sense of belonging when the Indian team plays cricket. Such love and affection is way ahead of the restricted love which we exhibit amongst friends or relatives. It is an unexplainable and uncontrollable kind of feeling which can never be penned. But, they say, Success has a lot of fathers and failure is an orphan.

In love, you never see the imperfections. It is because you are blind when you are in love. When you come out of it and look back, you start to analyze the black spots with a magnifying glass. You try to extrapolate based on your assumptions and try to demean them. The more you think, the more you hate the other person. You think that you have been deceived for all these years and you start to question the wonderful years that you’ve had together. The parting made by such a loss is much more difficult than a real break-up. So, I have taken a bold yet cowardice decision to call it quits.

When we have our own problems, it doesn’t make sense to carry the other party’s problem along with us. We had a wonderful relationship, where we enjoyed every moment together. But, now the load is too much for me share it. This isn’t like the 2007 WC loss, where a single bad day turned the tables around us. These are matches where we have our best resources. But, the weakness of the best has been brutally exposed. The great mental image created in the past decade and a half now looks like a mirage. A little more thought may bring out something else or may even prove that I am completely wrong, but dissecting into the problem brings out a lot of pain than answers.

The reason for mentioning International Cricket in the subject does make a lot of sense. When Tamil Nadu lost the Ranji trophy finals even before batting, I was disappointed but not sad. When Chennai Super Kings were shunted out of the Champions League, I did feel sad for my city but I never cried. But, when the Indian cricket team loses in such a fashion, it takes days to come out of the trauma. It makes all the things in the vicinity ugly, it makes me harsh, it makes me absolutely worthless. Hence, this break-up which may atleast help me gain more time on the personal front.

I took this decision on the first day of the Perth test, when I saw the cookie crumble yet again. I may not see the 100th ton for which I have been wishing and praying for a long period, but again I know that it will come sooner than later. By that time, I will be happy to watch somewhere in the news channels and secretly cherish and feel happy for the Master once again.

PS : The image was taken from google when I searched for images which can be reused. No copyright violations here :-)

Cricket India and the Bouncer fetish

Amidst all the controversies surrounding the lackluster performance of the Indian team in the T20 WC, one reason that looms out is the bouncer. But is the ability to play the bouncer mandatory in the shortest form of the game? Can’t the players duck from the one bouncer that is allowed per over and score of the remaining 100 deliveries? Are the all time greats, experts in playing the perfume ball? Is the BCCI at fault? Or is it the Indian young brigade that threw it away? Can there be more answers for this eternal predicament?

Domestic bowlers

When was the last time that the Indian team produced a fast bowler? There were talks of David Johnson being a tear away fast bowler but he lasted just 2 matches. Munaf Patel who started with a lot of promise ended up as a medium pacer. The talented young Indian batsmen, who work their way to the top, get to face all the lollypop medium pace bowlers in the domestic sides and score heavily. It is not that the bowlers don’t try the short stuff, but the batsmen are quick enough to get on top of them and pull it to the boundary. This gives the batsmen the much needed confidence to face the quickies in the international arena. But now, when Murali Vijay gets to face the fiery Kemar Roach who bowls at 150 kmph, he is found wanting. He puts on his dancing shoes and jumps like a fish out of water. Can the batsman held responsible for this scenario? The quality of the domestic bowlers needs to improve for our batsmen to fair well against the bowlers in the international arena.

The domestic Pitches

NS Sidhu tells that “Pitches are like wives, you never know how they are going to change”, but in the Indian subcontinent we can be sure that the pitches may or may not turn but will never bounce. Creating a bouncy track like the one in Mysore needs lot of time and effort and an effective curator. Above all this, the state cricket associations need to get the proper funding to get the right soil and adequate amount of time to prepare the new wicket. In a country where the national cricketers play for 200 odd days, the various state associations aren’t ready to put in the effort to create a sporting track. The faster bowlers love it, when the ball passes near the batsman’s nose. But to create bowlers who can bounce it to the batsman’s chin, we need more sporting wickets. So it takes us to the perpetual scenario of chicken and egg, with the bowlers and the pitch.

The International pitches

Cricketainment may be a new word, but the game is undergoing a metamorphosis, since the 1996 WC which came to India. The spectators want to see more runs and hence the pitches have become more batsmen friendly. The bat has undergone so much evolution (the mongoose being the latest) but the Cricket ball has not been altered to provide any extra edge to the bowlers. The shorter boundaries are yet another catalyst which has helped to change the paradigm which was accepted long back. The contest between the bat and the ball has reduced so much that the contest has now become something between the batsmen of the two teams. The pitches being the main culprit produce very less bounce and carry and do not change its color during the match. The concrete tracks used in International Cricket just marked the beginning of the end.

International bowlers

Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh were deadly with the ball. The innings in which the English were bowled-out for 46 under 20 overs serves as a testimony for this pair’s class. Wasim and Waqar was yet another deadly pair. They could virtually run through any batting line-up. But when these greats retired in the early 2000s, they left a huge void in the game which is yet to be filled. The prime bowler in the last 10 years was Glenn Mcgrath, who was more of a disciplined bowler than being express fast. Allan Donald had all the ingredients of a fast bowler and rocked the batsmen for quite some time. But the other bowlers who ruled this era were the Pollocks and McGraths. The bouncer is not a wicket taking delivery by any means, but the international batsmen were not even tested with that in the last generation. With Tait, Nannes and Johnson bouncing the opponents in Barbados, the focus is back on this stuff. The reasons are many and hence blaming the Indian youngsters may not be the right thing to do.

Some like it short?

The classy Sourav Ganguly, who scored over 11,000 ODI runs or the tenacious Steve Waugh who scored close to 11,000 runs in test matches never played the hook shot comprehensively. They elevated themselves from good to great with this disability. Their examples just reiterate the point, that one shot less in your arsenal doesn’t handicap you.

Ricky Ponting, one of the best players of the hook and the pull, had an extended honey moon from 2001 and 2006 and averaged nearly 70. But, his average hovered in the low 40s for the first 5 years of his career. His honeymoon concurring with the retirement of the fast bowling legends of the previous generation is not a mere coincidence. The Australian Captain was found wanting against Kemar Roach’s speed and accuracy in Perth. He danced to young Ishant Sharma’s tunes in the same venue a couple of years back. But still, he is the best in the current generation when it comes to the hook and the pull. The bottom line is nobody likes it, when the ball is short and fast.

The young Indians disability is due to many factors which can be worked out over a period of time. With constant practice and decent oppositions, the younger generation, not only the Indian batsmen but the Sri Lankans and Pakistanis, may all get to play the bouncer well and provide us with some fabulous display of the hook and the pull and not some chin music in the future.

MAY 21, 2010

Yuvraj Singh: India vs Sri Lanka, now or never

Yuvraj Singh: The Prince who never became King

The prince walked in with his bat when the team was reeling at 90 for 3 with the Fab 3 back in the pavilion. He lambasted the world champions out of the park and returned back to knock them out of the tournament, when he hit the stumps directly to dismiss the dangerous Michael Bevan. When he walked away with the Man of the match award, the 18 year old champion had set forth his initial footsteps for a long journey in international Cricket. This was his second match and his first opportunity to bat in Indian colours. The semifinal was a similar story, when he set Nairobi ablaze once again with his sizzling 41 against the Proteas.

He had to wait for another year to get to his next 50, but he chose the right occasion. The score was 38 for 4 in 13 overs and the champ took centre stage once again. He hit the Lankan bowlers out of the park and scored an unbeaten 98. He walked with the man of the match, yet again. But, we just got to see glimpses of his talent as the best was still in store.

“Cometh the hour, Cometh the Champion” and there he came. Yuvraj Singh cemented his place in the Indian side when he pulled of a spectacular victory from the jaws of defeat against the English at Lords. Yuvraj Singh scored 69 of 63 balls when India was chasing 326 and was crawling at 146 for 5. His under-19 captain played a helping hand, but it was Yuvraj Singh’s power hitting which gave the chase the initial impetus. By then, it wasn’t just a promise from the prodigy anymore as we were starting to see results. A new hero had arrived. Yuvraj Singh had arrived.

The Numbers quandary

In the first 5 years, Yuvraj Singh averaged in the early 30’s but in the next 4 years, his average in ODI’s skyrocketed to 45. Of the 113 matches played in that period, Yuvraj averaged close to 58 in the matches won by India. In that period, there were only 2 centuries by Yuvraj which were in lost matches and on both occasions, Yuvraj got the team from dire straits to a commendable position. He scored a century when India was struggling at 35 for 5 against South Africa and then scored a spectacular 121 when the team was crawling at 13 for 3 against Australia. Incidentally both these matches were played at Hyderabad.

Yuvraj Singh – The T-20 Hero

Twenty20 Cricket requires a unique blend to succeed. The player must possess talent, technique and power. Yuvraj Singh had them in the right balance hence was an immediate success in this format. A single weakness can lead to the potential downfall of a cricketer in the shortest format of the game. But Yuvraj’s ability to score all around the wicket helped him to propel his career using this newest form of Cricket.

In the 2007 T20 World cup, after losing the first Super 8 clash against the Kiwis, India had to win the remaining matches to qualify for the knockout stage. The young Indian team needed some inspiration and it came from its favorite son in the most emphatic manner. Yuvraj Singh walked in to bat against the England team with 20 balls left. He achieved many unthinkable feats in those 20 deliveries. He became the only batsman to hit 6 sixes in an over against a test match team and also scored the fastest 50 in T20 cricket in just 12 deliveries. Though he missed the last super 6 match against the South Africans, his Midas touch wasn’t lost. Yuvraj Singh returned back with yet another brutal assault against the Australians in Durban. He scored 70 of 30 balls with 5 sixes and 5 boundaries to send the Australians back home. That brutal assault in the semi-finals served as a catalyst to forget some of Ricky Ponting’s heroics in the 2003 World Cup finals.

Yuvraj Singh -The rise and the fall

From Sep 2005 to mid May 2006, India had 17 successful run chases in succession. The main architect in these victories was Yuvraj with a staggering average of 83. The Fab 4’s presence in the middle order prevented Yuvraj Singh’s entry in the test line-up. With voices all over the world demanding for Yuvraj’s inclusion in the test XI, the call came in the final test against Pakistan in Bangalore. With Tendulkar out of the game due to injury, Yuvraj came and fitted his place with absolute grace. He partnered with his mentor, Saurav Ganguly and piled a 300 run partnership. Yuvraj Singh made a scintillating 169 with some brilliant counterattack. He scored his runs at a strike rate of 80 plus, thus confirming his berth in the playing 11 against Australia.

The 4 innings in Australia fetched him a paltry 17 runs including 2 ducks and created a big dent in the Indian middle order. It has been a free fall since then, with Yuvraj still searching for his next test hundred since that majestic 169. He has a fixed test slot now with the exit of Saurav, but his position still remains as the most vulnerable of all.

The last year and a half has been marred with injury problems and disciplinary issues for the Champion left hander. It started with a finger injury which was followed by a ligament tear. Yuvraj Singh was back for the IPL 3 but returned empty handed. He did not manage to score even a single 50 and scored just 199 of his 14 innings. The batting issues were blemished over the captaincy issues and his supposedly transfer to another IPL franchise.

The issues about him being overweight were put aside when he was chosen to West Indies for the T-20 world cup. Despite the confidence from the team management he failed in the Caribbean miserably. This was followed by the much spoken about Pub brawl at St.Lucia which took Indian cricket to a new low.

Following these, Yuvraj Singh was dropped from the ODI side for the first time only to be included in the upcoming test series against Sri Lanka.

The future?

What started of as a fairytale now beckons to come to a premature end. The Yuvraj of the past who walks in and ransacks the opposition bowling attack is yet to be seen for quite sometime now. With the Powerhouse that he is and the talent that he possesses, an abrupt end to his career will certainly break a million hearts.

Yuvraj Singh has made his supporters rejoice and has given loads of moments to cherish. But, let us hope that he brings back his magic yet another time to make the billion hearts smile by winning the world cup. But for that, he need to comeback fitter and prove his worth. He can take a cue from his mentor, who made a comeback after being snubbed by the national team. After all, Yuvraj Singh is the most talented left hander of this era only after Brian Lara.

Till he comes back and proves his worth, he will always be called as the prince who never became King!

JULY 12, 2010

The Fall of the great Wall ?

Tendulkar may be the most loved Indian Cricketer and Ganguly may be the most adored one, but certainly Rahul Dravid is the most respected batsman in modern day Cricket. A cricketer par excellence who played a major role in each of the Country’s overseas test victory has failed miserably in the last two visits to the Lankan land.

95 runs in 5 innings without a 50 is not something we associate Dravid with. He averages a paltry 33 this year, thanks to the unbeaten ton in Bangladesh. It would be bizarre if we write off Rahul Dravid because of his lack of form this year. After all, in 2009, he had atleast one score of 50 or above in each of the test matches. Unsurprisingly, he averaged 83 last year. But 2009 was a year when we toured New Zealand in conditions pretty much comfortable for batting and we played yet another test series against Sri Lanka at home. Not the toughest of conditions for a champion like Dravid.

2008 was an interesting year. India toured Australia and Sri Lanka, two of the toughest places to tour and also played against South Africa, Australia and England at home. These are the conditions and oppositions which will test the best and will separate the men from the boys. In those 15 matches, Dravid made a couple of centuries in the placid tracks of Chennai and Mohali in two tame draws. He managed to score one 50 in the 6 innings in Sri Lanka with an average of 24. His average in 2008 was 30.

For a man who is called the Wall for his consistency, a sampling space of 3 or 5 matches may not be enough to gauge his performance. An interesting observation is that, since Dravid resigned from captaincy, he averages 40. In the same period, his middle order companions Sachin and Laxman average more than 60 and so is the case with the Delhi openers Sehwag and Gambhir. The man who led the Indian side for a victory in West Indies with his exquisite batting in Sabina Park must be a lone man in the dressing room. The victory is Sabina Park (2006) is very special but sadly that was the last time Rahul Dravid won a man of the match award.

The Number 1 ranking is mainly because of the hard work of the Fab 4 and test victories in every part of the world. The man who was part of every victory is now just a shadow of his own. The timid boy from Bangalore may need no other motivation than his teammates. He was the first one to jump in joy when the winning runs were scored at P sara, Oval. There cannot be many team-players than Rahul Dravid but he would certainly be feeling the pinch now. It is tough on the part of the players who play only test matches. You get to play very few matches and your failures are being scanned with magnifying glasses. But a winner like Dravid will never give up.

I just cannot stop myself from comparing Dravid with Ganguly. They made their debut in the same match and Ganguly failed miserably in the last series to Sri Lanka. He came back for the series against Australia and quit. We have an upcoming series against Australia, hope Rahul doesn’t follow suit.

It has been a couple of years since Ganguly left but still the space is up for the grabs. Rahul Dravid holding the most important place in the side and being the most valuable player in the line-up will leave a legacy which may be unfilled for a long long time.

For the fans and critics, it is one more occasion to support the man who has given his heart and soul for Indian Cricket. The nice guy who finished first still has a lot to offer for Indian Cricket and let us hope that he once again sparks that magic which he unveiled in England in 2002 against the visiting Australians this year.