From the eye of a cricket fan | Cricket Blog

A Refreshing Change

2014-12-16T09:18:00.000-08:00

After the unfortunate death of Phil Hughes a couple of weeks ago, cricket and moreover the Australians needed a game to overcome the bereavement of their close teammate. And boy what a match it was! As Bill Lawry would say - “What a ripper!”.

Even though India lost the game, they can look back and take heart from the fight they put up on the last day. It was the sort of effort fans have been hoping for the last few years. The previous tours to South Africa, New Zealand and England had few occasions when India were on top, but they just didn't have the skills required to finish the game.

Kohli's positive attitude is a refreshing change. On a last day deteriorating wicket he instilled belief in the team to chase down a record score at the Adelaide Oval. One can easily envisage the approach the team would have taken under Dhoni's captaincy. Maybe India could have escaped with a draw, but having seen the team's batting overseas over the last 4 years, a draw too would have been a remote possibility.

Was there a difference in terms of results under Kohli's watch? Probably no. For all the aggressive play Kohli has talked about, India were able to take only 12 wickets in the game. A few of them were taken when Australia were just looking to score quick runs. Unless there is a remarkable improvement in the bowling, a change of captaincy may not bring a drastic improvement. Michael Clarke too, despite having a potent attack and a positive mindset has an extremely poor record in Asia.

But what gives hope for India, is Kohli's never say die spirit to try and win matches. At this point, India probably can compete overseas only with such an attitude. Choosing a leg spinner showed intent on trying to take wickets which is a welcoming change from playing Jadeja who at best can be a containing bowler. Given Lyon's success, should India have played Ashwin in hindsight? I believe India's best chance of taking 20 wickets is by playing 2 spinners. The question arises if Ashwin is a good enough bowler overseas. I feel it's too early to judge. After the horrendous first tour in 2011 he has been given just 3 test matches overseas, with the last two with hardly any score to defend. Kumble took almost a decade to be an effective bowler overseas. Harbhajan Singh has had sporadic success in between, but was largely unsuccessful. Unless Ashwin or any other spinner for that matter is given the time to develop, there is no way he will be effective. Whether Karn Sharma and Ashwin are among the best 2 spinners in the country is up for debate. Ashwin is more than a handy batsman and given Rohit's and Dhawan's lacklustre performance overseas, he could easily slot into the number 7 position.

With Dhoni being the appointed captain, there is not even a remote possibility of Kohli captaining in the remaining matches. Will changing the captain make a difference? That remains to be seen, but atleast when a captain speaks out confidently and leads from the front, there definitely can be a change in the mindset.

Dhoni has for long been harping about concentrating on the process rather the results. The team's outlook on the last day should be the process he must aim for. Even if India goes on to lose 4-0, fans would atleast like to see a fighting performance rather than meekly losing the game in 3 days.

Let the bat and ball do the talking!

2013-05-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Indian Premier League, which has been promoted more as an entertainment show (going as per the television advertisements) than a cricket series, has had its fair share of drama over the years some of which has helped to attract a greater audience attention. IPL edition 6 has had some wonderful close matches so far, but as expected it hasn’t gone down without any controversy. The recent Kohli vs Gambhir duel on the field or Kohli’s remark about the booing crowd at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai raises some serious disciplinary issues.

Passion vs. Aggression? Are they interrelated or is there a fine line separating the two. It is interesting to note that a considerable number of fans consider a player who is more expressive as the one who shows a lot of passion and aggression in the game. When things were going well for team India, Dhoni’s cool outlook was given a lot of credit for his excellent handling of the team, but when they were on a losing streak these were the same reasons given for India’s poor performance. It was said, he takes it too casual and doesn’t really show the kind of aggression needed to change a team’s fortune. Kohli was hailed as the captain India badly needed to take them out of the dire situation. There were no doubts of his skills as a batsman, but people viewed that with his aggressive streak he could be the next generation captain for India.

But looking at the way the IPL has progressed the question arises if Kohli is the right man to lead India in the future? His aggressive bursts in the field for any misfield or poor execution of the bowlers can be demoralizing for a player. Will he able to mentor a junior player and pass on his suggestions to a senior player in an equably respectable way? It is too early to judge a player of Kohli’s class, and there is no doubt that all the anger which he expresses on the field is due to the passion he has for doing well for the team. But here arises the dilemma. How much is too much? As of now his performances at the international level have been outstanding which has allowed him to get away with all his antics on the field. At some point or the other in his career, there is bound to be a stage where his performances will dip, and that’s when his character will be tested.

The likes of Gambhir and Kohli getting animated when their plans don’t go right or getting into a duel don’t augur well for the game. There is no harm in a little bit of banter between players of the two teams and in fact at times it even increases the playing intensity of the game. Some of the greatest duels in the game have happened after a verbal too! Having said that it is important that with a large number of youngsters following the game, it is necessary that they are taught the good aspects of the game which includes on field conduct as well. The pillars of the game Dravid, Kumble, Tendulkar, and Hussey have shown how to play the game hard but with exemplary conduct on the field.

The recent on field spat between Gambhir and Dravid, left Gambhirs stocks decline even more. Even if he was just trying to suggest Dravid that probably he should talk to Watson about his behavior rather than to Bisla, his aggressive past, has put him in bad light whether he was right or wrong.

With the IPL being extremely popular among the younger generations, players have to realize, that they not only play for the team to win, but also are ambassadors of the game who inspire the next generations of cricketers. As the theme song of the IPL goes by Isko sirf dekhne ka nahi(It is not just to be seen) it is a tournament, where new fans get to learn and take up interest in the game as well. How they conduct themselves on the field may define how the next set grows up.

Has Dhoni rediscovered his captaincy mojo or is it the calm before the storm !

2013-03-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

If ever one wanted to know how fickle minded the Indian media can be, one doesn’t need to look at more than the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia. After a horrendous run of form over the past 18 months in Test match cricket, along with a series loss at home against England, MS Dhoni came into this series under a lot of pressure. Both his captaincy and his place in the team as a wicketkeeper were in question. A couple of emphatic wins against an inexperienced Australian side has turned the tables completely around for him, with former batting great Sunil Gavaskar suggesting he captains the team till 2019!!

A couple of months back, it was said Dhoni had lost his sheen, he looked jaded, he had become a defensive captain, and no one really noticed that the entire team was failing as a unit. The openers were not firing, the middle order looked out of sorts, bowlers albeit not their strongest point (but more than a handful in spinning conditions) looked inept at the international level, nothing seemed to be going right for team India.

Just two wins, and it all seems to be forgotten, Dhoni is back after coming back from a break is what is being portrayed in the media, he is aggressive, an active captain and no longer a reactive captain. Yes, some of it might be true, a break might have definitely helped his thought process, but didn’t anyone notice that he still kept his deep points and long off as soon as the Australians started attacking? Even when India was doing well, this was the tactic used by Dhoni, keep the fielders in the deep, strangle the opposition scoring rate and pile on the pressure. The reason why it is working again is the fact that the batsmen are piling on the required big scores. Whether or not the Australian bowlers are good enough for Indian conditions, scoreboard pressure does matter, which was lacking for the past 18 months or so.

With the victory in the 2^nd test, Dhoni has become the most successful Indian captain of all time in Tests. Does it necessarily mean that he is India’s greatest captain ever? Statistically yes, and especially the fact that Ganguly’s record is inflated mainly due to 9 victories against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Dhoni is miles ahead of any other Indian Test captain. Some say, that Dhoni inherited Ganguly’s team which helped him achieve all the success he had in his initial years. Another way to look at it is, Ganguly had a group of highly talented individuals who were at the peak of their careers during his tenure. Either way, if Ganguly was the sort of character Indian cricket needed after the dark days of match fixing, Dhoni has been the ideal leader which was required for the transition from the generation of superstars to the next set of upcoming cricketers.

It really isn’t the time to hype up Dhoni once again. Yes, his achievements have been stupendous and are a reason for a celebration. But there are further challenges ahead. 2013 and 2014 sees India travelling to South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia. How they perform there will be the real test. The selectors have shown they are willing to take hard decisions by dropping out of form senior members Sehwag and Gambhir. 2007 was the year Dhoni became the captain of the ODI Team, senior members Dravid and Ganguly were left out after playing one series under Dhoni. Probably Dhoni didn’t feel they would last till 2011 world cup or the selectors felt he would be more comfortable with younger players. What transpired after that was a golden period in Indian cricket. The test team now devoid of most of the older players and most of them not being mentally scarred by the defeats overseas could result in another glorious period for India. Only time will tell.

Day Night Tests- A Paradigm Shift?

2013-02-28T07:44:00.000-08:00

One of the boldest steps taken by the ICC recently was the approval of day-night tests. I say bold because in general people are hesitant to change and especially a change to a tradition which has been followed ever since the inception of the game.

With T20 games becoming extremely popular amongst fans, there has been a worry whether test cricket still holds a place in this day and age. Players still feel that Test cricket is the ultimate judge of their skill. There are fans that still love the ‘purest’ form of the game over any of the limited versions, but receding crowds in most of the test venues across the world has added to the fears.

I feel the way the world is moving on right now, it would be really hard to expect a large crowd in most venues during test matches. It is really harsh to expect people to skip working days to come and watch an entire day’s play. We are heading into an era where we will have more and more fans following the game online rather than come to the stadium and watch the game. I remember during the 1^st test between Australia and India at Mohali in 2010, when Laxman was performing one of his epic rear guard actions, the number of viewers following the game on Cricinfo was too much for the website to handle causing it to crash. Yes it is sad that the crowds at the stadiums have reduced, but I don’t think the number of followers have. We have an increasing number of people who keep a tab open on the browser and follow the game ball by ball live. Maybe that would give us a real indicator how much test cricket is being followed around the world.

Having said this, I feel the decision of the ICC to allow day-night tests is a good one. For one, it may add a new perspective to the game, with the game starting at dusk and then extending into the night. The way the batsmen cope with the gradually changing conditions would be really interesting to observe. It can also bring in a lot more spectators to the game as well; people returning from their offices can go and watch the game as well. But there are a lot of issues that need to be dealt with before implementing at the international level. The colour of the ball has been a major discussion. Pink balls have been tested and seem to be successful but until we have a large enough sample size we won't be able to pass any judgment. Another problem they will have to look into is venues where day night tests can be accommodated. It will be pretty hard to do so in the subcontinent, as the evenings sets in, dew comes which can provide undue advantage to the batting side. One way to look at the dew factor is that since it is a test match, both teams will have to counter the dew while bowling unlike in ODIs where the side fielding second is at a disadvantage. But the fact is, with the dew in, spinners will find it hard to grip the ball and pitches in the subcontinent being heavily favoured for spin bowling, it could totally negate the effectiveness of a bowler.

With the advent of T20, it is going to be interesting how the next generations of cricketers are brought up. Will they adhere to the tradition of test cricket? Or will they just prefer playing the shortest format? It’s like driving a car, if you just want to drive a car, you can always opt for an automatic vehicle, but if you truly want to be a master of it, one has to learn how to shift gears according to the prevailing conditions.

In my younger days, nothing intrigued me more than waking up early on a cool wintery morning, sipping a cup of tea to watch a Boxing Day test live. Maybe the time has come for a change. Maybe it is time to accept, that it will be hard to attract large crowds for test matches in the stadiums, but with growing technology we are heading into an age where we will have more followers online.

Reflecting on the new ICC rules

2013-01-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

Last October, the ICC once again changed the rules of the game, especially in limited overs cricket, in the hope that the pace of the middle overs phase of the game which has been considered a drag is picked up. Though amending the rules, in lieu of the changing demands of the game is fair enough, but doing it frequently can make it really confusing not only for the fans but also the players.

Lot has been made about the new rules, saying it has been once again skewed in favour of the batsmen. In view of that, allowing two bouncers per over is a welcome change. It can test the batsmen, knowing that there can be one more bouncer which can be bowled at them.

The rule to implement two new balls at each end had received a lot of flak, as it would kill reverse swing. It has been in place for more than a year now, and from what I have observed, it seems that conventional swing bowlers have really found this rule to their liking. It would be really interesting to see how the scores have been affected in the first 15 overs due to this change.

One of the biggest changes has been the reduction of fielders outside the 30 yard circle from the traditional five to four fielders. Five fielders outside the circle has been a constant ever since the ODI game has come into inception and it would have taken a lot of thought to modify the rule. This rule has received irk from the captains who have suggested it will be really harsh on the spinners as they won’t have an extra man on the boundary. Their reservations are valid, but I feel one of the advantages with this rule is that the captains are forced to be a bit more attacking. It had almost become a norm that once the powerplay overs were done with, you had captains placing five fielders on the boundary irrespective of the fact that a new batsman had come to the crease. The batsmen were ready to milk the bowlers and get settled and captains were happy to not concede the boundaries due to which some fans have felt that the middle overs were a drag.

With this new rule, the batsmen may have to try more attacking strokes to get runs, which can lead to more wickets. I remember distinctly an ODI in 2006 when Dravid had used the powerplay to get wickets. Pietersen was in one of his belligerent moods, yet Dravid opted to take the powerplay. With the field in, Pietersen probably felt the need to go for one shot too many and in the end he lost his wicket. The decision could have totally backfired, but what it does show here is that once the fielders are in, batsmen can feel the urge to over attack and it can lead to wickets.

I feel this is a positive change, and it can bring in some more positivity from the captains. The only drawback with this rule I feel is how the spinners respond. Will they start bowling flatter or will they toss the ball a lot more to entice the batsmen into a false stroke. Only time will tell.

There are some changes which the ICC have to look into as well due to recent developments, that of Steven Finn. He has a terrible habit of knocking the stumps down during his delivery stride, and it has led to umpires declaring it as a dead ball if the act has been performed repeatedly. It really would be annoying for the batting team if the ball is declared a dead ball when they have hit it for a four or six. It can make a big difference to the result. Probably a bowler can be given a warning, and the next offence can be marked as a no-ball. It is important a rule is created, so as to standardize the decision wherever the game is played.

With the game being heavily in favour of the batsmen, probably there is a case of allowing one bowler to bowl 12 overs instead of the stipulated 10. In the age of heavy bats, flat decks and shorter boundaries, there definitely should be some rules to please the bowlers as well! Whatever said and done, the ICC has to ensure the rules aren’t changed constantly, as it really hard for the followers to keep track of every change being made!

It's Time to Change

2013-01-14T02:40:00.000-08:00

It would be an understatement if one said India had a poor 2012. It was a year in which not only the cricket team plunged to the bottom, the country as a whole faced crisis after crisis. It is interesting that the current state of affairs in India match that of the cricket team.

Similar to the Indian politicians and religious leaders who have been making some really lame excuses for the incidents in Delhi, and rather than finding the right solution to stop the menace, have been coldly putting the blame on the women of the country - the Indian board and players rather than accepting the reality, have tried to justify their poor performances due to player injuries, unfair pitch conditions, etc.

In India, we have a tendency to put the blame on the others without analyzing ourselves. Yes corruption is rampant in the country, but before making judgments about others, shouldn’t we put ourselves in their shoes. I am not saying what they are doing is right, but corruption in India really starts from a very young age. Even college students, at the first sight of embezzling funds from the authorities for various college activities do their best to trick them by submitting doctored/tampered bills. The only difference is that the students deal in thousands whereas the politicians deal in lakhs. It isn’t the ideal situation, but it is where the seeds are planted.

Similarly, the Indian team rather than introspecting to identify what they have been doing wrong, resorted to sharing excuses with the hope that all will return to normalcy. But as it generally happens, if one is complacent and over-confident, things don’t go as per plan.

It is time for India as a nation to move on, face the ground reality and try to find solutions than just running away from the problems, hoping it gets solved by itself. Just like how the cold wave has gripped north India, a dark cloud has risen over India and has brought darkness and despair.

A new year has dawned upon us, and what better occasion to start afresh. The tradition has been to make a New Year resolution, but generally people following it has been an aberration. Let us all try together to make India a better place to live in by being accountable for our deeds and focus on offering constructive criticism and providing solutions.

Jacques of all trades!

2013-01-02T10:33:00.001-08:00

Jacques Kallis. That is a name which every cricket team in the world would be hoping was in their playing eleven. It is really surprising that despite his achievements in the game over the past decade he is not spoken of in the same league as a Sachin Tendulkar or a Ricky Ponting. His numbers as a batsman alone rank up along with the best to have ever played the game. To add to it, nearly 300 wickets in both forms of the game, we are now talking about one of the greatest all-rounders to have ever played the game.

Kallis started as a lower middle order batsman, who could be considered good enough to be a first change bowler in the team. As the years went by, his skills as a batsman demanded a position in the top four. His bowling work load reduced, but Kallis the batsman just went leaps and bounds from then on. An average of over 60 in the 100 Tests he has played at no 4 is a testament to the fact.

For most part of his career Kallis was accused of being an extremely slow batsman. But over the last four years, he has shown a side of his game, which was never seen before. This can be seen in the figures below.

	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Overall Career	321	11498	45.26	72.97
Since 2008	52	2184	47.01	82.57

Statistics showing Kallis record in ODI cricket

His strike rate over the last four years in limited over cricket is 83 as compared to an overall career strike rate of 73. Mind you, despite his aggressive stint, the average is more or less the same which shows that he has vastly improved his game over this period. A part of the credit must go to the IPL, where he has developed his game and took it to the next level.

As a test batsman, he is already the fourth highest run scorer in the history of the game. In the process he has also become the second fastest batsman to score 13000 runs in tests.

There was a period in the 1980s when almost every major team had a great all-rounder. England had Ian Botham, Pakistan Imran Khan, India Kapil Dev and New Zealand Richard Hadlee. It is surprising that ever since, other than Kallis no other player has fulfilled all round duties over a long period of time. Andrew Flintoff, Chris Cairns, Lance Klusner all had their moments in the game, but never could consistently play over a long period of time mainly due to injuries as they couldn’t sustain the vigours of both batting and bowling. Shane Watson, one of the best all-rounders currently playing the game too has had an injury prone career. With the amount of cricket being played these days, it’s almost impossible to imagine an all-rounder having a long career. It is a tribute to how Kallis has maintained himself over the years and be able to contribute in both aspects of the game. Add to that a career tally of 192 test catches, which is the third highest in Test cricket, he is definitely amongst the greatest all-rounders to have ever played the game.

How does Kallis fair in comparison to all-rounders of yestyears?

Player	Matches	Runs	Batting Avg	Wickets	Bowling Avg	Difference (Bat. Avg - Bowl. Avg)
J Kallis	159	13040	56.94	282	32.57	+24.37
Garry Sobers	93	8032	57.78	235	34.03	+23.75
Ian Botham	102	5200	33.54	383	28.40	+5.14
Imran Khan	88	3807	37.69	362	22.81	+14.88
Richard Hadlee	86	3124	27.16	431	22.29	+4.87
Kapil Dev	131	5248	31.05	434	29.64	+1.41

As we can see Kallis is matched only by Sir Garry Sobers in respect to the difference in batting and bowling averages, but Kallis has played more than 60 matches than him and yet maintained his performances. His durability and consistency is something which all aspiring sportsmen should strive to achieve.

Tendulkar is revered as God in India and recently MS Dhoni considered Zaheer Khan as the Tendulkar of India’s bowling. Kallis batting has been as good as Sachin over the years and has nearly taken the same of amount of wickets as Zaheer as. With this one can realize what a multi-dimensional cricketer he has been.

A fast bowling all-rounder is a dying breed, and with the standards set by Kallis, it is hard to imagine anyone in the near future matching his feats. At 37, there might not be a lot of cricket left in Kallis, but he will definitely go down as one of the greatest players to have ever played the game if not the greatest. His loss would be a large void to fill in for South Africa and the cricketing world.

Blame it on Dhoni

2013-01-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

Poor Dhoni what can you do to stop this horrendous run of losses for Team India. No matter how poorly the other 10 players on the field perform, the fault lies on you. Yes, you hit the nail on its head when you mentioned that you have become the new punching bag of Team India. Sachin coped it for the last two decades, now it is your turn!

On a damp wicket, with a lot of assistance for the faster bowlers, it was always going to be hard batting first. The need of the hour was to see off the new ball and then capitalize towards the end. Like we have been seeing in the test matches for the past year or so, none of the top order batsmen showed any sort of application to play the swinging ball. It is high time, the selectors consider replacing the under performing openers. Does Sehwag really command a place in the ODI team? He has been in poor form in this format for sometime, and to add to it, he is a liability on the field. Already the team is short of quality bowlers, and every run saved on the field will be a big bonus. In the end, Dhoni played one of the finest innings in ODIs saved India from the blushes. All this from a man who doesn’t have the technique to play on tracks conducive for fast bowling. He may not posses the best of techniques, but whatever said or done, he has found a way to cope with it. The fact that he is one of the few Indians who can play the pull shot definitely helps!

With the new ODI rules making it mandatory to have five fielders inside the 30 yard circle, it is important that India choose their 5^th bowler wisely. Dhoni has received a lot of flak for going with only four specialists bowlers. Even during the world cup campaign India went in with four bowlers. Batting has always been their strength, and looking at the current crop of bowlers, India’s batting unit will always be stronger than the bowling unit. You can’t blame the bowlers for a poor performance from the batters. The fact that it was stretched to the 49^th over shows how well they tried. Dhoni prefers packing the side with 7 batsmen, so that however poor the bowlers bowl, he will have the firepower in the batting to cover it up. Even if the team wants a 5^th bowler, who are the options? If Jadeja is selected, all will conjure up Dhoni’s love for CSK players! Finding four good bowlers itself has been a major issue over the years for India, and I don’t see how we can find a decent 5^th bowler anytime soon. Other than Ashwin, there is no bowler in the top 30 ODI rankings. The fact that Jadeja is the second highest ranked bowler for India tells you the story. A fully fit Irfan Pathan might solve the problem. Irfan and Ashwin do seem to be good enough to bat at positions 7 and 8. More importantly it will give Dhoni the chance to bat atleast one position higher. With the kind of bowlers India has currently, it is really harsh on blaming Dhoni for his defensive tactics. When Warne and Mcgrath retired, we saw how Ricky Ponting struggled, with his new bowlers. The fact that India did reasonably well during the period 2007-2011 is a testament of how well Dhoni handled his limited resources.

During the India England Test series, the focus was on Sachin’s batting and Dhoni’s captaincy due to which Sehwag and Gambhir got away despite their insipid performances. Sehwag has been underperforming in ODIs for sometime now, and probably it is time to look ahead and give Rahane a chance. If the top order doesn’t get fixed soon, Dhoni will experience what Sachin has endured throughout his career.

Dhoni’s captaincy over the years has been pretty much the same; it is just that now he’s having too many players in the team solely on their past reputations. During such turbulent times it is necessary that the captain inspires the team. He tried his best in the last ODI, running quick singles and two’s despite the fact that he was totally drained out by the end due to the sapping heat of Chennai and trying to give the bowlers some sort of a chance. Compare this to Gambhir, who was more interested in staying not out rather than farming the strike in Mumbai. It may not have made any difference in the result, but it sends down the wrong message. Maybe the right way is to give some of the senior players aspiring for captaincy a kick on their backside and give chance to players with greater zeal and enthusiasm. Dhoni has become everyone’s favourite punching bag; I hope in the new year, he’s the one punching.

The Fallen Warrior...?

2012-12-12T09:58:00.001-08:00

Other than during the dark days of match fixing, there probably has never been harder times in Indian cricket than what they are currently facing. A side in transition after the retirement of two legends of cricket is never going to be easy, and as the results have shown, it hasn't gone too smoothly for India.

Against top teams, India have sunk to depths never seen before. Even during the 90s when India were poor travellers they were a force to consider at home. In the previous decade, they did well to remove the tag of tigers at home and lambs overseas, but recent results have erased out all the hardwork done.

When the team is not doing well, there will always be loud talk about who must be dropped and who must be selected. Though it is necessary to bring in changes considering the results in the past one year, change for the sake of changing is never a good option. India must realize, the side is going through a period where there will be instability as it won't be easy to replace Dravid, Laxman and in the near future Tendulkar. Chopping and changing players regularly will not help. It is very important that the youngsters coming in are given a fair chance. We have to realize that in order to become as good as some of the greats, they have to be given opportunites to fail and learn from their experiences. Laxman was pushed up and down the order initially but he was persisted with. Had he been dropped after some of the initial failures he had, world cricket would not be able to cherish such a charismatic stroke player!

One of the things which has come out very strongly during this debacle, is MS Dhoni's place in the test team being questioned. I find it quite bizzare that, when the entire top 6 is going through a bad patch, why question the number seven batsman only? Yes Dhoni hasn't been amongst the runs lately, but the replacement captain who the former chairman of selectors Mohinder Amarnath is considering hasn't been amongst the runs for the past three years!

Table Showing Runs scored by Dhoni and remaining other wicket keepers in Test Matches during the last 20 years
	Innings	Runs	Average	50s/100s
MS Dhoni	114	3784	37.46	27/05
Other Indian Keepers(From 1992-2012)	178	3530	22.7	15/3

As we can see from the above stat how well Dhoni has done in comparison to other Indian keepers over the past 20 years. One of the points raised against Dhoni in Test matches is that he hasn't played match winning knocks like how Gilchrist did for Australia. But looking at the stats of wicketkeepers over the past decade (minimum runs scored as 1000), Dhoni has not only scored the maximum number of runs over this period, he is the third highest averaged batsman during the period. Dhoni hasn't played a single big defining knock in Tests, but he has played a lot of decisive 50s during the period. Unfortunately in India we are satisfied only if a batsman hits a 100.

Table Showing Highest averages by wicket keepers in Test matches during the period Dec-2002 to Dec 2012 (minimum 1000 runs scored)
Player	Matches	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave
MJ Prior(Eng)	61	91	3269	131*	43.01
AC Gilchrist (Aus)	59	85	3136	162	41.81
MS Dhoni (India)	72	114	3784	148	37.46
BJ Haddin (Aus)	43	71	2257	169	35.82
KC Sangakkara (SL)	25	44	1510	185	35.11

When it comes to runs scored in victories, Dhoni is only behind Gilchrist during this period. It is no coincidence that India's best period came when Dhoni the batsman was contributing. With the rate at which he scores, he often gave the bowlers a few extra overs to get the opposition out.

Ideally, a 8-0 loss is good enough to end a captaincy career. But given the amount of success Dhoni had prior, it was natural that he was given a chance to redeem himself. Unfrotunately for the selectors, the senior members next in line Gambhir and Sehwag are woefully out of form themselves. The only way out here is to give Dhoni a chance to bring back the lost glory or give a young player an opportunity to rebuild the side in a similar way Grame Smith was trusted upon the captaincy at a very young age, thereby relieving Dhoni of the burden from captaincy and let him concentrate on contributing as a player.

Dropping Dhoni from the team at this stage would be a complete blunder. He has set the standards so high himself, that we expect another player to ease into his place easily. For all his contributions to Indian cricket, he deserves to be given a chance to make a strong come back. You never know the value of what you have till you loose it. Growth for the sake of growth is the philosophy of a cancer cell.

The Thrills and Frills of Home

2012-12-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

With all the hype surrounding the India-England series and the Indian media portraying the series as a grudge series, it is disappointing that the talk of the town has been about the nature of the pitches rather than about some engrossing cricket which has been played over the last two weeks.

A lot of talk has taken place about the extent of home advantage a team must have. I believe that’s where the beauty of test cricket lies, the different challenges one has to face when travelling to different countries is what makes cricket a very unique and intriguing sport. There have been times when spinning tracks have been ruled as unsporting and I find that pretty absurd since a green top is considered as a fair wicket. A track which turns from day one can be considered as unsporting only when the result of the game is highly dependent on the toss. A track can be considered as sporting when it favours both batsmen and bowlers equally. It has almost become a norm these days that if a bowler’s track is laid out, it is considered as a bad track, but on the other hand if it is a batsman’s paradise, no one seems to make a fuss about it. That’s where I feel Dhoni’s unyielding request for tracks which have turn and bounce right from day one is a wonderful step in order to change the state of wickets which are prepared in India. For most part of the last decade, there have been way too many flat tracks which have been prepared leading to high scoring draws. As we saw in Mumbai, the toss was taken out of the equation, the spinners got turn and bounce from day one, fast bowlers found carry as good as one can get in India, Pietersen and Cook showed there was good value for your shots once you get in. Yes the creation of a supposedly tailor made track for India backfired, but we were able to witness some wonderful cricket, with the pitch not too inclined to support one facet of the game.

It has become a major talking point, whether India’s strategy of preparing pitches to suit their team is moral or not. Though I see no problem in having pitches suited to the home team’s strength, it is the Indian team and media’s attitude with which I am quite perplexed. The word which has been floating around has been about Australia and England preparing green tops to suit their fast bowlers, so why should India not prepare tracks to suit their spinners. The pitches during India’s tours to England and Australia where nowhere close to green tops. The only reason we lost is simple. We were outplayed in all the three departments! How else can one explain that when Australia and England used to pile up big scores, India could barely cross 250 in almost all of their innings? It wasn’t as though the pitch was green when India batted and became flat when they bowled!

There lies part of the bigger problem for India. With the retirement of stalwarts Dravid and Laxman, and Sachin’s colossal career coming to an end it is necessary they identify and back a group of batsmen who have the skills to play in all sorts of conditions. We need to give priority to performers in first class cricket -as of now we have lot of cricketers who are coming in through performances in the limited overs cricket. They can thrill but unfortunately it’s all frill! During the period between 2002 and 2007 when India did reasonably well overseas a lot credit was given to the remarkable performances of batsmen. But the most crucial element was the performance of Kumble during that period. He was the leading wicket taker overseas in the world during that period. Remarkable for a man who was considered only good for home conditions. How MS Dhoni must be wishing he had one such bowler who could perform such a similar role for him.

It is disappointing to see the team and BCCI not admitting that they performed extremely poorly during their last two tours. Results don’t matter but it is what you learn from the experiences is what Dhoni has been emphasizing on. But if you don’t acknowledge your mistakes, it is pretty hard to improve from there on. Only a couple of test wins more and Dhoni will become the most successful Indian captain ever in terms of wins registered. With the team in a transition period, and results not going his way, he is going through the most difficult phase of his career. How he performs from here, will define his legacy.

Turning Twenty Three and counting…

2012-10-17T09:16:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Sachin Tendulkar announced that he will consider about his retirement series by series. A statement by Sachin will always be a headline, and once it was of this magnitude, it was bound to send shockwaves throughout the world. It has almost become a fashion now, people commenting on what Sachin should do or shouldn’t do. Don’t worry; my article won’t be one of the same!

Sachin, for many is the greatest batsman to play the game, for some he’s just behind Sir Donald Bradman, for others he lies somewhere in the top 5. I really don’t know where to place him as it would be unfair to compare him with batsmen of previous generations. In the case of Sachin, it is really hard, as he has endured which no sportsperson must have ever gone through. His presence lifted the hopes of the nation, his dismissal brought about despondency among the masses. It is hard to imagine any other person who had to face such ordeals.

Sachin’s career has to a large extent symbolized everyone’s dream. As a small kid, you always wanted to be a national sensation at a very young age, be adored by your country-men, be a celebrity, best player for your team, play match winning knocks, take your team to victory in a stiff run chase, being the brave hearted warrior when everyone around you is struggling and above all a World Cup winner. The lesser I talk about the magic number of 100 international centuries it is for the better. One might argue that only half of his centuries have resulted in victories, but it is a number which has to be respected. It is a feat, which even the very best will find it hard to achieve. No matter how irrelevant one finds statistics, this is an accomplishment which everyone silently in the minds would wish was theirs.

Back when it all started

He has had an illustrious career and it is remarkable how well he has sustained his performances for the last 23 years. Twenty three years! These are numbers which you generally don’t tend to hear for sports personalities. To still remain at the top is stupendous. At a tender age of 16, the nation had pinned their entire hopes on him, and he rarely failed to deliver. Perhaps many of us were realizing our unfulfilled dreams through Sachin. Maybe it’s no coincidence that India’s economy was on an upward rise as Sachin was growing up, and as he is reaching towards the end of a glorious career, the economy is going down.

The World Cup victory for India last year was the icing on the cake. It was a dream for Sachin to be a part of a world cup winning squad, and for a billion viewers watching him with his child like smile run onto the field after the victory in the final, gave us hope, strength and the credence that one day, if we pursue our goals and dreams with utmost dedication, it will be fulfilled.

Virat Kohli summed it up best after winning the world cup final in 2011, by saying “Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years; It was time we carried him”. I think Sachin deserves his space to make his decision regarding when to leave the game. We owe him atleast that much.

Having said this, it doesn’t mean he can go on irrespective of his performances, but for now he seems good enough to carry on for a while longer. His whole career has been scrutinized with disdain, for once if we stop marking each and every move of his during the twilight of his career, we might be able to watch the child in him play freely, relieved of all the burden on his shoulders. Until then, let us sit back and enjoy a once in a life time player, wield the magic with his willow and bring a smile on the faces of a billion people.

T20...A Specialist's game?

2012-10-10T07:16:00.001-07:00

Recently concluded was the 4^th edition of the T20 World Cup, but a lot has changed since the inaugural tournament in 2007. Back then, T20 was a relatively new format with most teams not really sure of what to expect. With India winning the 1^st edition, it led to the creation of the IPL and with that the number of T20 matches being played has spiraled up. With 5 years of serious international T20 being played, it probably is a good time to analyze how the game has evolved, and see which players have had more impact than others.

With the advent of the IPL, there have been a lot of players who have made their name in domestic T20 games and have been fast tracked into their national sides. Keiron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Warner are some of the names which come into one’s mind immediately. They have performed exceptionally well in domestic leagues around the world, but let’s just have a look at who are the players who are the most successful at the international level.

Table Showing List of Batsmen with highest averages in International T20 with minimum runs 300
Player Name	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
ML Hayden (Aus)	9	308	51.33	143.92
A Symonds (Aus)	11	337	48.14	169.34
CH Gayle (WI)	28	976	39.04	148.32
V Kohli (India)	14	463	38.58	129.32
MEK Hussey (Aus)	30	721	37.94	136.29
KP Pietersen (Eng)	36	1176	37.93	141.51
Misbah-ul-Haq (Pak)	34	788	37.52	110.2
BB McCullum (NZ)	53	1655	36.77	135.65
EJG Morgan (Eng)	30	758	36.09	131.59
JH Kallis (SA)	23	666	35.05	119.35

Table Showing List of Bowlers with Best economy rates (Minimum wickets taken 20)
Player Name	Matches	Wickets	Economy Rate	Strike Rate
DL Vettori (NZ)	33	37	5.61	20.7
BAW Mendis (SL)	26	51	5.85	11.6
Saeed Ajmal (Pak)	48	69	6.13	15.4
Shahid Afridi (Pak)	56	62	6.22	20.4
DW Steyn (SA)	28	37	6.36	16.2
GP Swann (Eng)	39	51	6.36	15.8
Harbhajan Singh (India)	25	22	6.36	24.5
J Botha (SA)	40	37	6.37	20.9
NL McCullum (NZ)	39	40	6.47	16.2
Abdur Razzak (Ban)	23	35	6.69	15.2

One look at this list and you can realize that hardly any of the T20 specialists have topped the charts in either bowling or batting. The trend continues in this World Cup too. The leading run scorers and wicket takers apart from Luke Wright and Balaji are regular fixtures in the Test sides as well. Having said this, we will have a look at the overall career stats of popular T20 players. By popular I mean players who have earned a place in their respective national sides through performances in domestic T20 games.

Player Name	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Luke Wright	32	568	19.58	135.88
Keiron Pollard	26	409	18.68	146.07
Imran Nazir	24	500	21.73	135.13
Craig Kieswetter	25	526	21.91	111.91
Richard Levi	11	231	25.66	155.02

Looking at these stats, one can infer that they haven’t really been consistent. They have had their impact matches for which they have been brought in for, but largely they haven’t been able to put up a series of good scores. I just had a glance at their first class performances and it’s nothing to write home about.

Maybe it has got to do something with their not so consistent performances in T20 as well. At the international level, they will find bowlers of the highest caliber and if they haven’t mastered the art of playing the long innings, they might be found wanting. There might be just 20 overs, it may not look like it’s a lot, but when you have quality bowlers at the top, sometimes it’s best to weather off the storm and capitalize in the end. It is best illustrated in the Super 8 group match between Australia and South Africa. Shane Watson saw off the initial testing overs of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and then went absolutely berserk.

Before T20 became popular there were a lot of players who were termed as ODI specialists such as Michael Bevan, Andrew Symonds, Ajay Jadeja, Nathan Bracken, etc. Having said so most of these successful players were always good at first class level and at a minimum were always under review for Test selections. Pollard, Levi, Kieswetter definitely do not belong to this category.

One might argue, after seeing Pollard’s knock against Australia in the semi-finals showing that he has the X-factor in him to win games. I don’t question his ability which is obvious to see, but does he have the temperament to play a long innings in T20? In the semis there were only 2-3 overs left when he came out to bat, he had only one way to bat at that stage, but if there comes a point where he comes in to bat as early as 6^th or 7^th over, will he be able to adjust accordingly?

Looking at the top bowlers in T20, other than Afridi, all are regulars in the Test team. It shows once again if you have learnt to get wickets in first class cricket, the chances of performing in the shortest format of the game also hold true. Cricket is a simple game, and its best to keep it that way. Probably someone like Jade Dernbach should realize this, for all his variations he has got; he hasn’t been able to hit consistent lengths regularly which has resulted in not so satisfactory performances.

David Warner leads the next generation of cricketers who have started of playing T20 matches before first class games. He has been reasonably successful so far, though his weakness against spinners has been well documented. It will be interesting to see how the young brigade performs in the long run. Ravichandran Ashwin of India, probably their only specialist T20 bowler, rose to stardom after some stellar performances in the IPL. But one must not forget that he was a steady performer in first class cricket before making his name in the glitz and glamour of IPL.

Few years ago, it was said that if you are good enough to play Test cricket, you definitely can play T20. It looked like a joke then; but then looking at the way the game has progressed it is very much the reality. Exciting times ahead - it would be interesting to see if this trend continues.

Twenty 20…. Foreseeing the larger interests of the game

2012-09-26T08:41:00.002-07:00

Twenty 20…. Foreseeing the larger interests of the game

With the amount of T20 games being played these days thanks to the countless number of domestic leagues which have formed across the globe, one tends to wonder if the ICC T20 World Cup really required. And if it is, what purpose does it serve. One of the things I feel the ICC is trying to achieve with a T20 world cup is to globalize the game. Cricket on a whole is played seriously by very few nations and to spread the game, T20 seems to be the most viable option. Also being such a short tournament, number of mismatches between the top teams and the minnows won’t be much of an issue as it is in the case of the 50 overs World Cup.

But one wonders, what happens to the associate teams after the world cup is over. Fair enough, the ICC have tried giving these teams an insight how things work at the international level, but the point is does anyone track their progress once the tournament gets over. Let’s take the case of Kenya. After the unexpected but remarkable performance of them during the World Cup in 2003 where they eventually reached the semi-finals, there were calls for Kenya to get a test status. In the end they weren’t even close to playing a Test match and are now completely out of the international scene. Similarly Ireland performed above expectations and reached the Super 8 stage in the 2007 World Cup. They have improved from then on, but their opportunities at the international level have been very limited. I am very curious to know what is the status of associates like Namibia and Bermuda who have played at the highest level but are no longer to be seen. More or less everyone has been touched how players from the war-torn nation of Afghanistan have put up a spirited performance. But once again the question arises, what lies for them after the World Cup? Will the ICC ensure that these teams don’t just make headlines only during the main events or will they fade into the oblivion?

Boyd Rankin and Eoin Morgan are two cricketers who have switched their international allegiance from Ireland to England to pursue their dreams of playing test cricket. One could easily blame them for changing loyalties, but is it their fault? They feel they have got the game to compete with top international cricketers, but unfortunately are restricted since their country isn’t competent enough.

This is where I feel the ICC and the other cricket boards should take up the responsibility to foresee the larger interests of the game. To begin with top associate teams must be given opportunities to take part in domestic first class tournaments of established cricketing nations. Let them have a taste of how cricket is played in different parts of the world. Apart from giving them the right exposure it will also help them improve their cricketing standards. This can be applied to even teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe who have been in the international circuit for a reasonably long duration. Another suggestion, though highly improbable that it will be practical is that each domestic T20 team must have a player from an associate team. It will give them the experience of playing in front of packed stadiums, quality oppositions and also develop their game by spending time with the international stars.

With most T20 teams owned by a franchisee system and monetary gains being the prime objective, it will be pretty hard to convince them. However they must realize what the game is giving to them and it is their moral responsibility to ensure that the game attracts a global audience. Sometimes life’s not all about a profit or loss statement, one must do things for the greater good!

Suresh Raina and the Test Conundrum

2012-09-15T02:50:00.001-07:00

Ever since the retirement of Sourav Ganguly from test matches in late 2008, India have been looking for a reliable replacement for him. Four years have passed but India still haven’t got a player who has sealed the spot. Now with the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, the numbers of vacant spots have increased. There are a lot of contenders for the 3 spots mainly Virat Kohli, Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Badrinath, Tiwary and Suresh Raina. Raina’s case is the most interesting. He has been around in the one day squad for around 5 years now and has become a very valuable player in the ODI team. It was natural that the selectors gave him an opportunity in Test matches after Yuvraj Singh couldn’t come up with consistent performances. Raina made a spectacular start to his Test career with a 100 on debut and a counter attacking 41 in a difficult chase in his 2nd test. It looked as though India finally found someone who could fill in the number 6 spot in the Test side. That’s when all the problems began for him. Bowlers around the world realized his weakness for short pitched bowling and heavily exposed him. He hasn’t found a way yet to counter such type of bowling which has resulted in his extremely poor performances in Tests.

A bouncer when in whites, Suresh Raina lands in all sorts of trouble

One of the things I have noticed with Raina is that he struggles a lot against short pitch bowling more in Tests than the limited overs. Agreed that in tests, since there is no limit on number of overs per bowler, he will be tested for a longer time and with attacking fields set, a slight miscalculation can result him in becoming out. It has got him in a state where he has been expecting a short ball every time a fast bowler comes on to bowl. As a result, it generally isn’t the short ball which gets him out, but the balls pitched on a good length area which gets him in trouble as he is waiting on the backfoot. A classic example was during the 1st test in Centurion during India’s tour to South Africa in late 2010, Kallis kept catching Raina neither forward or backwards, and eventually Raina just ended up guiding the ball to the slip cordon! But what I have observed is that in the limited overs, if there is a short ball he either ducks it or just smashes it out of the park, whereas in Tests he really gets confused. When he decides to pull, he is not really sure whether to keep it down or just smash it out of the ground, which more or less results in him ending up in awkward positions. With the amount of limited overs cricket India have been playing recently (including IPL), one gets the feeling that Raina hasn’t really had much time to work out his flaws in the longer format of the game. With a packed schedule he hasn’t been able to go back to the domestic scene and play few first class games to iron out the chinks in his batting technique.

When in the blues, a short ball is heading only in one direction

A quick glance at the Future Tours Program (FTP) as listed by the ICC (FTP Calender ), we can see that India aren’t slotted to play any games during the months April to September 2013. Obviously the Indian Premier League (IPL) will take place in April and May, but I feel a county season for Raina will do a world of good for him. It will not only help him improve his batting skills, but also give him an exposure to a better set of fast bowlers in conditions which aren’t really conducive to batting.

Temperament at the highest level has never been an issue with Raina, he has helped India win in a number of games from tight situations. It’s just more of an adaptation to the longer format which he needs to get used to, which can be done by only playing more and more first class games.

Let us hope that he sorts out his issues soon and start entertaining us in the longest format of the game too!

UDRS (Umpire Decision Review System) Yes or No !

2012-09-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

The big thing circling around in the cricket world these days is whether the DRS i.e. the Decision Review System (or Dravid Removal System as some of the Indian fans call it) should be made compulsory for all cricket matches or not. First things first, whatever the ICC decides, it must be uniform and must be applied to all the matches. It’s just ridiculous that you have one series played with DRS and another without DRS. Mind you even the series which play with the DRS rules implemented are applied in different forms. Some have Hawkeye as one of the judging criteria some have only Hotspot! It’s really bizarre and silly that you have a game which is being played with different rules in different continents.

Many feel that BCCI is being the main detractor of the DRS because of the teams failing to use the DRS effectively (as well as the controversies which occurred in England mainly with Dravid’s dismissals). Since nowadays most administrators are more concerned more about the commercial aspects rather than the game itself, the first thing they must look into is how will the smaller boards like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka be able to bear the costs for the equipment’s required for the DRS. The more powerful boards such as BCCI, ECB or CA have enough funds to cover the costs or have a large enough market to find a sponsor. The first thing the ICC has to do is if the DRS has to be implemented either they find a common sponsor for all the matches being played (the payment varying depending on the intensity of the series) or the ICC themselves sponsor the same.

Now coming to the point of the DRS. The first thing the ICC should clarify to everyone is the system they are trying to implement is not going to be 100% but a system which can remove the howlers away. The BCCI has to stop being adamant in saying that the two umpires on the field alone can do the job. Yes they can improve their standards, but with growing technology it would obviously be better if they are assisted. I would really like asking N Srinivasan what if India were to face the Sydney fiasco once again. Will they threaten to boycott the series once more?

Sanjay Manjrekar has been saying avoid the DRS and no need to talk about it, the series will be played without any controversy. Luckily for him after India’s tour of England, India never faced any major umpiring mistakes. What about the low profile series like Pakistan vs Sri Lanka? Pakistan were on the wrong side around 10 times!! Many of them were howlers which could have been easily overturned.

Hotspot was considered to 100% foolproof before the India England series happened. It is dependent on the weather conditions and hence until that condition is eradicated it cannot be used as a judging criterion for all the decisions. Hawkeye too has its flaws which is easily demonstrated by Phil Hughes dismissal in Sri Lanka which was later explained to be due to the difference in frame rates between the cameras used in Sri Lanka and those in England. Forget about uniformity in using DRS all around the world, there has to be uniformity in the equipment’s being used as well to allow DRS to be a successful venture.

As Harsha Bhogle recently pointed out in his article if you give the number of decisions to be made by the players, then as a batsman you are giving priority only to the top 1-7 usually to help themselves escape a wrong decision. What if your tail ender is winning you a match with the bat and then gets a wrong decision? He may not get the chance to review it!

My suggestion is to give the decision of the review in the hands of the umpire. He can use it when he feels there is a doubt and use the help of the television replays to make the correct decision. No need of the hotspot, just use the replays to check if a there was a genuine edge or not. Use hawkeye just to see where the ball has pitched and see that the impact of the ball on pad is within the line of the stumps. The third umpire shouldn’t take more than a minute to make his decision and if the replays are inconclusive till then, he should make his own decision. If a third umpire can’t make a decision in one minute after many replays it definitely can’t be any worse than what an onfield umpire will do. Yes this is not the most perfect system, it may cast more doubts on the umpires mind, yes the players may feel cheated that one decision is reviewed but a similar case isn’t but they should man up and not complain as after all cricket is a gentleman’s game ! , but what it can do is remove the howlers. It can help cricket avoid another Sydney fiasco.

Tale of Rohit Sharma

2012-09-05T07:53:00.001-07:00

Sachin Tendulkar feels Rohit Sharma has it in him to be India’s best batsman. Ian Chappell says Rohit should be preferred over Virat Kohli in tests; Gambhir too feels Rohit has all the talent in the world to be the world’s best batsman. Moreover Kohli himself believes Rohit belongs to another league and it would not be right to compare him with other upcoming youngsters (http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/568000.html). When everyone is praising Rohit about his talent how come he is not performing yet?

Rohit’s first international innings was against South Africa on a seaming Durban during the T20 World Cup in 2007. In that very innings one could notice the special talent in him which everyone keeps talking about. The class, the grace, the art of playing the ball late – all of it was on display- he showed he has immense potential. In the hit and miss world of T20, he showed that one can play a well-paced knock by playing conventional shots. Here was a man who was so easy on the eye, no brashness about him. Sachin Tendulkar, Damien Martyn, Mark Waugh, VVS Laxman they all had one thing in common. When they batted they were a sight to watch. Rohit showed that he too had the potential to be in that league.

It was in the 2008 tour to Australia when it looked like that he’s living upto his potential with a wonderful knock in the finals to guide India to victory in the best of 3 finals. He wasn’t really consistent in that series, but he had shown signs of improvement as the games went along and he performed as per expectations from a young kid. But from then on it has been a downhill journey for him. It’s almost 5 years since he started his career and he still hasn’t earned a permanent fixture in the side. Compare him to Virat Kohli who started his career a year after Rohit. Kohli has not only become one of the leading batsmen in ODI cricket but has earned his way to become the vice-captain of India. Four years ago few would have imagined this would have happened.

What could be the reason for Rohits continuous failure? Many cricketers believe that Rohit is better than Kohli when it comes to talent but it’s the latter who is performing. With Rohit one gets the impression he is just not hardworking and serious about his game. When you look at someone like Virat Kohli or Gautum Gambhir you can see it in their eyes that they want to do well. When cricketers talk about Kohli they talk about his work ethic, the effort he puts into his game during the practice sessions. Yuvraj Singh had stated that he wished he had worked as hard as Kohli during his younger days. We all know with the talent Yuvraj possesses he has really underachieved in international cricket. One can only hope that the same doesn’t happen with Rohit. This is something Rohit has to really look into, for all the talent in the world he has, he just will have to put in the required hard yards to become a successful player at the top most level.

One thing I have noticed is that Rohit’s List A record isn’t really worth taking note of whereas his first class performances is top notch. Probably he’s someone who is suited to the longer format of the game and is just finding his way through the limited version. Hes a wonderful T20 player but I think what happens to him is that hes not able to judge rightly at what pace he must play in an ODI game. Probably that’s something the selectors must look into before all together leaving him.

Anil Kumble wasn’t the most talented spinner going around in world cricket. People criticized him for not turning the ball. Some said he wasn’t a spinner, just a medium pacer who was very accurate. But he showed the world that if you have the passion and determination to succeed you will always do well. How well he fared is there for everyone to see.

Rohit’s continuous failure reminds me of one popular saying, no matter how much innate talent you have, the right attitude can make a difference in your career. Let’s hope for India’s sake and moreover for all cricket lovers around the world, Rohit starts performing and lead the light among the next generation of cricketers.