Indian spinners have been known as major threats to opposition batsmen. The dominance of the Indian tweakers reached a crescendo in the 1970s, with Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Bishen Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan hunting together, much to the peril of the batting opponents. The fearsome foursome spinning a web meant that the batsmen facing the music were dancing to their tunes, with wickets falling like nine-pins. These four were characterized by their amazing consistency and longevity.
It was precisely these clinching qualities that went missing from the next breed of spinners that the Indian domestic cricket churned out at the disposal of the national selectors. Narendra Hirwani and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan began with a bang. But like Maninder Singh and Arshad Ayub, they flattered to deceive. Erratic form and lack of fitness meant that they were not to be relied on. Kirti Azad and Ravi Shastri were all-rounders struggling to excel in either bowling or batting. Shastri continued for long as a useful and effective all-rounder, particularly in the shorter version of the game, especially with him being tried to reasonable effect as an opener in both forms of the game, primarily as a sedate foil to the swashbuckling Srikkanth. Azad, with ordinary form and average performance, was dumped for good, as Hirwani and Maninder, and to a less extent, Ayub, kept coming in and going out of the Indian squad. Others like Saradindu Mukherjee too got a look-in, without much success, though.
As Shashtri and Srikkanth turned their arms over, with the latter becoming the first Indain to claim five wickets in a One-Day International, newbies like Anil Kumble and Venkatapathy Raju were slowly and surely taking charge. The spark to the flagging graph of Indian spin bowling was provided by the spin trio of Anil Kumble, Venkatapathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan in India’s home series against England in 1993, following a string of disappointing outings in Australia and South Africa, that included an early exit from the 1992 World Cup. Relieved by the slow, low tracks back home, the veteran batsmen took charge and made merry against a largely inexperienced English bowling. The less reputed spinners ensured that the more illustrious opponent batting line-up featuring the likes of Graham Gooch, Mike Gatting, Allan Lamb, Robin Smith, among others were biting dust.
While Kumble never had to look back, Raju and Chauhan quietly complemented him in both forms of the game, especially at home. The off-spinner Chauhan was especially known for his miserly line and length. However, with the left-armer Raju lacking in consistency and being a dud with the bat, spinner all-rounders like Utpal Chatterjee and Sairaj Bahutule were tried, with both failing to live up to the expectations they raised by means of their consistently striking performances both with the ball and with the bat in domestic circuit.
In the shorter version of the game, while Raju finally made way for Sunil Joshi, Chouhan’s mantle was taken over by Nikhil Chopra. Both were strikingly similar in the result they produced. Both Joshi and Chopra were economical with the ball and neat strikers of the cricket ball with the willow in their hands. Joshi, however, struggled at the hands of the Pakistani batsmen in particular, who used their feet well against him. The result was that he never really could graduate to becoming a regular in the Indian side, especially since one-day all-rounders like Robin Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Ajay Jadeja, Vijay Bharadwaj, as also Nikhil Chopra delivering the goods, with Sairaj Bahutule and Gyanendra Pandey also in the fray, coupled with the lurking presence of Venkatapathy Raju.
Rahul Sanghvi in one-dayers and Nilesh Kulkarni in Tests were looking to make their mark, but never capitalized on the promising starts they had to the international careers. Alleged involvement in the betting scandal meant that Chopra’s peaking career graph plummeted, never to recover, with similar treatment doled out to Jadeja. India was seemingly following the Sri Lanka model with more-than-handy use of and performance from the effective all-rounders, especially in the shorter version of the game. While Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumara Dharmasena and Aravinda DeSilva ably complemented Muttiah Muralidhran in both forms of the game with amazing consistency, India’s Anil Kumble never really had one settled slow-ball partner. For Sri Lanka, Arjuna Ranatunga, Asanka Gurusinha and Hashan Tillakaratne were not too bad with the ball either. Incidentally, Sri Lanka also had enough ammunition in the arsenal in the form of Upul Chandana and Ruwan Kalpage, followed by Tillakakaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold nowadays, to go with Thilan Samaraweera, Malinga Bandara, Rangana Herath and Kaushal Lokuarachchi of and on.
But such a model has never really materialized for India. Anil Kumble’s encouraging batting, exemplified by his four Test fifties, with a highest of 88 against Proteas’ fast and furious pace battery on a sporting Eden Gardens pitch has been allowed to slump. Aussie Jason Gillespie, meanwhile has a Test best of 201 not to his credit, albeit against Bangladesh.
Despite his uncanny knack of parting ways with picking up wickets, which is deepening the furrows in the foreheads of the national selectors and Team India think-tank, and the blue billion fans at large, Harbhajan Singh, has continued to pose threat to and win respect of opposition batsmen since his mauling of the Aussies in 2000-01. His batting, a polished version of the kind of willow-wielding his Lankan counterpart, Muttiah Muralidharan is known for, has never really been allowed to blossom. Both Singh and Murali visibly enjoy their batting. But while the latter’s batting can be put as an adventure of a No.11, Singh is more mature and hence, more reliable with the bat – he was the able associate of Samir Dighe when the two steered India to a historic home series win over the otherwise invincible Aussies in 2000-01. Unlike Muralidharan, Harbhajan is not the ‘ball se bat takdaye, job hi ho anjaam’ guy.
But Team India has by and large been too conventional to think and act out of the box. Remember the furore, when Guru Greg Chappell consistently sent Irfan Pathan at one-down in ODIs? A leaf can of course be taken out of the book of Australia, which has tried bowling all-rounder Shane Watson at the top of the order with good success. Closer home, Pakistani Abdul Razzaq, starting off as a listless bowler, and even more hopeless a batsman, is now a threat to any bowling line-up, apart from keeping it tight and picking wickets with the ball.
Leave alone Harbhajan, whose batting is decent in terms of what can be expected off a bowler, has Ajit Agarkar who came into the Indian team as a genuine all-rounder, ever been nurtured as Sri Lankan Farveez Maharoof is being backed? In India, Ajit Agarkar’s batting is talked about primarily in terms of the string of seven consecutive ducks that he scored in Tests against Australia. That’s something amazing and amusing. Having said that, is there enough consideration to his 109 not out against England at Lord’s in 2002? What was the complement that he received for his highest ODI score of 95, batting at No.3 against West Indies at Jamshedpur in 2002? – that he shouldn’t have batted like the regular at the spot, VVS Laxman. But who cares who scores the runs, as long as they are scored? – may be it’s not quite as simple in India… Skipper Sachin Tendulkar’s experimentation with Laxman’s spinning skills, however, incidentally, weren’t of much help for India in its Caribbean tour of 1996-97.
It is understandable that Noel David, projected as a batsman who can spin, never got on an extended run with the Indian team – there are always too many better batsmen and bowlers vying for the Indian cap. He was only at best a bits-and-pieces cricketer – reliable neither with the ball nor with the bat. But, it is bewildering why the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh are never groomed as all-rounders; these regular batsmen are always just part-time bowlers. If you are in need of all-rounders and don’t have quality readymade ones at your disposal, then why not develop these batting regulars into all-rounders, at least for the one-dayers? Instead, you end up never giving their due to the likes of Sanjay Bangar and Jai Prakash Yadav; they at least have their ‘bits and pieces’ packaged into a neat and organic whole – good enough to nag the position into giving in.
Look, how Dinesh Mongia’s bowling has been made use of in the county circuit. With the exception of Robin Singh in ODIs, there has hardly been in any all-rounder serving the national side for with substantial success for any reasonable length of time. Mohammad Kaif, who was an effective spinner in the junior level, hardly got an opportunity to turn his arm for the senior side. Murali Karthik’s case goes the other way round. In the limited opportunity that he has got in Indian team, his bowling wasn’t inspiring, but consistent success at the domestic level means that this spinner who has batted high up the order for Railways is always in the fray. His batting has been only a shade better charted by the Team Indians, than Kaif’s bowling. The likes of Sarandeep Singh and Amit Mishra, both of whom have had their stints with Team India, have, to their discredit, thus far failed to keep the national selectors busy. Rajesh Powar, instead earned a berth in India’s Test squad for the tour of Bangladesh in 2007. A handy all-rounder, he didn’t make it to the final eleven though.
The current eye-candies, young Piyush Chawla and veteran Ramesh Powar are well and truly all-rounders. Chawla, in particular, has all the qualities of shining an all-rounder in Tests as well. Of course, bowling is the priority of both, and this is what India needs from them the most. But that shouldn’t mean that their obvious batting talent is undermined, especially in face of apprehensions and allegations that too much batting waned the bowler in Irfan Pathan. Having said that, there is still no reason why Sachin, Sehwag and Yuvraj won’t be given more responsibilities to spin a trick or two. This applies particularly to Sehwag and Yuvraj who are on the right side of 30s. Yuvraj, 25, by the way and in fact, is one of the fittest Indian cricketers around.
With Harbhajan, Chawla and Powar being the current immediate choices to take over from Kumble on a more regular basis and with greater quality and consistency, the part-timers can and should now be made ready to hold fort with competence whenever need arises to that effect. With bowlers being groomed to bat better and batsmen developed to take greater responsibility with the ball on a more regular basis, only Indian cricket can benefit, especially since spin is supposed to be physically less taxing than faster bowling. That, of course, doesn’t clear the doubt as to why Sourav Ganguly’s golden arm with the ball wasn’t tried out oftener than it actually was, in helpful conditions in his heyday… Also, more and better spinners in the squad will mean that Indian batsmen will undergo quality and extended spin sessions at the nets, so that they play a Murali, or a Kaneria, or a Vettori or a Giles better than how they tend to end up playing.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Murali on the Prowl
A match figure of 9 for 102, with a fifer in the first innings of the first Test against Bangladesh means that Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralidharan now has a phenomenal 59 wickets in seven Tests against Bangladesh. What this also means that the Kandy man is now just 25 shy of Aussie Shane Warne’s world record tally of 708 Test wickets.
Muralidharan, now at 683 wickets in 111 tests, has taken five wickets in an innings against Bangladesh on eight occasions, and ten wickets in a match on two occasions against the newest entrant to Test cricket. With two more Tests to go in the current home series for the Emerald Islanders, and 40 Bangladeshi wickets there for the taking, the rampaging Murali can well topple Warne from the throne of the highest wicket taker in the history of Test cricket, by July 15 when the third Test ends. However, this can be a possibility only if Murali can be given a decent go at the meowing Bangla tigers – if Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga haven’t made a mincemeat of them in their initial hunt together.
With a dubious record of 41 defeats and a solitary victory in 47 Tests in eight years, Bangladesh actually has an even worse Test record against Sri Lanka – a hundred per cent defeat (read ‘drubbing’) in eight matches, with five innings defeats (all in Colombo), and a 10 wicket loss (in Bogra). However, the Bangla boys have fared a shade better in their 19 One-Day Internationals against the Lankan lions, where the former has managed a 4-wicket victory in Bogra in 2006.
Muralidharan, now at 683 wickets in 111 tests, has taken five wickets in an innings against Bangladesh on eight occasions, and ten wickets in a match on two occasions against the newest entrant to Test cricket. With two more Tests to go in the current home series for the Emerald Islanders, and 40 Bangladeshi wickets there for the taking, the rampaging Murali can well topple Warne from the throne of the highest wicket taker in the history of Test cricket, by July 15 when the third Test ends. However, this can be a possibility only if Murali can be given a decent go at the meowing Bangla tigers – if Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga haven’t made a mincemeat of them in their initial hunt together.
With a dubious record of 41 defeats and a solitary victory in 47 Tests in eight years, Bangladesh actually has an even worse Test record against Sri Lanka – a hundred per cent defeat (read ‘drubbing’) in eight matches, with five innings defeats (all in Colombo), and a 10 wicket loss (in Bogra). However, the Bangla boys have fared a shade better in their 19 One-Day Internationals against the Lankan lions, where the former has managed a 4-wicket victory in Bogra in 2006.
Rohit Sharma: The Newest Kid on the Block
20-year old Rohit Sharma debuted for India on June 23 against Ireland in Belfast, his only contribution to the scorecard being pocketing a catch to dismiss World Cup star Niall O’Brien off Rudra Pratap Singh. Neither was Sharma required to bat nor roll his arms over. He was asked to do both in the following match against South Africa, with him failing to make a mark in either. Batting at No.8, in the slog overs, he managed 8 runs off 9 deliveries before having his timbers rattled by Man of the Match Jacques Kallis. With the ball, Sharma was milked for three runs in the single over he was asked to send down, when for once the Proteas did not choke in the fag end of the match.
In 18 First-class innings, the Mumbai lad has scored 720 runs at an average of 40.00, reaching three figures once with four scores of 50 or above. His 100s and 50s figures are identical in his 26-match List A career, where he has piled 840 runs in 23 innings at an average of 39.36 and strike rate of 89.04, remaining undefeated on four occasions. He has been at his aggressive best in eight Twenty20 matches knotching up 252 runs, at an average of 42.00 and strike rate of 146.51, remaining unbeaten twice. In the Twenty20s he has also claimed 8 wickets at an average of 15.37 with a best of 3/15. His highest scores of 205, 142* and 101* in First-class, List A and Twenty20 matches underscore his winning a spot in the Team India ODI squad ahead of veterans like Dinesh Mongia, Mohammad Kaif and VVS Laxman. In fact, Sharma is India’s maiden centurion in Twenty20 cricket, hitting 13 fours and 5 sixes in his 49-ball knock.
In a recent EurAsia tournament Sharma scored two half-centuries in three matches, including 62 against Pakistan A, following a successful Under-19 World Cup.
One can only hope that he can make most of his current tour of the British Isles, where India plays 1 ODI each against Ireland and Pakistan and 3 against South Africa, before taking on England in 3 Tests and 7 ODIs flanking a solitary ODI against Scotland.
In 18 First-class innings, the Mumbai lad has scored 720 runs at an average of 40.00, reaching three figures once with four scores of 50 or above. His 100s and 50s figures are identical in his 26-match List A career, where he has piled 840 runs in 23 innings at an average of 39.36 and strike rate of 89.04, remaining undefeated on four occasions. He has been at his aggressive best in eight Twenty20 matches knotching up 252 runs, at an average of 42.00 and strike rate of 146.51, remaining unbeaten twice. In the Twenty20s he has also claimed 8 wickets at an average of 15.37 with a best of 3/15. His highest scores of 205, 142* and 101* in First-class, List A and Twenty20 matches underscore his winning a spot in the Team India ODI squad ahead of veterans like Dinesh Mongia, Mohammad Kaif and VVS Laxman. In fact, Sharma is India’s maiden centurion in Twenty20 cricket, hitting 13 fours and 5 sixes in his 49-ball knock.
In a recent EurAsia tournament Sharma scored two half-centuries in three matches, including 62 against Pakistan A, following a successful Under-19 World Cup.
One can only hope that he can make most of his current tour of the British Isles, where India plays 1 ODI each against Ireland and Pakistan and 3 against South Africa, before taking on England in 3 Tests and 7 ODIs flanking a solitary ODI against Scotland.
Secular Ganeshaya Namah!
Former India cricketer, Doddanrasaiah Ganesh is all set to join Janata Dal (Secular) under the leadership of former Prime Minister Haradanahalli Dodde Gowda Deve Gowda. Ganesh, nearing 34, featured in four Tests and one One-Day International for India in 1997. He’s from the batch of Karnataka cricketers like Rahul Dravid, Sunil Joshi, Vijay Bhardwaj, Sujith Somasundar, David Johnson, who joined Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad in the Indian team, following Karnataka taking the Ranji Trophy thrice in the 1990s. Ganesh is among the few Indian cricketers who have represented the country only away from home, and the many whose international careers have been buried overseas.
Starting his cricketing career as a wicketkeeper and an opening batsman, he stormed into reckoning for the coveted India cap with an 11-wicket haul in the 1996-97 Irani Trophy, following his notable performance in the Ranji Trophy that saw his state side Karnataka lifting the Cup for the second time in three years. In the four Tests that he played, Ganesh claimed five wickets at an average of 57.40 with a best match figure of 4/98 in against West Indies at Bridgetown. Incidentally, in the second innings of this match India was bowled out for 81 having been set a target 120 to win, with Ganesh remaining undefeated on 6 off 30 balls in an hour. In the lone ODI he played, he managed to claim the solitary wicket of Zimbabwean Andrew Waller.
His domestic career was more illustrious with 365 wickets from 104 matches and a highest score of 119. However, more-than-average conceding of extras and below-par fielding, to go with state mates Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble taking charge of Indian bowling with far greater success, and ably complemented by the likes of Sunil Joshi, Nikhil Chopra, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Abey Kuruvuilla, among others, meant that Ganesh was to remain waiting in the wings, before he finally hang up his boots on June 16 this year.
It remains to be seen whether Ganesh’s foray into politics finds footing in the troubled waters of Karnataka coalition, or is rendered ultimately disappointing like his cricketing career.
Starting his cricketing career as a wicketkeeper and an opening batsman, he stormed into reckoning for the coveted India cap with an 11-wicket haul in the 1996-97 Irani Trophy, following his notable performance in the Ranji Trophy that saw his state side Karnataka lifting the Cup for the second time in three years. In the four Tests that he played, Ganesh claimed five wickets at an average of 57.40 with a best match figure of 4/98 in against West Indies at Bridgetown. Incidentally, in the second innings of this match India was bowled out for 81 having been set a target 120 to win, with Ganesh remaining undefeated on 6 off 30 balls in an hour. In the lone ODI he played, he managed to claim the solitary wicket of Zimbabwean Andrew Waller.
His domestic career was more illustrious with 365 wickets from 104 matches and a highest score of 119. However, more-than-average conceding of extras and below-par fielding, to go with state mates Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble taking charge of Indian bowling with far greater success, and ably complemented by the likes of Sunil Joshi, Nikhil Chopra, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Abey Kuruvuilla, among others, meant that Ganesh was to remain waiting in the wings, before he finally hang up his boots on June 16 this year.
It remains to be seen whether Ganesh’s foray into politics finds footing in the troubled waters of Karnataka coalition, or is rendered ultimately disappointing like his cricketing career.
Is India touring Ireland?
The current craze in Indian cricket is about Team India's three-match One-Day International series against South Africa. Where? In Ireland, of course. Or is it?
All the three matches are being played in Belfast. The same city hosted India and South Africa against Ireland earlier in the tour.
Now, Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland and what is commonly called Ireland are not one and the same. What is better known as Ireland, is actually Éire, or Republic of Ireland, just as South Africa is the common name for Republic of South Africa (RSA). The capital of Ireland or Republic of Ireland is Dublin, associated with such greats as George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, William Butler Yeats to name a few…. While Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, as the name suggests, is an independent nation outside the fold of the British monarchy.
The cricket team known as Ireland, that reached the Super eight of ICC World Cup 2007 tying against Zimbabwe and defeating Pakistan in the way, actually represents Ireland or Republic of Ireland or Éire.
So, however, since both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland occupy and share the island called Ireland, and since Republic of Ireland is also just 'Ireland', then it is technically correct to say that Team India is in Ireland, with the tour kicking off with a one-dayer against Ireland, though the statement is misleading, both the 'Irelands' not referring to the same geographical or political entity.
The unambiguous truth is that, India is taking on South Africa and has taken on Ireland in Northern Ireland. Try not including the 'Republic of's before the second and the third political entities; that can only sound too pedantic and eat into space and/or time.
All the three matches are being played in Belfast. The same city hosted India and South Africa against Ireland earlier in the tour.
Now, Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland and what is commonly called Ireland are not one and the same. What is better known as Ireland, is actually Éire, or Republic of Ireland, just as South Africa is the common name for Republic of South Africa (RSA). The capital of Ireland or Republic of Ireland is Dublin, associated with such greats as George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, William Butler Yeats to name a few…. While Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, as the name suggests, is an independent nation outside the fold of the British monarchy.
The cricket team known as Ireland, that reached the Super eight of ICC World Cup 2007 tying against Zimbabwe and defeating Pakistan in the way, actually represents Ireland or Republic of Ireland or Éire.
So, however, since both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland occupy and share the island called Ireland, and since Republic of Ireland is also just 'Ireland', then it is technically correct to say that Team India is in Ireland, with the tour kicking off with a one-dayer against Ireland, though the statement is misleading, both the 'Irelands' not referring to the same geographical or political entity.
The unambiguous truth is that, India is taking on South Africa and has taken on Ireland in Northern Ireland. Try not including the 'Republic of's before the second and the third political entities; that can only sound too pedantic and eat into space and/or time.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Keeping wicket to wicket
It's also always good to have a strong reserve bench. But perhaps it is not quite as good to having to rely too much on the bench strength, owing to flagging faith on the prospective regulars, 'too-much-cricket' notwithstanding.
Indian wicketkeeping is a classic case in point. Has there been any substantially regular wicketkeeper in the Indian national side after Syed Kirmani, with the sole exception of Kiran More and Nayan Mongia to some extents? Wicketkeepers are expected to be more regular than others in a team. This is a specialist's position, demanding exception physical fitness and extraordinary concentration. Other players in a team get noticed when do something, usually good, but being paid attention to is something that many wicketkeepers wouldn't always desire. This is because, wicketkeepers are, by default, expected to pick up every deliver that goes behind the wickets, with or without edges. And when there is too much talking doing rounds in the air on a wicketkeeper, more often than not it’s either for non-wicketkeeping issues, like batting, or non-wicketkeeping, or both.
A number of wicketkeepers are at the focus of flashlights and spotlights these days. Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Mark Boucher, Brendan McCullum are a few. The list, for all practical purposes, does seem to be quite long, considering each team is supposed to have only one man keeping wickets, and despite earnest efforts of the International Cricket council (ICC), only a handful of teams from across the world are worth featuring at the highest levels of competitive international cricket.
But, all those named are more talked about for their blasts with the bat. When an Adam Gilchrist or a Mark Boucher, or even a Dinesh Kaarthick 'flies like a bird and catches the ball out of thin air', as Navjot Singh Sidhu would like it to put it,... perhaps..., people go ga-ga over it, only to get it gush out of the mind as soon as the bowler is back to the top his mark for the next delivery. But when a Parthiv Patel makes heavy weather of a dolly and bites dust lying prostrate on the turf, people fume and froth. The same lot, however, celebrates Parthiv hitting Bret Lee for a six. They also celebrate Laxmipathy Balaji treating Shoaib Akhtar in much the similar manner. But both Parthiv and Balaji are out of the reckoning for failing to do what they are supposed to - keeping wickets and taking wickets respectively…
With the exit of Kirmini came up Sadanand Vishwanath. Though his performance in World Championship of Cricket tournament in Australia and the Rothmans Cup in Sharjah in 1985, did give the Indian cricket fans something to be in 'anand', soon things turned sad for him and his fans. Chandrakant Pandit was another flash in the pan, trying to catch the India bus through the Assam route for some time, before bidding adieu. Kiran More was a sound enough custodian for long, taking care of Kapil and Kumble at considerable ease.
With Kiran fading and him being unable to continue any more, came in Vijay Yadav. He fell before his 'Vijay'flag could find a firm footing. Nayan Mongia was the new kid on the block. Diving around was not his forte, but he was as agile on his feet as he was chirpy. 'caught Mongia bowled Kumble' became a regular entry in scorecards in both forms of the game. 'Safe', 'reliable' are some of the words that you could attach with this man from Baroda, the Ranji Trophy side that thus became known for producing quality 'keepers like More and Mongia, as it is now getting increasing recognition for delivering medium pacers like Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan and Rakesh Patel. Just when Mongia was paying off as a long-term investment, with him shining with the bat - as an opener, a pinch-hitter, a sheet-anchor, a foil to a finisher - came the betting scandal, with Nayan weeping in a world of woes. Commentaries and expert opinions are all that he's considered good to provide, with coaching Thailand once in a while.
Post-Mongia, the search for wicketkeeper almost caught up with the search for openers, so much so that 'Test discard' (as if to say, he wasn't discarded from ODIs) Vikram Rathode - so far so good or bad as an opener started keeping wickets at the domestic circuit. Mannava Sri Kanth Prasad, Vijay Dahiya, Sameer Dighe, Ajay Ratra came in and went out. All were good batsmen and unreliable wicketkeepers. While Samir Dighe, along with Harbhajan Singh, sealed a historic home series win against Australia in 2001, Ajay Ratra scored a gritty unbeaten 115 against the Caribbeans at the latter's den the following year. Statistics don't reveal how many runs they conceded.
Parthiv, looking younger than how young he was when he played for India, could not prove behind the woodwork an aota of the reliability that he earned in front. Though he thankfully received an extended run in Tests, he was shown the door for good. Unless both the current custodians Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Kaarthick fall apart, if not in form then with injury - which even the bitterest cynic of Indian cricket is not likely to desire, it's difficult for Parthiv to get another look-in in the near future.
Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid, who had outwitted Saeed Anwar into losing his wicket to him, was going from strength to strength donning the big gloves for Team India in the shorter version of the game. An epitome of reliability with the bat, he was wonderful behind the wickets as well; he just underscored what devotion and determination can achieve for a person. With 15 catches and 1 stumping, he went on to become the wicketkeeper with the third highest number of dismissals in the ICC World Cup 2003, next only to Gilchrist and Sangakkara.
Post-World Cup 2003, it has been a see-saw between Dhoni and Kaarthick. While the latter continued in Tests, with Dhoni taking over in ODIs, it was soon Dhoni dhamaka all over. Dhoni's blitzkrieg with the bat with enviable average and strike rate, made opposition bowlers and Kaarthick go clueless. However, with the opposition laptop coaches starting to make life for Dhoni just a shade difficult, the national selectors were wise enough to consider Kaarthick for the tour of South Africa as a lead up to the ICC World Cup 2007. The latter got the nod more as a batsman, ahead of Coach Greg Chappell's favourite Suresh Raina in particular, than as a back-up for Dhoni behind the stumps. Kaarthick obliged in all the three forms of the game, especially as an opener weathering the storm of Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and company, and more.
The result was that India, which barely managed Dravid as the first-choice 'keeper ahead of specialist Parthiv Patel in World Cup 2003, went to West Indies with two specialist 'keepers in the form of Dhoni and Kaarthick, to go with a couple more part-timers, captain Dravid and opener Robin Uthappa.
The current situation is perhaps the best that can possibly happen to Indian cricket as far as wicketkeeping is concerned. Dhoni is there as the wicketkeeping allrounder and Kaarthick is following suit in the same mould. They are regularly featuring together in the final eleven. Kaarthick is a livewire in the infield, which not many wicketkeepers are used to being. He's doing justice to his domestic cricket reputation of being a fine batsman, by quickly graduating as a no-nonsense Test opener and a more than handy lower middle order batsmen in the shorter versions. Dhoni, now the ODI vice-captain, is thus being given a breather. The national selectors as also the team think-tank are growing up for sure.
Indian wicketkeeping is a classic case in point. Has there been any substantially regular wicketkeeper in the Indian national side after Syed Kirmani, with the sole exception of Kiran More and Nayan Mongia to some extents? Wicketkeepers are expected to be more regular than others in a team. This is a specialist's position, demanding exception physical fitness and extraordinary concentration. Other players in a team get noticed when do something, usually good, but being paid attention to is something that many wicketkeepers wouldn't always desire. This is because, wicketkeepers are, by default, expected to pick up every deliver that goes behind the wickets, with or without edges. And when there is too much talking doing rounds in the air on a wicketkeeper, more often than not it’s either for non-wicketkeeping issues, like batting, or non-wicketkeeping, or both.
A number of wicketkeepers are at the focus of flashlights and spotlights these days. Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Mark Boucher, Brendan McCullum are a few. The list, for all practical purposes, does seem to be quite long, considering each team is supposed to have only one man keeping wickets, and despite earnest efforts of the International Cricket council (ICC), only a handful of teams from across the world are worth featuring at the highest levels of competitive international cricket.
But, all those named are more talked about for their blasts with the bat. When an Adam Gilchrist or a Mark Boucher, or even a Dinesh Kaarthick 'flies like a bird and catches the ball out of thin air', as Navjot Singh Sidhu would like it to put it,... perhaps..., people go ga-ga over it, only to get it gush out of the mind as soon as the bowler is back to the top his mark for the next delivery. But when a Parthiv Patel makes heavy weather of a dolly and bites dust lying prostrate on the turf, people fume and froth. The same lot, however, celebrates Parthiv hitting Bret Lee for a six. They also celebrate Laxmipathy Balaji treating Shoaib Akhtar in much the similar manner. But both Parthiv and Balaji are out of the reckoning for failing to do what they are supposed to - keeping wickets and taking wickets respectively…
With the exit of Kirmini came up Sadanand Vishwanath. Though his performance in World Championship of Cricket tournament in Australia and the Rothmans Cup in Sharjah in 1985, did give the Indian cricket fans something to be in 'anand', soon things turned sad for him and his fans. Chandrakant Pandit was another flash in the pan, trying to catch the India bus through the Assam route for some time, before bidding adieu. Kiran More was a sound enough custodian for long, taking care of Kapil and Kumble at considerable ease.
With Kiran fading and him being unable to continue any more, came in Vijay Yadav. He fell before his 'Vijay'flag could find a firm footing. Nayan Mongia was the new kid on the block. Diving around was not his forte, but he was as agile on his feet as he was chirpy. 'caught Mongia bowled Kumble' became a regular entry in scorecards in both forms of the game. 'Safe', 'reliable' are some of the words that you could attach with this man from Baroda, the Ranji Trophy side that thus became known for producing quality 'keepers like More and Mongia, as it is now getting increasing recognition for delivering medium pacers like Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan and Rakesh Patel. Just when Mongia was paying off as a long-term investment, with him shining with the bat - as an opener, a pinch-hitter, a sheet-anchor, a foil to a finisher - came the betting scandal, with Nayan weeping in a world of woes. Commentaries and expert opinions are all that he's considered good to provide, with coaching Thailand once in a while.
Post-Mongia, the search for wicketkeeper almost caught up with the search for openers, so much so that 'Test discard' (as if to say, he wasn't discarded from ODIs) Vikram Rathode - so far so good or bad as an opener started keeping wickets at the domestic circuit. Mannava Sri Kanth Prasad, Vijay Dahiya, Sameer Dighe, Ajay Ratra came in and went out. All were good batsmen and unreliable wicketkeepers. While Samir Dighe, along with Harbhajan Singh, sealed a historic home series win against Australia in 2001, Ajay Ratra scored a gritty unbeaten 115 against the Caribbeans at the latter's den the following year. Statistics don't reveal how many runs they conceded.
Parthiv, looking younger than how young he was when he played for India, could not prove behind the woodwork an aota of the reliability that he earned in front. Though he thankfully received an extended run in Tests, he was shown the door for good. Unless both the current custodians Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Kaarthick fall apart, if not in form then with injury - which even the bitterest cynic of Indian cricket is not likely to desire, it's difficult for Parthiv to get another look-in in the near future.
Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid, who had outwitted Saeed Anwar into losing his wicket to him, was going from strength to strength donning the big gloves for Team India in the shorter version of the game. An epitome of reliability with the bat, he was wonderful behind the wickets as well; he just underscored what devotion and determination can achieve for a person. With 15 catches and 1 stumping, he went on to become the wicketkeeper with the third highest number of dismissals in the ICC World Cup 2003, next only to Gilchrist and Sangakkara.
Post-World Cup 2003, it has been a see-saw between Dhoni and Kaarthick. While the latter continued in Tests, with Dhoni taking over in ODIs, it was soon Dhoni dhamaka all over. Dhoni's blitzkrieg with the bat with enviable average and strike rate, made opposition bowlers and Kaarthick go clueless. However, with the opposition laptop coaches starting to make life for Dhoni just a shade difficult, the national selectors were wise enough to consider Kaarthick for the tour of South Africa as a lead up to the ICC World Cup 2007. The latter got the nod more as a batsman, ahead of Coach Greg Chappell's favourite Suresh Raina in particular, than as a back-up for Dhoni behind the stumps. Kaarthick obliged in all the three forms of the game, especially as an opener weathering the storm of Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and company, and more.
The result was that India, which barely managed Dravid as the first-choice 'keeper ahead of specialist Parthiv Patel in World Cup 2003, went to West Indies with two specialist 'keepers in the form of Dhoni and Kaarthick, to go with a couple more part-timers, captain Dravid and opener Robin Uthappa.
The current situation is perhaps the best that can possibly happen to Indian cricket as far as wicketkeeping is concerned. Dhoni is there as the wicketkeeping allrounder and Kaarthick is following suit in the same mould. They are regularly featuring together in the final eleven. Kaarthick is a livewire in the infield, which not many wicketkeepers are used to being. He's doing justice to his domestic cricket reputation of being a fine batsman, by quickly graduating as a no-nonsense Test opener and a more than handy lower middle order batsmen in the shorter versions. Dhoni, now the ODI vice-captain, is thus being given a breather. The national selectors as also the team think-tank are growing up for sure.
Why is Joginder Sharma out of the India squad?
Haryana captain, Joginder Sharma is an all-rounder - a breed that is noted by its rarity in Indian cricket. Before securing his first national team birth in 2004, against Bangladesh in their home turf, he had played 19 First-class matches with a haul of 90 wickets at an average of 19. His bowling efforts were complemented by no less admirable batting exploits - he having scored two hundreds and five fifties. His stellar performance in the domestic circuit earned him a birth in India's ODI squad on its tour of Bangladesh in 2004. However, in three matches, Sharma managed to take only one wicket, with a decent economy rate of 4.71 though. Remaining unbeaten on both the occasions he had the opportunity to bat, he had a more than flattering strike rate of 141.6. However, his 22-ball 29 not out, studded with four fours batting at No. 9, wasn't enough to save India the blushes of its first and till the ICC World Cup 2007, their only ODI defeat against the Bangla Tigers.
In the following 19 First-class matches, Joginder claimed 94 wickets at 19 runs apiece. In the 2006-07 season, he featured in seven Ranji Trophy matches, bagging 39 wickets in seven matches, studded with two ten-wickets hauls (against Andhra and Uttar Pradesh) and a hat-trick (against Andhra). These were to go with him rattling 421 runs in three Duleep Trophy matches. The obvious result was that the national selectors couldn't overlook him any longer. Sharma, who was adjudged the fittest bowler in a pacers' camp organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was selected for the first two ODIs against West Indies in India at the stroke of the Crusade at Caribbean for the ICC World Cup 2007. However, he made the cut to the final eleven once; though India managed to win the encounter at Cuttack, Joginder’s contribution was negligible and forgettable - a run in three balls batting at No. 7, ahead of the internationally more illustrious hitters Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar, before his timbers were disturbed by Darren Powell, and no wicket in four overs gone for 16 runs, when all the other five bowlers used claimed at least a wicket apiece.
Joginder Sharma, the second highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy Super League 2006-07 has since then been made to wait in the wings, with Ranadeb Bose and Rakesh Patel flanking him in the list making it to Indian tour of the British Isles. Ishant Sharma too has made the cut. These promising pacemen are still largely untested at the highest level of the international scenario. But why is Joginder Sharma out of the India squad? The only plausible, though far-fetched, reason is that he has already played four ODIs for India in as many years, with Bose and Patel yet to make their debut for India; Ishant Sharma, yet to see his teens through, has featured in a Test. While both Bose and Patel are 28, Joginder is 23. Joginder's bat talks sensibly and effectively, with Patel being a distant second. Bose and Ishant wouldn’t like to be compared with Joginder in this aspect of their game.
Joginder Sharma is still far from the ignominous bunch of tried-n-tested, deemed-to-be-dumped-in-doom. With both all-round performance and age on his side, Joginder Sharma should be given an extended run at the highest level - that's a conclusion that BCCI doesn't seem to arrive at or take note of.
In the following 19 First-class matches, Joginder claimed 94 wickets at 19 runs apiece. In the 2006-07 season, he featured in seven Ranji Trophy matches, bagging 39 wickets in seven matches, studded with two ten-wickets hauls (against Andhra and Uttar Pradesh) and a hat-trick (against Andhra). These were to go with him rattling 421 runs in three Duleep Trophy matches. The obvious result was that the national selectors couldn't overlook him any longer. Sharma, who was adjudged the fittest bowler in a pacers' camp organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was selected for the first two ODIs against West Indies in India at the stroke of the Crusade at Caribbean for the ICC World Cup 2007. However, he made the cut to the final eleven once; though India managed to win the encounter at Cuttack, Joginder’s contribution was negligible and forgettable - a run in three balls batting at No. 7, ahead of the internationally more illustrious hitters Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar, before his timbers were disturbed by Darren Powell, and no wicket in four overs gone for 16 runs, when all the other five bowlers used claimed at least a wicket apiece.
Joginder Sharma, the second highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy Super League 2006-07 has since then been made to wait in the wings, with Ranadeb Bose and Rakesh Patel flanking him in the list making it to Indian tour of the British Isles. Ishant Sharma too has made the cut. These promising pacemen are still largely untested at the highest level of the international scenario. But why is Joginder Sharma out of the India squad? The only plausible, though far-fetched, reason is that he has already played four ODIs for India in as many years, with Bose and Patel yet to make their debut for India; Ishant Sharma, yet to see his teens through, has featured in a Test. While both Bose and Patel are 28, Joginder is 23. Joginder's bat talks sensibly and effectively, with Patel being a distant second. Bose and Ishant wouldn’t like to be compared with Joginder in this aspect of their game.
Joginder Sharma is still far from the ignominous bunch of tried-n-tested, deemed-to-be-dumped-in-doom. With both all-round performance and age on his side, Joginder Sharma should be given an extended run at the highest level - that's a conclusion that BCCI doesn't seem to arrive at or take note of.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Are Indian medium pacers sustainable?
India has been seeing a plethora of medium pacers over the years. The nation which, down the years, has been known for churning out tweaking threats at an amazing frequency, much to the dismay of the opposition batsmen, is now steadily making a mark in the domain of the fast, though still not quite the furious.
With Kapil's Devils lifting the Prudential Cup in 1983 in England, it was quite obvious that faster bowling in India would receive the much needed impetus. Madan Lal, Mohinder Amarnath and Roger Binny were quite innocuous, but these gentle medium pacers sincerely and enthusiastically stuck to neat line and length- enough to nag batsmen into losing their wickets.
For sure, gone were the days when the new ball was given to the Karsan Ghavri, or even Sunil Gavaskar, with the unwritten purpose to remove the polish off the red cherry, for the spinners to take over with all their guile – when the national selectors could afford to do without a successor to Amar Singh and Mohammad Nissar. Barring the erratic World Cup hattrician Chetan Sharma, one emerged reliable enough to take over from Lal, Amarnath and Binny, to complement Kapil. It was Manoj Prabhakar, who not only came up as a more than decent medium pacer, especially in the shorter version of the game, he proved to be a dependable No. 8 batsman, graduating to open the Indian batting. Together with Ravi Shastri, he was an exciting all-round prospect, though neither flowered into being greats as per world standards.
Kapil's mantle fell on Javagal Srinath, initially known for his raw pace and never-say-die attitude. Though he was occasionally hit to all parts of the park (which he looked to, and at times, did, reciprocate), he soon earned fame as having an uncanny knack of providing breakthroughs, especially with the new ball, in both versions of the game and both home and away. He was being ably supported by his Karnataka mew-ball partner, Venkatesh Prasad. Srinath's inswingers and Prasad's leg-cutters ensured that Indian bowling was usually far from being flayed in the initial overs. They ensured creating enough edges to be pocketed by the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in the slips, not to forget the ever-agile Mohammad Azharuddin - a safe bet anywhere close to the bat. The Karnataka duo added enough weapons to their armoury to stem the run-flow in the final ODI overs, as also picking up wickets at regular intervals in Tests. No wonder, India's tour of England in 1996 is memorable not only for the batting exploits of Ganguly and Dravid, but also for the team discovering a new ball pair who could hunt in tandem.
But Prasad was especially prone to injuries - a menace that soon looked to get the better of Javagal Srinath as well. 'Too much cricket' was well and truly taking its toll. There were literally 'many' in the reserve bench - Atul Wassan, Vivek Razdan, Salil Ankola, Subroto Banerjee, Prasanth Vaidya, Bhupinder Singh, Doddanrasaiah Ganesh, David Johnson, Abey Kuruvilla, Robin Singh(Jr.) - all donned India colours. Either they started with a bang only to wither away in a whimper, or they experienced a series of in-n'-outs, or worse, were deemed promising and incapable and doomed since day one.
Amit Bhandari, Thirunavukkarasu Kumaran, Iqbal Siddiqi, Tinu Yohannan are out of the fray for all practical purposes. Laxmipathy Balaji, known for his exploits with the ball and heroics with the bat, to go with his winning smile, and Ashis Nehra - who can forget his match-winning 6/26 against Engalnd at Kingsmead, Durban in the ICC World Cup 2003? - are still remembered by the national selectors for their past performance. But they have done little in domestic cricket to enhance their reputation. Either they are horribly ordinary, or cooling their heels with yet another injury.
Debashis Mohanty and Harvinder Singh were on a prowl at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, as they ripped apart the Pakistani line-up in the later half of the 1990s. Following suit to Anil Kumble's Perfect Ten in a Test, Indian cricket witnessed the feat in its domestic circuit, courtesy Mohanty; Harvinder is a crucial cog in the Railways wheel. While Mohanty can be Sidhuically branded as 'as dead as a dodo' on flat tracks, the national selectors might as well be sparing a thought or two for Harvinder, before they push Ishant Sharma into the big league.
Robin Singh(Sr.), always chipping in with both the bat and the ball, apart from his fielding heroics, was never a star, but always an able soldier for the war. Sanjay Bangar kept it tight with the ball, switching between watchful and whirlwind batting with élan, but never got an extended run. Reetinder Singh Sodhi, from the same batch as Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, was no less exciting a prospect, especially since he had and still has, the makings of an all-rounder; but the team could accommodate only eleven. Jai Prakash Yadav, a later recruit, was a clone and microrepresentation of Bangar in many ways, an obvious exception being his sturdy stature and long hair, and a sad similarity being the even shorter run that he was given with the Team India in the Chappell-More era. It remains to be seen whether Joginder Sharma, proclaimed in a pacer's camp as one of the fittest medium pacers around in the Indian circuit, and showing potentials to be touted as the new Haryana Hurricane for his whirlwind willow-wielding, has the same fate.
Ajit Agarkar, unlike some of his contemporaries having similar skill-set, has continued to star in the Indian national side, especially in ODIs. Thinly built, and maintaining a teenager look, he goes for runs and picks up wickets. He's more economical these days, having greater control over his line and length, and ensuring that his front foot lands on the right place with greater regularity. And, no longer does he require to raise his bat on opening his account while batting, and he one of the few Indian speedsters who is an ever-dependable fielder. However, thanks to his frequent forays into off-form, apart from his niggling injuries, he's often out of reckoning to have an outing to out opposition batsmen.
The new breed, consisting of the likes of Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Shanthakumaran Sreesunth, Rudra Pratap Singh, Vikram Raj Vir Singh, is no different from the predecessors. They are way too inconsistent, which means that they are always lagging behind their international counterparts in terms of exposure at the highest level. Zaheer Khan has ploughed his way back to the national side after a stint in the wings, and not in the wilderness, as his short-time partner, Balaji. But Khan is at best only a shadow of what he was around the ICC World Cup 2003, as injuries and inconsistency continue to plague him. Irfan Pathan seems to have run out of fuel too soon. But since age in on his side, and since he is currently out of reckoning for lack of form and not of fitness, it'll be an injustice to write him off in a hurry.
The others have been there for too short a time or have done too little. Neither Rudra Pratap or Vikram Raj Vir exude the same aggression as reflected in their names; while RP had continued to remain out of favour until recently thanks to the selectors finding more flare in Patel and Sreesunth, one wonders what VRV can be expected to achieve with only occasional bouts of pace to go with consistently wayward line and length. An RP or Ranadeb Bose or Rakesh Patel, if not the all-rounder Joginder Sharma should definitely have got a look-in ahead of him. If VRV doesn't improve a lot and soon, he may well follow suit to the likes of Robin Singh(Jr.), Tinu Yohannan, who were dumped to doom once the terms of the selectors who selected them were over.
Physical trainers and physios like the Andrew Kokinos-es, Andrew Leipus-es and John Gloster-s need to show their worth in a way bigger than they have been known to do thus far, and so does the national selectors in the form of the Kiran More-s and the Dilip Vengsarkar-s. The Board of Control for Cricket in India should work in sync with the regional cricket bodies to take fitness and consistency to the grassroots to ensure India has a better pace battery.
With Kapil's Devils lifting the Prudential Cup in 1983 in England, it was quite obvious that faster bowling in India would receive the much needed impetus. Madan Lal, Mohinder Amarnath and Roger Binny were quite innocuous, but these gentle medium pacers sincerely and enthusiastically stuck to neat line and length- enough to nag batsmen into losing their wickets.
For sure, gone were the days when the new ball was given to the Karsan Ghavri, or even Sunil Gavaskar, with the unwritten purpose to remove the polish off the red cherry, for the spinners to take over with all their guile – when the national selectors could afford to do without a successor to Amar Singh and Mohammad Nissar. Barring the erratic World Cup hattrician Chetan Sharma, one emerged reliable enough to take over from Lal, Amarnath and Binny, to complement Kapil. It was Manoj Prabhakar, who not only came up as a more than decent medium pacer, especially in the shorter version of the game, he proved to be a dependable No. 8 batsman, graduating to open the Indian batting. Together with Ravi Shastri, he was an exciting all-round prospect, though neither flowered into being greats as per world standards.
Kapil's mantle fell on Javagal Srinath, initially known for his raw pace and never-say-die attitude. Though he was occasionally hit to all parts of the park (which he looked to, and at times, did, reciprocate), he soon earned fame as having an uncanny knack of providing breakthroughs, especially with the new ball, in both versions of the game and both home and away. He was being ably supported by his Karnataka mew-ball partner, Venkatesh Prasad. Srinath's inswingers and Prasad's leg-cutters ensured that Indian bowling was usually far from being flayed in the initial overs. They ensured creating enough edges to be pocketed by the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in the slips, not to forget the ever-agile Mohammad Azharuddin - a safe bet anywhere close to the bat. The Karnataka duo added enough weapons to their armoury to stem the run-flow in the final ODI overs, as also picking up wickets at regular intervals in Tests. No wonder, India's tour of England in 1996 is memorable not only for the batting exploits of Ganguly and Dravid, but also for the team discovering a new ball pair who could hunt in tandem.
But Prasad was especially prone to injuries - a menace that soon looked to get the better of Javagal Srinath as well. 'Too much cricket' was well and truly taking its toll. There were literally 'many' in the reserve bench - Atul Wassan, Vivek Razdan, Salil Ankola, Subroto Banerjee, Prasanth Vaidya, Bhupinder Singh, Doddanrasaiah Ganesh, David Johnson, Abey Kuruvilla, Robin Singh(Jr.) - all donned India colours. Either they started with a bang only to wither away in a whimper, or they experienced a series of in-n'-outs, or worse, were deemed promising and incapable and doomed since day one.
Amit Bhandari, Thirunavukkarasu Kumaran, Iqbal Siddiqi, Tinu Yohannan are out of the fray for all practical purposes. Laxmipathy Balaji, known for his exploits with the ball and heroics with the bat, to go with his winning smile, and Ashis Nehra - who can forget his match-winning 6/26 against Engalnd at Kingsmead, Durban in the ICC World Cup 2003? - are still remembered by the national selectors for their past performance. But they have done little in domestic cricket to enhance their reputation. Either they are horribly ordinary, or cooling their heels with yet another injury.
Debashis Mohanty and Harvinder Singh were on a prowl at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, as they ripped apart the Pakistani line-up in the later half of the 1990s. Following suit to Anil Kumble's Perfect Ten in a Test, Indian cricket witnessed the feat in its domestic circuit, courtesy Mohanty; Harvinder is a crucial cog in the Railways wheel. While Mohanty can be Sidhuically branded as 'as dead as a dodo' on flat tracks, the national selectors might as well be sparing a thought or two for Harvinder, before they push Ishant Sharma into the big league.
Robin Singh(Sr.), always chipping in with both the bat and the ball, apart from his fielding heroics, was never a star, but always an able soldier for the war. Sanjay Bangar kept it tight with the ball, switching between watchful and whirlwind batting with élan, but never got an extended run. Reetinder Singh Sodhi, from the same batch as Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, was no less exciting a prospect, especially since he had and still has, the makings of an all-rounder; but the team could accommodate only eleven. Jai Prakash Yadav, a later recruit, was a clone and microrepresentation of Bangar in many ways, an obvious exception being his sturdy stature and long hair, and a sad similarity being the even shorter run that he was given with the Team India in the Chappell-More era. It remains to be seen whether Joginder Sharma, proclaimed in a pacer's camp as one of the fittest medium pacers around in the Indian circuit, and showing potentials to be touted as the new Haryana Hurricane for his whirlwind willow-wielding, has the same fate.
Ajit Agarkar, unlike some of his contemporaries having similar skill-set, has continued to star in the Indian national side, especially in ODIs. Thinly built, and maintaining a teenager look, he goes for runs and picks up wickets. He's more economical these days, having greater control over his line and length, and ensuring that his front foot lands on the right place with greater regularity. And, no longer does he require to raise his bat on opening his account while batting, and he one of the few Indian speedsters who is an ever-dependable fielder. However, thanks to his frequent forays into off-form, apart from his niggling injuries, he's often out of reckoning to have an outing to out opposition batsmen.
The new breed, consisting of the likes of Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Shanthakumaran Sreesunth, Rudra Pratap Singh, Vikram Raj Vir Singh, is no different from the predecessors. They are way too inconsistent, which means that they are always lagging behind their international counterparts in terms of exposure at the highest level. Zaheer Khan has ploughed his way back to the national side after a stint in the wings, and not in the wilderness, as his short-time partner, Balaji. But Khan is at best only a shadow of what he was around the ICC World Cup 2003, as injuries and inconsistency continue to plague him. Irfan Pathan seems to have run out of fuel too soon. But since age in on his side, and since he is currently out of reckoning for lack of form and not of fitness, it'll be an injustice to write him off in a hurry.
The others have been there for too short a time or have done too little. Neither Rudra Pratap or Vikram Raj Vir exude the same aggression as reflected in their names; while RP had continued to remain out of favour until recently thanks to the selectors finding more flare in Patel and Sreesunth, one wonders what VRV can be expected to achieve with only occasional bouts of pace to go with consistently wayward line and length. An RP or Ranadeb Bose or Rakesh Patel, if not the all-rounder Joginder Sharma should definitely have got a look-in ahead of him. If VRV doesn't improve a lot and soon, he may well follow suit to the likes of Robin Singh(Jr.), Tinu Yohannan, who were dumped to doom once the terms of the selectors who selected them were over.
Physical trainers and physios like the Andrew Kokinos-es, Andrew Leipus-es and John Gloster-s need to show their worth in a way bigger than they have been known to do thus far, and so does the national selectors in the form of the Kiran More-s and the Dilip Vengsarkar-s. The Board of Control for Cricket in India should work in sync with the regional cricket bodies to take fitness and consistency to the grassroots to ensure India has a better pace battery.
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