Shut Up and Just Play
The BCCI isn’t pleased that Sehwag has voiced his thoughts. I have already commented on the issue four months earlier and have nothing to add. It must be noted that Sehwag was stopped to write a newspaper column a few months ago as well. Dhoni, meanwhile, has signed an exclusive contract with NDTV to give his comments for them.
I wonder what Dhoni can really speak on as he cannot speak on his team mates and selection issues. The matches? You have to be careful because if you, even for a moment, imply some thing against the BCCI, you can be sure of being taken to task! I did see Dhoni and Sreesanth speaking up in the media on how they have no problem with too much cricket. I see that they have not been reprimanded by BCCI.
Okay, I get the picture. You can speak if you approve of the BCCI’s methods but not if you oppose it. Subtle rules, I must say.
Rahul Dravid had asked for recognition of the player’s association just yesterday. That the player’s association isn’t even recognised yet shows how much the BCCI really listens to the players. Hopefully, it will be recognised now. There is little hope regarding the players speaking their minds and gaining in monetory terms as a result of it, however.
Tags: BCCI, Indian Cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag.
May 9th, 2006 at 8:28 pm
i think who ever supports saurav will be asked to shut up.i dont know how long this goes on.
May 14th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
i think who ever supports saurav will be asked to shut up.
Nagraj, that has sadly been the general trend.
May 24th, 2006 at 3:54 am
Hi:
I think the reason Dravid doesn’t want someone like Dhoni bat regularly at #3 is because, he is interested in keeping this spot ‘open’ for himself. If someone like Dhoni was to pay regularly at this position and succeed it would become somewhat ‘embarrassing’ to displace him later. Whereas, if he keeps this spot rotating… he can slip in [such as in case of Tendulkar’s arrival] at any time.
I get the impression that Dravid hugely prefers this batting position. Kaif had succeeded greatly in Zimbabwe when playing regularly at #3 position. And, I count Kaif’s displacement from this position as one of the reasons for his recent poor run of form.
I hope Dhoni doesn’t get reduced to a 15-20 runs an inning kind of batsman by having to play at 6,7 position where he often has only tail for company and often when team is in dire situation.
He frequently comes where he needs to either score quickly without settling down or just concentrate on defending because team had lost 5 wickets quickly. This is the situation he has been coming to bat most of the times since returning from a very successful Pakistan tour where he performed exemplary up the order. Playing in this situation doesn’t give any real room to build kind of inning that he has shown himself to be capable of.
I find this a strategy worth criticism in spite of Indian team’s successes against England and West Indies. This strategy can certainly prove quite costly against teams like Australia and South Africa and in the world cup.
Now [still 6 months away from the world cup] is time and now is the opportunity [playing against a team like WI or a truncated England side in India] to give someone like Dhoni an opportunity to play 4-5 inning to settle into this vital position.
Playing at this position gives him ample to room to settle and deliver and to build big total. He has shown good form, good temperament, ability to settle, ability to score quickly and ability to hit high scores. And, team will gain a lot if he establishes himself at this position.
~Arvind
PS: It will be interesting to plot Dhoni’s average when playing as opener and at #3, #4 position. It is likely to be in excess of 50 with strike rate of 100 plus. I wonder if he doesn’t feel frustrated and deprived of opportunity by having to play at 6-7 position in spite of giving excellent performance on top. Most “humans” are likely to feel frustrated in this situation and I hope this “likely” frustration doesn’t cause Dhoni to lose his excellent positive mental attitude and eventually his batting form.
May 24th, 2006 at 7:52 am
Arvind, I will not go into conspiracy theories why some one is not batting at position x or y. Dravid for one is a very good batsman in the one day game and I wouldn’t imagine him to be so insecure as to think against the team’s interests.
Dhoni is a very good finisher and is very good lower down. However, it is also true that the players with the best strike rates and decent average should get as much time in the middle as possible. It is not as if Dhoni cannot bat higher up the order. Kallu did it for Sri Lanka and Gilchrist has done it for Australia despite keeping.
It is an interesting dilemna and the only way to find out is try on it. Has the Indian team missed on that chance down 1-2 in the series? We should be able to find out once the remaining two one dayers are over.