Sportolysis – The World Sports Blog

Rahul Bhatia wrote a wonderful small piece on his blog where he fears India wont matter once Tendulkar is gone. The following is what I have to say on the same:

Some generations leave their darlings on people. Some players who are chrished a lot more than the game itself.

In these times we forget that the game goes on. It went on after Bradman in Australia and many cherished players in many eras.

For us, who have been priveleged to have our cricketing ‘wonder years’ in the era of Tendulkar, specially Indian fans as others may cherish a Lara or a Warne, and not necessarily to the same extent, cricket will indeed never be the same.

But we will look back and feel proud about being in the same era as Tendulkar. Our love for the game wont decrease. We are likely to appreciate many finer aspects of the game once there isn’t a Tendulkar. We often have done the same (appreciate the game a lot more) when we watch tests of other nations for example.

That said, I am confident it is not over for Tendulkar.

After the news of the FIR against Jagmohan Dalmiya comes the news that Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) will not host any Champions Trophy matches. A CAB representative wasn’t even present at the meeting. Was it because of the FIR and thus a means of protest? Also was the reason to not distribute the match because the CAB wanted the latter matches? Did CAB put strict conditions because of the FIR? Did CAB put strict conditions at all?

We might never know.

More than whether Tendulkar scores runs (which hasn’t been great in tests lately), there is disappointment at large at the way he scores his runs.

I think this is where people are largely mistaken. He can’t score runs the way he did in 1998. I remember he was even more aggressive in his early days and used to get out so much more in the 1992-1996 period.

I do see Tendulkar has curtailed the risk in his batting and removed getting out shots a lot. Despite this he is getting out. So people say he should play in way x, way y. I think it should be left to him to figure out, or him to consult who ever he wants, if he wants.

Just to speak about batting styles, Dravid comes to mind. His one day batting was highly criticised. He has been such a good one day player because he has the batting base required to adopt.

Tendulkar too has the batting base required to adopt. Has his body deteriorated so much that he cannot perform at test level? I strongly don’t believe it but we can only ascertain after he finishes his career for sure.

I do not buy the logic that he has lost it mentally. Maybe he is doing things wrong mentally, maybe he isn’t. But how can a player who has one of the best cricketing brains lose it mentally when mental prowess is bound to increase over a cricketers career.

India had a go at the target much later than they should have. Winning matches when the smallest of windows exists is what makes a great team. With 40 overs to go and 250 to chase, why did India not go for at least quick singles so that they would be in a position to chase the target later on?

They made a dash with 8 an over required and when it was too late. A lot of praise in the media was heaped on them. I wasn’t impressed by the lack of steel which would have been required to go for the target earlier.

Unfortunately, I didn’t highlight this aspect earlier engrossed in other sports. Thank god Tim de Lisle does the needful in his latest piece.

The selection panel keeps making a joke of themselves. I had spoken regarding the inconsistencies which they are displaying. It keeps getting worse.

First, Mr. More decides to state that Sourav Ganguly will not find a place in the squad in the tenure of the current selection panel:

We took a decision that we have to look ahead. We decided that so much has been said on this issue, that we wanted to send a message across that, this is what we are looking at, and as far as this committee is concerned, this is what we have decided, that we will not look back at. We are definitely looking beyond Ganguly even if he were to perform well in domestic cricket.

How can they say the selection committee has shut the door completely on any player? We do not know what a player will do in the future, what situation the team is going to be in. If Ganguly decides to carry on playing, which he has, it is his right. To rule out any player, despite his age or just because he isn’t performing to satisfactory levels of a panel speaks of autocracy. The statements made by Kiran More have been irresponsbile. They show an irrational streak and lack of judgement – lack of qualities which show a chairman of a selection panel cannot do the job at hand with discretion and maturity which is required.

Other teams have looked ahead in the past and it is not uncommon to look beyond specific players. Australia have done it with Steve Waugh Mark Waugh, Michael Bevan, Darren Lehmann and Matthew Hayden. India may well have done it with V.V.S.Laxman and Anil Kumble recently. Even during the captaincy of Ganguly, Robin Singh was discarded on the same lines.

But a player discarded can make a come back. Michael Kasporqicz and Colin Miller have done it in the recent past for Australia. A team may be going through a run of losses. It may face a severe injury crisis like England is at the moment. Which player will be needed when, no one can predict. It is this reason why a selection panel member, not least the chairman, does not make such outlandish statements. I am hearing rumours from some quarters that Ganguly might go to court over this. I do not see what other option he has.

And now the comes news that the selectors have included Munaf Patel in the squad to play England for the second test in the place of V.R.V.Singh. The tour game between England and the Board President’s XI (BP XI) was in progress. The selection panel rushed into announcing the squad for the first test in the middle of the game. They chose V.R.V.Singh over Munaf Patel. In the tour game, Munaf Patel took 10 wickets and helped BP XI to an eight wicket victory. V.R.V.Singh managed one wicket in the match.

We find that for the second test, V.R.V.Singh is out of the squad and Munaf Patel is in. Makes you wonder why they couldn’t have waited for the tour game to finish before announcing squad for the 1st test. If they did have a strong enough ground to chose V.R.V.Singh over Patel, why not stick to their decision. Inconsistency, finnicky nature and short sightedness come to the fore here.

The selection panel keeps making a mockery of itself. The absence of accountability has been a bane from time immemorial. I have never seen the randomness and lack of planning in selecting sides like I have witnessed for the past few months though. I am not highlighting a specific player being there or not. The issue is larger – that of the lack of any logic used for selecting teams.

If the BCCI was indeed a professional organisation rather than a money churning body existing in the monopoly which is Indian cricket, there is no doubting that the current Indian selectors would have been sacked. Sadly, with the demand-supply mismatch, the five wise men, commonly known as the selectors, also referred to as a bunch of jokers by Mohinder Amarnath are running amock.

I do call for the sack of the selection panel here. I doubt if any one is listening though.