Archive for category LS India
THE FUTURE OF INDIAN CRICKET TEAM
Posted by JAVED A. KHAN in LS India on January 4, 2012
I am sure all Indian supporters must be very sad by the performance of the Indian cricket team. Not so long ago the Indian team was ranked by the ICC as no. ONE test playing nation and they lost 4 test matches in a row in England and lost one in Australia and they are on the verge of losing the second test too. That will make six consecutive losses.
Most Indian supporters and fans are not even watching these test matches anymore because the matches are all one sided and they say they already know the result so what is the point of watching and wasting your time?
There was some hope that India will play well at the Sydney Cricket Ground which is Tendulkar’s happy hunting ground where he has scored a double and three big hundred and in all occasions he has remained not out, so there was a lot of expectation and the media once again hyped up the occasion trying to coincide his 100th 100 with SCG’s centenary. And, that did not happened, at least not in the first innings. Tendulkar has one more chance and i.e., in the second innings but, his second innings average is in 30′s and he may not be able to do that and he will carry the burden in the 3rd test.
Although he did not play badly in the first innings, scored 41 runs which are not bad but, by his own standards it is bad especially on this ground but, law of averages and luck is not always in your favour. There are good days and there are bad days and that is happening with him. But, for Indian team especially in test matches, there are no good days.
None of the senior players are playing up to their past potential which means they have past their prime and it is about time to induct new blood. No one is asking for a total change, slow and gradual induction of new blood is always healthy. Because, the new players learn a lot while playing along the senior players. Tendulkar and Dravid can still continue for a year at least but, Laxman I have my doubts.
Gambhir has so far been a flop in the last 3 innings and it is not likely that he will change all of a sudden, it is not a matter of confidence alone but, it is a matter of technique and experience. His technique against fast bowlers on fast pitches has a flaw he cannot stop himself from edging the ball which is outside the off stump and constantly getting out in the slips cordon. Besides, he is out of form in the whole of 2011.
Sehwag was in good form until recently and he scored a double hundred in ODI but, in test matches the Australians seems to have gotten him with their speed, rising balls, short pitched deliveries and he is unable to attack freely as they are cramping him and not giving him room to play shots and his footwork is questionable since day one, but he has managed very well despite a lot of criticism but, there is always a time when your hand eye coordination cannot be 100% and without footwork it is very difficult to play accurate shots. So, he is unable to give India the flying start that he normally does. But, that is not a big scare for India.
The big scare is what will be the future of Indian cricket when these three big players viz., Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman will retire? Therefore, it is important to introduce new players from now rather than waiting for a 4-0 whitewash in Australia. Rohit Sharma can replace Laxman and Rahane can replace Gambir to see if they can contribute something because, the total of Laxman and Gambhir put together in 3 innings is only 21 runs.
So, there is nothing much India will lose if Rohit or Rahane cannot score due to pressure, but they are young and they should not be discouraged if they fail. For India there is nothing to lose if they drop Laxman. Because, if Laxman fails in all 4 matches then he will definitely be axed by the selectors. So, why not try Rohit now?
Dhoni has proved that he is not a test captain, he is very defensive and he knows nothing about setting an attacking field when it is needed. It was very obvious when Clarke and Ponting were dominating he did not attack, he opted for defense and used all defensive techniques like Kohli and Sehwag were used as bowlers.
India must also think of finding a new captain who is more suited for test cricket and that will save their team from taking a nose dive from number one to number five or six. The future of Indian cricket depends on younger players especially while Tendulkar and Dravid are in the team. It will benefit them a lot otherwise a defensive captain with defensive technique and approach will ultimately ruin the confidence of the team.
I am not writing anything about the bowling because, the Indian bowlers especially Zaheer, Yadev and Ashwin has bowled very well, it is FOR THE FIST TIME THEIR BATTING is letting the team down.
It is up to the bloggers to agree or disagree with my views but, I would certainly like to hear their views and opinions. I have written what I believe.
“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.”— Gustave Flaubert
INDIA vs AUSTRALIA
Posted by JAVED A. KHAN in LS India on December 20, 2011
During the last few weeks we haven’t seen any real quality cricket, even though Pakistan was playing in the UAE against Sri Lanka and now one is playing in Bangladesh and the other in South Africa there is no action, no aggression either they are one sided matches or totally and completely dull and boring. Jayasuriya was saying the Lankans will adjust and Intikhab was saying Pakistani bowlers will trouble England in the UAE. These are all ifs and buts.
So lets shift our focus towards the South Pole ….. I mean Australia and India series which will start from the Boxing Day at the MCG. Laxman was saying Australia’s aggression has always helped him in getting the best out of him. Tendulkar surprised Gavaskar by giving up a century – by retiring from the match and not from cricket – while he was in his mid-nineties. It shows the little man is in some form and does not care any more about his hundredth international hundred. That is a good sign. Dravid looks solid as he has always been. Dhoni, I am not sure about his batting form but, I hope he will raise to the occasion when it comes to deliver. I am sure Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will not make the selectors feel that they have taken a wrong decision in leaving behind Yuvraj, Jadeja and Raina. 
And, Ashwin has to prove his worth in the team by not only taking wickets but, also by scoring runs. The two new fast bowlers Yadav and Aaron should be of some assistance to the senior fast bowlers like P. Kumar and Zaheer Khan.
The Australian team is not taking easy at all, they know that they have to pack up fast bowlers in the team and it is good to see new faces in their side, almost half of the probables for the Boxing Day match are new or making debut. Here are the names of the probable Australian team: David Warner, Shane Watson, Ed Cowan, Usman Khawaja, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin (wk), Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon. The names highlighted are the senior players whereas the rest of the team is relatively new. There is no Mitchel Johnson, Lee, Nathan Bracken etc.
The team looks pretty balanced to me and the young blood inducted must be roaring to perform especially Daniel Christian who is an all-rounder. There is one thing which is guaranteed here is there will be a lot of action unlike what we have seen in the last couple of months.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF INDIA PAKISTAN CRICKET?
Posted by JAVED A. KHAN in LS India, LS Pakistan on August 7, 2011
The question that is being raised by many in the sub-continent is, “what is the future of cricket in the sub-continent?” Especially in the test cricket department both teams are on the verge of decline, in fact Pakistan is already at the rock bottom and, India from the so-called NUMERO UNO position as a test team is getting a real drubbing at the hands of England and they are expected to be whitewashed at the hands of English players. What is the reason for this decline?
Too much shorter versions of the game? Too much cricket being played these days? Blame the cricket boards, the IPL or the players themselves? I will blame the players more than the boards and institutions for being greedy and inconsiderate towards the test cricket and even for international cricket. For every defeat they have an excuse. An excuse for injuries, an excuse for too many matches, an excuse for lack of match practice, an excuse for lack of rest and, you name it they have a reason, especially Dhoni. So far, he was riding on his luck because, his own performance for quite some time is zilch and his winnings kept him in the spot. If India had lost the WC semifinal at Mohali, Dhoni certainly would have been axed. But, that win cleaned his slate and he thought he will be riding on the lady luck once again. But, test matches have revealed his weakness and that of many other players in the side.
Not only the batting with the exception of a few, their bowling is so pathetic that “The Broad” is turning out to be an all-rounder from a mediocre bowler. Indian bowling is at its low. I wonder why this is happening, I know historically they have this redundancy and mediocrity in the fast bowling department but, at least one or two of their spinners have dominated the foreign teams. With Kumble gone, Harbhajan out of form, the Indian bowling attack looks extremely impotent and docile. What is the BCCI going to do now? Do they have replacements? I doubt, there is any bowler who can be a threat to the opposition. Ohja, Mishra, Chawla, Ashwin, Yousuf Pathan etc., are just mediocre spinners. Between OMCA and YP, I would prefer the later because of his batting advantage. There is no Bedi, Prassanna, Chandrashekhar and Venkataraghavan in the team. That was the best spinning options India ever had, but those days India never won any major tournaments or even a series against WI, Australia and England (may be I am wrong), yet they are remembered for taunting and troubling the opposition.
Sachin tendulkar what happens to India when he is gone?
If India needs to rebuild their test team after Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman (TDL) they need to find players like Jaffar in the opening slot along with Sehwag and Gambhir should change his role from an opener to no. 4 i.e., to consolidate the team. Kohli has better temperament than UV and Raina so he should be at number 3. Dhoni, needs to reassess and re-evaluate his own performance and must focus on his batting and wicketkeeping, his captaincy is not that great its just his luck that he won so many matches as a captain. I still reckon Ganguly as a better captain than Dhoni or it wouldn’t be wrong to call him as the best Indian captain so far, better than MAK Pataudi, Wadekar and Azharuddin.
At least there is some spark, some hope in the Indian cricket camp that they will recover and rejuvenate as a fighting team, coming to Pakistan, there is no spark, no hope Ijaz Butt kay Raj may raakh ka dhair hai jis may shola hai na chingari. Sifarish hai, Butt Dharmi hai, Toofaan-e- Butt Tameezi hai, Tabahi aur Barbadi hai. The irony is koipoochnay wala nahee hai, koi roke nay wala nahee hai, Butt Dharmi hee nahee Butt Maani aur Bay Imani bhee hai.
Talking about Pakistani players, if the Captain is such an old Miss fart who has such negative mentality, what results do you expect from others? On top of pathetic performance and negative cricket combined with corruption has ruined and destroyed the name of the country which has already been quarantined and isolated from the rest of the world because of terrorism for which Ijaz Butt is solely responsible for not making adequate security measures and efforts and his stubbornness in not apologizing to the Govt. of Sri Lanka or, its board of cricket or, even the players is an example of rude, uncouth, uneducated behaviour that reflects on ALL, it makes people think that ALL of Pakistan is like that! What a shame, what a disgrace to the nation Ijaz Butt is. Since no one can remove him from his post, let us all make a CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER AND ASK ALLAH TO TAKE HIM BACK AND HAND HIM OVER TO THE DEVIL.
