I don't rate India a long-term No.1 - Ian Chappell

[akshayxyz]

Well in a way he is right..to shut up the current bunch of deniers, we do need true champion bowlers. In other words, even though we have one of the best batting line up, which is capable of shielding our bowlers' limitations and we do sit on the top of ranking table. But, that does not mean that we do not have scope of improvement. And when we look at immediate improvement needs - fielding and bowling need immediate attention. We can continue doing well, without further improvement in our batting. And when we talk about resources that we have at our disposal, and how best to utilize them and do a cost / benefit evaluation. Then investing in fielding will significantly boost our performance ( the winning margin and consistency).

[Fontaine]

Let's not be over critical of commentators like Boycott and Ian Chappell. In this particular occasion, it was cricinfo soliciting their comments and analysis rather than these guys voicing their unwanted or unsolicited opinions independantly! :)

[akshayxyz]

Before targetting Ian chappel, learn something from Kohli. Denying / defending a criticism is one of the ways. And we know that is not the best one.

[youngindia]

ian has not said anything remotely unreasonable here.its pretty accurate.

[zen]

The point is most ppl know what he is talking abt and not many are implying that Ind is going to be #1 like the Aus and WI super-teams, which makes his kind of talk unnecessary To illustrate: A: 3 Idiots is a big big hit .... wooohoooo B: But it's not a classic like a Sholay (who claimed it's a classic like Sholay. And ppl know it's not so what's the point in manufacturing ways to criticize) Now if the talk had been like the one below then his point would have been valid A: 3 idiots is a big hit and a classic B: But it's not a classic like Sholay my 2 cents!

[Sachinism]

If someone had claimed we are the GOAT then its a different story. Most Indian fans will tell you there is a long way to go before we become a dominating number 1. What I can't stand is these hypocritical people who all voice their opinions on why India shouldn't be number 1, but can't justify any other team being number one. These guys can't accept the power shift, thats all it is.

[cowboysfan]

more than our bowling we need some future replacements for VVs and Rahul.we have a great opening pair which is set for a next 3-4 years(we even have a backup).we have completely killed ishant sharma by playing him in limited overs cricket when he was to be nurtured and brought along slowly.our bowling is not that bad(our pacers outbowled the aussies in india recently).the one thing that is lacking is proper bench strength.we need a credible 2nd spinner and so far mishra and ojha have not exactly set the world on fire although i am hoping one of them will come through. I would also suggest dropping Ishant completely from limited overs cricket and make him concentrate on the longer form.Sree has bowled well recently but he is injury prone and Ishant will be the next in line.It would be awesome if some young player like Mithun can be identified early and groomed for the future.

[youngindia]

the undisputed no1 tag matters for all teams. That the three contenders ind,sa, aus will try to get that status is obvious. and ian is at best biased against SA. he has generally been a fan of good cricket.

[akshayxyz]

^ you got it wrong. (3 idiots vs sholay) Even though 3 Idiots is a hit with masses, there is significant number of people who find it average and feel that there is scope of improvement. I myself found it average, and can suggest numerous problems - which if rectified will make it even more better. Btw, most of the "sensible" people that I talked to find it as a normal entertainer. As of now, 3 idiots should not qualify for Oscars. (only those who approved of Paheli / Lagaan for Oscars), unless there is a separate category for Box-office success / mass appeal. Another analogy - you can say Indian Railway largest in the world - in terms of turnover ( I am not sure about facts, but they are somewhere on top). But even a blind man ( literally) can figure out a difference between Korean Rail and Indian Rail. Now, Vidhu / Hirani / Amir, can stay in denial - we do not want to listen since we got our money, - we got good rating, broke box office records. etc etc. Or they can try to take the criticism in positive sense - and when they deliver next - it will only help them if they have something to show that they acted upon sensible inputs. Now you re-read Ian's article - either you will understand both (me and him) or none :)

[putrevus]

Let's not be over critical of commentators like Boycott and Ian Chappell. In this particular occasion, it was cricinfo soliciting their comments and analysis rather than these guys voicing their unwanted or unsolicited opinions independantly! :)

I am not critical of Ian or Geoff boycott but I am appalled by guys like Sanjay Manrekar who still exhibits that Inferiority complex when he talks about how India failed against fast Bowling in west Indies or anywhere abroad. Manjerakars is what Indian cricket doesn't need,guys like him were defeated even before taking the field when facing good opposition.His technically correct batting didn't serve him any good because he just didn't have the guts and intensity to match.Steve Waugh was never great in handling short pitch bowling but what he lacked in technique he made up with guts. BTW Why is every Indian journalist especially from cricinfo seek validation of India status of No1 from guys like Boycott and Ian Chappell.who cares what Ian Chappell or that Idiot Boycott think. The same Idiots from cricinfo praise everything which happens outside india but cant wait to criticize anything which happens in India.

[youngindia]

and its certainly not easy to produce champions consistently. The whole system matters. The system has to excel in identifying talent and nurturing talent from the grassroots level-from city/village to fc to internationals. The best talent has to be identified and given the best training at all levels. easier said than done. it means that more schools shud have competant coaches. more academies shud have good coaches.players in remote villages need to have a realistic chance. for instance , the only TN players to make the indian team between 87 and 2003 came from the coaching school i went to. there is reason why i attended it as well. the standard of cricket we played was pretty high and there was good cricketers all around.obviously all schools do not maintain decent standards. obviously the mumbai standard weas considered higher for long. the way we play the game has to be looked at as well. the older brigade like nehra do not understand or care that fielding is crucial to stop the opponents from winning. that's precisely why dhoni booted out the older players a few years earlier. the strategy and tactics have to be comparable to aus and SA. all these things done at the grass root level will eventually after a long process produce high quality players at the highest level. so catching up to australia which has a proven and established sports sytem is not easy as finding 2 players. there is a lot of work.

[Andy]

I have to agree wid Ian here. He is right!! Exactly 1 year back along with the saffies we had the best bowling attack, of what i can remember!! Now thngs have chnged, Though i believe in tests our Bowling is much beter dan of ODI's still not as gud as it was previously!! It was our bowling that took us to the pinaccle, We always had batsmen who scored in bulk, But never had bowlers who took 20 wickets as a result even under Ganguly we played out too many draws!! So to summarise i have to agree with Ian, He is right!! As of now i dont see India getting opponents out cheaply as they were doing a year back!!

[putrevus]

and its certainly not easy to produce champions consistently. The whole system matters. The system has to excel in identifying talent and nurturing talent from the grassroots level-from city/village to fc to internationals. The best talent has to be identified and given the best training at all levels. easier said than done. it means that more schools shud have competant coaches. more academies shud have good coaches.players in remote villages need to have a realistic chance. for instance , the only TN players to make the indian team between 87 and 2003 came from the coaching school i went to. there is reason why i attended it as well. the standard of cricket we played was pretty high and there was good cricketers all around.obviously all schools do not maintain decent standards. obviously the mumbai standard weas considered higher for long. the way we play the game has to be looked at as well. the older brigade like nehra do not understand or care that fielding is crucial to stop the opponents from winning. that's precisely why dhoni booted out the older players a few years earlier. the strategy and tactics have to be comparable to aus and SA. all these things done at the grass root level will eventually after a long process produce high quality players at the highest level. so catching up to australia which has a proven and established sports sytem is not easy as finding 2 players. there is a lot of work.

If Australia is bench mark for best system why have they not produced any spinners in last 30 years other than Shane Warne. We have good enough system now in place all we need in proper nurturing of talent which is coming up.

[vvvslaxman]

India has to declare Australia and South Africa as their last frontier and win the Test series there. Then we can shut up everyone. To do that we need an outstanding fast bowler like Richard Hadlee, McGrath, Ambrose to complement our batting line up. It doesn't matter what anyone says. I am glad Ian Chappell said this. Generally the opposite happens :winky: . Ian Chappell is just a guy who airs his opinion. Wasn't he the one who called Sehwag the modern day Bradman? So let us just take it with a pinch of salt. But i agree about Manjrekar. He over-analyzes even simple things and comes out with garbage like his batting towards the end of his career. There is nothing to be analyzed here. ICC rankings indicate current form of a team. India is in better form than others. End of story. What is with over-analysis of ranking i don't know.

[Desi Cartman]

Name 2 current world class - super amazing bowlers from Aus ?

[Andy]

India has to declare Australia and South Africa as their last frontier and win the Test series there. Then we can shut up everyone. To do that we need an outstanding fast bowler like Richard Hadlee' date=' McGrath, Ambrose to complement our batting line up. It doesn't matter what anyone says. I am glad Ian Chappell said this. Generally the opposite happens :winky: . Ian Chappell is just a guy who airs his opinion. Wasn't he the one who called Sehwag the modern day Bradman? So let us just take it with a pinch of salt. But i agree about Manjrekar. He over-analyzes even simple things and comes out with garbage like his batting towards the end of his career. There is nothing to be analyzed here. ICC rankings indicate current form of a team. India is in better form than others. End of story. What is with over-analysis of ranking i don't know.[/quote'] Top Notch VVS!!:hatsoff:

[Anakin]

Ian and Sanjay are two of the most idiotic brains in the cricket world, thanks but no thanks for your opinions, a la another idiot.

[Fontaine]

I am not critical of Ian or Geoff boycott but I am appalled by guys like Sanjay Manrekar who still exhibits that Inferiority complex when he talks about how India failed against fast Bowling in west Indies or anywhere abroad. Manjerakars is what Indian cricket doesn't need,guys like him were defeated even before taking the field when facing good opposition.His technically correct batting didn't serve him any good because he just didn't have the guts and intensity to match.Steve Waugh was never great in handling short pitch bowling but what he lacked in technique he made up with guts.

Yes, I do find Manjrekar to be odd at the best of times.

[putrevus]

India has to declare Australia and South Africa as their last frontier and win the Test series there. Then we can shut up everyone. To do that we need an outstanding fast bowler like Richard Hadlee' date=' McGrath, Ambrose to complement our batting line up. It doesn't matter what anyone says. I am glad Ian Chappell said this. Generally the opposite happens :winky: . Ian Chappell is just a guy who airs his opinion. Wasn't he the one who called Sehwag the modern day Bradman? So let us just take it with a pinch of salt. But i agree about Manjrekar. He over-analyzes even simple things and comes out with garbage like his batting towards the end of his career. There is nothing to be analyzed here. ICC rankings indicate current form of a team. India is in better form than others. End of story. What is with over-analysis of ranking i don't know.[/quote'] Hadlees or Mcgraths don't grow on trees , Indian cricket in last 75 years never produced a tear way fast bowler, what makes you think it will do so in next year or so.We have good enough bowlers who all have demonstrated in patches they can do well, all we need is proper coach who can guide them to reach their potential, easier said than done though. It is the attitude that needed to be changed and it has changed India is no longer sitting duck when it comes to playing abroad.but you just don't become dominant force overnight. Earlier in 1990s when Indian traveled overseas spinners rarely had impact on outcome of test matches,if our medium pacers failed we lost the matches and the same thing happened at home our medium pacers rarely had impact on outcome of matches.Kumble started taking more onus on himself to impose his bowling when playing abroad, our medium pacers are winning matches at home , we no longer are dependent on our spinners to win matches at home. Our batting needs to impose itself abroad, when it does then we will win more than we lose.Our Batting has never clicked in South Africa we have played well in Australia but in South Africa it has been total failure.

[youngindia]

If Australia is bench mark for best system why have they not produced any spinners in last 30 years other than Shane Warne. .

Thay have done very well infact considering their conditions and tradition.e.g macgill,may etc and the fact that "the land of spin" has not produced a warne has been lost on you.its a shame for us not them. we do not have a decent sporting system in any field. even in cricket, it has reached certain degree of high quality only around the last decade. leave alone australia. there are many other lesser nations that's leading us in the olympics tally. remember that.