Moman211 Posted January 16, 2012 Posted January 16, 2012 India lost the third Test against Australia on Sunday inside two-and-a-half days, going down to a 3-0 series defeat. It was their seventh consecutive overseas Test defeat stretching back to the tour of England last year. Sports writer Suresh Menon, who has written books on Sachin Tendulkar and Bishan Bedi, on why India's cricket authorities cannot be silent spectators any longer. American mathematician Sam Saunders has a lovely analogy about how certain truths creep up on us. A frog placed in hot water will struggle to escape, he points out, but the same frog placed in cold water that is slowly warmed up will sit peacefully until it is cooked. Indian cricket is in hot water, but it has become hot so slowly that no one has noticed. After six away defeats in a row, it is time to shed sentiment and wield the axe. At least since 2008, when Sourav Ganguly retired, the idea that Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman would follow suit soon ought to have been in the minds of the authorities. Three years later in Australia comes the realisation that we don't have too many replacements. The system seems to have let the team down, and it is the cricket board which has fiddled with the system, placing greater emphasis on money-making in the shortest form of the game while refusing to learn the lessons from its national championship, where runs are made by the tons by mediocre batsmen on shirt-front wickets. Weak foundation If the governing body of the sport has money-making as its motto, it cannot then blame the players for adopting the same motto. The board knows that money buys influence and power. Sadly, it doesn't buy victories, as the players are discovering now that an entire nation is turning against them. Of 28 Tests abroad dating back to Boxing Day 2007, the start of their last tour of Australia, India have won only eight while losing 13. Australia, England and South Africa have all won more Tests abroad than they have lost in the last five years, to emphasise the weak foundation of India's number one ranking. More to the point, despite their reputation as the finest batting side in the world during that period, India have batted for 100 overs in an innings just nine times in 55 outings. In the same period, they lost only two of 22 home matches, both to South Africa. Perhaps we were spoilt by the natural-born strikers of the cricket ball. The Tendulkars, Dravids, Laxmans, Gangulys and Sehwags made everything look so easy and performed with such authority for so long that we turned a blind eye to their diminishing powers. The selectors got caught up in the hype too, and seem to have no plan for the transition. The result, like a frog jumping out of hot water, will be an entire middle order abruptly retiring, leaving a gaping hole. It is never easy to tell a long-serving employee that his time is up. But it is a job that has to be done, and done with as much dignity as possible. Skipper MS Dhoni has said that it has to be a process, not an event. Which is fair, except that, thanks to the lethargy of those in power, it might turn out to be an event after all. This is unfair to some of the greatest players to have played for the country, but it is the price for the lack of foresight. Former captain Sourav Ganguly, under whom India first began to win abroad consistently, has said that this team cannot hope to win away from home. It has taken seven defeats in a row to come to terms with the reality. The board, which has been a silent spectator for so long, cannot now afford to swing the other extreme and sack everybody. Starting with the coach - in the time-honoured sporting tradition - might be a good idea.
chainsmoker1985 Posted January 16, 2012 Posted January 16, 2012 Indian team has good future ahead because of the quality of youngsters coming through. Just that presently it is a bad phase coz seniors are on decline. I am sure, in next tours in 2014-15 when India will tour England and Australia again with all the youngsters, we will give them very good fight. Seniors time is getting over. They have stayed in the team more than their expiry date
NeutralCat Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 The BCCI fiddled while India burned....A bit like how Nero fiddled while Rome burned.
RickyPonting Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Isn't the ipl starting in couple of months? Indian batsmen will finally score some runs
Mariyam Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Isn't the ipl starting in couple of months? Indian batsmen will finally score some runs Pontings moment of rickyoning was when he was baptised :dontknow:
Needforspeed Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 For too long we have considered the big 3 as sancrosanct and were afraid to touch them. In this series, we saw Kohli and Ashwin were looking better than Dravid and Laxman. Youngsters will come good I am sure, but they cannot be expected to turn things around by magic. Look at England...it took them 3-4 years to arrive at the winning combination. Similarly the youngsters will also take time to settle down. Maybe they may not have the kind of records the Big 3 have, but the important thing is the team will start winning. It is time for some tough decisions. The Big 3 have to go. Dravid and Laxman after this series and SRT after the England Series. Sehwag has to be put on notice for Tests. It may not be possible to change him immediatly but maybe move him down the order. He cannot expect to play so irresponsibly and continue to be in the team. The percentages are no more working for him. The captain and support staff too need to change. There has to be some accountability. Dhoni never really enjoyed Test Cricket. He started as OD captain and its time for him to go back to that. Sachin and Dravid must not only be the oldest International cricketers but also one of the oldest sportsmen playing any international sports (not including chess or billiards etc). Laxman looks totally out of place and has done so for some time now outside the SC. Let them quit now while people are still saying good things about them rather than wait to be virtually pushed out ot the team. Better to lose with youngsters and invest in the future rather than lose with these legends and proceed on this road to nowhere.
bharat297 Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Sehwag's time is up in Tests imo. Tbh one of the biggest blessings for Australia was Johnsons injury. Johnson's failures with the ball were defended the same way people have defended Sehwag's failures with the bat ... The usual ... "When he fires it's amazing" ... But the truth is, at 33, he just doesn't have the reflexes for the style of play he is used to playing and his footwork has always been non-existent. He needs to be dropped (don't close the book on him) but force him to work for his position again. When he did that in 2006 and 2007, he came back stronger in 2008 and had pretty strong years in 2008 and 2009
Cricket Tragic Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Give him a chance in the middle order before you drop him.
vamos_rafa Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Give him a chance in the middle order before you drop him. +1
rkt.india Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Sehwag's time is up in Tests imo. Tbh one of the biggest blessings for Australia was Johnsons injury. Johnson's failures with the ball were defended the same way people have defended Sehwag's failures with the bat ... The usual ... "When he fires it's amazing" ... But the truth is' date=' at 33, he just doesn't have the reflexes for the style of play he is used to playing and his footwork has always been non-existent. He needs to be dropped (don't close the book on him) but force him to work for his position again. When he did that in 2006 and 2007, he came back stronger in 2008 and had pretty strong years in 2008 and 2009[/quote'] but Sehwag does not have a single 100 out side SC since the Adelaide test which showed he was not good even then but the SCS like pitch at Adelaide made that look good.
deathmonger Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 but Sehwag does not have a single 100 out side SC since the Adelaide test which showed he was not good even then but the SCS like pitch at Adelaide made that look good. in the middle order after ball stops swinging he can hit a quick 50-60.
chainsmoker1985 Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Sachin and Dravid must not only be the oldest International cricketers but also one of the oldest sportsmen playing any international sports (not including chess or billiards etc). Laxman looks totally out of place and has done so for some time now outside the SC. Let them quit now while people are still saying good things about them rather than wait to be virtually pushed out ot the team. Have you forgotten Ric Flair and Jeremy 'the king' Lawler :cantstop:
vamos_rafa Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Have you forgotten Ric Flair and Jeremy 'the king' Lawler :cantstop: How about Hulk Hogan ala Captain america?
Needforspeed Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Have you forgotten Ric Flair and Jeremy 'the king' Lawler :cantstop: I was talking about sports not Reality TV :haha:
NareshK Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 For too long we have considered the big 3 as sancrosanct and were afraid to touch them. In this series' date=' we saw [b']Kohli and Ashwin were looking better than Dravid and Laxman. Youngsters will come good I am sure, but they cannot be expected to turn things around by magic. Kohli looked clueless in all the test innings he has played so far other than the last one.
Needforspeed Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Kohli looked clueless in all the test innings he has played so far other than the last one. He looked by far the best batsman in Perth. That much leeway u have to give the new guys.
Marut Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Sehwag did not start out as an opener, and it may not be a bad idea to drop him down the order and see what he does there. But India's strength is with Sehwag opening, and unfortunately he seems to be on the decline.
prashsenga Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Have you forgotten Ric Flair and Jeremy 'the king' Lawler :cantstop: ohh.. those wonder years... :icflove::icflove: .. what about andre the giant.. hitman.. this was completely off topic but couldn't resist from posting.... broght a smile back to my face... doing the tatanka dance as i type this..:cheer::cheer::cheer:
bharat297 Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 in the middle order after ball stops swinging he can hit a quick 50-60. The problem is though he lacks the technique or temperament. I don't think he has done enough to even warrant a middle order spot. I'd much rather see Pujara, Sharma, Kohli in that middle order
Karan114 Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 The problem is though he lacks the technique or temperament. I don't think he has done enough to even warrant a middle order spot. I'd much rather see Pujara' date=' Sharma, Kohli in that middle order[/quote'] I think you're getting a little carried away. Sehwag has struggled on seamer friendly pitches throughout his career except early on like at Trent Bridge in 2002, when he was superb on a seaming track on the first day. He himself says that he is a middle-order batsman and not an opener, but on pitches where there isn't much lateral movement, he is so destructive that the team kept going on with him as opener (rightly so - he wouldn't have made the 309 and 293 that won us Tests in Pak/India otherwise). Ideally he would bat at 5 in Test matches away from Asia. The Kookaburra ball is much easier to negotiate once it is older. Put Sehwag against an older ball that doesn't swing and tired bowlers and he will again transform from the tailender he often looks against the moving ball to a dangerous batsman once again.
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