Legends on the wane in ODIs?

[Sir john]

Ricky Ponting: Class is permanent and form is only temporary they say. But for a team that is desperately trying to get back to its glorious best and needs their players to be at their peak, class and talent alone cannot do the trick. Ricky Ponting has seen more calls for his head in recent times than perhaps during his entire career and he has done himself, his chances and Australia fortunes in this series no good by failing yet again. This was Ponting's fifth consecutive failure to get into double figures, leaving his series average at an embarrassing 2.75, and questions over his ability to consistently chip in with contributions for Australia have popped up again. It hasn't helped that Australia's form in the series has been stuttering. After two handsome wins, Australia suffered back to back losses and upon introspection the finger points to the team's worst performer - in this case Ricky Ponting. With newbies like Peter Forrest and Matthew Wade showing that they are up for it in the big league, and the return of dashing all-rounder Shane Watson around the corner - it won't be long before the 2-time World Cup winning captain is 'rested' like Brad Haddin was. A few years ago, to find a replacement for the legendary right-hander would have been nigh impossible. He was a thoroughly reliable batsman capable of destroying a bowling attack on his own. The thought of even Ponting hanging up his boots would've been unimaginable. Things have changed a lot since then; the former skipper has been hounded with calls to call it a day, most of which he has countered with stunning performances - the hundred against India in the World Cup, the performance in the recently concluded Test series, etc. But now in the middle of his worst run ever in ODIs and pressure increasing multi-fold with every failure, Ponting has but a bleak chance of staying in the ODI team. But then again, he is up against India and Sri Lanka- two teams against whom he averages more than 40 and has a total of 10 hundreds and 19 fifties. Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar has been under pressure to perform throughout his career. The pressure is still there - fans, team-mates and sometimes even the opposition expect him to get a hundred, to play a match-winning innings - but this time it is a li'l different. Sachin, perhaps for the first time, is under pressure to prove himself, to prove that he merits a place in the team and to prove that he is not affected by numbers. And so far, he has failed in that endeavor. Sachin seems to be weighed down by the immense pressure and expectations surrounding him getting the 100th hundred. His place in Tests may not be under threat as he has not been in disastrous form in that format. The same cannot be said of his ODI form though. In the four matches he has played so far, Tendulkar has aggregated 68 runs at an average of 21. With youngsters like Manoj Tiwary and Ajikya Rahane waiting in the wings, it will be interesting to see how long the selectors remain patient with Sachin and let him pick the games/series he wants to play in. Having failed miserably in back-to-back tours abroad, the selectors too will be under pressure to make changes to ensure there's no such debacle the next time around. With recent form not backing him and talented youngsters on the sidelines, will the selectors continue to select Tendulkar on reputation? Sachin playing the next World Cup is out of the question and for India their main aim would be to get back the No. 1 Ranking in Tests, this could push the selectors into resting Tendulkar for the ODIs and ensuring he plays as long as possible in the Test team. With Sri Lanka having registered their first win in the series and India suffering another humbling defeat at the hands of Australia, Tendulkar needs to find his form sooner rather than later. The rotation policy being used to give the 3 openers equal chances has been partly successful with only Gautam Gambhir playing well, Sachin and Virender Sehwag have however failed to buck the trend that fans have come to expect over the past few months - a rattled top-order. Sachin has been India's saviour for most part of his career and defying the odds has almost become routine for the Master Blaster, but will he overcome his biggest challenge yet?