If India don't hurt, they won't rise

[Spiderguy252]

I'm not trolling. We all know at the back of our heads that that is the truth. 2-2 would result in zero changes for the Australian tests.

[Iconoclast]

If you wish to move on your team should actually try and fight for a win instead of having a negative loser mentality.

[NareshK]

Rubbish mindset. It will only decrease the confidence of these players even more and they will lose even worse. This also includes newbies like Pujara, Kohli, Ojha, Ashwin and they will remember these defeats for years if they dont put up a fight.

[Spiderguy252]

Rubbish mindset. It will only decrease the confidence of these players even more and they will lose even worse. This also includes newbies like Pujara' date=' Kohli, Ojha, Ashwin and they will remember these defeats for years if they dont put up a fight.[/quote'] Obviously I'm not asking the players to explicitly lose - I'm pointing out the general trend of Indian cricket, and the only way positives will be derived is via a loss.

[Nova]

Everyone expected this bad patch once seniors go: MS Dhoni NAGPUR: Even as India continue to falter in Test cricket, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said this phase was a forgone conclusion after the retirement of legends like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. "Everybody was talking about this phase in Indian cricket when the big players would move on and the pressure will come on the youngsters and we may go through a rough patch. I think everybody expected this kind of a patch. "Of course, we have struggled in the last two Tests. If you ask big questions depending on two Test matches...it (a situation) may come in the future too where we may lose two Test matches and people will say, okay all these youngsters should go out and someone else should come in," Dhoni said on the eve of the fourth and final Test here. India, down 1-2 in the series that was billed initially as the revenge rubber for the 4-0 whitewash suffered in England last year, have to win the final game here to square the series. A draw would fetch the visitors their first series win in this country after 28 years. Dhoni's future not only as the captain of the team but also as a player is at stake, but he doesn't seemed too bothered. "When people appreciate me a lot, I don't feel as if I am in seventh heaven. And it's the same when people criticise me. We (Indians) have extreme opinions. "We praise and then start pulling the same individuals down. I would say it's very important to be in the middle path because that's how you will enjoy the sport," he insisted. Asked if there was any message from the ex-cricketers like Dravid and Mohinder Amarnath who have been stringent on the team's performance, Dhoni said, "As ex-cricketers we respect their opinions but we have our own problems to solve." Dhoni, whose head seems to be on the chopping block after a series of poor results, insisted that in India every Tom, Dick and Harry had an opinion about the game. "If you are part of the Indian cricket set up everything is under the microscope and everybody has an opinion. You can ask plenty of questions on why that guy was not picked and why this guy was not given the new ball. It's a team sport. It's getting very critical," he lamented. The wicketkeeper-batsman insisted that despite two back-to-back defeats, the spirit of the team was high. "Spirit in the team is really good. When you go through a bad patch you fail to enjoy. Dressing room atmosphere is great," said Dhoni, who has flopped both with the bat and behind the wicket. The skipper said the true character of a team can be judged only during a tough situation. "As a captain and an individual such a situation does not happen often. It was a similar situation against South Africa too (in 2010) when we played at home and were down in the series and the last game was at Kanpur (and won the match to draw the rubber). "But such situations are very few. Won't say it's a very good situation to be in, but the true character of a person as well as the team comes out in tough situations. In a way it's good we are in a situation like this. We have nowhere to go and have to do well in this game," he remarked. Dhoni didn't reveal whether the team would go in with three spinners as it had done in Mumbai, saying all pros and cons have to be weighed before taking a decision. "The wicket looks good and hard. The combination of the team...you have to wait and watch. Can play the third spinner if you can weigh how important roles the fast bowlers and spinners can have on this wicket. "There will be some reverse swing (depends on) whether we are going with that or with the fact that as the game progresses the additional spinner can be very effective in the second innings. We have to take into consideration all these and then decide on the playing combination." Asked why Virender Sehwag does not stand in the slips to the fast bowlers, Dhoni explained: "He got hit in the last first class game (Delhi-UP Ranji Trophy before the start of the India-England Test series) he played, got a cut in his hand. "That's the reason he does not stand in slips for fast bowlers. But it does not affect him standing in the slips for the spinners." Dhoni praised Gautam Gambhir for the way he had batted in Mumbai (second innings) and Kolkata. "The best thing about Gautam is his aggressive character. He has batted very well in the last two games. Being aggressive is not only about stepping out and hitting the ball but also about positively defending." On the environment in the dressing room following the sacking of three seniors -- Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh -- after India's loss in the third Test at Kolkata, Dhoni said there was still enough experience. "Sachin has played close to 200 Tests, Virubhai has played over 100 Tests and Ishant Sharma has also played a lot of games. There are enough people to guide the younger lot. Ultimately it's not the number of games you have played, but about what kind of form the team is in, and what's needed from the individuals." He also said he did not believe in spoon feeding the erring bowlers. "It's important not to spoon feed players. Everyone from captain to senior player to coach is there to help the bowlers. Ultimately it's up to the bowlers to execute the plans. During breaks there is the chance to talk to them but it sends a kind of panic," Dhoni insisted. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournament/england-in-india-2012/top-stories/Everyone-expected-this-bad-patch-once-seniors-go-MS-Dhoni/articleshow/17584910.cms

[Laaloo]

:whine:

[namasteji1]

:hysterical::hysterical::cantstop::giggle::haha:

[Number]

[Eternal Atma]

I love the part when he mentions Sachin's and Viru's experience which is fine. But then chips in about Ishant.

[jairamesh]

"As a captain and an individual such a situation does not happen often. It was a similar situation against South Africa too (in 2010) when we played at home and were down in the series and the last game was at Kanpur (and won the match to draw the rubber). "But such situations are very few. Won't say it's a very good situation to be in, but the true character of a person as well as the team comes out in tough situations. In a way it's good we are in a situation like this. We have nowhere to go and have to do well in this game," he remarked.

been over 16 months and character keeps failing one challenge after another. So safe to assume another fail and Dhoni will resign?!!

[Lurker]

Ranchi ke bahar ek Pagalkhaana hai, Kaanke bol ke. Vibhash, chor ke aao isko. You can take MTC with you.

[The Outsider]

When last year seniors were there, tab to bade qile fateh kiye the Dhoni ne.

[Sachin=GOD]

When last year seniors were there' date=' [i']tab to bade qile fateh kiye the Dhoni ne.

Dhoni's response - then it was the lack of young blood in the side.

[vivek_singh3187]

Ishant will GUIDE the youngsters, about what .....How to remain wicketless ???...seriously man....Was he joking????

[Utalk]

This is a typical desi statement from Dhoni. Bhai Sahab you put it all down to transition and youngsters. From the neutral point of view ojha and pujara have been your best players and they are youngsters. SRT is the only player who is on the way out. What about yourself, gambhir, Sehwag and Yuvi you guys should be at your peak and ensure this is a smooth transition.

[CG]

Ranchi ke bahar ek Pagalkhaana hai, Kaanke bol ke. Vibhash, chor ke aao isko. You can take MTC with you.

:hysterical::hysterical: Wahan par bhi ye kuch na kuch chetiywa paan suru kar de ga. Apni group bana kar.

[putrevus]

Dhoni is sounding more like a cheap politician , he was first saying seniors are reason why the team was so awful on field and now seniors are gone he is blaming inexperience. He blames everybody but himself.He has been living on others performing when his turn came up rather than showing his skills he is resorting to this nonsense.

[ravishingravi]

Defeat could be good for India :- Harsha Bhogle Yes, and it might help shut those on BCCI payroll who spew BS. Yes, you are one of them Harsha. "While none of us likes to lose, and we often try as hard as we can to delay or overcome defeat, there are times when it is not always the worst occurrence. Just as pain is a body's way of attracting attention to something wrong, and we ignore it at our own peril, so too can defeat be an alarm going off somewhere. It is how we react to defeat that tells us how serious we are about learning from it. England admitted that defeat against Pakistan in the UAE opened their eyes to how much further they needed to go, and said it contributed in no small part to their success here in India. During the first IPL when the Rajasthan Royals had just had a winning streak broken, Shane Warne suggested such a kick up the backside was needed to get the team focused on winning again. That is why I think defeat in this series may not be the worst thing to happen to Indian cricket. It will force introspection that, for whatever reason, might otherwise have been overlooked. Teams rarely introspect when they are winning; there is camaraderie, celebration, and no one is really keen to see why the team won. Sometimes defeat can be met with denial, a refusal to accept that there is a problem, or the feeling that the tide will turn when circumstances change. I suspect India allowed themselves to go through that phase in 2011-12. There was the world No. 1 tag and a World Cup glittering in the office and on bio-datas, so any suggestion of a weakness, like not crushing West Indies 2-0 in June 2011, was cast aside. No one wanted to hear about it, probably. When India lost in England and won 2-0 at home against West Indies (it is not always remembered there was a win between the two 0-4 results), it reinforced that India were champions at home (even though there was a scare in Mumbai). That is what probably led to the feeling, even after Australia, that all India needed to do was play at home and happy times would be here again. The one-sided series against New Zealand confirmed that, and with England due in November - let's be honest, everyone thought they would be run over - an analysis was postponed again, if indeed it was contemplated. Now that India have been driven to the brink, there is no choice but to realise that the weaknesses displayed in England and Australia were indicative of deeper fissures, that the illness had spread to home conditions. If India had won a one-sided series on rank turners, it would have covered up fundamental weaknesses for a little longer, and with 14-15 away Tests approaching, India could have been further exposed. And so there must be a review of every aspect of Indian cricket; a review that asks uncomfortable questions, because otherwise it will be like solving only the problems you know how to solve rather than tackling the ones you don't in preparation for a mathematics exam. The questions you ask determine the answers you get, and any review must consist of people who will ask uncomfortable questions. Is domestic cricket producing the players India needs? Or is there a problem with domestic cricket? Is the IPL influencing the way youngsters are playing domestic cricket? Why are there no spinners anywhere on the horizon? Why have India been out-spun on their pitches by, of all people, English spinners? What have they done right? Does India have the right coaches at grassroot level? Are the right people running the academies? There will be many more such questions; these took a minute to generate. Some of the answers to these questions are staring us in the face. The Ranji Trophy has been poor for a long time. It is the highest form of India's domestic game and playing it must be an accomplishment. If players on the ground are saying that fast bowlers are being influenced by the IPL to think in terms of only four overs, that is an issue to be addressed immediately. I would, in fact, advocate a public review, a communication to the fans, who are responsible for the power of Indian cricket, for dissent and acceptance of dissent are signs of mature organisations. A review must also go beyond structures and into addressing player issues. Currently the stance is that a player is free to opt out of a series if he is tired or jaded. That option must be taken away and given to someone who has responsibility for the team. It seems to be working with England, and while systems cannot always be duplicated, it is worth analysing why something is working. England, Australia and South Africa all seem to think that having the same captain in three formats can be draining, so there must be some truth in it. And yet having different captains playing under each other in different formats is doomed to fail. Leadership cannot be worn and discarded like clothes. A solution must be found - maybe the captain gives up playing a format. None of us, much as we would like to claim otherwise, have all the answers. But answers are what Indian cricket needs very quickly, because, irrespective of what happens in Nagpur, the time for major decision-making is here. A lot of good can come out of this series if we are willing to listen to what it is telling us about Indian cricket. " http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/596992.html

[Crookbond]

I'm not sure what the OP finds wrong against Harsha. He has raised pretty much valid points.

[ravishingravi]

I'm not sure what the OP finds wrong against Harsha. He has raised pretty much valid points.

I 'm not sure what part you read of OP which made you think he i.e. OP is criticizing the article.