5 Point Plan to save Indian Cricket.

[dr_tooley]

We have to be honest. In the past 18 I have seen the worst set of Indian performances ever. I would suggest the following 5 point plan 1. Accept that some players are world class and some are not. It was obvious from the first ball that B.Kumar and Pujara are international calibre. Both in terms of skills and temperament they are suited to the highest. We have to understand many are not. I would include in this category Rohit Sharma, Ishant, Raina and Dinda. We have to move on from these individuals who like Wasim Jaffar or Graeme Hick have been excellent at a lower level but simply not suitable the highest level. 2. Indian players must play domestic cricket outside of India. I would encourage the BCCI to actively court ECB to ensure particularly the pacers and batmans develop the techniques to exploit/cope with seamer friendly conditions. We saw today the benefit Junaid has got from playing for Lancashire. Also we have seen repeatedly that when the ball moves the current batting line-up simply cannot cope. 3. India needs to develop a pace bowling allrounder. India have never replaced Kapil Dev nor had anyone close that ability. I would encourage the scouts to actively recruit for this position. Again I don't think Irfan Pathan is quite good enough. Its not about having chances. Some are of the calibre; most are not. 4. Replace the coach will an experienced individual. Ganguly would be a great long term option. But in the same way in football a player would not go from playing straight to the coaching the national side, Ganguly has to prove himself by taking charge of some domestic side either Ranji Trophy or IPL. In the mean I would suggest an experieced replacement either Stephen Flemming or Ray Jennings. The most disappointing thing about the Flethcher era is that his hallmark is batting coaching. During this time the batting line-up had consistently failed. 5. Can no longer have Sehwag and Gambhir playing together in limited over formats. The practical problem is that they are both aweful fielders in the deep and in the covers. Sehwag because of this lethery and Gambhir because of is weak arm. One of the them is fine but two creates too much of liability in the field. This means the captain is unable to build pressure particularly with a weak attach.

[King Tendulkar]

6. Make pitches in india different. Need pitches with pace and bounce in a lot of venues. This will help fast bowlers and batters technique

[JourneyMan]

The key point I agree with you is playing domestic cricket abroad (Australia, SA, England). Indians still manage to pull off wins at home, but they look terrible abroad. Regarding talent, it's not enough. Some players aren't talented, but they are very well disciplined. Raina is a very useful player and with a few tweaks he could be even better. Instead of writing off young players it's important to work on their weaknesses. We can't just sit around hoping that the new Sachin or Kumble shows up out of nowhere. Teams like England and Australia have pulled off wins even with average players. Things like strategy, fitness, team spirit and discipline all make a big difference.

[cowboysfan]

6. Make pitches in india different. Need pitches with pace and bounce in a lot of venues. This will help fast bowlers and batters technique

they need a fundamental change in the quality of pitches at college and state level,its no use having an odd quick pitch in a ranji game.

[NareshK]

Pitches have to change. Either make them helpful for spinners or fast bowlers. No flat tracks if BCCI is interested in making a good test team. If the only thing they care about is IPL and meaningless ODI tournaments with Sri Lanka, go right ahead and make more patta wickets. But rest assured, they will get whacked by every team in the world. Also a stint in domestic cricket in Eng, SA or Aus will help vastly. Sachin, Dravid, VVS, Kumble, Srinath, Zaheer all played county cricket before they became the greats they are. None of the youngsters in the current team play county cricket.

[Magneto]

The funny part is all these players who have been getting out in seaming/swinging/bouncy conditions for the last 18 months are not newbies, they're top stars, legends, multimillionaires, revered and adored by many, two-time world champions and in general, mai-baap of Indian cricket. :--D Other than that, 5 points won't do - we need another 25-30 points :((

[Lord]

all of them wont happen