Boycott exclusive: Too many Indian players are paper tigers

[sachin34357]

It was awful to see the way the Indians folded at Manchester. They simply gave up, and let themselves and their country down. Actually, the game was more or less over as soon as MS Dhoni took the astonishing decision to bat first. When your top order batsmen are struggling, and the pitch is expected to aid seamers of which has the opposition has quite a few, how can you take a decision like that and hope to get away with it? What makes it worse is that in all the disorientation and confusion, India's complacent, sloppy batsmen have ended up making Moeen Ali look far better than he is, by treating him with either too much respect, or none at all. And wonder of wonders, Ali has now acquired a psychological edge over batsmen who, on paper, are among the best players of spin bowling in the world. But that has been one of India's major problems this summer. Too many of their players seem to be paper tigers. A case in point would be Virat Kohli, who is supposed to be the next big star of Indian cricket, but has run up a truly disappointing tally this series. Or take Cheteshwar Pujara, who we thought was being groomed to become the glue of the batting attack, in other words, take over the number three position, which Rahul Dravid lent so much glory to. Neither have performed in a manner that inspires any confidence, and Dhoni has added to the problem by persisting with Ravindra Jadeja, who is clearly not ready for Test cricket, instead of R Ashwin, who is simply a better all-round player. It's no good blaming the pitches either. Cricket in the current era is all about covered pitches, perfect conditions, hovercraft, and what have you. This makes me think back to our days, when pitches were left uncovered, at the mercy of the elements, and we never knew what we were going to get when we went out to play. These days, you know more or less exactly how a pitch will behave, and make provisions for it. India's millionaire superstars, however, have hit rock bottom. And they appear to have lost focus, which is really critical when it comes to turning failure into success. They need to be playing for pride now, to show that they care, and to restore some amount of credibility and self-respect before they go home. As things now stand, India don't need anything as fancy as a plan. All they need to do is put runs on the board. Their seam bowlers in particular have shown big hearts, and plenty of courage under fire, but they do need something to bowl at. And the batsmen just have not been doing enough. One way to do that is to play Moeen normally. Initially, they went out of their way to first pelt him out of the attack, and then wasted time and effort trying to nullify him, and letting him become a major factor in the series. Now, they need to play him normally, like they would play any other spinner, and they might actually get better results.

http://www.gocricket.com/news/England-vs-India-2014-Geoffrey-Boycott-exclusive-Too-many-Indian-players-are-paper-tigers/articleshow/40301073.cms

[Sarkar]

http://www.gocricket.com/news/England-vs-India-2014-Geoffrey-Boycott-exclusive-Too-many-Indian-players-are-paper-tigers/articleshow/40301073.cms

Three world cup finals lost one champions trophy final lost so much for your invention of cricket you only hold one trophy compare that to India 5 icc trophies.

[express bowling]

Three world cup finals lost one champions trophy final lost so much for your invention of cricket you only hold one trophy compare that to India 5 icc trophies.

I agree with you .... the English cricket team have been mentally weak for 30 / 40 years atleast. They buckle under pressure and are not champion material at all. Proved by the figures you provided and other results as well. But ... isn't it really sad for us to lose so emphatically to such losers.

[YCCC]

Ha ha a bit of 'Boycott bingo' there. 'Uncovered pitches' What have ICC championships got to do with the current Test side by the way? It's no good covering up your deficiencies in Tests with that, impressive though it is. It always annoys me when, by a similar note, some English fans say after yet another failure in ICC tournaments by saying we only care about Tests. I want a successful England side in Tests and ICC tournaments, however far fetched that may sound

[Sarkar]

England are real bottlers no one cares about your ashes winning trophies or your success in test cricket if England are top team they are suppose to own all major trophies i can say India was once no 1 test team and they are superb unit in odis and t20s.

[YCCC]

England are real bottlers no one cares about your ashes winning trophies or your success in test cricket if England are top team they are suppose to own all major trophies i can say India was once no 1 test team and they are superb unit in odis and t20s.

Yes I AGREE FFS!!!!! I am not an ECB apologist like most English fans READ MY ****ING POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! P.s I am currently sat in a Scarborough hotel after a few drinks, having watched Yorkshire piss away the league title for another year so forgive my bad mood

[express bowling]

Ha ha a bit of 'Boycott bingo' there. 'Uncovered pitches' What have ICC championships got to do with the current Test side by the way? It's no good covering up your deficiencies in Tests with that, impressive though it is. It always annoys me when, by a similar note, some English fans say after yet another failure in ICC tournaments by saying we only care about Tests. I want a successful England side in Tests and ICC tournaments, however far fetched that may sound

Your team played really well from the 3rd test onwards. They deserve some praise for that. The English team has not been that good for 30 years and was not doing that well in the recent past too and ... ,like I said, it is sad that we are losing to such a team. Unless our team acknowledges their deficiencies in tests , they will never improve. As simple as that.

[YCCC]

Your team played really well from the 3rd test onwards. They deserve some praise for that. The English team has not been that good for 30 years and was not doing that well in the recent past too and ... ,like I said, it is sad that we are losing to such a team. Unless our team acknowledges their deficiencies in tests , they will never improve. As simple as that.

Exactly, thank you :clap: :hatsoff: And unless England acknowledge their deficiencies in limited overs cricket, they will never improve either

[YCCC]

Mr Boycott does this for everyone, whether they be Indian, English, South African, Australian or whatever. If a team bats badly he can't resist having a pop. It's more about attacking the 'current generation' with his things were better in my day attitude, not any particular country

[CSK Fan]

Boycott has torn the English players, including Cook apart. Someone who calls a spade a spade and blasts everyone equally. Dunno why people are not understanding this and going after thim

[Yoda-esque]

Its true

[special K]

England are real bottlers no one cares about your ashes winning trophies or your success in test cricket if England are top team they are suppose to own all major trophies i can say India was once no 1 test team and they are superb unit in odis and t20s.

You minnows are a joke at real cricket. Only Bangladesh and New Zealand has a worse record in tests.

[sscomp32]

Boycott about gambhir. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x23t6t2_gambhir-rubbished-by-geoff-boycott-gold_sport

[Midfielder]

You minnows are a joke at real cricket. Only Bangladesh and New Zealand has a worse record in tests.

Taking on a poorly selected Indian team does not make you 10 feet tall. Just because you won this series you are far from the better side.

[YCCC]

Just because you won this series you are far from the better side.

Hmm. You do realise how ridiculous that statement sounds when you're on the verge of losing the series 3-1. The better team ALWAYS wins a Test match and series. Not like T20 where it's pot luck. Were England better than Australia even though they got stuffed 5-0? Of course not

[G_B_]

I agree with Boycott sort of. More than paper tigers though i think its fair to say these guys need to be given some time.

[G_B_]

and some of the responses to this thread are perplexing. India have a good record at ICC limited overs championships. We have won 5.5 (2002 shared) which is second only to Aus. India have a very good record at home. 3 test series lost in 25 years. India are **** away from home. Clearly we need to improve on the away from home aspect. There is no doubting that this has been a major weakness for India over the past 80 years. So more than paper tigers is a case of tigers at home sheep away

[CSK Fan]

So more than paper tigers is a case of tigers at home sheep away

Losing by innings within 3 days seem to be a new thing. And I hope not, but this might creep into home performances soo too

[Sarkar]

You minnows are a joke at real cricket. Only Bangladesh and New Zealand has a worse record in tests.

real cricket reality is your team sucks in big tournaments just like your over hyped football stars who fail to perform in every world cup.

[G_B_]

real cricket reality is your team sucks in big tournaments just like your over hyped football stars who fail to perform in every world cup.

dude he is a pakistani troll pretending to the englush.....