Sometimes the future is upon us when we least expect it. Just the other day, there was no batting slot in the Indian team. The so-called Fab Four had locked up the middle order, and later the opening pair had settled themselves in. Now Ganguly is gone, Dravid and Laxman are injured, Yuvraj is yet to score a century after Ganguly’s retirement (although he averages 44 in his last ten Tests, as opposed to 36 overall), and suddenly there are all kinds of possibilities.

A Wridhiman Saha, who would have been mentally prepared for a five-day education from beyond the boundary during the Nagpur Test now finds himself at the deep end. Badrinath gets a chance to make the leap from domestic superstar to international star; Murali Vijay, already being spoken of as the long-term replacement for Dravid, can consolidate.

Of the two reasons for infusing fresh blood – injury and consistently poor team performance – India are dealing with the first. “In the last three or four months we have had someone or the other getting injured and dropping out of the team on a regular basis,” was the philosophical attitude of skipper M S Dhoni, who has said often enough in the past that one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity.

It wasn’t so long ago – in 1996, in fact - that an injury to Sanjay Manjrekar brought in a young man who evolved into the backbone of Indian cricket. Rahul Dravid hasn’t looked back since.

Depending on whether you call the core of the Indian team in the past decade and more the Fab Four or the Big Five (with Kumble) or the Super Six (with Sehwag), it is becoming increasingly difficult for the surviving members of these exclusive clubs to play together in recent matches owing to injury.

The foursome of Kumble, Dravid, Ganguly and Tendulkar played together in a record 86 Tests; add Laxman to that list, and the world record is still theirs, with 65 Tests. Bring Sehwag into the equation, and that lot has played 36 Tests together. (the record for six players doing so is held by Australia, 40). These are impressive figures, and speak of a settled team over a long period. They speak of remarkable skill and consistency in all conditions, against all opponents. These are marks the next generation will be aiming at. It would be unfair, of course, to expect a whole new ready-made bunch to slip into the shoes of the masters and carry on as if there has been Read more…

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India has just scored an emphatic 2-0 victory over Bangladesh. Barring the opening day of the two-Test series that witnessed a middle-order collapse, India were pretty much on top for most of the series.

      Nonetheless, the series also exposed certain chinks in our armour. We need to work on them as sterner test awaits us against South Africa beginning with the first Test on February 6. After all, the series is being billed as the battle for the champion Test team in the world.

      1. Middle-order batting:  Due to injuries, our middle order is suddenly looking brittle. Ok, we have Tendulkar in great nick. But Dravid, Laxman and Yuvraj are likely to miss the first Test. Indications are Yuvraj will miss the entire Test series. So what do we do?

      I think India has adequate bench strength. The question is whether the selectors will go for the real guys or opt for their favourites. If the selectors think that Dinesh Karthik, that little darling of the five wise men, will shore up the middle order, then God help India.

      Sure, we need experience. But I am not saying, call back Ganguly. Or even Mohammed Kaif.

      I have four fresh names: Cheteshwar Pujara, S Badrinath, Manish Pandey and Manoj Tiwary. The last three are among the finest fielders in India.

      Pujara and Badrinath are the two unluckiest cricketers in India today. Each of them has scored centuries by dozens. Badrinath, especially, has also proved his worth during India A tours abroad. Obviously either the selectors don't like his face or they know about a major chink in his batting that nobody else can find on television. I know he is 29 but so what? Even Mr Cricket, Michael Hussey made his Test debut at 30.

      Both Badrinath and Pujara are tailor-made for Test cricket. They have solid defence, decent footwork and play the ball on merit. They can graft and build a long, patient innings. Surely, both deserve a chance.

      Pandey and Tiwary are two of a kind. Both have the game to succeed on the big stage. After his recent stunning ton in the Ranji Trophy, Pandey is high on confidence too. Tiwary has fallen off the mindmap. But his 102 off 123 balls for East Zone against Central Zone, shows Read more...

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This is the silly season of cricket, so being to the point (literally) and maybe even inane, is quite in. So here’s my take on why the Champions League T20 isn’t justifying the pre-event hype… as yet.

1. T20s… just too blah
Whatever anyone says about the death of Tests or ODIs, perhaps people are finally waking up to the fact that one T20 game is pretty much like the other. Yawn…

2. Where are our He-Men?
We Indians like our desi big brands. Other than a few good men, Dravid and Kumble in Bangalore, or Gambhir and Sehwag (and to a lesser extent Nehra and Karthik) in the Daredevils, there’s not much for Indians to get starry-eyed about. (Except in that cool boat ad). No Sachin, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Bhajji, Ganguly, Zaheer or even poor Ishant.

3. Phoren teams? So what?
When we don’t care about our own domestic cricket (am sure Neo isn’t even asking for the ratings of this year’s Challenger Series) what chance of our caring about cricket or cricketers from clubs most of India has never even heard of?

4. Howzatt! You mean, ‘Who’s that’?
We Indians also like our designer foreign brands. And they’re not around. No Smith, Ponting, Hayden, Flintoff, Pietersen, Warne, Vettori, AB… and no melodramatic Pakistanis! Okay, so we have Gilchrist holding the Deccan flag aloft and Gibbs disappearing before he can say hello for the Cobras. Then there’s Brendon McCullum (traitor!) on for Otago, that quiet Kallis, and a subdued, shorn Kallis. Not enough, mate.

5. Big-ticket event doesn’t equal big crowds
Basically, despite the tournament being cricket’s richest prize, the BCCI-IPL is treating the event just like they treat domestic cricket in India — with disdain. Outside of the corporate Read more…

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Nothing succeeds like success. Though indisputably one of the legends of our time, is Sachin Tendulkar a real match-winner?

This question indicates there are others far more consistent in winning matches for their countries. Admittedly, not many can beat Tendulkar where consistency is concerned but his contribution to winning matches takes a beating compared to Inzamam-ul- Haq and Ricky Ponting.

The yardstick obviously is how many of his centuries have been winning centuries. And how many of these centuries have been scored in the second innings of the match. This, the pundits feel relates to handling of pressure when it matters.

Inzamam’s total number of centuries is 25 but 17 of his centuries helped Pakistan win Tests and the percentage amounts to 68. Ricky Ponting’s 24 Test match-winning centuries are from a total of 38 and the winning percentage is 63 whereas though Tendulkar scored 42 Test centuries, only 16 have helped India in winning Tests. The percentage is as low as 38.

Comparisons

The most important comparison is the number of centuries scored in the second innings. Out of six centuries scored by Ponting five resulted in Australia winning Test matches. Read more…

Administrator Indian Cricket Azharuddin, Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Dravid, Ganguly, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Kapil Dev, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Yunus Khan, Yusuf

For a coach who wanted 4, or was it 11, captains for his team, it is no surprise that he couldn't settle on a single title for his book. John Buchanan's literary offering on cricket appears to have two titles on the cover. The Future of Cricket comes on top, The Rise of Twenty20, follows. That apart, the cover also has a strap line: When money talks, cricket listens. How big money, administrators are powering a new cricket world: an inside account. Phew! Can't this guy keep anything simple?

The book's juicy parts have already made national headlines. When you write adversely about Gavaskar, Harbhajan and Yuvraj, you are sure to grab eyeballs. And when you write lines such as in T20 "you have to be inventive, fearless. And I don't see those qualities as part of Sachin's make-up at this stage of his career. Sachin Tendulkar is still a great player, but not in this arena of T20," everybody is eager to find out what you say next.  Buchanan may have led KKR to the bottom but the book demonstrates his genius for marketing himself.

Reading the book one gets the impression that Buchanan is a mastermind at predicting the distant future. But he is not so adept at dealing with the present or the immediate future. He certainly didn't know that KKR will finish last in IPL2.  And that he will get the boot Read more...

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