When India went into the Champions Trophy, we all knew they wouldn’t be the same side as they were for the 18 months, as there was no Zaheer Khan or Virender Sehwag, and injury to Yuvraj Singh worsened the matter.

But absence of these big players, gave youngsters a golden opportunity to put their hands up and shine on the international platform like these absent biggies did a few years back (Yuvraj and Zaheer made international debut during 2000 Champions Trophy in Nairobi), but they failed to grab the attention. Only Virat Kohli managed to make an impression, and that too in the last match when the Champions Trophy campaign was all over for India.

It is obvious that when these players come back into the side, India can again boast of being a tougher and a more competitive team.

But the question is, do we really have the bench-strength to make the Indian team consistently a top side? Are we really grooming talents for the international arena?

Yusuf Pathan has shown his prowess and potential in the IPL but has failed to carry it to the international level. Suresh Raina has come off good and looks promising for the future. Virat and Rohit Sharma are the other two batsmen who have everything needed for becoming successful at the international level but the duo lacks consistency.

Some time back India had a sweet dilemma of picking two or three pacers from the bunch that had RP Singh, Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma with Zaheer Khan Read more…

Administrator Champions Trophy Abhishek Nayar, Blogs.CMDN.com, Champions Trophy, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Dhawal Kulkarni, India, IPL, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, MS Dhoni, Munaf Patel, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Sreesanth, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan

Just how much introspection will Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men be able to put in before the wheel turns again? And another tournament, another opponent, another set of possibilities bury the failures at the Champions Trophy? One advantage of playing continuously is that setbacks are quickly forgotten for there is always something around the corner – victory or defeat – to get exercised over.

Introspection is left to those who get paid for it, and that is why it is the coaches and trainers who pay for a team’s poor performances. It might be unfair to write off the Indian team after one tournament. Skipper Dhoni himself appeared a bit confused – after all, India lost one match, another was washed out, and they won one, so mathematically it wasn’t so bad. But top teams don’t look for excuses, they go out and rectify their problems.

And India’s problems are basically two-fold. Disastrous fielding, and an over-friendly bowling where yesterday’s heroes suddenly look strangely innocuous. Poor Ishant Sharma has been copping much of the blame for the bowling performance. This is convenient criticism. One player who represents a pattern is made the scapegoat. If poor running between the wickets is a drawback, then there is Rahul Dravid – run out in two matches – who fits the bill. If shoddy batting in the middle order is being discussed, then it is Suresh Raina who personifies that.

But just how much has Ishant Sharma slipped in recent months? Is it fair to pick on him just as Irfan Pathan was not so long ago? Ishant is young, talented, and surely entitled to having the odd off day at the office?

Are our television commentators excessively harsh? Last week, Dave Richardson, the ICC’s cricket manager commenting on the plight of the umpires said that “The batsman is not out when the umpire says he is out. The batsman is out when Mark Nicholas or Tony Greig or Ian Chappell or Ravi Shastri says he is out.” Perhaps that applies to the players too. Television Read more…

Administrator Indian Cricket Blogs.CMDN.com, Champions Trophy, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Dave Richardson, Gary Kirsten, Ian Chappell, ICC, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Mark Nicholas, Rahul Dravid, Ravi Shastri, Suresh Raina, Tony Greig

It’s an indication of how well matched the teams at the Champions Trophy are, or the result of some capricious pitches, that three of the fancied teams are on their way home well before the end of the tournament. Early season tracks were always expected to be unpredictable, especially after a very dry winter here, but this has had a touch of Russian roulette to it. Teams like to know what conditions are likely to be but it is also a measure of skill when you have to adapt quickly to something unexpected. From that point of view, the cricket has been good.

India didn’t adapt well enough. The bowlers conceded too many against Pakistan and, to be completely honest, were in the process of allowing Australia to put up a match-winning score when the rain arrived. The bowling was the real issue here, not the absence of key players. True, you cannot substitute a Yuvraj or a Zaheer easily, or in this kind of form a Sehwag, but that is the reality of all sport. Teams that rely on specific individuals will always be vulnerable. India need 15 or 16 players playing at a certain level and currently while that could be true of the batting, it isn’t of the bowling.

It might have been a throwaway line from Dhoni when he said that at times he felt he was three bowlers short. In fact in the game against Pakistan, at the 38 over mark, he could have looked around the ground and not found one player he could confidently throw the ball to. Harbhajan Singh, his most experienced bowler, and the bowler who really should have been his bank, his go-to bowler, had an average tournament. But most dramatic, and disappointing for Indian cricket, was the decline of Ishant Sharma and RP Singh. Coming on the heels of similar problems with Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel and Sreesanth, it is a question that requires a very serious assessement. Good bowlers bowl well for ten years with the occasional bad period in between, not for two years or a season here and a season there. Could it be too much cricket? Could it too much in the mind? Could it be too little in it?

Inevitably then, the question will be what next? India cannot afford to lose Ishant and RP Singh but for the moment, a period of contemplation might be right. I wonder if players Read more…

Administrator Champions Trophy, India Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Blogs.CMDN.com, Champions Trophy, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Dhoni, India, IPL, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Pakistan, Rahul Dravid, RP Singh, Sreesanth, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj, Zaheer Khan

After a hectic workout at the National Cricket Academy, Irfan Pathan was aware that all eyes were on him as he made his way to the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where his Corporate trophy team Air India (Red) were practising. In an interview with The Indian Express, Pathan talks about his technique, his transition from a pure bowler to a batting all-rounder, and about the mistake of consulting too many experts. Excerpts:

What’s the latest on Irfan Pathan’s comeback?

• I was supposed to play Corporate trophy, but I just did a session with the trainers in NCA, and they wanted me to first strengthen my legs before I start playing again. Paul Close and Paul Chapman are here and they’ll work with me for one or two weeks. I might miss the first two matches. So that’s the latest but yes, but I’m pretty relaxed, feeling pretty fresh.

There’s been a lot of debate about your technique, how you hold the ball and why it doesn’t swing.

• It’s all got to do with performance. If someone starts the way I did and goes down in comparison, people are bound to talk. I might have done well compared to others, but if my performance is not as good as my first two years, people have to say something. Everyone bowls differently — Muralitharan bowls differently. If he hadn’t taken that many wickets, people would’ve been saying he’s not a conventional off-spinner, that he puts his wrist behind his elbow. But now people say he’s doing so well because he’s got a unique technique.

You consulted several experts for your bowling. Did that help?

• When you think about it, you can say it proved detrimental. But at that time, I Read more…

Administrator Indian Cricket Ashish Nehra, Blogs.CMDN.com, Corporate trophy, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, L Balaji, Muralitharan, NCA, RP Singh, Zaheer Khan