Australia Gains the High Ground

The condemnation from the Australian media, past cricketers, commentators and the Prime Minister himself was swift and furious. The ink had barely dried on Steve Smith's arrogant acknowledgement of cheating and self absolution, claiming that he was "still the best man to lead" the Australian team. This is a player who has been on a Bradmanesque run making streak. Almost single-handedly holding the team's weak batting together to give their bowlers enough to win matches.

Now we hear of a possible life ban. His deputy, Warner, often in the cross-hairs of the behavior police, and Australia's second best run-maker in the team is also being potentially benched. An unheard of fierce response to an offense that is not the highest offense in the ICC's list of things that can get you in trouble.

There's glee, schadenfreude and a merry goulash of emotions emanating from all over the cricketing world. Past players, current players, commentators, bloggers have all been piling on. The reaction from many thinking people has been one of confusion. Unclear as to why Cricket Australia and the public would be willing to dump their best and second best player for a seemingly trivial offense. That too when the perpetrator has acknowledged, apologized, received the due punishment from ICC and is ready to move on.

The tendency of most boards is to "back their players" when charged with offenses. Most recently, South Africa mounted a furious six hour defense of Kagiso Rabada to dumb down a serious charge. India has routinely thrown tantrums when their players were caught on camera messing with the ball or charged with offenses that would lead to bans. Pakistan has deemed it worthy to forfeit a match and work "posthumously" to get their captain acquitted.

Australia taking the opposite route. Not only are they not backing their players, they are throwing the kitchen sink at them. They are putting the spirit of cricket above a book of ICC rules. Australia have always been proud of playing hard, but "fair". The people had been supportive of the players as long as they felt they were not cheating. But that thin string of trust has been broken by evidence and followed up with a banal apology.

No Australian till now had ever been sanctioned for cheating (ball tampering). Siddle came close but was found not guilty by the referee. Australia has never appealed against a match referee's decision for any offense. They have lived up to the commitment to the process. Contrast that with the responses from other nations.

Australia is willing to let go of their best players to maintain the sanctity of their country's hard won image of fair play. There is no better way to demonstrate commitment to fair sport. Those who see shallowness, opportunism or hypocrisy in this are well-served to look into their own country's responses. The best way out of darkness is sunshine and the Australian PM, public and board are willing to lose the cricket games to ensure that their integrity and sanctity is not put in doubt.

Australia has refrained from spinning a yarn around this, not played the victim and is copping it on their chin. Past players have spoken with one voice. Not one player past or present has come out in support of the players or coach seeking a more lenient view.

Other countries have defined patriotism to mean that any "smear" on their reputation is to be dealt with fierce outrage and potential retribution. This approach serves to embolden perpetrators to bend rules in the name of national honor (winning games). Australia, refreshingly I may add, has taken the approach that no one is allowed to compromise the honor of the nation by cheating in the name of the nation. Australia have attained the moral high ground and the hypocrites stand exposed. India, South Africa and others would do well to follow the Australian example instead of doubling down.

The Mistakes are Piling Up

Virat Kohli arrived like a breath of fresh air as captain in 2014 and has delivered on nearly every front. I was sold on his brand of cricket. It was the brand that I had wanted from the Sachin generation, but never materialized. I was disillusioned when Sachin quit as captain and gave up on wanting to mold an aggressive team that would play to win. Kohli had reversed all that. Losses didn't matter. What mattered was the brand of aggressive cricket we played. We played to win, not draw and as a result we probably lost some matches we could have drawn.

The recent home season in India continued that brand of cricket. New Zealand and England were put to the sword in an almost Australia-like manner. Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma were unleashed and spinners too bowled aggressive, attacking lines. Batsmen, led by Pujara and the captain himself bossed some of the best bowlers in the world.  This was a never before seen exhibition of big cricket from an Indian team. Gone seemed to be the days of percentage cricket to minimize losses and attrition methods to swoop down on the opposition with a spin attack when the chance came.

All of this came to screeching halt in the second test versus Australia. The opposition won the first test by besting India in its own conditions. The captain himself was tamed and Australia romped to a well deserved win. The first signs of mistakes started in the second test. Kohli was pouting about sledging, his runs deserted him against a well-thought out strategy by Australian quicks and spinners and he seemed to have no answers. Instead of backing his original strategy and demanding execution from his team-mates, he caved in and gave up on the three fast men strategy. It was only in the final test that India returned to its Kohli roots and Umesh Yadav's blistering spell opened up the Dharmasala test for India to win the series. But a lot of unanswered questions remained.

Who backtracked on the team composition? Why did it take a test played under Rahane (Kohli was injured) for India to redeploy the plan that had worked so well for most of the season? Why did Kohli retreat to a "draw first" mindset? Why did Kohli sulk and pout about sledging when he knew what is always in store playing versus Australia? Shades of the Anderson-Jadeja "pushing" saga where India promptly lost the remaining tests? Kohli's inability to cope with Australia's bowling plans too was pushed under the carpet following a productive IPL. Clearly, Kohli didn't work on these weaknesses as we will see later.

On the ODI front, India are a team that is rebuilding. However, the approach in the Champions Trophy didn't reflect that at all. The loss versus Sri Lanka should have opened the captain's eyes to India's weaknesses. As much as people want to make it about bowling, it wasn't. The weakness was in India batting. The batting line-up is being re-built with Yuvraj, Dhoni in unfamiliar roles. Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya as finishers too was a new set up. In the first ODI versus England at home, Yuvraj and Dhoni both failed in pursuit of 350 and it was Kedar and Hardik along with Kohli that brought India home. A first sign that experience didn't count for much when chasing big runs. Perhaps. In the last ODI too India failed to reach the target by five runs, but it was Jadhav and Pandya that nearly pulled it off and not Dhoni and Yuvraj. Including both these veterans was clearly proven to be a mistake.

It's safe to say that India over-achieved in the Champions Trophy. On a day when Jadhav and Kohli have off-days, India cannot chase much is what it feels like. Yuvraj and Dhoni are not the answers. The real shocker though wasn't the decision to chase with an unproven batting line-up. The biggest mistake was once again perhaps on the bowling front. Excluding Umesh Yadav to bring in the "experienced" Ashwin was probably the biggest blooper that no one wants to talk about. Yadav has demonstrated his shock value in pressure situations. Where both teams are under pressure. In the final test versus Australia when they had to force the situation in order to gain the Border-Gavaskar trophy back, Yadav broke open the game with a blistering spell. Perhaps the best ever by an Indian bowler in my life time on Indian soil (with due respect to Srinath). Yadav proved this again in the first game of the Champions Trophy where he broke the back of Pakistan's batting. He was dropped based on his performance versus Sri Lanka, though the real issue there was Yuvraj's inability to fire and help put up a total beyond Sri Lanka's reach on that featherbed.

Speaking about Kohli's failure in the final. He fell exactly the way Australia plotted his downfall in the test series. Played on his patience outside off-stump with away swinging or angling deliveries and forced him into a mistake. Kohli didn't have an answer then and no answer versus Amir either.

Add to this Kohli's spat with Kumble. The first cracks became visible in the curious case of Cheteshwar Pujara. Pujara forcing his way back into the team on Kohli's terms was a heart-warming event. And Kohli said the right things about Pujara and his re-invented batting style. The first mistake was perhaps Kumble speaking out of turn to suggest that his word about Pujara mattered more than what the captain felt.

Apparently, the duo wasn't on speaking terms for six months. Yet, Kumble claims that he only came to know from BCCI that the captain didn't have confidence in  him. Ridiculousness at its worst. A captain deserves a coach that he can work with. We dumped Chappell who didn't do well with Sachin (though he wasn't captain). No one knows where Dravid stood on that. Luckily Kumble excused himself though the hypocritical Committee wanted him to continue. Hypocritical because this was the same group that rebelled against Chappell and got him canned.

We really don't know who had the final say in team selections or the strategies. It's clear that a number of mistakes have been made that have produced bad results and is souring the team's relationship with ardent, thinking fans, who have yearned for an approach like Kohli seemed to have been advocating. Hopefully, Kohli will reflect on these last few months and usher in the few minor changes that are needed to reduce mistakes. I hope that the new coach is supportive of the captain and is willing work with him to make his vision a reality. The ODI team has a few leaks yet before it can be deemed ready for the World Cup. The test team has fewer holes, but some disturbing things have happened.

It's time to eliminate these mistakes and play to potential  A well fought loss (like the ones in 2014 in Australia are more exciting than dull draws and pusillanimous cricket. Cheers once again to the new India.

Pakistan Near the Pinnacle

This week, we saw a refreshing show of strength by all the South Asian teams. Sri Lanka hammered Australia at home and exposed their vulnerabilities to spin. As numerous articles in Cricinfo have pointed out, Australia simply have not recovered from the loss of their previous greats. Angelo Mathews must heave a sigh of relief after the virtual obliteration in England. Sri Lankan cricket seemed to have descended into mediocrity after Jayawardene and Sangakarra. But Mathews, Chandimal and Herath have brought them right back. Mendis' excellent innings in the first test too may raise hopes of a long term find.

Meanwhile, India recovered swiftly from their second test set-back (if one can call it that) and made quick work of West Indies. Virat Kohli made some astute changes and quickly put behind him, the tough draw in the second test. His desire to win every game is apparent in the way he attacks the opposition and throws everything he has in his arsenal at them. India can seal the number one spot with yet another win in the next test at Port of Spain. India have done well there traditionally and chances are that India will dominate that test. Virat Kohli is almost Steve Waugh-like in his desire to be ruthless. His team selection is un-emotional and exciting. Very few saw these changes coming (including me) but never-the-less it was a pleasant and pulsating exercise by the captain. At the risk of repeating myself, watching India play test cricket is a dream come true. So purely on results alone India deserve to be number one.

But the most remarkable cricket story is Pakistan's redemption at the Oval. They've firmly put back the spot-fixing, squabbles and domestic security issues and built themselves into a formidable team. They've beaten a strong team away from home against all odds. At the start of the series, Pakistan was not given much of a chance. England were formidable at home with their varied bowling attack. Pakistan's frailties with the bat are well known. Few thought that they could win the series with their bowling alone.

In the end, Misbah-ul-Haq was named man of the series and aptly so. Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq have made us fall in love with the Pakistan brand of cricket all over again. The sheer romance of Pakistan's cricket lies in the fact that they play what many consider to be an old-fashioned game. Yet time and again, they've proven that their passion for the game is second to none and their ability to switch on in key moments is top class. They've given us many moments to remember.

Younis Khan's 218 will rank as one of the greatest innings played in England. I can't remember the last time anyone scored a 200 against Anderson and Broad in England in their prime. To dig deep and come up with such a special innings away from home is the definition of greatness. Even more endearing has been the honest post match comments and interviews from both Misbah and Younis. They have the rare ability to remain in the present and grounded. Truly great sportsmen and we are lucky to have watched this series. Add Wahab Riaz to this pantheon and we have a group of cricketers who are grounded, real and salt-of-the-earth likeable.

Regardless of whether India becomes number one, Pakistan will rule the hearts of true cricket fans for months to come.

It's enjoyable watching India in tests.....

Watching India play test cricket has never been more enjoyable than now. The only other time India played more entertaining cricket across any format was in the 1985 B&H World Series in Australia. This was an ODI tournament. Whether the TV made it that way or whether the flamboyant keeper Sadanand Vishwanath did that I can't say, but it was mind blowingly entertaining.

This test team is by far the most entertaining Indian side I have watch in my lifetime. It plays riskier cricket than the Azhar-Tendulkar generations did  or the Kapil/Gavaskar one before that and plays more solidly at the same time. A cool paradox, if you ask me. While the Tendulkar generation has accumulated a number of runs and records, this generation will accumulate more wins. Virat Kohli is the lynch pin of this transformation. Much like Clive Lloyd transformed the West Indies from merry losers to into fearsome winners, Virat is transforming Indian cricket from a team afraid of losing to a team daring to be beaten.

The most refreshing thing about Virat is that he is not afraid to lose. Between the lines I read, we used to lose anyways, why not lose fighting? At least give ourselves a chance. Change the reaction of the opposition with the team's attitude. I love his persistence with Umesh Yadav, who hasn't truly delivered yet, but from time to time delivered breathtaking spells that make one sit up with bated breath. The pressure he creates when on song and when he makes the batsmen hop is a connoisseur's dream. The bowling attack will create more wins. It needs a little more time. They are not in the same class as England or Australia, but those two teams possess generations of fast bowling knowledge. The Indian team is just starting out.

Appointing Kumble as coach has been a mistake in my opinion. But not a big one. Kumble will hopefully not be tainted by the safety first attitude of the Tendulkar/Ganguly era in overseas tests. Virat's refusal to include a sixth batsman is awesome. It may fail at times or even many times, but it's the only strategy that gives India a shot at winning more test matches. Four bowlers will tire after 2-3 test matches. Five bowlers can last longer assuming they bowl 30-45 overs per test. Srinath used to be run into the ground by his captains bowling 45-60 overs per test. Kumble's strike rates also tell a tale of overworked bowlers. It's a lose-lose proposition.

India won the first test with ease and put themselves into a winning position in the second. The wins will come with more experience of bowling with five bowlers. The new era is now underway and for one this writer is back watching test cricket after the listless last years of Tendulkar and Dhoni.

The World Cup

The last people to let go of their old gods are the loyal priests. And Srinivasan is the latest example where the cabal most benefiting from his occupation of BCCI and ICC's chair is the one that's most quiet and protective of him. There is no doubt that its self-preservation at work because without these old gods, the priest would have to re-think their lives.

As painful as the saga of Srinivasan has been, it's been more painful to hear the deafening silence of the cricketing gods. India has perhaps survived for many centuries of conquests due to its ability to "shake it off" and continue as if nothing happened. And so we continue to indulge in navel gazing and waiting for the next puppet to emerge from the shadows. The heroes for many of these loyal priests seem to be the Putin-Medvedev combine and not the high standards set by Mandela or Washington. But it's dumb to even think that a man more or less accused of re-writing the constitution to suit his personal agenda would display any different behavior nor that his cabal would condemn it.

Its painful to hear Shastri, Gavaskar, Dhoni and others talk about BCCI and Srinivasan as being the same and pointing to high player salaries and perks as the justification for their enduring admiration. Is this what sport is all about now? Are our sporting gods all about this now? Do they believe that getting a fair deal is a blessing and that it's due to one individual? And that if Srinivasan were to be criticized or held accountable for over-reach, they would lose their pay? And so it's ok to cower in blackmail? What about the cricket? Is cricket in India beholden to one or two persons' largesse? Really?

And the Indian team is a clear reflection of what can be despite our administrators' best efforts to hog the limelight. I think Dhoni is a super player and a great captain. And I think Kohli is playing the brand of cricket that I hoped Tendulkar would always play. Kohli doesn't have Tendulkar's aura yet and he will likely never have that mystique due to the privacy that was dear to Tendulkar. However, Kohli with his public engagement and willingness to live life on his terms without any apologies is refreshing. I sincerely hope that people who don't like his brashness and are worshipers of humility don't trash him the moment he starts failing. He deserves as long a rope if not longer than what Tendulkar was given when his form slumped.

India has no bowling worth the name and it's batting is struggling to come to grips with Australia. While Rohit Sharma's form is a welcome sign, Dhawan hasn't produced a single meaningful innings in all his time in Australia. And without both openers being in form, India have no chance. Turning to Kohli or Dhoni or magic in every game isn't a formula for success. Rahane and Raina can add bulk but cannot turn games on their head. At best they are valuable supporting cast. The players that can take the game away from the opposition are Rohit, Kohli and Dhoni. These are the men that no one has answers for.

Pakistan is inspired and yet I don't see how they can topple this Indian team. But if Pakistan has had a better chance I don't know of one. India usually don't start well in such tournaments but this would be a home world cup for India given the amount of time they've spent in Australia.

This Pakistan team under Misbah is a team that I can like. Misbah, Afridi and Younis represent the three types of Pakistan teams that we've all come to see. Misbah is about the steel and pride that Zaheer Abbas and Asif Iqbal reflected, Afridi is the mercurial ability Inzy, Akram and Waqar played with and Younis is about the passion that we saw from Imran, Sarfraz, Miandad and Saeed Anwar. There is a certain beauty to Pakistan cricket that few teams can match.

I put India a nose ahead in this game simply because Indians have played a lot of cricket and don't usually need miracles to win games. They are experienced and know when to turn it on.

Show some heart

In an analysis of England's abject surrender at Adelaide, Cricinfo cited the very public loss of control. Batsman after English batsman openly showed their inability to counter Johnson and the rest of Australia's bowling. They just didn't seem to have a plan. As I watched the proceedings of both test matches, it seemed to me that England were just hoping that something would come off as opposed to a confident clear mind to pull or hook Johnson out of the attack. This attitude and batting seemed to me to be very strange, given that until recently Cook, Trott, Bell and others seemed to almost be mocking the Australian attack. They were in complete control. They would play the shots they had planned to play and block or leave everything else flung at them. How quickly did the English lose that plot? Did sheer pace do that to them? Did India's senior batsmen also succumb to sheer pace on their last trip down under? Or was it just mental fatigue? They just didn't have the reserves to stick with their plan. Did sledging and constant goading by Australia do it's part? It's very hard to say.

India's lowest moment against pace came not two or three years ago but way back in 1976 when Bedi virtually conceded a test match to the West Indies. He followed up on that act by conceding yet another game to Pakistan two years later. India's weird stance at the time was to claim a moral high ground by saying that intimidatory bowling was not cricket. That somehow it wasn't fair. The fact is that India just didn't have the leadership to cope with the pace. It had quality batsmen who eventually played pace with heart - Gavaskar, Gaekwad, Amarnath, Vishwanath and Vengsarkar. But in those two instances they didn't have the leadership or a plan to deal with what was thrown at them. Sports is also a type of battle. It's physical and it's mental. There are statements to be made, adversity to be overcome and hostility to be quelled many times.

India did very well on their last trip to South Africa. They had a superb plan for Steyn and company and executed it very well. They also unleashed Sreesanth on the South Africans. The tail-enders took some body blows and the team came back with its head held high. Gone was the crazy flailing that we routinely saw of the Azharuddin teams of the nineties against pace. As a fan of test cricket that's what we want to see. Whether the team shows heart. It may sometimes not have the ammo to fight the opposition but does it have the courage? Does it have the smarts? Does the team stay in the fight as long as it can? Sometimes it may know that it's going to lose, but does it still fight till the last ounce of energy?

In the two ODIs that we have seen so far, India's batsmen may have failed, but they didn't surrender. They are wanting in their technique but they seem have the heart. Suresh Raina ducked into a few but also executed some really good pulls. It's clear he's trying harder to counter the short stuff. He's facing up to it. Dhawan still needs some work, but both Rohit and Kohli appear to want to get in there and counter punch. Sharma especially in the first ODI was impressive. He left a lot of balls alone despite the huge total to chase. He knew he couldn't mindlessly attack and had to wait his turn. Raina did panic somewhat and unfortunately ran him out, but then he came back in ODI number 2 and hung in there. The bottom line is that these guys seem to want to improve. They seem to want to be world beaters. They seem to have a desire to succeed against all comers. There is a West Indies of the late 70s feel to this team's batting attitude. It may not yet have all the skill.

And as a fan, I like that. I want to see a fight, not a surrender. I want to see Cook, Pietersen and Bell counter Johnson. Likewise, I want to see Rohit, Kohli and Pujara blunt Steyn and Morkel. I want them to figure out Philander. India may yet lose the series because the bowlers lack experience and quality but it would be nice to see the team show heart. They are also a watchable bunch. Kohli, Sharma, Pujara, Dhawan and Dhoni are eminently watchable.

I'm hoping that the batting continues to evolve in the third ODI and gets somewhat ready by test match number 1. Give the fans a watchable performance. Where they are not insulted by the lack of heart. And that would be good news for India's test match fans. And also good footing for the future overseas tours to come in the next 8 months.

Can India do a Gabba? Ever?

Reading a piece by Ahmer Naqvi in Cricinfo made me chuckle. Some Pakistani critics "insulted" Bilawal Bhatti by saying that looked like an Indian quickie! But there is a deeper story guiding that thought process than meets the eye. Many an Indian fan yearns for a fast bowler with swagger that can send stumps cartwheeling and put fear into the opposition batsmen. When will India win a test match on the backs of a fast bowling performance like Mitchell Johnson delivered at the Gabba or the West Indian quicks did with regularity or Akram and Younis did in the nineties.

India's victories usually happen due to guile, cunning, skill and above all attritional batting. Very rarely has India tamed a fast bowling machine on fast pitches and dished out what it has got. There's not much disrespect in posting small totals in the face of hostile fast bowling. That's the normal outcome. What's annoying to an Indian fan is that India doesn't dish it out in kind. There was much joy when Sreesanth made Kallis hop and had him caught on the last tour to South Africa. But those feats were few and far between. Even the great Kapil Dev never terrorized batsmen. Srinath was India's best fast bowler in my time (and probably all time) and even he managed it only a couple of times.

Opposing teams and journalists only grudingly respect India's victories at home because they only project cunning, not courage. There is something to be said for bravery and courage in a sporting contest. Indians know this too. This is why they celebrate Gavaskar's thirteen hundreds against the pace battery of the West Indies. While modern Indian batsmen have got the aggression down and pretty much bat like the West Indies of the eighties or Aussies of the nineties, India has still not developed a fast bowling culture like our neighbors next door to the west. The old fashioned gladiatorial instincts still stimulate a lot of fan excitement. The experience of watching Mitchell Johnson and the Australian pace pack hunt down England at the Gabba was pulse pounding. Contrast that to Ashwin and Ojha plucking out Aussie wickets at Mohali. While victory is sweet, it's sweeter when it comes in a contest where there is a fierce exchange of blows. And such a contest can only be generated by hostile fast bowling.

Here's to Umesh Yadav. May he simply bowl fast at the rib cages and armpits of South African batsmen and terrorize them. Make them cry and wanna go home like Jonathon Trott. I have sympathy for Jonathon's illness, but it's clear that Mitchell Johnson hastened the advent of those symptoms. And let me point out that they did not show up when facing spin bowlers in India. If Yadav bowls anything like Johnson and Zaheer is truly back to his smartest, then India have a great chance to be exciting in South Africa. With Ishant Sharma to play the containment role, India can keep the pressure on South African batsmen. Accomplished as the South African batsmen are, good fast bowling tames even the best of the best.

This is wishful thinking probably. The reality is that Indian batting is inexperienced, though talented. This will probably be a repeat of the 1999 tour to Australia where India lost 3-0 and only Tendulkar and VVS Laxman emerged with some honors. A couple of daddy hundreds will be needed from Pujara, Sharma or Kohli to make a statement. India's batsmen will also need to be ready for hostile, angry and intimidating fast bowling. They can't whine or complain. They need to stand up, man up and punch back. Only then will they really win respect in the eyes of the opposition. Bring out the hooks and pulls occasionally and put the opposition bowlers on notice that India were not going to duck and weave all the time but were ready to take it on. Michael Clarke put Stuart Broad in his place early in the second innings by doing just that. Ganguly did that in Brisbane in 2003 in the first test by crashing a fantastic century that included some delightful pulls and crisp cuts.

Most of that is day dreaming.  In all honesty I see India losing 2-0.

Good Bye Sachin Tendulkar

The one thing that all of us can agree on is that there will never be another phenomenon in our lifetime like Sachin Tendulkar. News of his retirement came in early yesterday and frankly it didn’t really make an impact at first. The slow motion movie started in 2011 with his labored gasp to a hundred international tons, eventual retirement from ODIs and the IPL with it now culminating in his retirement from tests after playing number 200. For a man that has consistently said that 100 is just a number, this seems a little hypocritical. But we understand that the modest little man must have bowed to pressure from the BCCI and others to delay his announcement until he got to the milestone. Nothing else explains the haste with which the West Indies tour was arranged and the crisis with CSA begun.

Our cricketing lives are forever intertwined with Sachin Tendulkar. As teenagers playing on Shivaji Park, we had the privilege and luck to know about him early in our lives and so track his growth through schools, domestic and international cricket for a better part of our lives. However, having witnessed Gavaskar’s non-descript retirement from test cricket as well as Kapil’s labored one, we had no doubt which way was the better way to go. Tendulkar, unfortunately, succumbed to the establishment and the fans vicarious need to turn a somber event into a spectacle. A meaningless test series that will serve no purpose other than create a needless tamasha for the great man to bow out with a little less dignity than would behoove his stature.

I guess that’s what we have criticized him about all these years. Not willing to stand up and be counted. Indian cricket is reeling from scandals and poor leadership. Unfortunately, the colossus that he is on the field, he is a mere aam aadmi  off it. The Rajya Sabha membership was probably a well –thought out way for him to speak out without fear of a BCCI backlash or to offer up ideas to clean up sports in general. This dream that we have of Sachin will probably remain unfulfilled.

However, many other dreams that we dreamt were fulfilled. Those of us who saw him early in his career feel he has underachieved. Yes, that’s right. Underachieved! But this rancor is misplaced perhaps. It only masks the disappointment of a generation of us who lived through regular humiliations meted out to Indian teams by Pakistan, West Indies, Australia, England and Sri Lanka. Throughout the nineties India really didn’t overcome those teams with any confidence despite Tendulkar’s frequent heroics. He gave us hope that we lacked in the decade before that.

His biggest contribution actually came in the 2000s with the advent of the new generation of cricketers starting with Virender Sehwag. A self-confessed emulator of Sachin Tendulkar, he epitomized the new kids who knew no fear. Dhoni, Yuvraj, Kohli, Gambhir and now Shikar Dhawan have followed this legion of kids who worshipped at the Tendulkar school of batsmanship. Fearless expression of talent! Unfortunately, the master himself became tempered and measured and a grim accumulator. Perhaps it was a response to age and the scarring suffered by being part of losing teams in the nineties.

Dravid and Laxman may have been better test batsmen when it counted. Ganguly may have been a better captain. Dhoni will be the most accomplished Indian captain and ODI cricketer when he retires. Sehwag will be the only one with two test triples for India. But the GOD of Indian cricket, the father of Indian batting expression will always be Sachin Tendulkar. Though he himself probably never overcame the nerves of a pressure-filled chase except on a few occasions, it’s clear that it’s his spirit that gives Kohli the temperament in an ODI chase. It’s his technique and discipline that fuels Cheteshwar Pujara’s desire to excel. It’s his entertaining shot-making that propels Yuvraj Singh. It’s his ability to stand-up to fast bowling that drove Sehwag. And it’s his wisdom that has built an Indian cricket team today that we are proud of.

The shot that really rang out for us was THAT six of Shoaib Akhtar in the 2003 World Cup. With that one shot, Tendulkar exorcised the ghosts of eighties and nineties forever. Indian batsmen had now stepped out of the stereotype of talented spinelessness. And the credit goes to one man and one man alone. Sachin Tendulkar. It’s time for him to let his baby go. It had already grown up when it won the 2011 World Cup. Good bye Sachin!

A Fix for Indian Cricket

Rahul Dravid recently suggested in a Cricinfo interview that spot fixing should be deemed a criminal offense. His premise being that jail time would be a deterrent to this scourge. He cited the example of cyclists cheating and being afraid of being caught by the cops. He also said that everyone knows about fixing being a bad thing. And in these statements lies the counter-argument.

Everyone knows fixing is bad – spot, match or other. Sportsmen that were afraid of the police were still cheating in cycling. If it didn’t serve as a deterrent to cyclists, would cricketers be any different? Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir went to jail for spot fixing. They committed their crimes in a country that has a much better track record of investigating crimes, following up on legal procedures and enforcing the laws. As such it didn’t appear to this "opinionator" that the laws or police were a deterrent to the Pakistani trio.

Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja paid for their follies with their careers being jettisoned. Clearly, past punishments meted out to cricketers didn’t deter the new trio of alleged IPL fixers. Whether it’s doping, fixing or other forms of cheating in sport, the driver in reality could be greed or some other form of selfish gain. However, criminalizing it could mean absolving the cricketing community of major responsibility and putting the onus on the law enforcement apparatus to clean up the sport. In our opinion, such anti-fixing laws may provide a mechanism to punish, but will likely not serve as much of a deterrent - the Pakistani trio and the cyclists being exhibits one and two.

We are not advocating turning a blind eye and letting it happen.So what can be done to control this menace? For one, we have to be realistic and accept that greed transcends all cultures. The integrity of many sports has been violated over the years. Recently cycling and baseball have been soiled by doping. Cricket and soccer have been assaulted by fixing. Despite strict anti-doping rules, athletes, including Olympians, continue to play the odds.

Education is definitely good. Paying players enough money is also good. However, Sreesanth is going to act in a movie soon. Salman Khan ran over a few people in his SUV and churned out Rs 100 cr plus movies. Unfortunately, in India purists are few and far between.  It appears that people are continually splitting hairs and separating the crime from the criminal and his profession. So long as there is no fan backlash, cricket will likely see this and other malfeasance occur. India is a ripe place for this because since the economic boom, money power has been married to loose morality with regards to integrity, honesty, commitment and other such “old-fashioned” virtues.

While we may be content to blame the system, let’s understand that we constitute the system. Societies thrive when its leaders stick their neck out. The moral authority that people (fans in cricket’s case) confer on their leaders should be leveraged. However, we have seen that lack of courage is astounding in a country like India. Dravid is the latest case. At least one of his fans is suggesting that “pelting stones at the establishment that he owes a lot to will do no good”. In other words, discretion is the better part of valor. What's Dravid got to lose? Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and others have likewise not leveraged the moral authority vested in them by the fans either. Carefully chosen words and meticulously drafted statements and accusing no one in particular is a great way to appear to take a stance. But we want to see more Anil Kumbles out there because its not just fixing, it's not just the Srinivasan saga, it's not just the schedules and it's not just the "clean-chits".

Tennis and Golf are run by the players. We want the players to own the sport. In that lies the solution. When the sport is owned by the players, its integrity and its popularity rests on their shoulders. Vigilance by the players who are experts in the game is required. For those of us who have played team sports including cricket, we feel that an engaged captain and manager are the best deterrent to bad behavior including criminal behavior. Laws can be passed and rules can be changed, but if the leadership of the sport is not actively preaching and practicing the highest ideals of the sport, then the lesser players will never try.

The sanctity and credibility of sport rests on its best practitioners. They have a moral obligation to set the highest standard and take ownership of the sport and shape its future. Much like Sachin Tendulkar reshaped batsmanship in India, he and others (Dravid included) must take ownership and reshape India’s cricket culture. But is that asking for too much from these “gentlemen” of sport that are content to express anguish and act like helpless bystanders who can’t bite the hand that fed them? Who say they owe everything to this sport but will not try and rescue it?

With an Air of Resignation, Anger, Hopelessness and.....

The last thing that seems to be on everyone’s mind is the cricket. Mumbai took home the IPL trophy, but there has been very little talk about that. All the talk has been about BCCI, corruption, spot-fixing, money, resignation and non-resignation. Swift constructive action eliminates rumor, innuendo and speculation. But why should anyone expect it out of the BCCI? What really surprises me the most is that Indians expect other Indians to do what they themselves would never do!

The BCCI is dominated by a rabble of politicians and their campaign contributors. It is a place to trade favors, jockey for influence and sweep dirt under the carpet. Why did politicians get elected to prestigious BCCI posts in the first place? The answer is probably very simple. The membership of state associations is dominated by the rich and powerful. From the erstwhile kings and nawabs that originally sponsored cricket, it moved into the hands of corporate scions that needed to indulge in some pass time with their money. They in turn confer these offices on the politicians who gladly return their favors in other ways. Politicians’ very existence depends on the perception of being powerful, administratively astute and organized. So the quid pro quo serves them very well.

These politicians appoint the judges, bureaucrats and officers to investigative agencies. Given the coalition politics in India, no politician is going to ever piss off another one completely unless he is devoid of all ambition. My theory is that any politician devoid of ambition would never get involved in cricket administration. He or she would be happy being politicians and managing their constituencies and their constituents’ expectations. So a mix of ambitious politicians and their influential, rich and powerful friends runs Indian cricket and now dominates world cricket.

As such any bad news is not good for any of these guys. So sweeping things under the rug is the best solution for all problems. Appointing three member panels with two Tamil Nadu judges to probe a Tamil Nadu industrialist whose son-in-law is in a Tamil Nadu jail reeks of just that - an attempt to sweep things under the rug. Any punishment meted out to Srinivasan will not be in the Dalmiya league. Dalmiya tried to keep out Pawar and got his wings clipped and his very life was made miserable. Srinivasan on the other hand gets a ‘he is an honorable man’ from the MCA president who is a proxy of Sharad Pawar.

Indian culture works such that quid pro quo conversations are probably happening daily to give Srinivasan an honorable exit or at worst a slap on the wrist. A few players will be banned. The most cynical one would say that Asad Rauf will likely be hung out to dry. He is a Pakistani and what better way to fool the Indian public than point the finger at a Pakistani. No one in India will stop watching the IPL or any other cricket game. If cricket descends to being a version of WWF, so be it. Indian fans will not care because they have no other forms of entertainment. Films, politics and cricket are all that binds Indians. Everything else is divisive.

So just as easily as Sanjay Dutt gets a bunch of sympathy votes though he has broken the law and Salman Khan breaks records at the box office despite being a drunk driver who killed someone, Srinivasan and his son-in-law may resurrect themselves because an alternate narrative will emerge sympathetic to their state, that will make enough excuses for enough Indians to start looking the other way or even supporting them because their livelihoods and their election depends on these guys.

And what about the cricket? The BCCI wallahs keep telling us that they are paying the first class cricketers more money than before and that they are spending more money than before on Indian cricket. But clearly, not enough is being spent on developing cricket in India and clearly they are not doing enough to maintain the sanctity of the sport. That’s because you can’t expect the fox to guard the hen-house. A majority of them are in it for themselves.

Cricketers also understand that sport is now a job. And pissing off your boss is the last thing you do to stay employed. Kapil’s humiliation is a classic example of how independent opinions are treated in “democratic” India. In the end, the feudal structures that operated for centuries continue to operate now and have made ethics and morality a convenient choice.

The cricketers are an underclass and those that criticize Dhoni for not speaking out don’t understand that speaking out will serve no purpose. Kumble’s silence makes that clear. So be prepared for a prolonged spell of gloom or simply tune out and find another sport to follow. India will infect every other nation’s cricket, due to its money and emigrant cricketers. And if you are looking for a clean sport, watch something else.

Dhoni's team scales a peak

A 4-0 blanking was definitely not a predictable script. Other than Harbhajan who also predicted England being blanked, no one seriously thought India would hand such a drubbing to Australia. Although, some may sneer at wins achieved on friendly, doctored surfaces and some (like me) may not derive a great deal of pleasure from such wins, a 4-0 sweep is a huge achievement for any Test side.

Having grown up watching the West Indies take England apart in what were known as "black washes", I had yearned for similar ruthlessness from Indian teams. Even when conditions were favorable for India to deliver such wins, our captains demurred. The 3-0 verdicts against England and Zimbabwe in the early nineties were the closest India came to being ruthless. Kambli being the destroyer in chief in those series.

Our fabled four didn't get to bask in such a series win although they did deliver rare overseas series victories on the back of strong batting performances. The wins in Pakistan and England being the most notable with the drawn series in Australia and South Africa being very engaging.

A new India team has arrived on the scene and the retirements of Dravid and Laxman have hardly caused a hiccup. If anything, it appears that they overstayed slightly in an Indian sort of way. Tendulkar's presence in the team has been rendered irrelevant by mainly Pujara and by that smart batsman Virat Kohli. Pujara's mountain of runs and consistent performances, including 4th innings deliverances have outshone even the genius that is Tendulkar. Pujara and Kohli's consistency gives India the perfect cover to groom a replacement for the master.

Obviously, the hope is that this team takes baby steps overseas and does not get destroyed like Azharuddin's side got drubbed in England in 1996 or Tendulkar's team got blanked in Australia in 1999. Pujara and Kohli have sufficient pedigree and more miles in them than Dravid and Ganguly did on those two tours. Hopefully, the results are better. While a series win in South Africa this winter may be far-fetched, a fight would be well respected. Taking test matches into the fifth day will be a great beginning for a side lacking the quality that Zaheer Khan brought to overseas tests as well as the spine that Dravid provided the batting.

The jury is still probably out on the opening combination. Dhawan's magnificent and confident debut augurs well, but more needs to be seen from him before anointing him successor to the mad genius that Sehwag has been. Vijay has done very well to cement his place. Although at times he has not looked convincing outside the off stump, he has gutted it out. He has heart and that is a critical ingredient to succeed overseas.

Jadeja will likely play as the second spinner even overseas with Ashwin being the main spinner, which means Jadeja has to clock more runs. His 45 in the Delhi match was a promising start hopefully to more consistent batting. Umesh Yadav, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma are likely to be first choice seamers overseas.

All of this means that Dhoni well and truly has steered India through a difficult transition with minimal fuss. All the batsmen barring Tendulkar who delivered the 4-0 away series drubbing are now out of the side. A new look team has emerged and is demonstrating a ruthless streak never before associated with Indian teams. It's a matter of time before a Tiwary or a Sharma or Chand or Rahane or other take the master's place in the side. Kohli will likely take the number 4 position in the lineup. And like all the transition that has happened till now, that too may become a non-event. Maybe that's the greatest contribution that Tendulkar will make in that he didn't leave the team in disarray with his departure.

We are fortunate to have Dhoni who has now led India to World Cup victories and a "brown wash". A series win in Australia and South Africa are the holes in India's resume. Will those happen on Dhoni's watch too?

Conceit is costing cricket

Australia has sunk to a depth that will take a few series to resolve. Any and all blame for axing talented players or not integrating them successfully must fall with the management. Cricket and indeed all sport is a spectator sport. The public pays to watch entertaining players perform and revel when their team wins. It's that simple. Cricket's long term economic muscle improves when teams with flair do well, not machine like robots showing up on the field.

Much like India lost Kambli, Sandeep Patil and a few others, Australia are now onto their second big loss after Andrew Symonds. The conceit of administrators, sometimes selectors and coaches is amazing to me. The episodes with Flintoff, Pieterson, Symonds, Taylor and now Watson is stunning in its impact. What's also stunning to me is the number of fans that are willing to buy into this theory of "discipline".

A whole host of cricket writers, bloggers et al seem to be hitched to this bandwagon that believes in the virtues of military like discipline as a requirement to win sporting contests. Curfews, wellness programs, limits on calories, exercise regimen etc seem to have taken precedence over actual performance and results. It appears that Clarke and Arthur have successfully diverted attention from their failure to deliver by backing their methods over players' lack of buy-in into those methods.

My own corporate experience tells me that leaders fall into this trap of not taking enough ownership for the failure of strategies and instead blame employees for not delivering. It is the leadership's responsibility to bring players on board. To fire players for anything other than performance is thus self-serving and inherently stupid. It is clearly a product of conceit. Clarke semi-about face today suggests a lack of confidence in the stance he has taken. This is a further erosion of his credibility. The less said about Arthur and Howard the better.

From my perspective, the Australian selectors gave the team management the best available talent in Australia. It is the management's job to build this set of talented people into a cohesive team. Some of the management methods have not exactly convinced the players. This means management has to work harder to get the players to buy-in an perhaps show some early results of their methods without input from some of the non-believers. Benching them is a big mistake that's going to negatively affect others too. I'm not saying Australia will necessarily lose, but the public and the players will now pay too high a price for such an Australian win.

This one's in the bag

The most heartening sight about the ongoing test match between India and Australia has been the crowds. More than 28,000 on Sunday and close to 18,000 on Monday. This is good news for test cricket in India. There had been intense speculation about interest in this format after the batting greats Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and Tendulkar left the scene. It was heartening to see people show up to see the match and Cheteshwar bat.

On the subject of Pujara -- l have been struck by the way he goes about his batting. I had written about his unhurried approach, playing the ball on merit regardless of match situation, etc. He added another feather to his cap by his fortitude on Sunday to bat through injury. Even though only 49 runs were scored in the morning session on Sunday I wasn't bored. Feedback from others would be nice, because I have to admit I used to occasionally get bored of Dravid grinding bowlers downtown by playing no shots other than leaves and dull thuds for the ball to drop dead. Pujara to me has a tempo to his batting that is different. I need to compare strike rates.

However, this is not to suggest that Dravid was a lesser batsman or anything like that. Just comparing their effect on my senses. Pujara's big test will obviously come abroad. If he can come close to changing the courses of test matches the way Dravid did in that period from 2003 to 2006, then he is it. He has already done enough at home. India are one batsman away from being able to take the fight to the bowlers overseas in my opinion.

Surely, Sehwag has played his last game for India as opener. He did get a good ball, but openers are supposed to deal with those. If it does happen that Sehwag is let go, then it will be a sad ending to an electrifying career. Rahane must get a game now. Vijay has bought himself more time and if he follows up this one with another good one in the next couple of test matches he would well and surely have arrived. But I wasn't mightily impressed with the way he batted. He was effective, but could not impose himself at any time on the bowlers.

On this match - Mumbai Indians will be pleased with their purchase of Maxwell. I thought despite his poor start and occasional lack of control (which I attribute to inexperience in Indian conditions), he bowled smartly. Switching to round the wicket was a good tactic though the lack of rough would have normally suggested it to be a poor choice. He isn't as good as Lyon, but I thought he has that Greg Matthews kind of feel to him.

This match is pretty much in India's bag. Someone from the Aussie batting line up must step up besides Clarke to make a statement. Kinda like Laxman's 167 in the doomed Sydney test from years ago. David Warner has been a huge letdown. I was hoping for some good feisty batting from him. Hughes is clueless against spin. And there are no batsman to follow Clarke. Henriques, Wade and Maxwell can chip in, but not own the batting except on the odd good day. And Watson hasn't shown us yet that he cares enough to grind, grunt and grit out tough sessions of play.

Rethinking "Settled Combination"

"I never learned anything while I was talking", said Larry King, the popular CNN host. I should do that more often. I spent some time through ESPN's videos. Rahul Dravid's latest video provided an interesting insight to me about some of the spin strategies that teams apply on the sub-continent. This wasn't new information or a brand new tactic, just that I had lost sight of a vital piece of the puzzle.

Dravid mentioned Panesar's spell on day one at the Eden Gardens when he conceded only 70 odd runs in 35 overs. This put the lid on one side and racheted up pressure on the batting team to score more runs. Obviously, Indian batsmen didn't step up and they lost. Jadeja is expected to play a similar role in the current set up where his role is to bottle one end up. Keeping this in mind, a 3-fer or a 2-fer is fair game provided he concedes less than two and a half runs per over.

A tight bowler at one end and an attacking one at the other is the most basic template of test match bowling. Play on the batsmen's minds, don't give them balls in the areas where they are strong and let them make decisions to attack or not. More often than not, batsmen who are successful playing long innings are probably likely to play the waiting game rather than make anything happen. And then there are the others who probably instinctively know when it's time to take over and disrupt bowling team strategies. Tendulkar did this in 1998 against Australia. Kevin Pietersen did that in Mumbai, Richards would routinely do it and most recently Dhoni against Australia when nothing you throw at him seemed to matter. He literally willed the bowlers to bowl into his "areas".

Australia don't have such a batsman right now. I think Hussey could have been it, but he's retired. Watson could don that role, but he doesn't want to bat that far down the order. Clarke remains too classical and too effective with his current methods to do anything different. Henriques demonstrated great patience and effectiveness in dealing with the situation, but he didn't seem to have the audacity and confidence required to be disruptive.

So maybe, this is what Dhoni meant when he was talking about a "settled combination". Maybe he's not looking for wickets and runs from Jadeja. Maybe he's simply looking for tight, disciplined bowling spells that Ravi Shastri would often reel off. Maybe he's looking for Jadeja to simply occupy the crease and let Dhoni and Kohli do the damage required, except perhaps in the rarest of cases. India no longer have the batsmen of Dravid and Laxman's pedigree for whom conditions didn't matter. Clearly, Dhoni seems to be ok carrying Tendulkar at this time given his stature. Tendulkar couldn't convert his great start into a big one and for a number four to not score centuries at least once every four to five tests is tough on the rest of the folks. It's  prime batting order real estate when it comes to opportunities to score big. But I suppose this is a not so good Australian bowling attack and it's ok.

However, India do need to look at things in a different perspective when it comes to selecting a team for South Africa. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav should be cut loose and a good bowler to control runs such as Praveen Kumar or even Ishant Sharma (given his inability to take wickets despite being oh-so-close). Batting-wise this supports the need for Gambhir to come back and bat within himself. It would be unfair to blood a new opener in South Africa of all places

So it appears that India will go in with four spinners into the Hyderabad test, with perhaps Kohli opening the bowling with Ishant or Bhuvaneshwar.  Looking forward to a "disruption" strategy from Australia. Who will it be?

Dhoni must be kidding...settled combination?

India wrapped up proceedings and normal service has resumed. Ashwin has proven to be Kumble's second coming in India. The England home series was an aberration simply because they had good spinners and good batsmen. I say that tongue in cheek of course.

What's disturbing is that Dhoni thinks India have a settled side. Openers haven't provided a decent start in several innings. Neither opener has managed good scores consistently. Pujara keeps getting to bat too early and Sachin's waning days mean that this test could have been an aberration. Australia don't have the batsmen to take India on like England did. Australian batsmen just want to get on with it and that's a terrible mindset in Indian conditions.

This Indian side will get creamed in South Africa. A third whitewash in three overseas series is not progress or even mildly amusing. India can take cue from the time when Gilchrist was still in the Australian side. He played pressure free for most part because there were accomplished batsmen ahead of him. He was the "all rounder" in the side. Dhoni would do well to think about building a team with those fundamentals. It's time to give Rahane a go as opener instead of thinking that Vijay can step up in South Africa.

Jadeja can play if he proves that he can bat with the tail or if he can make the number seven spot his own. At this time he is not showing any of those possibilities. It's time to put Tiwary in the hopper to see what he can do. Taking a rookie to South Africa may work like Amre and Sehwag coming good, but its a risk given the bowling attack that they are going to confront.

India is paying the price for not looking beyond Raina and Yuvraj in a timely manner. In fact, I would argue that they still have no plan for life after Tendulkar. While the IPL is certainly to blame, I see meaningless domestic matches also as a problem.

The fact that Mumbai has won 40 times should us something about lack of competitiveness. In addition, first innings lead rules means to me, less emphasis on team work and more on individual glory. Personally, I think the Ranji Trophy should be trimmed to 20 teams or less. An NFL like format needs to applied to foster intra-division rivalry. A nationwide draft should be instituted to bring parity to teams. This way a 303 not out score truly has meaning and gravitas as opposed to a number to justify inclusion in the national team.

And maybe a minor league needs to be put into play for very major team. These could be in smaller towns. Maybe even privately owned teams or player owned teams. Like a partnership model. What's frustrating is that there is talent in India that's being wasted. Poor coaching, un-supportive set up and misplaced incentives such as IPL. BCCI can funnel money in a way such that young cricketers are forced to consider test cricket. No one should be coerced but the money on the table should provide a positive motivation. Plus, cricket awards etc can be other sources of recognition for test cricket.

Tendulkar's departure is likely to make no difference anymore.

Selectorial boldness needed for India

Australia hurtled to 317 runs at the end of day 1 at Chennai. Despite the loss of 7 wickets, Australia can take comfort from two facts. One, their scoring rate was pretty good and it allowed them to maintain pressure on India. Two, barring Ashwin none of the other Indian bowlers came close to taking wickets. My own view is that the Australians will work Ashwin out by the next test match. The reason being that the LBW wickets he got were almost all due to batsmen errors with the Shane Watson one being the lone surprise. There were no caught behinds, no bamboozle bowled batsmen. But wickets are wickets and Ashwin can feel good about his bowling. Hopefully, he'll bring a few more tricks to the next innings, to counter a potential tactic change by the Australians.

The less said about Harbhajan the better. Jadeja is doing what he was picked to do. He needs to score runs in this test otherwise, there should be no room for him in a test match side. Both Harbhajan and Ashwin have test centuries against their names and I have often wondered what the heck Dhoni is so scared about that he packs his side with more batsmen. India theoretically bat right down to number 11 (Ishant being the sole non-batsman). Ojha would have been real useful on this track.

All eyes will be on the Indian batsmen though because Australia is likely to fold for 350-400 runs. If things go per India's plan, then India should pile up around 550 with major contributions from Sehwag, Pujara and Kohli/Tendulkar. However, from a future stand-point, even if Tendulkar is the major contributor, India should be worried that the load hasn't yet spread to the others. It's time to bring new blood in and challenge them to come good. This is post-Gavaskar again, when Vengsarkar, Amarnath, Srikkanth were not able to deliver, yet were persisted with citing lack of alternatives. Azhar and Shastri being the others.

While Tendulkar decides when to leave, India need to rid itself of the Jadeja-like, balancer type players and bet on the come. Sehwag, Gambhir, Harbhajan, Tendulkar and perhaps even Dhoni are 2-5 year players. Pujara and Kohli are the only two that are already blooded that will go longer. India's test future cannot be so fragile. Pujara and Kohli are looking at years of draws and defeats if selectors don't become bolder.

Rahane, Tiwary, Rayudu, Raina, Sharma (yes-him), maybe Nayar, need to be blooded to bat around Pujara and Kohli. Openers are an issue, but I think Gambhir will claim his spot back. He's likely to put the pettiness aside and start thinking big picture. I have been impressed by his commitment in the past. Especially, the chaperoning role he played in South Africa and the World Cup. I believe he will be back to doing that again. Maybe under a different captain, but for sure he's capable. Sehwag appears to have run out of gas. Age or fatigue seems to have dulled his performance. With a less experienced attack to face, maybe he'll come good, just like Ponting made hay against India, only to be shown his place by a better attack.

This test match offers Pujara and Kohli a great chance to test themselves against good fast bowlers on a benign wicket. It would be a great learning opportunity before they head off to take on fast bowlers on overseas seamer friendly wickets. While people may say it's not the same and it may make them complacent, I feel that batting against genuine pace in any conditions is a good thing, so long as they don't get carried away with their performances (assuming they come good). There are always lessons that can be learned by the smart batsmen.

It's too early to tell where this test match is headed. Clarke continued in the tradition of good captains demonstrating intent in the first innings of a series. Although, Dharmasena reprieved him off Ashwin during the post-lunch session, Clarke appeared to be in good control for most part. Henriques took a huge step towards becoming an heir to Andy Symonds. I was impressed by his poise and clarity of approach. However, recently such folks seem to be fading -- Duminy being the other that comes to mind.

I see Duminy, DuPlessis, Henriques, Hafeez, Root and perhaps Jadeja as similar contributors. Jadeja can get there provided he demonstrates that his batting isn't a joke. If were to predict what happens tomorrow, I would say a biggie from Tendulkar is coming with Pujara for company.

India get ready for Australia

Someone forgot to tell the BCCI that Ponting has retired. Harbhajan Singh's selection after a non-performance in this year's Ranji Trophy is surely a backward step despite his not-so-advanced age. With Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj and Dhoni, Harbhajan had once been the senior in waiting. Unfortunately, the seniors never let go until it was too late for Harbhajan to actually mature and become the senior. If you get my drift.

Needless to say, I'm not very pleased with the selections for the Australia series. The team does not get to move forward. Neither Dhawan nor Jadeja are inspired selections that will cement their places for the long term. In fact, they may fill a minor gap at best, and leave the bulk of heavy lifting to Pujara, Tendulkar and Dhoni. Since Rohit Sharma blew his chances at Irani Trophy, why not bring in Manoj Tiwary and give him a go. He recently returned from injury and scored a dogged 37. For someone that rusty, it's not a bad effort.

In addition, if moving sideways or backwards was the plan, then why not give Raina another go. The guy has expressed desire and demonstrated that he's willing to work for his test place with a good performance in the Irani Trophy. Funnily enough, no one's centuries in the Irani Trophy have counted. Jaffer would  have been a much better bench-warmer in Indian conditions than Shikhar Dhawan is going to be. And please spare me the garbage about a left-right combination. The most successful pairs - Hayden-Langer and Greenidge-Haynes both batted the same side.

While Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is a welcome addition to the team, I thought Sreesanth merited selection too. Unfortunately, the team might relegate Kumar to the role of a stock bowler instead of an attacking option, unless all three fast (sic) bowlers play. Awana might have been a good choice if the team needed someone to send down a lot of overs during the containment periods. Sorta like Morne Morkel or even Peter Siddle at times.

Ashwin is a better all-rounder than Jadeja. So if Harbhajan was picked, why was Jadeja picked. Ashwin has a test century and Jadeja has had a century of opportunities to prove himself worthy. With Ojha in as the left-armer, Jadeja shouldn't play. Or Ojha will be benched and India will struggle to take 20 wickets. Jadeja is 3-fer bowler but not a 5 or 6-fer guy. Rayudu looks like a good option for a number 6, right now given his form. Rasool's all-round abilities also offer an option to replace Jadeja with a bowling all-rounder instead of a batting one. Hopefully, for the third test some changes will be made including giving Rayudu or Tiwary a go.

All in all, the selectors and BCCI have shown no vision. Once again, Pujara and Kohli will have to score a bunch of runs to haul India to safety and Australia will be content to play for draws. Tendulkar should have retired months ago and he may score many more centuries, but it's like watching a black-and-white movie in IMAX for me. Ho-hum.

As far as the series goes, India will win it. The Australian team is in worse shape than India's in terms of batting. I think Sehwag, Kohli and Pujara can put it across the Aussie seamers in Indian conditions. I don't believe either Lyon or Doherty are good enough to trouble even Jadeja. They are not in the Panesar, Swann league, although Nathan Lyon can surprise us.

This is going to be a fun series. A few new Aussie batsmen are going to arrive. My bet is on Henriques. Neither Khawaja nor any of the others are showing much spark. But I bet Phil Hughes, Shane Watson and Clarke will be hard to bowl to in India, regardless of conditions.

Looking forward to real cricket again.

The Art and the Artist

Playing cricket is perhaps very different from playing music. However, good cricketer is probably a good artiste much like a good musician. A good cricketer appreciates the honor and applause of his excellence much like a musician perhaps does. The motivation to please and be appreciated must rank quite high. Both these motivations are noble. However, when the audience stops appreciating one’s music, does one stop playing? Or does a poor player continue to play music though he knows that his notes are flawed?

Both are difficult questions to answer. An artiste true to his art form and one that finds art to be a spiritual pursuit might choose to stop playing when he is not striking the right notes. He might choose to do so despite audience clamor for more. He might view playing music despite flaws as being akin to blasphemy. Yet others might continue to provide happiness to their dwindling numbers of fans. Several aging rock stars and bands come to mind when I think of this scenario. And yet more artists, actors and sportsmen come to mind when I think of those who left the scene leaving only a memory of pure and high class.

Sachin Tendulkar’s continuing saga led me to think about this. I find it hard to justify my desire to push him into retirement. And I also find it hard to believe that there are people who are willing to continue to listen to bad music. Lata Mangeshkar is a great example of someone who sang past her prime and diminished herself in the eyes of many. Yet there were equal or more numbers of people willing to forgive these musical flaws for a chance to keep listening to her.

When fans are devoted to the musician rather than the music, this is likely to happen. But then there’s probably nothing wrong in being devoted to the musician instead of the music. We bloggers may state an opinion and take sides but that’s it.

Maybe this is why we see the division among cricket fans between those that want Tendulkar to continue playing and those that want him to retire. Tendulkar fans may be less interested in the success of the team when he has not contributed. Maybe they care less about watching cricket when he is not playing. Maybe they find other batsmen like Cook and Pujara boring in comparison. I have no idea. I'm simply speculating.

And those that truly desire that Indian cricket evolve into its new avatar quickly, so that we know whether they can go head to head once again with the elite teams, may be wanting him to retire. There is a huge amount of interest in people to see Pujara, Kohli and others play. The crowds at Mumbai and Kolkatta bear testimony to that.

And so it goes on and on....

The interesting thing is that neither side is wanting the selectors to axe him. In that there appears to be a consensus. That the man of such huge accomplishments must be given the space to call time on his career.

Mumbai may end in dull draw

Michael Clarke, David Warner and Mike Hussey lit up my TV screen like nothing else in recent times. The counterattack that Clarke and Warner launched post lunch was breathtaking. Clarke has scaled a batting peak few others will come close to. Granted it was achieved in home conditions, against the worlds best attack minus two. Plus, if SA are settling for Imran Tahir, then Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla may want to consider emigrating to SA.

I was wrong about Clarke. In the aftermath of the Sydney fiasco versus India in 2008, I had boldly opined that Clarke would meet the same fate as Kim Hughes. That the coming changes in the Australian team would lead him to despair. But Clarke is made of tougher stuff. Hats off to him on his batting. And for being an inspirational leader in his own right.

We now await India's next encounter with England. Given that Mumbai has recently lost its warlord, the curator will likely make a wicket for a draw. The logic being that a flat wicket would ensure that India don't lose and that a Sachin century would make him a hero. He would then dedicate his work to the recently departed satrap. India have no confidence in their attack though they eked out a win in Ahmedabad. Plus, a win in Mumbai without a significant contribution from Sachin would not satisfy the diehards. All in all expect a flat track with a run fest in the making.

Familiar Script, But India needs the Confidence....

Two days of the first test match are behind us. A very familiar script is unfolding. England have their best weapons in the middle at the end of this day. If they are to make a match of this test, KP and Cook are their only hopes. Cook, made a debut hundred in India and is right up there among the best to have played the game of test cricket. His record of reeling off hundreds at a pace faster than Tendulkar is out there for everyone to see. KP is well, just KP. He is Tendulkar, Sehwag and Laxman rolled into one when the mood is right. The ask is steep and two batsmen can't win England test matches in India.

Graeme Swann has done what Shane Warne couldn't do before. Commanded the respect of Indian batsmen and at times even foxed them and bossed them. Watching him bowl, with virtually no variation, but good, disciplined off-spin makes one feel if doosras and carroms are over-rated balls. Most pundits have pronounced that Shane Warne's success was attributable chiefly to his accuracy and then to his ability to intimidate. Swann may be the off-spinning version of a Shane Warne style bowler. It's always fun watching Indian batsmen play good spinners.

If anyone truly mastered Swann, it was Cheteshwar Pujara. This guy has vindicated everyone's trust in his ability. His composure is remarkable. He wasn't batting too slowly. He was simply batting according to the ball being bowled. So at times he seemed to be circumspect and at other times he seemed aggressive. But nothing was pre-determined about his batting. It was like watching Geet Sethi notch up his huge billards scores. Keep going by playing according to the merit of every ball being bowled. Nothing more or less. Being on 98 overnight was a direct product of this discipline. It was almost like he truly internalized Tendulkar's mantra that 100 is just a number. Pujara is practising what Tendulkar wishes he could. We all know that even the great Tendulkar plays differently while approaching landmarks.

The question that comes to mind is this. Are the selectors looking in the wrong places for replacements? Pujara doesn't set the T20 world alight. He doesn't play ODIs for India. He is a thoroughbred test batsman. Maybe he'll break into the ODI team, maybe he won't. But his test place is assured. We worried about whether he can replace Dravid and he has. Pundits will say, "Well, we have to see how he performs overseas." But we all know that  Pujara has bought himself one or two overseas series before doubts are cast about his ability to step up overseas. Personally, considering his temperament, I'm sure he'll do well overseas too. He'll defintely prosper in the Adelaides, Sydneys and Ovals. And if one or two centuries per overseas series are the benchmark to keep your place in the team, then he'll easily make it.

Virat Kohli seems to be hitting a slight patch of bad form. He could do no wrong in the last 12 months and it appears that he is now finding run making that much more difficult. But I give him a lot of credit for struggling through his 67 balls and not giving away his wicket. He should have been taken by Trott, but he shrugged that off and kept going. Attitude wise, there was no shortcomings, but I do believe that his form is beginning a worrisome downward trend. Happens to every batsman, but they work it off. Time for Virat to spend time with coach Fletcher and figure out a way out of this. Grit it out - as they say.

Yuvraj too played a determined innings and his hunger was evident in his approach. This is fantastic for Indian cricket that Yuvraj is respecting test match cricket for what it is and is working to crack the code. This is great news for the survival of test cricket too. I hope he makes a couple of good hundreds in the next few tests coming up and cements his place in the side for the next 8 or so years. For India, a formidable Yuvraj coming in at number 6 can only demoralize the opposition bowlers. He can take the right to the opposition as the situation demands and looks like is willing to buckle down and graft if the situation requires. Fantastic.

If I have no words about Sehwag's hundred, its because whatever I say, he can prove me wrong in the next few matches. He could end up throwing his wicket away or he could slam a triple. The guy is nuts. The team can afford him and also feed off him. His failures don't necessarily result in losses, but his successes invariably lead to victory. A nice place for the Indian team to be.

And finally the elephant in the room, Tendulkar. What's he doing in this team of kids? It feels like Amitabh playing a college kid in a bollywood movie. Of course the man can act well, even act like a college kid. But why? I'm sure he'll reel off a couple of hundreds in this series. He's still got it. But I ain't watching test matches to see him score hundreds anymore. Been there, done that. Now I'm watching Pujara, Kohli and even the new Yuvraj and perhaps Rahane or Rohit Sharma. That's right, I  haven't given up on that guy yet. :-)