Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

The beginning of the end???

India beat Australia in the last match of the recently concluded ODI series. The least it brought to the average Indian fan was a satisfactory smile and maybe the hope that their beloved team would do much better in the times to come. For one man though, it brought nothing more than some nail-biting memories from the late-90s, frustration and a bit of disappointment. That man is the ex-India captain, Rahul Dravid.

‘The Wall’ was told, on the eve of the match, that he wasn’t in the playing eleven and as usual, this has struck a discord amongst the many “pundits” across the girth of this nation. Some would argue that it was a wrong decision, some would still try and bask the team in the wake of their T20 triumph, and thus justify it as the right way to go. But which of the two is right? Are they both right? Or are they both equally wrong? No one knows, yet.

On hindsight, it was a good decision. Dravid, given his past accolades, has done little of notice this season. He had a mediocre series in England, where for the first time in recent memory, the team won a test series without a sizeable contribution from him, the 90-ball-12-runs notwithstanding. The ODIs were no better and then the shell shocking decision to relinquish the captaincy. The point here is, was that decision supposed to get him in-form? Maybe, may be not.

What made this particular decision to leave him out, look ridiculous, was that they played Dinesh Karthik instead of him. Had dinesh gone on to score some valuable runs and helped India score a half decent win, maybe then the team think tank would have been spot on. But as we all know, that all decisions don’t come out right always. Not every time, can Dhoni expect to throw the ball to some one like Joginder Sharma and expect him to win the match. Sooner or later, it is bound to backfire.

Why, one may ask? Class is the answer. As the age old saying goes, class is permanent, form is temporary. Or may be it is the other way round. The point is that on any given day, some one like Rahul Dravid will always bring more quality to the side than any of the Dinesh Karthiks or Rohit Sharmas. The only thing that the team management or even the selectors need to do is, select on the basis of merit. And thus, finally one can rest the debate by concluding that, on the basis of current form and the fact that it as after all a dead rubber, the “dropping” or “resting”, (whatever you would want to call it) was justified.

However, the debate doesn’t end here. Rameez Raja goes on to say that all the big three of Indian cricket should only play ODIs. Wasim Akram will agree as well as might some others. Dilip Vengsarkar, head of the selection committee being amongst them. But they, for all their money’s worth, are wrong.

There is no denying that the three are ageing, rather quickly it seems. But the only countable win that came in the series, came because of the seniors. If some one were to say that the team is capable of winning without them, then there is serious doubt over that person’s cricketing intellect. T20 is one thing but both in the tests & ODIs, their experience is valuable. With the series against Pakistan and then Australia down under just round the corner, it is for sure that once again the trio of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly will prove their detractors wrong.

But, again, there is some shade to their path forward. The trio must understand that now the patience of both the selectors as well as the public runs thinner than it ever did. Constant performance is the only requisite and past laurels are, well, past laurels. Also, they must pick and choose their matches more often. For example, in the coming months, there might be a few ‘dead’ ties, which they would do well to skip on their own and not only give the youngsters a chance, but get themselves energized too. The fact that they were not considered for the Challengers Trophy can only be a boon to them, if one is capable enough to read between the lines.

It is beyond doubt that they have the required temperament. They are, after all, the three best batsmen in either forms of the game. They have to believe that their time is not yet up and also that they still have a lot to offer to Indian cricket. The end is yet far, far away.

And, make no mistake, each of the three has earned the right to decide for themselves, when they want to bid adieu. One only hopes that they know when it is time. But more than that, one prays that the rest, who are around them, don’t make that decision for them.

Flying Lap!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Anticipating a thriller…

Sport cannot get more ironical than this. The very same year Formula One earned a bad name because of Stepneygate and the very ethics of the teams being questioned the world over, it will still however, witness one of the greatest spectacles in the history of motorsport, come Sunday. All those very same people who doubted its very basis the world over will tune in to watch Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso win the title.

Formula 1 could have done without the spy saga but, lets be honest, it needed this tight race for the championship as a shot in the arm, especially after the great Michael Schumacher left us fans (read F1) at tenterhooks last season. In the words of none other than Bernie Eccelstone himself, the sport needed a saviour. And so, thank god for Lewis Hamilton. Err, shouldn’t we thank Ron Dennis?

Indeed Hamilton will be thanking his mentor, his second father or team principal, whatever he calls him. From a very young age, Ron has nurtured this driver to see this day, when he would bring back glory to his team and finally end Mclaren’s quest for their own Schumacher. And as we stand just three days away from a historic grand prix weekend, the signs are truly ominous for this to happen.

Quite simply, Hamilton has the numbers in his favour to drive conservatively and win the title, come race day. Alonso has already stated that he needs a miracle to win the WDC for a third time running and obviously then, Kimi needs more than a miracle. But if we leave aside the points for one second, is it really possible that a rookie could pull off such a huge upset in his very first year in the sport?

May be yes, may be not. He has the talent and more importantly the car to do the needful. But maybe not, because Hamilton has shown that he can wilt under pressure. That happened first at his home race in Britain, where at Silverstone, he first almost lost out his track position to the Finn and then eventually did lose it when he made his first error in the pits. It is only logical that the pressure will only increase on him considering that atleast every British fan of the sport will be rooting for him on Sunday.

Add to it the fact that he has never raced at Interlagos. Yes, he has the famed Mclaren simulator at his aid and of course, has spent time on his PlayStation as well. But after all, if that were the real thing, then aren’t we all world champions in our own right? The point is on an unknown circuit, under pressure from two rivals, and of course, adding the rain factor to it, the situation suddenly doesn’t look really rosy from here. If one is to consider the only two races where he hasn’t scored points this season, Nurburgring and Shanghai, we see only one common factor, rain.

There is always the argument however, that he won in the rain at Fuji. Yes, he did, but let’s just put that in perspective. Half that race was driven behind the safety car. And of course, Ferrari’s big foul up with the intermediate tyres cost them the race. When Kimi began his charge in the later stages at Fuji, he looked unstoppable. The other factor is that both in Germany and in China, Hamilton failed to look after his tyres in the mix of dry and wet, which ultimately proved critical.

Even then Fernando Alonso would say that his chances are no good. This is because Mclaren will provide both their drivers with equal opportunity. Yes, the very same thing the Spaniard has not desired the whole season. Again if it weren’t for Ron’s ethics, he wouldn’t be here. Simply because, after blackmailing your own team, one doesn’t usually get away without any punishment. But he did. And that might just come back to haunt Dennis.

For there is no way that one sees Fernando Alonso driving for the Silver Arrows next season. So will the Spaniard do the unthinkable and be overtly aggressive on the race track? The first corner at Brazil is a bit squeezed for space and obviously in the wet, things will only be trickier. The big question is if at all Alonso is that desperate to leave Mclaren or hurt them so badly that he will jeopardize both his and Lewis’ chances? If yes, then certainly there is no place for him at Woking next year.

Did one mention two rivals for Lewis earlier? Well make it three. Because Kimi will only win if there is Felippe Massa playing the supporting acts. Even then things aren’t exactly cut out for the Iceman. He has to come first, and then hope that Alonso finishes no higher than third, and even then Hamilton has to be sixth or lower. Indeed a tough ask but then stranger things have happened in sport.

There is only one guarantee though. That is, we will have a champion, even after all that has happened this year. Which one, that’s a question, even the most hallowed punters or pundits of the sport will avoid.

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

About time, we had a new coach…

On 4^th April 2007, Greg Chappell resigned from the post of the Indian cricket team’s coach after an embarrassing early exit from the ODI world cup. 190 days later, the Indian team still doesn’t have its new coach selected as yet.

Everybody has witnessed the drama that unfolded since Chappell’s exit. Just for refreshing the memory, Dav Whatmore was supposed to be the favourite to replace the Aussie, but somewhere something went wrong and he wasn’t short listed after the initial round of discussions held by the coach selecting committee. Then, as if pulling rabbits out of the hat, the BCCI invited Graham Ford and John Emburey for an interview. Ford agreed principally only to later refuse, adding yet another mysterious chapter to Indian cricket history.

So finally some sense prevailed and the BCCI then invited applications via advertisement for the coach’s post, the way it is supposed to be done. Some 20 ‘coaches’ have applied, among them being, Chandrakant Pandit, Richard Done, Tim Boon, Kepler Wessels and Martin Crowe. But rumour has it that the Board is unhappy with the ‘lack of quality among the current applicants’, the process is yet to proceed beyond the application stage.

Anyhow, the team went to England without a coach, won the T20 world cup and is now facing the ODI world champions at home without one too, so one can only imagine how long it will actually be before one sees a new face in control of the team. The point is that it needs to be done fast, the selection of the coach that is. Simply, because it will only get tougher for the team in the months to come as first our arch rivals come calling and then the looming tour down-under. But why suddenly does one feel the need for a person-in-charge? The answer follows hence.

There is no doubt that the seniors ought to command deserved respect from the juniors and the juniors should be only too happy to give it, if they are treated well in return as well as given their due. Although the captain has commented about how invaluable the trio of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly actually is, to the team, the selectors don’t seem to be agreeing whole heartedly. Which, in turn is not surprising, as when was the last time, the selection committee agreed with the Indian captain?

This time, however, it could lead to a fairly more troublesome situation. Clearly, any sensible cricket follower would be foolish to write off the trio just because we won the T20 without them. But that doesn’t mean that they should be playing all possible matches. The time has come in Indian cricket, thankfully, when rotation of players becomes a focal point. And this is where the new coach could be the most useful. With a younger captain asking the seniors to sit out games, even the inconsequential ones, or the selectors wielding their axes, would be in nobody’s interests. Although all three are seasoned campaigners and experienced enough, only a coach can make them understand as well as advice on which matches they should play or, well, skip without hurting any sentiments.

The next point emanates from the point above. Dhoni is a bold captain no doubt, but he’s become one in a very short span in international cricket. He’s been successful in an even shorter span so naturally all eyes are on him. Not only of the Indians’ but the opponents’ as well. What remains to be seen is how he will cope with the pressure as all Indian captains traditionally begin to lose it within a year of ascertaining captaincy. Be it Azhar, Sachin, Dravid or even Dada, all have suffered sooner rather than later. Dhoni’s troubles have already begun as the team trails Australia at home, so the sooner the coach comes to relieve some pressure and responsibility, the better.

Australians are at the pinnacle of not only this sport, but mostly in all the sports they participate in. no wonder the opposition and especially the captain feels tremendous pressure against them. and dhoni is beginning to feel it. A couple of tosses have gone wrong coupled with a few decisions as well. But this is no report card on his captaincy, not yet. The point is that something as important as the batting order hasn’t been sorted out is a cause for concern. Why is dravid scratching around at no.5 or why isn’t dhoni coming in at no.3? why isn’t gambhir opening despite the fact that either of tendulkar or ganguly, are capable enough of dropping down to the middle. Some one needs to be assertive enough to take a stand on this and clearly the team management is currently not upto it.

Then there is the small matter of the overall responsibility of the team, their conduct and their on/off field antics. Venkatesh Prasad and robin singh might be doing a fine job but they are at best support staff. If some one like sreesanth continues with his monkey antics on the field, somebody s got to pull his reigns in at some point or the other. Dropping him is no solution as he has a wonderful bowling brain and we need to rest the overburdened bowlers. In short, this is just another case in point which demands an immediate arrival of a coach.

The overall bone of contention is that as we progress in the season, the pressure on the team is only going to mount. With the success in the tests in England and then in south Africa, maybe the board feels the team could go on a bit longer. But what they fail to understand is that the team is being supported at the moment by the home fans. This will not work in Australia as they will need some one to take off all the steam in pressure cooker like conditions. But even before that against the Pakistanis, even the fans might not be so forgiving if the team meanders at home against them. the Indian public, after all, does have a fickle memory.

The above discussed questions, all need to be answered and quick. Although the team management might be scratching their brains over these issues, it s amply clear that we really need some one who does this twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. He is called the coach.

Flying Lap!!! – By Chetan Narula.

2007: A Tainted Title.

With one hand on the World Driver’s Championship after his win in the Japanese grand prix, Lewis Hamilton will be busy making arrangements for a lavish party after the last two races. The same can be said of Ferrari, who are already the constructors champions, again. Both parties will be expectedly prolific with loads of well dressed people, some great music, tasty caviar and bubbling champagne. Read more...

Bon Jour...

hey people...i am back...after a long hiatus, m back where i belong. bt all this while i have been upto other stuff too. started writing fr Cricket Today magazine and another website. was getting a bit bored writing reports based articles for my new blog page, so decided it was time for a home coming. just want to add that there will be some changes around here, as in will be referring some articles back n forth from my other ventures. needless to say, will be updating this blog as soon as possible.

counting on ur never ending support,

happy reading,

chetan.