Headingly Test - deliciously poised

A test match which was turning into a damp squib (both literally and figuratively) has come alive. England needs 250 odd run in less than 40 overs at a RRR of over 6. All 3 results possible at this stage as England come out to bat for the final innings. Will they shut shop or go for it? Historic evidence suggests the former but Pietersen coming out to open suggests a positive mindset from England.

Looking at Kallis's dismissal - I can't help but think that Kallis has developed a bit of a problem against the short ball. Admittedly, it is not a Raina-esque problem but something that I'm sure England will prey on in the remaining matches.

The retirement - sad but inevitable

Much debate has ensued on how and when the three giants of modern Indian cricket – Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman should retire. The word alone has caused uproar every time it is mentioned in the context of the three stalwarts. Experts and analysts have alternately criticized the trio for not retiring by now and stating that there are no suitable replacements and hence they should continue as long as they felt like playing.

As of tomorrow though, the debate on Dravid’s retirement will draw to a close – there is almost universal agreement that he will announce his retirement in the press conference tomorrow.

There can be no doubt in any cricket lovers mind (Indian fan or not) that Dravid ranks as one of the greatest players to grace the game. A thinker, a technician, an apprentice always striving for betterment and his own biggest critic, Dravid held the Indian middle order together through the golden years of Indian cricket.  

There are only a handful of retired players in the annals of Indian cricket who are in Dravid’s league – Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble.  But for all their greatness, not all of them went to the great retirement village in style.

Kapil’s final years were probably the worst of the lot – his best years were well in his past while he soldered on in his quest to get to the magic landmark of 434 wickets.  The reality was that he got greedy and no one in the Indian camp had the cojones to ask him to step down.

Anil Kumble retired on a higher note – though he was losing his knack of ripping the heart out of batting lineups, he was a highly respected bowler till the end of his illustrious career.

Of the foursome (Dravid Included) Gavaskar’s retirement probably came at the highest point - at least on a personal note. While India lost the last test of the series, his knock of 96 in that test will always be regarded as one of the finest innings of his career.

There will always be a school of thought that Dravid should have retired earlier but given his extraordinary success in England, he must have harbored thoughts of ending his career on a high with a victory in Australia. Alas, the opposite was the case and Dravid’s Aussie tour ended in ignominy.

I wonder why these masters of the game – with their great cricketing brains and instinctive judgment of a cricket situation could never quite judge how and when to quit the game on a high.

Regardless of the timing of Dravid’s retirement, here’s wishing the best to the “Wall” – the likes of which we may never see again.  I will miss that trademark cover drive for a long long time…

The King is dead. Long live the – Prince??

At this time, it is a foregone conclusion that MS Dhoni is nearing the end of his shelf life as captain of the Indian TEST team. Almost all Indian cricket fans will accept that the test arena is not Dhoni’s backyard. For all his swagger, nonchalance and instinct, Dhoni looks all at sea in test cricket. It is the format that he should give up captaining as soon as possible and focus his remaining reserves of energy on leading the Indian ODI team out of the dumps that it finds itself in.

But after Dhoni – who? Who are the contenders to take up his mantle? The cupboard looks bare at the moment. The two men who are next in line for the job are Sehwag and Gambhir – both ill-suited to take up the responsibility. Let us examine why.

On first glance, Gambhir looks to be the man for the job. He has age on his side (though barely), an aggressive demeanor (something that is traditionally lacking in the Indian team), has the temperament to play long innings and thereby gain the respect of team mates and the opposition alike and has captained teams in the IPL. However, Gambhir’s recent comments that India should prepare rank turners at home left a bad taste in the mouth. Does Indian cricket want to entrust its leadership to someone who is unable to see the big picture and is content to seek tactical revenge on visiting teams on rank turners to atone for India’s horrors against pace, swing and seam? His comments seem immature - a throw-back to an era in which such strategy may have passed muster and for these reasons, I do not think Gambhir is ready to take up the mantle yet.

Sehwag’s case is even more straight-forward. As the designated vice-captain, he already has substantial experience leading the team in test matches. However, his weaknesses are many – he does not possess the intellect to chalk out a strategy for winning games regularly, his own batting approach (and currently abysmal form) does not lend itself to setting an example for his teammates to follow and he is on the wrong side of 32.

So who does Indian cricket turn to after Dhoni? If the selectors had the cojones (unfortunately in short supply in the BCCI), they would go with Kohli as the Indian captain in Tests and Raina for Twenty20’s (more on this later).

Kohli is undoubtedly a future Indian captain. He has captained U-19 teams, has cemented his place is all formats of the game now and has age on his side. His cussing and troubles with the crowd has caused him to come under criticism but I believe that adding responsibility will temper his wild streak. Dogs that are prone to run here and there and not walk to heel are sometime trained by tying a small bag full of stones to their backs. The dogs then become conscious of the need to carry the stones responsibly and walk to heel. Kohli’s brash temperament may well benefit from the added responsibility of captaincy.

The king is on his way out – at least in the test cricket format. India could do worse than give the prince the throne.

AA and the current state of Indian Cricket

To many, the title of this post may seem nonsensical. After all, what does Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), one of the best known addiction treatment groups have to do with a game involving pieces of wood, gentlemen in whites and a leather ball.

The first and most important tenant of AA is to admit the illness. Before any treatment, before recovery, before an alcoholic can turn his/her life around, the first and often hardest step is for someone to stand facing his peers and state for the record - I'm Joe Blo and I have a problem". This first step calls for courage and an inner realization that all is not well.

India cricket today stands at such a crossroad.

Cast your mind back over the Indian team’s performances over the past 6 months and the bile rises in one's throat. The statistics are practically engraved in every Indian cricket lovers brain by now - 8 defeats (nay, whippings) in 8 away tests, 99 centuries that refuse to get converted into a 100, bowlers who can't buy wickets to save their lives and on and on.

And yet in this maelstrom of pathetic performances, no one in the corridors of power of Indian cricket (and I mean the team leadership as well as the administration) has the cojones to stand up and admit that something stinks. The fans are treated to statements by the high priests that there is "No need for inquiry on performance" (N. Srinivasan on 2/13). And so this charade plays out - the Indian team and/or its elected high priests sticks steadfast to their past fantasies and beliefs while its rankings and the morale of both its players as well as its fans spirals relentlessly down the drain.

Tonight’s game against SL should mercifully deliver the coup-de-grace and allow the team to be delivered from the horrors of the tour. The panacea to Indian cricket's problems, also known as the IPL will start soon enough and most of the fans will be sated again by Dhoni's twirl of the bat, Laxman's flick through mid-wicket and Sachin’s straight drive. But the loyal fan and lover of Indian cricket should ask, nay demand that Indian cricket stands up and admits to its problems.

Help is available. From courageous selectors, from fans who are ready to tolerate mediocre performances for a while to let the youngsters mature, from the team members themselves who have in the recent past locked eyes with the best across the world and not backed down.

But for help to arrive, Indian cricket has to first stand up, admit that there is a problem and start taking hard decisions to fix the problems. Without this all important first step, Indian cricket seems destined for a long dark winter.