SRT for Team India T20 World Cup?

SRT for Team India T20 World Cup

There was a spirited campaign among Cricket bloggers until recently, to have Sachin Tendulkar included in the T20 World Cup squad. The plight of the Mumbai Indians should have given them some pause. SRT is not right for the world cup squad. He does not have the explosive power of Sehwag or Yuvraj, the steadying influence of Gambhir, or the audacity of Raina or Sharma. He cannot replace Dhoni. So who do you remove from the 6 batsmen I listed to fit in SRT? Not to mention the pressure on the rest of the batsmen that comes from having him in the side. He's made it very clear that he is only playing ODIs now because he wants to retire with atleast one world cup. That is the only prize he does not have at the end of what is by any standards an unprecedented career. He also knows that the current team is the best chance to reach that goal, and is ruthlessly willing to keep Raina or Sharma out of the squad if thats what it takes to get his World Cup trophy. I know that commentators the world over never tire of saying that he's earned the right to decide when he should retire, but I'm sure if they asked Rohit Sharma, he'd have a word or two to say about that.

Mumbai, SRT and Rohit Sharma

This guy is an exceptionally gifted cricketer by any standard, and should be in the Indian ODI team and knocking on the test door. He been a good performer when he's been given the freedom to play his game, which has mostly been in the IPL. Outside of that, he's been unsure of his place in the side or his role in it when he does get a game.

Meanwhile, the powers that be, or atleast the deadly duo - SMG and Ravi Shastri, always tend to talk about him in a tone of disappointment. He's from Mumbai, and normally SMG should be dancing on the rooftops singing his praises. Even Sachin's not said anything to boost Sharma's chances. After all, once Sachin decides to hang up his boots, for the first time in the history of Indian Test Cricket the Indian team will be without a top order bastman from Mumbai. It will be truly the end of an era. Are SMG and SRT quiet about Rohit Sharma because they do not want to be parochial? I have a sneaking suspicion that the real reason is that they ARE being parochial. I feel that if Sharma had a "kar" suffix to his last name, that he'd have broken into the Indian team a long time ago and SMG and SRT would have been singing his praises loud and clear. But he is just a Sharma, and hails from the outer suburbs and does not have the Shivaji park pedigree or the right degree of respect for the Mumbai pantheon, and that is why I fear greatly for his chances to ever make it big in the Indian team. I would love to hear otherwise.

The 4 Batsman Rule

Its gratifying to see that the 4 batsmen rule is still being vindicated in the IPL. Teams with atleast 4 in form batsmen stand the best chance of winning. Teams without the magic number will struggle. The 4 lowest teams in the IPL2 - KKR, BRC, MI and KXI - are all suffering from the same condition.

Stop knocking the IPL already

I saw this article in the Cricinfo blog list today - Bored with IPL? Maybe Modi should call Time!. Its full of the same stuff we've already heard a million times already. The writer claims that Modi has hired Bollywood types to raise the league's profile. He's either pathetically ill-informed or worse, wilfully ignorant that the Bollywood types have invested money in the league. He claims that the crowds have been missing from the stadiums - the fact that a foreign tournament has been able to get any kind of audience at such short notice, is flatly ignored again. A lot is made by its critics of the repeated and prominent mention given by the IPL and its commentators to the corporate sponsors. Apparently their hearts break with sadness to hear a six described as a DLF Maximum. As if a Rose would smell less sweet if it were called a DLF Maximum instead of a Rose. Seriously, these arguments have been heard until we are all sick of them. These detractors need to shut up and enjoy the games, which are being played in the right spirit and with the maximum intensity. The corporate plugs are just there to enable us to enjoy the fantastic Cricket on offer, and I for one have no problem with that. In my opinion, people who claim to be bored with the IPL because of the corporate overkill are just snobs and personally I'm bored of them already. Please shut up and let me enjoy the game.

In Defence of Modi

The other favorite theme adopted by detractors is Modi hatred. That is what it is, pure and simple. Lets face the facts - no one else has been able to do what Modi has done, which is to create a Cricket league that pays international cricketers well to showcase their skills for the enjoyment of cricket lovers, and get corporates to sponsor it all so that the public is not left paying the kind of obscene gate money American leagues charge their fans - in stadia or on TV. Yes, he is overexposed, but so what. He is no worse looking than Malcolm Speed or any other Cricket administrator anywhere. Yes, the IPL is a big money spinner for all, but Modi was born rich. The dude gifted Yuvraj a brand new Porsche 911 Turbo for hitting six sixes, on the spot! From his own pocket. Before the IPL. I doubt he is in the IPL to get rich. I feel that he is as hated as he is, only because he is Indian and not European or Australian. If he were either of the latter two, he'd be celebrated and praised. This is pure and simple anti-Indianism and has nothing to do with the man. In my opinion he has done nothing more egregious than starting that stupid strategy timeout.

In Defence of Shahrukh

Shahrukh has copped a lot of heat since the decision to remove Ganguly as captain of KKR was taken. The decision was plain wrong, in hindsight, but Buchanan is after all a coach who won 2 back to back worldcups and Shahrukh hired him so cannot be blamed for listening to him. Other than that, Shahrukh has done nothing wrong, and yet is the most hated person in calcutta today. Calcuttans are not known for their balanced opinions anyway, but does Shahrukh really deserve the blame for the KKR fiasco in IPL 2? Seriously, I fail to see what he could have done differently to make his team more successful, other then to fire Buchanan the day Ganguly flew down to Bombay to meet him. He has hired the right cricketers, and has hired the staff recommended by his coach with the impressive resume. He has participated enthusiastically in every activity designed to raise the profile of his team, and next to the Ambanis, he's been the most hands on and conscientious team owner.

Again, its fashionable to question his motives, but I doubt he's in it to make money. He said as much before the 2nd season, when he was asked about the profit he made last year - the foreign stars left early and the savings from not having to pay Ponting and Gayle etc was what caused the surplus. When asked what he would do if the team did not make any money, he replied with his usual disarming honesty, "I guess I will be dancing at a few more weddings". He is in it because he loves the game and is living the dream of every red blooded Indian male - if I had the money, I'd like to own a cricket team with the likes of Dada, Ponting, Gayle, Ishant, Mendis, McCullum etc in it. Why not? What else is money good for anyway?

I am not a big fan of Shahrukh the actor. He looks ugly and is a loud ham besides, who would not know good acting if it bit him. Shahrukh the man however is another thing altogether. Not many know that his father was a proud Pathan who left the NWFP to settle in India because he was a committed Congressi who believed in the Gandhi-Nehru vision of India and could not abide living outside India. That love for the idea of secular India is ingrained in his DNA. He is the first prominent Indian Muslim to come out and say publicly that the Mullahs are teaching the wrong meaning of the Quran to the young people and turning them into terrorists. He has worked hard for his success, and in the face of opposition from such entrenched interests as Amitabh Bachchan himself. He has always remained graceful and dignified in his public pronouncements even about his detractors. Everyone who knows him says that he is and honest and loyal person. Buchanan is about the only wrong decision the guy's ever made. Does he deserve to be crucified for that?

IPL 2 so far...Top Ten Trends

So far the IPL has lived up to expectations, and even beyond. I think the most important trends have been

1. The early predictions of the Indian youngsters struggling with the alien conditions of South Africa have been proved somewhat true. Without exception the young batsmen, weaned on the batting friendly flat wickets of India, have been surprised by the unexpected bounce or late swing, or the ball suddenly stopping on the soggier wickets down south around the Cape. Nearly all the sprightly batting discoveries of last year - Shikhar Dhawan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajinkya Rahane, Abhishek Nayar, Venugopal Rao and many others, have struggled and been failing so far. That is ok. This is valuable education for them. They will have greater respect for technique from now on.

2. Tendulkar is God. There is no doubt. He is batting with fluency and almost complete freedom. Mining a rich seam of form, he is playing like a king. The swat pull off Ishant Sharma's short ball for a six was thrilling. If Jayasuriya maintains his form and plays a couple of big innings, it will give Sachin that much more freedom to do his thing.

3. The late order big hitter is an absolute necessity in T20 cricket. The ideal setup is to have a string 1 & 2, then a slightly less strong batsman at 3 to steady things, and one roving big-hitter at 4-5-6 to biff them out of the park from overs 16 to 20. Teams that have this kind of setup are bound to do well.

Team 1 2 3 Late Hitter IPL Rank
Mumbai Sachin Jayasuriya Dhawan not settled 3
Kolkata Gayle McCullum Dada not settled(IPL1 - Gul) 8
Bangalore Ryder Uthappa/Kallis KP/Dravid not settled 7
Hyderabad Gilchrist Gibbs Bilakhia Sharma/Smith 1
Delhi Sehwag Gambo AB Karthik 2
Jaipur Smith not settled not settled Yusuf 5
Chennai Haydos not settled Raina Dhoni 4
Chandigarh not settled Goel Sanga Yuvraj/Irfan/NS 6

The teams that have got this combo right have won. In fact, even Bangalore has won only when at least 3 out of these 4 key batting guns have fired.

The late hitter position is of such importance that it is often the difference between win and loss. Delhi won today because one of the openers and then Karthik fired. Jaipur is being carried by Pathan but struggling due to the loss of form of both openers. Deccan Chargers are sitting pretty because Gilly, Gibbs and Sharma have been consistently firing. Haydos and Raina have managed to hide the problem of Dhoni's slump in the late order. Kolkata's on field problems are largely due to McCullum's inexplicable loss of form, and they are sorely missing Umar Gul who had last year lit up Eden Garden (and Dada) with his effortless sixes.

4. The Pakistanis should have been reallowed once IPL moved to South Africa. This is plainly political and unethical on the part of BCCI. Now is not the time to abandon Pakistan Cricket. Just look at the amazing story of Afghanistan. Similarly, Pak Cricket is about the only feel good story coming out of Pakistan for some time now. The mercurial and aggressive Pakistanis always add value to 20-20 teams.

5. The Sri Lankans are absolutely worth their weight in Gold. Each one of them is sincere, contented and invaluable. Dilshan, Malinga, Sanga, Mahela, Sanath, Murali, Mendis - they have all been key to their respective side's fortunes. They are such cool people, they remind me of the Wests Indies of early 1980s. Each one accomplished, skilled, confident and yet utterly humble and down to earth. An amazing group of cricketers.

6. The Indian bowlers are loving South African pitches. Its fun to watch the surprise in the faces of the youngsters when their first or second ball hits the hard deck and takes off, hurrying the batsmen. By the second overs they are getting a wicket and its happy days, atleast until the end of the IPL when they must return home to break their backs on flat Indian pitches.

7. Kamran chucks. Kamran does have a very suspect action. Uthappa openly sledged him as "chucker" and no one complained. I have rewound his action on my DVR and I would like to reserve judgment. He does seem to have a bent elbow till dangerously late in his bowling action, but his arm seems to straighten to legal limits just before his back starts twisting forward in his slinger action. The only reason I said he chucks, is because there is no predefined meaning of chucking in Cricket. Every unusual action is chucking of some sort. Its either that, or some kid from the Bumfuck, Iowa equivalent of India invented a whole new way of generating amazing pace from a short and rather slow runup. For his sake, I hope this is not the first step on the road to the MRF Pace Academy. They will destroy him - take away his pace with biomechanics and accuracy drills. I wish Warnie sends him to Australia for some training and strengthening. The boy has no future in Indian cricket otherwise.

8. Some people who should gracefully retire from Cricket - Uthappa, Agarkar, Sanjay Bangar. Uthappa is probably the single most useless player in the entire IPL. If there were a LVP award, he would be the obvious candidate.

9. Those who think Yuvraj can be replaced are foolish. Yuvraj is a unique and irreplaceable talent. On his day he is the most awesome player in the world, on a plane of existence where few can touch him. He is mighty Achiles, with one single fatal flaw like Achiles. Yuvraj is constantly burdened by self doubt and his father's outrageous expectations. His bum knee does not help either. He should have had that surgery a long time ago, but even more than that, it is his partying that has imperiled his career. It is because of late nights and booze that he got injured in the first place - fat and out of shape, he hurt his knee at Kho Kho and will never be the energetic young Cover fielder that he used to be in his early days. And yet, he is superhumanly talented and continues to prove his worth.

10. Team India is generally in good shape for the 20-20 World Cup. If key players like Gambhir, Sehwag, Raina, Sharma, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Munaf, RP, Ishant, Karthik, Pravin, Ojha, Chawla, Yusuf and Irfan can carry their current form to England, they will be serious contenders to repeat their performance from the last tournament. Now if DHoni would just play one of his explosive innings, all will be well with the world.

PS - I also believe that if Kamran's action is cleared (on the outside chance) he should play the World Cup for India.