da apostebet： There are bound to be many different views on why the Indian teamis struggling – and struggling so badly at that – in New Zealand,and one of those opinions pins the blame on the nature of thetracks in the Antipodes
Erapalli Prasanna27-Dec-2002There are bound to be many different views on why the Indian teamis struggling – and struggling so badly at that – in New Zealand,and one of those opinions pins the blame on the nature of thetracks in the Antipodes. Our batsmen, it appears, are like SouthAmerica’s clay-court specialists who fail to clear the firstround at Wimbledon.Make no mistake, though; there are professional cricketers inthis world. One need not even look at tennis or basketball tolearn a few lessons about professionalism in sport. The currentAustralian cricket team exemplifies the professional attitude,and it has reaped rich dividends by making them the best team inthe world.
© CricInfoSo if there is even a fragment of truth in the allegation thatthe Indians are distracted by the events off the field ortroubled by New Zealand’s pitches, then I must ask John Wrightand Sourav Ganguly to get their act together right away.If the batsmen and a few commentators lament about the tracks inNew Zealand, think for an instant about all the bowlers in Indiandomestic cricket who almost never get a decent pitch to bowl on.Instead the cricketers should be focussing on the next ball,rather than thinking about the peripheral issues of cricket. Goout and play with passion and courage; that should be the onlymantra a good cricketer requires.As a former international bowler, I have exploited certainweaknesses in batsmen. That is the beauty of the game – thecontest between bat and ball. Nobody wins that contest rightaway; it is the will to work hard for every run and wicket thatmakes a world of difference in cricket. Apart from Rahul Dravid’sbatting and the Indian bowling, that attitude seems to be missingin Indian cricket at the moment.It is of some small consolation that Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehraare bowling well, as is Harbhajan Singh. The offie, in fact, hasimproved a great deal, and I am glad to see him working harder -trying to give the ball air and turn. But from a team’s point ofview, it was disheartening to see young Parthiv Patel beingpushed up to open the second innings of the Hamilton Test. It wasequally appalling to see a non-specialist fielder stationed atforward short-leg, that too when India were defending a lowtotal. If it had been a Virender Sehwag or a VVS Laxman at shortleg, then Bangar’s dropped chance would have been taken, and thescript at Hamilton may have been significantly different.
© CricInfoAmbiguity and ad-hocism persists even in the selection policies.India are to announce their 15-man squad for the World Cup byDecember 31; so what then was the need to replace Tinu Yohannanand Murali Kartik? Kartik’s omission in particular is baffling; Iwould love to see him operating in tandem with Harbhajan, ratherthan a Kumble, who’s away record is at best dismal.The reasons for Rakesh Patel replacing Yohannan are equallytenuous, and to reinforce the general perception that there isutter confusion in the Indian think-tank, Shiv Sunder Das – aplayer not even in the World Cup pool of 30! – was asked to openin the first one-dayer. Such arbitrary decisions that ignorelong-term benefit have haunted Indian cricket for long.To be sure, there is still much talk of professionalism, butthere are few indicators that things are changing. Seriousquestions must now be raised on Wright’s contributions – or lackof them – once this disastrous tour of New Zealand ends.Ironically, even without an Indian coach, the New Zealanders seemto have a good measure of this Indian team, while the touristslook clueless even about themselves, let alone the opposition.Most other sides in the world today would have had this NewZealand team on the mat. The most experienced Kiwi batsmen,Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan, have scored just 90 in toto inthe two Tests and one ODI thus far. The hosts’ batting looksfragile, and all India needs to do is to get their batsmen toscore heavily. The onus is then on Ganguly to lead from thefront, to go out into the middle as an opener and score big runs.Plans for the World Cup can go on hold until India sortthemselves out in this particular one-day series.