India play England in 7 ODIs following their series victory in the Tests. And I do not expect England to push India too hard - 7 ODIs are 7 ODIs too many for the English palate.
There may be the odd game when England will come hard at India, but I believe we have enough nous to overcome that.
The problem that I foresee is in the period following the ODI series.
India has had a tendency to go off the boil after a big series ( Test or ODI), especially when they have performed well.
This, coupled with the tendency of being slow off the blocks, does not augur well for us.
India plays the 20/20 World Cup in South Africa and despite 20/20 being a slog fest and India playing a relatively young team ( both in age and experience), the words "World" and "Cup" will ensure a media frenzy.
Heightened expectations, coupled with a touch of complacency and the inability to hit the ground running implies that I do not see India doing too well in the 20/20 World Cup.
And just as well ( what with Test Cricket being the real cricket and all that).
Given that, it will behoove us ( fans and players) to temper our reactions a touch and keep in mind the bigger challenges ahead - Pakistan and Australia beckon.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
And now, guard against complacency!
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14 comments:
Well said. England has got pathetic ODI record and its long then won an ODI series against a Test opposition.
I feel the scoreline would read 5-2 for india.
And then the 20-20 world cup isnt a very serious thing. not many teams except england seem too excited about it. So any good performance there would be an icing on the cake.
The key thing is how do we keep ourselves refreshed for bigger challenges against Aus and Pak. And the needless 12 ODIs at home might dampen the spirits.
Wish selectors employ some rotation policy and trying out discarded players like Sehwag and Harbhajan along with Kaif in the series against Australia at home, thus resting Saurav and Sachin along with Dravid and Zaheer.
Regarding Hyderabad players joining ICL, I think from now BCCI will be more careful in picking players to India A team rather picking selector's sons
GO ICL GO ICL GO ICL :)
LOL :D
Well still lot of doubts....i mean by paying 90 lacs to a player and luring them to join ICL....doesnt mean good cricket , good tournaments, public acceptance , media coverage....lot of things are involved .....
I mean for people like us.....its still TEAM INDIA which has sachin , dravid , saurav.....etc. At least i wont be seeing anyother tournament which doesnt have these names....
And secondly they say they are promoting young crickters.....but most of the guys who have joined ICL OR are joining ICL are retired , above 40 and above 30..hahahha...
So in the end i will just say that still loads of doubts....so i guess we all should wait and watch..ICL / BCCI doent matter to me...i wll see tournaments where sachin rahul saurav kumble kartik yuvi etc play :)as they are only worth watching !
Thanks!
Tugga,
I also hope they rotate SRT, SC and VVS in the tests against Pakistan and try out guys like Badrinath, Tiwary and Rohit Sharma.
How we handle our guys will go a long way in reflecting on our performances over the rest of this season.
Cheers :)
lol cknaidu :)
jane,
there is no such thing as Team India - the BCCI is a private trust.
That said, as longas the quality of cricket is par, whether it is BCCI scheduled tourneys or otherwise, they have my eyeballs :)
Cheers
yes homer u never knw many be after retiring Sachin also joins ICL ;)
LOL
Team India hmmm BCCI Team
Will always miss FAB 3 4 5(depends on whom you consider FAB) once they retire ..
But waiting for a system that cares abt its players,which cares abt the people who come to watch it
Waiting for stadiums where you won't be under direct sun when temp is 50C to watch a cricket match, where you will have enough restrooms..
oh if wishes were horses
Not that ICL will do these but still a bit of competition is always good and a small hope :)
Cheers
ICL is nothing but a caricature or a cartoon at its best. Its giving some jitters to BCCI by roping in some young players from Ranji Teams, but the youth players are distorting their own careers by going for money rather than fighting hard for chance to play for India. And to me its nothing bigger than playing for India.
You can make tons of runs in domestic cricket or now in ICL cricket but unless they score runs in international arena, their reputation is nothing. And thats the precise reason why SRT, SCG, RSD and AK are adored more than the likes of domestic champs like Jaffer or Ajay Sharma or Padmakar Shivalkar or tonnes of players who never made big.
ICL can be money spinner or at the best can be short term attraction, but people go to watch official cricket in India and thats being run by BCCI. That doesnt matter if BCCI is public or private trust or body or collection of buffoons. Thing is its been accredited by ICC who officially runs Test cricket, ODIs and T20 across world......
Period. ICL is up today, it would be gone in few years. But ICC and official cricket are here to stay and so is the interest and the passion for the game in India (official cricket).
So Chandras and all his goons, align with ICC or be ready to die a natural death in few years time....
Homer, I'm not sure about rotating SRT, SC and VVS in the tests against Pakistan. Its too important a series for that kind of experimentation. Having said that, the three you've mentioned need to be worked in somehow. A-tours, one-day matches, going on tour with India to Australia, all suggest themselves as options. And of course, if something as ghastly as an injury occurs, they should be slotted in right away. The Big-Four
are on their way out and the transition needs to be worked out. How, I'm not sure.
lol Jane :)
True cknaidu.. hope the competition helps make Indian cricket better, in more ways than one :)
Tubbyy,
But isnt the BCCI a money making venture also? And just how much have they ploghed the monies generated back into the game?
And when was spectator comfort ever high on the BCCI list of things to do ?
If the ICL can force the BCCI rectify a few of these lacunae, we will all be better served :)
Cheers
Samir,
At a very basic lavel, I would love to see Subramanian Badrinath get slotted in the team in the series against Pakistan. Kid is in form and he has the temperament for big scores.
Tiwary and Sharma could continue as specialist ODI players series against Oz and Pakistan.
And post the Oz series in OZ could be the time to make a concerted effort to identify and slot replacements for the Fab 5.
Cheers :)
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