They came, They met, They...

Jan 19 2007

"We will discuss the rules and regulations involved in staging the
Twenty20 tournament for the first time in India," said BCCI secretary
Niranjan Shah about the domestic tournament scheduled in the first week
of April.

Jan 20 2007

"We've decided to play the domestic Twenty20 either in the last week of
March or the first week of April," said BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah.
"The venues will be decided by the Fixtures Committee, and the rules
and regulations of the ICC will be implemented."

The tournament, said Shah, will be formatted along the lines of the
Ranji Trophy one-day tournament. State Associations will first play
within their zone to identify the top two sides. These sides —
distributed into two groups of five — will then play a league format.
Each group's top side will contest the final.

Jan 19 2007

The committee, headed by Sunil Gavaskar, will review the Ranji Trophy's format and points system, said Mr. Shah.

Jan 20 2007

The committee reviewed the Ranji Trophy's format and points structure,
but decided to discuss it further with the captains and coaches at the
seminar before making changes.

Jan 19 2007

Also on the agenda, said Mr. Shah, is assessing the feasibility of
playing the Ranji Trophy Super League matches, the semifinals and the
final on neutral venues instead of the home-and-away rotation system
currently in place.The recommendation, by BCCI joint secretary M.P. Pandove, is aimed at
playing at least key domestic games on the best tracks in the country.

Jan 20 2007

The Technical Committee, chaired by Sunil Gavaskar, also decided to
take steps to prevent doctoring of wickets in the Ranji Trophy. From
the next season, members of the Pitches Committee would monitor the
preparation of wickets for four days preceding the tie, said Shah.

[Pitches Committe Members - Daljit Singh (North),Dhiraj Parsana
(West), P R Vishwanathan (South), Taposh Chatterjee (Central), Prabir
Mukherjee (East) and Niranjan Shah (convener and BCCI secretary).

Ranji Trophy Super League Itinerary 2006/07
Ranji Trophy Plate League Itinerary 2006/07

As can be seen from the schedules, as many as 11 matches ( Super League
and Plate) take place in the same time frame during the initial rounds. The Pitches
Committee has 6 members. You do the math).]

The recommendation to play the Ranji Trophy Super League semifinals and
final on neutral venues was "discussed, but some felt the home side
shouldn't be denied advantage," said Shah. Consequently, the matter
will be discussed with the coaches and captains of India's first class
teams at a seminar in March.

--
There you have it folks.. The only thing that was conclusively discussed and agreed upon was 20/20 cricket. Or, in BCCI parlance, another revenue stream to be milked for all it is worth.

Mind games?

A ‘brain-trainer’ is the need of hour for Sehwag

Team psychologist Webster in hospital

When contacted, coach Greg Chappell, who always maintained that the modern sport is all about mind, told DNA that the team management is not contemplating to have a psychologist at the moment. Asked if he would be in favour of having someone like Australian Sandy Gordon — who had played a key role in India’s campaign during the last World Cup — Chappell said: “We have not made any plans to do so.”

Scheduling.. what scheduling?

Ranji Trophy semi-finals

Jan 23-27	04:00 GMT	Karnataka v Bengal at Kolkata Ranji Trophy Super League
Jan 23-27	04:00 GMT	Mumbai v Baroda at Mumbai Ranji Trophy Super League

India vs West Indies schedule

1st ODI - Nagpur
21 Jan

2nd ODI - Cuttack
24 Jan

3rd ODI - Chennai
27 Jan

4th ODI - Vadodara
31 Jan

As the India-West Indies ODI series overlaps the Ranji Trophy semifinals, here are a few questions for the worthies up at the BCCI -

1. Are Anil Kumble and Irfan Pathan going to show up for Karnataka and Baroda respectively?
   
2. If they are, they wont be available to play the Third ODI. If they are not, then why the talk of "International stars should play the domestic season" and "Ranji is the premier domestic tourney in India"?
   
3. Robin Uthappa,Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar have been included in the team for the first two ODIs. Are they guaranteed to play at least one of these two games? Because if they are not, wouldn't it have been better for these blokes to be playing the Ranji Trophy? ( I havent included Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar (vice-capt), Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan in this list because it is highly unlikely that they will sit out one or both games).
4. On the agenda for the camp are lots of meetings, a look at the requirements for the months ahead, training and simulation games......The camp will also be about consolidating the gains of the last 20 months. The Indian team will need to decide what worked and what didn’t.. - If this is the stated agenda of the camp at Nagpur, why is the camp limited to only 17 members and not the full squad of 30 probables for the WC?

Options

Vengsarkar was in his element, explaining things candidly and lucidly. When one reporter asked him why there were no legspinners in the list of 30 World Cup probables (other than Kumble) he replied by asking, "Can you name one?"

The above statement, taken in conjunction with Vengsarkar's earlier statement about a paucity of talent in the country, would lead one to believe that India is talent starved and especially so in the leg spin department.

So here is my question - What is the BCCI doing about it?

The short answer - Nada, zilch, nothing.

Contrast this with Cricket Australia and the steps they have taken to fill in the vacuum created by Shane Warne's retirement

• Dan Cullen, Nathan Hauritz and Cameron White to spend time at the Brisbane Center for Excellence during the southern winter
• The above mentioned spinners to tour the sub continent sometime this year to hone their skills.

CA is taking the talent it has at its disposal and trying the maximize it. The BCCI wont even recognize the talent it has at its disposal.

In conclusion, to answer your question Colonel, here are two names - Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla.

The Indian Team Selection - Thoughts

• The West Indies ODIs ( the first 2 ODIs that is)
  

Enough already about Sehwag's non-inclusion in the XV. I have been saturated by the reams of paper and TV time devoted by our media on this topic. In all the brouhaha, everyone has forgotten one tiny fact.. The Team announced is for the first 2 ODIs. Not the entire WI series, nor the SL series and certainly not the WC.
The Board, for now, needed to to show who the boss is and it has.
Two ODIs down the road, all will be forgiven and Sehwag will be back in the fold. The Board will make the right noises about how Sehwag's experience will be handy during the World Cup and Sehwag will make the right noises about being contrite.
And all will be well with the world.

More surprising was the announcement that Sachin Tendulkar has been named vice-captain, albeit for the first two ODIs. The reason for this is apparently "that Dravid’s somewhat baffling captaincy in the second innings of the Cape Town Test (which ended in a big defeat) probably convinced the selectors that an experienced ‘guide’ was needed.

More important, that the ‘guide’ should hold a position."

hmm!!! a guide who holds a position... interesting.

so where does that leave VVS?

• The World Cup Probables
  

Safely discount the following players ( they are there to make up the numbers)

Rudra Pratap Singh,VRV SinghParthiv Patel,Rohit Sharma, S. Badrinath, Ishant Sharma, Rajesh Pawar, Joginder Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara.

That leaves us with

Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Suresh Raina, Ramesh Powar, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Mongia, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Sourav Ganguly, Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir.

Thats 21 players for 15 slots. By the process of elimination, discount the following players
Munaf Patel ( crocked),Ramesh Powar ( three spinners a luxury),Dinesh Mongia (out of favor), Robin Uthappa ( unproven),Gautam Gambhir (borderline decision but inexperience goes against him).

That leaves us with

Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Suresh Raina, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Karthik, Sourav Ganguly, Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman.

So the toss up is between VVS Laxman and Md. Kaif. And the winner is ...( drum roll here) .... VVS Laxman ( ex vice-captain of the ODI team and current vice-captain of the Test team. May not get a game, except against the Aussies but hey, thats the way it goes!!!).

So Ladies and Gentlemen, your Team India XV for the World Cup are

Rahul Dravid (capt) - out of form
Virender Sehwag - woefully out of form
Sachin Tendulkar - currently injured, but the only man capable of delivering the goods
Yuvraj Singh - recovering from injury, zero match fitness ( the very same reasons why Munaf Patel finds himself out of favor)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni - big striker of the ball, not much between the ears
Harbhajan Singh - combative off spinner, not much by way of match fitness.
Irfan Pathan - On a wing and a prayer.
Sreesanth - The find of the South African tour, his niggling aggro amounts to a lot of free runs in ODIs.
Ajit Agarkar - Like him or loathe him, be assured of a 4 ball every over.
Suresh Raina - Teacher's pet, is that you?
Anil Kumble - The other great hope.
Dinesh Karthick - spare keeper, sparer bat.
Sourav Ganguly - no ODI form to speak of, but nothing that a 8 game hit cant rectify.
Zaheer Khan - pace spearhead, but if India reaches the finals, anyone but him should bowl the first over.
VVS Laxman - gets one game. Against the Aussies.

And me... I will be rooting for the Lankans :-) ( no seriously, I think Mahela's team has the right balance to win it all ).

India's 30 probables named..

Here is the squad

World Cup probables Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Suresh Raina, Ramesh Powar, Anil Kumble, Rudra Pratap Singh, Dinesh Mongia, VRV Singh, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Sourav Ganguly, Parthiv Patel, Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, S. Badrinath, Ishant Sharma, Rajesh Pawar, Joginder Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara.

Here is the squad for the first two ODI's against West Indies

Squad for the first two one-day internationals against the West Indies Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar (vice-capt), Robin Uthappa, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Joginder Sharma, Ramesh Powar, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh

And here is how Cricinfo spins this.

My take on all this - For all the bravado by the Chairman of Selectors ( who, IMHO, has his heart in the right place), India's World Cup squad 2007 will be virtually identical to India's World Cup squad 2003, give or take a Suresh Raina for a Dinesh Mongia. The only unfortunate to miss out will be Md. Kaif, thanks to team and selectoral shenanigans.

India's WC squad 2003

• Sourav Ganguly
• Rahul Dravid
• Virender Sehwag
• Sachin Tendulkar
• Anil Kumble
• Harbhajan Singh
• Javagal Srinath
• Zaheer Khan
• Ashish Nehra
• Dinesh Mongia
• Parthiv Patel
• Sanjay Bangar
• Ajit Agarkar
• Yuvraj Singh
• Mohammad Kaif

A player for the future!!!

Abhishek Nair - Remember the name!!!

The (sorry) tale of two young cricketers

A Team India player gets injured during the course of a One Day series. He leg is crocked and is forced to stay away from the game for the better part of a month ( or more). Despite having not played any competitive cricket of any sort, he is fast tracked into the team.

I could be talking about him or him.

I only hope that he does not get scapegoated after an India loss as he is!!

On what grounds???

Post the debacle in South Africa, the BCCI is in a tear to show that it is doing ( or is willing to do) everything the "remedy" the malaise of "dead" Indian wickets and so

BCCI to conduct workshop for curators

The Cricket Board will conduct a workshop for curators of all the state associations and units affiliated to it in March this year.
.....
"The last workshop was conducted three years ago and that is the reason it has been decided to have one more workshop for the curators," Shetty added.

Board assures 'best possible pitches' for domestic cricket

Niranjan Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, revealed that plans were in place to play key matches on neutral venues that would be picked from the best of the strips available in the country. "We will be identifying the best few wickets in the country and be using these for important matches like Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup, Deodhar Trophy and semi-finals and finals of the Ranji Trophy, going away from the rotation system," said Shah. "These matches will be played on neutral grounds, which have the best wickets. This will be from next season onwards because the constitution has to be amended to make this possible."

Watch this space for further (non) developments!!!

India's tour of England - Itinerary

India tour of England schedule

Jul 07-10: v Sussex, Hove
Jul 13-15: v England A, Chelmsford
Jul 19-23: v ENGLAND, 1ST TEST, Lord's
Jul 27-31: v ENGLAND, 2ND TEST, Trent Bridge
Aug 03-05: v Sri Lanka A, Leicester
Aug 09-13: v ENGLAND, 3RD TEST, The Oval
Aug 16: v SCOTLAND, ODI, Glasgow
Aug 18: v England A, Northampton
Aug 21: v ENGLAND, 1ST ODI, Rose Bowl (d/n)
Aug 24: v ENGLAND, 2ND ODI, Bristol (d/n)
Aug 27: v ENGLAND, 3RD ODI, Edgbaston
Aug 30: v ENGLAND, 4TH ODI, Old Trafford (d/n)
Sep 02: v ENGLAND, 5TH ODI, Headingley
Sep 05: v ENGLAND, 6TH ODI, The Oval
Sep 08: v ENGLAND, 7TH ODI, Lord's

L'affaire Munaf patel

No No No.. This post is not about Munaf Patel and his match fitness and the brouhaha surrounding it.

This post is about a comment made by the Coach of the Indian Cricket Team and the Munaf Patel selection

"The choice was never between him (Munaf) and Harbhajan," Chappell held. "We wanted the balance of the batting and the bowling that we had. Harbhajan hasn't bowled for a month. We made the choices based on what we had and what we saw."

Fair enough that Harbhajan Singh had not bowled for a month and was therefore not considered for selection.

By the same logic, why was Munaf Patel considered in the playing XI when he too had not bowled for a month and was carrying an injury?

Why now?

Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer and Zaheer Khan have announced their availability for the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team.

Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble have announced their availability for the Karnataka Ranji Trophy team.

So far so good.

However, all of these worthies, with the exception of Wasim Jaffer, will be available for only ONE game..

Here is my question...Mumbai has won the last two games outright after facing relegation. Karnataka won its last game outright and is placed 2nd in Group A.

So, why should these teams break up winning combinations to accommodate players who will not render their services for more than one game in the entire Ranji season?

And what does this say of the attitude of these worthies and their respect for the premier domestic cricketing competition?

Update : Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan will not be playing the Ranji Trophy game.

Where to now, India?

In the end, the series result was a fair reflection on the strengths, weaknesses and fortitude of the two teams.

South Africa, under pressure to win at home after being 0-1 down, did everything that was required to get the result in their favor.

India, on the other hand,had their chances, which they let slip.

When the crunch moments came, one team had the nous and the fortitude to swing it in their favor. And that team was not India.

So where to now, Team India?

You will now play a series of ODIs, win a few, and all will be forgiven. Then you will step into the World Cup stage, where you will not get past the Super 8's.

And then,the recriminations will begin.

Questions will be asked of the coach, the captain, the team management, the senior players. Questions that have been asked before, questions with no adequate answers.

The usual cliches of "processes" and "no need for a bowling coach" and "the need to perform without focusing on the result" will be bandied. Apologists will spin this one way, detractors another.

And where will that leave Team India?

For starters, Lalit Modi will be a worried man, because you cannot sell a product that is mediocre, however good your marketing department is.

Sharad Pawar will be worried because you cannot angle for the top job at the ICC when the Board you are heading fronts up a team that cannot win. But then again, his main challenger is a Pom, so maybe he will feel a lot more secure.

Rahul Dravid will be a worried man because, unlike his predecessor, he has nothing spectacular to show for his term in office. Ganguly had Kolkata, Headingley, Adelaide and Multan, the ICC Champions Trophy and the finals of the World Cup. Rahul Dravid has Jamaica..or Karachi, Mumbai, Durban and Newlands ( "since winning is not important, learning is").

For an Indian captain who was reposed with unprecedented faith, by being appointed captain till the end of the World Cup,he has done very little to justify that faith.

Greg Chappell will be a worried man. Failure to get India to "the next level" basically torpedoes his prospects of coaching in the long term, for an international team. Time and time again, the team has repeated the exact same mistakes in similar situations under his watch.

Maybe there is a De Bono hat somewhere that explains this!!!

And what of the rest of the team?

The bowlers did a sterling job, and there is some serious talent there that needs nurturing. Bowling coach,anyone?

And the batting? For too long, India has been carrying passengers, who do just enough to justify their place in the next game or the next series. Sometimes, it is not even that. Past reputations are used as justifications for the continued presence of players in the side, players who should have been sidelined a long while ago. Playing favorites with team selections may win you brownie points with some in the short term, but will bite you in the rear at the most inopportune time.

So, where do we go from here?

For starters, candidates for the middle order must be identified and blooded. India has about 10 tests from the end of the World Cup until the Australia series. Sufficient time to start drafting in kids and giving them that 10 test cushion, so that, even if the veterans play against Australia, there are identified replacements for the medium term.

A bowling coach is a MUST. Pigheadedness by the Team management does not justify the non-inclusion of a bowling coach pronto.

And the captain? I had advocated the need for separate captains for tests and ODIs. This series has reinforced that view.

And the coach? if India win the World Cup, Greg Chappell will retain his job. If not, the search for a new coach will begin in earnest.

Tom Moody was my first choice as coach when John Wright quit, and if he is available, still is. Otherwise, Darren Lehmann is a good alternate, if he is interested in the job with India.

And me personally? No more spending big money and waking up at ungodly hours to watch a team that, quite frankly, does no justice to its talent or hype!!!

Congratulations South Africa

for winning the test series after being 0-1 down.

for playing cricket with a lot of heart and guts.

for winning the key moments and stepping up when it mattered.

for talking the talk and backing it by walking the walk.

The 4th day's play and Sachins batting

The third test stands at the crossroads at the end of the 4th day. Either team can win it from here.

Some intelligent batting by the Proteas, not losing early wickets while keeping the score board moving, will build the pressure on India.

A couple of early wickets and, with the ball getting softer and reverse swinging, will put India in the drivers seat.

India's bowlers deserve to win for the performance they have collectively put. India's batter deserve to lose in disgrace.

South Africa collectively deserve to win because of the effort they put in with the bat and the ball..

I do not why, but this test has the feel of Adelaide 2003, except that India are at the receiving end this time.

In the cross hairs, is Sachin Tendulkar.
His imitation of the "Strokeless Wonder" will be criticised by one and all, and understandably so. But what will fall through the cracks is the lack of ownership and responsibility shown by Dravid during this passage of play.

Given that Sachin was not stroking the ball, not taking the initiative,"pottered and scratched, padded and swiveled, nudged and tapped and the Indian innings came to a standstill'", what was Dravid doing in the meanwhile?

For a batsman who was well set, the onus was on him to take the initiative. As the captain of the team , it was his responsibility to take the initiative. As a senior member of the side, it was his duty to take the initiative. And he fell short on all three counts.

Watching Sachin scratch around brought back memories of Bangalore 2004 and Mumbai 2005. A once great batsman unable to battle his inner demons.But watching Rahul play the way he did was the clearest example of "processes" gone bad!!