World Champions tag is under threat
By playing tantrums on and off the field Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has earned a bad name in the cricketing circle and the recent criticism came from Ian Chappell. If a foreign scribe does not have any cricketing connection with the Board the they come out openly to criticise the management of Team India by Dhoni. This we have witnessed in the past and the trend continue even now. Fleming the Chennai Super King coach talked in favour of Dhoni as he will continuing as a coach for an Indian Team some more time and hence he will have to use more superlatives in the survival game. The latest English debacle was worse than those previous capitulations because India achieved a monumental victory at Lord’s. This should’ve been the springboard to a spirited attempt to stretch that lead but instead it became the top step on the slippery dip to oblivion. To pick Ravindra Jadeja as a front line spinner is a serious miscasting. Then Dhoni proceeded to use him as a stopgap trundler at the Ageas Bowl in what looked like an attempt to prove he wasn’t a front line spin bowler. At a time when you have a pair of highly rated pace bowlers in India warming up the benches in England, Dhoni chose to have Sir as his main weapon and the move backfired, and his role as wicket keeper in all the three formats of the game was just above school boy standard. By missing vital chances we blew our chances and the captain was also part of that dismal failure. Fortunately, his batting clicked and that too of no use because the team did not last 90 overs and lost the match in 3 days. Thus it is proved beyond doubt that Dhoni is a serial offender in Indian debacles both as a captain and wicket keeper.
Both India and England start preparations for the World Cup in Australia-New Zealand, and try to identify players who will be suited to the conditions there. So it is a tough balance between winning this series and getting ready for the World Cup, and both sides will be searching for it. Team India showed wretched form in the last three test matches and handed over the series to England after being being 1-0 up after the second test at Lords. But one day is a different cup of tea altogether and both the teams are gearing up for the best before the commencement of World cup. England brought in swashbuckling Alex Hales to open alongside skipper Alastair Cook while Steve Finn was brought in for Stuart Broad to boost the morale in the short form of cricket. By now, all sides have a nucleus of the players they want to take to the Cup and England will only be playing ODIs in the run-up to the World Cup . There are always six-seven players who will be tried out in the coming months and they can at best fill the last three-four spots as Team India batting strength failed to impress in conventional form of the game. Our openers are scratchy for some time. Both Virat Kohli, who is sadly out of form and Suresh Raina used to show weakness against the short ball on seaming conditions occupies the top spot. Hence, the focus will be on the tail to wag as in the past and if they fail then the team will have a very tough time to win. But we are one day wonders and no one can predict the outcome of a close series.
Team India's World Champions tag is under threat and by the way we fail to win a single match in bilateral series in the last couple of years shows up our inherent weakness in any form of the game on overseas conditions. It is now a known fact that Indian Team well only at home and it was our blessing in disguise that the World Cup happened in India in the year 2011. Indian fans are a sign of resignation, and a statement of fact that if India do well in ODIs, the Tests debacle will be forgotten. It is, however, not as straightforward. India's ODI form outside Asia and the West Indies - similar slow pitches as back home - has been awful except for the Champions Trophy win last year. Even counting those five wins, India have won eight and lost 13 of their ODIs in England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand since the last World Cup. This series is also important because India need a bigger road map to arrest their overseas free-fall. There is no
guarantee Ravi Shastri and the new band of domestic assistant coaches will be effective, or if Shastri will remain with the team after the series. He has had a few informal one-on-ones with Duncan Fletcher and a couple of players. Just pep talk won't do. He will have to come with an instant solutions to the problems. It is indeed testing times for Team India. Team India is shot of success on overseas conditions.
By playing tantrums on and off the field Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has earned a bad name in the cricketing circle and the recent criticism came from Ian Chappell. If a foreign scribe does not have any cricketing connection with the Board the they come out openly to criticise the management of Team India by Dhoni. This we have witnessed in the past and the trend continue even now. Fleming the Chennai Super King coach talked in favour of Dhoni as he will continuing as a coach for an Indian Team some more time and hence he will have to use more superlatives in the survival game. The latest English debacle was worse than those previous capitulations because India achieved a monumental victory at Lord’s. This should’ve been the springboard to a spirited attempt to stretch that lead but instead it became the top step on the slippery dip to oblivion. To pick Ravindra Jadeja as a front line spinner is a serious miscasting. Then Dhoni proceeded to use him as a stopgap trundler at the Ageas Bowl in what looked like an attempt to prove he wasn’t a front line spin bowler. At a time when you have a pair of highly rated pace bowlers in India warming up the benches in England, Dhoni chose to have Sir as his main weapon and the move backfired, and his role as wicket keeper in all the three formats of the game was just above school boy standard. By missing vital chances we blew our chances and the captain was also part of that dismal failure. Fortunately, his batting clicked and that too of no use because the team did not last 90 overs and lost the match in 3 days. Thus it is proved beyond doubt that Dhoni is a serial offender in Indian debacles both as a captain and wicket keeper.
Both India and England start preparations for the World Cup in Australia-New Zealand, and try to identify players who will be suited to the conditions there. So it is a tough balance between winning this series and getting ready for the World Cup, and both sides will be searching for it. Team India showed wretched form in the last three test matches and handed over the series to England after being being 1-0 up after the second test at Lords. But one day is a different cup of tea altogether and both the teams are gearing up for the best before the commencement of World cup. England brought in swashbuckling Alex Hales to open alongside skipper Alastair Cook while Steve Finn was brought in for Stuart Broad to boost the morale in the short form of cricket. By now, all sides have a nucleus of the players they want to take to the Cup and England will only be playing ODIs in the run-up to the World Cup . There are always six-seven players who will be tried out in the coming months and they can at best fill the last three-four spots as Team India batting strength failed to impress in conventional form of the game. Our openers are scratchy for some time. Both Virat Kohli, who is sadly out of form and Suresh Raina used to show weakness against the short ball on seaming conditions occupies the top spot. Hence, the focus will be on the tail to wag as in the past and if they fail then the team will have a very tough time to win. But we are one day wonders and no one can predict the outcome of a close series.
guarantee Ravi Shastri and the new band of domestic assistant coaches will be effective, or if Shastri will remain with the team after the series. He has had a few informal one-on-ones with Duncan Fletcher and a couple of players. Just pep talk won't do. He will have to come with an instant solutions to the problems. It is indeed testing times for Team India. Team India is shot of success on overseas conditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment