Sambit Bal
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India's morning after
The euphoria of the Twenty20 win now truly behind them, Dhoni's young side have to face the challenge of learning on the job against the toughest opposition there is
February 6, 2008
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The hard life has begun for India's Twenty20 heroes. The CB Series will provide a glimpse into the future. Their skill and temperament will be tested: some will find theirs exposed, but some will go back better and tougher cricketers. Because success will have to be earned, it will be a true measure of worth, and will be more fulfilling.
Australia were given a glimpse of their own vulnerability in the Test series by a classy and tough bunch of cricketers determined to make their last trip Down Under memorable. But many of those titans have returned home, and India's limited-overs destiny has been entrusted to those who are seen to constitute its future.
Seen in that light, being blanked out in the CB series will not be a disaster. More likely it will be part of a harsh learning process. It also must be remembered that India have beaten Australia only twice in one-day cricket in Australia in the last two decades; even with a much-vaunted batting line-up in 2003-04, they only managed to win one match. By that yardstick, not a lot should be expected from this team.
Australia's all-round depth makes them, by a distance, the best one-day team in the world. Sri Lanka were the World Cup finalists and they have brought a balanced and experienced team. India were dumped out in the first round of the World Cup, and lost 4-2 to Australia at home; if they can challenge the title contenders, it will be an improvement.
That said, this series will be an exercise in getting in touch with reality for a few. India were deserving winners of the World Twenty20, but that is a form of cricket that can mask shortcomings. The gap between both the limited-over formats may not be as considerable as the one between Tests and the 50-over game, but a gap exists. More is required to win one-day games than a couple of frantic 30s or a couple of dead-straight overs. A few players are about to find out how good they really are.
The advantage of fielding a young team has already been evident in the running between the wickets in the first two matches. With a partner more alert to singles, even Sachin Tendulkar has been haring down the pitch. And Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni built their huge partnership against Sri Lanka by putting the ball into open spaces and running hard - their intensity didn't flag till the last ball of the innings.
The bigger test is, of course, in terms of pure cricket skills. Some of these young men have stepped into huge boots. Comparisons, however unwarranted, will be inevitable. With every top-order collapse a million glances will be cast backwards and conjectures will follow. The selectors may have erred on the side of boldness - one more batsman of proven pedigree, in addition to Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, would have helped the balance of the side - but having done so, they mustn't allow themselves to be pressured and swayed by the popular mood. On his debut, Manoj Tiwary looked dazed against Brett Lee, but hopefully he will not suffer the fate of Sourav Ganguly, who had to wait for four years for his second chance.
Rohit Sharma gave a glimpse of his potential in the opening match against Australia. He didn't score too many, but there is an air about him that says be belongs at the highest level. He stands still and tall - the first sign of batting pedigree - and seems to have time to play his strokes against even the quickest bowlers. He has a majestic drive, picks up the length early enough to be able to either hit through the line or lean back and cut, and crucially, his defending is immaculate. If he can learn to construct an innings, and gets his shot selection right - and these come with experience - he could be the next major Indian batsman. He should be granted the space to grow.
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The captain faces the biggest challenge. At the best of times doing both keeping and batting is a big enough challenge, which explains why so few wicketkeepers, despite having the best view of proceedings, have captained their countries. To add to his problems, Dhoni has been fast-tracked into a job that must count among the toughest in the world of sport. He must balance the demands of the captaincy against spending time on his own game, which is yet to fully develop.
His wicketkeeping has improved considerably in the past year, and his footwork behind the stumps in the Test series was decisively superior to Adam Gilchrist's. His gathering has grown more polished too. But the limitations of his batting have been exploited by the Australians, who have made him work very hard for his runs.
In the first year of his career, which he played mostly in the subcontinent, Dhoni relied mainly on booming drives down the ground. But bowlers have gotten wise since, and not being a natural cutter and puller, Dhoni has had to graft for his runs. To his credit, he has shown the stomach for it and a lot of his innings are now about accumulation. He is an intelligent player and a quick learner and his game will grow. Not being burdened with the Test captaincy - there was a real danger of him getting it - has been a blessing, and like the team under him, he deserves patience and understanding.
It's time for Indian cricket fans to lower their expectations.
Sambit Bal is the editor of Cricinfo
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Sambit Bal
Editor Sambit Bal took to journalism at the age of 19 after realising that he wasn't fit for anything else, and to cricket journalism 14 years later when it dawned on him that it provided the perfect excuse to watch cricket in the office. Among other things he has bowled legspin, occasionally landing the ball in front of the batsman; laid out the comics page of a newspaper; covered crime, urban development and politics; and edited Gentleman, a monthly features magazine. He joined Wisden in 2001 and edited Wisden Asia Cricket and Cricinfo Magazine. He still spends his spare time watching cricket.
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I have implicit faith in the youngsters playing for the Indian cricket team. What they need is a chance to exhibit their talents. I am all for rotation of the players in the national team. Sachin Tendulkar may be the world's premier batsman, but the other youngsters may hope to approach him, if given an opportunity. Sachin Tendulkar can win matches singlehandedly, but it is infinitely more satisfying, if a lesser known individual can help the team win on the field. Mr Greg Chappell had the right ideas, but was misunderstood, and could not make the others understand. I love watching players like Raina, and Rohit Sharma, perform. My best wishes to the Indian One Day Squad, as also to the Sri Lankan and Australian squads.
Posted by Kazza1 on (February 08 2008, 01:12 AM GMT)To me Indians have the wrong balance, they have brought in young players who are more adapt to the T20 game bash the ball, no-one has the strength and skill to hold a team together they open with Tendulkar and Sehwag and when they get out the team struggles there is not one player who can hold an innings together when in trouble, only interested in having a slog. They aren't going to trouble the likes of Australia, Sth Africa or Sri Lanka on a regular basis, their bowlers rely too much on swing if the ball don't swing the're bowling suffers big time, unlike Australia who trouble the Indians regardless swing's just a bonus.
Posted by Grudge.Kid on (February 07 2008, 22:18 PM GMT)Masterblaster: that someone is Grudge.Kid. Sr Kumar; I agree with you that a spot has to be earned in the Indian team. True, people have to be given a chance to prove themselves. All these youngsters have proved themselves in the domestic circuit. True, I don't know what happened to Kaif and Raina. Although we must encourage players like Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Gambhir, and Uthappa.
Posted by Krishna2007 on (February 07 2008, 17:52 PM GMT)Dhoni is a little deficient in the brains department. He is instrumental in throwing out Dravid and Ganguly. While Ganguly has shown no intent in the fielding part of the game, Dravid is an asset to any captain. And it is sad that Yuvraj and others who are nobodys compared to Rahul justify Dhoni's and the selectors' decision to drop Dravid. I would be really happy if Dhoni can win in Australia but he does not have the physical and mental attributes of Ganguly or Dravid to do well there. The Indian public is a fickle and jejune set of people and Dhoni's asking for space for his team is a come down from his earlier bravado. Karthik is a better wk and Laxman would probably make a better captain than him in the one days. Selectors have trusted Dhoni's judgment in a really foolhardy manner. Dhoni's team will come back to a shower of eggs and rotten tomatos and they can blame MSD for it.
Posted by prats_p on (February 07 2008, 17:41 PM GMT)though it is very important to build a team but one cannot be provided with an India Cap so easily, else the value declines. Rohit is looking very promising indeed but dare i say that had he performed like this in earlier times he would have been out by now but tis good that he is being persisted with. Also Raina is one which i would love to watch as he is an equally if not more promising player than Rohit. Dhoni has done a fare job with the captaincy , being a wicketkeeper and a main batsman does have its pressures as well and thats why most people keep complaining why he is not hitting those big hits too often , which is not justified at all. He is a great team man and he has shown tremendous ability to adapt to different situations , things that can be learned by mist Indian players of the present team. I love my team and no matter what i will support my team , so good or bad times I am with my team India.
Posted by Srkumar on (February 07 2008, 13:16 PM GMT)The place in Indian team has to be earned. Yougsters can't be given free passage with an uncertain dream of great future team.Team for future has become a convenient phrase to bait senior players.The key is to put forward the best team in all key matches.The record with big guns is poor not because of them but despite them.Australia does not win only thru their top 3 but with their overall team. Our problem has been leaking runs in 20 overs, running between wickets & anchoring when wickets fall quickly. Future team is a abused phrase as the earlier future team with Raina, Kaif & others had not worked and only slogging it out to earn back the place is making them better players. Other avenues like India A team to Australia/SA should become more frequent to test young players and not complete changes in Indian team
Posted by masterblaster666 on (February 07 2008, 10:37 AM GMT)Rajendran, I did read your post fully...you are asking whether Ganguly and Dravid are out because of seniority..not entirely, and I compared Sachin with Ganguly and Dravid to bring out why they cannot be part of a team for the future. It's doubtful that Sachin too will play in the 2012...but out of both the Test and ODI squads, he has the most experience in Australia, which would be valuable for Dhoni. Besides, like somebody else said, he is the Roger Federer of cricket with good reason, nobody drops him just like that. Ganguly and Dravid are great batsmen, but like great batsmen, their time too has probably passed. As for Dhoni and Yuvi's attitude, well Dhoni's innings in Perth may have been a pain to watch, but it was crucial to our victory. Yuvraj: I agree, he is in big trouble if he doesn't sort out his issues - probably entirely non-cricketing. :P
Posted by Arpit2510 on (February 07 2008, 09:40 AM GMT)We_Didnt_Start_the_Fire, I humble disagree with your opinion. Firstly, there are NO two schools of thoughts. The second thought (which you mentioned as the Indian way) is only being followed by India since Chappell Era & has not been used by any other team/manager/board for any sport SUCCESSFULLY in the history of any team sport.Your second point about all stars at 20's (where I guess you are trying to justify the inclusion of younger members), please take a special note that all these players did not make their debut in the same team at the same time. They did so in different generations in different teams. I dare say that if all of them did make the team at the same time, most probably half of them would have lost all self belief and would have never been the stars as the world knows them today. I have no doubt that if this team loses even 3 or 4 matches badly, half of the new comers will be devastated mentally which would lead to poor performance and they will never ever make a return
Posted by rajgiri1 on (February 07 2008, 08:25 AM GMT)Masterblaster 666, I want Sachin in, read my note better: but Ganguly as well. Nothing personal, he is in form and why waste it? Australia under Border reconstructed their team n they took time n made a great team, okay. But, that was proved a wrong strategy by they themselves. This is the best, keep at least four players for each slot n select according to the best in form player for each slot. this is also a long term plan. My concern is about Dhoni +Yuvraj non cooperation in a team with seniors for tests. It was clearly seen, but this backfired in 20x20 n one dayers. Form is oxygen for players n defying will take form away. All these said n done, Team India is developing, if they don't will we let them live? Rajendran.
Posted by masterblaster666 on (February 07 2008, 02:41 AM GMT)Short Memory: And in the last 4 or 5 years, he was one of the best oneday players in international cricket. Batting the last 10 overs is not just about slogging but about placing the ball in the right areas and running shrewdly. In the last few years, Dravid has also shown an alarming tendency to get bogged down under pressure and consume copious balls without getting a move-on..it repeated itself match after match in Australia. This is not expected of a veteran and was probably what cost him his place. He has some quick 50s, I don't deny but I don't think he was able to completely shed his tendency to find the fielders on the 30-yard circle repeatedly.