India need changes for Adelaide
"It is amusing that the argument for drastic changes still needs to be made
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
"It is amusing that the argument for drastic changes still needs to be made. Here are the bare facts. This Indian team hasn't just been beaten in seven consecutive overseas Tests, it has been decimated," writes Gaurav Kalra on ibnlive. "Not one of these Test matches has been competitive. Four have been lost by an innings. One by over 300 runs. One by nearly 200 runs. One by over 100 runs. Only two have gone into the fifth day. The last defeat came in under two and a half days."
Since the England tour these are the averages of India's top guns in overseas Tests: Sehwag: 15.90. Gambhir: 20.50. Dravid: 52.42. Tendulkar: 37.29. Laxman: 20.29. Dhoni: 26.83. Yet to question any of their spots is sacrilege. Alternatives on offer from the 17-man squad chosen for the tour are being cast aside with disdain. The message to Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma is this: You were really on the plane to make up the numbers. No matter how woeful the senior pros get, their positions remain untouched. No matter how good your first-class records might be or how obvious your talent is, you are the designated bench-warmers. Only when a permanent resident makes way of his own volition will a spot open up. Till then wait, watch and twiddle those thumbs. And oh yes, have a net.
In the Hindu, S Ram Mahesh has identified two worrying trends for Virender Sehwag as he returns to Adelaide, where he scored a terrific hundred on India's previous tour of Australia.
His recent form is one of them — just 428 runs have come in his last 17 innings. But form is a fleeting thing. Besides, in Sehwag, the ability to crack open a game forever lies latent, ready to burst forth of a sudden. The other trend is more serious. Since his 151 here, an innings remarkable for its richly restrained strokeplay, Sehwag hasn't made a century outside the sub-continent in 11 Tests.
George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo