Keeping the 'Indian way' alive
Writing in the Hindu , Suresh Menon says, despite the tendency to over-coach at the junior levels, India's cricketers still play the Indian way, and that is something their fans must be grateful to Test cricket for.
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
Writing in the Hindu, Suresh Menon says, despite the tendency to over-coach at the junior levels, India's cricketers still play the Indian way, and that is something their fans must be grateful to Test cricket for.
What is the Indian way? And have we lost sight of it in our obsession with centuries and rankings and Tendulkar? It was a question answered easily at one time. ‘Indian' meant wristy batsmen and cunning spinners, flashy if inconsistent all-rounders and flamboyant wicketkeeper-batsmen.
Dravid, for all his years of worship at the altar of orthodoxy, still plays the cover drive and the square cut in the Indian way, with the wrists doing all the work. Laxman is in the long line of Indian batsmen from Ranji to Vishwanath to Azharuddin who deal in surprises and unexpected gifts. At the top of the order is Virender Sehwag who has rewritten the book on opening batsmanship ... Among bowlers, Anil Kumble was a great original, as is Harbhajan Singh. Ditto Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Nikita Bastian is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo