BCCI "Timing"
Keeping in sync with what would soon be famous as "BCCI timing", the country's cricketing body has yet again pulled out a (sort of)rabbit from the hat when it was least expected .With the Test series evenly poised at the moment, exclusion of Ganguly and Dravid from the ODI team was a bolt from the blue and somehow mysteriously Laxman was never considered to be fit for the shorter version of the game.The exclusion of these players would definitely hamper the morale of the Indian camp after that emphatic win in Perth.
The board's reason that they have included youngsters with an eye on the 2011 world cup is definitely a laudable move, but only the timing of the move cant get any worse.Its true that neither Ganguly, Dravid nor Sachin would be in the thick of the things by then.But if 2011 world cup is the real motive then Sachin too should have been dropped from the team.Although i am personally against Sachin being removed from the ODI team.He has had a great year in ODI's last year and looking at the way he has been batting in the recent tests he looks to be in fine nick.Ganguly , Dravid and Laxman along with Sachin formed the formidable batting line up that has made India a better team(both at home and overseas) over the years.They are considered to be among the finest proponents of batting in the modern era and are greatly respected by teams all over the world.And dropping probably some of the finest Indian batsmen that way is what hurts.Informing them beforehand about their motive and making/convincing them to give some sort of press statement saying that they would retire from ODI's and would only be a part of Test team(Mind you India cant do with out them in the tests at the moment) would have been more fitting.
Some of the youngsters who have been included in the ODI's are amongst the bright "future" prospects for a long time now and its heartening to see that they get a chance to show their wares.But it would be baptism of fire for the youngsters considering that the other teams in the fray are Aussies and Lankans (who are finalists of the 2007 world cup).I am sure that this would be a tough series for them.But i also hope that they would adapt quickly and deliver the goods that are expected of them.The team composition thought doesn't look all that clear.Players like Badrinath who have performed over the years in the domestic circuit and for India A are still kept on the fringes.I would love to see some of these bench warmers given a chance to prove themselves.
Rohit Sharma seems to have all that is needed to hold the innings in the middle and he along with Yuvi and probably Raina would make a good middle order.Robin Uthappa hasn't showed any signs of maturity and it has to be seen whether he would use this chance to prove a point or two.Gambhir has shown that he can counter the best bowling attacks opening for the country in ODI's and i feel that he should be given a chance in the tests , since Jaffer couldn't deliver what was expected of him.Irfan Pathan would be a handy player both with the bat and ball in the limited overs version and his performances off late seems to indicate that he has rediscovered "swing" which has deserted him for sometime.He was always a good player and stint out side the team has made him a better player.I am looking forward to see how players like Piyush chawla and Praveen kumar would perform.
Though it would be interesting to see how these youngsters perform,the very thought that we wouldn't in all probability get to see these great players in colors is something that the Indian cricket fans would find hard to digest.
Last but not the least ,I hope that the game is played in the right spirit without any unwanted/unwarranted "incidents" and that we would get to see some engrossing battles.
The board's reason that they have included youngsters with an eye on the 2011 world cup is definitely a laudable move, but only the timing of the move cant get any worse.Its true that neither Ganguly, Dravid nor Sachin would be in the thick of the things by then.But if 2011 world cup is the real motive then Sachin too should have been dropped from the team.Although i am personally against Sachin being removed from the ODI team.He has had a great year in ODI's last year and looking at the way he has been batting in the recent tests he looks to be in fine nick.Ganguly , Dravid and Laxman along with Sachin formed the formidable batting line up that has made India a better team(both at home and overseas) over the years.They are considered to be among the finest proponents of batting in the modern era and are greatly respected by teams all over the world.And dropping probably some of the finest Indian batsmen that way is what hurts.Informing them beforehand about their motive and making/convincing them to give some sort of press statement saying that they would retire from ODI's and would only be a part of Test team(Mind you India cant do with out them in the tests at the moment) would have been more fitting.
Some of the youngsters who have been included in the ODI's are amongst the bright "future" prospects for a long time now and its heartening to see that they get a chance to show their wares.But it would be baptism of fire for the youngsters considering that the other teams in the fray are Aussies and Lankans (who are finalists of the 2007 world cup).I am sure that this would be a tough series for them.But i also hope that they would adapt quickly and deliver the goods that are expected of them.The team composition thought doesn't look all that clear.Players like Badrinath who have performed over the years in the domestic circuit and for India A are still kept on the fringes.I would love to see some of these bench warmers given a chance to prove themselves.
Rohit Sharma seems to have all that is needed to hold the innings in the middle and he along with Yuvi and probably Raina would make a good middle order.Robin Uthappa hasn't showed any signs of maturity and it has to be seen whether he would use this chance to prove a point or two.Gambhir has shown that he can counter the best bowling attacks opening for the country in ODI's and i feel that he should be given a chance in the tests , since Jaffer couldn't deliver what was expected of him.Irfan Pathan would be a handy player both with the bat and ball in the limited overs version and his performances off late seems to indicate that he has rediscovered "swing" which has deserted him for sometime.He was always a good player and stint out side the team has made him a better player.I am looking forward to see how players like Piyush chawla and Praveen kumar would perform.
Though it would be interesting to see how these youngsters perform,the very thought that we wouldn't in all probability get to see these great players in colors is something that the Indian cricket fans would find hard to digest.
Last but not the least ,I hope that the game is played in the right spirit without any unwanted/unwarranted "incidents" and that we would get to see some engrossing battles.
posted by kiran | 7:43 AM
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