India Invincible???
After playing test cricket for 77 years, India finally managed to become the number one test cricket playing team in the world in 2009 (among ten countries that play it). It has done well to hold on to this fragile title for more than a year now, and it needs to be seen how far it can take it. For the 78 years of being a test playing country, India’s record has been pretty dismal, it took 17 years to win its first test match. Its success has mainly comprised of not matches and series won, but that of individual brilliances. One can count India’s test cricket series wins on one’s fingers. Its track record overseas has been similar to that of Dev Anand’s films at the box office.
The current team that India has is certainly the best it has ever had, at least in the limited overs format. But it still is a far cry from a long lasting world beater. But the hysteria of the media has us believe that this is going to last forever. And that India is going to be the team that will replace the erstwhile Australia and West Indies units.
Lets face it. Looking at the talent that exists in the team in form of Rainas and Sharmas, if India is to maintain its No.1 position for the next few years , then the trio of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman will have to continue playing at least till the age of 45. These three have for a decade and a half (In Tendulkar’s case two decades ) skillfully hidden Indian batting’s insipidness by their breathtaking strokeplay. Dravid and Laxman have never got their due, losing the attention to the likes of Dhonis and Yuvrajs. They have so beautifully played their role that one doesn’t realize their worth in the side. Sachin Tendulkar on his part has skillfully carried the burden of a mediocre team on his shoulders so efficiently for the last two decades that when he is at the crease India look like world champions. People like him grace any sport just once in three or four decades.
We are going to lose the services of these three exceptional players- Sachin Tendulkar , VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, at the same time, a time which is not so distant. And that day, will be a disaster for cricket in the country, because forget about showing promise to replace them, the young guns are not even one tenth of the caliber of these three.
The greatest of them all, has always been blamed for not winning enough test matches for India. The geniuses making these accusations forget the simple rule of cricket “Bowlers win matches. Batsmen only save them”. Is it his fault that nobody else in the batting lineup was half as good? (Azhar and Jadeja were hit and miss in the later 90s; Ganguly became a regular much later ,in 1996. No comments about the Kamblis and Manjrekars and Shastris and Prabhakars). Is it his fault that in the 90s, Indian fielders were known for letting the cricket ball pass between their legs to the boundary? (Slip fielding was a joke) Is it his fault that India has not been able to put together a decent bowling attack ever? (Those were the days of Srinaths, Prasads and Rajus getting whacked all over the ground).
Calling a cricket team without a decent bowling attack as number one is myopia. India has never once been able to put together a decent bowling attack. It has simply failed to produce two international level pacers and two international level spinners to play at the same given time. And that has been the major difference in India and teams like Australia and West Indies. Only three Indian pace bowlers have gone over 100 test wickets (Kapil Dev, Srinath and Zaheer Khan). The current Indian pace attack (?) will require a superhuman effort even to reach 150. The best excuse being given for this is the lack of good pitches in India. Pakistan has produced Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar with much poorer infrastructure than that of India. We might accuse the Pakistanis of ball tampering, but the fact remains that our bowlers will not be able to bowl like them even after tampering the ball.This has been the main reason why Pakistan dominated India in the better part of their cricketing history. No team can become a dominating force without good pace bowlers, and even if they do, the reign doesn’t last long (Sri Lanka is the prime example).
The tale of spin bowlers in India is as dismal. All that was in the name of spin in India was Anil Kumble. And now its Harbhajan (whos lost most of it). The paucity of spinners in India can be judged from the fact that the best spinner in the world currently is an Englishman.
The only area where considerable improvement has been made is fielding. But that again without the support of batting and bowling cant take you far.
The root of all this lies in the mentality. The image of cricketer in the Indian mind is that of a batsman. Kumble has never had the adulation that Tendulkar and Ganguly had, inspite of going beyond his abilities each time. Parents eager to send their boys to cricket academy want their child to be the next Tendulkar and Ganguly rather than the next Warne or McGrath. The results are for all of us to see.
Australia dominated cricket for more than a decade largely due to Glen McGrath and Shane Warne. The Gilchrists, Haydens, Langers and Waughs could bat freely only because of this. The Afridis, Anwars, Yousufs could indulge in flamboyance only on the assurance of Akram, Younis and Akhtar to complete the tale.
One can win consistently with excellent bowling attack and decent batting line up, but seldom with a good batting line up and mediocre bowling attack. Its really a cause of worry that all these pace academies cannot produce decent bowlers.
The future looks very bad for India as far as talent is concerned. It atleast threw up some individual talent in the 90’s. But that is not the case now. The next crop of India players is clearly not upto the the international level in the long run, in all three departments.BCCI needs to put its act together if it does not want the India Cricket Team to resemble Bangladesh after a decade.
Bottom of the Barrel
Cricket in general is going through a very lean phase . All the money is there, but the number of exceptional individuals who can make us forget about rest of the world is dwindling at an alarming rate. There is a severe shortage of world class talent. Very few exceptional players have been produced in this decade (and as if things weren’t worse, two of them were lost to spot betting ). What wont a cricket fan give to turn back time to the marvelous sights of McGrath and Warne wreaking havoc, of Donald and Pollock running in, of Amborse and Walsh streaming in, of Wasim and Waqar making mincemeat of the batsmen’s toes. If only we could see again Brain Lara mesmerizing us, Mark Waugh taking those stunning slip catches, Jonty Rhodes flying , Gilchrist bludgeoning the bowling to shreds….
Why are such sights becoming a rarity day by day? Why is it that not a single young player today threatens to unsettle the greats from their pedestal today or for quite some time to come? Take a look around and give the name of one new talent who can pull crowds to the ground just to watch him bat , bowl or field?
Greatness is vanishing. Talent is dwindling. Faster than anyone can imagine. No point in blaming T20 or various leagues in that format coming up. Everyone, the public and the cricket boards, seem to forget that there is no one to replace the greats. There is no effort made on a huge scale to hone the next generation. West Indies cricket committed this horrendous mistake and today we see this once great side reduced to the level of a local club team. Australia too seems to be heading the same way. Pakistan is already there.
It is not that those days cannot come back. But it will take a considerable amount of time for this recovery (Australia took fifteen years to rebuild their team that became world champions). It’s a question of until then, what effect is this situation going to have on the sport. Already, the once frenzy evoking tournaments like World Cup hardly have any excitement today.
A lean and barren spell lies ahead….
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