da betsul： The events in Indian cricket that led into the New Year have left mecompletely disenchanted
Erapalli Prasanna03-Jan-2003The events in Indian cricket that led into the New Year have left mecompletely disenchanted. Nothing seems to have changed over the yearsexcept the dizzying remuneration offered to players. One cannot helpbut think that the current players are being over-paid, especiallyafter watching their dismal performance in New Zealand.While most of the top teams are improving in leaps and bounds, theIndian team has taken the road in the opposite direction. As has beenthe case with Pakistani cricket, there is no shortage of talent inIndia, but harnessing the talent has never been a priority issue inthe subcontinent. The success of a Sachin Tendulkar or a Rahul Dravidis clearly because of the effort that particular individual has putinto his game.The results show brazenly, and no Indian cricket fan can be happyabout the way this Indian team has crumbled repeatedly in New Zealand.With the World Cup just a month away, the team management and theselectors have between them delivered a few shockers as New Yeargifts. Can anyone explain why Shiv Sunder Das was played in the firstODI? Why was Rakesh Patel sent to New Zealand if he was not going toplay a game before December 31st?With the exception of one selector, all four of the others have playedfor India, and they will be the first to admit that they too have beenvictims of the selectorial whims and fancies in their playing days.Which is why it shocks me even more that these gentlemen are followingthe same beaten track. In fact, to make life somewhat easier forthemselves, the selectors have been consulting the team managementabout the choices, which makes it difficult for John Wright and SouravGanguly to wash their hands of the responsibility for the selectionchaos.
© CricInfoAnd what exactly did that chaos throw up? Most prominently, VVS Laxmanwas dropped from the Indian side for the World Cup in favour of DineshMongia. I am not going to believe that it was just his form andperformance in New Zealand that led to Laxman being axed. Had thatbeen the case, Ganguly himself should have been the first to go. TheIndian captain’s form has not been inspiring at all, whereas Laxmancan hardly be faulted; at the time of the World Cup squad selection,Laxman had averaged 40.33 in his last 10 one-day games, includingthree half-centuries. In comparison, Mongia in his last 10 one-dayersaverages a meagre 16.44.It must have been some crazy logic indeed that led the selectors toreplace a batsman averaging around 40 with one who averages a shadeless than 17! My own view is that Laxman has been singled out as thescapegoat for the collective failure of the Indian team in NewZealand. I feel for Laxman, who has been pivotal in Ganguly becomingone of the most successful Indian captains. Neither Ganguly nor Wrightwould have been around now had it not been for India’s startlingvictory at Kolkata against Australia. But Laxman need not live on thatone big knock; he would have made it into the World Cup squad on sheermerit, as the statistics reveal.
© CricInfoOne of the explanations given for Mongia’s inclusion was his fieldingability. But if that is a primary selection criterion, then there aredefinitely a few more in the squad who will not make the cut. MuraliKartik, for example, is a far better fielder and batsman than AnilKumble, and to boot, Kumble’s bowling in his last 10 ODIs has beenalarmingly poor; he averages 42.5 and sports an economy rate of closeto five runs per over.To give credit where it is due, I am glad that young Parthiv Patel hasbeen added to the Indian squad. The emphasis of the selections shouldhave been on youth, as the Australians have done. Having said that, Imust say that it is quite sad to see Steve Waugh not making it intothe World Cup squad. Few would cast any aspersions on his form,ability or agility, and it is ironic that he would walk easily intoany other squad, purely on merit.Now that the Indian squad has been named, I wish them all the best fora successful World Cup in South Africa. One can only hope for thebest, but after watching yet another poor performance by the Indianteam at Christchurch, I wonder if there is anything left to hope for.