da brdice： Better days are here for Indian cricket
Santhosh S20-May-2001Better days are here for Indian cricket. A Test series victory againstthe mighty Australians has lifted the morale of the team as well as thatof millions of Indian cricket fans all over the world. It was around thesame time last year that Indian cricket got dragged through its mostinfamous chapters – the match-fixing crisis.The morale of the Indian team was at an all time low. Even thedie-hard fans started feeling disconsolate about the whole affair.A couple of senior players were banned from the game, there wereserious doubts raised about the commitment of the players at large.A player of Kapil Dev’s reputation was also seriously damaged and he wasforced out of the mantle of being the coach of the Indian team. Theremarkable turn around and the Test series win have changed it all; anew life has been pumped into Indian cricket. How true it is thatnothing succeeds like success!If not for the dramatic victory, Indian cricket would have remained inthe doldrums, struggling to cope up with the tragedy that rocked thenation. How the ICC is dealing with match fixing is anothermatter all together. The reality for the average cricket fan is thatthe game is still being played with all its honour in India.It is only prudent to look back at the remarkable Test series winwhich has been etched into the history of the game asone of the best ever. The crowds in Kolkata and Chennai bore thetestimony to the fact that Test match cricket is not on decline, asmany would have us believe.After having lost the first Test in Mumbai within three days andhaving lost the initiative to the Aussies in the second Test match,India were struggling to match up against the giants from Down Under.The success of VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh has been trumpeted eversince; Ganguly has become a stronger captain and there is a certainprofessional approach these days in the Indian camp. Good newsindeed.The likes of Madan Lal, Kapil Dev and Anshuman Gaekwad are cricketerswith immense knowledge of the game, but they were all found to bewanting in their roles as the Indian team coach. What is it that is sospecial about the unsung hero, John Wright? In his playing days he wasa sedate batsman who went about contributing his bit to the cause ofthe struggling New Zealand team. He was never a big name in worldcricket before he took charge of the Indian team in Novemberlast year.Wright brought into the Indian team his vast internationalexperience and something absolutely new to Indian cricket,professionalism. He has a no nonsense approach to the game that wasdesperately required to revitalize Indian cricket. No favours askedand none given. You got to earn you place mate, is what Wright seemsto tell his players. It is to Wright’s credit that all that goes on inIndian cricket has not overwhelmed him. Stability is what Indiancricket wanted and Wright has delivered his goods.Along with the help of sports scientist/physiotherapist AndrewLeipus, Wright has gone about changing the face of Indian cricket witha lot of emphasis on fitness and endurance. The two men have goneabout doing their job without making a noise. The players too have shownremarkable respect to their coach for his approach to the game. Itwas for the whole world to see what a little dose of discipline coulddo to the Indian team.Wright should be given more credit than what he has been given.He brought about a silent revolution into Indiancricket. Wright must have been in the thick of things in the decisionto bat Laxman at number three in the Kolkata Test match, which turnedout to be a magical stroke. Still there is a lot of work to be done.It is only heartening that Wright did spend some time with thetrainees at the National Cricket Academy. Things look bright for thefuture. Three cheers to the soft-spoken gentleman from New Zealand.There could be more cheers and disappointments in the games ahead.But Wright and the boys need all the support in the coming days. Likeit or not, professionalism is here to stay in Indian cricket. It isonly heartening to know that the players have asked for a system ofcontract for themselves. Heartening indeed that the players havestarted thinking that they are full time professionals. All the rightthings have been happening since Wright took charge of the Indianteam.