Hari's Corner

After India's loss to South Africa in the Group B game on Saturday, I think the same old problems of Indian cricket resurface yet again. I don't think much needs to be said, but I'll just highlight some here.

• In almost a couple of decades now, India have struggled to find a genuine all-rounder to replace Kapil Dev. Sorry, but without one, the Indian team management will always find it tough to find the right balance going into any match whether we play 6 or 7 batsmen.
• A lower order that cannot hold a bat. The Indian tail has never been renowned for wagging and we still carry single-talent cricketers whose failure to perform in their own specialization can cost us matches. Case in point: Munaf Patel and Ashish Nehra.
• Still no fast bowler who can rattle the stumps at will in the latter half of the innings. Almost every Test playing nation has a genuine pacer these days. India still struggle to find one.
• Sub-par fielding unit which has shown no signs of improvement in decades, except a few odd sparks of brilliance on occasion. Enough said.

Every single problem listed above gets exposed in big games against the tougher opponents so I don't really have high expectations of India making it big in a tournament like the World Cup. Dhoni's captaincy is another issue meriting its own separate analysis. If India make it past the quarter-final stage, it is an achievement of sorts.