Hari's Corner

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Indian cricket in transition

Filed under: Sports by Hari
Posted on Sun, Oct 30, 2005 at 10:37 IST (last updated: Sun, May 24, 2009 @ 19:23 IST)

So India has comprehensively won the first two games of the seven match ODI series against Sri Lanka. There are a quite a few things to be happy about as an Indian cricket fan. Apart from the fact that Sachin has returned to refreshing form with a bang, it has given the new skipper time to settle into his job and has allowed him some breathing space to work at his captaincy. It will also allow some of the new faces to make an entry into the Indian team. Already the likes of Venugopal Rao, Suresh Raina and Sreesanth are competing for places in the Indian side with some of the seniors. In this transition stage, every cricketer will now be on edge. I don't think any senior player can take his place for granted.

Rahul Dravid

In spite of this early success for Dravid, I think we should expect a few failures here and there as well. This is a new-look Indian team and Dravid certainly needs time to establish his leadership. And a couple of victories shouldn't blind us to the fact that this is still a team that is in the process of rebuilding. In my opinion, it's always tough for a team after an established captain who's been at the helm for a long time leaves the team. One thing in India's favour is that Sachin has come back after a long break to fill up some important gaps in the team. It was crucial that he performed now and he has delivered so far. Dravid will certainly need all the help he can get in keeping the critics at bay. It would certainly be interesting to watch how this team progresses over the next few games.

I'm beginning to wonder how Saurav feels about all this. Certainly it won't be easy for Dravid at the stage to captain the side because the selectors have (officially at least) kept their options open and there will be immense pressure from Saurav's supporters in the BCCI for a change if he fails a couple of times in a row. This is why I wish that the selectors would come out with a policy where the captain doesn't have to be uncertain of his post for at least a couple of series. It happens every time in Indian cricket: transition has never been easy and politics has always played its part during such times.

However, one thing is certain: the era of Sourav Ganguly as dada is over. Whatever happens from here on and even if he makes a comeback (which is very likely, given that he's a class player), I doubt whether he will ever hold the same influence on Indian Cricket as he has done over the last four or five years. The selectors have only given an early signal that his International career might practically be over. All said and done, nobody can complain except the Ganguly's most devoted fans. The fact is that he's had a nice, long and successful career as a player and captain and though we all acknowledge his past contributions, it was time for a change. In fact, it was long overdue.

Picture courtesy: uk.sports.yahoo.com

9 comment(s)

  1. hari,Saw ur views in INDIA winning in ur BLOG!i accept that INDIAN comes back with a Bang on one hand Sachin and on other hand dravid. No wonders Sachin has comeback. Its Obvious-known to every indian cricket lovers. But as a fresh skipper i dont think dravid is a good choice. Dravid in LAST WORLD CUP wen asked to play as Wicket keeper as well , he said its a burden on him. He added, " i could not concentrate on batting as i'm doing both jobs". Now as a skipper it's more burden RIGTH! How is he feeling comfortable? I finally say, DRAVID is gonna Enjoy the CAPTAINCY CROWN and the PERK's as some of his senior's did.

    Comment by Logesh (visitor) on Sun, Oct 30, 2005 @ 19:11 IST #
  2. Hey Logesh. Since Dravid is no longer keeping wickets, I think he should enjoy captaincy. Also without Ganguly in the team, he should be under less pressure than before.

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Sun, Oct 30, 2005 @ 19:46 IST #
  3. Sorry 4 butting in, but I have 2 disagree with Logesh that Dravid was cribbing about his "burden" of wicketkeeping. Dravid's probably THE most selfless team man amognst the seniors. In fact, when Dravid was keeping wickets, his performance as a batsman never dipped below. Yes, he was forced by Ganguly & Wright, but after initial hiccups pulled up his socks and did the job 4 his country. As far as his captaincy's concerned, he will definately be under immense pressure as he's been given a very brief tenure, during which he may not have the chance to develop all the skills required 2 make a successfull captain. Remember Ganguly was persisted as a captain inspite of many failures. Same thing should be done 4 Dravid also. Many say that Dravid's not a good choice 4 captaincy. hen who is ? Sehwag's name has been brought up but I don't think he still has the maturity 4 the job.

    Comment by Dr.Sundeep.S.Bhagwath (visitor) on Thu, Nov 3, 2005 @ 11:56 IST #
  4. Thanks for dropping by, Dr. Sundeep. You're right, Dravid never openly mentioned that wicket-keeping was a burden for him, but he was happy to acknowledge that it could never be a full-time job for him. Now, thanks to Dhoni, that problem seems to be solved, at least in One Day cricket.

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Thu, Nov 3, 2005 @ 17:21 IST #
  5. [...] … There are a quite a few things to be happy about as an Indian cricket fan. … It will also allow some of the new faces to make an entry into the Indian team. … http://indiasports.123indiaonline.com [...]

    Comment by 123indiaonline.com » The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially (visitor) on Fri, Aug 18, 2006 @ 00:39 IST #
  6. [...] Hari’s Corner ” Indian cricket in transition … There are a quite a few things to be happy about as an Indian cricket fan. … Its Obvious-known to every indian cricket lovers. … [...]

    Comment by India Sports » Features detailed analysis of cricket game including cricket (visitor) on Fri, Aug 18, 2006 @ 00:44 IST #
  7. [...] Hari’s Corner ” Indian cricket in transition … There are a quite a few things to be happy about as an Indian cricket fan. … It will also allow some of the new faces to make an entry into the Indian team. … [...]

    Comment by India Sports » India News : World Cup : Indian cricket (visitor) on Fri, Aug 25, 2006 @ 04:19 IST #
  8. [...] … There are a quite a few things to be happy about as an Indian cricket fan. … It will also allow some of the new faces to make an entry into the Indian team. … http://indiasports.123indiaonline.com [...]

    Comment by India Sports » … desires of members of Indian cricket team (visitor) on Fri, Aug 25, 2006 @ 04:23 IST #
  9. [...] Hari’s Corner ” Indian cricket in transition There are a quite a few things to be happy about as an Indian cricket fan. … Its Obvious-known to every indian cricket lovers. … [...]

    Comment by India Sports » Friendster: InDiAn CriCkeT; location: India; INDIA; BCCI, ICC (visitor) on Mon, Aug 13, 2007 @ 12:38 IST #

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