India has failed to develop a cricket culture!

Winning international cricket matches is important for a country like India but a sustained long term development of talent is imperative. It was on June 25, 1932 that India started playing international Test Cricket and during these 77 years it has achieved a lot. Currently India is doing rather well in Twenty20 cricket as well as the ODIs but not so well in the more traditional Test cricket. The reason for this is the heavy hand of the BCCI and their selectors. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has a history of picking winners or losers for short term gratification. It has failed to cultivate good cricket culture throughout the length and breadth of the country. Indian Cricket has also been a victim of the ‘Star Culture’ that destroys young alternative talent. There are plenty of examples of that throughout the history of Indian Cricket. What is tragic is that we seem to learn nothing from it. We are making the same mistake right now! There is no transparency in our selection process.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a fantastic captain for the India Cricket Team. He is developing into a good middle-order batsman but his wicketkeeping is nothing to brag about. The problem is that he appears to be following in the footsteps of his predecessors like Sourav Ganguly (another very successful Indian Cricket Captain) and others before him. He is becoming too cautious in terms of trying new talent or using alternatives when main-line attack looks tired or unfit. The case in point is Ishant Sharma, an extremely talented fast bowler but who is being used without any reasonable break. He might soon burn-out like Irfan Pathan or Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. Dhoni himself is over-exposed and over-played. He must encourage reasonable rest and recuperation period for himself as well as his top talent. India is too large a country with too long a cricket history to over-play its front-line attack all the time. We must have multiple choices in all areas of international cricket!

The Pathans of Gujarat carried the water for India!

Yusuf and Irfan Pathan snatched a three wicket victory from Sri Lanka in the T20 match on February 10, 2009. Is Narendra Modi, the current Chief Minister of Gujarat, going to welcome the ‘Sons of Gujarat’ on their return home? It was a thrilling match! India was going down the drain at 115 for 7 when the Pathan brothers took control of the situation. Chasing a decent total of 172 runs, the brothers batted with speed and responsibility, rarely seen in a loosing team. A defeat in this cricket match wouldn’t have taken away the euphoria of the ODI series win in Sri Lanka but the class shown by the Pathans in this match should be remembered for a long time to come.

The Pathans of India…