'Team India' - time to shape up or ship out

The premature exit of ‘Team India’ or ‘the Men in Blue’- or whatever you care to call them- from the first round of the World Cup has predictably opened the floodgates. Comments and opinions, mostly vitriolic, are pouring in from all quarters as to what is wrong with Indian cricket, players, selectors, officials, the lot. And to think that it took a World Cup first round loss for the realization to sink in!

We can look at it both ways. This latest debacle could, in the long run, yet prove to be the best thing that could have happened to Indian cricket-provided the lessons are willingly learnt. On the other hand, if all the dirt is sought to be swept under the carpet, as is usually the tendency, and a temporary solution found with the sacking of a coach here or a captain there, it will sound the death knell of a system already rotting at the foundations.

Let’s face it, no discerning follower of cricket – Mandira Bedi does not qualify as one- really expected India, at best, to go beyond the super eights in this World Cup. It is another matter that the greedy Corporates and the unscrupulous media tried their best to convince themselves and the gullible fans that India were the favourites. Nothing that happened in the last six months prior to the World Cup even remotely suggested that India were in with a chance.But admitting this stark fact would not have been in the best (economic) interests of the sponsors, the TV channels, the Board and the players themselves, would it?

Why did not a single player, or captain, who are now lamenting the extreme pressure heaped on them by ‘the weight of expectations’, stand up before the team left for West Indies and admit frankly what they knew all along- that the team were, in fact, rank outsiders? But admitting that would not have made them very popular with their sponsors, would it?

Anyway let’s ,for a moment, examine the cumulative experience among the top Indian players

Sachin Tendulkar - 384 matches
Rahul Dravid - 309 matches
Saurav Ganguly - 288 matches
Anil Kumble - 269 matches
Ajit Agarkar - 183 matches
Yuvraj Singh - 166 matches
Virendra Sehwag - 163 matches
Harbhajan Singh - 149 matches
Zaheer Khan - 116 matches

We are talking about 2027 One Day Internationals among the senior nine stalwarts!With all that experience, if they cannot handle this pressure- any pressure- I am afraid they have no business being on the cricket field.

Wholesale changes in the team will take us nowhere, simply because our domestic circuit is not exactly brimming with players of international class. The ideal way to move forward would be to continue with Rahul Dravid as captain, since he is still the best option. Turning back to Sachin Tendulkar - as suggested in some quarters - would be downright stupid, since he has already proved to be one of the most uninspiring captains India have ever had. He is also nearing the end of his career. Somebody like Mohd. Kaif has to be be made the Vice Captain and groomed for the future captaincy.

Fitness needs to be given paramount importance. The current Indian and Pakistan teams are light years behind even Sri Lanka in this regard-and it is no coincidence that they find themselves back home at such an early stage of the World Cup. Cricket appears to be going the hockey way, with power fast becoming equal in importance to skill. And unless we begin to address the fitness aspect at the earliest, India and Pakistan could find themselves obsolete in cricket as well, very soon. Perhaps the Board could even go to the extent of seeking the help of the Army to train the team in this area.

The domestic circuit must be revamped, with a substantial reduction in the number of teams. The players must be given a chance to play on true and lively pitches, instead of the usual dust bowls. And our international stars should not be allowed to skip domestic fixtures on flimsy grounds.

A meaningful Players’ Association is another need of the hour; I believe something of the sort exists even now, but the only thing it does is toe the BCCI line. A strong Players’ Association can go a long way in helping the players to feel secure. But, negotiating contracts for the players should not be the only aim of this Association.It should also regulate the sponsorship and endorsement contracts each player enters and ensure his on - field performance does not suffer due to his commitments off it. Above all, it should succeed in effectively regulating the number of international matches played in a season, which is ridiculously more than desirable these days. India is scheduled to play almost non-stop over the next one year, while teams like Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka have four months’ rest after the World Cup. But all these restrictions on endorsements and number of matches will mean a decrease in earnings for both BCCI and the players, and it remains to be seen whether they are prepared to ‘suffer’ this loss in income. As far as the players are concerned, such a move would help them in the long run by prolonging their careers.

And what of the Board? If wholesale changes have indeed to occur, they need to occur first and foremost in the BCCI. The performance of a Cricket Board – or any other sports body- has to be judged mainly by the performance of the team representing it, and not the balance sheet. There is no hope for Indian cricket as long as it is run as a business-and not as a sport. It is time the reins are handed over to ex-players who know what the game is all about. This ‘honorary’ nonsense should end and the officials and selectors should be on salary, and accountable. Marketing can be handed over to professionals in that field to take care of.

For too long now, the BCCI-and the State Associations- have been a collection of greedy and power hungry businessmen and politicians who could not care less about the game they are supposed to govern. Typically, these associations consist of a couple of supremos and a bunch of subservient sycophants around them. They form a tight knit group and take care to never allow fresh minds or ideas inside their coterie - it is 'you scratch me;I'll scratch you' all the way! Though there exists clauses in the bye laws to restrict their terms of office, they easily find ways to circumvent them. A former BCCI Secretary has been an office bearer in the Kerala Cricket Association, in some post or the other, for so long there is every chance that Kerala cricket-Sreesanth and all- will be buried alongside him . Another businessman , after being President for the maximum prescribed eight years, couldn’t bear not to be 'serving' the game any longer, so he is back as….Treasurer! Such servants of the game exist in every State Association- officials who cannot bear to lose their posts and the power and privileges that go with it, and hang on like leeches. So, the 'player takeover' needs to start at the club and district level itself.

Meanwhile, it is quite hilarious to hear our aged politicians like dear Laloo speak about the need for youth to be inducted into the Indian cricket team. As if our political field does not need youth! Whatever the drawbacks of the Indian cricket team, they at least cannot be accused of the one service these politicians have unabashedly been rendering us all these years – looting the trousers off the nation!

Update
Tendulkar’s attitude
Whatever his recent performances on the field, Sachin Tendulkar’s one saving grace has been his ability to preserve his dignity even in the face of harsh criticism. Now, along with his batting abilities, even that quality seems to have gone out of the window. Instead of waiting for Greg Chappell’s report to be made official and then responding like a mature cricketer, Tendulkar has chosen to bawl out like a baby. He says he is 'hurt' that his attitude has been questioned. Well, I have news for him;it is not just the coach who is questioning the attitude of Tendulkar and his cronies in the team, the whole cricket world, except maybe his diehard fans, are questioning it – and quite justifiably too!

Attitude, as applied to a cricketer, is not just encouraging your team mates after every ball or throwing yourself at every ball on the field. It is also measured by your response, as a frontline batsman or bowler, to critical situations in key matches. At no stage in the two key World cup matches, when the team needed him most, did Tendulkar even remotely look like trying to win the match for India. And, before that, South Africa -what justification can Tendulkar give for that horrible dab shot which he played to get out when the Second test in South Africa was hanging in the balance, or partnering Rahul Dravid in that inexplicable crawl against the ordinary left arm spin of Paul Harris, which gave South Africa the third Test? These were without doubt the turning points of a series which India should have won 2- nil, but instead lost 1-2. If a Pakistan batsman were involved in these situations, he would instantly have been accused of match fixing!

If the coach and support staff were indeed overstepping their limits as alleged by Tendulkar now, why was this not pointed out to the authorities before leaving for the World Cup? And he wants us to spare a thought for the players! Pray for what- the crores the poor fellows are ‘earning’ at the expense of the gullible fans?


Sreesanth - Kerala cricket's great hope