Australia tour of India, October-November 2008

[prasen9]

With the retirement of Kumble, this Indian team (actually, the Mohali team that beat the Aussies) becomes slightly younger than the Aussie team, which is very experienced, with five members above 33. The ages of the two teams are about the same with Ishant bringing down the average of the Indian team. So, all this talk of a "young" Aussie team, etc. should be put to rest. They have a very experienced team and they are losing against a better Indian team. I hope Dhoni's men finish off the Aussies for a more comprehensive 2-0 win rather than a slender 1-0 win.

I think Harbhajan will be fit for the next test. Mishra will be the other choice. However, who do you think is next in line as the third spinner? I think for balance and variety, we should have a left-arm spinner as the backup 3rd spinner in the test squad. So, the choice is between Murali Karthik and Pragyan Ojha. Harbhajan's backup is Mohnish Parmar, and Mishra's backup will be Chawla. If these guys develop well, our spin bowling should be taken care of. Will Mishra make it?

[PKBasu]

I hope we win comprehensively in Nagpur. Surprisingly, no team has yet been announced for that test, which begins on Thursday. Is Srikkanth planning a surprise?
With Bhajji likely to return, we will have two offies and a classical leggie making up a formidable spin attack in Nagpur. The batting order needs to be reshuffled at least, or another batsman considered for Dravid's spot. My pick would be Viraat Kohli, who has clearly demonstrated that he should move ahead of Badrinath for a place in the side in all forms of the game. The third spinner should indeed be Murali Karthik, but he is completely forgotten by our selectors (note that he didn't even play the Salve Challenger trophy) so it is a toss-up between Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha. In my view, Chawla should be picked, but the selectors may be more inclined towards Ojha.

[BSharma]

Thanks for the wonderful years to cricket, Kumble.

It is sad to see the end of a career of a great player, yet the news reports I have read state that the crowd was sparse in the Delhi Test. Kumble had not told the media before the match started that it would be his last Test match, but it was quite clear that this match would be his last appearance in Delhi.

What is wrong with Test cricket? India and Australia are considered the best two cricket playing countries and the stands are half empty. Can one imagine Spain, Brazil, Italy and Germany playing soccer matches in half empty stadiums, or top teams in basketball or baseball not being able to attract large crowds?

I hope that Test cricket can change with times and adapt to keep it attractive to the younger and older folks.

[PKBasu]

The sad fact is that test cricket is dying faster in India than in any other part of the cricket-playing world. The BCCI has become a pure money-making machine, and is clearly focused on T20 (and the IPL) because that is where the biggest money-making opportunities are for the likes of Lalit Modi and Sharad Pawar.

When I watch test matches in England, the stands are full (last year, when I bought tickets to the Oval test about 10 days before it began, I was told that there were just 8 tickets left: I bought three, so they were left with five more that were sold by the end of that day; the stands were packed to capacity on all five days). And of course every test in Australia (against India, England or South Africa) plays to full stands. (I will admit that at the WACA in 2003, I was one among just about 7000 people watching Hayden make 380 against Zimbabwe, but that was Zim).

The problem is that the BCCI doesn't want to really support test cricket. It merely requires the highest cricketing skills, but makes the least money for those who run the Board. Nowadays, tests are increasingly played in non-traditional locations (where there is even less of a constituency for them). Even in its heyday, stands were rarely full at the Kotla in Delhi. Ironically, the stands were actually 80% full through most of this test -- which was better than what I remembered from the 1980s. Even when Richards, Marshall, Garner, Roberts, etc. were taking on Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Amarnath and Kapil in 1983, stands at the Kotla (which were much smaller then than they are now) were pretty empty. Nagpur is likely to be worse as it was never a regular test ground until the past decade. On the other hand, Chepauk and the Eden Gardens are likely to be full to capacity -- but neither is hosting a test this season.

[prasen9]

The third spinner should indeed be Murali Karthik, but he is completely forgotten by our selectors (note that he didn't even play the Salve Challenger trophy) so it is a toss-up between Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha. In my view, Chawla should be picked, but the selectors may be more inclined towards Ojha.

I do believe that Murali Karthik shoudl be the 3rd spinner and I agree with you that Chawla is a better talent than Ojha. In fact, I believe that Chawla is a better talent than Mishra, but, whether Chawla will develop to tighten his give-me balls is a question. However, you cannot have a 2nd leg-spinner as a 3rd spinner. That is because if Harbhajan is injured, you do not want to have two classical leg-spinners, Chawla and Mishra in the team. You only do that if the difference between Chawla and the rest is substantially drastic. Therefore, the third spinner should be a left-arm spinner even though that person is a slightly worse bowler than Chawla, so it should be Karthik, but, in reality, I agree that they will choose Ojha.

Kohli would be my choice for the #6 slot in tests too.

Regarding tests, I am with the "market" on this, though, personally I have watched the Aus-Ind test series (on the internet) and watched none of the IPL/ICL matches. It is natural for the BCCI to try to maximize its revenues and I see nothing wrong with that.

[PKBasu]

The reason test cricket needs to be nurtured is that it is the pinnacle of the game, where real skills are tested to their limits. The Australian, South African and English Boards recognize this, but sadly our cricket has come to be dominated by philistines with not even a nodding acquaintance with the game. Dalmiya at least was a fine club cricketer (played for some of the best clubs in Calcutta as a 'keeper, and once made a double-century in club cricket). Pawar, Bindra, etc. sadly have little real interest or understanding of the game, and the likes of Lalu Yadav are worse. (I'm not sure about Arun Jaitley, but don't think he was much of a cricketer either -- a distinct contrast to the late Madhavrao Scindia, who actually did play cricket for his Oxford college).

Of course the Board should follow the market, but a sensible Board will also know how to shape the market. The crowds that come to IPL matches are not particularly interested in cricket, they are in it for the entertainment factor. Our cricket is close to reaching the quality pinnacle because of the investments in training facilities made in Dalmiya's time at the helm. But its quality is now in danger of waning over time if test cricket continues to be neglected by the BCCI.

[prasen9]

I understand what you are saying, but, it is mighty difficult to market Test cricket and get viewership. The dead pitches are to blame. Maybe a new version of Test cricket where each innings can be a maximum of 110 overs can be experimented with so that we have more results and more aggressive batting. And, as you have argued before, they should play the matches in venues where people want and like test cricket. They should try new centers in big cities, say like in Pune, and old centers where crowds still flock, Chennai/Kolkata, but not those centers where people do not come. Of course, this will not happen due to politics and the money from gate-receipts is not much in comparison to the TV revenue, so the BCCI does not possibly care for that spare change and maybe the state associations keep that money anyway, I do not know.

[Kumar]

just saw that M Vijay (TN opener) is sent for Gambhir's cover... How has Vijay done domestically. Does he deserve this call up?

[genius]

i am impressed with the quality of his game from what i saw in the challengers....haven't seen him in a longer version...even if flaws are uncovered , he can develop.

the good thing is the aussies expose flaws more than any other team...so any flaws uncovered, he can immediately work on them.

but the selectors should stick with him..i think a great prospect and a great decision.

[prasen9]

Yes, Vijay is a very good batsman. The only other option was going back to Jaffer and that chapter has been proved to be a failure. This is a good choice.

Gambhir's ban was justified. The Indians should do things in a smarter way. Everytime a batsman is sledged, he should just back off at the last minute before the bowler bowls. Or just walk up to the umpire and ask him to intervene as suggested in Sachs' report. However, Broad's statement that if one does not want verbal abuse, one should also not retaliate with verbal abuse is a joke. His fine of Watson is also a joke. Expect more of such incidents by the Aussies as long as we have nincompoops like Broad as the referee.

[suresh]

Justice Albie Sachs was the person who upheld the one-match ban on Gambhir. I didn't realize who Justice Albie Sachs was -- seems to be an awesome guy who spent a lot of time in jail for fighting apartheid by defending people accused by the racist regime. Here is the wikipedia entry on him: Albie Sachs.

I like the final statement in his judgement: (emphasis added)

[23] Accordingly, while not without sympathy for Gautam Gambhir, I cannot find that the penalty imposed on him is so disproportionately severe that I should intervene. He concedes that what he did was unacceptable. It was not the first time. Millions of people saw it. Though his excellence does not require him to be better-behaved than mediocre players, it does not give him immunity from the rules of the Code of Conduct. The cricketing world is entitled to expect from him and all cricketers the highest standards. The rules against actual or threatened violence against opponents must be strictly enforced. The appeal must fail. The penalty stands.

Suresh

[shashi]

Vijay's selection is a complete surprise.C'mon! getting selected for the test team after a good time briefly in the domestic circuit? Though he did well in the challenger trophy,it looked very clear that he is not a finished product yet.One particular instance when he received a fast short ball,he played a hook shot which is not becoming of someone ready for the test level.In fact Uthappa looked more confortable in the middle and was the difference between the eventual winners and the other 2 teams.Vijay could have been made to wait a little longer.I hope they give Badrinath a chance and ask Dravid to open.

Also it was not as if we didn't have openers knocking the doors already.there was Jaffer who was worth considering atleast in familiar territory.there was Pujara (who used to open in the uner-19 level),Virat Kohli who has come a long way since winning the Junior world cup for India and Akash Chopra.

Krish Srikanth,please answer..........

[prasen9]

Jaffer has been a failure. Opening in U-19 and against the best team in the world is a totally different proposition. Kohli is not a opener in the longer form of the game. Vijay is possibly the best young opener we have and there is no point in having an out-of-form Dravid open. Maybe Akash Chopra could have been a good option, but, in close cases the nod usually goes in favor of an impressive youngster.

[kna]

I agree with a lot of what Prasen said. Vijay has been in good form the last couple of years and scored 243 in TN's first Ranji match against Maharashtra a couple of days ago. He looks like a good prospect for Tests, since he has good technique and can bat for long periods of time.

Given that, I would still have preferred Chopra for Nagpur for the following reasons:

1. He did well against Australia during the 2004 tour, and is more used to the pressure of Test match cricket against the world's toughest team to play against.

2. He is used to opening with Sehwag, since both play for Delhi, and Sehwag probably feels as comfortable opening with him as he does with Gambhir. Running between the wickets is an important component of any partnership.

3. Chopra is an excellent close-in fielder (especially at short leg), even better than Gambhir. He would have been very useful at short leg / silly point with Harbhajan and Mishra bowling on a 4th or 5th day pitch - especially at holding those half chances that non-specialist close-in fielder rarely do.

4. He is also in good form, scoring 76 for Delhi against Punjab.

5. Since filling in for Gambhir is a temporary situation, it would have been a nice reward for the number of times Chopra has been overlooked the last few years. Even if he never plays in a Test for India again, being picked for Nagpur would have at least erased some of the disappointment he feels at being discarded after 2004.

Vijay is a good prospect for the future and will surely get more chances down the road, but Chopra would probably have been the better pick for Nagpur. It's a close call, and ultimately, I have no real issues with Vijay being picked.

I feel a little sorry for Badri, since he is seeing his state-mate from TN leapfrog him into the Test side.

Good luck to Vijay and the rest of the Indian team in Nagpur.

[prasen9]

It would be nice to have an opener who can play off the back-foot very well to complement/augment Sehwag. Vijay is strong off the backfoot. Let us see if Vijay can make it.