Bobji, Author at Cricket Critique

Ravichandran Ashwin and The Hundred

Posted on 9 March 20249 March 2024 by Bobji

On the eve of Ashwin’s 100^th Test at Dharmshala, I would like to go back in memory to ascertain of the interesting thoughts that he has come up with. Ravichandran Ashwin and The Hundred.

A few months ago, there was an interesting article in www.espncricinfo.com about Ashwin’s desire to disallow the non-striker from backing up. Other news agencies would have also picked up this thread without a doubt. Ashwin’s desire of not allowing the non-striker to backup, does it make sense? Is it even possible? Let us discuss

Batsmen are in a cocoon

The game is heavily loaded in favour of the batsmen. With short boundaries, lack of bite on the wickets, field restrictions, limit number of overs a bowler can bowl in the short format, archaic LBW laws and various other batsman friendly rules have ensured that the batsmen is taken care of. It is the bowler who is made to pay a very heavy price not only because of the above mentioned rules but also because of the not so friendly attitude towards them by the authorities who run the game. Mind you, bowling and especially fast bowling requires tremendous amount of effort. There are lots of ODIs and T20 where runs per over in excess of 7 are scored without the batsmen sweating. Technology has helped the bowlers when it comes to stumping and runout but more is required.

Hence, it not only makes sense to restore the balance but it is the most crucial change that the game requires and requires rather immediately. Ideas can come from everywhere but when it comes from an international player, it will add a lot of value.

Ashwin’s idea to restore balance

Ashwin wants to restore the balance between bat and the ball albeit to a little extent. He wants to disallow the runs scored off any delivery in which the non-striker backs up. He also wants a free ball to be allowed for the bowler just like the free hit for batsmen. There is also the existing rule of “Mankad”. This is something most of the cricketing fraternity frowns upon.

I am completely in favour of not allowing the non-striker to backup. Not a few feet, not a few centimetres. The non-striker must not move an inch before the ball is bowled. Infact, I will go on to say that the non-striker must not go out of the crease until the batsman plays at the ball or the ball passes the batsman. However, this is impossible to monitor. Let us stick to not allowing the non-striker to leave the crease before the ball is bowled.

Case for not allowing the non-striker to leave the crease

A bowler is not allowed to step over the line. It is called a no-ball and rightly so. Allowing the bowler, especially, the fast bowler to bowl from anywhere will not only make a mockery of the game but it can also lead to serious injury. Hence, the bowlers are required not to cross the popping crease. Let us imagine another scenario of the keeper warning the batsman not to venture out of the crease else he will stump the batsman out. Is a batsman entitled so such a warning? Certainly not. The keeper is expected to whip the bails off if he sees the batsman out of the crease.

A non-striker leaving the crease before the ball is bowled to gain an advantage, especially when it comes to tight run, is tantamount to cheating. We all know that tampering the ball is cheating. Non-striker backing up must be treated on par with ball tampering. A lot of games, mainly the short format ones are won with the margin not being that high. A good batsman can come on strike easily when a non-regular batsman is on strike. A batsman who is having a tough time against a particular bowler, will be able to escape to safely quite easily. A batsman who fancies playing a specific bowler but is at the non-striker’s end can come on strike if he cheats a little.

IPL instance

An interesting scene happened in The IPL between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals. Ashwin who is now famous for running out Buttler in last year’s IPL at the non-striker’s end, did not runout Aaron Finch in that game. Instead, he just stopped bowling, looked at Aaron Finch and then returned to his bowling mark. Ashwin wanted to send a warning to the batsman that he must not go out of the crease before the ball is bowled. Should Ashwin have warned Finch? Wasn’t Finch taking advantage?

The game situation

It was a high scoring game. Delhi Capitals had piled up a mammoth 196 in their allotted 20 overs. An asking rate close to 10 an over is a tall order in any format of the game. Royal Challengers Bangalore will have to score more than a run every delivery. They cannot afford to waste too many deliveries and as such must always be on their toes for a quick single. This will result in the non-striker taking undue advantage of the perceived breaking the spirit of the game of not “mankading” the non-striker while he is in the process of cheating.

Aaron Finch, the RCB opener in his hurry to get back to the batting side, went out of the crease far too early. If one looks at the picture, he was at the least 2-3 feet away from the crease when Ashwin was still in his bowling stride. If he had continued, he would have reached half the pitch by the time the batsman gets to play the ball. In the case of a tight single, Finch would have easily reached the batsman end assuming that it was his call. As a result the opposing team would have lost an opportunity to take a wicket. This is plain cheating.

Ashwin’s warning to Finch

Ashwin instead of running out Finch, ended up warning the batsman. This is ridiculous. Presumably, he has been influenced by Ricky Ponting. Ponting, the saint who upholds the spirit of the game at all times that suits him. It seems Ponting seems to have threatened Ashwin not to repeat the Buttler incident again this year in the IPL. As we have seen before, Ponting is the worst offender of the spirit of cricket. He played in an era when the Australians were known the world over as the Ugly Aussies. I have given links to his various upholding of the spirit of the game in the other article.

To top this, there was an article in news.com.au written by James Matthey that Ashwin was rather afraid of Ricky Ponting. This really made me chuckle. He is someone who is defending Ricky Ponting who is the epitome of betraying the spirit of the game regularly. He seems to suggest that Ashwin will have to play wthin the rules prescribed by Ponting. Fortunately, Ashwin does not seem to be too bothered about Ponting and what would he do if he runs out another batsman at the non-striker’s end. He has since tweeted with the following comments.

Ashwin’s warning

“Let’s make it clear!! First and final warning for 2020. I am making it official and don’t blame me later on.

“@AaronFinch5 and I are good buddies btw.”

Kapil Dev supports running out non-strikers

One of the greats of the game, Kapil Dev, has come out in support of Ashwin and in favour of running batsmen out if they are backing up too far. This is something good to see. Likewise more players will have to support this so that this type of dismissal is not seen as a stigma.

“If a batsman is leaving the crease early, a one-run short rule is a must to stop this menace. I am personally not in favour of mankading and had warned batsman in South Africa for leaving the bowling crease early. If someone is mandaking, I can understand the ethics of the bowlers, where is the ethics of the batsmen?” he asked.

“When we call that cricket is a gentleman’s game and such unethical stuff is happening, it should be applicable for both bowlers and batsman. The stakes are so high today in cricket and to make it a fair and square thing, you have to make it a level playing field,” Kapil Dev suggested.

“Both ICC and BCCI should make a rule that if the non-striking batsman leaves the bowling crease early, it will be counted as one run short. Just imagine if you leave the team needing one run to win a game off the last ball and if the non-striker leaves the crease before the bowler delivers the ball, it is nothing but cheating. It is time that the world governing body takes a good look at it and makes it mandatory to stop this Mankading,” Kapil Dev exclusively told Sportskeeda on Thursday.

The reason Ashwin started the channel

Ashwin, the tall and languid off-spinner, who has made many a batter dance to his tune has off late been very active on YouTube. On the cricket field, he asks questions about the batter’s technique and patience. He is relentless with the ball in his hand. If the pitch is turning, Ashwin is a nightmare even for the best of the batter. Recently in Australia, Ashwin’s contribution with the ball was invaluable. He got Smith twice for low score. It was more than just half the battle won. With the bat, he has provided handy runs from lower the order. We know about all of these. However, there is one aspect of his personality that may have involuntarily stoking the fire within the opposition ranks. Let me analyse Ashwin’s YouTube and Indian WT20 squad.

Ashwin has more than 700K followers on his YouTube channel. Some of his videos are legendary. His interviews with lot of former and current players reveals a lot of information about that player as well as his approach to the game.

Ashwin mainly wanted to spread lot of cheer during these uncertain times. He has been doing a fabulous job with his mostly Tamil movie resembled quick bytes. Any Tamil speaker will be able to enjoy his show even better than for a non-Tamil speaker who just have to read the subtitle.

“My idea was to offer cricket fans a snapshot of how the game looks like from the coaches’ dug-out. It’s a perspective they don’t often get.

“They would often miss the context and the big picture. I thought, why not have a better engagement with them and share my experiences and emotions. “ says Ashwin

Unforgettable series

The “Kutti Story” series is on a higher level all-together. It is a series of shows based on the successful Indian tour of Australia. It was a treat from Ashwin for all the Indian fans. Anyone who has watched that video would have certainly had a great laugh eventhough she or he may not understand Tamil. His informal interaction with Sridhar & Arun was more of a laugh riot.

At the best of times, dressing room nuggets and anecdotes of the kind brought out by Ashwin would be cricket journalism gold (Ravi Shastri who uttered 249′ shabaashes’ as Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari blocked away at Sydney) or for that matter Arun talking about “tamarind” a Tamil equivalent to heebie-jeebies’. These are anecdotes that will never be known to the outside world unless a player reveals.

Ashwin must guard against disclosing too much

However, Ashwin must take care what he discloses on his shows. Even in the recent England series, there was one show in which he let out more than what is necessary. In the show titled “Kutti Story is back” Ashwin and Sridhar talks about the win at Lords. That show has already clocked close to 1M views. Ofcourse, it was enjoyable to watch. Especially for Tamilians or who can understand Tamil.

However, there were three things that Ashwin divulged which I think motivated England enough.

A note of appreciation for BCCI

Posted on 9 March 20249 March 2024 by Bobji

By taking effective and immediate action against Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, BCCI has elevated the Ranji Trophy, the premier Indian first-class competition to its desired levels. It is important that the players be shown that they cannot mess around with the Ranji Trophy and hope to play in the IPL alone and thereby become eligible for the national team. This is indeed a rare move on the part of the BCCI to discipline the stars of the national team. The board is never known for such decisive action previously. As the saying goes, better late than never. This is a note of appreciation for BCCI.

Former cricketers were almost unanimous in their opinion that the BCCI did the right thing. Kapil Dev, Gavaskar and players of their era, who used to play in the Ranji games, when they were not playing international cricket praised the board for such a move. Ishan Kishan, Shreyas and a few others had the audacity to go against the diktat of the board to appear for their respective states when not playing for India. They were not even injured and yet, chose to keep away from the game. The BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, must have had these players on his mind when he issued the warning that everyone not playing for India, must appear for their respective state team.

The ability of the Indian batsmen

Though a precedent has been set, more needs to be done. The ability of the Indian batsmen and the ability of the Indian spinners, has declined over the years. The Indian batsmen need a pitch that does not turn to be able to play the opposition spinners. If there is even a slight bit of turn, the batsmen struggle to force the pace. Atleast in Test cricket, this can be overcome because of the time it allows but in white-ball cricket, this inability has often proved to be the difference between posting a winning score or a par score.

The rot set in towards the closing stages of the career of Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar. The reason is pretty straight forward. When the Ranji Trophy or the Duleep Trophy, where the batsmen can hone their skill against the turning ball is ignored for a very longtime, it is bound to affect the technique of the batsmen. None of the batsmen belonging to that era, turned up for their state team during the Ranji Trophy season. It affected their confidence against spin. The fact that India lost the 2012 series to England is a case in point. Greame Swann was an exceptional bowler and there is no doubt about that but to give away cheap wickets to Monty Panesar, who never played for England after that series, that was down to the diminishing ability against spin.

The current Indian batsmen are not that good against spin either. The Hyderabad Test proved that. The ability against spin has gone down so drastically that ordinary spinners like Tom Hartley or Rehan Ahmed or anyone who can turn their arm around becomes a potential threat on turning surfaces.

The ability of the spinners

The Indian spinners are another breed that is struggling on pitches that do not turn. Ashwin and Jadeja are excellent when the ball turns but they lack the bite when the pitch does not offer anything at all. The fact that Ashwin is repeatedly dropped on away tours because the team management needs a solid batsman who may turn the ball and hence they pick Jadeja is a testimony to the fact. I am not sure whether the spinners will be able to improve by not playing in Ranji Trophy games at all. Ofcourse, with the Indian batsmen and anyone who is close to selection, choosing to skip these games, the spinners will not have batsmen of high quality to test their skills.

Will everyone be asked to play?

All of this leads to the important question. Will everyone be asked to play for their states when they are not playing for the nation? This is what the BCCI must make mandatory. A Virat Kohli or a Rohit Sharma or even a Bumrah must be made to play 3-4 games every year. It will not only enhance the quality of the entire tournament but will also enhance the skill level of the hopefuls. The question is, will the secretary Jay Shah, have the courage to ask the bigger stars to play in Ranji?

Wrapping up a note of appreciation for BCCI

This step from the BCCI has come when push came to shove but atleast it has come. It must become all-encompassing in the sense that every Indian player, it could be Rohit or Kohli or Jurel, everyone without exception, must be told to play 3-4 games every year. It will help in improving the skill against spin and also the ability to play a long innings. We are winning in India for now because of the fact that the opposition does not have a quality spinner in their ranks. The day they find a few, Swann or Warne or Murali, that will be the day and the series when we will come unstuck. Inorder to avoid this, it is essential for all the players to play in a few Ranji games every year.

Don’t discard Bazball England

Posted on 9 March 20249 March 2024 by Bobji

Eversince the loss of the series or more precisely, eversince Joe Root’s ill-advised ramp of Bumrah, England’s former cricketers have advised the team to look beyond Bazball. They range from Michael Vaughan to Mark Ramprakash though sane voices like Nasser Hussain have asked the supporters to refrain from criticising Bazball. I would urge England don’t ditch Bazball. It has brought them lots of successes and it is bound to bring them quite a lot in the future. England have reinvented the way the game must be played and it is better they stick to it. All these former cricketers would have praised Bazball if England had. Now that they have lost, they seem to find fault with anything and everything related to Bazball. Let me explain in don’t discard Bazball England.

The matter of fact is that Bazball has brought a lot of victories for England which otherwise they would not have. Let us remember that prior to Bazball, under Joe Root, England won just one, I repeat just one Test in 17 attempts. That is extremely poor even by the standards of the current West Indies. If only India had not repeated their manner of losing the very next Test after having won one, England would not even have won that one. It was from such dire straits, Bazball was born. Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes have certainly returned the joy on the faces of the English supporters. Yes, they would have liked to see England win the Ashes but it wasn’t to be. The fault was either poor execution during The Ashes or a superior Australian display or a combination of both.

Michael Vaughan about Root’s ramp and Nasser Hussain about Bazball

“The batsmen, meanwhile, look like they only have one way to play. They are in fifth gear from ball one. I don’t mind some of them playing like that because they are better for it. But Joe Root should forget it. He has 10,000 Test runs playing like Joe Root. He doesn’t need to be a Bazballer. It is time for someone in the management to put an arm around Joe and say ‘please just be yourself’. I think it’s as simple as the fact that he is too wrapped up in Bazball, the whole ethos of excitement and entertainment.”

I must say that I agree with Vaughan in this case because Root is too good a batsman to try ungainly shots and thereby surrender the advantage.

Hussain writes, “This is no time to throw out Bazball, which has provided exciting cricket for the past 18 months and still has plenty of credit in the bank, despite a first series defeat for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.”

I couldn’t agree more

Three wins in Pakistan

Not in their wildest dreams, would England have envisaged winning a series in Pakistan. For some reason, England have always found Pakistan a difficult opponent to defeat. Be it in Pakistan or be it in England. Outside of Australia, it is Pakistan they have feared. When the Ben Stokes led team set foot in Pakistan after a 30-year hiatus, none would have expected for England to win the series easily or for that matter, even win. Stokes’s England set out of defy everything and the result was a 3-0 pounding of Pakistan. Even the bitter critic of England would have been pleasantly surprised at the turnaround. Leave alone sweeping the series, it is difficult to win the series itself in the first place.

This was possible only because of the way England batted. Bazball led the way. Nothing more nothing less. If England had played in the traditional method, Pakistan would have ran allover them. That they couldn’t was down to the aggressive approach of the batsmen. All the pitches were plain roads. It required such type of batsmanship to not only generate interest in the contest but to give more than enough time for the bowlers to pick up 20 wickets.

Derailment in India

It wasn’t because of the method that England lost the series but rather the execution. When Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley were at the crease, they kept England rollicking. It was always a flamboyant start to the innings. England won at Hyderabad because of the way Ollie Pope stuck to the tried and tested method over the last couple of years. The inability of batsmen like Root, Bairstow and Stokes himself to carry forward the starts provided by the openers, proved to be the problem. They must have avoided some of the shots that are bread and butter in England. For eg., the Roo’t ramp, he would have got away with that shot in England because the ball comes onto the bat a tad quicker. In India, by the time ball arrives, he was more than halfway through the shot and as a result, he lost his balance.

Perhaps, instead of trying to score 6-7 runs every over, they could have toned it down to 4-5 any over. It would have meant more watchful play. In England, the experience of Anderson would easily carry the day but here in India, England has picked absolute rookie spinners. One of whom was picked based on what Stokes saw on Twitter.

Wrapping up don’t ditch Bazball England

As Hussain says, Bazball has given England a lot of opportunities to cheer and cherish. This is not the time to bid it goodbye. The next examination will be at the end of 2025 in Australia. If England fail to compete in that series, still playing the same way, perhaps it is time.

An excellent series win

Posted on 9 March 20249 March 2024 by Bobji

It was an excellent series win. There are no two ways about it. Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid and the entire management must be thrilled to achieve this win. Perhaps, under Rohit and Dravid, this is their best performance. I do remember that India reached the ODI World Cup Final but did they win it? No. Hence, this win supersedes that. Under the same duo, India did win one Asia Cup but the competition was no way near to how good England is. There was also the win in South Africa but we just cannot be satisfied with a solitary Test win in South Africa any longer. Every Indian supporter is longing for a series win in the Southern Hemisphere. This was the 3^rd time, the team missed a golden opportunity to win there.

Prior to the start of the series, if someone had said that India would win the series, it would have hardly made heads turn because it was expected. Afterall, this is our home turf where we are the kings. Then came the bigger jolt after Virat Kohli withdrew from the squad for personal reasons. Even at that point, Indians would have believed that we could still win the series but England would not be easily defeated because it is difficult to defeat us in our homeland.

India was always expected to win at home. However, things took a different turn when we lost the first Test. If at that point someone had said that India would still win the series, it would have made heads turn. Here we were at Hyderabad humbled after taking a substantial lead and having allowed the opposition’s worst player of spin to score almost 200. The confidence was shot down and doubts began to creep in.

An England side who have won in Asia

Does this team have the nerve to win against England who had afterall won a series in Pakistan 3-0? The transformed side under McCullum and Stokes proved tough to crack even for Australia who could only draw The Ashes though it was considered an impressive performance by them. Bazball made any score inadequate. Especially, teams were wary of setting a target because this England side under Stokes, has made a mincemeat of such a target. India themselves was at the receiving end a couple of years ago at Edgbaston when Root and Bairstow gave an exhibition of aggressive batting. The lightning batting even made the first-innings score insufficient. The loss at Hyderabad complicated things to the extent that India must have begun to doubt their ability.

Then came the twin blows by way of injuries to Rahul and Jadeja. Rahul has shown a different side of himself in the middle-order. He has suddenly become the man for all occasions. A far cry from his days of being an absolute non-contributor. It was not only their skills that were missed but more importantly, their experience. Suddenly, the top and middle-order wore a look that just did not inspire any confidence. Gill was struggling, Jaiswal is new and yet unproven. Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan and Jurel were all about to make their debut. Things were turning out to be difficult. It will be a miracle even if we manage to draw the series. England with their Bazball play, is a tough side to defeat. Neither the situation of the game nor the composition of the opposition’s bowling attack did anything to perturb their attitude.

Lack of contribution from their stalwarts

Let us also remember that England won in Hyderabad without any contribution from their stalwarts. Joe Root, Johnny Bairstow and Ben Stokes did not contribute to that win. It was because of the belligerence of the opening combination, Ollie Pope, who I think will not play a better innings than at Hyderabad and the journeyman spinner, Tom Hartley. What will happen if their stalwarts too contribute? It could be a walk in the park.

Regained confidence

A lot depended on Rohit Sharma and to a lesser extent Shubman Gill to score for the bowlers to defend but Jaiswal’s brilliant innings, the able support of Gill and the mastery of Bumrah ensured a win but could India maintain the momentum? Can they ensure that the regained confidence is maintained and enhanced further? Probably the back-to-back Tests under severe heat took England’s toll because they are not used to such temperatures.

The 10 days break must have given them a renewed sense of vigour. India this time, was not perturbed. It would be an understatement to state that they bossed the Ranchi Test. England were completely outplayed in all the departments. The result was a record win for India. The nature of the defeat will deflate any side. It will be difficult to recover from such a monumental loss.

England did not. They were only propped by the brilliance of Root and the ability of the Indian batsmen to make things difficult for themselves.

Positives for India

The impressive Yashasvi Jaiswal, the confidence and the calmness showed by Dhruv Jurel, the hard-hitting arrival of Sarfaraz Khan, the return of Kuldeep Yadav whose presence could well have ensured victory at Hyderabad and the decent debut by Akash Deep. Life will only get tougher for them in the coming months and years because opponents will study them closely and will formulate a plan. It remains to be seen how well they perform in the SENA countries. That is where the litmus test will be. Above everything else, it is a massive boost to the confidence that within India, we can still win with youngsters raising themselves to the occasion.

Negative for India

Rajat Patidar. It is sad but it needs to be told. Dharmshala will present him with his final opportunity. Once Kohli and Rahul are back, it is difficult to find a spot for Patidar even in an extended squad. How stupid he must be to have wasted so many chances.

Wrapping up an excellent series win

Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game. Wins and performances in SENA countries is what counted among the best wins and performances. The new players will do well to remember this.

Well said Rohit Sharma

Posted on 8 March 20248 March 2024 by Bobji

At the end of the 4^th Test against England, Rohit Sharma was at his fiery best. He said all the right things to say in the press meet. It was so heartening to see the national team’s captain say such things. The youngsters are more and more influenced by money and they opt for the shortest version. They prepare themselves to excel in that format alone. This is not enough. More needs to be done but atleast, the captain is voicing his concern about some of the youngsters. By the way, India have won the series against England after much anxiety. Overall, well said Rohit Sharma.

What did Rohit say?

After the game ended, Rohit answered quite a few questions rather frankly. It is refreshing to hear an Indian captain being so open about playing Test cricket and it is also heartening to note the importance the current lot gives to Test cricket. A few days ago, the BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, warned players who did not play for their respective states in the ongoing Ranji Trophy that they would stand to lose the central contract. Some like Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan choose to ignore that warning. They did not play for their state teams in the final round of the Ranji games.

First, the audacity of these players, both of whom played for India recently, is disturbing and second, the power an IPL contract gives to each player is scary. Here are a couple of players who had hardly played a handful of games for the nation going against the diktat issued by the secretary of the most powerful cricketing body in the world. At this moment, it is not clear whether the contracts of these players and a few others will be terminated but it does not matter to them because their IPL worth is much higher.

Jay Shah’s comments

“However, there is a trend that has started to emerge and is a cause for concern. Some players have begun prioritising the IPL over domestic cricket, a shift that was not anticipated. Domestic cricket has always been the foundation upon which Indian cricket stands, and it has never been undervalued in our vision for the sport.”

This is something that is waiting to happen. Ever since the initiation of IPL, there is a growing set of players who are content in playing franchise cricket only rather than for their nation. Any sportsperson’s shelf life is limited and it makes perfect sense to make the most of it. However, for an Indian cricketer, who is capable of playing for the nation for a very longtime, the board takes care of them through lucrative contracts. Morever, IPL happens in the off-season. They can play both IPL and international cricket. However, as Rohit says, the hunger must be there within the player. If not, there is no point.

Rohit was point blank

“This [Test cricket] is the toughest format,” Rohit said after India won the fourth Test against England in Ranchi to take an unassailable 3-1 lead. “And if you want success and want to excel in this tough format then you need that hunger. It is very important. We will give opportunity only to players who have that hunger. You come to know [easily] the players who don’t have that hunger, [or] players who don’t want to stay here [and play this format]. We come to know that.

“Players who have that hunger, players who want to stay here and perform, [and] play in tough conditions, we will give preference to them. Obviously, it is pretty simple: if you don’t have hunger, there’s no meaning playing such players.”

These words were directed at Kishan, Shreyas and perhaps even Hardik Pandya. Ever since the South African tour, from which Kishan asked for a break, he has not been involved in any competitive cricket. He was asked by the team management to play in domestic games to be eligible for the national team. However, he choose to skip Ranji Trophy. Evidently, to prepare and keep himself fit for Ranji Trophy. There was also a murmur of Shreyas’s insubordination. These are serious attitude issues. The IPL contracts are so much worth that the upcoming players do not want to play for India. Rishabh Pant has on record said that his only intention was to play T20 cricket and nothing else. However, success in the longest form seems to have straightened his priority.

Only international players are remembered

The day is not far off when we will see more and more youngsters prefer the world of franchise cricket than undergo the rigours of Test cricket. Ofcourse, it is difficult to remember the greats of franchise cricket but every great cricketer has done wonders in Test cricket and they are remembered forever. MS Dhoni has won 5 IPL titles but he is remembered for his exploits for the country. He is the only Indian captain to have won 3 ICC trophies.

Wrapping up well said Rohit Sharma

It is not enough to just warn the players. Terminating their contracts will not have much impact. More needs to be done. One suggestion is that any Indian cricketer who hasn’t performed at the international level, will not be eligible for a high pay in the IPL. Their pay will be capped at a lower level. Someone has to belt the cat. Jay Shah says all these things now but is he capable of acting on his warning? That remains to be seen.

Why the cry over Bazball?

Posted on 8 March 20248 March 2024 by Bobji

Suddenly, Bazball is in the news but for the wrong reasons. Why the cry over Bazball? England was never known for exciting cricket. Push into a corner, they will usually buckle down and wait to be rolled over. The various teams under Alastair Cook and Joe Root more or less resembled lambs to the slaughter house though they enjoyed some sporadic successes. The last England captain, who wanted England to play a brand of cricket that was exciting and aggressive was Michael Vaughan. Injuries cut his career too short. Otherwise, he could have given a direction that other captains could have followed. Joe Root especially whose captaincy was uninspiring. He even managed to lose to the West Indies twice.

He went through a period of 17 Tests out of which England managed to win just one. Everything changed with Ben Stokes took over. He alongwith Brendan McCullum has performed a miracle. To change the direction of a team that was so used to playing in a certain way, takes lot of courage. That is exactly what the duo did and they were rewarded for it handsomely. Stokes has won 11 Tests considering the same number of Tests. If this is not satisfying, I wonder what will be.

Criticism of the former players

Now, having tasted successive defeats in India, the former English players have started to blame the method. There are calls for Bazball to be scrapped and replaced with the traditional method. Agreed, some shots which produced runs in England, do not have a place on the slow pitches of India but that does not mean the whole approach that has been rewarding to be shelved after a few failures.

Joe Root’s ramp shot of Bumrah was outrageous. He may have gotten away with that shot in England but here in India, with the pitch being slower, it is difficult to pull off that shot. By the time the ball is in the range, Root would have already gone halfway into the shot and by the time he completes the shot, he was out of balance. Nonetheless, he is too good a batsman to play such shots on pitches that do not allow for.

India is a tough place to tour and at Rajkot, despite the inexperience, they played brilliantly. The batting was breathtaking. England were outplayed. Indian team management needed a score in excess of 550 to declare which is a credit to Bazball. Indians were clearly overawed of the potential of Bazball, they have first hand experience at Headingley and they needed that extra protection of 100 runs.

The latest addition is Mark Ramprakash

“As captain he inherited a group that were playing poorly and losing. He has taken the pressure off them, galvanised them and given them a method they are happy to use.

“But I am left thinking, is that what success is? Is it success for a team to entertain the public whether they win, lose or draw?

“Or is success getting the job done: winning matches, winning series, competing for the World Test Championship?”

I can only say that all these former England players must relax. Prior to the series, Michael Vaughan was of the opinion that England will not win any Test. They won the very first one. India do not lose at home that frequently. We are a tough side to beat. Even the unavailability of Virat Kohli, Shami and Rahul has been digested. They will have to wait for the England side to play in Australia before passing a judgement. The wickets in Australia will be much more quicker which will help the brand of cricket.

The supporters are the fools

Posted on 8 March 20248 March 2024 by Bobji

Yes, I do mean it. The supporters are the fools. Yes, because It is official now. What was expected at Rajkot, happened or will happen in Ranchi. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested from the Ranchi game. This is so disappointing. Let us remember the fact that the series has not yet been won. Also, let us remember the fact that England has won one Test in this series already. They could have won one more if not for the brilliance of Bumrah. The fact that India is ahead in this series is only because of 2 players and one of them is Bumrah. The English batsmen are terrified of facing upto him. They invariably try to play normally against him and take their chances against the rest of the bowlers.

Bumrah’s mastery of the old ball is another facet of his game that the English batsmen are wary of. Now, they can afford to relax. His replacement, most likely to be Mukesh Kumar, is like canon fodder for them. Mukesh hardly got to bowl in the only game he has played. I have said this before and I will say this again. Why cannot he be given a break from the IPL if it is a case of injury management? Afterall, India get to play one more World Cup just after the IPL. As has been the case for the past several years, the Indians will be tired and worn out by the time of the World Cup and they will be like lambs to the slaughter.

Frequent breaks are necessary but

I do agree that workload management is essential to preserve players with rare abilities. They need to be handled with great care. All the more so in the case of Bumrah whose peculiar action puts a lot of stress on the lower back and on the knees. He is not yet 30 and with careful management, he can contribute to the team for another 5-7 years. However, why is it that this aspect of the game comes into the equation only when anyone plays for India? We have witnessed several such instances when various players were rested.

Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been given frequent breaks in the garb of preserving them though in the case of Kohli, I perfectly agree because he needed that break to rejuvenate himself. The results are there for all to see. Shami, Jadeja and a few others were also from time to time, given breaks. Come IPL, they will all be playing in every game irrespective of whether their team has a chance to progress to the next round. I am not at all against such breaks. Indians do play far too many games compared to the rest of the world. The situation of the all-format players is even more dire.

Again, I failed to understand how is that everyone plays every game in the IPL? This is flabbergasting. Who makes such decisions? Is it the team management or is it the board? Or is it the players themselves? It is time the board, the players and the management realise that they are the stars only because of the supporters. These supporters support them just because they are playing for the nation. We fulfil our dreams through our players.

Several reasons

One of the reasons is that Bumrah has already bowled 80 overs in the series so far whereas he will bowl a maximum of 100 overs in the IPL. My point is, why does he even have to bowl those 100 overs? He can as well bowl the same volume in the current series and skip the entire IPL thereby managing his injury.

What is IPL?

What is the IPL for that matter? It is nothing but a glorified domestic Indian captain where every Indian player worth the salt is engaged. It is played predominantly among the Indian first-class players with a sporadic sprinkling of foreigners. Does the Indian Board of the ICC think that they promote the game through IPL and the various leagues around the world? They certainly are not. The foreign-born players are in it for the money. For a cricketer, the money that IPL dishes out is obscene. It probably is way too less when compared to a football player but for cricket, it is enormous.

Just consider the fact how many games does a foreigner play? Take the case of Kyle Jamieson. RCB bought him for a whopping 15CR. How many games did he play? At the most, 5-6. He wasn’t even injured post that. There are several such instances throughout the history of the IPL. They may play the game seriously whenever they are in the playing eleven but ultimately, it is about money. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have been bought for more than 20CR this time around. This despite the fact the Cummins when he was part of the KKR side, he was dropped multiple times due to poor performance.

The game is not spreading

If the ICC or for that matter, any board thinks that they are spreading the game through franchise cricket, they are living in fools paradise. I do not see a future where either China or America taking up the game. The American U-19 squad is nothing but an extension of the Indian team. They will not be able to differentiate between the gloves of the batsman with that of the keeper. I do not want to see, though it will never happen, a Test match between China and America or for that matter, between Paraguay and Guatemala.

Wrapping up the supporters are the fools

We the supporters are not immune from blame. It is time we stop watching all and sundry games. There are so many of us who will watch games in Kakinada league. BCCI realises this weakness of ours and does not care about the game or the players or the dignity of the national team. I know that I am among the miniscule minority but I have to say this because the supporters are the fools.

Perhaps Rohit’s best win

Posted on 8 March 20248 March 2024 by Bobji

The Test win at Rajkot, must surely be the best win under Rohit for India. The closest Test win must be the win at Cape Town where the game was finished inside 2 days. Rohit Sharma has previously won a series against Australia in India but that series win didn’t feel that satisfied. Those wins were achieved on rank turners on which the Indian spinners will always be a menace. He has also won a Test series in the West Indies but winning in the West Indies no longer counts as a significant event. India has now won 5 series in the West Indies consecutively. Something no other Asian team has managed. However, as I have written, it is insignificant. Let me offer my two cents in perhaps Rohit’s best win.

Except for Rohit at the top and Jadeja in the middle, the rest of the batsmen have hardly played at the highest level. Two of them, Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan made their debuts at Rajkot. For Jaiswal, this was his 7^th Test. Rajat Patidar was on his 2^nd Test. Gill was the only batsman who has played more than 15 and has been around for more than a couple of years. It would have been perfectly understandable if all of them felt nervous and it resulted in a collective meltdown. For a few overs, it did but the experience of Rohit and Jadeja carried the day. However, the bowling had all the experience Rohit could have asked for but that was also jolted when Ashwin withdrew midway.

The young Indian batsmen

Yashasvi Jaiswal looks like an excellent batsman. He could play defensive cricket as well as he could go on the offensive. He could be ruthless against spinners and quite guarded against the faster men. It is quite rare for an Indian batsman to score a hundred in the 2^nd innings. Jaiswal went one further and converted it into a double. His innings completely deflated the England bowlers and perhaps, that was the reason they were found wanting in the 2^nd innings. Mentally and physically, the Englishmen were destroyed. The Rajkot heat also added to their tiring bodies. By the time, Jaiswal and Sarfaraz posted their individual milestones, England was completely and literally cooked.

The assault on the England bowlers stunned the Indian disbelievers. I must confess that I was one among them. Honestly, I would have been satisfied with a tightly fought win because of the inexperience among the Indian batsmen and the confidence of Bazball on the part of the England players. I also knew that England does not possess a threatening spin attack. However, in Pakistan a couple of years ago, that did not bother them from winning 3-0. The batsmen provided the bowlers with a mountain of runs. It ensured that the bowlers could afford to make multiple mistakes.

Good debut

If Jaiswal toyed with the English attack, I must add that Sarafaz Khan was a revelation. In India, the norm for a debutant is to play according to the merits of the ball and respect the bowler. He more or less wants to ensure that he has a decent outing in the middle so that he can continue to be part of the squad. However, Sarfaraz seems to have been made of a different material. Perhaps, he is influenced by all the talks of Bazball. The confidence and the shot making that he displayed at Rajkot were tremendous. Shubman Gill has a serious competition in the form of Jaiswal and Sarfaraz for the tag of next exciting Indian batsman.

Words of caution

Just a word of caution though. It is all well and good to score in India but to be considered among the good batsmen of the world, leave alone the great ones, both Jaiswal and Sarfaraz must score runs outside of India. Precisely, in South Africa, England, Australia and New Zealand. They do not have to wait for too long because at the end of this year, India will be in Australia. The only reason Gill has been given a longer rope despite his lack of performance is because of that Gabba innings. He was the highest scorer in the 2^nd innings but Pant took away all the credit because he won the game and the series.

That series will define Jaiswal, Sarfaraz and to an extent Jurel. India will dearly want Pant to be back by then but it is anybody’s guess how match-fit will he be at that point. Jaiswal will know that he will be part of the playing eleven whereas the same cannot be said of Sarfaraz. Hence, he must start to practice for the pace and bounce of the Australian pitches rightaway. A lot will depend on the starts that he is able to provide.

Wrapping up perhaps Rohit’s best win

The withdrawal of Kohli just before the start of the series, the unavailability of Shami for the entire series. With injuries to Rahul and Jadeja, Rohit would not have believed that by the end of the 3^rd Test, India would be leading the series. If only Kuldeep Yadav had played in the 1^st Test, perhaps India would have already won the series. His crucial wickets of Ben Duckett and Johnny Bairstow on the 3^rd morning stopped England in their tracks. Though he was expensive, who wasn’t against the relentless attack of the English batsmen, his crucial strikes paved the way for the Indian win.

However, the series is not over yet. Two more games are left. India will do well not to think of resting Bumrah for the next Test. He is imperative to the attack. India must concentrate on winning both the games. It will put them way above the rest in the pecking order for the next WTC final. Any rest can be had during the IPL. I realise that I am the solo voice to voice such an opinion and that come IPL, no one will be offered to skip.

BCCI’s mandate for discarded players

Posted on 16 February 202416 February 2024 by Bobji

For once, BCCI, the Indian cricket board seems to have done the right thing. They have mandated certain players to play in the Ranji Trophy for their respective state teams. This is a welcome move on the part of the BCCI who is otherwise not concerned about the national team and the prestige of the national team. For a board that places IPL above everything else, this indeed is a surprising move. There are far too many players who when not on national duty, take the time off despite the fact that Ranji Trophy or Duleep Trophy is going on. Let me report about BCCI’s mandate for discarded players.

According to a BCCI official familiar with the decision, “Players cannot simply prioritize international cricket or the IPL. They must make themselves available for domestic cricket and honour their commitments to their respective state teams.”

This has been a common practice

It has been a longstanding tradition in Indian cricket that the established stars do not appear for the state team. They are happy to just put up their feet and spend the day at home on in a far off location. Actually, all of them are either doing a disservice to their state squad that actually nurtured and brought them into recognition. I just could not remember the last time a Kohli turning out for Delhi or a Sharma displaying his batting prowess for Mumbai. For that matter, Ashwin gets time to play in the TNPL but shies away from playing for TamilNadu. This despite the fact that he has loads of time because he plays Test cricket only and that too in India. Yet, he doesn’t want to exert himself in Ranji Trophy.

Sachin Tendulkar, long after he started playing international cricket, appeared for Mumbai in a Ranji game against Haryana in a nondescript town. The respect and affection that he got during that game was tremendous because he was seen as an elite cricket rather than just another opponent from Mumbai.

These so-called demigods of cricket don’t seem to realise the gains that they could derive from playing in a few first-class games every year and also the motivation that it provides the players from their state and the opponents. They also do not seem to realise the knowledge that they could impart to the upcoming cricketers. It is now a known fact that Indians are not the same players of spin as they once were. The struggle against inexperienced spinners in every game suggests the same. Yet, they don’t find it important to play Ranji to correct their technique which has somehow diminished. All of them have actually pushed the ladder that took them to the top.

IPL has made players careless

The current BCCI mandate is that the players who are cooling their heels in anticipation of the IPL must turnout for their respective state teams in the next round of Ranji Trophy games. It includes Ishan Kishan, Deepak Chahar, Krunal Pandya and also Shreyas Iyer. All these players are taking undeserved rest while preparing for the IPL. They seek the glamour and the panache of the IPL and seem to loath the prospect of dust and lack of spectacle of the Ranji games.

This is a serious attitude issue. Neither Pandya nor Chahar has any chance of playing for India which actually means that they must play for their state teams more often than not. Infact, they must play in all the games unless they are injured. It is disturbing to note that they think they do not have any chance of playing for India. As a player, you must believe that someday, you will play for the nation. This is the reason, the story of Pravin Tambe is so moving. He sought to play for Mumbai Ranji Trophy team and did so at the age of 40.

Players must be dropped from IPL if they do not play in Ranji

What about Ishan Kishan or Shreyas? Ishan is not in the team for lack of discipline though neither the BCCI nor the team management has said so. It is out in the open and everybody knows it. He has also been told that unless he plays a few first class fixtures, he will not be considered. Yet, he has the audacity to cool his heels. Dravid said, “I just don’t want to go on labouring about the Ishan Kishan point. I’ve tried to explain it as best as I can. The point was that, you know, he requested a break. We were happy to give him the break and whenever he was ready… I didn’t say he has to play domestic cricket. I said, whenever he’s ready he needs to play some cricket and come back, and the choice is his.”

Here, when Dravid says some cricket, it indeed means domestic cricket. Otherwise, there was no need for him to say any cricket.

Shreyas is a sitting duck against the short ball. Even on the docile Indian surfaces, he has been found wanting. So much so that even a 41 year old Anderson, fancies bouncing him as soon as he is sighted at the wicket. Shouldn’t he be trying to improve his game in Ranji?

Wrapping up BCCI’s mandate for discarded players

BCCI must mandate for every Indian cricketer to play in atleast 3 Ranji games every year.

https://icricketcritique.com/roger-binny-the-new-bcci-president/
https://icricketcritique.com/one-more-warning-for-the-administrators/
https://icricketcritique.com/removal-of-the-entire-indian-selection-panel/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-role-of-a-cricket-captain/
https://icricketcritique.com/rohit-dravid-the-team-and-the-board/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-curious-case-of-sarfaraz-khan/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-importance-of-the-ranji-trophy/

Indian team’s priorities are wrong

Posted on 16 February 202416 February 2024 by Bobji

It is likely that Jasprit Bumrah, the most successful Indian bowler on spinning pitches, will be rested for the next Test against England. The aim of the move is to ensure his longevity. This is a noble intention and there is no doubt about it. Given Bumrah’s history with injuries and his relevance to the Indian bowling attack, it is prudent to keep him fresh and give him a break every now and then so that he can continue to serve the country for a longtime. India was searching for an incisive fast bowler and found one in the form of Bumrah. It wasn’t by any design on the part of the board but more by accident. All is well and good but Indian team’s priorities are wrong.

Sheer volume of the games is too high

Let me try to elaborate. The volume of games these days is simply overwhelming. Just take the case of the ODI World Cup. Just 4 days later, the Indian team and the Australian team were involved in a series of absolutely meaningless and useless T20 games. Some Australian players, who were part of the ODI World Cup, did not even get proper time to celebrate a famous win. Indians on the otherhand, did not get the time to analyse what went wrong at the business end of a tournament that they dominated from the beginning. The board wanted to make money and because of that these players had to play additional games.

Hence, because of such stupid games, the workload management of the players must be taken seriously by the team management so that the decisive players can last for a longer period than they would if they went and played in every game. However, why is it that workload management and player health come into the equation only when they play for the nation? There are multiple such examples of players taking breaks while India is engaged in a series. Right from Rohit through Kohli and to Shami and Siraj, they have taken breaks from white-ball cricket.

The latest is Bumrah though we still do not know whether he will be rested for the 3^rd Test. One thing is for certain, Bumrah will definitely miss one Test in the current series. Also, the case of Kohli is not available for the entire series for a mysterious reason. If he felt tired and unable to focus, he could have said so. Would he have done the same if IPL was on? Would Bumrah be alright with being rested in the IPL was on?

Workload management is not applicable during IPL

The IPL goes on for about 2.5 months. Every Indian player worth their salt is engaged in this tournament. Workload management is not even spoken about during this tournament. There are several instances of the Indian players turning up jaded in England in attempting to win the WTC Final or the ODI World Cup. The current captain, Rohit Sharma, just before the 2019 World Cup, when he was asked whether he would think of resting Bumrah during the IPL, considering how key Bumrah is to the team, Rohit blatantly refused to do so.

He wasn’t the captain of India at that point. He did not care about player management because he wasn’t the captain. Why is that important players like Bumrah, Kohli, Siraj, Jadeja, Shami, Rohit and quite a few others are required to play every game in the IPL, whereas, when they turn up for the country, they are at liberty to pick and choose the games they want to play?

Let us look at it for a moment. Once the England series is completed, India does not play any international game until June. All that it requires is for Bumrah to be at his best during the series and if he is injured during the IPL, so be it. He will still have 2 months to recover. I would not advocate for anyone to skip any game that involves the nation. However, leverage can be taken if the opponent is not that tough. Say a Sri Lanka or New Zealand or for that matter, even South Africa. When the opponent is tough, it is imperative that the Indian team plays with the best eleven.

The shelf life of a sportsperson is limited

I understand that money is important. More so for sportsmen and women because their career span is too short. They must make the most out of their time on the field. I endorse and support that completely. Almost every cricketer who has played for the nation and in the IPL must have made sufficient money to last them a couple of lifetime. As such, they are not really pressed for funds unless they make some horrible business decisions post retirement. Yet, they do not bat an eye lid whenever they want to take a break.

Wrapping up the Indian team’s priorities are wrong

This is exactly the reason Australian players must be respected. Starc, Cummins, Michael Clarke and a few others have always placed nation above franchise. Starc for a very longtime, did not even putforth his name in IPL because he wanted to concentrate on his Australian career. Cummins skipped last year’s IPL because of the challenges that he was faced with. India and Indian cricketers, I don’t know whether this will happen.

https://icricketcritique.com/the-pataudi-trophy/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-sweepstakes-that-india-missed/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-sweepstakes-that-india-missed-2/
https://icricketcritique.com/india-needs-improvement-despite-the-win/