Author: Bobji

A second Indian team is in Sri Lanka for a series of limited over games. Dravid, one of the great Indian batsmen, is the coach of that team. It has got a mixture of both experience and youth. Dravid has worked with most of these players at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore as well as on “A” tours. It will not be an understatement to state that many of these players were nurtured by Dravid. In the light of such a scenario, it is only apt that he was chosen as the coach of this Indian team. Shubnam Gill who is with the senior Indian team in England is injured and the team management have asked for both Shaw & Padikkal, who are in Sri Lanka as replacement for the injured Gill. However, Dravid has refused. Let me examine Indian team’s request and Dravid’s refusal in detail.

What happened to Shubnam Gill?

Apparently, Shubnam Gill injured his leg even before the WTC finals and he did not inform the team management about it. It remains to be seen whether any disciplinary action will be taken against him for hiding the injury. That is for another day. It has come to light now and as such he is ruled out of the England tour. In normal situation, it is alright for a team to ask for replacement because usually only 15 players will travel. These are not ordinary circumstances. We are all in the middle of a pandemic. With bio-secure bubble and strict rules for players to move around, touring teams nowadays take along 20 players to cover for all eventuality.

What was the team management’s request?

The team management and to be precise, Virat Kohli, the Indian captain, wanted Prithvi Shaw & Devdutt Padikkal as replacement. Dravid has refused to release any of them. As a coach of an Indian team, he has a responsibility to ensure that his team performs and wins all the games. To do that, he will have to ensure that he has the best possible combination. If Shaw & Padikkal are in that combination so be it. He is justified in not releasing either of them.

 It is understandable if Kohli had asked for one batsman but to ask for 2 does not really make any sense. Remember, the team in England already has 4 openers in the form of Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul & Easwaran.

Rahul in the middle order

Reports have now emerged that Kohli considers Rahul as a middle order batsman and is keen to give him a chance in the middle order but BCCI is not aware.

“The team management has to be clear about its vision. The selectors have always heeded to the team management’s demands when it came to composition of the squad. The team was picked in presence of captain Virat Kohli. The management needed to be clear about its plan when it came to how they wanted to use the players who were picked. Rahul was picked as an opener. If they had a change of plans, they should have communicated it clearly,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Four openers must be sufficient enough for a 5 test series. The team management does not seem to have much confidence in Easwaran. If that is the case, why did Kohli even agree for him to be in the squad? We must remember that the squad is not the usual 15. It is a jumbo squad of 24 players. If Shaw is not good enough to be in a wider squad of 24, he certainly isn’t good enough to play again at the international level so soon after the disastrous Australian tour.

What has Prithvi Shaw done to be recalled?

Prithvi Shaw, who after his blazing debut has really found international cricket tough. He struggled in New Zealand though he scored a 50. Then, he went to Australia and he became a walking wicket. His technique was so poor for the Australian pitches, which by the way aren’t that bouncy as before. He got out to poor shots and was getting bowled to straight balls. He was dropped after the first test and replaced with Shubnam Gill. After Australia, Prithvi Shaw found himself out of the England series and went onto to play a series of limited over games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He scored bucket full of runs in that tournament. It was ironic that as soon as he left Australia and played a few games in India, his form and his run scoring ability returned. It goes onto show the quality of the tournament itself.

Then he played in the IPL where he again scored runs. This time against slightly better bowlers. However, IPL is still T20 cricket and no substitute for test cricket. So, in the interim between being dropped in Australia and now, all he has done his play in a series of limited over games. He never got the time or the place to work on his skill and improve his batting against good bowling on challenging pitches. Taking him over to England against the likes of Archer, Anderson and Broad is nonsense. Leave alone them. Even a Chris Jordan will fancy his chances of getting a wicket if he bowls to Shaw at this point in time.

Devdutt Padikkal

Yes, Padikkal is an impressive young fellow. He has all the shots on the book. He is certainly one for the future. It may not be long before the Indian test team sees Padikkal opening with Gill. However, now is not the time. He does not have the experience to handle English conditions. His time will come but not now.

Dravid as the head coach

Dravid is perhaps one among the very few who has the guts to standup to Kohli. Now that he has stood up, it is highly unlikely that Dravid will ever become the head coach of the first Indian team. Not until Kohli remains the captain. Having said that, I do not think Dravid should ever be the coach of the senior team. His role is with the youngsters. He can make a much bigger contribution towards Indian cricket by working with the youth. He can inculcate the right attitude in the budding cricketers rather than listening to the whining of the older ones.

Dravid has already shown that he isn’t much interested in management unlike his so called contemporaries like Ganguly, Tendulkar and Laxman who went straight into management at the first chance. They were part of a committee called Cricket Advisory Committee with much fanfare and no one knows what was their contribution to that committee. Whether that committee is still active is a million dollar question.

Dravid rejected that offer and he started to work with the upcoming cricketers. That is his greatness and that is what is prefers to do. It will be better for Indian cricket if Dravid is left alone and not dragged into the messy world of Indian cricket head coach.

Other reads. Rahul Dravid considers series win in Sri Lanka to be much more important

Dravid’s magical innings

BCCI have come up with a bonanza for the Indian first class cricketers. This is from a body that is not really known to treat even their international stars fairly. I am sure once this is passed, all the first class cricketers will benefit immensely. For once, I am pleased with what BCCI has come up with. Indeed, BCCI has done a couple of commendable jobs.

The earnings of the Indian first class cricket has been doubled. It was Rs. 35,000 per day. This has been increased to Rs. 60,000 per day for cricketers who have played in more than 20 games. As for the ones who have played in less than 20 games, the match fee will be Rs. 45,000 per day.

Rich pickings for the players

It actually means that for someone who has played more than 20 games, if he plays in 10 games this season and if all the games lasts for 5 days, every player stands to earn upwards of 25 lakhs. For the uninitiated, 25 lakhs for an Indian is an enormous amount.

This is a welcome step. Last year, with the Ranji season cancelled, the players, who are mostly amateurs would have suffered immensely. It wasn’t known whether the players were paid their match fee eventhough the season was cancelled. However, from this year onwards, the players will be thrilled. To receive double the payment for almost the same amount of work will help them financially.

Not all Indian players are professional

At the moment, the Indian first class scene is dominated by players who have a day job. This is mainly because it offers financial security. They can always fallback on their job if cricket does not work out for them. Now, because of this change, a lot more players will think of becoming professional. They will be in a position to dedicate more time towards their game and thereby increase the talent pool.

The BCCI for the first time have taken experience into account while distributing payment for the games. This is also a welcome move. It will motivate players to be invested in the game for a longer span.

There is one tiny problem in this revamp. What if the players to earn more money, instead of playing to win the game, tries to play safe and play for all the 5 days? Afterall, they get paid for the number of days they are on the field. Teams can easily decide to earn more money out of greed and ensure that the game is not won or drawn until the last day. This is something the BCCI will have to watch out for. Instead of daily wage, the BCCI could have come up with a wage range for the entire season or a fixed amount for the entire game. This will ensure that the teams do not bury ethics on the cricket field.

Ranji Trophy for 2021-22

Another good thing the BCCI have come up with is to schedule the 2021-22 Ranji trophy and first class competition season. There is no room for Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy. Irani Trophy has traditionally been the start of every first class season. It is played between the winners of last year’s Ranji Trophy and an all India eleven. It used to be a prestigious tournament until the late 90s.

However, it has lost all nostalgia and it is time this tournament is scrapped. Duleep Trophy must revert to the old first day games between the zonal teams. It is now being played between India Red, Green & Blue. No one, perhaps even the players cared about this tournament. It is a tournament good for nothing. Either Duleep Trophy must revert to the zonal competition it was or it must be scrapped all-together.

All said and done, these are a couple of good decisions by the BCCI. I really appreciate them for this.

Other reads

BCCI has found a genuine model

Should BCCI have taken action against MI?

A joke called BCCI – 1. A joke called BCCI – 2. A joke called BCCI – 3

Before you go onto read this one, please do read part 1 of this series and then you can read did the Indian bowlers messed up in WTC finals?

Bumrah and the special treatment

Bumrah’s absolute lack of any effect on the game is startling. He was the only seamer who failed to get a single wicket from both the teams. This is a failure that Bumrah must not forget in his life alongwith the fact that he wasn’t given the new ball in the 2^nd innings. Bumrah’s performance has started to tail off over the last couple of years. This is a major concern for the team. So much has been invested on him.

He has been treated with a kid’s gloves. It has been 5 years since he made his debut and has played only 2 tests in India because in India, it is mostly the spinners who does the job and as such he is not expected to bowl that many overs. Instead the toil on unfriendly and hard wickets is left to Ishant and Umesh. This is the extent to which the team management and the board has gone to protect Bumrah from injury and burnout. It remains to be seen whether Bumrah is able to repay this faith in his career.

The absence of Kumar

English conditions and Dukes ball is made for swing bowlers. The biggest mistake was to leave Bhuvneshwar Kumar out of the squad. The reason that was given was that he has lost interest in the long format. However, based on recent reports Kumar himself has said that whenever he prepares, he prepares for all the 3 formats. He has basically thrashed the perception that he is not interested in test cricket. He is the best Indian swing bowler. If at all anyone must have been in England and must have played the finals, it must have been Kumar. Instead, he is preparing to leave for Sri Lanka. Hopefully, a SOS will be sent across and Kumar will fly to England before the test series.

Lastly, the Indian tail

It is fair enough that the bowlers must not be expected to score runs. It is what the batsmen are for. Number 1 to number 7 is expected to score runs but the Indian tail must learn to stay at the wicket. They do not have to score 50 or 100. Just stay at the wicket and support the batsman at the other end. Something a Tim Southee or a Rabadda can do. At the moment, with Ishant, Shami and Bumrah, all that the opposition needs to do is pick up the first 7 wickets and the last 3 will follow without a whimper. Ishant atleast used to stay at the wicket but he has perhaps lost his appetite for batting.

Bumrah and Shami must realise that they are the bowling mainstays will do well to concentrate on their batting. They will have to prove that they cannot be dislodged easily. Gone are the days when bowlers were expected to surrender while batting. It is not the case anymore. Every team boasts of bowler who can stay at the wicket. The days of Chris Martin or Glenn McGrath or Mullaly will never come by. The Indian bowlers must learn to put a price on their wickets. Especially, with India’s top and middle order proving jittery, this assumes added importance.

Bench Strength

Off late, there has been lot of talk about India’s bench strength and how the opposition is jealous of that. Siddarth Monga has written this article on www.espncricinfo.com. I had to spend some 20-25 minutes to read the article. He talks about how Gill and Siraj looked at home in their first series. He talks about the efforts at various levels, be it under 17 or 19 or the A tours that has ensured that Indian cricket is supplied by unrestricted talent.

Greg Chappell, the former Indian coach who had such a horrendous time with the team said at the end of India’s Australian tour in 2020,

“For those of you who were surprised that India could deal with all that was thrown at them in this series, and could hold their nerve and win in such courageous fashion, I say: you better get used to it. Don’t worry about India becoming the best team – they are already capable of producing the best five teams in world cricket!”

However, if the first team is unable to win the WTC finals or at the least draw the game when it was the most expected result after 2.5 days were washout, there never isn’t a bench strength. It is only a mirage or an illusion.

Multiple failures

This is still a team that hasn’t won a series in South Africa despite multiple attempts. They have been humiliated in England over the last 3 series and in New Zealand too. The only saving grace is the team’s performance in Australia. We all know that Australia is only a shadow of themselves. Unless India can win series in the SENA countries consistently and comfortably and win a few ICC tournaments, there isn’t any bench strength. Australia in the 90s had real bench strength. Their first team won almost everything under the sun. Multiple Ashes, series wins in every nation except India. Three consecutive World Cup wins.

However, I do not mind having another team because it gives much required exposure to a set of players who may not be able to get into the first team.

Granted that it was a challenging pitch. The overhead conditions were loaded in favour of the bowler. To make matters worse, Kohli as usual lost the toss and India had to bat when the pitch was at its best for the bowlers. This is a side that that is supposed to boast a formidable bench strength and yet they played as a bunch of novice. The selection was wrong. Both Jadeja and Ashwin hardly had anything to do. The playing eleven was announced a day before the actual start of the finals. The first day was washed out which gave a golden opportunity to Kohli and Shastri to change the team. A batsman would have served better for one of the spinner.

What about the actual game itself? There was an absolute lack of intent to score runs. Jamieson was made to look like Malcolm Marshall at his fiercest. Rohit and Gill settled nicely but they didn’t go on to play a decisive innings. Pujara did what he does. Play time without scoring. Kohli usually does not perform in ICC knockouts. Rahane for once played well but played stupid shots in both the innings. None of the bowler were able to swing the ball. The only one who could, Siraj, was left out for 2 under utilised spinners. The team itself was flawed.

Lack of practice games before the finals

India reached England on 2 June and were in quarantine for a week. Yet, between 9 June and 18 June, no practice games were scheduled. Instead, the team played a intra-squad 3 day game on a flat pitch under sunny sky. This wasn’t ideal preparation before a final. New Zealand on the otherhand, played a couple of tests against England and won the series. That boosted their confidence manifold. Kohli and Shastri are famous for not wanting one or multiple practise games before the series. However, experience in Australia shows what practise games before the tour starts can do to the players.

Gill especially is refusing to grow up

He had a great introduction to test cricket in Australia. It is impossible to forget his 91 at Brisbane and that too in the fourth innings which proved decisive in India winning the series. However, runs have dried up after that. The England series was tricky for all the batsmen. He gets starts but is unable to convert them. All that he will have to do is glance at his immediate predecessors, Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw. Prithvi Shaw started his career with a hundred and a 90. Mayank has a couple of double hundreds. Yet, after a couple of failures, they find themselves out of the team. Gill has no such scores to fall back on and yet he is not making use of the opportunities he is being given.

There is no doubt that Gill is outrageously talented but talent alone will not take you higher. It is performance that matters. He will certainly get 5 more tests on this England tour. If he is not able to score a double of hundreds, he may find himself on the bench for quite some time.

Pujara and Rahane, two batsmen who are not contributing

Pujara, as I have argued before, is more content in playing time rather than scoring runs. He did the same in the finals. At one stage, he didn’t get off the mark for 35 deliveries. At the other end, Kohli did his best to move the score along, though he was slow too. However, with strike not being rotated, the New Zealand bowlers were able to bowl at the same spot ball after ball after ball. Jamieson maybe a good bowler but was he unplayable? I do not think so. Pujara did not try to do anything different for the bowlers to make mistakes.

If Pujara was bad, Rahane was horrible. He played a horrendous shot just when everyone thought he will take the score to some respectability. The illusion that Rahane always plays well when the team is in trouble fell flat on that day. Recently, a table is being circulated on social media that states Rahane has scored the most number of runs in the WTC cycle for India. However, the number of games he played to score those runs is almost twice that of Rohit Sharma.

It has been awhile since Pujara and Rahane have been reliable. When one looks at the team sheet and find Pujara and Rahane in the middle, the opposition will surely fancy their chances. One who will take enormous amount of time to score and the other who will just refuse to score. It really is a miracle how Rahane has managed to hold on to his spot despite years of low scores. I hope better sense prevails and he is replaced for the England series. As for Pujara, there is a readymade replacement in Hanuma Vihari but too many changes before an important series will be detrimental for the team’s chances.

The lower order always proves to be the pain on the neck

The perennial problem returned while bowling. More than 50 runs were scored by New Zealand’s 9, 10 & Jack. This problem has been recurring for so long that it is really a surprise that the team management has failed to address this. None of the bowler were on their first trip to England. All of them and especially, Ishant Sharma is experienced enough to understand what line and what length to bowl in England. Ofcourse, it is true that the bowlers cannot be expected to defend 250 everytime but it is a crime not to understand the way to bowl despite multiple tours. In this day and age, with technology, someone who is on his first tour will be able to understand the conditions on an away tour.

India must definitely sort this problem before the England series starts.

Do go onto read the part 2 of this two part article and let me know what do you think.

Pujara. He is an enigma isn’t he? It is hard not to criticise Pujara and at the sametime, it is hard not to praise him either. He is instrumental in India winning games and at the same time he is instrumental in India not taking advantage or not putting the pressure back on the bowlers. Pujara divides opinion. It is not new. Pujara has always been someone who takes his time to settle down. He builds his innings like a tall skyscraper brick by brick that reaches a crescendo when he feels completely in control. Pujara has all of the shots that is on the coaching manual. He does not pull the ball often but he has shown that he can play that shot.

Pujara wasn’t always this bad

Now, why am I describing these in the past tense? It is because off late, he seems to have slowed down even more. In the sense, he is slower by his own standards. It almost seems like he thinks the more he stays on the wicket, the runs will come irrespective of whether he tries to score or otherwise. He does not seem to understand that one of his role is to score runs and ensure that the team gets a good start. It is time he understands that he is wrong.

Pujara has never been this bad. Yes, there was a period when he wasn’t able to make a meaningful contribution apart from South Africa all those years ago. He had a horror run in Australia, New Zealand and England. He even claimed despite such failures that he cannot score double hundreds everytime he walks to the wicket. This despite scoring only 2 fifties in 20 innings. This was back in the year 2014.

Some of the comments from former batsmen does not inspire confidence

“At times I feel disappointed that I couldn’t capitalise and score a big one,” Pujara said. “But it’s a game of cricket. You can’t score double-centuries all the time.

He lost his spot in the team after such a horrendous run. Even then, he wasn’t this bad. He had a decent strike rate of 40+. By Pujara’s standards, this was really good. Infact, until 2017, he had a good strike rate. The rot seems to have set at the beginning of 2018 and more damagingly, for him and for India, from 2020 onwards. His strike rate over the last couple of years is at 30. He just couldn’t find ways to score runs. The moment Pujara walks in, he ensures that the entire scoring rate is completely killed. Infact, he murders the scoring rate. Pujara is only intent on occupying the crease.

He seldom gives the impression of someone who wants to score. If one were to ask Hazlewood about Pujara, he will say that Pujara bats and bats and bats. Yes he does bat but only to be on the wicket. During the last couple of years, Pujara seems to have forgotten the offside. Unless the ball is pitched on the legs, he struggles. If the pitch or the bowling is difficult, it gets even worse.

“Out of my memory, I just remember Pujara playing great off his legs. Very, very good off his legs and eyes underneath the ball. But I do remember him playing some magical cut shots and back foot drives. I’m so used to him rocking onto his back foot and playing with his hands and good feet movement. He’s kind of lost that part of his game.

This was Dale Steyn who remembers his playing career while bowling to Pujara. 

Pujara’s lack of impact during the WTC finals

The recent WTC finals is a good example. India got off to a good start under extremely challenging conditions for the batsmen. In walks Pujara after Rohit Sharma falls, immediately, the scoring rate drops to a trickle. He completely stopped scoring. As a result, the New Zealand bowlers, who were struggling for line and length until then, suddenly were able to bowl to a plan. This was because Pujara allowed them to bowl in the right areas. It was atrocious batting.

Virat Kohli wants the batmen to look for runs and not be worried about getting out. He is correct. Ofcourse, he was also guilty in both the innings in not trying to score. That is another matter. It will not be an understatement to say that Pujara actually was responsible for India succumbing to a low score and losing the finals.

Allan Border, the former Australian captain has opined that Pujara gets stagnated at the crease. This was during the Australian series in 2020.

“He’s almost scared to play a shot, isn’t he? He’s playing to survive rather than looking to score”

Ricky Ponting, who knows a thing or two about batting says that Pujara does not hurt the Australians because of his slow batting.

“To bat like he did today, finally get a great ball from (fast bowler Pat) Cummins, although he got 50, he just hadn’t hurt the Australians at all. In fact, batting like he did actually kept Australia in the game.”

Ponting also makes a pertinent point that if someone bats for so long, he must ensure that he scores a 100 or 150 to justify his long stay. That is where Pujara has failed. Time and again.

However, Pujara is adamant

“I just have to bat in the manner I know to bat, even as a batting unit, you need to build partnerships and bat well as a unit,” Pujara said.

The fact is, he has changed his batting and that is proving detrimental to the team. He does not seem to realise that this is not the way he used to bat. He used to be much more positive in his approach. The sooner he realises this the better it is for him. No one is expecting him to score at a strike rate of 80. It is only reasonable to expect him to score at 45 or 50. His adamant attitude of not wanting to change seems to indicate a mind that is not only refusing to listen to reason but is refusing to change. This is a serious problem. Indian management will do well to make him understand.

Critics of Pujara

Critics of Pujara points out that because of his ultra slow batting, first, he allows the bowlers to bowl the way they want to bowl. He helps them to get their line and length perfect and as a result the bowlers gain so much confidence that they are able to dictate terms to the Indian batsmen.

Second, as Ponting says, when Pujara bats, India would not have progressed at all despite playing for over 50 overs. Allan Border used to say that one must always add a couple of wickets to the current score and see where the team is placed. If you take that into consideration, after 50 overs, India are about 110-120 and if you add a couple of wickets, it is already 120/3. That is not a flattering scorecard.

Third, he makes the opposition much tougher than they actually are. Yes, this is true. By allowing the bowlers to settle, Pujara actually makes runs scoring difficult even for his partners. The partners are under the illusion that the bowling is tough or the condition is challenging when it is absolutely possible to overcome them. A sort of fear creeps into the other batsmen. Being one of the senior batsman, Pujara just cannot get away with not scoring runs. Infact, he must score the bulk of the runs and must not pass on the scoring to youngsters like Pant or Vihari.

Supporters of Pujara are of different opinion

Pujara by batting for time actually makes the bowlers so tired and it is easier for his partners to score freely. They will happily site the example of his batting in Australia. One at Sydney which helped India to save the game. Pujara played a major part in the 2^nd innings that ultimately, Vihari and Ashwin were left with just 40 overs to bat through. At Brisbane, Pujara held one end tight so that Pant could play his natural game and thereby he was able to win the game and the series. However, he played so long and so slow in the first test that when he got out, India hadn’t got anywhere.

It is absolutely fine if Pujara plays in this way when India are trying to save the test. It is not acceptable when India is trying to set the pace. This is what Pujara is unable to differentiate.

It is time Pujara understand his responsibility and starts to score runs. Else, it is time for him to make way for another batsman.

Other read about Pujara

As we all know, a second Indian team is on their way to Sri Lanka for a short limited overs series. Rahul Dravid will be coach for this team. It is good that the BCCI thought it fit to appoint Dravid as the coach because he has worked with most of these players over the last few years at the National Cricket Academy. As such, he will know the strengths and weaknesses of all these players. Sending a team to Sri Lanka, appointing Dravid as the coach is onething but the more important thing is winning the games. Rahul Dravid’s announcement is heart warming.

Rahul Dravid has come out and said that winning the series is the single most important objective

“There are a lot of people in the squad who are pushing for places ahead of the T20 World Cup coming up, but the key goal, and we’ve had discussions around it, is to try and win the series,” Dravid said. “That is the primary objective. Hopefully if people can get the opportunity to put in some good performances in the course of us trying to win the series, they will give themselves the best chance of knocking on the doors of the selectors.”

This is an Indian team that is touring Sri Lanka

This is really good to hear from the coach of the team. The team that has gone to Sri Lanka is not an Indian A team. The Indian A team usually travels across the world just to gain experience. It has served the senior team quite well. The likes of Siraj, Gill and quite a few others have benefitted from the A tours. As such win or loss in those games does not really matter so long as the players learn. So long as the players learn to bowl in different conditions with various balls and bat in the most challenging of circumstances. The A team tours are just that. For experience and be ready whenever called for.

The same cannot be said of this tour to Sri Lanka because this is a proper Indian team that is touring the island. Yes, some of them are on their maiden voyage with the team but that must be distract from the bigger picture.

Sri Lanka are really struggling

The bigger is not only to win the series but to win all the games. Sri Lanka is really struggling. They have become so weak that the current Indian team is considered formidable for their likes. A clean sweep is what is expected from India. It will be excellent if this team can achieve that. Nonetheless, series win in both the formats is mandatory. The result of the games will be directly counted against the wins and loss of the Indian team. The runs scored, wickets taken, catches etc will be counted against every individual.

In that sense, for the coach, who himself hated losing, to come out and express a desire to win the series as the top priority is excellent. It means that the players will be under the same pressure and they will have to undergo the same preparation as they would if they were playing for the other Indian team.

Reports about Bumrah and Pujara dropped

Reports are coming thick and fast that Bumrah and Pujara may find themselves out of the first test against England and that Kohli may move up to number one. I don’t know whether dropping Pujara is a good move but he must definitely be told to speed up the game. It will be better if he comes in at number 5 where the ball will be much more older and the bowlers somewhat tired. He will then be able to bat freely. At the moment, Pujara at number one is useless. I would rather have Rahane replaced with Sundar. Pujara atleast plays for time whereas does neither. Neither does he score runs nor does he play for time. He gets out so quickly that the pressure on the remaining batsmen is increased manifold.

The real positive will be if Kohli bats at one. The team management must come out of the mindset that being the best batsman in the team, he must be protected from the new ball in the event of an early wicket. Though it is a valid argument, it does not really do justice to Kohli’s calibre.

Kohli at one drop will be excellent

Kohli at one drop does have the capacity to withstand pressure of the new ball. He will be solid against the fresh bowlers in the event of an early wicket. He does not need too many deliveries like a Pujara to settle. Once settled, he has the ability to keep the scoreboard moving. He can transfer the pressure onto the opposition quickly. Instead of Indians feeling like being under siege, it will be the opposition. In this case, England, who will feel like that. Once Kohli has firmly established himself at the crease, he can start to dictate terms to the bowlers. This will increase the confidence of the batsmen who are to follow. Kohli is the perfect player to be the Ponting or Richards of India. He certainly has that aura around him.

Kohli at one drop will show intent on the part of the Indians and sort of belligerence to the opponents. In the event of India off to a good or great start, Kohli is the right man to carry it forward unlike a Pujara who will let the opposition get a foothold. If Kohli does come in at the fall of the first wicket, it will be great to see unlike Tendulkar who refused to move out of his favourite slot and everyone else were moved around to accommodate him. Kohli has already announced his intention to open the innings in T20s and thereby giving up his coveted one drop. It remains to be seen whether he will follow that in Test cricket as well. If he does, my respect for him will grow manifold.

About Dravid’s magical innings

BCCI’s new model

Better sense seems to have prevailed. India have placed a delayed request for a practice game ahead of the first test against England. It is much needed but it was something neither the Indian team management nor the Indian board seems to have cared about. Also, the World T20 has been moved out of India. Let me write about the Indian team’s delayed request and World T20.

Whenever and wherever the Indian team travels, especially to the SENA countries, it must be mandatory to play 2 proper first class practice games against the local teams. The Indian board never cared about arranging such games in the past. They were intent on arranging for some meaningless games just before an important tour to any of the SENA countries. For eg, the Sri Lankan series just before the South African tour in 2018 or the one before. India landed in South Africa barely a week before the first test and promptly went onto to lose the test and the series.

This has happened before

These were not the only instances. This has happened before every important series. It is so difficult to adjust from the slow and low pitches of India to the bouncy or seaming wickets of England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Yet, no practice games were ever arranged. Mainly because the board never cared about Indian cricket. They were worried only about filling their coffers. They did by making the team play some stupid games just before a week to depart.

However, the pandemic seems to have helped the India team. The pandemic related restrictions meant that the team will have to land in the country well in advance. This results in means weeks of non-activity. Due to that the board is now forced to keep the team engaged by arranging for practice games. The effect of these games were seen in Australia in 2020. India won that series 2-1 after playing a couple of games before the first test. Ofcourse, they lost the first one.

Lack of practice cost the team dear

As for the WTC finals in 2021, India despite landing in England 2.5 weeks before the finals, did not play any competitive cricket. This showed in the loss to New Zealand. The bowlers didn’t know what length to bowl and the batsmen did not how to play swing. The loss seems to have driven some sense into the team management and the board. They have now asked for a couple of competitive game against the local county.

‘We are working through the operations and COVID-19 protocols to ensure we are able to deliver this and will confirm in due course,’ said an ECB spokesperson.

Only problem with this is that it is the middle of the county season plus the inaugural edition of The Hundred that will be played during this time. As such, it remains to be seen whether the ECB is able to come up with a team that can challenge India.

World T20

Finally, good sense prevailed. The World T20 which was supposed to have been held in India, is now moved to UAT & Oman.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said that, as the hosting board, it was looking to create a “spectacle”. “We would have been happier hosting it in India but considering the uncertainty due to the Covid 19 situation and the importance of a world championship, the BCCI will now continue to host this tournament in UAE and Oman. The BCCI is looking forward to creating a spectacle.”

The choice of the venue is interesting. UAE is understandable. Afterall, they have hosted IPL events before and Pakistan is still hosting their games in UAE. However, Oman has been chosen because of IPL. The final of the IPL which will also be held in UAE will be on 14 October and the World T20 starts 3 days later. Inorder to ensure that the pitches are fresh for the World Cup, Oman has been chosen as the venue for the qualification games.

A good decision taken by the BCCI to shift the games out of India.

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