Indian Test Cricket - the way forward
January 8th 2012 09:08
Indian Test Cricket - The way forward
Dissection is being campaigned against. It is much maligned, I understand. In schools children and young adults are encouraged to refrain from practical classes in dissection (biology). In reality that is because animals are sadly extinguished in the name of learning. In sport too, there is dissection. And sometimes sportsmen become the victims of the process. Not all times is dissection illuminating. But then there is just one thing to do after the game for many people - dissecting it threadbare and discussing what could have been. Therefore it is very tempting for us as fans to dissect the individual games of the Indian players featuring in 6 consecutive away Test defeats. But better still is the process of shining the torch ahead to light up the way than looking behind to see who is catching up and on which stone(s) we stumbled. This is one such effort.
Personal landmarks - waste of media time/space
The peerless Sachin Tendulkar's much touted hundredth hundred probably weighs more on the minds of millions of fans and media people than on the man himself. Popular cricket columnists now claim that Sachin's quest for this statistical gem is bothering the entire team - weighing it down and not letting it perform to potential. Not only are such claims laughable, they are also outstandingly ridiculous for the sheer fact that these are people who have played the game at a very high level. When a Sehwag or a Dhoni is facing down a 140 kmph delivery from Pattinson or Siddle, their illustrious team-mate's elusive landmark is the last thing on their mind. Cricket is a game of moments. Its analysis though stretches moments so much so that individual sagas are made up of them. Lets not confuse the two - please, for cricket's sake! Batsman putting bat to ball and bowler landing ball on pitch are momentary actions too and not ridden with pithy thoughts as is made out. Yes, there is thought process. But the thought process is that of an individual's. Every player out there plays cricket because he likes doing it. When motivations are that selfish and simple (rightly so) the travails or concerns of another do not enter into your mind. Tendulkar will get there. What is more - even if he does not, his aura and his influence on the game will not diminish a bit. And here is the kicker. When and if Tendulkar gets his 101st hundred, the hype and the volume among the media and the people would be lesser than it is now - beat that!
Averages, Statistics and Other Lies
Before this series started, we were fed report upon report as to how embattled Australia's veteran batsmen were. That they certainly were - no arguments about that. The funny thing though was that this attention was made out to be a bit unfair in the case of Michael Hussey as he had scored heavily in the last season.
You see, the argument is inherently hollow. You either want the consistency borne out of experience or the exuberance and wild abandon of youth. Sometimes you even want the right mix. But what a sporting team does not expect is wild abandon and inconsistency from the experienced members. The point is - you can have a youngster go without scoring in 6 or 7 matches and you can still give him a go citing his inexperience. However, if a senior professional having been there and done that for most of his teenage and adult life falters for a significant period of time, it cannot be looked at in the same light. People tend to fancifully associate elements of faithfulness, respect and even a sense of duty towards these players who have no doubt been the source of inspiration and sometimes everlasting joy to several thousands of people. More so in India than anywhere else in the world perhaps. But as humans we live, eat, work and play in the present. We feed on our past, yes, but not for long. And moreover the present fuels the hunger of the future too!
With this perspective, once you look at the 6 consecutive away Test defeats, it is slightly damning - to say the least. We have always bemoaned our bowlers and their ineffectiveness (relative only to the opposition bowlers) while consistently celebrating our master batsmen. It is only fair to reverse polarities now. Our young bowling unit has toiled manfully and has succeeded more times than not. The celebrated batting doyens - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman have not. Even Gautam Gambhir to a lesser extent although he too has a reasonably rich font of experience to draw from. Rahul Dravid admittedly was outstanding throughout the recent tour of England. It is another matter that he scored all those runs despite a technical fault that he has developed recently. More on that later.
All said and done, the job of these senior cricketers is to ensure unfailing consistency insofar as it is humanly possible. If the laxity in rope given to young cricketers extends to, say 5 Test matches, the sheer experience and know-how of these cricketers only means that they ought to produce results in lesser number of games and keep doing it with more frequency too! This is not something that can be inferred only by numbers and statistics. The day that experience and sheer ability can be quantified is the day the game will lose its charm! There can be Science in Sport. But Sport is not Science and thankfully it never will be. In effect if there is pressure on a senior batsman such as Hussey after just 5 Tests of low scores, that is rightfully so. The expectations on a seasoned player do not become lesser with time. They always grow. And that is why numbers alone are not an accurate measure of the pressure on each individual.
Win and you are right;Lose, you are not!
This is a syndrome - plain and simple. After more than two decades of following cricket reports, articles and commentary, there is only one thing I have found true. No cricketer or team is criticized when the result of the game is a victory. Conversely, sometimes even the best efforts of players and teams are put down when the ultimate result is a loss. For Indian cricket to not only attain that coveted No.1 Test team position but also stay put, this has got to change. The hard words need to be spoken even when the team has won. The nice words have to be said even when the team loses. No two ways about it. This of course is, more than anything, the job of the Coach. With all my heart, I hope and wish this happens within the dressing room. And with the same heart, I would like everything that happens in the dressing room to stay there. TV pressure be confounded!
Lets take a specific example in this case. Rahul Dravid stood alone in England. He towered over the rest - facing off against Broad, Bresnan and Anderson and everything that they had to offer. And he succeeded in game after game. But even as he did that, a fault had crept into his game. Dravid at his best had an initial shuffling movement with his right foot which brought him in line with the ball. Today, Dravid's right foot moves in the other direction most of the time - further down the leg stump line.
Rahul Dravid getting ready
This translates to his head position hovering around or sometimes even beyond off stump - in counterbalance. His surety and balance when handling full length balls is therefore compromised - especially when the ball is directed at his stumps. Nothing much was said about all this when Dravid was scoring runs. But now, when he is not and what is more, is exhibiting an alarming tendency to get knocked over clean bowled - everybody raises a hue and a cry.
Rahul Dravid playing a shot
If we have to become the best, this has to change. We need to realize that cricket is NOT science. That one can succeed in sport even if one is not technically perfect. And that one can fail despite the best preparation and the best technique. Such is the beauty of sport. Lets celebrate it while still understanding the need to be open in communication and criticism when it comes to players - regardless of the end result. Team sport is about the journey. The destination is a mere culmination - a media highlight. The highest point, yes, but only propped up by the several rungs of achievements people have clambered up with great effort, difficulty and overriding solidarity.
By the way, don't be surprised if Dravid scores a century in the next game even if he does not change his current style/technique! This is exactly what makes Test cricket enchanting! The surfeit of factors involved and the fact that Test cricket cannot just be reduced to a one or two factors and/or angles and numbers. After all, the Devil (and not God) is in the details!
The way forward
We Indians are an emotional bunch at the best of times. In times of adversity we become overtly sensitive, ready to burst aflame at the slightest provocation. But We (this composite We consists of the fans, broadcasters, cricket boards, commentators and media people) have a duty. To recognize, back and promote good cricket and cricketers to the end result of having our national team become the best in the world. Not just touching that peak of the mountain with a wild leap only to come down as if owing to gravity but to put in the hard yards and grapple their way to the top, sink in the national colours atop the peak and stay put there for a sizable length of time. To that end, the winds of change are blowing right now. Perhaps this is the right time to blood in more youth into the Test squad. Lets remember that it was exceedingly tough for youngsters to break into the Indian middle order only because the celebrated seniors had been amazingly successful and consistent; therefore contributing to victory. Lets note that that previous statement had a 'had been' in the past tense instead of an 'are'. Nobody is sacrosanct or above being dropped for the good of the team.
Perth is going to be an Acid Test (literally). Not just in the cricketing perspective. But also from a selection point of view. If Rohit Sharma replaces young Virat Kohli we will have fallen back on erstwhile logic and gone along what is the path of least resistance and/or ridicule, as the case may be. If Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli both play, then we would be sailing into what is essentially uncharted waters for Indian cricket. Waters where we help prepare our Test team to fight the present while still preparing for the future and where we tell our youth that we are prepared to invest trust and time in them. That we respect them for what they are and are not forever weighing them down by comparing them with veritable living legends.
And lets leave out all discussions of 'fairness' as the Indian sport lovers/administrators understand that term. Current performance being the only point of interest and attention, infusion of youth into the batting order can only be a logical move. For the naysayers, if they are to be found out now at the highest level, it is for the good. We can at least look for other options and develop new talent while still holding fort with the senior professionals in the interim. This would be a proper retirement plan for the seniors who have performed yeoman service for the national cricket team. This would not in any way diminish the national estimation of the worth of each one of our batting legends. If any one of them decides of hang their boots up at any point of time now, they will still have captured an immense amount of good will and mind share among not just the Indian public but also cricket lovers all around the world. Our mantra in deciding the squad should ideally be - All is fair in love, war and professional sport! Not just this time at Perth. But every single time.
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Comment by cricketbash
Keep it brief Balachandran.. Seniors need to retire.. isn't that what you had to say?
Comment by Balachandhran S
Tricolour Prism
No. The seniors do not "need to retire". They are players and human beings and it is but natural for them to continue to have belief in themselves. They are just doing their job and whatever they think is best for the team. The selectors too have the same end result - in this case, I think they are looking at the same thing from a different perspective. If they are not doing that currently, they need to.
And yes, there are one or two other points too apart from the need to blood in fresh talent.
Thanks again.