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Good Bye Dada and Jumbo!

Kumble and Ganguly have called it quits! Two extremely different personalities with altogether different skills but had one thing in common between them – The never ending fighting spirit. The way they showed their spirit were different as well. Ganguly was more outspoken, aggressive and controversial where as Kumble was a typical soft spoken and diplomatic Bangalorean.


Kumble and Ganguly, along with three other stalwarts of Indian cricket formed the so-called Fab 5 that redefined Indian cricket and marched along into an era of professional cricket that showcased exceptional talent. This, according to me, was the transition phase whereby the Indian cricket rediscovered its winning ways. Before that period, barring the Prudential World Cup win in 1983, the Indian cricket was all about less agressive tactics and test cricket always had a draw oriented approach.

Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble, according to me, is well up there along with Murali and Warne as the finest spinner of modern cricket. When I say ‘finest’ it may not always mean the quality of spin but the altogether package of getting the work done! To be frank, I never enjoyed watching Kumble bowl – neither his action and run-up nor his poor athleticism and bad fielding. However, the never ending fighting spirit and patiencez is what anyone would fall for! 600 plus wickets in test cricket in twenty years is nothing but exceptional!

However, when I look back I still have the opinion that Kumble should have retired an year ago instead of taking up the captaincy. The reason was that since he took over the captaincy his bowling steadily deteriorated. Also, he was becoming something that is not ‘him’ as he put an artificial aggression around him during this period which was a major requirement for modern cricket captains. Other than this, I thought Kumble is/was as important as Sachin Tendulkar to Indian cricket though the fans almost always adore ONLY the batsmen here!

Saurav Ganguly

Whenever I think about Saurav Ganguly, I always wondered how he managed to play 100+ tests! Because, here is somebody, who was an accidental captain and more or less a One-day cricketer with limited technical abilities. But he became everything of Indian cricket, especially post 2000! There is no doubt that Saurav was a great fighter, but unless it was for his inclusion in the team as captain, there was no way he could have played 100 test matches for India – especially in a batting team comprising of Sachin, Rahul, VVS, Sehwag etc. I thought he played his role in Indian cricket extremely well, probably until the controversial exit, a couple of years back. But again, only Ganguly could have come up with the kind of resurgence – like a phoenix – that we saw in the past one year.

I would still call Saurav, one of the finest one-day cricketers and a good leader. At the same time he was a good politician and manipulator as well. He always knew what power, tactics and skills it takes to sustain the politically ruined (at least until a couple of years back) BCCI. And needless to say, he was the one who really took the fight on the opposition – including the off-field attacks. How many times has he got on to the nerves of Aussies?

Kudos to Ganguly and Kumble for whatever you have done to the World Cricket!

Question to the readers: What are the typical careers that these two could take up post their retirement?

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Border Gavaskar Trophy series review – One hell of a performance by the Indians :)

For the last one and half months, cricket fans around the world got to see one of the best test series ever involving two great test playing nations. The Border – Gavaskar Series 2008 was exciting not just because the Indian won the series 2-0, but it also put an end to Australia’s dominance in World cricket. More importantly, India seems to have combined high energy, great motivation levels, team combination and the urge to perform under its new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten.

Turning Points and deciding factors

According to me, the folowing were the turning points of this series that took things in India’s favour.

  • Excellent opening stands in almost all tests by Sehwag-Gambhir as well as Sehwag-Vijay combo

  • The partnership between Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, in the drawn Bangalore test, when Australia was on top. India managed to save the first match, just like the rain hit first test in the 2003 series down under, where the draw inspired the things to come

  • Kumble sitting out in the second test at Mohali, Mahendra Singh Dhoni taking the reigns and inspiring the team to a win. Dada proved why he’s a fighter yet again! Amit Mishra, the debutant, ran through the Aussies lineup with a Fiver in the first innings. An allround bowling performance in the second innings proved too much for the Australians

  • The Delhi test will only be remembered for batting feast and Kumble’s retirement. I personally thought that he should not have played that match but gracefully retire when Dhoni showcased his leadership skills!

  • Fab 4 one last time together, in the fourth test, proved too much for the Australians after a Dhoni led team decisively beat the Australians. Ponting’s decision to continue with his part timers to escape a match ban cost him the test and the series!

  • The ‘lucky’ Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni winning all his tosses meant that there was no stopping for India. Toss is a real decider in the Indian conditions, so…

What was the difference between the sides?

Barring the injured Anil Kumble and out of form Rahul Dravid, it was really an excellent series show by Team India. India’s bowling attack was versatile and almost all the time pinging for wickets. Batsmen and all-rounders backed up each other and performed as a team. Dhoni’s leadership by example was a treat to watch and so was the spirit within. The only improvement area, perhaps, is the ground and slip fielding.

Australia on the other hand were marred by their poor team selection, especially in the bowling department. Their speedsters could not reverse swing the SG balls and their spinners were not causing any major challenge to the Indian batsmen. Australia’s major batsmen really did not click nor were they consistent. This added additional headache to the bowlers.

Ponting’s captaincy was below par as well and he even showed his personal grudge against own team mates on and off the ground.

Learnings

Phasing out the old warhorses one by one and inducting the right people at the right time is something India is doing great and it is really working (at least within India). Australia on the other hand is still struggling in the bowling department after improper succession plans once McGrath and Warne were out.

Another learning is that the Australian team right now is just like any other team and they can be beaten by anybody. They may regroup and try to attack the way they used to do, but the skills do not seem to be the same anymore.

Two stalwarts going out

And for the stalwarts – Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly – that are going out, I will be dedicating separate posts soon…

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When do they learn to bow out gracefully?

Last week Sourav Ganguly made some controversial statements at the press complaining of bad treatment by the selectors and criticizing about the lack of planning! Yesterday, Anil Kumble, in his news paper column, lashed out at the Indian media for speculating about his retirement and shoulder injury.

These two stalwarts have certainly contributed heavily to Indian cricket in the past. Now the time has come for them to retire gracefully. Instead of calling it a day with pride, they are not able to come to terms with the fact that all their fame and steady income will be suddenly stopped now! And this is the curse of not only the Indian cricket but all other professions and careers in India as well. Even our politicians and actors just won’t quit until defeated in the poll or kicked out!

The game of Cricket is changing really fast! The focus now is shifting to packed Twenty 20 leagues and club cricket. There has been a time when the cricketers had careers lasting up to 18 or 20 years but that won’t be case any longer. Kumble and Ganguly should be happy that they could play for India for such a long time, create a few records and even captain the Indian team! What else is left to prove for them?

‘Just retire gracefully’ and ‘stop blabbering in the press!’ Remember, you are still playing for India and if you want your contributions to be remembered for ever, stop creating unwanted controversies!

PS:- If Kumble doesn’t realize yet, he was so pathetic in the first test match and hasn’t been having a good time for the past few matches as well. Another thing, the next test in the Ind-Aus series is being played at Mohali which is a fast pitch. Ideally, India should have played three pacers and a spinner there and Kumble’s presence would make the team selection for this test very interesting! I hope they don’t loose out in this match due to imbalance in bowling attack.

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Shane Warne’s Top 100 Test Cricketers

Shane Warne’s latest book titled Shane Warne’s Century – My Top 100 Cricketers is out in the market. The following are the ratings he has given to (primarily) the best 100 test cricketers that he has played with.

100 Jamie Siddons
99 Andrew Caddick
98 Graham Thorpe
97 Shahid Afridi
96 Sourav Ganguly
95 Moin Khan
94 Devon Malcolm
93 Arjuna Ranatunga
92 Monty Panesar
91 Graeme Hick
90 Inzamam-ul-Haq
89 Jack Russell
88 Mushtaq Ahmed
87 Gary Kirsten
86 Ian Bishop
85 Chris Gayle
84 Simon Jones
83 Paul Reiffel
82 Craig McMillan
81 Greg Matthews
80 Darren Berry
79 Mark Boucher
78 Stuart Clark
77 V. V. S. Laxman
76 Shane Watson
75 Mahela Jayawardene
74 Shane Bond
73 Mike Gatting
72 John Wright
71 Darren Gough
70 Richie Richardson
69 Alec Stewart
68 Jonty Rhodes
67 Harbhajan Singh
66 Hansie Cronje
65 Carl Hooper
64 Shivnarine Chanderpaul
63 Daniel Vettori
62 Mike Atherton
61 Desmond Haynes
60 Mike Hussey
59 Craig McDermott
58 Andrew Symonds
57 Tim May
56 Damien Martyn
55 Mohammad Azharuddin
54 Michael Vaughan
53 Mohammad Yousuf
52 Brian McMillan
51 Chris Cairns
50 Stephen Harmison
49 Dilip Vengsarkar
48 Dean Jones
47 Robin Smith
46 Justin Langer
45 Ravi Shastri
44 Graeme Smith
43 Kapil Dev
42 Stuart MacGill
41 Sanath Jayasuriya
40 Stephen Fleming
39 Michael Slater
38 Michael Clarke
37 Bruce Reid
36 Allan Donald
35 Virender Sehwag
34 Shoaib Akhtar
33 Kevin Pietersen
32 Darren Lehmann
31 Waqar Younis
30 Andrew Flintoff
29 Saeed Anwar
28 Shaun Pollock
27 Jason Gillespie
26 Steve Waugh
25 Andy Flower
24 Brett Lee
23 Kumar Sangakkara
22 Martin Crowe
21 David Boon
20 Rahul Dravid
19 Aravinda de Silva
18 Merv Hughes
17 Jacques Kallis
16 Adam Gilchrist
15 Matthew Hayden
14 Graham Gooch
13 Anil Kumble
12 Mark Taylor
11 Courtney Walsh
10 Ian Healy
9 Mark Waugh
8 Ricky Ponting
7 Muttiah Muralitharan
6 Wasim Akram
5 Glenn McGrath
4 Allan Border
3 Curtly Ambrose
2 Brian Lara

…and the number 1 is…
1 Sachin Tendulkar

Though it is very difficult for anybody to come up with the top 100 (as compared to say a dream team of 11), I guess Shane Warne has short sighted views on certain players and it is majorly driven by prejudictions. The other point is that we can perhaps pick Top 20 batsmen, Top 20 bowlers, Top allrounders and wicket keepers etc but not a mixed lot.

Also, Warne seems to understand only New Zealand and England cricketers well owing to hardfought Ashes series etc. Rest of the people, he picked purely based on what he has experienced while batting or bowling.

The following ranks may be controversial:

Shahid Afridi: Should he figure in the Top 100 test players at all?
Arjuna Ranatunga & Saurav Ganguly: Should not they come a little earlier in the list owing to their astute leadership qualities?
Inzamam Ul Haq: I am surprised that one of the best test batsmen ever is figuring at rank 90!
Alec Stewart and Mahela Jayawardhane should definitely come a lot before Chanderpaul or McDermott. Among bowlers, does Merv Hughes deserve to be at top 20? I thought Waqar Younis and Allan Donald were a lot better than Hughes!

As I said earlier, it is really a hard thing to do, but probably he could still have done a better job?

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Border – Gavaskar series is back!

Australian cricket team has just landed in India. I am sure the Indian fans are looking forward to the event, still remembering the 2001 series. Some of the stalwarts from that memorable series is still with the Indian team where as Australia has a much more changed outlook.

Very Very Special series

When it comes to a series against Australia the name that comes to an Indian fan’s mind is not that of Tendulkar or Dravid! It is all about Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman who relishes the Australian bowling attack – does not matter whether it is spin or pace. This time around, age has caught up with him but the fans are still looking forward to witness yet another Very Very Special inning. Fitness and whether permitting, Laxman will be completing his 100th test in this series as he has now 96 test caps and it is a 4-test match series.

After VVS it’s all about Dravid and Bajji and I sincerely hope that Kumble along with Bajji will do some magic this time around. And more importantly, this could be one of the last two or three series for Kumble and he MUST give some opportunity for budding spinners as well. It wouldn’t be a bad idea if they play three spinners in at least two matches in this series.

As Tendulkar is not present, there will be additional headache for Dravid. Hopefully a younger batsman (not Yuvraj) will also get a chance to prove his worth. India’s ODI captain, returning to the test squad, will also use this opportunity to improve his test form as well as gain some learning to take over reigns from Kumble soon.

The Australian Team

Compared to the Indian team, the aussies have an inexperienced but a tougher team. The youngsters on the side must be looking forward to a great opportunity to play in India which Steve Waugh called the Final Frontier. Althogh, the jinx was broken in the last visit, playing in the sub-continent is still not an easy thing for the Aussies. Ponting would love to find some form in India during this series and Michael Clarke will have a great apprenticeship as he prepares to take over the captaincy in another two years!

There are also three youngsters, on the side, whom I haven’t heard about before… Hope the debutant quickies Peter Siddle and (the tall) Doug Bollinger along with the oldie debutant spinner Bryce McGain will duly support Lee, Johnson, Clark and Watson in their respective departments. Jason Krejza is the new allrounder and that makes almost 25% of the team inexperienced. Though the bowling department has a very good representation, the batting looks pretty week for Australia. With Ponting never finding form in India, Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey will have an enhance role to play and hopefully Phil Jacques, Simon Catich and Shane Watson will find some form against the Indian spin attack.

I only hope that no dust bowls will be prepared by the groundmen this time. Of course, the venues are picked in a balancing act with Mohali/Nagpur offering some bounce and Delhi/Bangalore are pancake flat pitches made for Bajji and Kumble.

Anyways, looking forward to see a wonderful test match series…

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Champions Trophy under threat!

There has already been a lot of talks around Pakistan as the venue of this year’s ICC Champions Trophy. In fact, it is not just about Champions Trophy, but any touring team from England, New Zealand and Australia always used to raise this ‘stock concern’ about the security situation in Pakistan and sometimes Zimbabwe as well.

Though, security is of prime importance, I just wonder if it has become a fashion to always raise this concern by the above mentioned teams while touring Pakistan. Or it could be a cultural difference between sub-continent teams and the developed nations that play cricket.

Bomb blasts and terrorist attacks are part and parcel of life in most sub-continent countries. Though, the democratic situation in India and Sri Lanka are much better, these countries are neither safe nor any exception when it comes to safety. Now, why don’t they complain about Indian or Sri Lankan tours the same way they do with the Pakistan tours?

According to me, the cricketers (hosts or visitors) always get the best security arrangements available in the sub-continent. Beyond this, if they have more worries, why not the rich cricket bodies ‘hire’ efficient (and may be even imported) security personnel for the protection of their players? If no proper permanent solution is devised for this issue, we will get to hear the same statements over and again. Moreover, the cultural differences and financial status of the cricket bodies have already started separating the cricketing nations into two groups. In all recent issues – whether it is the IPL, issues related to Pakistan and Zimbabwe, ICL issues etc – the main underlying reason was the cultural difference that was further widened by the BCCI’s money power to influence decisions. So it’s time for the international cricket bodies come together and decide on consciences and the future of cricket!