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The media is still slamming BCCI's decision to not send a team for the Asian Games in China. In search of a solution, I thought India could send an almost full-strength team there.
India's squads for Tests and Twenty20s differ majorly. Here is the Test squad: G Gambhir, V Sehwag, R Dravid, S Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, S Badrinath, MS Dhoni, H Singh, A Mishra, Z Khan, S Sreesanth.
You might have noticed that I have taken the liberty to replace Yuvraj Singh with S Badrinath... a change that I believe is essential. Yuvraj needs to be kept out of the squad to let him know that he is not indisposable. As replacement, the two guys on my radar were Badrinath and C Pujara. Since Pujara plays higher in the order in domestic cricket, it would be unfair on him to make him play at No. 6. Therefore, Badrinath.
Now, the Twenty20 squad: M Pandey, R Uthappa, N Ojha, S Raina, V Kohli, R Sharma, Y Singh, R Jadeja / I Pathan / Y Pathan, P Kumar, A Nehra, RP Singh / V Kumar.
The guys from the Test squad who would have been a part of a Twenty20 match in normal circumstances are: G Gambhir, V Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Z Khan. Amongst these, Zaheer Khan has been well replaced... simply because even he looks dreadfully off colour. Uthappa's good form (as of now) should ensure that Gambhir's absence does not harm the team too much. Naman Ojha is good behind the stumps... so Dhoni's keeping will not be missed. And as far as MSD's batting is concerned, he has stopped hitting his booming shots in any case. Ojha might just end up having a better strike rate than Dhoni in Twenty20s after the Asia Cup! Dhoni's captaincy might be missed... but we do have to groom someone for the future.
The only guy who cannot be replaced is a certain Virendra Sehwag. He was missed in West Indies... and he will be missed wherever he is not available to play cricket (whatever the format) for India!
There is one catch, though! I don't know if the matches in the Asian Games are going to be allotted the official status. But if India does send a different squad there, then there can be no way that the matches will be awarded the official status. How can India play on two different lands on the same day in two different games of cricket!?
But that is still far away though! Will BCCI risk sending another 'B' team after the humiliation in Zimbabwe. Two losses to Zimbabwe in as many matches is a first in the history of Indian cricket... but that it came against a Zimbabwe squad such as this one should make the Indian players lose sleep over their performance. If the two defeats had come against the Zimbabwe squad of early 2000s, it would still have felt better than this.
And both the matches were convincing wins by the hosts. It wasn't a last ball thriller... far from it. Both the matches, second in particular, were finished by the Zimbabweans in a clinical manner... something that India has not managed far too often over the past few weeks.
As I write this, Zimbabwe is strangulating India slowly at Harare. India is struggling at 111 for 5 in 33 overs. That is a run rate of 3.36 runs per over with 17 overs to go. The batsmen in the middle are Ravindra Jadeja (12* of 20 balls) and Yusuf Pathan (5* of 16 balls).
Now, here is what is going to happen next. Yusuf Pathan is going to hit and hit and hit the spin-based Zimbabwe attack and score his career best score (which currently stands at 59* only). Most fans and almost everybody in the Indian media will forgive him for his past performances in the Indian deep blue and forgetting his shortcomings with the short balls, will heap praises on him and his phenomenal ability to change the course of the match.
The hype and hoopla will end when Yusuf Pathan fails in the next match against Sri Lanka... falling to a short ball. India might even lose both these matches (or one of them)... and might find itself on an early flight back home before the finals.
And then God save these boys! The media will cremate them live... and the selectors will be questioned and hung alongwith Ajmal Amir Kasab!
The venue shifts to Harare as India take on the hosts Zimbabwe... seeking revenge for the humiliation meted out to them in the first game of the tri - series. In another part of the world, West Indies will seek to salvage some pride by trying to beat the South Africans in the 5th ODI to be held at Port of Spain.
The Sulieman Benn incident left me completely muddled... I mean, have you ever heard of anything like this before? I was never ordered out of a cricket game even in school... even though I was pathetic. This was a top-flight One Day International! What's wrong with the West Indies? Is this the same team that was once represented by the likes of Gary Sobers, Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd and other men who gave it their all for the team and their captain?
I pity Chris Gayle's situation. He is a man with capability of being a part of most top international teams. Sadly though, he does not have many such men at his disposal. He may get a once-in-a-while exceptional performance from the likes of Dwayne Bravo, but that's about it. The likes of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are also not as consistent as they used to be... and the biggest problem is that when one man performs, the others fail. They just don't seem to remember how to click together as a team.
I do have a suggestion... totally mad though it may seem! DISBAND THE WEST INDIES!
Why do all the islands have to play under the banner of the West Indies Cricket Board? All the other teams play for the pride of representing their nation... what do the Carribbean cricketers play for? Pride of what? The pride of Carribbean cricket's rich past seems to have been sadly forgotten and swept deep under the carpet.
I had this idea when I saw Trinidad and Tobago perform admirably in the inaugual edition of Champions League Twenty20 last year. They played with a fervour that was possibly better than that shown by the World Champions England last month! And I guess that it was because they were playing for their country... with their countrymen. They didn't have to compete for their spots with other nationalities and also suffer problems with a cricket board that governs cricket in several countries!
If Trinidad and Tobago or Barbados or Jamaica or even St. Lucia or St. Kitts represented themselves in international cricket instead of representing the West Indies, I believe it would do a lot of good for the game. They may not be world beaters straight away... but I feel it will encourage the growth of cricket in that region. The politics will reduce drastically and the competition will be a lot healthier.
And to top it all, it will also help if cricket is to be represented in events such as Olympics. West Indies cannot win a medal... but Barbados certainly can.
I don't know if anyone has thought of this idea before or if it is going to be implemented any time soon... but I really do think it is worth a shot! Simply because, the current situation seems completely hopeless... there is simply no light at the end of a tunnel! And when you see a glow there, it just turns out to be an oncoming train!
Something's got to be done... and something's got to be done fast!
The cricket that will be played at the Asian Games will be Twenty20 format. There will be a Champions League Twenty20 to be played just before that. There will be IPL every year. There will be a Twenty20 World Cup every two years. If cricket is included in the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, there will be more such Twenty20 tournaments. Then there will be the ODI World Cups and the Champions Trophies. Where is the space for Tests then? Where is the time for bilateral tours?
The second allegation being made is regarding the politics involved in governance of Indian sport. This one does make some sense. A very pertinent question raised last night in a news debate regarding this issue was: if the men's schedule is too tight to not send a full-strength team, why can't the BCCI send the women's team atleast? Is it because the BCCI does not want the team to play under the banner of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which is governed by Mr. Suresh Kalmadi (who is not on the best of terms with a certain Mr. Sharad Pawar)?
If this is true, it is a shame! Sport in the sub-continent has always been riddled with politics. BCCI could also have sent a second-string side for the men's event as well. They may say that our secon-string side would not have won a gold, but that does not qualify as an arguement. Sending a strong side also does not assure you of gold either.
I have no clue as to what might happen now. Maybe the BCCI will buckle under the pressure from the Sports Ministry or something and decide to send a team. Maybe a second-string team will be sent. Maybe a women's team will be sent. Maybe the New Zealand tour will be shifted to cramp the cricket calender even more. Maybe the 3-Test 5-ODI tour will be shortened to a 2-Test 3-ODI tour. God only knows. But in the interest of the game, all I have to say is that don't just slam the BCCI for the sake of it.
I am no fan of the Board of Control for Cricket in India... but they do have a job. And in every job, at certain times, you are helpless. That is BCCI's state at the moment. Lets just give them some space to make a decision and then respect it if they can give sound logic behind their decision.
