Youngsters failed to consolidate but did enough to avoid the axe
Anand Vasu - 8 August 2001
It is the biggest malaise to haunt Indian cricket over the years. You
let a player know that his position in the team is secure and he
slackens. Conversely if you pick a player and drop him soon after he
fails, his confidence is shattered and a potentially good young
cricketer is wasted. The Australians have adopted a universally
applicable `rotation policy' where players are selected and rested,
often unrelated to performances. This works for a team with an
embarrassment of riches in the talent department. This clearly is not
the situation in India.
In countries like England, Australia and South Africa, being a
professional cricketer affords you a comfortable lifestyle. It is not
a case where you have to make it big on the international stage or
perish. In the subcontinent however, with almost no recognised
professional set up, the pressures to play at the highest level are
immense. The profusion of one-dayers has only served to heighten this
aspect. A player going on a tour like the recently concluded Coca-Cola
Cup in Sri Lanka will walk away with a far bigger pay packet than the
average Ranji Trophy cricketer can expect to make in more than a year.
Even if the cricketer did not actually play for India in any games on
the tour, this would tend to apply.
With that being the situation, the first thing on a player's mind
would be retention of place in the touring party. Cricketing
excellence necessarily takes a back seat. Whether this is a good thing
or not can be debated. But that it is true few will doubt. Even the
recent Coca-Cola Cup raised its share of cruel jokes. When VVS Laxman
was under fire for a string of low scores he made 87 not out and
secured his place in the side. When people were screaming hoarse about
how overrated Yuvraj Singh was, he played a match winning knock of 98
not out. And finally there was the case of that man from Delhi,
Virender Shewag who blasted New Zealand and critics alike with a 70-
ball hundred. Just when you think a player should be dropped... was
the refrain.
To understand this better however, it is worth looking at the approach
the Pakistanis adopt when it comes to youngsters. One can never forget
the comment the wily fox Javed Miandad made as coach during the Asia
Cup in Dhaka in May 2000. When it came to Imran Nazir and Shahid
Afridi he told them: play as your heart dictates; if you feel like
clobbering the ball, do so and if it's defence you prefer then do
that. When dealing with Yousuf Youhana and Abdur Razzaq, his response
was wholly different. There's no need to tell them anything he said.
Just let them go out there and play, they know what to do, he added.
At the end of the day, it is this specialised and individual treatment
that is the need of the hour with any team from the subcontinent.
In the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Hemang Badani was given an
extended run in the middle order. The southpaw from Tamil Nadu was
rated highly by most and seemed to possess a good approach to the
game. However, in less than ideal batting conditions Badani struggled,
making just 78 runs from six innings, including a best of 35 not out.
To make matters worse, Badani scored at the poor strike rate of 59.54,
something totally unacceptable in the shorter version of the game.
Everyone who watches Badani bat, is convinced that he is a good young
cricketer and rightly so. He possesses a cool temperament and a
sensible approach, and there is a case to persist with him, perhaps in
the manner of Razzaq or Youhana, now certainties in any Pakistan side.
Virender Shewag, the toast of the whole nation for his explosive
century against New Zealand, averaged a mere 25.14 in the series.
While one cannot take anything away from Shewag for the innings he
played, his scores in the other six matches of the series speak of
inconsistency - 0, 12, 33, 27, 0 and 4 - a very bad run of form, both
in the middle order and while opening the innings. While Shewag
managed to get off to starts on two occasions, he failed to capitalise
and make even a half century. To treat him in the same manner as
Badani would be a mistake. A completely different cricketer he is, and
a different approach is called for.
Yuvraj Singh's ability has never been in doubt. His temperament
however has always been regarded as a bit suspect. However, Yuvraj
managed to overcome this limitation with a match winning unbeaten 98
against Sri Lanka. With the ball in hand too, Yuvraj proved to be a
handy customer, snaring eight wickets in the tourney. His efforts in
the Coca-Cola Cup would have to be regarded an acceptable contribution
and one could say that he has done enough to keep his place in the
side.
Reetinder Singh Sodhi, earmarked for bigger things as India's utility
cricketer failed to deliver with both bat and ball. He contributed
just 83 runs from five innings with the willow. With the ball in hand,
one wicket at an average of 123 was the result from 23 overs
delivered. Of all the newcomers to the Indian team, Sodhi was perhaps
the one person who let his skipper down.
To say the youngsters in the side grabbed the opportunity created by
Tendulkar's absence would be inaccurate. However, there's no running
away from the fact that almost all of them, in their own inimitable
ways managed to do just enough to avoid the axe.
© CricInfo
Teams
|
India,
Sri Lanka.
|
Players/Umpires
|
Virender Shewag,
Yuvraj Singh,
VVS Laxman,
Imran Nazir,
Shahid Afridi,
Javed Miandad,
Hemang Badani,
Sachin Tendulkar,
Abdur Razzaq,
Reetinder Sodhi.
|
Tournaments
|
Coca-Cola Cup (Sri Lanka) |