Wednesday 25 July 2007

Some uncomfortable questions

The Lords test ended in a draw. Well, to be frank, India escaped with a draw. Indians from across the globe were doing the rain-dance and praying for rain. Lord Varun obliged.

Looking back at the test, it would be easy to say that Karthik's costly drop proved the difference. But that would put un-necessary blame on the young lad's door.

The blame has to be squarely laid on the seniors. The big 4 managed a high score of 40 in 2 innings. Juniors like Karthik, Jaffer and Dhoni put their hands up.

There was much talk about bowlers winning matches and that our bowlers need to take 20 wickets. Rookie bowlers Sreesanth and RP Singh bowled brilliantly in their first trip. Our bowlers got those 20 wickets for less than 575 runs.

Its high time we looked at the big 4 and started asking some questions. And its outrageous that some senior ex-cricketers recommend that at least some of these players should be around till the 2011 world cup. When the young guns are delivering and the big guns are silent, its better to go ahead with some more young guns. At least you are assured that these people have a stomach for a fight and will not go down tamely.

Hope the selectors are listening. I know its not easy to drop the seniors, there's lot of sponsorship money riding on them. Companies who have spent crores on these superstars wouls want to ensure that these players stay on the team and put in their token presence, so that they can squeeze maximum returns out of every advertising rupee that has been spent. But unless, we can take such touch decisions, I'm afraid Indian cricket will continue to be in the doldrums.

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