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20 years seems to be to cutoff point as far as Indians' record-breaking
spree is concerned. a) Haven't won in the Caribbean in more than 30
years - check b) Haven't won a test series in England in more than 20
years - check c) And this one is little tough to believe, Haven't won a
ODI series against Pakistan in more than 20 years, (and here comes the
amusing addendum), on home turf - check. With the amount of cricket
being played between the two teams on different fora in the last few
years, this little nugget got swept underneath the carpet and it is
only after India triumphed in the series, did the little known artifact
got dusted off and given a new face-lift. Oh, there is also one more 20
year trivia - India notched up a series victory (both in limited and
longer versions) against Pakistan on their soil, after 20 years. It is
interesting to analyze why all of sudden, decades old records are bring
downed like bowling pins. Either it has to do something with India
playing exceedingly well in the past few years or the opposition has
become considerably weaker over the period. The obvious aspect in all
these series victories (against WI, Eng and Pak) is how weak all the
three teams have gotten in their bowling departments. The daunting pace
battery of WI during most of the 80s and much of the 90s, the
consistent attack of the English, and the intimidating bowling line up
of Pakistanis seem to have magically vanished in thin air, and that
seemed to have levelled the playing ground for the Indians, who on the
other hand, have been pretty consistent with little or no consistency
to boot, over all, save for flashes of individual brilliances here and
there.
Particularly when it comes to the team in question, Pakistan, the
current composition is probably the weakest one, in terms of batting
and bowling (fielding has constantly been their Achilles heel), that
Pakistan has fielded in recent memory. The team which had been
synonymous with raw pace, rough around the edges, seems to be grasping
at the straws, what with the frontline battery - Akhtar, Asif, Gul and
Sami, either injured or ineffective and the rest - just plain
ineffective. There was a period during the 80s, towards the middle,
when Pakistan found itself in a similar predicament, with Imran
sustaining a career-threatening knee-injury and Safarz Nawaz retiring
at just the same time, when there was no one bowler who stood out and
up to shepherd the rest, and consequently the dressing room looked like
a revolvin door for bowlers. Azeem Hafiz, Tahir Naqqash, Jalaluddin and
the like stuck around just to warm the berths for the fearsome Ws -
Wasim and Waqar - to take over, not to mention Imran returning to the
stable. Pakistan finds itself in a similar quandry couple of decades
down the line, with no solid prospects breaking away from the pack to
emerge as the next torch-bearers. Save for a few outstanding batsmen -
Miandad, Inzamam and the current Mohd.Yousuf, Pakistan has
predominantly been a bowlers haven ever since its its inception, and to
not play to its core strength, is gifting the opposition that much
advantage right away without a ball being bowled. Until the bowling
roster reads "Right/Left arm fast" all the way down, and not
"Right/Left arm fast medium", "Right/Left arm medium fast" and many
other confusing variants of the terms medium and fast, victory is
unlikely to bestow its benevolence on a consistent basis anytime soon.
7 ODIs + T20 tournament (that they had to play all the way through) + 7
ODIs again + 5 more ODIs - for some teams, that schedule would fill up
a couple of calendar years with little breaks in between the series.
Around 25 international matches within a span of 3 months and with the
mainstays clinging to their spots in each every game, the situation is
ripe for a total breakdown, with the players not getting enough
breathing room for recuperation and recharge. It was a sad sight to see
Dhoni clutching his hamstring and going down, while negotiating a run,
during the final ODI. While on-field injuries are a common sight in any
sport nowadays, what is alarming is a lack of rotation policy (or if
there is one, a strict implementation of it) to space the inevitable
injuries wide apart, so that a grave one to a key player at an
important juncture would not sway the result decisively in favor of the
opposition. Which calls to fore an important question - what were the
likes of Sachin, Dhoni and Yuvraj doing in the final one day in an
already decided series? Were they present on the insistence of BCCI or
the local cricket association hosting the game to garner enough turnout
at the turnstiles? Or were they playing it just to get another one
under their belts just in time for the Christmas bonuses? Wouldn't it
have made more sense playing the likes of Dinesh Karthik (to get him
into the groove of the glove in front of and behind the wickets, should
anything untoward happen to Dhoni), or Dravid (it is sad to club him in
this category, but nonetheless) or other lesser known players waiting
in the wings for some game practice? It is important at this juncture
to talk about board/selection committee's guidelines in dead rubbers.
From the board's perspective, players are a very prized investment. For
it to not protect its interests in the form of mandating the strict
implementation of the rotation policy, particularly during such long
stretches of uninterrupted playing, does not make good business sense.
A word of advice from the South African or Australian boards who
regularly bar their key players (the recent omission of Jacques Kallis
from T20, and the selective use of Alan Dolland during his waning years
come to mind) from taking part in unnecessary matches, is certainly in
order.
If Sachin's aim is to go out in a blaze of glory, he surely seems to be
enroute to his end, running full speed. Even with his current purple
patch, it is tough to see him play series after series, for no more
than a couple of years. And if he has already made up his mind to throw
in the towel for the next World Cup, then the current workload that he
is taking upon himself can be justified. Otherwise, he has either
turned incredibly optimistic about his fitness (the cracks in which
have already been on display during the England tour) or unnecessarily
insecure that he would have to give way for the talent du jour, should
he leave it unguarded. Both the scenarios do not bode well for the team
in the long run. And as Sourav pointed out (with a touch of envy) in
one of his sound bites that if there is one guy who cannot be touched
in the whole team, regardless of his performance, it is Sachin, it is
high time Sachin realizes his self-worth and start staying away from
proceedings that are only statiscian's delight at best, in the better
interests of the team. Competition and insecurity are two faces of the
same coin. But with more than 15,000 runs and 42 centuries (and
counting) in the bank, he can give himself a little more credit, slack
and rest, in the same order. And if security isn't an issue, it is even
stupefying that he risks an injury for such an inconsequential game,
specially with the test series closing up on the heels, and the Aussies
just around the corner, sniffing even for the slightest possibility of
making early inroads into the opposition's psyche.
What's a policy that is not enforced? Guess, the same as great wisdom
and tremendous experience that are never called for!
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More Views by Srinivas Kanchibhotla
