Pick a real team, if you dare

I am a South African, but support two teams : South Africa and India. I have been a supported of the Indian team for many years, and read the articles at Rediff every day. The reason for supporting India is that the Indian team is the most talented team that I have seen in many years of cricket. I have been waiting for them to click as a unit, but, unfortunately I have been waiting for some 6 or 7 years now.

Like India we in South Africa have a very talented rugby side. We have been on top of the world rugby scene for many decades, In the last 2 years the wheels have come of totally. Rugby sides that do not belong on the same field are beating the pants of us. Our side have just returned from a tour of Europe where we were thrashed by record margins. After every defeat the coach and the press assure us that it can not get worse, and give plenty excuses for the poor performance. The next time it is worse. Once again excuses and promises. On their return from their disastrous European tour the coach called a press conference, and I wish to share his comments with you. He said that after such heavy defeats one can hardly say that you learnt anything from these games, BUT that he did learn something. Our team is packed with superstars and some rugby players. The tour taught him which of these superstars can play test rugby and which can't. I always laugh at the excuses, but this time the coach had my attention.

Like our rugby side the Indian cricket team is packed with stars, that have massive talent and big sponsorship deals. They are obviously raking in millions for the companies that sponsor them, and they obviously pull the crowds where ever they go, BUT are they test cricketers. In India there are many cricketers that have less talent than Gangully, or Sachin, or Rahul. The combination of their ability, will to win, pride and dedication will be greater than that of say a Gangully. They may just be test cricketers. Their National pride and unwillingness to accept defeat will make them play through pain barriers unknown to us. Put 11 such men on the field and tear the word defeat out of the dictionary. By now everybody in India should know that talent is not the factor that makes you win matches. If it was India would be leading in all aspects of the game.

NO sport team that has any TEAM SPIRIT will post the type of totals that India has been posting in NZ. Do not even try to disagree with me. The Indian cricket team has NO team spirit. FULL STOP.

Prem, your and the media's job is to identify those 11 cricketers that I am talking about. Those 11 that will die for their country and their fans. Those that will play through the pain barrier, and that will go and bat without all the modern day protectors that make them look like robots. Those players that will rather take a blow to the body than to try and fend the ball from their bodies with their bats, resulting in easy catches. My prediction is that your job to find 11 such players will be a difficult one, as once you have removed the blinkers you will soon identify 1000 cricketers that fit the bill. Don't be surprised though if many of the stars that currently don the Indian cap do not make it onto the list. They are not playing for India, they are playing for their sponsors, for if they were playing for India give me ONE valid excuse that will explain their performance.

Looking forward to seeing 11 Indian cricketers in the test side in the future,and not 11 superstars.

--Theuns Botha

Durban, South Africa

Prem Panicker responds: Theuns, hi, I remember the first time you wrote in -- when South Africa came here for the comeback tour. It's amazing, frankly, that this letter, six years down the line, still has the same passionate belief in Indian cricket that was reflected in your first. And as with your other letters down the years, I really can't quarrel with a single word you say. Actually, you do have an idea there -- what will be the outcome if we were to do a hard-headed, pragmatic exercise in picking an Indian team, with only performance counting in the selection? What the heck, given how things work here, I am not sure how much value such an exercise in a section of the media will be -- but let's give it a whirl anyway. You'll see it on the site -- before the World Cup begins. Meanwhile, good to hear from you again, and best regards

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I think that the case has clearly been made by the ICC that one Mr.Niranjan Shah, authorised by Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya, signed the PNA, which clearly sells our players out to the sponsors. The only defense that the two gentlemen can mount is that they didn't actually read the agreement before signing. Their minimum offense is negligence. They should be personally held responsible and punished for acting irresponsibly. Now, they come before the Indian public, the fans and the ICC and act as though they have been cheated alongwith the players. This is one of the main reasons for appointing professional sports managers that are accountable to the players and fans. I hope that the involved people recognize this fact and take advantage of this situation to address the issue of better administration and accountability.

--Easwar

Prem Panicker responds: As far as more accountability in administration goes, I certainly won't argue with you, given that I've been arguing that case for what feels like a lifetime and a half. Having said which, I don't think "the involved people" are going to stand up and say, hey, we messed up, we don't think this kind of amateurishness will do any longer, so we are going to resign our posts and let professionals take over -- it is their jobs in cricket administration that give them visibility (would a JY Lele, or a Niranjan Shah, or most others, be anything other than names in the phone book if it weren't for their administrative roles?) and that being the case, it is highly unlikely they will relinquish their hold in the interests of the game.

The other question, of who signed what and when, is becoming increasingly intriguing, though -- the BCCI has been suggesting that some clauses were added subsequent to obtaining its signature, the ICC says the Indian board knew what it was signing, and the ball keeps getting tossed back and forth. Maybe, while asking for accountability, it is also time to ask for some transparency -- in the workings of both the BCCI, and the ICC. How difficult is it to put the contract, in its entirety, before the public?

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A couple of comments regarding ongoing ICC Contracts saga:

1. Did Dalmiya & co. sign the ICC contract way back in 2001 or not ? If they did, what business they have in disputing the contract ?

Whether the contract is fair or not is a separate issue - but once you sign the contract, what's the point in crying about it ? Didn't ICC have common sense to consult lawyers / players before committing to contract ? I think this joker called Dalmiya should resign because it is he who committed the blunder.

2. As for ICC's threat of taking legal action etc. - I think they are forgeting few realities. First, it is India which sponsors the Cricket. Take away India and ICC will find to realize even one fifth of US$ 500 M. Second, even if BCCI signed the contract, BCCI can always name a 'B' team and say according to them they are best to reprsent India. And if they do so, can you imagine the effect it would have on the sponsor / advertisers to have a WC without Tendulkar/Ganguly/Sehwag/Dravid/Bajji

BCCI can effectively kill 2 (or more) birds at one stone by naming a 'B' team to represent India. Actually that would be in interest of Indian Cricket also - the second team would get maximum experience and would help to discover new stars.

BTW, I don't understand how come in India we have non-Cricketing folks (e.g. Dalmiya, Dungarpur, Manohar Joshi) and second class Cricketers (Shivlala Yadav, Brijesh Patel, Ashok Melhotra & co.) as Cricket Administrators / selectors whereas Australia / NZ have some of their best ex-Cricketers as Administrators/Selectors ? Shouldn't Gavaskar/Bedi/Kapil/Vishwanath be running Cricket in India rather than the bunch of incompetent jokers ?

-- Nilesh

Prem Panicker responds: The BCCI signed a contract in 2001. This was when Dalmiya was chief of the ICC and A C Muthaiah was board president.

That contract did not have this clause in it. Subsequently, the BCCI signed another contract -- or rather, another version of the same contract -- in the middle of last year, when Dalmiya was board chief. And it is this contract that contains the provisions in dispute.

About the legal action part, while I agree that India contributes 80 per cent or more to the money in world cricket, I am not sure just how far we can take that fact. I am not saying that we tolerate injustice, mind -- but merely taking that thought to its logical conclusion here. For instance, assume the ICC decides to fine the BCCI for going back on a contract it had clearly signed. Assume the BCCI refuses to pay. Assume, further, that the ICC then bans the board -- and with it, the team. What then? Will the sponsors, whose money power we keep talking about, continue to ante up millions for the Indian team to play six a side cricket at home? Obviously not -- the money will stop flowing in, and that will ultimately end up hurting cricket in the country.

As to why we have non-professionals running the game, that is one of those perennial debates -- the BCCI has an autonomous structure, so any changes in its management style has to be made by the very people whose professionalism and ability is in question.

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I fail to understand what exactly is happening with Srinath?

Whenther he wants to play in tests or he does not?

If he does then why he did not play against NZ and england and if he does not then why the hell did he play against WI?I personally feel his absence was the biggest reason for India not able to win in NZ and England and sadly nobody seems to be noticing this point.

--Jwalant Mehta

Prem Panicker responds: Things have been going from bad to worse ever since Srinath and his captain had a rather public showdown in course of the tour of the West Indies early last year. The real story of what is happening with him will only be known the day he quits the game -- and speaks his mind. Till then, anything we say would be, at best, speculative -- so hey, let it lie for now.

Actually, going off at a tangent, it is amazing how he is regularly trashed when he is in the side, and missed when he is out of it. Especially when we go abroad.

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Firstly lets make one thing clear..what mr. balaji says is not at all clear to me..why should ganguly be demoted from captaincy and dravid promoted in tests? Hasnt he any idea about the runs that Ganguly has scored this year abroad in westindies & england?? Going by the same coin one can even say drop Dravid from ODI team..but that is as foolhardy as Mr. balaji's idea. And if one is to talk about the new zealand tour then why not someone point the finger that apart from dravid, sachin,fleming,astle and richardson no one from either side scored even 30 in any innings??? What sort of a pitches are these that can't produce even a 30 from a batsman or a 50 in 6 consecutive innings?

Why only India..the weakness of every subcontinent team in pacy bouncy pitches is legendary ( look at SA-PAK, SA-SL & even ENG-SL) matches.There is nothing to jump up about..we were playing in atrocious pitches. Given even a semblance of bat-table situation, Indian batsman can stand up and be counted as was seen in england. I sometimes wonder why when we cry that we are so soft hearted and lack killer instinct off the field, are we so mean minded when wielding the pen. I mean come on..look at the English press. They are being mauled and battered by every aussie team they are coming against. Their press still find some positive angle and write FOR them rather AGAINST.

Our journalists, save Sunny Gavaskar(who else!) seem more hell bent on knee jerk reactions and the rediff team is no exception. I ask one question, when was the last time that a pitch was prepared in India in which a match finished in under 2 days with barely 150 overs played? Now if Mr. Menon can unearth such a test match, pray tell me why are'nt our reporters really hemming on this point of playing on trash pitches and instead focussing on frailty of our batsmen. Of course our batsmen failed..any one would fail on those grazing grounds. These are the very same people who climb the moon after every Tendulakr century and then brand him as only fit for commercials when he fails. Not everyone can be like Hayden and no team can be like the Aussies. I rest my case.

--Debopam

Prem Panicker responds: No wish to butt in on what seems to be a dispute between readers, so I'll comment on only the part that applies to knee jerk reactions. Which are?

Incidentally, I am not sure the point about the British press is valid -- you need to go back and read their comments after each of the Tests so far, the only positive thing they have said so far is that they didn't expect to win against Australia anyway.

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How does ICC Can force BCCI to select the # 1 Team I thought It's BCCI's internal matter to select the plyers. And if they wish they could send 15 players from under 19 team ? What if BCCI thinks ( of they ever start doing so ) that these guys are better

--Madhav Deshpande

Prem Panicker responds: Actually, that doesn't work -- most world tournaments, the organizers do specify that the countries send their best elevens; after all, the countries are getting compensated financially for sending their teams, this compensation comes from money the public and the sponsors pay -- and neither the public, nor the sponsors, put down millions just so you can send a club-level team.

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One thing that struck me after the test matches was the pompousness of Fleming and company of how batsmen need to be able to play on all pitches etc. I just hope that for the return series next year we do provide them with pitches that break right away on day one and the ball turns square. Lets see their reaction then !!!

I am usually pretty critical of our batsmen's inability to play ( i dont think that they are the best in the world or anything) but what happened in NZ was not really their fault. They went from playing on wickets where the ball was begging to be hit to pitches which were two paced.

I was somewhat disappointed in Ganguli that he did not respond back to them with some of the similar comments. Talking about Ganguli, why is he in the test team? I think he batted ok in the flatter pitches of WI but I dont think he has the ability to play on any pitch where the ball is seaming and bouncing. I think he is a good odi player and a good captain but he is really just taking up a batting spot in the test team which could be occupied by a Kaif (Not sure if he would be any more successful but you gotta give the man a chance).

And finally can someone explain to me what Das was doing in the odi team? They should have used the opportunity of these odi's to try out the different combinations for the WC. Das has absolutely no chance of going to SA so why not use this time and try out a Dinesh Mongia for instance.

I wish the team management would do some explaining.

--Bobby

Prem Panicker responds: Frankly, I am one of those old-fashioned types who believe that cricketers should be seen -- in classy action -- and not heard, especially trashing their opponents. And that goes for all teams -- but apparently, 'gamesmanship', another word for rank bad manners, is supposedly how the game should be played these days, so hey...

To be fair to Fleming, he did mention, in that same media interaction, that he would expect to get square turners when he led his team to India next year, and that he would have no quarrel with that, it would be up to his team to adjust to those conditions just like it is up to the Indians to adjust to the conditions in Kiwi-land.

Ganguly's place in the team lineup has been debated endlessly, so I'll give it a break. What Das, who does not find a place in the 30 probables for the World Cup, is doing playing in a series that is supposedly meant to fine tune the side for the Cup, is one of those mysteries only the selectors have answers to. And they aren't talking -- they figured that trying to find "explanations" only underlines their mistakes.

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While its perfectly all right to lambast the team for its pathetic performance in the test series,one fails to understand why Ganguly shoul should take all the blame for the debacle.Its true that he did not bat well,but neither did Laxman, Sehwag, Bangar or for that matter Sachin or Dravid. He has been quite consistent in 2002 except for the home series against Windies,where the exceptional generosity of Ashoka De silva ensured he had a nightmare.Talking of "leading by example in trying circumstances", I guess the pitch at Leeds where he scored 128 was a flat featherbed where anyone could have come and smashed it around..

Unfortunately public memory is hopelessly short and even the "true lovers of Test cricket" are ready to hang the captain when the team loses but not willing to give him any credit when the team wins.That's the captains job for you.

--Anindya Kar

Prem Panicker responds: You are right, actually, that is part of the captain's brief, to live and die by the results. Remember the fuss that was made over Nasser Hussain's 'generalship', when he packed leg cordons and had his bowlers bowl two feet outside leg stump to contain the Indian batsmen? He was supposed to be the best thing to have happened to captaincy. And now? Actually, in Hussain's case, he has been getting some runs -- but the team is getting trashed, and the call is for the captain's head.

Some captains, in fact, get dumped even when the team is winning -- ask Steve Waugh.

Ganguly got credit in plenty for a superb home win versus the Aussies, plus the fact that he has led the team to two wins away from home in the year just ending. Surely, the reverse will also apply? As to why the captains get it in the neck, it is probably because they are appointed to lead from the front -- and leading from the front does not mean only scoring one of three centuries in an innings. And again, this is true for all captains, everywhere.

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What I feel is that we should have fast and bouncy wickets in India also. I will not like that all the tracks should be fast because other countries like Australia England South Africa do have such tracks due to which they are benefitted. Because of batting wickets cricket in India has become more of batsmen oriented and our bowlers get a harsh treatment both here as well as abroad. As far current tour is concerned I feel it was luck which help NZ. Because batting of both the teams has collapsed.

--Khan

Prem Panicker responds: The point everyone is driving at is not necessarily to have blazing fast tracks at the Wankhede or the Gardens or whatever -- the call is merely for domestic cricket to move away from dead tracks, so that the runs batsmen regularly pile up against their name have some meaning other than the merely statistical.

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