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The Cricket Interview/Robin Singh

'It has not been easy for Sachin...'

Which is the best team in the world today?

I think Australia is the best side, they are very positive, they more consistent than the others.

More than Sri Lanka?

Definitely.

How do you explain Sri Lanka's rise?

Lanka, well, you have to remember when reading their results that a huge proportion of their games have been played, these last two years, on the subcontinent. The team is very well equipped for the subcontinent. They don't need to play three fast bowlers, they can get away with playing three or four batsmen who can bowl, spin, which means straightaway, they have six or seven bowlers. But when they go out of the subcontinent, to different kinds of tracks, their results are not that good.... they lost in the West Indies, didn't they?

When they tour England, Australia, or South Africa, I don't think they will be so successful as they are here... they will have to change their combination, that is when your settled gameplans become upset... Here they don't have to change, they have perfected their game for these wickets and they just keep going out and practising it time after time.

Once they change their combination is when you should take note of their performances... I don't think they have fast bowlers who can take on the best batsmen for instance.... I mean, they might be okay, but I don't think they are world class...

What about India? What should we be concentrating on?

I think maybe our bowling department should be strengthened, our fielding has to improve. But I think we are a good side, it's just that we have to click together. Like in Toronto, when we looked a very good side. In Pakistan, except the last game, again, we were looking good.

If you see the line-up of our top six batsmen, four at least... well, only two would get runs... and you can't post good scores if only two score, or out of the five bowlers only two fellows bowl well. Basically, whoever plays, what we need is consistency, more of us have to be doing well at the same time, and when that begins happening regularly, we will become a very good side, we will begin winning consistently. I think we are as good as any side.

If you see our batting, I am not talking about myself, I am talking about Azhar, Sachin, Rahul, Kambli, most of these guys are averaging 30, 40 in Test matches, even more.... That itself tells you we are definitely a good side. Then there's Srinath and Prasad... Srinath is one of the fastest bowlers in the world.. Kumble got so many wickets, then there are many youngsters, good ones, coming in, Debashish and the other guy, Harvinder...

Thankfully, the dependency on Sachin has reduced?

Well, it's not a question of dependency, you cannot expect him to score all the time. Unfortunately, when he gets out, people start criticising, which is wrong. He may not be getting hundreds, but he is contributing much more. Maybe not to the extent he was a little earlier, granted, but you got to give him a break also.

In cricket, you are bound to have a little lean patch. I am certain he will come out of it, one good knock and he will be there again. He is certainly the best batsman in the world I have seen, apart from Azhar. I would consider Sachin one of the best one-day batsmen in the world, if not the best.

I think there are very few guys around who can bat the way he does. When he gets going, no one has a clue where to bowl or what field to set. Actually I think he gets himself out, nobody gets him out. Same thing with Azhar. You have two of the best batsmen in the world, I don't see why we are still asking if we are a bad side...

A quick flashback, were you upset on being dropped after that first tour to the West Indies so long ago?

It's not a question of being upset. After that, you have to work towards making a comeback. Fortunately, I did get to play so many years after, so it is not a question of getting upset. You keep carrying on, you cannot bother about it. Seven-and-a-half years is a long time in cricket, you can actually give up. But I never was bothered about whether I would make a comeback or not, I just kept playing.

Would you call yourself a fighter?

I think that's a wrong word, I think you have to go out with a certain amount of determination. As I said, every game you play, you play your best and try to do well. For one to make a comeback, it takes a long time. It's a long process, it cannot happen overnight, takes at least one, two years. In my case it took a little longer, seven and a half years.

What should the selectors do to improve things?

I don't want to comment, that's not my line. I am here to play cricket, I am not interested in cricket politics.

With Srinath, Kumble and Prasad set to return, there are bound to be changes in the team. Are you worried about your place?

I don't know who is going to come into the side, that's not my job. I think so far, we have done well without them. I am not saying we don't need them back... well, with whatever resources he had I think Sachin has done fantastically. So why worry, if they come back, good, all the better, the more the merrier. It's good for the game, you know there are so many guys, so nobody can relax. It makes it much more competitive, naturally you too lift your game. I think Sachin has done an excellent job with these guys.

Sachin has often spoken of the need for an all-rounder. Has that search ended, now that you have come good?

I think even if you have more guys, it's even better. Why should the search be over? I think you should always be looking for more cricketers. As I said, one can never relax in this game. The moment you think you have made it, you relax, you make mistakes and out you go... So you better be always on your toes and be prepared.

How about domestic cricket, your performance playing for Tamil Nadu?

I have been leading TN for two years. This year I am around, last year I was not... the year before, we came to the finals, that was the first year I led the side. Last year we didn't do very well, but I was not around last year. The few games I captained, even last year, we won. We also had a lot of changes...

Changes in the team seem to be a universal complaint in India.

Yeah, but I don't want to get into it. There's no point.

Do you think the captain should have a say in selection?

Naturally, as captain, you must have a say. In the end the captain is the one who gets the blame. Yes, I think the captain should have a say, a major say, in selection...

But all said and done, there's been a lot of sympathy for Sachin?

People are forgetting that we played some of the best teams in the world over the last few months. We played South Africa on their turf and we almost won the last Test. In West Indies we lost one nil, we narrowly lost the Barbados match which we should have won. In the one-dayers we lost 3-1, it should have actually been 2-all. In Sri Lanka, the Test series was a draw, right? In the one-dayers, we should have won at least two of the first three. That's what I was saying, we lost too many close games, and those make our results read badly.

I think he has done a very good job as captain, considering that there has been so many changes in the side. We were analysing it, the other day, we realised from last year's Toronto side, this time at least seven, eight guys are not around and that means two-thirds of the side is different, and this inside one year. That itself is a lot. And we are talking about building a side. I am not saying there should not be changes, but the fact is it has not been an easy job for him... leading a settled side is one thing, but each time new players come in, you have to settle them into the side, work them into your gameplay... You are forgetting all that.

The big one -- are we playing too much cricket?

It is not too much cricket... just that the way we are playing, there is no time for anything else. We don't get time for anything. I am not complaining, but I think there should be little more time between series... it should be phased out better, I think that would help.

Money is always a factor, the more you play the more you earn, what I am saying is people would not mind if tours and contests are phased out better. There is so much traveling, even for local cricket there is so much travel you are doing, and that adds to the strains...

What you don't tend to think about, there are many things that go into preparing for a game. People sometimes forget that you may have family problems. Somebody's parents may be ill, so many things may be on your mind, and on the minds of the other players and these days, there is no time to deal with these things... you are moving from stadium to stadium, game to game...

So yes, the amount of cricket we play does make for strain, and it is more mental than physical. In fact, I think in this, we are pretty good, we are coping well, better than most teams. I think we are not the best side but mentally, we are more stronger than other teams, especially when it comes to coping with tough schedules, problems, adverse conditions, we don't whine as much as some others, we just go out there and play to our best...