Who will touch even 140 kph mark is a thing to ponder...(written on Oct 25, when the 1st ODI between India-Australia was on...)

I cannot remember the last time I saw any Indian pacer
bowling or even touching 140kph consistently. It is so hard to
believe that a country which is mad about cricket, and has
abundance of talent cannot produce a bowler who can bowl around
150kph mark.
If we just check the bowling speeds of the current speedsters (if
they really are) of the Indian side then it will be hard to find anyone
touching the mid 130's consistently. Praveen Kumar hardly goes above
130 mark while Ashish Nehra, though bowling best among the players
taking the field regularly, is only the shadow of his former self
now.
Those who watched him bowling in the 2003 World Cup in
South Africa cannot forget how closely he missed touching the
150kph mark in the game against Zimbabwe and England. But now he is
six years older and making a comeback in the side after a gap of
four years, so it's understandable that he is concentrating on line and
length more than hitting the deck hard.
Ishant Sharma, who impressed one and all with his pace and
accuracy in his debut test series against Australia, is surely short
of confidence and out of form lately. Though he tried to bowl in the
right areas in the first game of the ongoing India-Australia series,
he never looked to threaten the batsmen and his average speed was around 135kph.
This is the case with most of our young bowlers--Sudeep Tyagi,
Pradeep Sangwan, Ashok Dinda etc.—who are either on the fringe of
getting selected or have already played for the country.
Has India ever produced any quality fast bowler and I mean
'fast' and not a medium pacer? Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh
Prasad, Abey Kuruvilla, all remained genuine medium pacers throughout
their careers. While Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth were just
as quick as their predecessors, only Ishant Sharma touched
150kph a few time early on in his career (he still is 21 and has an
experience of hardly two years).
It always brings a chuckle on my face whenever I think about
Munaf Patel. Once considered as the fastest bowler in the country
Munaf now hardly goes above 130kph mark. Though he has become more
consistent now but where has the speed gone? He too has remained
injury-prone like many of his other colleagues. But is it correct to
bring down the pace so much and forget what you were once regarded
as? A genuine prospect who can bowl quick and rattle the batsmen on
a consistent basis. But that thing is completely missing in Munaf
now.
I also think that many of our pacers start their careers as fast bowlers, as they have to prove a point or two to everyone but with time and more matches their pace decreases. Injury is also a major factor behind the dropping pace. Ian Bishop and Correy Collimore
of West Indies , Sri Lankan Chaminda Vass, and in recent times Shane
Bond from New Zealand are examples who sacrificed a few kilometers
of speed to prolong their careers.
But there are other examples as well, who, irrespective of their
injury layoffs bowled with the same pace and rhythm. First such
example that comes to my mind is Brett Lee.
He has bowled around 150kph mark or above throughout his career. He
was a threat even when he made his debut against India in 1999 and he still
is the fastest and most accurate bowler around. Another, though
controversial name, is Shoaib Akhtar. He has been out of the team n
number of times because of an injury but bowled as quickly as he could
after each comeback. It's because he did not want to forget his
identity or why people call him 'Rawalpindi Express'.
In Indian cricket things work in a different way. After the
initial burst, Indian bowlers lose pace with time and experience.
For them, being in the side and getting 'fat cheques' are more
important than remembering their identities. They know that if they just
stick in the side for a few years, they can earn for a lifetime. They forget the only reason for which they are playing the game.

"Why is the wall broken?" ...(written on 17 Oct, the day after Indian team was picked for the first two ODIs against the OZs)

The team has been selected for the upcoming series against Australia. Few changes were desperately needed, especially after the debacle of Champions Trophy where the ‘men-in-blue’ were knocked out in the opening round itself.
Munaf’s inclusion was inevitable after his successful stint in the Irani Trophy and Challenger Series, but retaining Ishant Sharma in the squad of 15, was perplexing. He looked completely out of colour in the biennial tournament in South Africa and his performance in the two domestic games — where Munaf shined — was also not encouraging to pick him against the inform OZs.
Sudeep Tyagi got the reward of his consistent performance in the last few seasons where he picked up wickets and also bowled with lots of heart. Selectors once again showed their faith on young Ravindra Jadeja, who impresses everyone with his all-round ability time and again.
Return of dynamic Virendra Sehwag together with talented Yuvraj Singh will provide much needed boost to the Dhoni-led side. But the ‘wall’ has been collapsed once again by the selectors. Rahul Dravid, who has become an epitome of consistency and hard work over the years, has shown the door.
To my surprise, this time the third 10000-run getter in Indian Cricket hasn’t performed badly in whatever chances he was given. In fact he was one such batsman who anchored the sinking ship when it was needed the most in the CT.
‘Thinking about the future’ has always given as reason for this Banglorean exit. But things don’t look that simple when one gets down to the bottom of the whole thing.
We all are impressed by the leadership skill of Mahendra Singh Dhoni but he also looks rigid and uncompromising when it comes to team’s selection. More youngsters have been given chances since Dhoni started leading the side. So what possibly could be the role of Indian skipper behind the exclusion of seasoned Dravid?
In my opinion, the man from Ranchi likes leading the young side than a side of too many aged blokes. It is always easy to direct young players. They don’t ask too many questions when they are told to do something. And they are more agile and fit when it comes to ground fielding.
But then another question that comes to my mind is why the great Sachin Tendulkar hasn’t been shown the door once. The answer lies in the adjective—great—I used before the master’s name. Sachin’s stature is too big for anyone to discard him. And all the players who are in the side have had ‘little master’ as their ideal all their lives. And, Sachin’s presence in the middle still makes a difference straight away. So it is impossible even for Dhoni to go against the selector’s wish to pick the highest run-getter in both forms of the game.
One can feel for Dravid, who has always given his 100 per cent whenever he donned the Indian colours. We all know the pitches in South Africa have more bounce and carry than pitches from the Subcontinent. It requires great skill and precision to score runs on the green top than hitting cross-bat strokes in the lifeless pitches that one gets generally in the four cricket playing nations in Asia.
Selectors included Dravid for the Champions Trophy as they knew none of the youngsters is capable of handling the chest-length deliveries that one gets in South Africa. But isn’t it unfair towards the ‘gentleman of the game’ to drop him when even he can score tons of runs in the dull pitches that one is going to get in the series against the Aussies? Don’t you think Dravid can score as many runs as any youngster? He surely deserved the place in the 15 member squad, especially all the devotion this 34-year old ‘young man’ shown throughout his career, even when he was given the job to keep behind the wickets. And he did that efficiently without asking a single question.

Munaf and Sree against OZs…

After watching the performances of both Munaf Patel and S Sreesanth in Irani Trophy and Challenger Series, it would not be that difficult to predict that these two players should get the selectors' nod in the upcoming series against Ricky Ponting’s side.
Munaf caught the selectors’ attention by taking most wickets in the game between Rest of India and Mumbai, that ended in a draw, while S Sreesanth's performance was good enough to give him the much-needed chance.
There were some other creditable performances as well. Ajit Agarkar, Sudip Tyagi and Ashok Dinda were other medium-pacers who can be discussed when the team gets selected. But Munaf and Sree seem to replace RP Singh and Ishant Sharma.
The only thing that goes against the lanky pacer from Baroda is his agility in the field. He takes all the time in the world to get to the ball and his shoulder doesn’t help him in releasing the ball quickly enough.
While Sreesanth always finds himself in one or the other controversy. Some would have thought his being debarred from the Indian side might have taught him a much-needed lesson. But his argument with the opposing side in the Irani Trophy game could spoil the party for him.
I would like to see Ajit Agarkar donning a Blue, Red or Green jersey and claw his way back in the Indian side. But he was completely overlooked. Ashok Dinda is another bowler who seems to have good blend of energy and confidence and should be given a serious thought.
Whosoever becomes the selectors' choice, it would not be easy for them to bowl against the in-form Aussie batsmen, especially the makeshift (successful) opener Shane Watson and skipper Ricky Ponting.

Why Indian teams not performing well in CL?

After Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils tasted defeat in their first matches, it was the turn of Hyderabad Deccan Chargers yesterday to start their Champions League campaign with a loss.
Though it was a last ball thriller but a loss is a loss at the end. It has also put Adam Gilchrist'S side in a spot of bother like the other two Indian teams in the 12-team event. Now it is paramount for the top three teams from IPL to win their remaining group matches to give them any chance to stay alive in the tourney. The question to be asked is why Indian teams performing below par till now? Is it because of the unexpectedness about their new opponents? It is definitely a difficult task to bowl or to bat against someone whom you haven't faced before. But it is as difficult for the visiting sides as it is for the home teams. To add to that, IPL teams are riding on two important factors: playing on the pitches that best suit their style of play and the other is showing their prowess with crowd backing them.
Another reason for their average performance could be underestimating the other teams. But it seems something difficult to digest as all the sides participating in the competition are the champions of their respective domestic competitions. And to underestimate any one of them could be ominous.
From underestimating the opponents to surprise by their skills could be another thing. We shouldn't forget that India is one of the last countries if not the last where T-20 cricket started much later than the other cricket playing nations, especially with the advent of Indian Cricket League (ICL).
ICL both surprised as well as opened BCCI’s eyes. It is only then the visionary like Lalit Modi saw the money behind this short format of the game. Though, he has time and again pointed out that the concept was there in his mind since 1996 and he closely observed the English Premier League- the top domestic football league of England- before sowing the seeds for IPL. But once it started, it was grabbed by both hands by the public and the players. There are n number of T-20 tournaments that were organized after the IPL and that gave enough exposure to the players to hone their skills in this version of the game. So getting surprised by the opponent’s skills is also something difficult to swallow.
I think all the teams also know the fact that; complexion of a T-20 game can be changed in any over or by any cameo. Even one over spell or few balls from the middle of the bat is enough to change the course of the game. So it has become imperative for the home teams to put the disappointment in their bags for a while and concentrate on the only chance they have. Otherwise, they will carry other stuff in their bags together with disappointment.