Tag Archives: Dravid

Head Coach Gautam Gambhir will have to climb THE WALL

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Gautam Gambhir, the new Head Coach, has big shoes to fill. In a sense, he will have to climb up The Wall to make his impact felt. He does have an impressive resume. He played for India in all game formats from 2003 to 2016. World Cup trophy winner with the T-20 squad in 2007 & ODI team in 2011. A big match player- remember his match-winning 75 from 54 balls in the 2007 finals against Pakistan & the resilient 97 out of 122 balls in the WC 2011 finals against Sri Lanka. He captained KKR to the IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 and mentored them in 2024. A strong, outspoken personality, he will be taking over a champion Indian cricket team, which has been two years in the making and with complete focus on the ICC Champions Trophy and World Test championship in 2025.

GG is an ardent admirer of Anil Kumble, India’s spinning legend. He regards him as the best captain he has played under, with his honesty and impeccable dedication to the cause of Indian cricket and The Men in Blue. The same Anil Kumble was sacked as coach in 2017 because of differences with Captain Kohli, who replaced him with his man, the flamboyant Ravi Shastri. Interestingly, Head Coach Gambhir will have a big say in the appointment of the Indian captain, too.

Let’s talk about Rahul Dravid- The Wall.  What makes him such an Icon across the cricketing world? He is one of the most incredible batters of all time (Tests & ODI), and he also holds the record for the most catches in Test cricket history- 210 in 164 matches. When he went out to bat, one could see the Indian tricolour fluttering behind him. Navjot Sidhu famously said,’ Rahul is a person who will walk on broken glass if his team wants him to.’ Brain Lara has declared that ‘if I have to put anyone to bat for my life, it will be Kallis or Dravid.’ In today’s times when aggression is all about pumping fists or cussing opponents listen in to Mathew Hayden, ‘all these things going around is not aggression. If you really want to see aggression look into Dravid’s eyes.’ ++ the Gentleman Cricketer. Ganguly has hailed him as ‘a champion at everything. I am very impressed with the way he approaches life.’ As Brett Lee has wryly observed,’ If you can’t get along with Rahul Dravid, you are struggling in life.’

His contribution to Indian cricket has been immense. Head of cricket with National Cricket Academy (NCA), Coach of India U-19 and India A teams. He has groomed and mentored many of India’s current cricket stars. Tendulkar has called him ‘the perfect role model for youngsters.’ So the spontaneous chorus from Ganguly, Sehwag, Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan, and Laxman…of ‘ Win the WC for Dravid’ is not surprising at all.

The serene drive of Dravid plus the calm, grounded passion of Rohit Sharma made for a great partnership since Feb 2022, when the latter was made captain across all formats. Their deep rapport is shown by the fact that the Skipper persuaded the Coach to stay on after the 19th Nov 2023 debacle- a call acknowledged with gratitude by Dravid after the recent T20 WC Redemption win. The Hitman has been a remarkable leader. Think of the position after 15 overs. South Africa batting with six wickets in hand and 30 runs to get in 30 balls, and India had a 3.35% chance of winning. Bumrah, Hardik and Arshdeep all rising to the occasion and not panicking under intense pressure. The Indian fielders totally living in the zone. Bumrah revealed that the Indian Skipper gave his players a lot of freedom. ‘Rohit Sharma has been absolutely phenomenal. Even in the previous World Cup, you know he has been proactive; he gives a lot of freedom to his players, and he lets them express themselves.’ A selfless, fearless captain for whom personal milestones and records don’t matter. Everything for Team India and the Nation. Nasser Hussain sees his leadership as ‘Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove.’ Everyone knows who is in charge, but he is a Big Brother, too, especially for the younger players. Rohit Bhai!  Rohit Sharma imitated the Messi Walk as he went up to receive the trophy, which rang so true. Two champion sportsmen so desperate to win the big one for their countries and their teams. (inspired by the video Ric Flair of WWE with the same music in the background).

His cricketing sense also comes through, with the well-thought-out selection of the team (with Head Coach & Ajit Agarkar and the team of selectors) and an astute reading of the wicket, conditions, and the state of the game. Remember his comments about bowling a line where the batter has to hit against the winds in the Caribbean islands? Remember his captaincy when the Bazball- high-adrenaline English Test team came to India to conquer The Last Frontier and stumbled badly. The Hitman’s final mission is winning the World Test Championship to be played at Lords in June 2025.

Cricket is a Team Sport, and the recent T20 WC championships showcased Indian cricket at its best. From the camaraderie and defining roles in the dressing room to the indomitable team spirit and clinical execution on the cricket field. The head coach and support staff play integral roles. So, you have King Kohli, who had a disappointing run in the tournament, coming up with a classy, match-winning 76 when it mattered the most ;Axar Patel’s critical 47 of 31 balls with 4 sixes to keep India in the game. Arshdeep Singh ended up as India’s top wicket-taker with 17 wickets. The same Arshdeep was viciously trolled for dropping a catch against Pakistan at the Asia Cup just 2 years back. Bumrah, with 15 wickets, deservedly became the Player of the Tournament (the first to do so without scoring a single run)—a genius of his craft. An extraordinary defensive-attacking bowler, he was not only exceptional in cutting the flow of runs but also a relentless wicket-taking threat. Michael Vaughan has called him ‘the greatest white ball bowler ever.’ This T20 WC will also be remembered for Hardik Pandya’s stirring comeback after months of booing and trolling for replacing Rohit Sharma as MI captain. He had a forgettable IPL season where his team finished at the bottom. Sanjay Manjrekar heard him ‘say something to the effect of having risen above results and losing the fear of failure.’ Kudos to Hardik for showing such tenacity and resilience and to him and Arshdeep for vanquishing the troll armies by performing on the biggest stage. However, Pandya’s resurgence in form also speaks volumes of the warm bonding in the dressing room. Something for him to imbibe and take forward. Surya Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, and Axar Patel have had their days and moments. Kapil Dev’s catch to dismiss Viv Richards in the 83 WC has become part of Indian cricket folklore. I hope Surya Yadav’s amazing, game-changing catch will also be celebrated by replays on sports channels and TV videos for months to come.

Gambhir is very forthright in his views. Very refreshing. He talks about how every Team India player in the dressing room is essential and how broadcasters and media influencers build up one or two cricketers into brands by overshowing them to the detriment of other performers and national team members. The majority of the Men in Blue end up in the shadows. The broadcaster justifies this for TRP, advertising revenues, and social media outlets to mobilise followers and monetise the podcasts. So, this celebrity culture has made some cricketers bigger than the game of cricket itself. Think about Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and King Kohli. Underplayed are champions like Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin, Anil Kumble, Sehwag and even ‘The Miracle Down Under’ series under Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy.

He is also bang on about cricket in India being all about batters. Heavy bats, smaller boundaries, and flat tracks present arduous, uphill tasks for the bowlers. GG wants the white ball change after 25 overs in ODI’s to be reversed as it undermines wrist spinners. It’s really heartening to watch a top Indian batter ask if we as fans know and appreciate that Zaheer Khan took 21 wickets in 9 matches to contribute to India’s triumph in WC 2011. I sincerely hope that Zaheer Khan becomes the new bowling coach. He has a sharp cricketing brain and is respected by the players. One of the memorable features of the T20 WC has been the intense bat-ball contest. So, will Boom Boom Bumrah ever get the massive cult following of Virat Kohli? I seriously doubt it. In our country, batters are the real heroes. All others are just the supporting cast.of actors. It doesn’t really resonate that Shami took 23 wickets in just 6 games to take us to the final of the 2023 ODI WC final. Our sports channels and pundits will spend one episode on such an achievement and then jump back onto the gravy bandwagon. Sad!  A Murali and Malinga are still revered in Sri Lanka; a Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar are still feted in Pakistan.

Moreover, despite his vote for the IPL as a resounding success story for Indian cricket, Gambhir is emphatic that it all boils down to the Indian cricket team dominating all formats of the game and winning the ICC silverware. Hence, even with IPL throwing up some talented players for the shortest format, selectors will look at domestic cricket performances like the Ranji Trophy for Test cricket and the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali for white-ball tournaments. To win the Indian cap and jersey, aspiring players must go through the grind to the extent the cricket schedules and injury lay-offs allow. It won’t be easy for IPL-fixated cricketers looking for easy money, glamour, and a green channel route to the national side.

A big Thank You to The Wall & The Hitman for putting Indian cricket on the right track and lifting a WC trophy after a hiatus of 11 years. It remains to be seen whether Rohit Sharma remains the Test and ODI captain. I sincerely hope he does. He has fuel in the tank for another year of international cricket. An interesting change at the Coach level will be the change in approach. Rahul Dravid lived and breathed the spirit of The Gentleman’s Game. The hardnosed GG has his own take on playing hard within the laws and rules of the game. Hopefully, with Gambhir and his chosen support staff, exciting and winning times will be ahead. Indian cricket should be hailed as a superpower not only because of immense financial clout and a humongous fan following but also because our cricket team consistently wins major ICC trophies and bilateral series, especially on SENA tours (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia).

You can also read: Management Learnings from ‘The Hitman’- Rohit Sharma

The Men in Blue 2.0

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The Asia Cup cricket tournament is on and the Men in Blue are serving their customary fare. Flatter to deceive.  Winning their opening outing against arch-rivals Pakistan in a thriller and then just succumbing to them in their next encounter.  This does not augur well for the national cricket team in the T 20 WC to be played in Australia in October-November this year. The only positive takeaways have been the return to form of master batsman Virat Kohli and some high adrenaline performances from Hardik Pandya and Surya Kumar Yadav.

Let us set the bar high. Win the Asia Cup to propel the side to win the Major-Down-Under. With our cricketers getting the VVIP treatment both in money terms and fame, should we settle for less? With an abundance of talent, with an amazing bench-strength the National cricket team is underperforming on the biggest stages of all.

Men in Blue 2.0. A lot is expected from the players under the mentorship of Rahul Dravid. But his innings thus far has been a mixed bag. The highs have been the 2-1 ODI win and 2-1 T 20 victory against a resurgent England side in England earlier this year. The down-side was allowing them to draw the Test series 2-2 in the one-off Test. One may add beating the West Indies on their home turf in the ODI 3-0 and T 20 by 4-1. The Windies are a very combative side in the T 20 format. They won the ICC trophies in 2012 and 2016. The loss to South Africa 2-1 in Tests and 3-0 in ODI’s hurts. Remember-Kohli resigned from captaincy after the loss of the Test series. There are Statistics and then there are Impact Stats. Winning matches on SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) tours define the aura for the Indian cricket team. The conditions+ pitches+ opposition take these contests to another level of grit, flair and competition. Plus, plus, plus lifting the ICC World Cup trophies across formats- Tests, ODI’s, T 20’s. These test the nerves and temperament, the skills and adaptability of the best of cricketers. The best that can be said as of now is that the Indian cricket team under Head Coach Dravid is still to find its mojo. Let’s hope that the unit hits top gear soon. A trivia worth sharing- in his 10 month stint thus far Dravid has worked with 7 Indian captains.

Bilateral series wins on Indian turf cannot be discounted. But Indian teams across the last 2 decades and more have stood tall on home pitches. A couple of years back the bombastic coach Shastri hailed the Indian team as the best ever to represent the country.  Really?! A reality check is in order per the SENA tours and the big ICC trophies. We lost the Test series 4-1 to England in 2018; ODI 2-1; T 20 2-1. Lost the Test Series to New Zealand 2-0 in 2020. The high point has been the never-say-die Test tour of England in 2021 where India led the Test Series 2-1 with the hosts levelling the series 2-2 earlier this year. And the T 20 away win in Kiwi-land in 2020. Much hype has been created about our 2018-19 victory tour of Australia. To spell out the context. The Aussies were still shamefully coping with the cheating scandal called ‘Sandpapergate’- ball tampering on the South African tour. Their top players Smith and Warner had been suspended for a year. Morale was at a grim low. Players were booed by their own people across all the venues. The Miracle Down Under under Rahane in 2021 is the real thing. The 36 all-out in the First Test. Losing top players to injury. Against All Odds. The rest is history.

World Cup silverware has not adorned BCCI shelves since the Championship trophy of 2013. Losing the Test Championship at Lords to New Zealand in 2021. Exiting the ODI semi-final in England in 2019. Not making it to the knock-out stage at the 2021 T 20 tournament. Let’s hark back to those who wore the Indian cap and colours in the earlier years. Winners of the ICC World Cup in 1983 and 2011. The T 20 WC in 2007. The Champions trophy in 2002 and 2013. Runners up at the ODI WC in 2003 and T 20 in 2014.

Stats can be spun to suit the narrative. Social media can amplify and distort the same. Is the Indian cricket team in the same league as the majestic Windies team of the late 70’s and 80’s? Or the great Australian side under Waugh and Ponting?  These teams dominated the game for almost a decade. The Caribbean Calypsos did not lose a series for 10 years and more. Beyond the wins and the silver-ware they influenced and changed how the game of cricket was played. Interestingly, it was India that stopped the Windies juggernaut at Lords ’83 and again India that shattered the Aussie dreams of capturing the Last Frontier in 2001.

Shrug, shrug. In the opinion of many the challenge of the SENA tours and losing out on ICC majors does not seem to matter. After all, India is the centre of gravity of the cricketing world. Are we suffering from the Super Bowl syndrome of American football?! The IPL is the second richest sports league in the world after the English Premier League. Hope that Indian cricket is not affected by the curse of English football. The most followed football league on the planet but no major trophy for the English team since WC 1966. The powers that be and the Influencers of Indian cricket should understand that the fortunes of the IPL are inextricably linked to the fortunes of the Men in Blue.

Let’s look at other sports. The Spanish football team dominated the world of football for 5 years from 2008 to 2012.They won the European Championships in 2008 and 2012 and the World Cup in 2010. The 2010 team is considered by some pundits as the greatest of all time. Now 12 years on, can you remember any marquee names?  Possibly one or two in one of the best football squads ever. To quote from one of the experts, “the journey of the treble of trophies was a long time coming for La Roja. After years of near misses and underachievement, Spain’s golden generation-produced largely by Barcelona and Real Madrid- became an unstoppable force.”

Let’s look at individual icons in a team sport. Lionel Messi is right up there in the stratosphere of football all-time greats. Some consider him the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) for his magical skills and abilities on the football field. But what haunted this Superstar was that he had not won any major tournament with the Argentina team. Till the Copa America in 2021. That he propelled his national team to the WC final in 2014 (1-0) loss to Germany or 2 successive Copa America finals in 2015-2016 did not count. At the top levels in international sports- the World Cups, Grand Slams, Continental Championships, Olympics- it’s holding aloft the trophy or wearing the gold medal that matters.

Domination of the game in all 3 formats is the only ticket for the Men in Blue into crickets ‘Immortal Hall of Fame.’ As ardent well-wishers we hope that the time starts now and continues for a few years on.

Overhyped? Or Underachievers?

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PIC COURTESY: HEMANT SINGH

The drubbings at the hands of Pakistan and New Zealand in the T20 World Cup tick both the boxes in the above title. Getting thrashed by 10 wickets and 8 wickets is akin to an innings defeat in a Test match. The Men in Blue are out of another ICC major championship —only this time not making it to the knock-out stage.

Is it such a rude shock? Not really. First, the hype. The IPL is the world’s most glamorous cricket carnival hosted by the richest cricket body, the BCCI. It has given opportunity and confidence to the younger players and enhanced the fitness levels of our cricketers. Some of India’s best have been spotted by IPL franchise scouts; Bumrah was discovered by the Mumbai Indians. The flip side is that it does not have the intensity found in major ICC tournaments or even in well-contested series especially with the SENA nations. The cricketers are feted as celebrities and the real contest and the competitive edge are missing. But here lies the catch. The fortunes of the IPL and Team India are interlinked. If the latter continues to underperform at major tournaments, the mass following for the IPL will dwindle.

Many well-paid commentators, including ex-cricketer experts, have all jumped onto the gravy train. So on international series and tours, they no longer objectively call out selection mistakes, wrong captaincy calls, poor reading of the game, bad sportsmanship, or cracks appearing in team spirit. So when Shastri says that this is the greatest Indian team ever, there is a chorus of approvals. While Kohli says his team can win from any situation, there is chest-thumping in the media. Overconfidence leads to bad results. Curiously, there is very little focus on Impact players from the other teams. Remember that Harsha Bhogle was put out in the cold for some time a few years back. His sin – he had something good to say about the competing international players also. Millions of die-hard fans have been fed this false narrative that our cricket team is head and shoulders above the other teams. Bad days like the 36 all out at Adelaide and the 78 at Headingley on the recent England tour and the defeats at the 2019 ODI WC and the World Test Championships in 2021 are all swept under the carpet.

Indian cricket has an abundance of talent and bench strength which is the envy of other cricketing nations. But this has to be mobilized and harnessed effectively by the captain, coach, selectors, and the BCCI. Captain Kohli’s in-one’s-face aggression has won him a huge legion of fans. But such relentless intensity has also undermined his batsmanship – he is showing symptoms of burn-out. He has been crass and hyper on the field and per reliable reports in the dressing room also. The dressing room environment gradually creeps onto the cricket field. It is bound to affect both team spirit and individual performances. Both are two sides of the same coin. Now let’s talk about Mr Shastri. As the captain’s hand-picked coach and Yes Man, he is also accountable for our futile run at the ICC tournaments. With a rich repository of cricket talent to tap into, this is not acceptable. The toxicity started with the ouster of Kumble as coach at Kohli’s behest and the silence from the BCCI and the cricket establishment. Virat Kohli has gradually become bigger than the game in India. Erratic selection, benching of in-form players, taking decisions solely by instinct, and throwing tantrums have all become acceptable over the years. Analytics inputs or sensible advice from the outside even by a reputed name have all been given the short end of the stick. Team bonding and consistency have suffered and even seasoned players have not played up to their potential.

The extended bio-bubble may have taken its toll on the players. It is also possible that some had tired legs or felt stale with the second leg of the IPL just before the WC T20. But this does not tell the entire story. Pakistan’s cricket team is driven by hunger, anger, and passion. They feel marginalized on the world cricket circuit and have grabbed this opportunity to drive home their point. They are playing out of their skins.

Front and Centre are 2 subjects which are almost taboo topics for our cricketing establishment or brotherhood. Thankfully, Madan Lal has been critical about the scheduling of the IPL second leg just before the T20 WC.  Kapil Dev has gone even further- whether the Indian cricketers are giving more preference to this cash rich franchise league than to the singular honour of playing for the country. In the future the BCCI will have to give serious thought to player work-loads and series and tournament schedules with the prime focus being that the Men in Blue bring home some much needed silverware. Else they are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. The success of the Indian Premier League draws from the success of the national cricket team.

The other relates to Virat Kohli’s captaincy. I guess the jury will always be out on this one. Kohli has become an icon for millions of Indian fans not only because of superlative batting performances but because of his raw aggression, passion for fitness and wearing his heart on his sleeve. Even after his team’s very disappointing exit from the ongoing T20 WC his army of admirers on social media hail him as King Kohli. The cricketing experts and the media in general are tip-toeing around the subject with diplomatic grace. We are living in some strange bubble.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Rahul Dravid will be the next coach. A true cricketing legend and a mentor for many of the younger stars through U19, India ‘A’, and the National Cricket Academy. Immense match experience and cricketing acumen: focused, grounded, level-headed, and universally respected. When The Wall walked out to bat one could see the Indian tricolour fluttering in the breeze. But he has his work cut out. There are challenging times ahead and he has to be given a free hand. Virat Kohli continues as captain for the Tests and ODI’s. Will he listen, change, adapt or even reinvent himself? Regain his mojo as a masterclass batsman? Some of the impressionable youngsters have bought into the hype and the celebrity-dom. They have to face the reality check and rediscover their day-to-day balance. Dravid’s mission is not just to get the Indian cricket team to bond together and play to their fullest potential. He has to get each person on the Indian team to value and respect the India cap to the fullest. And even more. Play to win but with the sporting spirit currently demonstrated by Kane Williamson’s Kiwis.