India a global power? then why can't we win?

John Cheeran
BCCI proudly claims that India is the epicentre of global cricket.
Yes, the market for cricket in India is almost unlimited, and as the body looking after the sport in India, the BCCI holds the rights to gloat over its special status.
Yes, the BCCI can tell the ICC that we are the boss and we mean business when it comes to the fineprint.
But in the aftermath of India's Champions Trophy disaster, I have a question for BCCI vice president Lalit Modi, the man who has declared the war on ICC on behalf of India.
If India is the epicentre of cricket, as we are fond of claiming, why are we not having a champion team?
Why are we not producing world beaters?
If India are the best why are we having an Australian as coach and assorted foreigners as support staff to the Indian team?
The BCCI can bully the ICC. Why Indian batsmen and bowers are incapable of bullyingthe opposition?
If Modi was around at the Punjab Cricket Stadium in Mohali on Sunday when Ricky Ponting's Australians (Malcolm Speed's team!) were murdering the men in Blues he would have asked for an aspirin. The pain and shame of it was, after all, insufferable.
Does the BCCI has any role in India's poor performance in the Champions Trophy? Is it not Indian board's responsiblity to groom world class cricketers in thecountry?
Well, it was the board who brought in John Wright and later Greg Chappell as coaches to lift the side from the domestic, parochial morass the side had sunk into the recent times.
That indeed was a good move to get rid of the likes of Madan Lal, Anshuman Gaekwad and Sandeep Patil who could not see beyond their nose when their turn came to handling the Indian stars.
But has the Indian board done enough to develop the talent base in the country?
Yes, game is hugely popular throughout the country thanks to the ball-by-ball commentary on All India Radio and live telecast on Doordarshan. A slice of the credit for that should also justifiably given to the Indian board. But is that enough?
Why are we not having the bench strength of Australia? Today we don't have a quality off-spinner in India. We don't have a fast bowlerwho can terrorise the rivals. India has nuclear war heads.
So has Pakistan. But Pakistan has Shoaib Akhtar plus Nandrolone? Where are our fast bowling warheads? Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar are only the countrybombs in the global arena.
They don't bring to the wicket the shock and awevalue.. Or even look at Australia's latest offering Shane Watson. A fearsome fastbowler who opens the innings along with wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. And toconsider that cricket is not the number one sport in Australia.
Down Under isnot the financial nerve centre of global cricket.
But they are the champions. Aussies are the winners.
When shall we overcome them?