Why Dravid is not a one-day wonder but stay with us forever

By John Cheeran
Rahul Dravid, by any reckoning, is not a quitter.
But this Friday is different. Dravid, who never shied away from taking harsh and hard decisions on the field, is playing his last one-day international. India and the rest of the world will be watching for the last time a Dravid draped in colour blue. Champions of the world may not care. MS Dhoni may not care. Brand managers won’t cry. Dravid’s departure from one-day theatre cannot be quantified in terms of the thrills he offered.
He brought to batting crease an approach that was rooted in fundamentals. Never in a hurry, but always alive to the urgencies of the limited over cricket, Dravid lent his broad bat and battered body to Team India’s cause. But, finally, in the rush hour of T20, he was reduced to a loner by a selection committee that had got its priorities absolutely wrong.
After watching Dravid at 38 in England during the Test series, who would not ask Krishnamachari Srikkanth why the batsman was left out from the World Cup squad. Srikkanth could afford to look over Dravid since the World Cup was being held in the sub-continent where flat-track bullies reigned. And what made the same selection committee to recall him?
Many thought Dravid would quit international cricket all together after the England tour. The thought was not out of place especially after Dravid dazzled us with one Test century after another as India plumbed newer depths. This is the time to go. But Dravid has decided to stay back and leave at the same time, surprising yet again with his tenacity and hunger to prove detractors wrong. Dravid was a broken man after Indians immolated themselves in the Caribbean World Cup, in a bid to put Greg Chappell in his place. Dravid then had a lean patch and many wolves had wanted him to accompany Sourav Ganguly to the pavilion. But, then, Dravid believes in himself. Only he knows. Only he knows when to call it quits.

Summer of 2011: Time for Rahul Dravid to bid farewell

By John Cheeran
After the triumph in 2011 World Cup not many would have taken India’s tour to the West Indies seriously. The Indian squad itself was depleted, without Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.
India, however, did well both in the one-day and Test series. Yes, India did not show enough aggression, especially by not going for the kill during the second innings chase on the final day of the third Test. And skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been flayed by many critics for his pussyfooted approach to the end-game.
Am I disappointed? Yes and No. Yes, because it was an opportunity that we did not reach out for. No, considering the overall outcome of the series. It is, however, important to realize that India still depends on seniors such as Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman to steady its ship in the choppy waters of Test cricket. It was a joy and relief to watch Dravid play another match-winning innings (112) in the second innings of the first Test at Sabina Park, Kingston. But, then, Dravid has given his best with India in a crisis. Statistics would show that he has performed on a higher plane away from home. But Dravid is not your man to bet on a situation that borders on gambling as was in the final Test. The classicist that he is, Dravid reiterated his relevance on a cricketscape awash in young dreams.
But there are other things that Dravid has to remember at this age and stage of his career. This is the time to go. The tour to England is a great opportunity for Dravid to put full stop to his splendid career.
Dravid has had his run, after all. Yes, he is fit, and good enough for another 12 months of Test cricket. I hope he remains hungry for success in fields other than cricket too.
But the memory I have of him during India’s last Test series win in England in 2007 was that of a Dravid struggling at Kennington Oval to ensure that nothing goes amiss during India’s second innings, despite a first innings lead of 319 runs. Dravid, after India lost its first three wickets – Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik and Sachin Tendulkar – for 11 runs, would have been troubled by the memories of the World Cup disaster, and pottered around for 140 minutes for 12 runs. It was not a pretty sight.
Dravid, at 38, is still capable of producing big knocks. He began his Test career in England, and he is more of an English cricketer than an oriental hero. There cannot be a better place for Rahul Dravid to bid adieu than England. I wish he relives the summer of 1996, and walks off to the pavilion, making India asking for more and why.
At that time, Dravid would not be the highest run-getter or the scorer of maximum number of centuries but none will doubt that he gave all he had to India’s cause at the cricket pitch.

Virender Sehwag, the man with no burdens

By John Cheeran
Those who have spent their adjectives a few weeks ago on Sachin Tendulkar find now themselves paupers to describe the phenomenon called Virender Sehwag.
Sehwag (284 off 239 balls) was master of all he surveyed at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday. In Tendulkar's backyard, Sehwag has shaken the fundamentals of Test match batting to the core.
It's a brute reminder to all of us that there have been few exciting batsmen in the modern era to match Sehwag for sheer excitement at the crease. Sanath Jayasuriya and Adam Gilchrist included.
The simplicity of Sehwag's batting never ceases to surprise the onlooker. When on song, Sehwag, the destroyer, can only invoke the images of Shiva.
Sehwag, as you all know, is not your erudite cricketer who is deeply conscious of the tradition of the game. It is important to remember that while falling short of the opening stand record of Pankaj Roy during India's Pakistan tour, the guy simply asked the journalists, Pankaj who?
The biggest blessing Sehwag has faced in his career that he has played along with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. For Sehwag there has been no reason to put on the uncomfortable role of rescuer or defender of one billion people. When Tendulkar admirably carries the burden of one billion, why should Sehwag worry?
Sehwag terrorises bowlers, and in the process, it would not be inappropriate to say that he has put Vivian Richards in the shade.
Not that Sehwag has had his moments of wretchedness in international cricket. Without the unflinching support of Rahul Dravid, Sehwag would not have been made the cut for the disastrous World Cup in 2007. People, including me, did abuse Sehwag for his unrepentant ways at the crease.
Sehwag cannot play but the way he has been made out.
So he continues to confound, exasperate, enthrall and entertain you and opposition, in the manner of a street bully.
Jab thak balla chale, we all should know.

Dravid and stray thoughts on luck

By John Cheeran
What's luck? Or, what's lack of luck?
When you become a victim for no action of yours, you may call yourself being unlucky. Rahul Dravid, who scored his 28th Test century (144) in Kanpur on Wednesday, is familiar with the wanton nature of luck through a career spanning 13 years.
While watching VVS Laxman playing Sri Lankan spinner Herath from non-striker's end, Dravid would have been thinking in terms of a double century to make up for those missed opportunities in his career. Dravid was batting brilliantly, often playing bold strokes, and relishing his stay at the crease with each ball. But as luck would have it, Dravid had stepped a few paces forward, and Laxman's straight drive was deflected off the hands of bowler Herath to the non-striker's stumps. Dravid was run out.
An innings cut short, and who was at fault?
Dravid, of course, should have been watchful and not have left his crease until Laxman called for the run. But, then, you cannot plan every step you take on the field.
Having said that, Dravid himself would not have felt too bad about his dismissal, for India, by that time, had crossed 500 runs. There were skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh too continue India's onslaught on Sri Lankan bowlers.
That India, eventually, fell 150 runs short of its first innings total of 642 is another matter. With the pitch expected to make batting difficult in the remaining sessions of the Test, India could have done with more. It is worth noting that all of India's wickets were taken by Sri Lanka's spin trio.
For all that Sri Lanka has picked up the gauntlet pretty well after losing opener Tillakaratne Dilshan off the very first ball of its innings. It's a long road indeed towards a result.
Let's wait for the twist in the tale.

Who's a true Maharashtrian? Gavaskar or Tendulkar?

By John Cheeran
Now that Shiv Sena finds Sunil Manohar Gavaskar 'a true Maharashtrian' compared to Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, will the original little master, who writes anodyne columns on cricket, spell out where he stands in the Marathi Manoos controversy?
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut wrote in Saamna on Sunday that Gavaskar batted for Bombay and promoted cricketers from the city.
Raut writes: "There has been no instance of Sachin extending a helping hand to other Marathi cricketers. Forget others, he did not even support Vinod Kambli. In contrast, Gavaskar, when he captained India, had half the team drawn from Mumbai and Maharashtra. He gave Test caps to many Marathi players including Suru Naik and Zulphikar Parkar, at least for one match."
Raut adds: "In this context, Gavaskar is a genuine 'Maharashtrian' and the whole country loves him even now in the same way. Players like Sachin have become rich because of game of cricket. Sachin's wealth has crossed Rs 200-crore mark. We expect Sachin to be as 'proud' of Maharashtra as Saurav Ganguly is of Bengal. Rahul Dravid too is a Marathi player but he is loyal to Karnataka."
So was Gavaskar parochial during his career?
Did Gavaskar have the best interests of the nation when he pushed for players from Bombay and Maharashtra into the side?
I consider it is Gavaskar's responsibility to break his silence and explain whether he played his cricket as an Indian first, or a Bombaywallah.
And as for Tendulkar not helping fellow Mumbaikars, Raut is far from truth. Tendulkar, when he was captaining the side, did bring in cricketers from Bombay to Indian dressing room. Remember Abhay Kuruvila, Nilesh Kulkarni, Salil Ankola, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Sairaj Bahutule. And even Vinod Kambli got a second look when Tendulkar was captain during 1996-98.
And unlike Bollywood, in cricket, you can only give people opportunities. Even a Tendulkar cannot script a Test and ODI. Every cricketer has to stand up and deliver. You can have quotas only up to the playing XI, but out there in the field, you got to earn runs and wickets on your own.
But coming back to the point, what’s Gavaskar’s take on this?
Gavaskar, I’m sure, will let this bouncer alone.

Rahul Dravid, no God, but an ordinary man trying to achieve extraordinary feats

By John Cheeran
Almost a year ago, one wondered about the future of Rahul Dravid. It was a time when Dravid himself was wondering about what NEXT.
Sourav Ganguly had announced his retirement from international cricket, and released from the burden of expectations, was having a good run of scores against Australia.
Anil Kumble was struggling to get another wicket and eventually stepped down as captain. There was this theory gaining currency that Indian team's doors were shut on seniors. That, then, basically meant Dravid would have to search for the meaning of his life, outside of cricket.
There was no doubt that Dravid, after relinquishing captaincy in the wake of World Cup debacle and the Test series triumph in England, was struggling to reinvent himself as a batsman. The IPL experience with Bangalore Royal Challengers, too, did not make things easier.
With the BCCI firm on its decision not to consider Dravid for limited over matches, it was expected that Dravid would be left with no choice but to go the Ganguly way.
But Dravid persisted. And he succeeded. He even got a recall to the Indian one-day team for Champions Trophy in South Africa. And conveniently cast aside when the time came to select the one-day squad against Ricky Ponting’s Australians, despite a good string of scores, though India tanked in the tournament.
But there is more to Rahul Dravid, the cricketer. There are more bricks in this wall than holes as the Sri Lankans found out on Monday on the first day of the three-Test series in Motera, Ahmedabad.
On Monday yet again Dravid rescued the tottering Indian innings. Dravid played an exhilarating innings of unbeaten 177, after India frittered away the advantage of captain Mahendra Singh winning the toss, by losing the wickets of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, all for 32 runs.
Dravid, if you remember, walks in at the crucial position of No.3. It's as tough a spot to be that of an opening batsman.
With Sri Lankan seamers moving the ball around in the first hour, Dravid watched the ball keenly, tightened his defence and let his natural temperament take over.
By now, we all know, Indian batsmen have the habit of burying themselves in the pitch if the wind favours the bowler. Dravid's impeccable shot selection and ability to eschew flamboyance ensured that he remain unscathed during the difficult hour and was free to exploit the favourbale batting conditions, later on.
And silencing his critics, Dravid calmly scored his 27th Test century, an innings that India would be grateful for, for it came when the chips were down.
Yes, I acknowledge that conditions were not difficult for scoring runs, after the first session. Dravid played his strokes freely but kept the big picture in his mind, a crucial difference, compared to the Yuvraj Singhs of this world. He never let go of any opportunity to whip bowlers and his strike rate of 70.51 is something that should be lauded in the course of a long innings.
Why is it that Dravid, most often, scores runs when India needs them the most?
May be, despite playing for India for the last 13 years, often fighting against the odds, we have not yet labelled Dravid of carrying the burden of a nation of one billion people.
So, his shoulders are free to carry the burden of the moment, the burden of batting, and the burden of the moment.
Or is it because Dravid is no God, but a mere mortal, an ordinary man struggling to achieve extraordinary feats, just like you and me, praying and toiling for our daily bread, leavened in equal measure with hope and despair?

Cricket with Sri Lanka not sexy yet

By John Cheeran
So India is playing a Test series against Sri Lanka. Have you noticed?
Indian television channels and newspapers haven't taken the series seriously. The seven-match one-day series between India and Australia was dubbed as the honour series by a channel, whereas when the No:2 (Sri Lanka) and No.3 (India) in Test cricket are clashing, there is only muted interest at best.
Why? A fight against neighbourhood Sri Lankans has not become sexy yet for media mavens. Much in the manner of Sanat Jayasuriya not being sexy enough for brand promotion for Indian brands, even though the Man From Matara redefined the grammar and idiom of batting.
After all, it is only Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has had a rich tradition of cricket even before it played its first Test in Madras but India used to fancy its chances against the island nation for a long time. Not anymore.
The fact, however, remains that Sri Lanka is yet to win a Test in India, South Africa and Australia. Well, even India's Test record in Sri Lanka is not enviable. India has always struggled to beat Lankans at their own turf.
The current series, and the first Test starting on Monday at Ahmedabad, will be significant in one aspect. How many spectators will turn up to watch these games?
The series will be a barometer of the popularity of Test cricket in India. Sri Lankans are gritty cricketers and will spare no effort to win their first Test in Indian soil.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have an opportunity to think cricket and ensure that things do not slip from his hand while looking ahead, for 2011.
Certainly, it will be a treat to watch some of the greatest batting talent in this series. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman all are aware that they are in the last phase of their maha yatra. We will not get many chances to watch these masters in action. And the same holds true for the wily spinner Muttaiah Muralitharan.
If only Sanat Jayasuriya were there.

India's brittle batting gives Ponting room for hope

So my fears came true but when Harbhajan Singh did his bhangra at the batting crease, things perked up a little for a beleaguered India.
India lost wickets while looking for quick runs, and except for that bright opening from Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the home side was without a master builder.
So no wonder then that the cavalier Singh emerged as the king, not with the ball, but with the bat. The Fab Five must be chastened by the fact that Harbhajan emerged as the top scorer for India with 54. Only a patient half-century from Rahul Dravid came closer at 51. Yes, Sourav Ganguly hung in there, again proving a point that he is still better than many in Indian cricket. It was an innings under pressure again, but when you consider the struggles of Sachin Tendulkar (13) VVS Laxman (0) and MS Dhoni (9) at the crease, you can make your own judgments about the state of Indian batting.
So where is this Test heading?
Australia definitely enjoyed the upper hand when they saw the back of Ganguly at 232/7, but Indian tail or rather Harbhajan has spoiled Ricky Ponting’s push for victory. India is still behind Australia by 117 runs. If Indian spinners fail to tease and torment Aussies in their second innings, the last day of the match could see India caught between victory and defeat while chasing an almost 400 target.
Thus it is all about managing the contradictions. You got to attack but only knowing well where your weaknesses are.
Anil Kumble, going wicket-less in the first innings, has a cross to bear tomorrow both at the batting and bowling creases.

Playing in India, not playing for India, matters for Ganguly

By John Cheeran
Sourav Ganguly is out of the Rest of India squad, and vast sections of India are discussing the injustice done against the Bengali icon and one of India’s prominent batsmen since 1996.
Australians are coming.
So an omission from the Rest of India squad could be interpreted as an end of the road signal. The omission would not have mattered much if not for Ganguly’s exasperating form during the Sri Lankan Test tour. Always considered as a good one-day batsman, Ganguly was left out of the Indian one-day team that defeated Sri Lanka immediately after the follies of Tests. That should have rung alarm bells for worshippers of Ganguly.
Any discussion about Ganguly will not be complete without pointing towards former Indian captain Rahul Dravid.
The selection committee, led by former Test cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar, had cast aside Dravid long ago from the one-day excursions.
Dravid, the quintessential Test batsman, survives the axe mainly thanks to a few gritty innings that he played on the Sri Lankan tour. Willingness to fight it out in the middle was there in quite contrast to the belligerent escapism that Ganguly brought to the batting crease. Now it may be ironic that Ganguly has been told to pack his bags after his most successful season as a Test batsman (does anyone remember the double century he scored against an harried Pakistan) in international cricket.
Reports say that coach Gary Kirsten and Test team skipper Anil Kumble did not bat for Ganguly when selectors sat together to finalise the squad.
How they could have?
Dravid, despite his low key performance in recent times, has been performing a crucial role for India batting at the critical slot of No.3. In terms of sheer utility value Ganguly is no match for Dravid. And Ganguly never cared for his fielding.
Ganguly knows by experience that silence is golden.
Why react when others are dusting up his obituary.
What if the Rest of India falters against the Australian attack? That will open the doors of Indian team to him again. Just sit at the boundary.
And even of you are not playing for India does it matter any more in the age of Indian Premier League?
Playing in India is what matters now you have Kolkata Knight Riders to dream of. IPL must be figuring prominently in Ganguly’s thoughts and that must be delaying an official declaration of the end.

Indian cricket's misery continues in Sri Lanka

By John Cheeran
At some point in this five-match one-day series, I’m sure, India will find its way and overcome the Sri Lankan challenge. But to make a real fight of it, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men should win the second encounter slated for Wednesday.
It is not just the decline of Fabulous Four that plagues Indian batting. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman are out of the one-day side. Now Virender Sehwag has twisted his ankle to add to India’s woes.
This should have been a wonderful opportunity for the Generation Next in Indian batting. But so far big knocks, innings that set the scoreboard burning, have not come from the bats of Rohit Sharmas, Virat Kohli and for that matter even from Suresh Raina, that young boy who has been scratching around the crease for quite a while.
None should blame the BCCI for not getting his chances. Yuvraj Singh is back. But he struggled as much as the Fab Four struggled against spinners Muttaiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.
Dhoni is back from his luxurious break. He cannot now complain of the hectic schedule. There are no back-to-back matches in the current series against Sri Lanka. It’s time he put a stop to India’s slide against Lankans.
Well, one could take refuge in the fact that this series is just another string of one-dayers. More matches will come our way. But alarmingly the series – both Test and one-dayers -- have brought out the inadequacies of Indian cricket to the sunlight.
India needs performers, consistent performers to slay the opposition.

India's Test series loss in Sri Lanka: Looking for reasons

By John Cheeran
It is very difficult to get excited over a Test series against Sri Lanka, though they are former world champions much like us.
Sri Lanka is one of the strongest cricket sides and with the introduction of freak spin bowler Ajantha Mendis, the island nation has strengthened its bowling.
Still none had foreseen India’s plight in Lanka. India lost the Test series 1-2 and reason for the defeat is quite apparent this time. Indian middle order batting collapsed against quality spin attack of Mendis and Muttaih Muralitharan.
Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly have served Indian cricket with distinction but the reality is that they are struggling to live up to their past glory. Even VVS Laxman follows a similar trajectory, though a shade better.
Indians are traditionally known to tackle spin better. But Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly fell cheaply without fully comprehending the bewildering variety of balls sent down by Mendis.
While agreeing with skipper Anil Kumble that middle order’s failure to play long innings was the reason for Test series loss, it has to be said that any nation aspiring for greatness and dominance should constantly able to throw up young talent. How come the BCCI not able to dig out gems such as a Mendis? What happened to our own big hope Piyush Chawla?
It must be pointed out that Indian cricket never sheds its enigmatic ways. For long Indian team’s bane was poor start at the top of their innings. It was said that Indian middle order always had to struggle to resuscitate the innings as the openers go so early. In Sri Lanka, openers – Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir – gave the side roaring starts but, alas, the middle was shell shocked by a Lankan army boy.

A man called Virender Sehwag

By John Cheeran
There goes a man by the name of Virender Sehwag in India. He can bat, they say.
Sehwag has asked some fundamental questions regarding batsmanship as few others have not done in modern cricket. May be another name could be Sanath Jayasuriya.
Sehwag has delighted millions by his boisterous batting but more often than not he also has confounded critics by his seemingly wanton ways at the wicket.
But the point is that in terms of sheer impact, Sehwag has played some defining knocks in world cricket, and may be among his contemporaries only VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid have entered that league.
Sehwag's unbeaten 201 off 211 balls in India's first innings total of 329 in the second Test against Sri Lanka at Galle is simply a mind boggling effort. It is not just talent alone that Sehwag brings to the crease. He of course has a game plan, but he prefers not to discuss it with us commentators and critics.
The basic nature of Virender Sehwag's batting has not changed since he began to play for India as a lower middle order bat in mid 90s. Sehwag leaves his cricket pretty uncomplicated and his fearless attitude towards rival bowlers as well as to the whole process of playing cricket has helped him achieve what more feted and seasoned batsmen have not so far. Sehwag plays fast, scores big and that alone has contributed a great deal towards Indian cricket's resurgence in the 2000s.
Yes, Sehwag is the only Indian batsman who has two triple centuries to his credit, a feat only Donald Bradmana and Brian Lara has achieved.
Nothing succeeds like success.
Now that Sehwag has overcome a mid career crisis that emboldened chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar almost push him out of the 2007 World Cup squad, we can be unstinted in his praise. Sehwag knows little of traditions and goes about scoring runs in his own way, often infuriating watchers, as he did in the second innings of the Colombo Test, but he has a way of pleasing his own gods. Nothing else can explain the commanding way Sehwag handled the freak spin duo of Muttaiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis in Galle. Just consider the fact the trinity - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly -- could not together score 10 runs in the first innings puts Sehwag's unconquered innings in perspective.
May be gambling is also a science, and living life in its many splendoured varieties takes a lot from a man.
Attacking approach, the Twenty20 approach to life, is not all that bad when you are looking at the scoreboard in Galle and marvel at Sehwag's Hanumanesque effort in Lanka.

Kumble's googly clean bowls Vengsarkar

By John Cheeran
Anil Kumble, India’s Test captain, has invited the ire of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for letting the ‘classified information’ regarding a selection committee meeting.
The man upset by Kumble interview is Dilip Vengsarkar. For Kumble vetoed Vengsarkar’s idea of burdening Rahul Dravid with the role of second wicketkeeper during the forthcoming tour to Sri Lanka.
It is pretty much evident that Vengsarkar has an axe to grind with Dravid. Chairman of national selectors finds Dravid not good enough for one-dayers, but at the same time, he thinks Dravid should be burdened with wicket keeping duties, a legacy of the self serving interests of former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.
But Kumble is no Ganguly. Kumble and Dravid, of course, are friends. They are from Bangalore. But that’s not the point. Kumble knows how to stand up for someone who has served Indian cricket with dignity and unmatched integrity.
I’m quite happy that not only did Kumble outsmart Vengsarkar in the selection committee meeting, but the Indian captain let the world know what sorts of manipulative forces are in action in Indian cricket by giving an interview to a Mumbai-based tabloid.
Anil’s Googly had Colonel clean bowled.
Here are Kumble’s comments to Mumbai Mirror that exposed Vengsarkar.
“I insisted on the second wicketkeeper because there was a view among some of the selectors that we could do with one specialist.

As captain I am aware that there could be problems if the specialist were to pull a muscle or have a runny stomach on the morning of a Test. There was a suggestion that Rahul (Dravid) be the second wicketkeeper, but I persuaded the committee to view things from Indian cricket’s point of view and advantage.

I contended there was nothing wrong in taking the additional specialist wicketkeeper. I know Rahul would not like to be saddled with such a responsibility.

He has enough as a batsman and does not want a repeat of his wicketkeeping experiences in ODIs. On Dhoni’s withdrawal I have nothing to say as it is a personal decision. He knows his mind and body.”

BCCI's PR Coup: It's Dhoni's Choice to Stay Away

By John Cheeran
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it seems, has dramatically improved its Public Relations (PR) and it showed when it handled the vacation for its one-day skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Before the selection committee got together to pick the side, Ratnakar Shetty, one of the BCCI officials, has said that Dhoni himself has pulled out of the Test series in Sri Lanka. That makes the life easier for chairman of selection committee while explaining his picks later in the day to the Indian media.
Whatever the spin, whether Dhoni pulls out of the race for runs and dollars, or the BCCI taking the youngster’s reasoning to its logical conclusion, the fact remains that the cricket showbiz will go on waiting for none in the process. Dhoni and Pepsi, his principal sponsors, will have to accept this and take it easy.
But sport, and cricket, is a strange beast, as much as life is. Some of the vacations of athletes are not a choice, but inevitable. Ask the soldiers of cricket, the fast bowlers. In professional sport, injuries can happen at any moment, and you cannot do anything about it.
There is always a life outside of cricket too.
Dhoni has a right to think beyond the boundaries but such a decision is always fraught with the danger of being ignored too soon by the madding crowd and the manipulators in the boardroom.
One should, however, note that Dhoni has contributed a great deal in writing a new chapter in Indian cricket history. It is for the first time a leading, unhurt Indian cricketer stays away from the circus, and if we can believe Dhoni, of his own choice.
Sourav Ganguly was dropped.
Rahul Dravid was dropped.
Even Kapil Dev and Lala Amarnath were dropped.
All of them were fit and eager to play when they were ignored by the Indian board.
I wish the luck stays on with Dhoni. May be like Samson, Dhoni should grow his hair back to recover his energy.
Mind it!

Dravid, the Jesus Christ of Indian cricket

By John Cheeran
Finally Royal Challenge tasted a drop of victory in Chennai against Chennai Super Kings and that should go a long way to rejuvenate the harried side, led by Rahul Dravid.
And quickly let me tell you what I consider as having played a major factor in Challenge’s win? There was no Zaheer Khan. On many occasions during the IPL, Zaheer’s utterly erratic bowling has let the Bangalore side down and (I know Zaheer is one of the leading wicket takers in the IPL with 13 or so wickets to his name but the point that in not one game has he troubled batsmen or had an impact on the game.)

Having said that, the 14-run was largely plotted by the indefatigable Anil Kumble who derailed the supremely confident Super Kings with a 3./14 spell and won the man of the match award.

And how can one ignore Rahul Dravid’s innings of 47, the highest in the match on either side, It is no secret that I admire Rahul Dravid , the man and batsman. The more I get to watch him, the more I get the feeling that here is the Jesus Christ of Indian cricket. Every time Dravid walks out to bat it seems he carries the burden of the world and is going to be sacrificed so that his team and his world can be redeemed. And looking at the reckless of ways of his teammates Dravid must be mumbling those celebrated words:: ”Lord forgive them for they know not what they are doing.”

And finally after too many slings and arrows of fortune, Royal Challenge can think that they are right now one better than Deccan Chargers.

When Dravid shows some dark humour..

By John Cheeran
It is no secret that everyone in the Royal Challenge camp is frustrated with the way things have gone against them in the IPL.
Rahul Dravid, a normally unflappable fellow even when faced with grave provocations, lost his cool when his co-cricketers again came up with a feckless performance against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur. On a day when not even Mr Vijay Mallya’s choice Misbah-ul Haq could bring alive the scoreboard, Dravid showed some dark humour by belting sixer after sixer in an all-lost cause, including grace and honour.
At least, as a captain and a professional, Dravid redeemed himself to a great extent by that nonchalant innings.
Dravid’s innings (unbeaten 75 from 36 balls with six sixers and six boundaries) against Shane Warne’s side was nothing but ‘the rage, rage against the dying of the light.’
Through that blast in Jaipur, Dravid was sending out a strong message to those critics who had questioned his conditioning to live up to the challenges thrown up by the Twenty20 version of cricket. Dravid showed that while still holding on to all the fundamentals of batting, you still can have some fun.
Dravid, the classical batsman par excellence, did not resort to gross or tantalizing improvisations to succeed but played what could be described as proper strokes. Not a slap of the ball Dravid attempted during his defiant innings.
It was significant that while at other end, his team mates played outrageous strokes to get themselves out but each time the ball went up in the air, Dravid did not cross over, as part of that custom to protect the newcomer.
It only showed how disgusted Dravid has become as captain at the irresponsible ways of the merry makers that he had picked in the first place.

Mallya is kicking his own arse in the IPL

By John Cheeran

Vijay Mallya, the king of good times, is having nightmares. And generously, Mallya is passing on his nightmares to his hired bunch of cricketers.
Mallya is in the habit of kicking arses, and has already done that to Charu Sharma. Mallya’s dreamboat, Bangalore Royal Challengers, is foundering in the waters of Indian Premier League. After having too closely associated with his franchise, Mallya has become the butt of jokes as Bangalore offers little challenge to its rivals.
Corporate sector loves to bandy about the accountability factor. If you do not succeed, you have to bow out. But how you go about reveals a lot about your corporate culture.

You play to win. But you are bound to lose too. Not all companies can register similar levels of growth in the same market. The fact that there is no space for draws in the Twenty 20 cricket can sound a bit cruel to parties involved and especially to former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, in Bangalore’s ugly experience in the IPL.

You cannot change course midstream. I can’t understand why Mallya is chafing at Sharma and Dravid for having chosen wrong players to lead the Twenty20 charge.
May be it is time Mallya realized that it is he who has made the wrong choices. Once the auction was over, come whatever may, you have got to back your guys, till the last match, instead of distancing yourself from the freefall. When Mallya tells the equity holders that he let himself bypassed by Sharma and Dravid, it shows that he lacked the courage to stand by his own convictions.

Otherwise, Mallya has done nothing wrong, but sadly, he thinks so. Mallya had little choice but seek expert advice from men who are familiar with things cricketing how to put together a cricket team, albeit twenty20, and run a franchise. Bangalore did not lack such people with Mallya free to pick the brains of the current Indian Test team captain Anil Kumble and former Indian skipper Dravid. Indian national team’s bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad is the guru of Challengers. Still, the premium brand Royal challenge lacked the kick when it came to hitting over the top.


To me Bangalore Royal Challengers look much the same as the Indian team that took part in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. That team led by Dravid had all the elements and tactical nous but came a cropper on the field.

Dravid is having another crisis of leadership, whether he would like to admit it or not, thanks to a series of choices that has failed to fire.

Royal Challengers have been dubbed as a Test team by the media. Apparently Dravid would have believed that in any format, those guys with sound basic skills tend to do well. But in the short run, Dravid has been proved wrong by Daredevils, Knight Riders etc.


I’m sure Mallya’s HR department will take over players’ auction from the likes of captain and the CEO of the side for the next round of IPL.

Not all crises have the luck of throwing up a saviour and Mallya will have to wait.
Not all problems have solutions but Mallya will have to take a deep swig before he can cheer on his challenge in the IPL.
Till such time, he should ogle at the babes on his calendar sheets.

India's Dwaitham: Cricket and Beyond

By John Cheeran
There are two Indias.
Political pundits have often stressed this point, an India of the urban middle class and another of toiling masses on shop floors and farm fields. It is always a sobering thought that there is a Nigeria within India. Now another sobering thought. There are two Indian cricket teams to mirror the nation’s unique Dwaitham.
The BCCI has finally yielded itself to the idea of having separate teams for one-dayers and Tests. Well, with the move to name Mahendra Singh Dhoni the captain for the Twenty20 World Cup such intentions were clear.
Now keeping Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble from the one-day squad for the triangular series in Australia, that division is complete.
Only Sachin Tendulkar has escaped the stigma of being senile.
Well, I have been a strong believer in the Greg Chappell’s philosophy of young minds and younger feet, but the national selection committee has made its progressive cut and thrust at a wrong turn.
Form too counts in choosing an XI. To take out Dravid and VVS Laxman from the vanguard of Indian batting just when they had drilled gaping holes in the Aussie armoury of arrogance and accurate pace bowling amounts waving the white flag at our formidable rivals.
And after his repeated failures in four Test innings on the current tour what’s the point of keeping Yuvraj Singh in the squad, leave alone retaining as the vice-captain of the side.
Unflinching faith, you might say. Meanwhile MS Dhoni too had a patchy tour so far. No doubt the skirmishes against two of the finest one-day sides – Sri Lanka and Australia – will help us to find out whether all that glitters (hitters) is gold.
India’s one-day squad for the triangular against Australia and Sri Lanka:
MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, S Shreesanth, RP Singh Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Piyush Chawla and Pravin Kumar.

Why did Dravid throw away the cares of captaincy?

By John Cheeran
Why did Rahul Dravid quit the Indian team’s captaincy?
Obviously this was the story of the recent times, and a much speculative Indian media, did not get a whiff of it till Dravid made it clear to the BCCI supremo Sharad Pawar that enough is enough.
I’m not a mind reader, but Dravid must have thought a lot about the leading job. That Dravid has not discussed the subject with individuals such as Chandu Borde, who accompanied the team as a mascot to England, fits in with the Bangalore man’s character. But Dravid would have discussed the matter with his closest pal in Indian cricket, Anil Kumble, the man who should have led India instead of Sourav Ganguly.
Dravid’s critics say that his timing of the decision to step down as the captain is puzzling.
Some of them even have dared to insinuate that Dravid has scared away from the forthcoming series against Australia and Pakistan.
I have only contempt for them. The man who led India to series wins in West Indies and most recently in England should not worry about assignments similar in nature. And if you can recall it was Dravid who captained India’s first Test wins not just in Pakistan but also in South Africa.
It would be silly to point out that Dravid’s batting has suffered during the last Test series against England. How could anyone argue with those who judge form only on the basis of scoreboard?
There was never a shadow of doubt regarding Dravid’s batting during the England series. It is true that he was a victinmg of a series of poor decisions should be taken for what they are instead of linking with the so called pressures of the captaincy.
And one should admit that the intrigue that botched India’s World Cup campaign in the West Indies is still at work in the dressing room. And chief villain is none other than Sourav Ganguly. It is with Ganguly’s tacit support that Indian pacer Zaheer Khan told a television crew that he was not at all tired after the Oval Test.
Zaheer’s statement was out of sync with Dravid’s argument that he knew his bowlers were a tired lot and hence he preferred not to to enforce the follow on against Michael Vaughan’s England. No captain likes a situation such as this.
And I can directly link Dravid’s decision to throw away the cares of captaincy to the fourth day of the third and final Test against England this summer, when Indian skipper had to play an ultra defensive innings of 22 off 92 balls to ensure that India did not lose the match, and forego the opportunity to win the series.
An earnest captain such as Dravid is justified if he nursed doubts regrading the commitment of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who played a cavalier second innings at the Brit Oval. Such sudden outbreaks of loss of batting form among his senior colleagues should have concerned Dravid, who gave his best for India, under the leaderships of Tendulkar and Ganguly.
And to add to the situation the BCCI has not helped the matters either. It is six months after the World Cup, still Indian team does not have a coach. Dravid who believes in a studied approach to the game would not have enjoyed the ad-hocism of the BCCI.
Is there a better time to let it go when you have emerged from the ashheap of the World Cup fiasco with a refulgent Test series win in England and after rallying the side to thrilling finish (3-4) in the one-day series?There are few things left for Dravid to prove as a modern-day batsman. He has, unlike Tendulkars and Gangulys, played his defining innings much, much earlier.
Even if Dravid quits playing for India with in the coming season, there will be another shock for Indian cricket. And I’m sure those days are fast approaching when Dravid will say enough is enough at the end of the series Down Under. It is for Tendulkars and Ganguly’s to go on and on.
It is for men to stop when they see the writing on the wall.

Ganguly's grit tells a story

By John Cheeran
Having heaped scorn Sourav Ganguly, I should recognize and admire his gritty efforts with the Indian cricket team on his comeback trail.
A set of factors paved the way for Ganguly’s comeback. I will not discuss those now. What’s important is that Ganguly, when faced with challenging situations has performed for the team, overcoming his limitations. With huge slice of luck and an equal dose of pluck Ganguly has come up a string of half-centuries and that last one was at Leeds against England in the one-day series.
I must grant that Ganguly has a sense of occasion. Playing in his 300th ODI, Ganguly scored runs (59) and took two wickets that helped India beat England by 38 runs to cut their rivals lead to 3-2.
Let me quote India’s leader Rahul Dravid on Ganguly. “ Playing 300 matches is not as important as performance. He has performed for more than a decade – that is really a big thing.”
Anyway, you have been picked to perform only.
In Ganguly’s case, in the past, many had overlooked that aspect and had treated him as a talisman. Tragedy was that Ganguly himself believed in that fiction.It gladdens me and the rest of the Indian cricket fans that Ganguly has seen the light, or to be more precise, the twilight.
But it also saddens me that Ganguly has not improved an inch from an embarrassing fielder. One cannot overlook that Ganguly dropped Ian Bell in the slips off the first ball the English batsman faced at Leeds.
That’s a measure of the commitment and attitude of an average Indian cricketer.