Comments on: Where does India go from here, Tests-wise?

By: Welcome back, Mr. Kaif! « i3j3Cricket :: A blog for fans of Indian cricket…

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:15:58 +0000

[...] Mohd. Kaif has had a wonderful domestic season and deservedly gets called back into the test side. We at i3j3had earlier written to the effect that the Indian selectors should identify and show faith in a handful of batsmen as eventual [...]

By: talk about virender sehwag

talk about virender sehwag — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:54:43 +0000

[...] significant, witty, or particularly clever to say, but you want tointerested-on15.blogspot.comWhere does India go from here, Tests-wise? I know the one-dayers are on now and it is too early to talk Test cricket. The India Vs South [...]

By: sonalivarma

sonalivarma — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:14:21 +0000

Ricky Ponting says Ishant Sharma a Dangerous Bowler
Ricky Ponting Australian Captain was suitably impressed by Ishant Sharma.
http://www.metrojoint.com/blog_more.php?pid=28485&userid=33997

By: mohank

mohank — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 02:30:34 +0000

Bharat

If you had applied your “triple innings or huge scores” long-innings criteria, we would not have developed the Fab Four! To the best of my knowledge, none of those guys had played 250+ innings in First Class cricket before they got selected. So, good theory. But sometimes talent-spotting is an Imran-Khan-like thing that can’t be codified in an operations process manual.

Ian Chappell said of Rohit Sharma the other day on commentary, “I like the look of this guy. His knees are bent beautifully on a cover drive and the follow through is just perfect. But most importantly, I like the position of his elbow when he cover drives. He should play a long innings for India.” (or words to that effect)

Sometimes, that is all that might be required to make an investment in developing a career.

– Mohan

By: Chandan

Chandan — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 06:13:02 +0000

Bharat,

True that patience is most important in test both for bowlers as well as for batsmen. But all these guys are very young and are bound to be impatient or should I say, less patient than our seasoned veterans. They have hit double tons in FC cricket where the quality of bowling is not great, pitch is not very testing, fielding is not world class and all that. So obviously they have not been tested enough. ‘A’ tours are necessary because of that. And I suppose Yuvraj is losing big time because of not playing FC cricket at all.

Otherwise, I don’t think these guys are ready for the test match grind as yet and I’m talking about Rohit, Manoj and Raina here.

By: Bharath

Bharath — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 03:13:51 +0000

Srikanth,
You know cricket as well, if not better, than I do. And we both know that any predictions or analysis we make, might be proved right or wrong irrespective of the amount of information we take into consideration while making that analysis. I was using three very simple criteria to judge whether any of these current breed of players will make it successful in the test cricket arena. I agree with you completely that the famous five cannot play for another 10 years and that inspite of what any of us feel about the younger guys, their performance might prove any of us right or wrong and unless they are given a chance, we may never know.
But, as with any field, whether its carnatic music or cricket or acting, there are some of us that find every musician or cricketer or actor as being good. There are also some of us who are very picky [due to an ear or eye for subtle nuances of a genius that others might not care that much about] and do not easily accept someone as a good musician, player or actor. When it comes to cricket, I must confess that I am very picky. The first thing that strikes me in a test match batsman is the ability to make the opposition bowlers sweat it out in the heat to take his wicket. If I see that quality in him, I know I have my test cricketer. Greats like Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly, Ravi Shastri etc are some Indians I can think of who can make the opposition really come to their knees. I feel I can see that quality even when a player is playing one day cricket. Other than Dhoni, everyone in the current group seems to be in an enormous hurry all the time, which is what I have huge problems with. Their patience runs out the moment they face five dot balls. This ploy has consistently worked with even a seasoned test match player like Sehwag. The aussies dry up the runs and know that in a few overs, Sehwag’s patience will run out and he will throw his wicket away. The famous five will bide their time, and when the opposition lets its shoulders drop, they will pay heavily. To me that is test cricket. The day I see this quality in any of the current breed players, irrespective of the technique of the batsman, I will completely accept them as test match quality. I think Dhoni is definitely on his way there.

By: flooded basement nj

flooded basement nj — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:05:39 +0000

I think Anil Kumble would be a better opener in aussi bowl. But he is on the way out.

By: Srikanth Mangalam

Srikanth Mangalam — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:03:48 +0000

Bharath,

I am not sure I get your point. Are you suggesting the big four should continue playing till we find with all the qualities that you have mentioned? We might as well ask the four greats to play for another 10 years or so. Also, barring probably Tendulkar, I do not believe the remaining three necessarily had “great test players” written on their faces when they arrived on the scene.

Barring Mohd. Kaif, my understanding is that everyone else mentioned in the list have scored double hundred in domestic games. Expecting a triple hundred from an Indian may be a little too much. Only VVS Laxman has scored a triple hundred amongst the fab four.

The bottom line, is that these are the best we have got. I am a little more optimistic than you are, and I believe unless they are given a chance to prove, there is no way for us to determine if they are ready.

By: karthick

karthick — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:19:23 +0000

Very well written Bharath

By: Bharath

Bharath — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:51:34 +0000

I am sorry to be the only discordant note here, but based on what I see, I dont believe Rohit Sharma is test match material. I might live to regret having said this, but its my opinion based on what I have seen of him till now. Infact, I will go so far as to say that none of the new breed players in the current one day side will qualify in my books as test class, on current form. One of the primary requirements for a test match player is hunger for huge personal runs and willingness to be patient over long periods of play for the same. An indication of that would be a triple century or huge scores at the first class level. Since I am not one who is well versed with the domestic circuit, have any of these one day wonders produced such scores during their cricketing careers so far?? If the answer is yes, then that gives me the first indication that they are ready for test matches. If the answer is no, then that is a chink in their armor. The second criteria for excellence at the test match level would be an attitude for flexibility. In a test match career, one is bound to have lean patches. It will require tremendous resolve and capability to correct ones technique, in order to overcome these lean patches. Tendulkar, even today after so many years in test cricket, keeps making adjustments to his batting to excell at this level. I see more arrogance than humility in the current breed of cricketers, as demonstarted by Yuvraj and Harbhajan. One should clearly be educated early on in their career, that the game will catch up soon. Constant self appraisals and improvements are the only way to have long test careers. And finally, do these players themselves see a preference for excellence in test match cricket over the shorter forms. I feel that the famous five strongly believe in test match being a superior cricketing format. This is reflected in our consistent performances in this format and our climb in ranking over several years. In recent times, there is clearly added hunger to stamp their name in that form more than the one day variety.
While I have stated all the above, there are exceptions like Gilchrist and Sehwag who defy such fixed formulas and bring a flavor that thrills fans worldwide. Only time will tell whether our bench strength is good. Else we will be following the footsteps of West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand.