What Future Holds for Duncan Fletcher in India?

After the World Cup 2011 win it was time to bid adieu to the cool and calm coach of Indian cricket team, Gary Kirsten. Under his guidance the Indian team reached the pinnacle of success winning the World Cup 2011 and reaching the number 1 spot in Test cricket. But due to his personal reasons the BCCI had to let him go. But he has set a benchmark hard to reach. Though the BCCI officials reported that they were in no hurry to appoint a new coach for Indian team still they have already made up their made. So after the exit of Kirsten it is time for the Fletcher era to begin.

Will Success Embrace Him in India?

Yes Duncan Fletcher, who was the former coach of the English cricket team has been appointed the new coach. As ever there are reactions coming in from all parts of India. When it comes to cricket it seems everyone has an opinion. While eminent players like Kapil Dev have criticized the move, other eminent coaches such as John Buchanan have lauded the appointment of Duncan Fletcher. Let us analyze some of the criticisms that are doing rounds at the moment:

• He is not Renowned: Kapil Dev said in an interview he has never heard of Duncan Fletcher as a player. Well paaji he played in your times, though for the budding nation Zimbabwe and was the first one day captain of the nation. Under him Zimbabwe recorded an astounding victory over Australia in the 83 World Cup. He was also very successful in his stint with the English team and led them to the famous Ashes and Commonwealth Bank Trophy victories. Ask some of the eminent English cricketers and they will rate him highly as a coach. Moreover we have already seen the miseries of hiring the services of a renowned player like Greg Chappell as coach. We do not want face any such miseries over again.
• He is Aged: First of all he is not a player, he is a coach who will be setting strategies and it is known to all that older heads can create best strategies. Bob Woolmer was a top coach and he was 59 when he was still coaching with glory. If you are looking for a young coach like Gary Kirsten then it is a risky business that does not come off every time. Young coaches are bound to have least experience in coaching international sides and understanding the needs of the international players.
• He will not Gel in: The same statement was made when Gary Kirsten was appointed for the top post. Experts said that a player of Sachin's stature will find it hard to work under Kirsten's guidance, but see results, we have won the World Cup folks! No one can predict how the players will react to Duncan's presence.
• Dhoni-Kirsten Magic can not be reproduced: Trends in cricket show that the most successful teams (barring Australia) have risen with the captain coach partnership and similar was the case with Indian cricket team. Dhoni and Kirsten put their heads together to reach the peak of success. We can only hope the Dhoni-Fletcher is not a disaster as the Ganguly-Chappell one.

No one can predict what the future holds, so we can only wait to see if BCCI have taken the right decision or not!

IPL 4: Country or Franchise?

Though Sachin Tendulkar's 140 not out at Bristol in 2009 World Cup was just another century amongst many, but it won him many accolades. It is not because of the inings but the soel fact that only a few days ago he had lost one of the most loved persons in his life. His father Ramesh Tendulkar had died and after finishing off the ceremonies back home he rushed to serve his country. This elevated his stature in the minds of the cricket lovers. This is the kind of patriotism you would expect from a player representing their country. Now let me come to the last soccer World Cup where there was much talk of Rooney, Messi and Christiano Ronaldo magic, but hardly did these players deliver to their hype. Why? Even the players admitted that they were too tired after a full season with their respective clubs. So does country come first in todays date or the clubs/franchises?

Isn't This Glory Enough?

Indian cricket team gave the best gift possible to the nation by winning the much craved for World Cup. All the players admitted that they had a draining time (both physically and emotionally) on their path to glory. But the BCCI paid no heed to it. They had to pull up their socks over again and participate in the glamorous IPL 4, which by the way is organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Indian Premier League barring the presence of the Indian players would not be a crowd puller, thus the BCCI had to involve the Indian cricket stars. Its great that they are performing well in this searing heat, but the cause of concern comes next. Most of the players have opted out of the West Indies tour that India will soon undertake. Let me remind the readers Indian teams have never fared well in the Caribbean Islands, so this was a great occasion to win a series in Windies. But with the exhaustion of World Cup and IPL 3 the players need rest and time for their families. Thus their demand for rest are valid. But does this mean the BCCI is encouraging the players to choose franchise ahead of their nation? The IPL could be dropped this year as we have already had a dose of great cricket with the World Cup 2011 being organized in the sub-continent. But the cash rich Indian cricket board just crave on for more money, at times at the sake of their star players and nation's pride.

IPL “Players Auctions” A Disgrace to Cricketers

Before the glamorous IPL 3 season began there was a players auction was held by the BCCI in a bid to sell the players to the franchise. The word “players auction” itself was a hard term to digest. Are players slaves that they will be put up for sale just as the slaves were in the Roman era? These are players who have climbed the ladders of professional success by working hard and now they have to stand the humiliation of being auctioned. When the Indian Premier League began in 2008 a similar process was followed, but that was just the starting of a annual mega event, so such a fault could be overlooked. But in its third year running, still the BCCI authorities fail to respect the players.

A Still from the IPL 3 Players Auction

Auction is a suitable term for real estate but it does not fit in for cricketers. Just think Sachin Tendulkar (arguably the best cricketer ever) is standing in front of a crowd of interested owners and the price of his skills are fixed. It is very disgraceful to think of. Why can't the sensible heads in the BCCI see such a picture, after all most of them were respectable cricketers too!

When the IPL was conceptualized, it was modeled on the EPL (English Premier League) but there the players do not have to go through the shameful procedure of bidding. They can choose the money and the club themselves. In case of the IPL the players are sold off by the BCCI to the franchises who pays the maximum, the wishes of the players are secondary here. Like other professionals, players too can perform their best when they find a favorable atmosphere around them. Just think Christiano Ronaldo playing in the Fulham team because they pay the best prices for the player! It seems weird isn't it? But thats what many of the talented cricketers have to go through in IPL auctions. They get a call from the owner that you are mine and they have to turn up and play for their franchise.

IPL is making millions of dollars every year and all the laurels should go to the players. In returns of IPL such a grand success can't they get a little respect?

Sourav Ganguly: Warrior Left Dry and Cold!

It is famous saying in cricket “knock, knock and knock the door down”. It signifies the fact that good performances never go unnoticed when you are a cricketer. But there are exceptions though! Have a look at the Kolkata Knight Riders management. They dropped their most prolific run getter in the last season of IPL. The victim of this unjustified act was Sourav Ganguly. The former Indian skipper had a great IPL 3 scoring 493 runs in 14 inings at an average of 37.92. He landed up as the fourth highest run getter in the 2010 IPL season. So what? The KKR management put all the blames of the woeful performances upon the shoulders of Sourav and ousted this glorious performer from their ranks.

Sourav Ganguly Grimacing

There were many reasons sighted by the authorities. Let us analyze a few of them:

• Sourav Ganguly is past his best days: If being the fourth highest run getter when there was none to support him at the other end is being past the best days, then there are many Indian crickets who should quit cricket immediately.
• He is not a good fielder: Yes, I admit he is not a Herschelle Gibbs. But then is VVS Laxman or Rahul Dravid known for their fielding prowess. In the last edition of the IPL our own Dada took some stunning catches and looked the most agile fielder on the park.
• He does not have high strike rate: If we go by the first couple of matches in the present IPL 2011, then Jacques Kallis is the highest run getter. When was the last time South Africa considered Jacques to be a power hitter? Yet he is successful. However short the game might be, class always stands apart from the crowd. In this respect it is important to inform you Dada had a strike rate of 117.66 across the 14 matches he played.

No wonder people have a cold heart for the present KKR side and Eden sees only half filled stands. Their warrior Prince was deprived of a much deserved opportunity. Why shouldn't they be unsatisfied?

Spinner to Rule the Roost

When Dipak Patel opened the bowling in the 1992 World Cup there were many eyebrows raised. But come the 2011 World Cup in India spinners seemed to be the definite choices to get the bowling started. All the captains in the recently held World Cup looked upon the spinners as their trump cards. In the later stages of the World Cup (with the Indian wickets getting slower and lower) most of the spinners had their leeway over their express counterparts. One of the major reasons for the successful World Cup campaign of India was the effectiveness of Yuvraj's slow left arm spin. Thus when you are playing in India and it is late March or April spinners are bound to have a major say.

With the IPL recently kicking off spinners are bound to have a major say in this year's DLF IPL. Most of the teams have gone in with power hitters but having a world class spinner could make all the difference this time around. For example Kolkata Knight Riders forgot to sign any of the reputed spinners in the auctions, they might have to pay heavily for this mistake. The anonymous Indian spinners in the KKR side didn't seem to have any effect on the high class Chennai Super Kings batting. They looked tame to tell the least. On the otherhand the class spinners in CSK line up, mainly Ashwin and Jakati had a major say in CSK win. If this is a trend to go by then the teams having high quality spinners will be the best bet for this year's champions crown.