Will Harbhajan's dream be relished?

Well it is or has always been an accepted theory that only batsmen make good captains while bowlers rarely get the chance to captain their side. This was the case some 7 years back when Sourav Ganguly was forced to opt out of the tournament against Pakistan and Rahul Dravid was made the captain of the then Indian side which saw wins in the first test followed by a defeat in the second. However, Ganguly returned back for the third test which saw India register another innings win against arch rivals-Pakistan. Then, there were two batsmen who captained the Indian side.

That tournament was famous for Virender Sehwag's (India's) maiden triple hundred when he smashed all the Pakistani bowlers-Saqlain especially all over the ground at Multan. That apart, coming to the point, news on the web is that the Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh is keen to captain the Indian side which is now on its all time high after their world cup win exactly two months back. But, his dream seems far from being relished when it has been only batsmen who are found to captain the side. However, the Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori becomes an exception. Or else, no other bowler seems to hold the tag.

The other side of the debate also has wicket keepers making good captains like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Similarly there were quite a few players like Andy Flower and Moin Khan who captained their side as well as kept wickets. But, the lone sufferers have been the bowlers and of course fielders. But, with known fielders hardly available and no other name but Jonty Rhodes making it to the list, fielders can be kept out of the list. Of course, even Jonty Rhodes didn't captain the South African side. Another bowler who made it to the elite list was Shaun Pollock.

Or else, the names which captained their sides were Shahid Afridi, Andrew Struass, Dhoni, Chris Gayle etc who were all batsmen or rather all-rounders, Dhoni being a wicketkeeping allrounder. But, despite being successful bowlers, players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Javgal Srinath etc never got a chance to captain their side. There have been successful bowlers like Wasim Akram, Daniel Vettori, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev etc who have been successful captains. And someone like Sachin Tendulkar is the worst captain India has ever seen no matter how gr8 a batsman he is. With the trends showing no signs of reversing, the question left unanswered is whether Harbhajan's dream ever be relished

I will always put club before country:Gambhir

Well with so much money and fame involved by being an Indian cricketer, anybody would like to become one. If one doe not get my idea clearly, then referring to Parthiv Patel, Sreesanth etc will prove worthy. One can easily guess why Sreesanth is famous for when his bowling has got nothing to do with the news what he makes for. It is not only these two but the entire lot of Indian cricketers who are bagging good money by featuring themselves in ads and playing in the IPL. No doubt that India won the ICC world cup this year by beating Sri Lanka.

But, more than just talent and support from their fans, it was the money that fascinated the Indian players to do something more for themselves keeping in mind the rewards they get in case they manage to do it big. Of course, that is obvious that everything needs an inspiration and with the Indian players enjoying such a kind of inspiration should not be underestimated for, they bought home something which no other team has been able to since the past 28 years. So has been the case some 4 years ago when the same team lifted the world T20 at South Africa.

It was only after he big money started after the team's victory in the world T20 that India started winning games when they won the Commonwealth Bank series in 2007/08 and a bilateral series against Pakistan. Now, Gautam Gambhir has preferred to lean towards his country rather than his club cricket despite his words speaking opposite from the actions what he has taken. A player who has pulled himself out of the tour to West Indies owing to a shoulder injury had no problems playing in the IPL. So was the case with Dhoni who wanted a break from cricket only after the IPL got over last year.

Last year as well after the IPL got over, most of the Indian players called themselves off from the triangular tour involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe which India failed to make it to the finals despite Zimbabwe being an easy target. India have to learn lessons from Australia who even after their world cup triumph in 2003 had their full fledged squad that toured the West Indies soon after. The list included all hit names like Glenn McGrath, Damien Martyn, Hayden etc who had every reason to take a break from cricket after playing for so long successfully. Even Sri Lanka fares better in this aspect.

If I was SRT, I'd have retired

Well the latest abuzz in the cricket world is that Sachin Tendulkar will continue to play international cricket despite winning the world cup. This would definitely bring cheers on all Tendulkar fans who can still see the master blaster doing what he has been since the past 22 years in international cricket. What is more is that Tendulkar will play in both tests as well as one day internationals and God knows how long. It is an undisputed fact that Tendulkar is not the one who runs behind easy money. Moreover, it is not we who decides when Sachin Tendulkar should retire.

But, one thing as fans of the great legend, it would be nice to see Sachin Tendulkar ending his career on a high like Glenn McGrath did so after winning the Ashes 5-0 and the 2007 world cup 11-0. So was the case with Shane Warne when his last 5 test matches saw him become the 1st bowler to grab 700 wickets in test cricket. But, the Indian speedstar-Javagal Srinath didn't have that sort of retirement when his last one day international saw him get belted by Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn in the finals of the 2003 world cup.

Srinath was belted for 87 runs in that match at Centurion. Javagal Srinath didn't take a wicket in his finals test match against West Indies as well. Similarly, Sachin Tendulkar's West Indian counterpart-Brian Lara had a disappointing end to his international career when his team lost five major games in the super eight stage of the 2007 world cup at home. Lara was a part of the West Indian team that didn't feature in the super sixes of the 1999 and 2003 world cups. I pray God that no legend gets such a bad farewell like Lara which made him hang his boots permanently not even considering the IPL.

Sir Vivian Richards-who was a part of the West Indies team which was a world beating side played his last in 1991 and didn't wait to see his team crash out of the 1992 world cup which didn't even make it to the semi-finals despite the presence of Lara, Ambrose, Walsh, Bishop and Richie Richardson. In case Tendulkar retires after say India lose in the ICC champions trophy, that would be a sad farewell for a deserving cricketer. And in case Tendulkar retires after scoring his 100^th ton, the world will see him only as a person who did everything to get into the record books.

Bankrupt Ponting files insolvency

It was after Australia's whitewash in the 2^nd T20 world cup where Australia failed to go past the 1^st round of the tournament after losses to Sri Lanka and West Indies that the then Aussie captain-Ricky Ponting stepped down from captaincy. Now, the world had to wait for India to tame the Australian team that has been stripped of all its match winners for Ponting to give up his captaincy from all forms of the game. This might not go down well with most of them who are hardcore fans of the Aussie captain for his achievements in international cricket.

Ponting though is the 2^nd captain to have lifted the ICC world cup twice after Clive Lloyd can hardly be considered in par with Steve Waugh who was not as successful as Ponting. It was Steve Waugh who from nowhere bought his team to victory in the finals of the 1999 world cup when odds suggested that Australia wouldn't even make it to the semis with them needing wins against all three teams in the super sixes. Had Ponting been there, that would have never happened. Likewise, even Mark Taylor was a clever captain who saw his team to the finals in the previous edition but convinced himself with the runners-up tag.

Ponting under his captaincy has more than 41 test wins along with two ICC world cups and an equal number of ICC champions trophies. Till date, Australia is the only team to have won two ICC champions trophies and Ponting is lucky to have captained the side then. It would not be a tough task for anyone to lead a side with the strongest bowling line up in the world aided with depth to an equal amount in batting. Hard hitting batsmen like Gilchrist, Hayden, Martyn, Symonds, Hussey as a bunch is still unparalleled. Similarly, a bowler like McGrath can be born once in a lifetime.

Since the bowling duo of McGrath and Warne, Ponting's team has never been able to retain or regain the Ashes. Australia came close to losing a test match against Sri Lanka which was the 2^nd test for Australia after the retirement of McGrath-Warne. But, with likes of Gilchrist and co, their winning streak was extended by three more matches when they finally lost to India in the 3^rd test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2007-08 at Perth. Since then Ponting's highlights as captain are: a test series loss to RSA at home which was their 1st such loss in 16 years. Then comes the two Ashes' losses and two loss to India on their tour.

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What is so gr8 in it?

Yesterday, Pakistan beat Australia by 4 wickets to stop their 35 match winning streak that included one tied match against South Africa in the semi finals of the 1999 world cup and one match abandoned with the match against Sri Lanka being called off due to rains. May be this world have come before for Australia, had that game taken off. But, despite all these facts, I personally don't regard this as a major victory for Pakistan or any team to have managed it. Not because that I'm an Indian and turning down Pakistan's achievements is my birth right that I am into such statements.

But, beating a team that was once an unbeatable team is not a major achievement. Only a handful of players from the Australian side are found playing cricket though not at their career best of form and fitness. Only Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Brett Lee are found making it to the squad since 2003 when the Aussies were unbeatable. And for the matter, Ponting is at his best only in smashing LCD sets rather than the ball which has was known to be. There is no Gilchrist, Hayden, Martyn, Symonds and Mike Hussey to take the batting charge with McGrath, Nathan Bracken and Brad Hogg to bowl.

Added to that, the current Aussie team lacks a match winner like Michael Beaven who could take his team out from the clutches of defeat despite his team reeling at 135/8 against England in 2003 and Andy Bichael who was a replacement for Jason Gillispie and proved much more than what Gillispie would have been. Australia never finished with a run rate less than 6.0 an over in the 2007 world cup batting 1^st and got all its opponents all out with Bangladesh being an exception in the 2007 world cup. Coming close to such a team was also a tough task let alone winning.

It would be no tough task to fight a 90 year old man when thinking about the same when the person at his young age would have made him pay the price. In the current cricketing world, Australia is as good as any other team and winning against them would be just another win against a normal opposition. New Zealand could have done this for, they were the 1^st decent team to have faced the Aussies in 2011 WC. Since the 2007 triumph, the Aussies have made news only for bad reasons though they won the ICC champions trophy in 2009 and were the runners-up in world T20 2010.

It would be nice to think about ways to make money online, online business guide than cheering a pseudo-record by Pakistan I'd suggest.

Are Warne's words justified?

Well the latest from the world of cricket is that the Australian retired spin wizard - Shane Warne has not only complimented the England team that a couple of days back lifted their maiden international trophy when they won the third edition of the world T20 in the Caribbean, but in addition also gave them an undeserving applause by saying that England are not scared of playing Australia. The point is, who on earth is scared of playing any team when the least happens is that they may lose the game or the series or whatever but still go back alive saying "better luck next time"?

Anyways with that being a different issue here, the point here is whether Shane Warne's words are completely justified? Shane Warne is believed to have made the statement after England's victory over Australia in the finals of the T20 world cup and also taking into consideration the 2-1 victory over Australia in the Ashes last year. Is that completely enough to justify Shane Warne's words? Likewise, another retired Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath had predicted a 5-0 whitewash for Australia in the last Ashes played in England. But, forget about whitewashing, Austraia couldn't even win or defend the title they had won two years ago.

Australia generously gifted England the series, first when they drew the first Ashes test which they should have won after having a major lead in the first innings and then by losing two out of the 3 matches that were played after Australia won the second. However, coming back to Shane Warne's words, if England's world cup victory is given a close look at, no doubt, England did deserve to win the title, but winning a test series against Australia and that too on its home ground needs some special consideration. With the shortest format of the game still being a fluke, the results can go either way.

I don't have the patience to go back to cricinfo and search for the last time when England held the Ashes in Australia. I remember a series of 4-1 loss in the Ashes by England when Steve Waugh was the captain, with the latest one being in 2002-03 played in Australia. Australia have always been a predictable team for the right reasons with most of the time being victorious while England on the other hand having a 2005/2009 Ashes sort of thing or a world T20 2010 thing once in a lifetime. The only team that England can beat is the West Indies in today's cricket and they still need not fear Australia or any other team whatsoever.

Bad scheduling of the IPL finals

The finals of this year's Indian Premier League was scheduled as though the authorities involved had previously known that the Sachin Tendulkar led Mumbai Indians would surely make it to the finals this time, if the scheduling of the finals is seen which is held at Mumbai from where Sachin Tendulkar hails. Relax! this has got nothing to do with match fixing and related other stuff. However, when the other side of the coin in given a close look at, it is a bad scheduling when the finals should have been held on Saturday which would have coincided with Sachin Tendulkar's 37^th birthday.

People still remember the way Sachin Tendulkar smashed all the Aussie bowlers that included the likes of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath on this day exactly 12 years ago when he celebrated his 25^th birthday. That was the finals of the tri nation tournament in which Australia had never lost a single ODI after winning both the games against India and New Zealand at Sharjah. Of course, India would have won that game prior to the finals had there been no interruption by dust which reduced the required target by just 10 runs and the number of balls by 24.

Now, there could have been yet another occasion had the IPL authorities scheduled the finals of the tournament today rather than on Sunday. Well, I'm aware of the fact that there is the stand off for the third place to be held between Deccan Chargers and the Royal Challengers Bangalore that will decide the team that will make it to the champions league T20 tournament. But, even that could have been settled by having the match played on Sunday or on Friday. It shouldn't matter in case the Deccan Chargers would be playing games back to back with the 2nd semi finals held on Thursday.

However, coming to Sachin Tendulkar's 37^th birthday, I would like to bring it to everyone's notice that Sachin Tendulkar is the only batsman in the history of the game to have at present scored more number of centuries in both forms of the game which is more than his age. This record may not last for long with his age bound to go on as long as the earth exists and the number of hundreds scored to be terminated one fine day when he retires. And with Sachin Tendulkar confirming his presence in the upcoming world cup in 2011 due in the sub continent minus Pakistan, he is likely to become the 2^nd player after Pakistan's Javed Miandad to play in 6 world cups.

How long will we see them play?

Well it was a boon in the form of IPL which saw players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly play in the T20 format of the game since the BCCI closed all the gates for these three prior to the inaugural T20 world cup in 2007. And, with India winning the same without the services of these gentlemen, the BCCI became even more firm with its decision which towards the end also extended their omission from T20 to ODIs. On the other hand, the IPL also provided the fans with a chance to watch players like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne play despite retiring from international cricket.

And in addition, there were players like Shaun Marsh, David Warner, David Hussey to name a few whose hard hitting capabilities were hardly known to the cricketing world and it was possible only because of the IPL. However, with time the players are also found aging themselves which would surely put a break from featuring in the T20s and obviously the IPL as well. The list includes a lot like Anil Kumble, Shane Warne, Sanath Jayasuriya etc to name a few. If a player can play the comparitively longer versions of the game until he closes in on late 30s, he should be able to play T20 matches atleast until 45.

If this has to be true, one should be able to see all retirees from international cricket play in the IPL and should be picked up by the franchisees in the upcoming auction next year when the contract for the three editions of the IPL would have expired. Sacin Tendulkar - who is now just above 36 if picked would be playing until the age of 40, which is now being done by Sanath Jayasuriya and Shane Warne. Both Jayasuriya and Warne are now aged 40 and Jayasuriya has lost his place in the playing XI though not being justified. And on the other hand, Shane Warne is found playing for the lone reason that he is the captain.

Warne would be 43 and Jayasuriya 45 if picked. And there is no problems with Gilchrist, Sachin and Hayden who would be aged 39 respectively and will play until 43 which is still less than 45 and should have enough fuel in them to take their team forward. Anil Kumble is now 39 and if picked will be there until he reaches 43. Likewise, Glenn McGrath has not featured in the 15 member squad of the Delhi Daredevils and Chaminda Vass has been made to follow Sanath Jayasuriya despite at one stage of the tournament found wearing the purple cap.

At the end of the day, the million dollar question is irrespective of whether they have the potential in them to make it big or not, will the team owners go for these old warhorses? And in addition, though their body supporting them, will these players' mind support them which has seen them doing the same since more than a decade? Well, there is money involved and so nothing can be said in particular.

Aussies not for big bucks?

Needless to be said, this is the third edition of the Indian Premier League. For the second time in succession, players from Pakistan are banned (once officially and unofficially this time) from participating in the same. At the same time, one other aspect that needs to be noticed is that some most of the players from Australia are also not found to feature in the IPL despite having the potential in them to attract huge sums of money and a lot of fame as well. The list includes close to a dozen players from the country. This is to be indeed given a closer look.

Last year in 2009 (obviously), Michael Clarke was found to back out from that year's edition of the IPL despite being offered a base price of $1 million the reason for which sources say is not enough for him considering his caliber. And, there was Shaun Tait who withdrew his name from the auction list when he wanted to improve his game as far as his international commitments were considered. This also was found making Shaun Tait back out from the CB series earlier that year for the same reason which drew a lot of applause. This was said to have been done by Shaun Tait to battle depression.

So has been the case with Mitchell Johnson who has not seen featuring in the IPL so far in all three editions though having the potential in him to make it big here. Johnson was believed to have been offered a price if $800,000 which he turned down without a second thought. And this year, though being free from his international commitments, Ricky Ponting is seen nowhere in this edition of the IPL despite having appeared for Kolkata Knight Riders earlier. While others like Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori and others who are also into their international commitments are being seen.

The only players being seen from Australia are players who have quit playing international cricket like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Martyn to name a few. Someone like Andrew Symonds is making his appearance owing to the fact that he has been banned from playing international cricket for Australia for reasons best known to everyone after the T20 world cup last year. The other category include players like Shaun Marsh and David Hussey who have not been featuring for the Australian team for a long time. The only players who play regularly play for Australia and still show interest in IPL have been Brett Lee (if not for his injury), Warner,Watson and Ryan Harris offlate.

Ricky Ponting misses Steve Bucknor & Mark Benson

Whenever a team finds itself in shambles, the first person to face the axe is the captain of the team. And it is more so in case of the Australian captain Ricky Ponting who had no choice but to be at the receiving end when his team was all out for a partly total of 127 in the second test at Sydney against Pakistan. Tongues have already started wagging against the Australian skipper's favor when he chose to bat first in the so called green top in Sydney, which Ponting did otherwise. Whatever may be the reason, Australia's score card can never read anything else if not for the truth.

However, everyone (including me) would be shocked indeed when a team like Australia loses its first 7 wickets at a score less than 75. And as it is in front of us, Australia's final score reads 127 all out. I just wonder as to how many people would have died all over the world from heart attack after the Aussie batsmen did such an unbelievable feat and that too at Sydney! Though Australia are not with the greats like Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn, Simon Katich, Justin Langer and others, Australia are still the opposition to beat by most of the teams around.

Australia still have Mike Hussey, Ponting himself along with Shane Watson who can make a decent batting line up. And another reason for the Aussies to kick themselves is the fact that they have been bought down to their knees by a team that have not played a single test match in the year 2008. Scorecard reveals that the highest run getter in the first innings of Australia was Mitchell Johnson who scored 38 runs and added to that was the fact that he was the lone six hitter in the innings and also the batsman who hit five boundaries that was more than anybody else in the Australian first innings.

And it was not Danish kaneria who posed some problems for Aussie batsmen who are bad players of spin comparatively. But, it was some Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Sami, the former who was suspected of doping charges and the latter who has come back to play test cricket after more than two years, since the ICL was a failure. All that the Pakistan team needed to demolish the Aussie batting line up was four bowlers, out of which the ten wickets were shared by the three fast bowlers viz Sami, Asif and Umar Gul. And yes, this was the venue where the onfield umpires viz Steve Bucknor & Mark Benson played for Australia to get them their 16^th consecutive test win 2 years ago.

I hope Ponting would surely recall the moment and miss the services of these two men more than someone like McGrath & Warne.