Yuvraj Singh on test cricket

Well this has been one of the most mysteries in international cricket that Yuvraj Singh has had to fight for a place in the test side of the Indian side despite being in the top form in the other two formats of the game. Someone like Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Rohith Sharma have been able to make it to the test team not only in games involving Bangladesh and that played at India but they have been called in during the Border - Gavaskar trophy in 2008 which was a tough challenge for Indians. The list also includes Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik.

It is agreed that both the above mentioned names have made it to the playing XI as wicketkeepers unlike others who have made it as batsmen. But, one has to doubt whether Yuvraj Singh is a much under-rated batsman compared to the likes of Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli? On the otherhand, someone like Mahendra Singh Dhoni was made the captain of the Indian test squad ahead of Laxman and Sehwag who were seniors compared to Dhoni. No doubt that Dhoni has been able to fulfill the commitments to the fullest extent may be even more than what Laxman and Sehwag would have achieved.

However, the discussion here once again asks whether Yuvraj Singh needs multiple reconsideration for his place in the test squad? This is one of those rare cases where bowlers have an upper hand compared to batsmen when they have been able to make it to the test team in the initial stages of their career while batsmen fail to do it even after years of them making their debut in international cricket. Irfan Pathan debuted in one of the most important series namely the Border - Gavaskar trophy 2003/04 and should consider himself lucky enough to have the wicket of Steve Waugh.

So was the case with people like Ishanth Sharma, who was chosen for the same Border - Gavaskar trophy four years later in 2008. But,m Yuvraj Singh was made to warm the benches in the same tournament if not for a couple of games. Despite making his international debut in 2000, it took almost four years for Yuvraj Singh to play his first test match against New Zealand which was nonetheless a miserable one with him getting limited opportunity there and was once for all sacked for the Australian tour that year. But, that has not been the case regarding Sehwag.

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.

A tough task for India

Well on one hand if as an Indian I rejoice my team's victory over the West Indies, on the other hand, troubles begin or have set to begin for team India for, their victory over the West Indies in yesterday's game means that India finish at number three after South Africa and England, with the West Indies finishing at number four. As a result, India will now have to face Australia who are positioned at number 3 after Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the group A points table. This is a difficult task for India who have thrashed by the Aussies 5 times since 1992 world cup.

Of course, the Aussies were unbeatable in 2003 when India lost to them twice. And, as for all bright faces to cheer for, India has been beating Pakistan since 1992 world cup. No matter whether Pakistanis are crowned the world champions (in 1992 world cup) or have been declared the runners-up (in the 1999 world cup), their record against India in world cups is nothing but a zero. Moreover, India can play Pakistan better compared to Australia despite Australia being just another team unlike when they were two world cups earlier. Had India lost yesterday's game they would have been paired with Pakistan.

Pakistan has been placed in the number one position in group A after their wins over Australia and Sri Lanka. If this could be a concern for any team about to face Pakistan, it would be worth mentioning their 11 run win over Sri Lanka that involved an uncountable number of misfield and drop catches. Easy catches have been dropped at crucial stages against Sri Lanka. And coming to the match against Australia, Pakistan lost 6 wickets en route to their successful run chase of 177. There was no need to lose so many wickets in chasing such a small total.

India's chances in the quarter finals would be 50-50 with Australia being a decent squad compared to Pakistan keeping the past results apart. If anyone would cite Australia's lack of match winners like in the past two world cups, one has to keep a check on the Indian batsmen who lost 9 wickets for 29 runs against South Africa and tied with England. Both big games were assisted by Sachin Tendulkar who scored 100s in both the games. A win against West Indies is as good as a win against Bangladesh, Holland and Ireland. Accepting facts, past need not repeat itself in India-Pakistan matches also.

I can correlate India's situation to The Simple Life of a Baghag.

India to get chokers tag?

Well in the beginning of the tournament, India were ranked as favorites to at least be on top at the end of the league stage matches putting them ahead of South Africa, England and West Indies. But, with two out of the three matches slipping away from their hands, the only game left over is against the West Indies. It should not be a surprise if India win against the West Indies but all is hidden in the way they win and chances of losing are also on a high. India have most of the times been on the receiving end in big games and tournaments.

India should have won against England after there were big scores from the blades of Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir. At one stage, it was as though England would get away with a win when equation read England needing 67 runs from 60 balls which were gettable with 8 wickets in hand. Finally, India should be relieved to have got away with a tie than to lose after faring so good with the bat if not the ball. India's wins against Netherlands, Ireland and Bangladesh can hardly be relished considering their loss against South Africa and England against which they were expected to win.

If one could take pains to go through the match Bangladesh, it was a one man show from Virender Sehwag though towards the end even Virat Kohli got a hundred. It would be tough to say whether Sehwag would have reached the magical figures had he not been gifted with a runner. Moreover, Bangladesh managed to score 283 which was not acceptable considering the caliber of both India and Bangladesh. Neither was the score satisfactory nor were the Indian bowlers able to take all ten wickets from the Bangladeshi side. I just happened to go through emanon, road to the unknown after seeing India's plight.

One can go through India's performance in the recently concluded world tournaments namely the world T20 2009 and 2010 and the ICC champions trophy 2009. India were successful initially in both world cups. In 2009 India as expected won the group stage matches against Bangladesh and Ireland and flunk in games against South Africa, England and West Indies in the super eights. So was the case in 2010 where India won games against South Africa only to lose in the super eights to Sri Lanka, West Indies and Australia. In the champions trophy 2009, India had a win only against a depleted West Indies with loss to Pakistan before the match against Australia was abandoned.

The only word that comes to my mind with all these facts is "CHOKERS".

Unlucky Rohith!

Well it is really difficult to decide whether Rohith Sharma is to be considered unlucky or is the ICC rightly justified in fining the mentioned Indian batsman for showing dissent towards the umpires' decision. As far as my memories go, this is the second time that Rohith Sharma has been fined for showing dissent towards the umpires' decision. The first time I remember Rohith Sharma showing dissent towards the umpires' decision was way back in late 2007 in the Commonwealth Bank tri series involving Sri Lanka, India (obvioulsy) and Australia (which is obvious as well). That was in the game against Sri Lanka at Brisbane.

Then, Rohith Sharma was fined 10% of his match fees when he showed reluctance in heading back to the stands when the main umpire raised his finger against the batsman regarding which Rohith Sharma was far from being convinced. And suporting Rohith Sharma, the video replays showed that Rohith Sharma had not even touched the ball in that particular encounter. That was the initial stage of Rohith Sharma's career and that match would have been a full stop in his career had the Indian batsman not shown reluctance in heading back to the stands. This was even worse than the 10% fine imposed on him.

One such poor performance by a youngster is more than enough for his cricket board's selection committee to sack him with dozens of other youngsters more eager to make it to the playing eleven. And, one can quite understand Rohith Sharma's anxiety when he was shown the doors with no mistake of his. And, this time once again Rohith Sharma has found himself in shambles when he once again did the same mistake by not willing to head back to the stands despite the onfield umpires raising his finger against the wishes of the batsman. This time as well, the umpires were more than convinced by their error than the batsman's doubt.

This is one such area in the game of cricket where the benefit of doubt does not go to the batsman. Instead, the benefit of the human error of the onfield umpires most of the times favors the bowlers who would be having a wicket against their name and the fielders who would be having a catch or a run out against their name. However, hardly any batsmen are found to be punished like it has happened for Rohith Sharma or may be that I have hardly come across a batsman being unlucky one for falling prey to a wrong decision and two for facing a penalty. If you readers come across such a scene please let me know.