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Time is running out for Rohit
Posted on: July 30, 2012
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Rohit Sharma has been an enigma in Indian cricket. When he made his debut in 2007 he was touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket. Extremely talented Rohit had a decent beginning in Indian colors. His wonderful partnership with Sachin Tendulkar in the CB series finals further emphasized his credentials as a fine young player. In 2012, five years after his debut, Rohit finds himself battling for a spot in the ODI team with Rahane and Tiwary who are waiting in the wings.
Even though Rohit Sharma has been preferred ahead of the above two mentioned players, it seems like the time is running out for Rohit. Rohit Sharma’s international stint has been really frustrating for fans. He seems like someone who should be scoring loads of runs but the way he gets himself out will make every Indian cricket fans tear their hair out. It is not like he hasn’t played many games. Rohit Sharma has played 82 ODI’s for India and has scored 1966 runs at a modest average of 32.2.
The series against Sri Lanka will be the biggest test for Rohit. He hasn’t begun the series that well with the scores of 5 and two ducks in three completed innings. The fact that Manoj Tiwary and Ajinkya Rahane are waiting in the wings should be weighing on his mind. Another failure in this series might well mean him being replaced. It is only fair that Tiwary and Rahane get an extended run in the team as Rohit did. The biggest disappointment has been the India A tour to West Indies where Rohit did not fare that well. He just scored 2 fifties throughout the tour and threw his wicket away in the unofficial tests after getting to starts.
It is nice that the Indian think tank has faith in Rohit and they are backing him to the hilt but they have to keep in mind that every player should receive his fair share of chances. India will be playing their fourth game tomorrow and the pressure of selection will once again be back on Dhoni. It will be interesting to see if Manoj Tiwary will get a chance in this series at all. It is only fair to give the youngster couple of games to see how he does. Rohit Sharma is a fine talent but talent alone does not guarantee success at the international level (remember Vinod Kambli?). Rohit has been temperamentally weak and it will be good for him to take a break from international cricket to work on the mental aspect of the game. Rohit is a fantastic player and for sure is the future of Indian middle order but at the moment I just feel that he is blocking the other youngsters from getting a go in the Indian team.
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The year 2011 could be split into two parts, before the world cup and after the world cup. Before the world cup the Indian team was world number 1 test team, top 3 in the ODI and was doing very well on tours. After the memorable world cup win the team completely fell flat, the batting struggled, the captain lost his plot and the team became extremely inconsistent. After a very sluggish series win against West Indies, India were trashed by England 4-0 and lost the number 1 rankings. Late the same year India travelled to Australia, only to suffer yet another whitewash.
In 2011 though the ODI team did pretty okay, except for the rain marred 3-0 loss to England the team did quite well. In 2012 though the ODI team has been extremely inconsistent too, the team failed to make the CB series final and also lost an opportunity to reach the Asia cup finals. Overall the last year and a half has been pretty poor for the Indian team and when India begins their season against SL tomorrow they would want to make a fresh and confident start. The season is only going to get tougher.
Rahul Dravid’s retirement from the test team means that India need to quickly find a replacement for the legend. Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman aren’t going to be there for long, so identifying replacements for them will also be in the agenda. The bowling combination also needs some working out. Umesh Yadav showed lots of promise in his first year of International cricket, not it is time for him to translate that to results. Zaheer Khan is on his last legs and needs to be preserved for important games and it is time for the young bowlers to step up. It will also be nice to see Ishant Sharma rise to the occasion leading the Indian attack over the next year or so.
The team has a pretty hectic schedule following the Sri Lankan series and would hope to have their prime players fit for most of it. Sri Lanka is no alien to the Indian team as they have played there quite often in the recent years. The Sri Lankan team though has just come off a series win against Pakistan and will be in high spirits. The Indian team though will be rusty as they are coming off a long but deserved break. This will be an important year for the Indian team as identifying the right combination will be of paramount importance. The Indian team will not be touring till mid of next year and this will give them ample time to test young players in the home series.
The series itself will be a close one. Sri Lanka is always a strong outfit at home and will be a tough opposition to deal with. The series can go either way but I will put my neck out and predict a 3-2 win for the Indian team. The Indian team has had a wood over Sri Lanka over the past couple of years and have won lost an ODI series there in the last couple of visits. Dhoni and Fletcher will know that this series marks the beginning of a grueling and tough season and they would want to begin this with a good win.
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The Indian team for the Sri Lankan tour was selected last week and there weren’t a whole lot of surprises in the squad. Sachin Tendulkar has been rested for limited overs tour of Sri Lanka as per his request. Sehwag and Zaheer who were rested for the Asia cup make a comeback to the Indian team. India will be playing 5 ODI’s and 1 T20 in a short tour to Sri Lanka.
The rest of the team is on the expected lines. The biggest surprise though was the exclusion of Varun Aaron. Aaron who was injured prior to the Australian tour looked in good form in the IPL. Considering he is one of the quickest bowlers India has it is surprising to see him missing out once again. Dinda makes it to the 15 due to his good performances in the IPL and the India A tour to West Indies. Vinay Kumar retains his place in the ODI squad and Umesh Yadav makes a comeback after missing the Asia cup.
Ravindra Jadeja has been dropped after poor performances in Australia and the Asia cup. Jadeja did not have a good IPL either. The spin department will be led by Ravichandran Aswin along with Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma. Irfan and Yusuf have been ignored in spite of the Indian team not having a genuine all-rounder in the squad.
The batting feature the usual suspects with Sehwag and Gambhir returning at the top of the order. Rahane might play at number 3 followed by Rohit, Kohli and Raina in the middle order. Manoj Tiwary makes the squad too but will be interesting to see if he will get a game in this series. MS Dhoni will captain the side and Virat Kohli will be his deputy in this series.
The team is on the expected lines and there hasn’t been much experimentation by the selectors. The bowling department especially will be boosted by the arrival of Zaheer and Umesh. Aswin will most probably play as the lone spinner with Raina and Rohit filling in as the 5th bowling option. The Indians have once again ignored Irfan Pathan who would have lent a good balance to the squad. His presence would have allowed the team an extra option of spin. Overall this is probably the best possible squad at the moment and it looks pretty strong. The series will be interesting and will for sure be a good practice ahead of the World T20 which is supposed to take place in Sri Lanka. This series will give the players a good chance to acclimatize themselves to the conditions in Sri Lanka ahead of the marquee tournament in September.
Squad for the Sri Lanka tour:
MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virat Kohli (vice-capt), Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, R Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane
Recently the AITA (All India Tennis Association) announced the Indian Tennis teams for the upcoming London Olympics 2012. The overall announcement turned into a farce which ended up in the association having to redo the combinations. Tennis is one of the few sports where India has a strong chance of obtaining a medal in the Olympics. The strong Indian contingent comprises of fantastic doubles players such as Leander, Mahesh, Sania and Rohan Bopanna.
Everyone knows that Leander and Mahesh split once again for the 100th time last year and do not like to play with each other. It was pretty strange when AITA paired Leander with Mahesh for the London Olympics. But when the announcement came in there was a series of ugly spats in the media. Mahesh came in and refused to play with Leander and threatened to pull out. Leander for his part did the same thing. Rohan Bopanna too refused to partner Leander as he has had a successful time partnering Mahesh in the grand-slams this year.
This was really sad when you consider that this was an Indian team which has been announced. Tennis as a sport is mostly individual except for certain events such as Olympics, Davis Cup etc…So it does not require the players to get along with each other like how it is with other team sports. The players and the AITA are both at fault here. AITA should have known about the situation and probably should have discussed the situation before announcing it to the media. The players too even though being unhappy should have spoken with the AITA first before expressing their displeasure openly to the media. It was ugly when Sania Mirza and Leander’s father too got involved in this circus.
I can’t believe that a person who is not even a member of AITA or has never played any tennis can come in public and request for a written assurance from a tennis player to partner his son. I feel sorry for the young Vishnu Vardhan who got stuck in this crossfire. He would have been honored to represent India at the highest stage and to be paired with a Legend in the Olympics only to find that Leander refused to partner with him unless Sania partnered with him for mixed doubles.
This seemed like a round of ugly politics and players egos coming to the fore. Leander and Mahesh are legends of Indian tennis but it seems like their egos are bigger than their achievements. We thank them for all the great things they have done for the Indian tennis but this situation could have been handled better. Threatening to pull out of a premier event for any reason when your country’s pride is at stake is an extremely selfish act. I understand that the mistake was from both the sides but a discussion behind the scenes would have been a much better option.
The young players look up to these legends for inspiration and this is not something they would like to see. I am just happy that the issue has been finally resolved and it seems like the players are happy with whom they have been paired with. Leander has finally agreed to pair with Vishnu and Mahesh with Bopanna. Sania Mirza will be paired with Leander and she said that she is honored to do so. Somdev and Sania will be playing singles after getting wild cards to represent India in the Olympics. After all this tamasha, it does look like India has some decent chance of multiple medals this year. I hope that the players put behind their differences and perform to the fullest in the event to bring glory to the country.
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Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron will have their tasks cut off when the grueling Indian season begins in a month’s time
Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron were like a breath of fresh air when they took the new ball against the touring West Indies side at home. Both bowled with extreme pace troubling the West Indies batters on pretty flat wickets in India. Both bowlers capable of bowling in the excess of 150 will now have to concentrate on cementing their place in the Indian squad. The Indian fast bowling cupboard has not been fuller than the last decade or so. We had fast bowlers appearing left right and center only to disappear after a year.
We have had bowlers with enormous talent making their debuts, only to lose their way within a year. The reason to the same has never been analyzed. Talented bowlers like Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, and RP Singh etc… All had a great beginning to their career only to lose their way and finally disappear from the radar. When Umesh Yadav came on to the scene, I was little skeptic. India plays a lot of cricket throughout the year including the IPL and champions League. For a bowler to remain fit through this grueling schedule requires meticulous planning from the team management as well the bowler himself. It is not an easy task.
But after almost a year, Umesh has done quite well to withstand the pressure and has still maintained his speed. This shows that the boy has great work ethic and tremendous fitness. Aaron though wasn’t that lucky, he missed the Australia tour due to injury but made a good comeback bowling at 150 k’s even after his return in the IPL. These two have for sure have for now broken the trend of Indian bowlers losing their pace.
The next hurdle to cross will be to pass the grade from promising to good. This will be something which will separate them from the rest of the pack. Umesh Yadav had a great start to his test career and was very impressive in Australia. Aaron too had a decent debut test against the West Indies. Fast bowlers need to be looked after. There are only a hand full currently in international cricket who can bowl 90+ mph consistently. The Indian think tank needs to understand that. Aaron and Umesh are the future of Indian bowling and I hope the rigorous schedule of the Indian team does not consume them too.
It will be interesting to see how these to shape up in the coming year or two. It will be interesting to see if the Indian think tank has the courage to play both these players together in the test team. India has finally found genuine pace bowlers and my hope is that we don’t lose them to mismanagement and greed once again.
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I wrote this article 2 years back when Pujara made an impressive debut for India. Pujara still continues to prove that he is head and shoulders above the other youngsters (other than Kohli off-course) with his brilliant performance in West Indies.
An amazing domestic record and with loads of runs behind him, Cheteshwar Pujara was considered as one of the future stars to play for the Indian cricket team. He not only scored heavily in the domestic scene but also performed incredibly whenever India toured abroad on the A tours. His great technique and concentration was praised by “The Wall” of Indian cricket team Rahul Dravid, who said that Pujara will for sure play for India for a long time.
Pujara finally got his chance to prove himself against the Aussies in the home series and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He scored a brilliant 70 odd in a fourth innings chase helping India to defeat the Aussies in the second test to seal the series 2-0. Now the problem was that with Indian middle order already sealed where would he fit in? The only vacant spot in the…
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Nadal continues to dominate on Clay
Posted on: June 11, 2012
Nadal poses with John McEnroe after winning his record 7th French Open title.
Rafael Nadal continued his dominance on clay with a record 7th French Open title. He beat world number 1 Novak Djokovic in a tough four setter 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to claim the title. The win also makes Nadal the most crowned man in the open era history at French Open. Like most of the grand slams over the past few years, this year too we saw the top three making it to the semis. Djokivic dismissed Federer in the semis to set up a mouthwatering encounter with the defending champion in the finals. The final was a brilliant spectacle with some blazing tennis from both the players but in the end the consistency of Nadal proved too much for the world number 1.
Sharapova claims the women’s title
Sharapova becomes the French Open champion thereby completing her career slam
Sharapova beat Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2 in a one-sided final to claim the French Open crown. This was a sweet victory for Sharapova who in the process also regained her top spot in the rankings. This was a great comeback from the champion who went through a major surgery in 2008 in a bid to save her career. Maria joined the elite list of women’s tennis with this win as she completed her career slam.
Mahesh and Sania win the Mixed doubles crown
Mahesh Bhupati and Sania Mirza won the mixed doubles crown beating Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Santiago Gonzalez 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 in the finals. The pair won their second title together, with their previous win being in the 2009 Australian Open.
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The IPL is finally over and the concentration has now shifted to the Indian A tour to West Indies. The India A team comprises of possible middle order options for the Indian test team and it will be interesting to see how the team performs in West Indies. It will be interesting to see how the players go about on this tour as a lot rests on their performance on this tour. Let us look at the main contenders for the Indian test squad.
Ajinkya Rahane (Top order):
There is no doubt that Ajinkya Rahane is probably the most talented on the Indian youngsters in the domestic arena. He had a brilliant IPL V for Rajasthan Royals but his career is much more than just a T20 tournament. Rahane has been a consistent performer in the Indian domestic scene and on India A tours. He has an impressive tally of 4862 runs at an amazing average of 68.47 in first class cricket. He has already broken into the Indian set up in the shorter format and would like to cement his place in the test side as well. He has an impressive technique against the new ball and impressed one and all with his composure during the English tour last year. He will be looking to impress the selectors with good performance in the A tour to West Indies.
Rohit Sharma (Middle Order):
It seems like Rohit Sharma has been around Indian cricket for ages. For a batsman as talented as him, he should have already been a regular in the Indian test team. Rohit Sharma has been a brilliant performer in the domestic cricket for Mumbai over the years. He has scored an impressive 3748 at a healthy average of 63.52 in first class cricket. There is no denying the talent of Rohit but his temperament has often been questioned. For a player who has a triple hundred in first class cricket he has been rather impatient in the Indian colors in the shorter format. In spite of playing 80 ODI’s for India he is still to cement his spot in the ODI team. This will give Rohit a great chance to prove that he belongs in the test team. He has begun the tour brilliantly with a fighting 94 in the first unofficial test against West Indies A. He would like to continue performing to make a case for a test debut later this year.
C Pujara (Top order):
He is one player who has already debuted for Indian in the test arena and has been acknowledged as the player most likely to replace Rahul Dravid at number 3. Pujara impressed one and all with his technique against the new ball and has been noticed by his sheer weight of runs in domestic cricket. He was singled out by Rahul Dravid himself as one for the future and had a great debut game against the Australians with a match winning fifty. Pujara has been injured for a long time over the last year or so but he for sure will be in line to get the number 3 spot just vacated by Dravid when India don whites again later this year. Pujara averages a brilliant 53.50 in the domestic arena and has been one of the consistent performers in the away tours with the India A team. He also has begun the tour with a fifty in the first test against the West Indies A team and would like to keep scoring to seal his place in the Indian top order.
A Mukund (Opener):
A Mukund impressed one and all with his technique against the new ball in West Indies and England in 2011. Even though he did not score lots of runs he did occupy the crease for long time in few games. A Mukund is an opener with great technique and with sheer weight of runs in domestic cricket broke into the Indian squad last year in the absence of Sehwag and Gambhir. He has overtaken his team mate from Tamil Nadu Murali Vijay as the third opener in the Indian test squad and would like to perform well on the A tour to get back in the reckoning. With more than 4700 runs in domestic cricket at and impressive average for 57, Mukund is yet another youngster knocking at the door of Indian test team.
W Saha (Wicket keeper):
Wriddhiman Saha has overtaken Kartik and Parthiv to become India’s second choice keeper in all form of cricket. He is one of the best wicket Keepers in domestic cricket at the moment and with excellent technique with the bat he becomes India’s number 1 choice in the absence of Mahindra Singh Dhoni. He has a wonderful record with the bat in domestic cricket and will look forward to seal the backup keeper’s spot in the Indian test team with consistent performance in the Caribbean over the next couple of months.
The other players who have an outside chance of making it to the Indian squad are Manoj Tiwary and Shikar Dhawan. Both these players have been consistent performers in the domestic arena for their respective sides over the years. M Tiwary’s last ODI innings was a hundred against West Indies and would be hoping that this tour would make him a regular in the ODI team. Dhawan too had few ODI’s last year against West Indies but failed to cement his place in the one-day squad. He will be hoping to make an impression too. The interesting aspect is the bowling attack where apart from Dinda the rest of the attack is very inexperienced.
The likes of Shami Ahmed and B Kumar are rather unknown quantities and would be interesting to see how they perform. One would have hoped to see Varun Aaron on this tour as he is probably knocking at the door of the Indian test squad at the moment. Also another interesting miss is Piyush Chawla who was once India’s leading candidate to take over from Anil Kumble once he hung up his boots. The selection of Rahul Sharma was rather surprising as he was never considered as a test bowler for India. There were some calls for Harbajan Singh being a part of the India A squad to regain his form. Overall the India A squad has some interesting names and it will be great to see some good performance from the youngsters. This tour will for sure give a fair indication of the future of Indian batting and bowling.
On the wake of Vishy Anand retaining his world title for the 5th year in a row, I thought of re-posting an old article from my blog on the great champion.
Indian sports has always been about cricket. Since the time India won the world cup in 1983, Indian sports scene has been dominated by cricket. It enjoys largest fan base and highest money flow and sponsorship when compared to other sports in India. The difference is so huge that even comparing them isn’t worth it. It is unfortunate that our national game Hockey went down the drain around the same time. Sportsmen from other fields rarely get their due. Viswanathan Anand is one such sportsman, brilliant chess player, and undisputed world champion but rarely gets the attention he deserves. Lots of my friends don’t even consider chess as a sport which is quite ridiculous. Chess is very much a sport and we have a player who is damn good at the same.
Even though a common man might not place him in the same bracket as a Sachin Tendulkar, the…
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Vishwanathan Anand successfully defended his World championship title by defeating Boris Gelfand from Israel.
Vishwanathan Anand retained his world chess crown for the 5th straight year when he defeated Boris Gelfand in the tie breaker. Anand became the world chess champion in the year 2007 and this is the 5th straight year he has defended his title successfully. Congrats to Vishy Anand on retaining his world chess title. He has once again proved that he is one of the greatest sportsman India has ever produced.
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