Posts Tagged ‘Ganguly’
- In: Champions Trophy | Cricket | Cricket and Sports | India | Legends | ODI | postaweek2011 | Sachin tendulkar | Teams | Test | test cricket | Test match | World Cup 2011
- Leave a Comment
Another Sachin Article I would like to re post.
For Indian cricket fans that started following the game in the early 90’s it is hard to imagine an Indian team without Sachin Tendulkar. I started watching Sachin play for India when he was 18 year old and boy he was special. He was the sole reason I got hooked on to cricket then, write about cricket now and will follow cricket in the future. For a player that young he had enormous composure and maturity beyond his years. He carried the Indian batting for almost a decade until Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly made their debut in the mid-nineties.
Sachin is still the pillar of Indian middle order at 37. He has been in brilliant form over the last couple of years, broke countless records, and scored loads of runs. The most important thing for his fans is that he is still winning games for India. In spite of…
View original post 466 more words
- In: Cricket | Cricket and Sports | Cricket League | General | General Lunch Time talk | IPL | ODI | ODI | postaweek2011 | Sachin tendulkar | Test | test cricket | Test match | Twenty20 | World Cup 2011
- 2 Comments
Sachin Tendulkar has carried India's hopes for more than 2 decades - A tribute to the master
For Indian cricket fans that started following the game in the early 90’s it is hard to imagine an Indian team without Sachin Tendulkar. I started watching Sachin play for India when he was 18 year old and boy he was special. He was the sole reason I got hooked on to cricket then, write about cricket now and will follow cricket in the future. For a player that young he had enormous composure and maturity beyond his years. He carried the Indian batting for almost a decade until Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly made their debut in the mid-nineties.
Sachin is still the pillar of Indian middle order at 37. He has been in brilliant form over the last couple of years, broke countless records, and scored loads of runs. The most important thing for his fans is that he is still winning games for India. In spite of being arguably the best player of his generation, he has received quite a lot of criticism too. His game and his statistics have often been dissected, the most among his contemporaries. He has had to endure plenty of mindless comparison. Indian fans of the later generations have had different heroes to look up to but fans of my generation had just one.
It was hard following a very ordinary Indian cricket team in the early 90’s as a young boy. Sachin was our only solace and only hope during those days. The reason lots of Indian cricket fans during that time, cared more about Sachin’s achievement rather than Indian teams result can also be attributed to that fact. A Sachin great innings meant that India won or at least lost respectably. If he failed, India failed. There were no saviors in the squad then, our chances rose and died with Sachin’s wicket. The opponent knew that, Indian team knew that and so did the fans who watched the game.
Sachin carried Indian batting in spite of the debuts of Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman in the mid-nineties. It took a while for these players to establish themselves, I would say that Dravid and Ganguly did not arrive until 1999/00 and Laxman until 2001. The Sachin phenomenon is much more than just wins and losses that people care about in the current generation. He carried the hopes of millions of fans during a time when there was not much to cheer about the Indian cricket team. He made tons of runs in difficult conditions against great bowlers without any support. It’s hard to describe the impact he had on the Indian cricket fans during that time.
Now 21 years later, he still continues to enthrall his fans. Still scores tons and tons of runs. Still is one of India’s best players while playing abroad. Sachin is much more than just another cricketing great. He is an inspiration, an icon and a wonderful role model to every Indian youngster. People might have their favorites and might pick various stats to pull the great man down but for me Sachin’s impact on Indian cricket and fans is much beyond the numbers. I am proud to be born in the same era as Sachin. I am extremely happy that he is part of one of the best Indian teams ever as he deserves to be in one. Sachin for sure needs his time under the sun as he has been part of frustrating Indian losses in the past. Sachin is according to me the greatest Indian cricketer and arguably the best player of his generation in the world. I hope that he scales many more peaks before he hangs up his boots.
Please also share your thoughts on the Little Master.
- In: Uncategorized
- Leave a Comment
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh received top ICC honours for one day and Twenty20 performances respectively. For Yuvraj though it was a week of mixed emotions as he was dropped from the Rest of India (ROI) squad for the Irani trophy. This makes it almost certain that he will not be considered for the upcoming test series against the Australians. To be frank even Yuvraj wouldnt be that surprised about his omission from the test team.
He has been really inconsistant and in my opinion does not deserve a spot in the test team. The other omission which has again led to some controversy is of the former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. The selectors have been called as biased and unfair in the media and by the supporters of the former captain on this decision. Well to be honest everyone including the people who are complaining now knew that Ganguly would be the first one to get the axe from the so called “Fab Four”. Even though Ganguly had been the most consistant player for the past two years in tests for team India, the selectors it seems have gone based on the overall ability.
The problem for Ganguly is that he has failed in two of the three away series this year which has not helped his cause. Even though it might seem unfair as he played couple of important innings against the touring South African team earlier this year, he should have seen this coming. Rahul Dravid though has been really lucky to find a place in the Indian team after poor performances away against Australia and Srilanka and at home against the South Africans. Apart from couple of contributions here and there he has been really inconsistant over the last one year.
Calls to drop Sachin Tendulkar from the supporters of Ganguly seems overboard as the little master’s only real failure this year has been in Srilanka. He has been nominated for the best ODI player award and was instrumental in India’s performances down under. Laxman has been never in bad form and has turned in some consistant performances throughout the year. Rahul Dravid has been retained in the team due to his proven ability to win matches for India and I guess his 60 odd runs in the final innings of the test series against SL helped his cause.
Even though Ganguly’s exclusion from the team seems unfair, I feel that by no means its a bad decision. I guess it sends across a clear message to all the seniors that if they dont perform they could be the next to get the axe. India is in the process of rebuilding and they need to approach the same with caution. We cannot replace all the seniors with youngsters as we have done with our one day team. Players like Rohit, Kohli and Badrinath need to be in the presence of experiance during initial phase of their test careers. Yuvraj who was supposed to be that experianced person in the team is now finding it difficult to even hold his place in the one day team.
Sourav Ganguly could have received a better send off for his services to the Indian team but as Tony Greg said in one of his interviews “Indian players dont retire but get kicked out”.
Ganguly becomes first of the Fab Four to get the axe
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh received top ICC honours for one day and Twenty20 performances respectively. For Yuvraj though it was a week of mixed emotions as he was dropped from the Rest of India (ROI) squad for the Irani trophy. This makes it almost certain that he would not be considered for the upcoming test series against the Australians. To be frank even Yuvraj wouldnt be that surprised about his omission from the test team.
He has been really inconsistant and in my opinion does not deserve a spot in the test team. The other omission which has again led to some controversy is of the former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. The selectors have been called as biased and unfair in the media and by the supporters of the former captain on this decision. Well to be honest everyone including the people who are complaining now knew that Ganguly would be the first one to get the axe from the so called “Fab Four”. Even though Ganguly had been the most consistant player for the past two years in tests for team India, the selectors it seems have gone based on the overall ability.
The problem for Ganguly is that he has failed in two of the three away series this year which has not helped his cause. Even though it might seem unfair as he played couple of important innings against the touring South African team earlier this year, he should have seen this coming. Rahul Dravid though has been really lucky to find a place in the Indian team after poor performances away against Australia and Srilanka and at home against the South Africans. Apart from couple of contributions here and there he has been really inconsistant over the last one year.
Calls to drop Sachin Tendulkar from the supporters of Ganguly seems overboard as the little master’s only real failure this year has been in Srilanka. He has been nominated for the best ODI player award and was instrumental in India’s performances down under. Laxman has been never in bad form and has turned in some consistant performances throughout the year. Rahul Dravid has been retained in the team due to his proven ability to win matches for India and I guess his 60 odd runs in the final innings of the test series against SL helped his cause.
Even though Ganguly’s exclusion from the team seems unfair, I feel that by no means its a bad decision. I guess it sends across a clear message to all the seniors that if they dont perform they could be the next to get the axe. India is in the process of rebuilding and they need to approach the same with caution. We cannot replace all the seniors with youngsters as we have done with our one day team. Players like Rohit, Kohli and Badrinath need to be in the presence of experiance during initial phase of their test careers. Yuvraj who was supposed to be that experianced person in the team is now finding it difficult to even hold his place in the one day team.
Sourav Ganguly could have received a better send off for his services to the Indian team but as Tony Greg said in one of his interviews “Indian players dont retire but get kicked out”.
No Surprises in the test squad
Posted on: July 10, 2008
- In: Uncategorized
- Leave a Comment
The Indian team for the upcoming Srilankan tour was selected couple of days ago and predictably the seniors were back in the side. Gautham Gambhir made it back to the test team due to his great showing in the ODI’s and Twenty20 and Pragyan Ojha was also drafted in the 16. Gambhir’s inclusion in the side was expected as he has been our most consistant player over the last 8 months or so and deserved a chance at the top of the order in tests. Rohit Sharma also made it to the test squad owing to his great performances in the one dayers but I doubt that he will make it to the final X1.
The notable absentees in the test squad were Yuraj Singh and Irfan Pathan and Harbajan Singh made it back into the team after serving a ban for slapping Sreesanth in the IPL. Quite frankly I am not that surprised or puzzled on the omission of Yuvraj as he was given a long run in the middle order after his hundred against pakistan. Yuvraj has always produced that one special innings time to time but lacks the consistancy at the test level. Irfan’s was more of a shock as he had performed creditably in the test series in Australia bagging man of the match award in the perth test match.
But overall the selectors have done a great job. The batting looks solid and the bowling attack seems decent. India possess a great top six and I would go to an extent of calling them the best in the world when it comes of. Sehwag and Gambhir will open in the first test for sure, followed by Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly and Laxman. Parthiv or Karthik will occupy the number 7 spot. The advantage for the Indians with Karthik and Parthiv is that they can also open the batting if we decide to go with 5 bowlers. Pathan’s absence might leave a long tail for India but I guess thats the risk we have to take in the absence of a genuine allrounder in the squad.
The bowling will depend on the pitch conditions and I would prefer Ojha in the place of Harbajan if we go with two spinners. Ojha was very impressive in the Asia cup as he was able to get wickets in the middle overs, a department India struggle a lot in ODI. India will go with Zaheer and Ishant if playing only two pace bowlers. Overall the test series will be a great watch as everyone will be eager to see how the seniors handle mendis after his stupendous showing in the Asia Cup. Dhoni openly admitted in the media that the Indian batsmen were clueless against the genial spinner from Srilanka after the Asia Cup final.
Dhoni will not be playing in this series giving an opportunity to either Karthik or Parthiv to showcase their talent. All in all an interesting battle is on the cards when the two team meet on the 23rd of July at the SSC.
No Surprises in the test squad
Posted on: July 10, 2008
Prgyan Ojha and Rohit Sharma
The Indian team for the upcoming Srilankan tour was selected couple of days ago and predictably the seniors were back in the side. Gautham Gambhir made it back to the test team due to his great showing in the ODI’s and Twenty20 and Pragyan Ojha was also drafted in the 16. Gambhir’s inclusion in the side was expected as he has been our most consistant player over the last 8 months or so and deserved a chance at the top of the order in tests. Rohit Sharma also made it to the test squad owing to his great performances in the one dayers but I doubt that he will make it to the final X1.
The notable absentees in the test squad were Yuraj Singh and Irfan Pathan and Harbajan Singh made it back into the team after serving a ban for slapping Sreesanth in the IPL. Quite frankly I am not that surprised or puzzled on the omission of Yuvraj as he was given a long run in the middle order after his hundred against pakistan. Yuvraj has always produced that one special innings time to time but lacks the consistancy at the test level. Irfan’s was more of a shock as he had performed creditably in the test series in Australia bagging man of the match award in the perth test match.
But overall the selectors have done a great job. The batting looks solid and the bowling attack seems decent. India possess a great top six and I would go to an extent of calling them the best in the world when it comes of. Sehwag and Gambhir will open in the first test for sure, followed by Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly and Laxman. Parthiv or Karthik will occupy the number 7 spot. The advantage for the Indians with Karthik and Parthiv is that they can also open the batting if we decide to go with 5 bowlers. Pathan’s absence might leave a long tail for India but I guess thats the risk we have to take in the absence of a genuine allrounder in the squad.
The bowling will depend on the pitch conditions and I would prefer Ojha in the place of Harbajan if we go with two spinners. Ojha was very impressive in the Asia cup as he was able to get wickets in the middle overs, a department India struggle a lot in ODI. India will go with Zaheer and Ishant if playing only two pace bowlers. Overall the test series will be a great watch as everyone will be eager to see how the seniors handle mendis after his stupendous showing in the Asia Cup. Dhoni openly admitted in the media that the Indian batsmen were clueless against the genial spinner from Srilanka after the Asia Cup final.
Dhoni will not be playing in this series giving an opportunity to either Karthik or Parthiv to showcase their talent. All in all an interesting battle is on the cards when the two team meet on the 23rd of July at the SSC.
girisopinion
My Thoughts 