BRILLIANCE AND MEDIOCRITY

After what seemed to be another disaster in the making at the half way stage, some sheer brilliance and grit ensured that we witnessed what was possibly the best ever ODI run chase we may ever see in our lifetime. In a sense, it was befitting that such a disastrous tour should end on a disastrous note; and indeed the stage was set for a disaster. After winning the toss and rightly fielding first, what ensued in the Sri Lankan innings was the last thing India had hoped for. A mammoth 320, two brilliant hundreds from two class players and India’s chances of winning with a bonus point evaporated. Then something inexplicable happened. 

India got a good opening stand courtesy Sehwag and Sachin (this in itself was a tremendous achievement for the team in the context of the tournament), Gauti showed all his grit and determination yet again and played a crucial innings, Virat Kohli batted like a man possessed and showed such tremendous aggression and character that he turned everyone on the field, including the bowlers and fielders, into mere dumbfounded spectators. Suresh Raina finally played an innings of some substance in Australia and showed glimpses of why he is so highly rated. It was a humungous effort from the team, an exhilarating run-chase, a memory of a lifetime. It has so far been the only bright spot in an otherwise calamitous tour. 

Virat after reaching his 100 against SL

Two guys though deserve a special mention over here. These two have been a formidable partnership for some time now and have been solid as rocks in almost all India’s ODI victories in recent times. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli have been phenomenal for the past 18 months or so, as individuals and as a partnership. Gambhir has played a crucial role in almost all India’s significant victories in all formats since the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. The home series against Australia, away series in South Africa and New Zealand, Asia Cup 2010, World Cup Finals 2011 and the vital innings he played in this last game are a few noticeable instances. In my book, I think he is highly under rated and probably gets over-shadowed on numerous occasions. You take out his contribution from almost all of India’s significant wins and the victory starts to look improbable. Kohli has been prodigious right from the word go. After leading India to under-19 World Cup Glory in 2008 and making his ODI debut in the same year against Sri Lanka, he has never looked back. Allow me to indulge in a bit of number crunching here. Kohli is the 4^th fastest (in terms of number of innings) in history of ODI cricket to reach 3000 runs. Considering that the 3 guys ahead of him, just by a small margin, are Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Gary Kirsten, he is certainly in elite company. He already has 9 one day hundreds to his name, out of which 8 have come in a winning cause. More pertinently, 6 out of the 9 have come in a run chase and his average jumps to a masterly 55 in the second innings which means that he is your go-to man in pressure situations. As a partnership, Gambhir and Kohli are the most successful second innings partnership in ODI cricket in terms of averages. In 20 innings together, they average over 75 per innings as a partnership with a best of 224. So the next time India are chasing any sort of total and you see Gambhir and Kohli at the crease, rest assured the fortunes of Team India are in very safe and very capable hands. 

A dejected Sehwag takes the long walk back

What this effort should not do though, is erase the bitter memories that we have been subjected to since 26^th December 2011, when this tour started. It has been a horrendous tour, with one setback after another, on and off the field, with the team management sticking to non-performing players in both formats, inability to put up any fight and a sequence of meek surrenders. The first thing that the team needs is a “team-first, everything else is secondary” attitude. Sehwag, Dravid and Laxman played all the tests without one significant innings, while Rohit warmed the bench for all test matches. Sehwag (again), Raina (apart from the last 40*) and to an extent Ravindra Jadeja played through the CB series without any significant contributions and this time it was Manoj Tiwary’s turn to be a mere tourist in the squad. A few heads were sure to roll if the team had come up with another spineless performance in the last game and the Asia cup squad would have been very interesting had that happened. Instead we were treated to a near miracle on the field and the selectors went down the expected path. Apart from “resting” Sehwag, no other major decision was taken. If indeed Sehwag is injured and hence been rested, it is a pity because he deserved to be dropped. For someone who himself said that Ricky Ponting’s sack was justified because he did not perform for 6 to 7 games in a row, Sehwag has had more than his fair share of chances. True, he is an impact player. True, he is a game-changer. But also true is the fact that he has been changing the game more in the opposition’s favor lately than in our favor. Some of his shot selection throughout the tour has been ghastly. He is far too talented to simply throw his wicket away time and again. He needs some time away from the game to come back with a clear mind and clear focus. The “rest” might actually do him some good. Allegations are abound that Raina and Jadeja are captain Dhoni’s men and hence find favor with the team management. Although this conjecture is open to debate, Raina has not been able to prove himself away from sub-continental conditions for a number of years now. In Asian conditions, he is an out and out match winner, but sadly he is not able to replicate it away from home. It is time the selectors send a clear message that he will play only when the conditions favor him and not in unfriendly conditions unless he goes back, works hard on his technique to become a player for all conditions. I still feel his selection in the Asia cup is justified as he is a genuine match winner in sub-continent conditions. As for Jadeja, as brilliant a fielder and decent a bowler he may be, he is simply not good enough at no.7 in ODI’s. That position demands a power hitter, a genuine match winner and hence that slot should go to one of the Pathan brothers based on whether the team requires an extra spinner or an extra medium pacer. Both of them are more than capable of clearing any ground against any opposition and on their day, are genuine match winners with bat and ball. 

The selectors have played it safe. Yusuf and Dinda though have been deservingly called up. Let’s hope Manoj Tiwary gets his chances this time around, Rohit gets back amongst the runs to justify his talent (which he is yet to do consistently at the highest level) and all the action happens only on the field. Virat has been elevated to the vice captaincy which is a sign of looking at the future and one must say well deserved. Although what is important is the communication the selectors had with Gautam Gambhir in this matter. He is bound to feel hard done by and a quite word of assurance and confidence from the selectors is certain to do a lot of good. But whether it has happened, I have serious doubts. That is one area where we have seriously lacked: effective communication with players who are in or out of the team. Getting this facet right can be a key to solving a lot of problems that ensue amongst the players, selectors, the board and the media.

  

A tour filled with mediocrity to the core has seen a flash of brilliance towards the end. It is not the end of problems. Not even close to it actually. It is no redemption for the below-par performances we have seen so far. It was a mere saving grace for a few players, the board and the selectors in an otherwise highly substandard tour.                       

  

 

THE SPIRIT OF CRICKET

From being top of the table on Sunday morning, India went bottom of the table in a matter of about 60 hours. Now India find themselves struggling to reach the final. It will require two clinical performances (something we haven’t seen on this tour so far) from the team to make it to the finals. The good part is that M.S.Dhoni, our best ODI batsman and leader, returns to the side. As Sehwag admitted, the team did miss him against Sri Lanka. A word of caution though; the other batsmen need to get going as well. Sehwag, Rohit, Raina and Sachin are yet to have a decent outing in the tournament so far and every time we can’t rely on Gambhir, Kohli and of course, Dhoni to bail us out. The bowling unit, as a whole, needs to get its act together as lots of runs are being leaked at the death.

With that said, the ugly debate raised its head at the Gabba again. No, I am not talking about the DRS. I know that most debates in cricket today are about DRS, but this one is a much more sensitive issue: The Spirit of Cricket. Cricket, as we all know, is fondly called the Gentleman’s game. A sport, which its custodians feel, must be played in the best of spirits, without animosity and well within the rules. In recent times, with cricket becoming a professional, competitive sport with intense fan and media pressure, it is fair to say that the spirit of cricket has gone for a toss. Sledging, or gamesmanship as it is euphemistically called, is an integral part of the "gentleman's" game now. Honestly, I have nothing against it as it gives a bit of a bite to the contest and if it helps you win a game in international cricket, so be it. It makes the contest even more intriguing. Having said that, it would be really nice to see a contest only between bat and ball, as it should be in the ideal world, but the fact of the matter is we do not live in an ideal world.   

Now, in this ever-intense, competitive backdrop, India have been in the face of the storm on two occasions in the last 8 months. The first incident, as I am sure we all remember was the Ian Bell “run-out” saga at in the test match at the Oval. The second, yesterday, was Ashwin running out Thirimanne at the non-striker’s end for backing up too far. Now, as per the laws of cricket (Law 42, point number 15 in particular. Click here to read the law. This law has been modified last year to state that the bowler can run the batsman out at any time before releasing the ball), it was completely legal for Ashwin to do what he did and subsequently appeal for the run out. Though not written anywhere, the spirit of cricket states that the bowler must give the batsman one warning before he tries to do that. Sehwag clarified in the post-match press conference that Ashwin, in fact, had already warned the batsman once. Even after the warning, when the batsman continues to back up too far, the bowler is well within his rights to dislodge the bail and appeal. What beats me though is the fact that once it was done, and plainly clear that Thirimanne was indeed run out, the umpire Paul Reiffel did not give it out. He in fact went on to consult the square leg umpire Billy Bowden. They then got the captain Sehwag involved and which subsequently led to the word from Sachin to Viru, which led to India withdrawing their appeal. This chain of events leads me to believe that the umpire, Paul Reiffel, was ignorant about the laws of the game. If he was aware of what the law states, he need not have consulted Billy and there was no need for them to have a chat with Sehwag. It was a simple run out decision. 

Umpires in discussion with Sehwag and Sachin after the appeal at the Gabba

What I am trying to get to, is that there are three things here: the spirit of cricket, fair play and the laws of the game. Once made illegal, the non-striker has no right to back up before the bowler releases the ball. If he does it and tries to gain an unfair advantage, it is certainly not fair play. If he is warned once (as he was) but still continues to indulge in unfair play, it becomes appalling. After playing in the right spirit by warning Thirimanne, if Ashwin went by the laws and ran him out, he did the right thing one hundred percent. If anyone there on the field was not playing in the spirit of the game, it was the batsman and not the bowler. He was trying to gain an unfair advantage by doing something that is against the laws of the game. And anyone who goes against the law ought to be punished. On this occasion though, Thirimanne was at the receiving end of India’s fabled generosity. He not only stayed on, he even continued backing up too far in the subsequent overs bowled by Irfan and Vinay and made an absolute mockery of “The Spirit of the Game”. He went on to score 62, pushed the Lankan total to 289 and who knows, maybe those 30 extra runs did make a decisive difference as India lost the match. No discredit to Sri Lanka, they did outplay India completely. But I think, we were soft in letting him off. Have you ever seen a game of football, where a defender tackles a forward in the penalty area and instead of taking the ball, hits the legs of the forward and commits a foul? Plenty of times, I bet. But how many times have you actually seen the forward get up and say, “Oh boy, you were trying to go for the ball. I don’t blame you. I don’t see it as a foul and won’t take the penalty.” I am sure, Never! This was one of those inexplicable occasions. It was a foul and it deserved a penalty, simple as that. The spirit of the game should never meddle with the laws of the game. On this occasion, they did. The man, who did not follow the laws of the game, was let off scot-free. The team which deserved the reward did not get it, in the name of “The Spirit of the Game”.

I think India were not ruthless enough. I absolutely do not see any other team or player like a Ponting, Clarke, Sangakarra or any other fiercely competitive cricketer letting his team withdraw the appeal. I probably see no reason why they should. It is a competitive, high-stakes, international game, and winning should be the priority. I salute the spirit of the game, but it must not meddle with the laws of the game. Someone who is indulging in unfair play must not be let off the hook just because it does not look good. A part of the blame must be taken by the media as well, as Viru pointed out, they did not want to stir up any unnecessary controversy. It is no secret that our media would have created a huge ruckus out of it and would have interviewed every ex-cricketer and cricket "guru" as to why India did not uphold the “Spirit of the Game”. I support this view from Sehwag, may be it does make sense. But the fact remains that the umpires acted ignorant, when the decision should have been made in a matter of seconds. The incident was unnecessarily dragged. And the way Thirimanne continued to back up, even after the incident, was inexcusable. 

M.S.Dhoni and Team India won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award 2011 for the Ian Bell incident. Viru and his team might win it in 2012. But the fact remains, both Bell and Thirimanne went on to cause further damage in the respective games, and the Indian team lost both those matches. The Spirit of Cricket awards might look got on the mantelpiece, but the result was not favorable. Silverware that comes from winning games and tournaments would surely look a lot better on the shelf and would be better appreciated by the fans as well. After all, it’s a professional sport. After all, it’s a result business.

UNPREDICTABLE TIMES

It has been an extended absence on my part and precisely 40 days since my last post. The break was to an extent unavoidable, and to an extent forced. That is another story but first and foremost, as I said in my previous post Away Blues, I had made a big mistake in pompously pronouncing India as firm favorites for the test series Down Under. A team that is good on paper has to go out there and perform to prove their worth. The performance that the team came up with in Australia just tarnished an already damaged reputation even more. Another whitewash ensued and so much has been already said and written about it, that it makes no sense to add to all that criticism any more. Some corrective measures have to be implemented and quite soon at that if we have any ambitions of doing well overseas, only if we have any ambitions at all that is.

The good thing is that it is not a repeat of England (where we lost every single international game) and the team is back to winning ways in the limited overs format where the personnel are up to the mark, the intensity is there and the unit is settled. More importantly the skipper feels completely at ease in this format and exerts his authority as probably the best finisher of the modern limited overs game, a fact that he has proved time and again. Add to it his honest, witty and straight from the heart comments in the post-match presentations and press conferences, it makes his character all the more endearing. Let us all hope for the sake of every fan of Team India, that we come back with some silverware albeit in the 50 over format. The fact though, still remains that it cannot erase the nightmare each of us has gone through while witnessing 2 consecutive whitewashes away from home.

Virat Kohli: The silver lining for India

The only positives to have come out of the test series are two youngsters: Virat Kohli and Umesh Yadav. I probably have to agree with Gautam Gambhir who said that Umesh Yadav is the find of this tour. Someone who can consistently clock 150 kph with movement is going to cause plenty of problems for any batsman in any conditions. His economy rate in the test series was a bit of a concern as he has been quite wayward at times; but with experience, he is going to be (fingers and toes crossed) India’s lethal weapon. Virat Kohli has already made a brilliant start to his one day career. His run scoring has been prolific and his performances have been consistent. He has shown enough proof of the fact that he is going to be Team India’s middle order mainstay for at least the next decade if he can keep his focus; something that he has done remarkably well so far. The fact that the team management persisted with him for 4 tests reaped rich rewards as his innings in Adelaide showed us. He has got the class obviously, but he also showed that he has the patience and the temperament to succeed in the longest format. At such a young age and so early into his test career he rose above the stalwarts in the team to stamp his authority and truly show that he belongs here, even in the longest format. His success begs the question as to why Rohit Sharma did not get a chance to prove his worth, even after continuous dismal performances from the middle order time and again. But as I said, too much has been said about it already, so let’s not get there. 

Meanwhile 2011 has been a fantastic year for test cricket where we have witnessed various exhilarating contests and it has been the year of debutant bowlers with Vernon Philander, Pat Cummins, Ravichandran Ashwin, James Pattinson, Umesh Yadav, Doug Bracewell, Marchant De Lange, Nathan Lyon and the likes have made waves with their impressive performances. Last year saw some memorable series like India vs South Africa at the start of the year, Australia in South Africa was a nail biter, followed by Sri Lanka’s tour to South Africa where they brilliantly bounced back to win the second test but the Proteas managed to clinch the series 2-1. New Zealand beating Australia in Australia after so many years was a brilliant contest that went down to the wire and Warner’s unbeaten innings in that match was another highlight of the year. Zimababwe’s resurgence and strong performances against Bangladesh and New Zealand also augur well for the future of test cricket.    

     

A resurgent Pakistan

The first 45 days of 2012 have been full of action as well and the year has begun on a very exciting note. England have got a taste of their own medicine as they were subjected to a comprehensive whitewash in Asian conditions by a rejuvenated Pakistan under Misbah Ul-Haq and the quality of their spin bowling led by Saeed Ajmal. England were completely outplayed and this result has shown that a lot of work still needs to be done by the Brits and also that in world test cricket today there is no side that can claim to be the best. All allegations made regarding Ajmal’s action were baseless and his bowling is a joy to watch. Although most people expected England to struggle in the one day matches as well, they have put up valiant performances so far led by Captain Cook (I so wanted to use that phrase once) and have garnered an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 4 match series. Pakistan need to work on their fielding and lower order batting to stand a chance of squaring the series at 2 each.  The ICC deserve a special mention here for making it possible for Afghanistan to play Pakistan in an ODI. Let’s hope such matches are more frequent as it massively helps the improvement of the Associate and Affiliate nations. This is the way forward in making cricket a truly global sport. The triangular CB series down under has also provided quite a few humdingers in its first half and the margins of victory have been minimal. If Sri Lanka can win a couple of matches, it could be a very interesting second half of the competition although the matches so far also have been a great advertisement for ODI cricket irrespective of the results.    

The resurgence of test cricket in the past few months has been an absolute joy and it has proved that Test Cricket is the real cricket and the true test of the skills of any international player. South Africa have a chance to go to the top of the rankings (and deservingly so) if they achieve a 3-0 score line against the Kiwis in New Zealand. Australia are looking good under Clarke but their real test will also be away from home in subcontinent conditions. England and India have a lot of questions to answer. Sri Lanka are trying to come out of administrative turmoil and have had a complete overhaul in team management recently. These are indeed exciting times for world cricket with no clear dominant force, leading to unpredictable results. The chance to dominate world cricket is out there in the open. What remains to be seen is which team seizes the initiative and grabs this chance with both hands.

Just as we look forward to these unpredictable and hence exciting times, let us not forget how unpredictable life can be. Let us make sure all our prayers and wishes are with Yuvraj Singh as he fights his battle with cancer and is steadily but surely winning the battle. As Gary Kirsten said he is the Superman of Team India; and we want our Superman back. There are few better sights in world cricket than watching Yuvraj in full flow smashing the bowlers with effortless ease. All I can say is that I can’t wait to see him back in action. So let us just pray for him and wish that he is back soon to where he belongs – in the blue Team India jersey.

AWAY BLUES

As optimistic as a few people may be, like I was before the start of the Melbourne test, there is a vast majority of people (most of them Indians) who are very confident about the fact that India will always lose the first test of any series and probably the series itself, away from home. Even more appalling is the fact that a large number of these soothsayers are not even regular cricket followers but the assurance with which they predict this loss, is very commendable to say the least. And then there are people like me, who believe they are pundits of cricket and this ignorant mass does not understand the nuances of the game, and have a quiet laugh about it. Then it comes down to the action on the field and as we wait with bated breath, lo and behold, the soothsayers are right again. It beats me every time when I try to figure it out; so many people defy logic, predict that such a talented team is going to lose, still get away with it and in the process make me look like an adolescent trying to read a novel even before learning the alphabets. It has happened too many times for my liking and let us admit it, no one likes being made to look foolish time and again.

Rahul Dravid clean bowled: Thrice in Australia so far

Almost all the top teams in world cricket can boast of being very formidable at home. The environment they have grown up in, the crowd to back them and the know-how of the local conditions put any home team in strong stead ahead of a test series and rightly so. But it certainly does not guarantee a win. It just makes you feel mentally good about going into the game. For the away team also, it is a question of self-belief and getting the basics right. All the top teams in the world are decently matched, a few stronger than the others, but amongst the top 6 teams currently, no team is glaringly ahead of the others in the pack. So for any away team, it comes down to adapting to the conditions and preparing well. Preparation is the key to success in any domain. Much like any exam, the better prepared you are, more confident you will be. If you are prepared to tackle anything that comes your way, more often than not you will do well. Even the converse is true. However talented you may be, lack of preparation certainly dents your confidence and then it becomes difficult to find answers even to the relatively easy questions. That is the difference between achieving the desired result, and failing to achieve it: Preparation. This is one area where Team India has lacked desperately.

England under Flower and Strauss: Lessons to be learnt

A very relative case in point is England. After being humiliated 5-0 in Australia in 2007, they wanted to make sure they not only beat Australia at home, as they did in 2005 and 2009, but also beat them in their own backyard. They realized and correctly so, that although they had the necessary firepower to do so, preparation was going to be the key. With that in mind they landed in Australia almost a month before the Ashes to get themselves acclimatized. To top it up, they had even practiced for hours on end against the Australian bowlers even before landing in Australia. If you are wondering how that is possible, the answer is The ProBatter. It is an innovative bowling machine which simulates the entire run up, delivery stride and the actual release of the ball being bowled by any bowler on a screen and then the ball is delivered exactly from the same point from where the bowler would have actually released it. It uses hawk eye to get the trajectory of the ball right and stores data about all kinds of balls bowled by all the bowlers around the world (For a detailed video on how ProBatter works, click here). So even before the warm up games had begun, the English batsmen were very well equipped and fully prepared to tackle all the Australian bowlers. The impact: An astounding 3-1 series win to retain the Ashes urn. Of course it was their consistency, hard work and determination that paid off, but the fact that they were so well prepared for the task, surely helped them achieve what they had not achieved in a very long time. When the Indian board has practically all the money that runs world cricket, investing on such ground-breaking technologies is not a big deal, but the point is does it care enough to do it?

A dejected Sehwag walks back to the pavilion

The pitches and conditions back home in India also play a part. The flat tracks which assist spinners in India are great for India to dominate any team in the world. Of course we need to retain the home advantage and continue to play international matches at these venues. But these pitches are also the cause of failure when we travel to foreign shores. A solution to this problem is that at a few cricketing centers in the country for first class cricket, we need some pitches that encourage fast bowlers to run in and bowl fast, move the ball and test the batsmen. The fast bowlers and spinners need to learn how to bowl on seam friendly tracks away from home so that they do not get carried away when they actually see one. As far as the batsmen are concerned, if they are never tested at the domestic level on a regular basis, they are bound to struggle at the international level and that is what is happening. Players like Raina, Yuvraj, Kohli and Ashwin who have been exceptional at home have struggled to adapt in challenging conditions abroad (Ashwin, agonizingly, is the second highest run scorer for India in Australia so far, but he has surely struggled and has not had any impact with the ball). Another factor that also plays a crucial role is scheduling. England kept themselves free for almost two months before the victorious Ashes campaign last year. Before whitewashing India earlier this year (in what was supposed to be a marquee series but turned out to be a damp squib) they had a test series at home against Sri Lanka to get into the groove. Similarly, Australia had a test series at home against their Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand to prepare for the India series. Although they suffered a defeat in one of the two tests, it still got the ball rolling and the consequences of that we have already seen in Melbourne and Sydney.

By stark contrast, India after their victorious world cup campaign, even before the feeling of being world champions had actually settled in, went into the IPL. Extensive traveling across the country, so many matches cramped in such a little time and all of it for a “domestic” T20 competition; hardly the kind of scheduling you would expect just before a very important test series in completely alien conditions. To be perfectly honest, it was not at all surprising that the players broke down in England. The physical and mental fatigue had to catch up with them at some stage, and it did. Similarly, before leaving for Australia, most of the squad played a one-day series against one of the weaker attacks in the world on some of the most batting-friendly pitches in the world. These are just a few instances but rest assured, there have been plenty of these in recent times. The BCCI and the men at the helm need some serious scheduling tips. The players, their workloads and their injuries need to be managed very systematically. Only then it is possible to forge a healthy environment and a winning culture in the camp. At any given point of time, you need a pool of about 25 players who are ready to step up to the challenge and play at the highest level.

Yes, we are faced with a monster that raises its ugly head every time we go abroad. We have lost our Numero Uno status in test cricket. We have not slipped; we have been toppled over and come stumbling down. We do not play an away test series for nearly two years (Yes. We don’t go abroad for almost two years; an ingenious piece of scheduling yet again). During these two years it is more than likely that we will continue to bully the teams that come to India and climb upwards in the rankings again. So we have time to address all these issues, but in the current scheme of things they are unlikely to be addressed any time soon. Two years from now, when Team India will again embark on a voyage to foreign shores, hopefully these issues will be resolved. If that is indeed the case, we will be in good stead and I am less likely to make a fool out of myself again. If it is not, the monster will raise its ugly head again. Only this time (with probably either one, two or all three of Sachin, Dravid and Laxman gone) it will be far more deadly, dangerous and destructive. I sincerely hope that this monster never sees the light of the day again, but I had also hoped that India would win its first ever test series Australia this time around. Well, you can either blame Fate or Team India or BCCI or for that matter even me. I made my choice. You make yours!

My next feature: A look back at Melbourne and Sydney and a look ahead at Perth and Adelaide.

CRESTS AND TROUGHS

Picture this. You walk out to bat as the opening batsman of your team. The atmosphere is building and there is a buzz around the ground. You take a middle stump guard. The bowler is at the top of his mark, you have a look at the field, the umpire says “Play”, you take your stance and the bowler starts running in. As he releases the ball, the ball starts to drift away. An ideal start, you think, to let the ball go to the keeper, get a feel of the pace and the bounce of the track and soak in the atmosphere. You are ready to leave the ball, it pitches on middle and off, lands on the seam and comes back in to wrap you on the pads. Everybody goes up in a vociferous appeal, the same man who a few seconds ago politely asked you to play, now raises his finger skywards, says “that’s out!” and sends you back to where you came from. What would you call this? A batsman’s nightmare! And that is exactly what Irfan Pathan can do! Bring the ball back into the right hander and away from the left hander at considerable (not express, but very decent) pace.

Irfan Pathan in his delivery stride

My first memory of Irfan Pathan is that of a tall, smart looking, fair, 19-year old boy, with longish curly locks bowling to the mighty Aussies on India’s tour of Australia in the 2003-04 season. I distinctly remember the spell he bowled in the drawn Sydney Test (the same test where Sachin got his 241*) where he first got Steve Waugh caught behind (by his baby faced state-mate Parthiv Patel) and bowled a brilliant in-swinging yorker to get rid of the dangerous Adam Gilchrist. You realized it then, that a star was in the making. Comparisons with Wasim Akram flew around, and in Wasim Akram himself, Irfan found a new admirer and guide. Another one of Irfan’s outings that I clearly remember is the Karachi test in January 2006, where he became the first bowler ever to take a hat-trick in the very first over of a test match, dismissing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf in the process, three of Pakistan’s most dangerous batsmen, with an excellent display of swing bowling. By this time Irfan was becoming the new poster boy of Indian cricket and developing as a genuine all rounder, with tremendous batting performances to go along with his bowling. In the Chappell era, when most of the other players in the side were discontent, he was becoming indispensible for the Indian team. He quite regularly batted at no.3 in ODI’s and even opened once in a test match (against Sri Lanka at Delhi, December 2005, because of a last minute injury to Sehwag) and went on to make 92 (top score for the innings, and faced more balls in this innings than either Gambhir or Dravid or Sachin or Laxman), a truly remarkable feat for a fast bowler. He was the go-to man for team India. The man who could do no wrong. The man who could play any part that the script demanded; swing bowler, wicket-taker, no.3 batsman in ODI’s and if needed, an opener in tests. Those were his glory days.

Irfan and Yusuf after guiding India to victory

For a man who was born in an impoverished family, 27 years ago in Baroda, it is a truly remarkable journey.  His family lived in a mosque, where his father served as the muezzin (the man who leads the daily prayer call in a mosque). He and his brother Yusuf took active interest in cricket and travelled a long way to play the sport. A very interesting anecdote that I remember from one of his interviews was that he said, since they had a long way to travel every day, they used a bicycle. While going for the practice Yusuf used to ride the cycle and when they were tired after the day’s play, he would make Irfan ride it. He took advantage of being the stronger (and of course, the elder) one. Not very chivalrous, you would say. But these are the kinds of things that create bonds that run very deep. A lot of hard work, adverse times and grueling training have gone into making Irfan (and for that matter, Yusuf) what he has turned out to be. A lasting image in my mind will always be that of Irfan and Yusuf sharing a match winning unbeaten 8^th wicket partnership (59 runs of 25 balls) in a T20 match and snatching victory for India from the jaws of defeat, against Sri Lanka in Colombo (February 2009) and celebrating the win. Two young boys who played in the backyard of the mosque, making it big, brothers playing together for the country, winning the match from nowhere and doing it at the biggest stage; Fairy-tale stuff that! From those days where they used to take shelter in a mosque, to that fateful day of the IPL 2011 auction, where both of them combined fetched a whopping 4 million US$ (approximately 20 crore Indian rupees), the Pathan household has surely come a long way. 

But somewhere in the middle of all this, Irfan inexplicably lost his swing. The ball did not move any longer. The pace and movement which was compared to the likes of Wasim Akram, was now being compared to the likes of Anil Kumble. (“I swear Kumble can bowl faster than Irfan!” were the kind of accusations leveled at him). That can be counted as sarcasm, of course, but nevertheless it was a serious indicator of the problems Irfan was facing. Following the exit of Chappell and soon after the inaugural T20 World Cup (where he was Man of the Match in that historic final against Pakistan), in the wake of his continuing problems, he was dropped from the side. He made occasional appearances but could not live up to what was expected of him. One can only imagine what the man must have gone through. The poster boy of Indian cricket, the indispensible cog in India’s wheel was suddenly in oblivion. The spotlight he was so used to had eluded him. The fall was a big one and the climb back to the top was very steep. Then started the rehabilitation at the NCA under the bowling coaches, the grind of the domestic circuit to rediscover the pace and swing. There were never any questions about his talent, his batting prowess in addition to his obvious bowling skills but he had to prove himself, all over again. The 2011 Ranji Season provided him with the opportunity to do just that. After two years in wilderness, the hunger to perform was back and so was the swing. Only 3 games this season is what it took for him to put himself back into contention. 3 matches, 21 wickets, 3 fifers (one in each match, including 7 wickets in an innings against Delhi) and he was back. The ball was moving, the speed gun was showing good numbers and the batsmen were struggling. His name started making the rounds for Indian selection and surely he was recalled at long last, for the last two ODI’s against the West Indies. He played only the last game and took a wicket, lbw, plumb in front, of a ball that came back into the right hander on his very first ball back in India colors. Yes he was back and how!

Irfan celebrates a wicket on his return to international cricket

When the Indian test squad for the Australia tour was announced, there were no surprises. The 5 first choice fast bowlers (Zak, Ishant, Yadav, Praveen and Aaron) were available and selected. Then came the news of Praveen’s injury, providing a glimmer of hope for Irfan. It was Mithun that got the nod ahead of him. Just a few days later, Aaron was ruled out and surely, this time it had to be him. Vinay Kumar was named as Aaron’s replacement. Although both Mithun and Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar have been very good in the domestic circuit for some time now, Irfan has been to Australia twice. Once when he made his debut in 2003 and second in the ill-tempered series of 2007-08 which India lost 2-1. Just to refresh our memories, in the only test match that we won on that tour at the WACA in Perth, Irfan was Man of the Match (a combined match haul of 74 crucial runs and 5 important wickets). Although Irfan would not be in the starting 11 on this tour (assuming, hoping and praying that Zaheer, Ishant and Yadav would be fit for all matches), he would have been a great backup to have. It would have surely calmed some nerves back in India knowing that Irfan was ready to step in if needed, and not expose Mithun or Vinay to the Aussie batting. It would have done his confidence a world of good staying in the dressing room where he once was a regular feature. With his batting skills, he also gives the team management the option of playing 5 bowlers (with Dhoni at 6, Irfan at 7 and Ashwin at 8, which is still a very decent prospect) and lending that much needed balance to the side, a luxury which India have rarely enjoyed. The selectors had two chances, they didn’t take either. By all means (at least in my opinion), Irfan should have been on the plane to Australia and currently in Sydney with the rest of the squad. Although he will, in all probability, be there for the limited overs leg of the tour, I still think it would have done him and the team a world of good to have him there right now.

We have seen what he can do; he is our brightest hope of finding the elusive fast bowling all rounder after Kapil Dev, someone who can be as useful to the team as a Freddie Flintoff or a Shane Watson, something which we have all longed for Team India to have. He is probably the best answer we have to quite a few of our glaring problems and he needs to get back into that dressing room, to start feeling that he belongs there; for him to have that kind of impact that we know he is capable of. Two opportunities have been blown up; I hope the third one is not. For this second innings of his career, I wish the willow works for him, more importantly the ball swings for him, he finds that golden touch again and that golden touch never deserts him, ever again.  

My next feature: My take on why India are traditionally slow starters and almost always struggle away from home.