At the time of writing this piece, India are engrossed in a battle for supremacy with the South Africans (who have come here at the back of an amazing, unbeaten 19 match streak) in a five match one-day series. And by the time the December issue of Cricket Today is out we will very know the fate of the series. Whatever the result, one thing is for sure, India’s performance in the preceding series against the Lankans will be always remembered with pride both the Indian cricketers and the fans on the whole.
A very striking aspect in the triumph over Sri Lanka was the number of experimentations undertaken, most of which did produce desired results. A constant change was seen in the No.3 position with Dhoni, Pathan, Yuvvraj, Kaif, Yadav and the captain Dravid performing the duties. However, while it is good to know the members of the team are open to adaptability, India have to be very careful not to overdo this and tinker around with the side too much, especially not with something as vital a slot as NO.3. This might sound paradoxical, as India have attained great success using this tactic so far. But even as the short-term results are good, continuation with testing different players for the one down spot could prove calamitous in the long run. After all, if flexibility is a crucial factor, equally important, or perhaps even more essential, is stability.
Dravid did mention after the Lankan series that the team requires players who are willing to enjoy every challenge thrown to them and not ones who get bogged down by it. While it’s exactly the way things should be, it’s always easier said than done. If a player is not aware as to where he is supposed to bat in the next game, there might be a case for him not being mentally prepared for the situation. This again doesn’t mean that the team should shun out all the modifications. They should be used but only sparingly as a surprise packet. As the issue of discussion here is the No.3 spot, it would be apt to say that the Dhonis and Pathans should be tried out but only in extreme situations, say when India are chasing a massive 300 plus or if the regulars are suffering from injury woes. That brings us to the big question- who should occupy the permanent No.3 spot? Rahul Dravid held possession of the vital number in the batting order for most part of his career. But post the arrival of Sehwag, Ganguly dropped himself one spot down the order and later even Laxman held fort a while. So now with both running out of favour in the shorter version of the game, should we revert back to Dravid? Well, not quite.
Since the days Dravid vacated his No.3 spot, circumstances have changed and in a big way. He’s off the burden of donning the ‘keeper’s gloves, thanks to M S Dhoni. Also Dravid is no longer a slow scorer in one dayers, a crucial factor that led to his axing in the late 90’s. Having developed the ability to play the big, airy shots and the odd cheeky strokes as well today Dravid is as dangerous as any one-day batsman- a tribute to the hard work put in by the man whom many had dubbed as Sanjay Manjrekar-II. As a result, he can be a great asset in the slog overs these days (His 50 of 22 balls against New Zealand in 2003 at Hyderabad is ample proof of his newly gained hard hitting ability). Another reason why, Dravid’s presence in the middle order is crucial is due to the lack of inexperience in lower order. While the likes of Dhoni, Pathan and Raina have been successful, an assured, guiding hand like Dravid will certainly do them no harm.
With Dravid out of the running, it leaves us with two major choices- Kaif & Yuvraj. The two great buddies seem inseparable from each other. After all, Yuvraj won the Man of the Series in the Under-19 World Cup under the captaincy of who else but Mhd. Kaif. Then, at the international level, their Lords partnership will, without an iota of doubt, be rated among the best ever. If that’s not all, both are unofficially competing for the throne of India’s best fielder. And so there should be no surprise that both are in the reckoning for the No.3 spot.
Last issue we discussed about who would be the better choice for the Test squad with Kaif getting the thumbs up. And this time too, the lad from UP has his nose in front for reasons which shouldn’t be unobvious. Kaif has been tried out at the No.3 spot before against Pakistan and had reasonably fruitful outings. Having said that, it’s not going to be easy for him by any means to step into the Dravid’s giant shoes’. There are definitely a few aspects of his game that he has to work on. His technique is reasonably sound and competent. Too often, though, he gets trapped on the backfoot by the incoming deliveries while his flirtatious tendency to poke at widish deliveries has also got him into trouble. Another highly essential weapon missing from his armoury is the ability to produce the big strokes. With scores in one-day cricket constantly touching the 320-330 mark, it has almost become a prerequisite for all batsmen to know how to clear the field. Kaif only has to look as far as his skipper to gain confidence that he too can develop his skills in this regard. Also, Kaif himself is known as one of the hardest workers in the Indian team and a highly committed one at that. He’s got all the basics to be a good No.3 batsman and all that is needed is some good fine-tuning. So it is essential for the Indian team management to groom him properly.
If Kaif indeed occupies the No.3 position, the responsibility on his shoulders will be tremendous, as he will have to play the role of an anchor. There are some other issues too which make Kaif’s slot even more crucial. With Virender Sehwag as opener, you certainly aren’t sure what is going to transpire out in the middle. Also with age and injury, Tendulkar’s consistency levels have also dipped to a certain extent. It is pretty evident that his reflexes are slowing down. (The writer overheard some stalwarts of Indian cricket discussing this at a cricket meet some time back.) This is not to take anything away from the Little Maestro though. He began his international at the age of 16 when the other superstars of this era like Gilchrist and Lara were probably still busy with their studies. Sachin has spent half his life on the cricket field and it is but obvious that the rigours of international cricket have taken its toll on his body.
And looking at the middle order, Yuvraj Singh comes into the picture once again. Apart from Dravid, he’s the only experienced middle order batsman in the squad. But his consistency levels aren’t good enough as yet for him to be considered as a dependable bat. Yuvraj’s performance ratio is highly disappointing, with a big score coming from his willow only twice or thrice in ten games, which means every time his place in the team is in doubt, he comes up with a fruitful knock. Having followed the lanky left-hander’s career over the past five years, it is pretty clear that you cannot judge him on form. He is one of those freakish cricketers who, on his day, can demolish the best of attacks and on other days struggle to score even against part-timers. Considering his tremendous ability and talent plus fielding skills, it is very difficult to leave him out. But his inconsistency amplifies the need for a stabilizing influence like Dravid in the middle overs.
India have now entered a rebuilding phase with a new skipper-coach combo at the helm of affairs. The Indian team has seen many a low in the past season which led to constant chopping and changing. But the current squad comprising a blend of youth and experience is showing good promise. And if Kaif too can deliver consistent results at the pivotal No.3 spot, it will go a long way in helping India become a force in international cricket once again, something last seen in the 2002-03 season under Sourav Ganguly. And it is no co-incidence that Kaif was the one who began the scripting of that glorious phase in Indian cricket with his match winning 87 not out in the Natwest Final. Though he faded away later, his innings did give India a renewed confidence, which saw them holding the Australians to a 1-1 draw in the Test series in their home den and a few months later demolishing the Pakistanis in Pakistan.
A very striking aspect in the triumph over Sri Lanka was the number of experimentations undertaken, most of which did produce desired results. A constant change was seen in the No.3 position with Dhoni, Pathan, Yuvvraj, Kaif, Yadav and the captain Dravid performing the duties. However, while it is good to know the members of the team are open to adaptability, India have to be very careful not to overdo this and tinker around with the side too much, especially not with something as vital a slot as NO.3. This might sound paradoxical, as India have attained great success using this tactic so far. But even as the short-term results are good, continuation with testing different players for the one down spot could prove calamitous in the long run. After all, if flexibility is a crucial factor, equally important, or perhaps even more essential, is stability.
Dravid did mention after the Lankan series that the team requires players who are willing to enjoy every challenge thrown to them and not ones who get bogged down by it. While it’s exactly the way things should be, it’s always easier said than done. If a player is not aware as to where he is supposed to bat in the next game, there might be a case for him not being mentally prepared for the situation. This again doesn’t mean that the team should shun out all the modifications. They should be used but only sparingly as a surprise packet. As the issue of discussion here is the No.3 spot, it would be apt to say that the Dhonis and Pathans should be tried out but only in extreme situations, say when India are chasing a massive 300 plus or if the regulars are suffering from injury woes. That brings us to the big question- who should occupy the permanent No.3 spot? Rahul Dravid held possession of the vital number in the batting order for most part of his career. But post the arrival of Sehwag, Ganguly dropped himself one spot down the order and later even Laxman held fort a while. So now with both running out of favour in the shorter version of the game, should we revert back to Dravid? Well, not quite.
Since the days Dravid vacated his No.3 spot, circumstances have changed and in a big way. He’s off the burden of donning the ‘keeper’s gloves, thanks to M S Dhoni. Also Dravid is no longer a slow scorer in one dayers, a crucial factor that led to his axing in the late 90’s. Having developed the ability to play the big, airy shots and the odd cheeky strokes as well today Dravid is as dangerous as any one-day batsman- a tribute to the hard work put in by the man whom many had dubbed as Sanjay Manjrekar-II. As a result, he can be a great asset in the slog overs these days (His 50 of 22 balls against New Zealand in 2003 at Hyderabad is ample proof of his newly gained hard hitting ability). Another reason why, Dravid’s presence in the middle order is crucial is due to the lack of inexperience in lower order. While the likes of Dhoni, Pathan and Raina have been successful, an assured, guiding hand like Dravid will certainly do them no harm.
With Dravid out of the running, it leaves us with two major choices- Kaif & Yuvraj. The two great buddies seem inseparable from each other. After all, Yuvraj won the Man of the Series in the Under-19 World Cup under the captaincy of who else but Mhd. Kaif. Then, at the international level, their Lords partnership will, without an iota of doubt, be rated among the best ever. If that’s not all, both are unofficially competing for the throne of India’s best fielder. And so there should be no surprise that both are in the reckoning for the No.3 spot.
Last issue we discussed about who would be the better choice for the Test squad with Kaif getting the thumbs up. And this time too, the lad from UP has his nose in front for reasons which shouldn’t be unobvious. Kaif has been tried out at the No.3 spot before against Pakistan and had reasonably fruitful outings. Having said that, it’s not going to be easy for him by any means to step into the Dravid’s giant shoes’. There are definitely a few aspects of his game that he has to work on. His technique is reasonably sound and competent. Too often, though, he gets trapped on the backfoot by the incoming deliveries while his flirtatious tendency to poke at widish deliveries has also got him into trouble. Another highly essential weapon missing from his armoury is the ability to produce the big strokes. With scores in one-day cricket constantly touching the 320-330 mark, it has almost become a prerequisite for all batsmen to know how to clear the field. Kaif only has to look as far as his skipper to gain confidence that he too can develop his skills in this regard. Also, Kaif himself is known as one of the hardest workers in the Indian team and a highly committed one at that. He’s got all the basics to be a good No.3 batsman and all that is needed is some good fine-tuning. So it is essential for the Indian team management to groom him properly.
If Kaif indeed occupies the No.3 position, the responsibility on his shoulders will be tremendous, as he will have to play the role of an anchor. There are some other issues too which make Kaif’s slot even more crucial. With Virender Sehwag as opener, you certainly aren’t sure what is going to transpire out in the middle. Also with age and injury, Tendulkar’s consistency levels have also dipped to a certain extent. It is pretty evident that his reflexes are slowing down. (The writer overheard some stalwarts of Indian cricket discussing this at a cricket meet some time back.) This is not to take anything away from the Little Maestro though. He began his international at the age of 16 when the other superstars of this era like Gilchrist and Lara were probably still busy with their studies. Sachin has spent half his life on the cricket field and it is but obvious that the rigours of international cricket have taken its toll on his body.
And looking at the middle order, Yuvraj Singh comes into the picture once again. Apart from Dravid, he’s the only experienced middle order batsman in the squad. But his consistency levels aren’t good enough as yet for him to be considered as a dependable bat. Yuvraj’s performance ratio is highly disappointing, with a big score coming from his willow only twice or thrice in ten games, which means every time his place in the team is in doubt, he comes up with a fruitful knock. Having followed the lanky left-hander’s career over the past five years, it is pretty clear that you cannot judge him on form. He is one of those freakish cricketers who, on his day, can demolish the best of attacks and on other days struggle to score even against part-timers. Considering his tremendous ability and talent plus fielding skills, it is very difficult to leave him out. But his inconsistency amplifies the need for a stabilizing influence like Dravid in the middle overs.
India have now entered a rebuilding phase with a new skipper-coach combo at the helm of affairs. The Indian team has seen many a low in the past season which led to constant chopping and changing. But the current squad comprising a blend of youth and experience is showing good promise. And if Kaif too can deliver consistent results at the pivotal No.3 spot, it will go a long way in helping India become a force in international cricket once again, something last seen in the 2002-03 season under Sourav Ganguly. And it is no co-incidence that Kaif was the one who began the scripting of that glorious phase in Indian cricket with his match winning 87 not out in the Natwest Final. Though he faded away later, his innings did give India a renewed confidence, which saw them holding the Australians to a 1-1 draw in the Test series in their home den and a few months later demolishing the Pakistanis in Pakistan.
Time for history to repeat itself? Well, let’s wait and watch.
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