The previous issue of Cricket Today dealt with the significance of Yuvraj and Kaif to the one –day side; how both players have managed to keep their form going even when the rest of the more experienced members of the side have struggled miserably. And they rightfully are worthy of all the laurels being showered upon them.
However when it comes to selection for the Test team, things are a bit different. With the Indian middle order being so strong (at least on paper) there isn’t enough space for both to walk into the Test squad. And hence the big issue as to which of these youngsters should make it to the playing XI whenever the opportunity arises. After his showing in the last two one-day tournaments, it was almost taken for granted that the position left vacant courtesy Sachin’s tennis elbow would be occupied by the ever-improving Mhd. Kaif.
But that did not happen. Instead, a huge furore erupted and rightly so as Yuvraj Singh was included ahead of the in-form Mhd. Kaif in the Bulawayo Test. Of course what happened later totally overshadowed the whole controversy (the Chappell-Ganguly spat). But still, Kaif’s exclusion is a serious issue. Especially after considering his current performances in the Zimbabwe triangular series (277 runs from five innings). Even before that, he had some impressive scores in the series’ in the Sri Lanka triangular (180 runs from five innings) and the home series against Pakistan. In the longer version of the game too he showed he has the mettle to succeed against the best in the world by scoring two consecutive half-centuries against the Australians when they toured here last. If this is not consistency, then what is?
On the other hand, Yuvraj also has come on in leaps and bounds during this short season so far. But the fact remains that he is a flamboyant strokemaker and is more likely to get out to rash strokes, which we have often seen him doing in the past. India already have too many too many attacking batsmen in the Test team (Sehwag, Laxman and now Gambhir) and someone in the Dravid mould is needed to steady the innings. That someone has to be none other than Mhd.Kaif.
There are a few attributes that definitely give an edge to Kaif over Yuvraj when it comes to performing in the longer version of the game. His mental toughness has come to the fore on quite a few occasions. The one instance that instantly that springs to mind is when he came into bat against the world champs despite suffering from severe cramps. Kaif had registered his half-century before that and even though he could not add too much to his score considering his physical limitations at that point of time, it unraveled the fighting the nature of the man. He was eventually run out for 64 not being able to regain his ground after realizing that he had a runner.
Also Kaif has proved to be a good finisher. This was evident as far back as the 2002 Natwest final at Lords when the young duo of Yuvraj and Kaif stunned the cricketing world with their breathtaking partnership. It is not to take anything away from Yuvraj’s knock. But, harsh as it may seem on Yuvraj, the truth remains that his innings will be remembered all the more only because Kaif managed to stay on till the end and finish the game. Even though the two set up the game for India magnificently, Yuvraj left at a stage after which the match could have gone either ways. But Kaif showed his maturity in such a tense situation. It is at times like these that you judge the true worth of a player. Even his contribution of 35 in the tensest of games in the 2003 World Cup against Pakistan was worth its weight in gold.
For most of their one-day careers, both Yuvi and Kaif have been major disappointments. The talent was there for all to see, the results however weren’t. But of late, things have changed and both have shown an amount of maturity and looked more consistent than ever before. While Kaif’s performance has improved tremendously even since his promotion to the top of the order, Yuvraj too has scored 2 ODI centuries in a short span of time, be it against weak teams like West Indies and Zimbabwe. But considering Kaif’s current form and his above mentioned attributes, there should have been no reason for him to have been left out of the Test XI against Zimbabwe.
But Sourav Ganguly doesn’t believe so. "Both Yuvraj and Kaif are playing well but Yuvraj has a better Test record than Kaif at the moment," was how Sourav defended the decision to play Yuvraj at Bulawayo. Looking at the Test record of the two, you will find that both have played almost the same number of matches with Yuvraj indeed having a slightly better record (Kaif- 7 matches, average 24.50, highest 64) & (Yuvraj- 8 matches, average 33.89, highest 112). Having said that, it is too early to get statistically inclined. In fact, though stats can’t be untrue, they can often be misleading. In Kaif’s case, he played some of his Tests at the very beginning of his international career when he was way too raw. But of late, he’s blossomed into a full-fledged cricketer and his performance merits a Test berth. As such, Kaif should be the preferred choice over Yuvraj for the Test matches for the betterment of Indian cricket. That wasn’t the case in Bulawayo raising the million-dollar question- is consistent performance the only criteria of selection for India? And the answer is plain, simple NO.
Media has often been criticized for creating non-existing rifts between players in the past. But in the current scenario there cannot be any other explanation given other than politics and favouritism. What else can explain Yuvraj’s selection above Kaif when the right-hander has been the most consistent performer this season, outdoing even the regular contender for this post- Rahul Dravid? If Kaif is not given a chance despite such wonderful performances, it will definitely leave a big question in his mind as to what more he needs to do to attain a spot in the longer version, which he must definitely feel he deserves.
It is no secret that Ganguly does favour a few players in the Indian team whom he rates highly. Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Zaheer are definitely among the lot. And to be honest, Ganguly has proved that he has the knack of spotting fine talent. But on the other hand, there were a few players who never got the full backing of the skipper because he probably did not believe they were all that good. How many of you remember Sarandeep Singh who represented India in a few Tests at the start of the millennium? He played in a handful of Tests but even against a weak team like Zimbabwe, Ganguly did not give him a fair bowl. Then even the left-armers like Murali Karthik and Sunil Joshi were often ignored by the skipper probably because he did not rate that kind of species highly as he himself was exceptional against left armers during the peak of his career. Another glaring example is that of opener Akash Chopra who had done a reasonable job for India during the Australian tour and yet Ganguly came out with the statement that Yuvraj was being considered as opener for future Tests. Everybody knew the results of that misadventure in advance. And it wasn’t too different from what was expected; Yuvraj struggled as an opener and Chopra lost him form after being publicly disowned by his skipper.
Ganguly’s experiments have always been like a double-edged sword; they either work out magnificently or backfire horrendously. He did stretch his luck too far though at times. And at least in the case of Kaif some logical thinking ought to be applied.
Speaking of Ganguly, he himself doesn’t fit into the scheme of things for India anymore, at least not in the longer version of the game where he doesn’t merit a place anymore, more so after his struggle to crawl towards a century even against arguably the easiest attack in the world. Ganguly has done some great things for Indian cricket over the years but the time has come for Indian cricket to look in the forward direction. So it shouldn’t be too difficult for the selectors to shut the door on the Prince of Kolkatta and give Kaif his hard earned Test spot. As for Yuvraj, he too should get his chances but not ahead of Kaif despite that fact that he is more talented of the two. Kaif is worthy of the spot because he has done more than enough to earn it on the basis of pure merit.
However when it comes to selection for the Test team, things are a bit different. With the Indian middle order being so strong (at least on paper) there isn’t enough space for both to walk into the Test squad. And hence the big issue as to which of these youngsters should make it to the playing XI whenever the opportunity arises. After his showing in the last two one-day tournaments, it was almost taken for granted that the position left vacant courtesy Sachin’s tennis elbow would be occupied by the ever-improving Mhd. Kaif.
But that did not happen. Instead, a huge furore erupted and rightly so as Yuvraj Singh was included ahead of the in-form Mhd. Kaif in the Bulawayo Test. Of course what happened later totally overshadowed the whole controversy (the Chappell-Ganguly spat). But still, Kaif’s exclusion is a serious issue. Especially after considering his current performances in the Zimbabwe triangular series (277 runs from five innings). Even before that, he had some impressive scores in the series’ in the Sri Lanka triangular (180 runs from five innings) and the home series against Pakistan. In the longer version of the game too he showed he has the mettle to succeed against the best in the world by scoring two consecutive half-centuries against the Australians when they toured here last. If this is not consistency, then what is?
On the other hand, Yuvraj also has come on in leaps and bounds during this short season so far. But the fact remains that he is a flamboyant strokemaker and is more likely to get out to rash strokes, which we have often seen him doing in the past. India already have too many too many attacking batsmen in the Test team (Sehwag, Laxman and now Gambhir) and someone in the Dravid mould is needed to steady the innings. That someone has to be none other than Mhd.Kaif.
There are a few attributes that definitely give an edge to Kaif over Yuvraj when it comes to performing in the longer version of the game. His mental toughness has come to the fore on quite a few occasions. The one instance that instantly that springs to mind is when he came into bat against the world champs despite suffering from severe cramps. Kaif had registered his half-century before that and even though he could not add too much to his score considering his physical limitations at that point of time, it unraveled the fighting the nature of the man. He was eventually run out for 64 not being able to regain his ground after realizing that he had a runner.
Also Kaif has proved to be a good finisher. This was evident as far back as the 2002 Natwest final at Lords when the young duo of Yuvraj and Kaif stunned the cricketing world with their breathtaking partnership. It is not to take anything away from Yuvraj’s knock. But, harsh as it may seem on Yuvraj, the truth remains that his innings will be remembered all the more only because Kaif managed to stay on till the end and finish the game. Even though the two set up the game for India magnificently, Yuvraj left at a stage after which the match could have gone either ways. But Kaif showed his maturity in such a tense situation. It is at times like these that you judge the true worth of a player. Even his contribution of 35 in the tensest of games in the 2003 World Cup against Pakistan was worth its weight in gold.
For most of their one-day careers, both Yuvi and Kaif have been major disappointments. The talent was there for all to see, the results however weren’t. But of late, things have changed and both have shown an amount of maturity and looked more consistent than ever before. While Kaif’s performance has improved tremendously even since his promotion to the top of the order, Yuvraj too has scored 2 ODI centuries in a short span of time, be it against weak teams like West Indies and Zimbabwe. But considering Kaif’s current form and his above mentioned attributes, there should have been no reason for him to have been left out of the Test XI against Zimbabwe.
But Sourav Ganguly doesn’t believe so. "Both Yuvraj and Kaif are playing well but Yuvraj has a better Test record than Kaif at the moment," was how Sourav defended the decision to play Yuvraj at Bulawayo. Looking at the Test record of the two, you will find that both have played almost the same number of matches with Yuvraj indeed having a slightly better record (Kaif- 7 matches, average 24.50, highest 64) & (Yuvraj- 8 matches, average 33.89, highest 112). Having said that, it is too early to get statistically inclined. In fact, though stats can’t be untrue, they can often be misleading. In Kaif’s case, he played some of his Tests at the very beginning of his international career when he was way too raw. But of late, he’s blossomed into a full-fledged cricketer and his performance merits a Test berth. As such, Kaif should be the preferred choice over Yuvraj for the Test matches for the betterment of Indian cricket. That wasn’t the case in Bulawayo raising the million-dollar question- is consistent performance the only criteria of selection for India? And the answer is plain, simple NO.
Media has often been criticized for creating non-existing rifts between players in the past. But in the current scenario there cannot be any other explanation given other than politics and favouritism. What else can explain Yuvraj’s selection above Kaif when the right-hander has been the most consistent performer this season, outdoing even the regular contender for this post- Rahul Dravid? If Kaif is not given a chance despite such wonderful performances, it will definitely leave a big question in his mind as to what more he needs to do to attain a spot in the longer version, which he must definitely feel he deserves.
It is no secret that Ganguly does favour a few players in the Indian team whom he rates highly. Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Zaheer are definitely among the lot. And to be honest, Ganguly has proved that he has the knack of spotting fine talent. But on the other hand, there were a few players who never got the full backing of the skipper because he probably did not believe they were all that good. How many of you remember Sarandeep Singh who represented India in a few Tests at the start of the millennium? He played in a handful of Tests but even against a weak team like Zimbabwe, Ganguly did not give him a fair bowl. Then even the left-armers like Murali Karthik and Sunil Joshi were often ignored by the skipper probably because he did not rate that kind of species highly as he himself was exceptional against left armers during the peak of his career. Another glaring example is that of opener Akash Chopra who had done a reasonable job for India during the Australian tour and yet Ganguly came out with the statement that Yuvraj was being considered as opener for future Tests. Everybody knew the results of that misadventure in advance. And it wasn’t too different from what was expected; Yuvraj struggled as an opener and Chopra lost him form after being publicly disowned by his skipper.
Ganguly’s experiments have always been like a double-edged sword; they either work out magnificently or backfire horrendously. He did stretch his luck too far though at times. And at least in the case of Kaif some logical thinking ought to be applied.
Speaking of Ganguly, he himself doesn’t fit into the scheme of things for India anymore, at least not in the longer version of the game where he doesn’t merit a place anymore, more so after his struggle to crawl towards a century even against arguably the easiest attack in the world. Ganguly has done some great things for Indian cricket over the years but the time has come for Indian cricket to look in the forward direction. So it shouldn’t be too difficult for the selectors to shut the door on the Prince of Kolkatta and give Kaif his hard earned Test spot. As for Yuvraj, he too should get his chances but not ahead of Kaif despite that fact that he is more talented of the two. Kaif is worthy of the spot because he has done more than enough to earn it on the basis of pure merit.
In the present scenario, the best possible Test team is incomplete without Kaif’s inclusion and Indian will only benefit from this decision will shouldn’t be too difficult. Hope the Indian team management is listening.
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