Sreesanth’s exclusion defies cricketing logic

(ALL THESE WRITE UPS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN CRICKET TODAY MAGAZINE)

The BCCI selection committee has done it again. As if the whole controversy surrounding Sourav Ganguly’s selection fiasco wasn’t enough, the ‘wise men of Indian cricket’ have decided they want to remain in the news come what may. So this time, it’s the exclusion of the talented paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth that’s opened a whole new can of worms. Though the backlash over Sreesanth’s axing hasn’t been anywhere near as what happened when Sourav was shown the door – expectedly so, because Sreesanth is still a rising star and Keralites aren’t as cricket crazy as Kolkatans either – reactions from various sections of the Indian cricketing fraternity make it absolutely clear that the selectors have committed a major blunder.

Strangely enough, the shining Keralite has been included for the ongoing DLF Cup in Malaysia (the write-up was written when the series was still in progress) and then axed for the following Champions Trophy tournament to be held in India. How can a player be selected for one series and then be dropped for the next without performance in the previous series being taken into consideration? Further, he has not been part of the XI in both the matches held in Malaysia so far. Sreesanth has shown that he has a great fighting attitude, but nothing can be more disheartening for the youngster than to know that the selectors are playing around with his budding career.

This raises a big and very pertinent question – Is merit is the most important criterion for selection? Definitely not. Ask John Wright and the ex-Chairman of selectors, Kiran More, himself. These are two men when who have been closest to Indian cricket in the last half a decade and their take on Indian cricket gives one reason enough to believe that something’s rotten in the system. The discussion on the apathetic state of India’s cricket administration can go on endlessly. But it’s more important to bring up the issues of those who become the scapegoats of such unprofessional approaches, in this case Sreesanth.

According to one of the national selectors, Sreesanth’s elimination was purely on ‘cricketing reasons’ and that his exclusion did not merit a controversy. Sreesanth was left out because the team did not want more than four fast bowlers, added the selector. Fair enough, but on what basis do you drop one of the country’s premiere bowlers in the preceding series? (Ref – the Windies tour). His replacement R P Singh was picked because he performed exceptionally well for India ‘A’. R P is a good bowler in his own right, no doubt about that. In fact, R P Singh, VRV Singh, Munaf Patel and Sreesanth are the future of India’s pace attack. But, on current form and performance, Sreesanth deserves to supersede Singh in the national team.

After all, if R P has shone in ‘A’ grade cricket, Sreesanth has proved his ability on the international stage itself. His 10 wickets in the 3-match Test series against West Indies went a long way in helping India win the series. Not to forget, this was immediately after coming back from injury. And those who doubt his ability in the shorter version of the game, his 6/55 at Indore against England is proof of his genuine wicket-taking ability. Before Sreesanth, only three other Indian bowlers had taken a six-wicket haul in one-day cricket. What’s more, the Kerala speedster achieved this feat in his debut year in international cricket. If all these performances don’t count then, sorry to say, nothing will. And anyways, if R P Singh, was picked on the basis of his strong ‘A’ game performances, why is India’s one-time pace spearhead, Zaheer Khan, still languishing in the wilderness after a sensational stint in county cricket. The selectors will find it very hard to answer this question for sure.

Cricket is not always about numbers. After all, one bowler may trouble batsmen and his partner and the other end may end with better figures. It doesn’t make the performance of the former any less meritorious. What has instantly stood out during Sreesanth’s performance in his short stay with the Indian team is his ability to pose problems for the best of batsmen. Ask Brian Lara and, being an honest man, he wouldn’t hesitate to say yes. Also, his aggressive attitude is very refreshing and defines the changing face of Indian cricket.

Ironically, this is what the Indian selectors have held against him. At least the explanation given for his omission points to this factor. His economy rate of 5.71 may seem a bit too high but lets not forget that he’s played a mere 18 matches and is still learning the intricacies of one-day cricket. But even if economy is taken as a criterion, the others in the side aren’t miserly either. R P Singh himself conceded over 5 runs per over in one-day cricket and it’s not very different for the more experienced guys either. Irfan Pathan has an economy rate touching 5 while Agarkar is only slightly worse.

The bottom line is that with the inclusion of ‘Power Plays’ and other fielding innovations, life is getting more and more difficult for the bowlers with each passing season. In today day and age when 300 is being raked up as easily as a stroll in the park, it shouldn’t be considered a crime that bowlers are conceding over 5 runs a over. Times have indeed changed. Gone are the days when anything 4 runs per over was considered expensive. With everything against the bowlers in modern times, they need to be given some leeway. And the selectors must keep that in mind while picking a squad.

It’s all very well for coach Greg Chappell to say that Sreesanth would recover from this setback. But things don’t quite work out that way always. Especially when you have been eliminated unfairly. Amazingly, in Chappell’s own words, “Sreesanth is getting better every day in bowling, batting, fielding and even fitness.” Wonder if the selectors have made a note of that. Instead, they rewarded him by axing him. The decisions taken by the ‘so called’ selectors can have wide-ranging consequences – to the extent of making or break careers. But then is anybody bothered?

Sreesanth is still young and, with the never-say-die attitude that he has, should make a comeback into the side pretty soon. But one only hopes that his career doesn’t follow a parallel path to that of his numerous predecessors like Balaji, Zaheer, Nehra, Mohanty and his own statemate Tinu Yohannan among others. Because if that happens, Indian cricket would be the biggest loser and another name would be added to the never-ending list of India’s genuinely talented cricketers who couldn’t transform potential into performance. Period.

Sreesanth’s record so far

Tests – 5 matches, 19 wickets, Best Bowling - 4/70, Average - 29.78

ODIs- 18 matches, 24 wickets, Best Bowling- 6/55, Average- 36.20

Making waves: Monty Panesar

(ALL THESE WRITE UPS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN CRICKET TODAY MAGAZINE)

Few English cricketers have generated as much hype and hoopla as Mudhsuden Singh Panesar – Monty as he is better known in cricketing circles – has done during his short stint in international cricket. The first Sikh to represent England, he has almost instantly become a national hero, having already taken 31 wickets in his 9 Test appearances inclusive of 2 five-wicket hauls. The feat has even earned him a nomination for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. But it is not his bowling alone that has propelled Monty into stardom. Ironically, it is more to do with his ultra-comic fielding ability and awkward batting methods. There are both cheers and jeers from the crowd when he fields or midfields. His batting looks ungainly but the 26 runs he scored of just 28 balls against a Sri Lanka and a rampant Muralitharan deserves a mention. The innings included a six against one of the all-time great off-spinners!

The beginning of the journey

Born in Bedfordshire, Monty Panesar later moved to Northamptonshire where, like all youngsters, he represented a number of youth sides before being eventually selected for England Under-19 team. He was part of the team for a couple of seasons and after some impressive performances, a first-class debut came knocking in 2001 at the age of 19. Monty made fully use of the opportunity and returned with magical figures of 12 wickets in the game for Northamptonshire against Leicestershire. Things did not go as per planned thereafter though and his appearances in 2001 and 2002 were restricted. He also meddled with studies at the Loughborough University during this period. But his 17 wickets meant he impressed people enough to gain a spot in the National Academy team in Australia. His talent was very much at display here as he ended up with 46 wickets in 2005.

Monty has never looked back since…

In an effort to improve his poor fielding abilities, he even attended the Darren Lehman Academy in Adelaide. But the biggest boost in Monty’s career came when his coach at Northamptonshire, former South African skipper Kepler Wessels, asked for him to be included in England's squad for their tour of India. And we all know what happened after that. Panesar made his debut at Nagpur and dismissed the great man Sachin Tendulkar to get his first Test victim. Add to that the wickets of Mohammad Kaif and Rahul Dravid, which undoubtedly made it a memorable first Test for Monty.

His career really took off from there and what followed was successful Test series win against Pakistan. He ended up with 8 scalps at Old Trafford on a pitch assisting the spinners. But his real Test came in Headingley where all the batsmen were plundering runs. But he nailed the key wickets of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan – all great players of spin- and in the process has established himself as the numero uno spinner for England ahead of the much-experienced but moderately talented Ashley Giles. The fact that he succeeded against India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – all great players of spin- makes his achievements all the more credible.

A genuine spinner of the ball

Unlike, his predecessor Ashley Giles, who was very good in his own right, Monty Panesar is a genuine spinner England found in quite a while. This is because he gives the ball a prominent rip resulting in a good number of revolutions. And if you can fox someone like Inzamam-Ul-Haq, then you must be very good at your art. Monty has already proved this in the little international cricket he has played.

An aggressive bowler, his attitude to outthink batsman is very refreshing for the art of spin in an era where most try to bore out the opposition via negative tactics bar a few greats who do no need to be named. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Panesar is a "spin bowler with a fast bowler's mentality" – an idiom earlier associated with Bill O'Reilly of Australia. And why not, after all he started of as a fast bowler before quickly realising that it wasn’t his cup of tea.
In an interview some time back, Monty revealed that he too is working on the doosra- the ball that goes the other way.

The Aussies are waiting

With yet another Ashes series nearing, the Aussies have started playing their mind games yet again. And not surprisingly, they are targeting the latest sensation in English cricket – Monty Panesar. Even the Aussies realise what a difference Monty makes to the side. With the likes of Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard in the fast bowling department, Panesar would not only lend that much needed variety to the attack but has also shown that he is competent to maintain the pressure built on the batsmen by the earlier bowlers. This is something which his predecessors like Ashley Giles didn’t quite manage to do on a consistent basis.

"We'll try to make some sort of impact on him early on, and we won't let him get on top”, said Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting, on how they would try and counter the threat likely to be posed by Panesar.

Monty’s no Jonty

Even as Monty Panesar was in the news all over and continues to be, came the decision of his exclusion from the Champions Trophy probables. We all know by now that Panesar is arguably the worst fielder in the England side and no team can afford to have an ODI side with players having poor fielding abilities. And, as discussed earlier, neither is his batting the greatest. These two factors were enough for the selectors to overlook his stupendous performance in Tests. And the decision seems a very fair one too. So even amidst all the accolades, here’s something for Monty to really work hard on if he desires to earn a place in the ODI squad too.

Whatever one may say about the man, the fact remains that Monty Panesar is the most popular star in the England team today. Such has been his influence on the fans and the media that even the Pietersen mania, which was at its peak till not too long ago, has taken a backseat. Monty magic has gripped the nation and how!