There are many lessons to be learnt from war movies and, well, Jack
Bauer. Among the most important is this: Experience can be as, if not
more, effective as speed on an uncharted battle field. And what else is
this India tour with its minefield-laden wickets but a crazy battle of
wills and skill for a bunch of freshmen and their
‘it’s-just-me-against-the-world’ leader?
Michael Clarke has probably sent a few dozen ‘wish you were here’ messages to Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey by now. Who would blame him for missing them, not just as batsmen but as senior colleagues and bouncing boards? They were the last of the war veterans in his newbie squad and you can’t place a price on battle scars and the stories behind them.
MS Dhoni may not be able to empathise just yet. At home, particularly, he has support from local conditions and matching skill-sets such that he does not need to identify with Clarke’s quandary. But come South Africa, the Indian skipper may well look towards the slip cordon and wish for his former colleagues’ counsel but find just the lone face from another time, Sachin Tendulkar, if that.
Does it really need to be so?
The Indian selectors are currently being lauded for having had the ‘guts’ to axe a senior cricketer like Virender Sehwag. His performances have obviously not been up to the mark and he has been living on a wing and a prayer. You can’t, therefore, question the decision backed as it is by numbers and more. But as with all greats, I wonder if all has been done to utilise and, well, cherish a player of Sehwag’s worth.
You can accuse me of making an emotional point – and perhaps I am guilty as charged – but consider what we’re losing. In 2012, the Indian team bid adieu to Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Gautam Gambhir, though not quite in the same league, is struggling to earn his flannels of late. With Sehwag now being shown the endgame by the selectors, all Dhoni has left from the ‘age of legends’, as it were, is Tendulkar.
It is too late to talk about the end of the golden era – given that most of those players have already had their curtain calls – but can’t India extract more from the two they still have left?
Tendulkar has recently been spared the public debate over his retirement date after making a significant contribution in the first Test. But a blip in the next leg of this series will open that can of worms all over again. The short-term memory of the vocal section of the cricket-critiquing community, as we have learnt, can be a curse and a blessing. Currently, for instance, Dhoni and his team are safely enveloped in the halo effect of the last two wins. Harsh critics like Sunil Gavaskar have turned ardent supporters of Dhoni’s captaincy and the ad-men are queuing up all over again. The Indians have emerged from a difficult run and deserve their moment in the hot Indian sun. But the next step takes them to South Africa and another potential disaster given India’s track record in the country. That is when just young legs may not do the trick as Clarke will testify.
One of the few sane voices in cricket, Dravid, had offered the most balance views on how Sehwag could be handled. He told Espncricinfo.com: “If they are going to look ahead, I think there could be a realistic possibility of Sehwag coming into the middle order. You know if opportunities open up at some stage, maybe Sachin is going to move on, then I think Viru is the man with the experience to be able to come in and bat in the middle order. He has said in the past that he would like to, and that could be an option.”
Wasn’t this series the perfect platform to give this option a shot? Of 104 Tests, Sehwag has only played 8 as a middle-order batsmen at an average of 41.55 as against his career average of 49.34. Failure even in this new role, in favourable home conditions, would have served as a solid indicator about the road ahead even as the team was, in any case, grooming a new opener.
Most will maintain that the axe should have fallen sooner. I say that other options could also have been exercised earlier. Instead of wondering if it was time to get rid of him, the question the selectors could have asked is this: How can we make it work for Sehwag? Because he’s worth it. Seriously talented players like him, with still enough life left in them, don’t come with a use-by date. They can be reshaped to play a significant role. It’s not a popular opinion today but I wonder if Sehwag is not just a victim of his own form but also a lack of vision of those around him.
Michael Clarke has probably sent a few dozen ‘wish you were here’ messages to Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey by now. Who would blame him for missing them, not just as batsmen but as senior colleagues and bouncing boards? They were the last of the war veterans in his newbie squad and you can’t place a price on battle scars and the stories behind them.
MS Dhoni may not be able to empathise just yet. At home, particularly, he has support from local conditions and matching skill-sets such that he does not need to identify with Clarke’s quandary. But come South Africa, the Indian skipper may well look towards the slip cordon and wish for his former colleagues’ counsel but find just the lone face from another time, Sachin Tendulkar, if that.
Have India and Dhoni managed to extract the best out of Sehwag? Reuters
The Indian selectors are currently being lauded for having had the ‘guts’ to axe a senior cricketer like Virender Sehwag. His performances have obviously not been up to the mark and he has been living on a wing and a prayer. You can’t, therefore, question the decision backed as it is by numbers and more. But as with all greats, I wonder if all has been done to utilise and, well, cherish a player of Sehwag’s worth.
You can accuse me of making an emotional point – and perhaps I am guilty as charged – but consider what we’re losing. In 2012, the Indian team bid adieu to Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Gautam Gambhir, though not quite in the same league, is struggling to earn his flannels of late. With Sehwag now being shown the endgame by the selectors, all Dhoni has left from the ‘age of legends’, as it were, is Tendulkar.
It is too late to talk about the end of the golden era – given that most of those players have already had their curtain calls – but can’t India extract more from the two they still have left?
Tendulkar has recently been spared the public debate over his retirement date after making a significant contribution in the first Test. But a blip in the next leg of this series will open that can of worms all over again. The short-term memory of the vocal section of the cricket-critiquing community, as we have learnt, can be a curse and a blessing. Currently, for instance, Dhoni and his team are safely enveloped in the halo effect of the last two wins. Harsh critics like Sunil Gavaskar have turned ardent supporters of Dhoni’s captaincy and the ad-men are queuing up all over again. The Indians have emerged from a difficult run and deserve their moment in the hot Indian sun. But the next step takes them to South Africa and another potential disaster given India’s track record in the country. That is when just young legs may not do the trick as Clarke will testify.
One of the few sane voices in cricket, Dravid, had offered the most balance views on how Sehwag could be handled. He told Espncricinfo.com: “If they are going to look ahead, I think there could be a realistic possibility of Sehwag coming into the middle order. You know if opportunities open up at some stage, maybe Sachin is going to move on, then I think Viru is the man with the experience to be able to come in and bat in the middle order. He has said in the past that he would like to, and that could be an option.”
Wasn’t this series the perfect platform to give this option a shot? Of 104 Tests, Sehwag has only played 8 as a middle-order batsmen at an average of 41.55 as against his career average of 49.34. Failure even in this new role, in favourable home conditions, would have served as a solid indicator about the road ahead even as the team was, in any case, grooming a new opener.
Most will maintain that the axe should have fallen sooner. I say that other options could also have been exercised earlier. Instead of wondering if it was time to get rid of him, the question the selectors could have asked is this: How can we make it work for Sehwag? Because he’s worth it. Seriously talented players like him, with still enough life left in them, don’t come with a use-by date. They can be reshaped to play a significant role. It’s not a popular opinion today but I wonder if Sehwag is not just a victim of his own form but also a lack of vision of those around him.
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