I like a few things about DRS and don't like a few: Sanjay Manjrekar

Follow @Vishal1686 Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has said he still has his doubts about the DRS (Decision Review System) and if it should be used or not in international cricket. Apart from being unsure about the use of technology, he also said the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) should set its priorities right and do more to nurture young talent in India. Here is all that and much more he told me when I met him recently in Mumbai.

The DRS debate has ignited again, what's your take on the use of technology in cricket?

Currently, I sit on the fence on this one. I like a few things about the DRS and don't like a few.

After being 0-1 down in the series against Australia, do you think India can bounce back and win from here?

Australia at the moment is an unpredictable side. It's hard to predict the outcome of this series.

Were you happy with the team that was selected for Australia or would you have selected someone else?

For me Abhimanyu Mithun was a surprise choice. Apart from him, I have no complaints.

Do you think the BCCI is doing enough to hone the skills and talent of Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, like how Cricket Australia is taking care of Pat Cummins and James Pattinson?

I think the BCCI has learnt their lessons after the England tour. We will have to wait and see how they handle the two youngsters Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav

What else should the BCCI do to manage players' injuries in a better way?
The BCCI should set their priorities as to which form of cricket is most important for them. Once they do that, they should have someone in-charge who can manage the players accordingly.

Vinod Kambli said recently that the Indian team had decided to bat first in the 1996 World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka but Azhar decided to bowl after winning the toss. Can you give us some clarity on that?
I think it was an honest cricketing decision the team had taken which eventually backfired.

And lastly, what according to you should be done to promote Test cricket globally?
I think day-night cricket should be introduced to promote Tests.

‘England Will Keep On Improving To Get Better All The Time’

Follow @Vishal1686 One of the finest all-rounders and fielders from England, Paul Collingwood was in India recently during the England-India 5-match ODI series and the one off Twenty20. He is the only captain to have lifted a World Cup in the history of English cricket when England beat Australia to win the 2010 World Twenty20. When I met him in Mumbai, he spoke in length about whatever I asked him about our common love - cricket. In this conversation, he talks about the current England team which he thinks is capable of staying at the top in Tests and doing much better in one-dayers.

India couldn’t win a single match in England and England managed to win only one in India. What were the reasons behind this kind of a result apart from the alien conditions for the two teams?

It comes down to adapting your skills in the conditions. I know everybody is saying that it can’t just be the conditions but it’s very alien for the Indian batsmen to bat and bowlers to bowl on wickets like that and English batsmen become very accustomed in their conditions. Likewise, when we come over here it’s very difficult for us to adapt to the conditions. But, I guess it’s the mentality as well. Known that we haven’t done well here in the past, it becomes a bigger challenge and the pressure of going 1-0 or 2-0 down is huge. So the mental side is obviously a huge factor too and it comes down to the skills that you have in these two completely different conditions.

Number 1 in Tests, number 1 in Twenty20s but number 5 in ODIs. What do you make of the current England ODI side and what’s the way forward for them?

If you look at the World Cup coming up in 2015 in Australia I believe 70% of the players who are involved now will be involved then. England’s one-day side has a broad spectrum of skills that will work very well in Australia. We’ve got a lot of power in the side now and we do have some serious pace and we’ve got one of the best spinners in the world which we haven’t had in previous occasions. They are a learning side and they will move forward, they will keep on improving their skills to become better all the time. So I don’t think there will be a major change and they won’t panic about the situation, they will learn a lot from playing in India and in these conditions.

The Test team won the Ashes this year, beat Sri Lanka and whitewashed India in the summer to become the number one team. What does the team need to do now to stay at the top in the long run?

It’s simple you got to keep winning. That’s what you gauged and that’s what people want you to do and to stay at number one. You don’t sit back, you don’t relax thinking we are number one and I’m sure they won’t do that. They are very driven, very ambitious and each and every player will want to get better and better by playing in different conditions.

Will staying at the top be a bigger challenge than reaching the top?

I think it’s a huge challenge because people would want to knock you off from the number one spot. So people subconsciously try a bit harder against you to beat you. Obviously once you’ve gained some things as the number one spot, you do sit back and relax a bit but I don’t think this England team will. I think they will all keep moving forward and get better and better.

We have some new faces in the England team like Jonny Bairstow, Scott Borthwick, Stuart Meaker. What do you make of them and what are their prospects in the future?

They are a very talented set of players and England haven’t had many leg-spinners in the history and he (Borthwick) is a very talented cricketer, not just leg-spinner but good batsman and a very energetic fielder as well.

We talk about power and Bairstow has serious power, something in the one-day game that we have probably lacked at times. If he can find his game and play at his potential, he is going to be a serious asset to that side.

Stuart Meaker has some really good pace and I’m sure will develop all the time, it looks as though he has a good action and can trouble the batsmen with his pace.

The next Tests series England play now is only in January 2012 against Pakistan in UAE. Do you think this long gap will break the winning momentum they have had?

No, not at all, it will probably work the other way. I think it’s a good time to sit back and relax. England haven’t had a break from cricket for such a long time and they have hardly had a 2 or 3-month break. It’s great they have this break now and that will put them in good shape, they can recharge their batteries as individuals. It’s amazing how that recharging will help to become a better side and it’s crucial you do get those kinds of breaks and in many ways it will work for them.

So instead of breaking the momentum, this break will work in their favour?

I think the preparation time before they play the next Test series is crucial. You want to give your bowlers enough time to get into their rhythm of playing and the batsmen to get used to the conditions out there. So, it will be a real drive forward in terms of wanting to keep the momentum going in the Test side and they will certainly do that.

The Prince of Indian Cricket

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The career of Mansur Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi reads like a romance. A man who was a cricketer in more senses than one is unfortunately not with us anymore.

Mansur Ali Khan, the ninth and last Nawab of Pataudi, was arguably the best captain India has ever produced. He was handed the captaincy of India at a tender age of 21, the youngest captain in the world until that record was broken in 2004 by Tatenda Taibu. Something worth a mention is that he severely damamged his right eye in a car accident well before he made his debut for India.

After his debut in 1961 and only three Tests, he was made the captain of the national team ahead of some senior players in the team like Chandu Borde, Vijay Manjrekar and Polly Umrigar.

From the very beginning he was known for his skills, his ambitious attitude, his poise and panache as he had already captained Sussex and Oxford University. He then changed the course and direction of Indian cricket.

The Indian team till then played more to represent the country and not so much for winning. The team lacked the belief that they could play a Test and bowl the opposition out twice in a single Test.

Pataudi is known as the man who changed that and instilled feelings of self belief, confidence, faith and taught his team how to fight. Between 1961 and 1975, he captained India in 40 Tests, of which India won nine. This included the magical feat of leading India to its first ever Test win at Dunedin in 1968 and the team's first ever series win abroad in New Zealand.

If his successor Ajit Wadekar was successful as a captain in the early 1970s, it was only because Tiger Pataudi had impregnated the idea of playing the team to its strength of match-winning spinners - Bishan Singh Bedi, BS Chandrashekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and Venkataraghavan.

Apart from captaining the side, he made a name for his personal achievements too. Six hundreds, including a double hundred against England in Delhi, and 16 fifties bear testimony to his gumption. He was a Tiger on the field being one of the finest fielders in the covers in the history of Indian cricket.

Tiger was once smacked on the jaw at the Eden Gardens against West Indies in 1975 by 6 feet 2 inches tall Andy Roberts. He was back on the field with a wired jaw as soon as the next wicket fell to hit six elegant boundaries.

One innings which stands out in his career is one he played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1967. Pataudi came to the green pitch when the scoreboard read 25 for 5 and came along with a runner as he had pulled his hamstring. This innings of 75 is regarded better than his six hundreds and is referred to an innings played with one leg and one eye.

It is because of his and his father's services to Anglo-Indian cricket that the bilateral Test series between India and England have been named the 'Pataudi Trophy'. His father Iftikhar Ali Khan is the only cricketer to have played for both India and England.

While some of us shed tears and some hold them back, one question which will always remain unanswered is, what all would the Nawab have achieved with two eyes?

No Country for Greedy Men?

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Ask any kid in or around Shivaji Park, Azad Maidan or the Oval Ground about what his dream is and he will reply without a second’s delay, “I want to be a part of the Indian cricket team”. That’s how it has been for years if not decades, but the question is will the answer remain the same over the coming years?

With the T20 format introduced by the introducers the game, the contours of the game and pay scales are changing rather rapidly. The latest developments being the tiff between Chris Gayle and the WICB aggravating, second being one of the most bizarre retirements from the finest format of the game by Malinga and third being senior Indian cricketers like Tendulkar, Zaheer, Sehwag and Dhoni playing for clubs in the IPL but not representing their country for the ODIs in the Caribbean.

Initially, it was only a misunderstanding between the WICB and Gayle but as soon as the former landed in the subcontinent, the relationship has been getting worse as quickly as Gayle has been hitting sixes in the IPL. Gayle definitely seems to be more relaxed with RCB than with his nation’s side as he’s been smiling (which is a rare sight), giving high fives and he himself has said he is feeling very comfortable with the team. Dwayne Bravo who joined the defending champions much later recently said that he didn't have any difficulty in gelling with the team (CSK). Will this ignorance by the cricket board lead to preference towards the money laundering entertainment event?

Malinga’s retirement from Test on the other hand was nothing less than out of the blue. He announced his retirement in the middle of the squabble between the Sri Lankan board and the players who were playing in IPL who wanted to stay longer and skip the practice games before their English tour. I firmly believe that IPL was one of the main reasons he retired because if his knee injury was so serious, he could have easily retired from T20s including IPL and played occasionally in the ODIs to make himself fully available for Tests. Or choose between ODIs and Tests depending on his personal preference after retiring from IPL which takes place when cricketers around the world rest or play county in England. But sadly, players nowadays have the option of going for money and not caring enough about their country.

And then came the announcement of Gambhir leading the LOI team for the Caribbean tour starting on June 4. No doubt it is another salivating opportunity for youngsters but why are we ignoring the fact that all the seniors have chosen to skip the ODIs? Do we not want to see them win matches for our country rather than some club which is busier in hiring and firing cheerleaders and inviting Bollywood celebs for the matches?

If I had my ways, I would have reprimanded Sehwag for being so nonchalant about his injury. The shoulder injury occurred during the Tests in December during South African tour which made him miss the ODIs so that he could be in shape (so to say) for the World Cup. Credit goes to him for playing the World Cup even when his shoulder had not healed completely and we lifted the cup, didn’t we? But shouldn’t he have gone for an operation immediately after the celebrations instead of worsening it in the IPL and missing the entire Caribbean tour? On being asked about his shoulder in a press conference just before his last game for the Delhi Daredevils, he said, “I will continue to play with it as long as it doesn't hurt”. And some sweet reminders, Sehwag missed the T20 World Cups in England in 2009 and in West Indies last year because he picked up injuries in the IPL.

If you are a regular follower of Indian cricket, you will know that Zaheer has not been 100% fit for long now which is evident in his run-ups and while he is fielding in the deep. Shouldn’t he also have given rest to his tired legs to be fresh for the Caribbean and England tour?

Our man with the midas touch, Dhoni complained a few months before the World Cup that the team’s schedule was too hectic. But the same man did not go to his hometown Ranchi after playing the World Cup finals in Mumbai because he had to fly to Chennai to join his team Chennai Super Kings. Any logic behind that? I fail to understand why he didn’t take a break as the money could not have made him greedy since he is the highest paid cricketer in the country and maybe in the world.

What I cannot understand even more is that why is Sachin Tendulkar playing match after match in the IPL? He skipped most of the ODIs in 2010 to keep himself fit for the World Cup and to concentrate on Tests. Now that the Cup is in his cabinet (not literally), why does he need to play all the IPL matches? Which part of his body has he not injured in the last 21 and a half years while playing for his country? By how much will the IPL increase his bank balance, 0.1% or 1%? He himself says in almost all his interviews that playing and winning for the country gives him more satisfaction than anything else. Any dots to be connected here?

We can only hope and pray now that the trend doesn’t change because of the moolah and that upcoming cricketers whether in India or abroad still dream of playing for their country.

The Benefits of Sachin Not Scoring a 100 In The WC Final

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There is more to Indian cricket beyond Sachin Tendulkar. He may have dominated the headlines for all sorts of records over the last two decades but this World Cup final was not just about him. The World Cup has been his burning desire since childhood and he gave it his everything like he does once in four years but it wasn’t won by him alone even though the 31,000 crowd at the Wankhede wanted him to score his 100th international ton on his home turf.

The World Cup might be his now, though not just his, and the final was certainly not about him. It was about the skillful Zaheer, about the uncomplicated Munaf, about the new avatar of Yuvraj, about the determined Gambhir, about a promising Virat Kohli, about the leader Dhoni and about 120 crore other people of the country.

After the World Cup was won almost all Indian players dedicated the cup to Sachin Tendulkar. In fact, even weeks before the tournament started players had started saying that it’s his last World Cup and they want to win it for him.

Were the celebrations and the enjoyment overshadowed by the fact that this meant a lot to Sachin and that it was mostly about him, this being his last World Cup? Most of the post-match discussions were about him, all players were asked about him and what this meant to him, all the players wanted to dedicate this to him, all pictures had Sachin all over them, the newspapers had his pictures on the front page showing him in front of Gateway of India even 48 hours after winning the trophy and of course our ‘sensible’ TV channels also had nothing else to show as usual.

No doubt it was most disheartening and frightening to see Sachin’s wicket fall that evening as I saw it in the stadium itself as there was pin-drop silence for a few minutes. But it was nothing less than a pleasure to see that in the World Cup Final, which must have been the most important match of the players, the youngsters stood up and performed.

Yuvraj took the ball once again as the fifth bowler and broke the crucial Sanga-Jaya partnership which could have taken them closer to 300 and gave runs at less than 5/over. Munaf did not take a single wicket or bowl a single maiden but not many realized that despite being criticized the most, he had the most economical figures. The deadly duo of Raina and Kohli saved at least 20-25 runs which made our chase easier. Kohli played like a matured and experienced player and made crucial 35 runs and then the match-winning knock from Gambhir who came to the pitch when the scorecard said 0-1 and made the most runs under pressure. If I had to make a sequel of True Grit, I would star Gautam Gambhir in it.

Ever since Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid were the spine of our batting in ODIs, we have been wondering how they will be replaced. Now, only the first one is left in the team and I’m more than happy to say that the baton is being passed on to some responsible cricketers. Sachin played only two ODIs in 2010 and still our team’s performance was consistent.

Coming back to the World Cup, it was exhilarating to see these youngsters play some fantastic cricket and that it wasn’t yet another victory just because of Sachin. It very well could have been…But a part of me says, I’m glad it wasn’t.

Mind you, I am not taking any credit away from the senior players like Sachin, Zaheer, Dhoni or Yuvraj, I am only giving a lot of credit to these youngsters which they deserve…

The Return of the King: Sourav Ganguly

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“I thought we played good cricket for the first 10 overs and for the next 30 we were just absolutely rubbish. In one line, we were rubbish” This is what Sourav Ganguly said in the press conference after KKR lost to RCB on 10th April, 2010.
“Let's be honest. I can talk, I can lift them up but they need to lift themselves. I can't go and field for them. I can't go and bowl for them.” This is also what Sourav Ganguly said immediately after the first line mentioned above.

It shows the kind of passion he has retained even years after his controversial descend from captaincy of the Indian team. It is not just this but his recent commitment and leadership on the field during IPL-3 which shows his dedication towards the sport and the loyalty he feels towards the side he represents as he nears the age of 38.

He has thrown himself around so much that in a recent interview, the bowling coach of KKR, Wasim Akram said that Ganguly is currently the best fielder in the side. This means that the best fielder of a side need not be as athletic as Gibbs or needs to fly like Jonty Rhodes. He just needs to be more than willing to contribute towards victory, towards stopping those extra runs or take those catches which make you win matches (and of course, the others need to be worse than you because Ganguly was never even close to being the best fielder in the Indian side).

‘The Prince of Calcutta’, known for his audacity and aggression from the beginning of his captaincy career has shown those signs yet again after being pretty unsuccessful in the first 2 seasons of the Indian ‘Paisa’ League. This time he led from the front and at least did not finish last like the last time and the team did show better performances, though towards the second half of the league.

When in the Indian team, he brought about big changes after he took over the baton of captaincy from Sachin Tendulkar in 2000 after the latter stepped down. The team at that time was over-dependent on Tendulkar and had no-one dangerous in the bowling attack. And when Ganguly left, we had a much more balanced side, the batting lineup could win matches without Sachin and the bowling attack had names like Zaheer, Bhajji, Irfan, Ishant, Nehra who are certainly match-winners in themselves. They all may not match up to the other international best bowlers, but our side looks much better on paper and on field.
All the credit cannot go to Ganguly only but a lot of it does. Players like Yuvraj, Sehwag, Bhajji, Agarkar, Kaif and more have said that Ganguly has played a vital role in shaping their careers.

He was unorthodox, maverick and did not hesitate when it came to fighting for himself or for his players. He always pressed on selectors to give the above mentioned players extra chances when they were not in form because he saw the talent in them.

He was also one of the few Indian players who verbally also gave it back to the opponents whether on the field or off. During the 2003 Australian tour, Steve Waugh asked him to be on time for the toss to which he replied, “If you behave, I will.”
During the England tour in 2007, in one of the one-dayers, Stuart Broad was ‘trying’ to sledge, people expected Ganguly to reply with the bat or sledge back. But our dear dada scolded Broad saying, “You should know how to talk to your seniors. You must have been in your nappies when I started playing for India.”
There are many more instances and quotes but the highlight of his gestures was when he took his shirt off at the Lord’s balcony when India beat England in that Natwest Series final in July 2002. Who doesn’t remember that?

After retiring and having a spat with Greg Chappell, we all counted him out and not many apart from some from Kolkata cheered for him when IPL started. But after two years, in the third season he came back and came back strong. He put his foot down, performed and led by example in all departments on the field. But when the other players didn’t do much and some didn’t do anything at all, he gave up and gave it back to them during the press conference.

Cheers and tribute to one of the most successful captains of India ever and the man who took Indian crickets to new heights.

Sach an Innings!

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Time and again it has been said that Sachin Tendulkar plays for records. Time and again it has been said that Sachin Tendulkar chokes when India has to chase a target of more than 250. And time and again Sachin Tendulkar replies to all his critics in his own style, by letting his bat talk.

5th November 2009 was no different when India had to chase a target of 351 and many, including Ponting thought that it would not be possible. This match reminded us of many other matches. The very score of 350 reminded me of the 2003 World Cup finals when Australia scored 359. A terrific start by Sehwag reminded me of two matches: one against Pakistan in the same World Cup and the Natwest Series finals in July 2002 in which India successfully chased 325.

And when Sachin took command, his Sharjah centuries of 1998, the CB Series finals last year and most of his marvelous innings came to my mind again because he was simply at his ‘best’. He started slow no doubt which showed that he did not want to lose his wicket at any cost. Slow and steady, when he reached the score of seven, the nearly 40,000 people present were on their feet cheering his 17,000th run not knowing that was just the tip of the iceberg.

The part of his innings which amazed me the most was his strike rate which got better even though he was running out of partners. When the pressure was mounting, he got a better grasp of the match by hitting consecutive sixes off Hauritz which were from the meat of the bat. And his earlier six off Shane Watson was an identical twin of the six he smacked in the 2003 World Cup off Andrew Caddick.

His innings was tailor made to take his country to victory. Hitting the boundaries at the right time, converting the ones into twos and the twos into threes, rotating the strike, and of course, preserving his wicket almost till the end.

But time and again it has happened that Sachin scores a big chunk of the total and still India loses. Everybody remembers the 1999 Chennai Test against Pakistan in which after he scored 136 of the required 271, the last three batsmen could not score the remaining 17 runs. Why blame the last three for losing? Couldn’t the frontline batsmen stick around for a little more time? And again, this time against Australia, he scored half the runs while most of the others went back to the pavilion in a hurry as if they had been holding their pee since birth.

With that mammoth score of 175 while chasing, I believe he surely scored one of his best centuries. No doubt, he wanted India to win more than anything else whether it was 175 or a 200. I hope with that remarkable century, some barmy critics do not question his ability again. I hope they do not ask him to retire again as they did a few times in the last couple of years. A man at 36 who reminded us of two of (Sharjah) innings he played more than a decade ago is surely unfit to retire. By taking India to victories in the CB finals in Australia last year, by scoring a flurry of 90s in 2007 and now, by showing the world that he does his best to make his team win, critics should focus only on the other players who need to be more responsible and dependable in times like these.

Critics will surely say that he has scored 45 tons but why has India won only 32 of those matches. Please realise that apart from him there are ten more players in the team who do not always score when they are supposed to and a few others give away too many runs which makes his half-centuries and centuries a part of records and not victories.