THE WRONG THUNDER DOWN UNDER ! ! !

So the 'HUMILIATION IN AUSTRALIA', 'DISASTER SERIES', 'INDIA MAULED' headlines are doing  rounds again today. TV channels are already (and again) fighting to axe the seniors (read Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman). All the paid analysts are giving millenary views - right from too much cricket to too less practice to inexperienced players to too old players. When it comes to the Indian Cricket Team, everyone  has a prophecy!! Everyone is jumping to gun to predict doomsday! This obviously is the congenital consequence of 1.2 billion passionate, frantic  and cricket crazed Indians going into an overdrive on the occurrence of a simple yet, for our nation, an outlandish event - the loss of our Indian Cricket Team! I agree that the scoreline is anything but encouraging; actually on the verge of preposterous. But we really need to look at it from a more practical angle than listen to those no- brainers on the TV!

        

Sachin Tendulkar getting dismissed

The answers to our gobbledygook performances lie in four simple yet pivotal factors. One, our opening stand. Two, our first thirty to forty five minutes of every session of play. Thirdly, an abysmal lack of fight amongst the players. Fourthly and lastly, some inexplicable choices made by the national selectors. If one bothers to check the scorecards and the associate enumerations the explanations stare them in the face!! Now we all accept that we have failed in the last few overseas tests as we have had collective batting failures. But the main reason has been that we have not had good enough opening stands! Barring the third test at Melbourne in the 2003-04 Border- Gavaskar Trophy where we lost in spite of having a century opening stand, we have never lost a test in Australia or England where our openers got a decent enough partnership! Therein lies the crux of our problem. Our second worry is the first half an hour of any session. Every time we have faltered, generally that period has been bad. Be it batting or bowling. Third, and probably the most important reason of failure over the past seven test overseas matches is the pure lack of FIREPOWER in the Indian Cricket Team. Playing Australia or England in their backyards has historically proved to be one of the most difficult tasks for Indians. Over the last seven test matches, what was notably truant was aggression from the Indian Cricketers.
                  

Rahul Dravid taking the long walk back

When India toured Australia in 03-04, 07-08 and when we toured England in 2002 and 2007, we frankly had aggressive captains! Be it Anil Kumble or Sourav Ganguly, our captains led us from the front. Who can forget Sourav Ganguly making Steve Waugh wait or the 07-08 sledgefest? Till 07-08 frankly, Indians were emerging as a Test Cricket powerhouse. Our cricketers used to show a lot of fight and always tried to fire the first salvo. However, when Dhoni took over as our Test captain, India was already a successful test nation. Riding on the back of Anil Kumble's efficacious captaincy stint, Dhoni became our 'Captain Cool'. He excelled as a captain in home  conditions and his strategic ways of handling all issues with a poker face were applauded. However, this same coolness has been the nemesis for Indian Cricket for quite sometime now. This coolness is now proving detrimental to our interests! You need to give it back, Mr. Dhoni. You need aggression and hostility to tackle the Poms and the Aussies in their own den. Interestingly, one more reason for the lack of aggro, though it sounds obnoxious, is the absence of THE TURBANATOR.

A pensive M.S. Dhoni

Be it 2003 series against Aussies or 2007 of England, Harbhajan has always been able to add that spice to the team. Obviously he is going through a lean phase and calling him back just for the aggro isn't sensible. But very frankly, we need a couple of guys that shall give it back to the Aussies. Maybe Virat and Gautam, if they are able to get over their own batting demons, can do that job for us. But it cannot be denied that it is needed! And replacing the stalwarts isn't the solution. Do you think that a Rohit Sharma can replace a certain Sachin Tendulkar? Can Cheteshwar Pujara replace Rahul Dravid? Can Suresh Raina replace VVS Laxman? The idea itself is appalling! How can one replace experience with exuberance? How can someone who has not proved his mettle even at the vacant number six replace our long standing number three? These people have not performed at the highest level to warrant a place in our national side. We cannot overlook these factors just to quell our baseless and incongruous fears!! 
         
One more thing that has contributed in a large way to our overseas loss over the past year has been the rinkydink and quacker selections! Our selectors have been found wanting at each and every step. Some of the selections are as baffling as they are austere. The latest display of this is the selection of Vinay Kumar in the team! Obviously, the selectors hide behind the cloud of there not being enough quality replacements waiting in ranks to take the mantle from the veterans! Then, frankly, the entire BCCI has to be blamed for this! Regionalism is still rampant in our country's cricketing. We need to develop strong domestic cricket seasons to mitigate such tough times! Ironically, for the next two years, India is not going to play a single test series outside our homeland. So the task is going to be much more difficult for the selectors as our Big Four (hoping that Laxman stays the course) are really kings at home. Also the replacements have to be iterated for the overseas conditions. How efficiently the selectors in coalition with the other BCCI members shall manage the task is now to be seen!
      
Lastly, it needs mention that we as a cricket crazed nation have to mature up as an audience. I may be romanticizing the issue, but many would agree that our cricket is like our extended family. This is the time when we should show faith in our cricketers. Only last year we were worshiping them after the world cup. After the West Indies series. After all, it has been only 29 bad days!! A bad month cannot deter your faith and support, can it? Why can't we rationalize the predicament. There is no use of panicking right now. And frankly, no need to as well. Just back your cricketers as you always have. They will come good, sooner or later. Sachin will get his 100th 100. Sehwag will again maul the opponents. And Dravid shall not get bowled!!! 
          
In anticipation of a turnaround to a proper THUNDER DOWN UNDER!
         
This is the Sciolist.
           
Signing Out!!!