Indian Summer in England 2007
Are we going to see an Indian summer in England this year? I really hope so - it's the best chance for India to get some momentum going. The Indian team is on the verge of bringing in the new and there will be significant changes to the personnel in the next couple of years. In fact, if things don't go right for the Indian team, this tour might as well be the end of the road for the likes of Sachin, Saurav, Laxman and Dravid.
So, what is going right for the Indians this summer and what is not? Let's start with what is not. The fact that we don't have a coach in place for such an important tour has to be an issue. It is more a matter of inconvenience than anything else. Other than that, I feel, we will miss Harbhajan and Sehwag - Sehwag more than Harbhajan simply because to my mind, he is such a canny bowler and breaks partnerships at crucial junctures in the game. Besides, their replacements are hardly proven in English conditions. Harbhajan at least has the experience of playing for Surrey which might have helped. The last and most important thing is, we have inexperienced bowlers who will think that they have to perform well in a place like England which is renowned for its swing and seam conditions. If they don't then they will be labeled as players who could not perform even when the conditions might have suited them. Just imagine how much pressure this puts on newcomers. It is like the pressure on bowlers of a team that wins the toss on an overcast day, on a dodgy track (which might do something or might not) and have to bowl and do well - multiplied by 10 - because they are actually trying to make an impression for the first time. I think the Indian bowlers are going to be under tremendous pressure and the English will be well aware of that.
To mitigate the experience problem, what we do have is - people who have wonderful experience playing in English conditions - Zaheer, Rahul, Sachin and Saurav. The fact that we have a bowling coach (and one who has done well in English conditions) should go some way to mitigate the experience issues.
The other things that are going right for India are, that we go to England during the later part of the season. Usually, during the later part, the weather conditions are pretty decent for batting and we do have a strong batting line up - one that has done well consistently in England. Rahul, Sachin and Saurav have done well in England every time they have been there. We also have the luxury of playing a couple of warm up games and a couple of one-dayers - that should help us get used to the conditions like nothing else. I have not seen Rahul after the CWC, however, I am hoping that he has learned a lot more and is a better leader than what he was during or before the CWC. To my mind, if Rahul can exhibit even 10% of Saurav's leadership qualities, we should be able to draw the test series and comfortably win the ODIs.
This is what I expect to see in England this summer - we either roar like the lions that we have promised to be so far and never been, or we start to see the end of Indian cricket. A vigorous Indian cricket team is like no other and even good for the game in general and I just wish that we can stand our own ground and be worthy competitors. I am thinking it's going to be a 1-1 tied result for the tests and we will comfortably win the ODI series.
Let it be an Indian summer this year in England........
So, what is going right for the Indians this summer and what is not? Let's start with what is not. The fact that we don't have a coach in place for such an important tour has to be an issue. It is more a matter of inconvenience than anything else. Other than that, I feel, we will miss Harbhajan and Sehwag - Sehwag more than Harbhajan simply because to my mind, he is such a canny bowler and breaks partnerships at crucial junctures in the game. Besides, their replacements are hardly proven in English conditions. Harbhajan at least has the experience of playing for Surrey which might have helped. The last and most important thing is, we have inexperienced bowlers who will think that they have to perform well in a place like England which is renowned for its swing and seam conditions. If they don't then they will be labeled as players who could not perform even when the conditions might have suited them. Just imagine how much pressure this puts on newcomers. It is like the pressure on bowlers of a team that wins the toss on an overcast day, on a dodgy track (which might do something or might not) and have to bowl and do well - multiplied by 10 - because they are actually trying to make an impression for the first time. I think the Indian bowlers are going to be under tremendous pressure and the English will be well aware of that.
To mitigate the experience problem, what we do have is - people who have wonderful experience playing in English conditions - Zaheer, Rahul, Sachin and Saurav. The fact that we have a bowling coach (and one who has done well in English conditions) should go some way to mitigate the experience issues.
The other things that are going right for India are, that we go to England during the later part of the season. Usually, during the later part, the weather conditions are pretty decent for batting and we do have a strong batting line up - one that has done well consistently in England. Rahul, Sachin and Saurav have done well in England every time they have been there. We also have the luxury of playing a couple of warm up games and a couple of one-dayers - that should help us get used to the conditions like nothing else. I have not seen Rahul after the CWC, however, I am hoping that he has learned a lot more and is a better leader than what he was during or before the CWC. To my mind, if Rahul can exhibit even 10% of Saurav's leadership qualities, we should be able to draw the test series and comfortably win the ODIs.
This is what I expect to see in England this summer - we either roar like the lions that we have promised to be so far and never been, or we start to see the end of Indian cricket. A vigorous Indian cricket team is like no other and even good for the game in general and I just wish that we can stand our own ground and be worthy competitors. I am thinking it's going to be a 1-1 tied result for the tests and we will comfortably win the ODI series.
Let it be an Indian summer this year in England........
posted by dhaval brahmbhatt at 6/24/2007 07:27:00 PM
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