Mar 11, 2003 01:47 PM
1635 Views
(Updated Mar 11, 2003 09:45 PM)
It is a fact that the current Indian cricket team is probably the most talented cricket team, India has ever produced. In terms of individual talent, Sachin Tendulkar is definitely the most outstanding cricket player the world has ever seen. He is not only out of this world with his bat, he has proved his credentials in the bowling department too. It is unfortunate that his services have not yet been utilised by the Indian skipper. This brings Sourav Ganguly into the fray. He is also a fantastic player and his records speak volumes about his contributions both with the bat and the ball. Rahul Dravid is indeed Mr. Dependable and he has proved that right time and again, though there is a definite scope of improvement in his wicket keeping abilities. Virendra Shewag has proved to be a real good starter, though slightly unconventional and probably temperamental. Among the bowlers, Javagal Srinath continues to be the most outstanding performer, in spite of age catching up. Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra are pretty good as long as they do not stray in their length and direction. Their contributions with the bat are however limited. Harbhajan Singh is proving his worth as a worthy successor to our famed spinning brigade. It speaks volumes about the strength of our spin attack, where a bowler of Anil Kumble's calibre is required to sit out of the playing eleven. Yuvaraj Singh is consistent and dependable. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about Mohd. Kaif and Dinesh Mongia. Parthiv Patel is still to get an opportunity to show his class in the international arena. Ajit Agarkar is brilliant in flashes, both with his ball and his bat. He unfortunately holds the dubious distinction of scoring maximum number of DUCKS in one day cricket. Sanjay Bangar also has not been given sufficient chances in the highest form of cricket.
All said and done, this India cricket team of today is probably the best India ever had, better even than the World cup winning Kapil's Devils, at least on the paper. Consistency and the killer instinct have however been missing from most of our players. That is one reason why our team performs erratically at times. I hope and believe that in spite of our limitations, our boys will definitely rise to the occasion and win the ICC World Cup a second time in 2003. It is just a matter of two more wins, leaving the inconsequential tie with New Zealand on 14th March, 2003.
Having said that, it needs to be mentioned that cricket, unlike other sports result in colossal wastage of manpower and money. Moreover, the way the people and the Government keep on eulogising the cricketers is definitely not in the best interests for a developing nation like ours. One popular TV channel (AAJ TAK) has declared a reward of Rs. 1 Crore (+ all additional contributions that the channel will receive), and the Government is too willing to exempt all the prize winning earnings of our cricketers (courtesy, the Finance Minister, in his Budget Speech). This type of hype and discrimination has resulted in a step motherly treatment to all other sports (especially Athletics, as in the recently concluded 2002 Busan Asian Games) and the players, in spite of achieving international recognition and fame, remain sidelined.I do not remember having seen any newspaper or magazine giving such wide coverages to these other sporting activities. I strongly feel that we need to strike a proper balance between the cricketing euphoria and achievements in other sporting activities.
