Rahul Dravid's selection just doesn't make sense

I'm a huge fan of Rahul Dravid. Anyone who has talked cricket with me, and anyone who has followed this blog over the past 5.5 years, would have realized it.

Yet, I really believe it was totally stupid to get Dravid to dust off his blue gear. The very fact that he was named in the list of 30 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy obviously meant that he was always going to be in the final 15. On Sunday, he was picked for the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy.

There are various reasons bandied around for his selection, including the inability of India's young batsmen to cope with short-pitched bowling at the T20 World Cup, Sehwag's absence, the need to get Dhoni to play his natural swashbuckling style, Dravid's ability to play the short ball, the fact that the Champions Trophy will be in South Africa (where bowlers get significantly more help), and that Dravid proved he still had his limited-over skills & exhibited them in the 2009 edition of the Indian Premier League.

There are many reasons why Dravid's selection makes no sense.

• If Dravid has been selected because the likes of Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, etc. got found out against the short ball, what happens if he succeeds in Sri Lanka and flops in South Africa? Do the selectors recall Rohit Sharma? Even if Rohit hasn't shown any improvement in skills against short-pitched bowling?
  
• What happens if Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, etc. show a marked improvement in handling quick bowling? Do the selectors give Rahul a vote of thanks for his guest appearance?
  
• What happens if Dravid fails in Sri Lanka and South Africa?
  
• What happens if Dravid succeeds in Sri Lanka and South Africa? Do the selectors keep picking him until he announces his retirement?
  
• What happens if Dravid fails in Sri Lanka but succeeds in South Africa? Given that the next World Cup is in the sub-continent, how would that do the Indian team any good?
  
• For all the talk about his performance in the 2009 IPL, he averaged 22.6 with a quite pathetic strike rate of 116.
  
• He hasn't played a single domestic one-day game since March 2008.
  
• He doesn't seem to have played in the Buchi Babu or the KSCA tournaments. So he's basically going into the two series without any sort of match practice.
  
• Even England, and let me re-emphasize that, ENGLAND, after so much talk around recalling Ramprakash, Trescothick, etc., didn't do something stupid!

Interestingly though, in 2006, Ganguly was picked in the squad of 30 probables but left out of the final 15.

An related rant, written nearly a decade ago - "Azhar's recall a retrograde step".

Labels: 2009 champions trophy, champions trophy, dravid, gambhir, raina, rohit sharma, selection, squad

Thus spake Jagadish @ 11:57 PM | Sledge/Read 5 sledge(s) | Related posts
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Aussies, be happy it was Justin and not John

The hottest Ashes news yesterday was not Australia levelling the series 1-1, but Justin Langer's leaked memo/dossier on specific England players & England cricket in general.

If the newspaper ('The Daily Telegraph') really paid to get access to that document, they really have a lot of spare money on their hands. There's nothing in that document that Australia's cricketers or team management would not have already been aware of. Indeed, replace references to England (cricketers or the domestic cricket system) with any other country, and the dossier would still be valid.

John Buchanan made a career out of such well-timed and well-placed leaks.

Australia must actually feel glad that it was Langer's dossier and not one from John Buchanan. At least they could understand what Justin was saying.

Labels: ashes, ashes 2009, australia, buchanan, dossier, england, langer, leak

Thus spake Jagadish @ 1:30 PM | Sledge/Read 5 sledge(s) | Related posts
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Where have we seen this one before?

Australia embark on high profile tour, with a squad light on bowling. Injuries impact the selection of the XI. Amidst much speculation about his inclusion, a former captain of the host country announces his retirement. While the series is on, one of the host country's main bowlers also announces his retirement.

Australia pretty much dominate the first test, but can't quite close things out. The cricket early on is gripping, but largely attritional with neither side apparently willing to risk defeat while pursuing victory. There are claims related to 'moral victory', 'momentum', etc. after the first test.

The Aussies are thrashed in the 2nd test, at a venue where until then, they'd lost only once in the ground's history.

Somewhere along the way, individual batting records were broken.

Australia's much-hyped & aggressive opener fails miserably.

This is so much 'deja-vu all over again'! Now all we need is an elbowing incident, a ban, some very defensive strategic bowling by the host team and bizarre captaincy by Australia's skipper.

Labels: ashes, ashes 2009, aus v ind 2008, australia, deja vu, england

Thus spake Jagadish @ 12:42 AM | Sledge/Read 1 sledge(s) | Related posts
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Say no to drugs testing!

There's a huge tug o' war involving the BCCI, ICC and WADA with other bit-players like the Indian sports minister, FICA & the Olympic Council of Asia offering their opinions on the issue.

Cricinfo does a good job with summarizing the issue, including concerns on all sides.

To me, the BCCI citing security reasons & concern for players as an excuse to not comply with the norms is so funny, sad and ironic. Recent evidence suggests that when it comes to taking care of players, the BCCI is on very thin ground.

• In 2006, the BCCI 'volunteered' its cricketers to play a ODI series in Sri Lanka when South Africa pulled out of tri-series after a bomb blast. Thankfully, that ODI series was rained out almost totally.
  
• Earlier this year, the BCCI agreed to a tri-series in Zimbabwe (South Africa being the 3rd team) despite the dysfunctional nature of the country and a cholera outbreak.
  
• The BCCI has always (and will continue to) got its cricketers play meaningless ODIs as a result of board-level give-and-take policies. Players or support staff who warn of burnout and fatigue are gagged.

The ICC became a signatory to the WADA code in July 2006. Last year, the ICC's board approved the code's adoption for tournaments that it conducts (ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, Under-19 World Cup, ICC Trophy, etc.).

The BCCI needs to provide answers to these questions.

• Exactly what were Sharad Pawar (ICC VP) and Shashank Manohar, who are both on the ICC Executive Board, doing when the board made its decision? झक मार रहे थे?
  
• If they were present, were they aware of the implications when the decision was made (even if it wasn't unanimous)?
  
• If they were absent, did they know about the agenda and could they have done something about it?
  
• Why did the BCCI do nothing until the deadline (Jul 31) to convene an emergency meeting regarding compliance with WADA's "whereabouts" clause?
  
• Did the BCCI ever inform its players about the implications of the 'whereabouts' clause?
  
• Why should the rules for India's cricketers be different from cricketers from other countries?
  
• Indeed, why should the rules for India's cricketers be different from superstar sportspersons from other countries?

Labels: bcci, drugs, icc, olympics, wada

Thus spake Jagadish @ 3:41 PM | Sledge/Read 5 sledge(s) | Related posts
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