The Road To Victory: Look At India’s World Cup Cricket Squad

Posted on by Karthic Vaidyanathan

India is gearing up to host the 50-over Cricket World Cup in October, 2023. As every other Indian cricket fan, my mind goes back to the summer of 2011. Ravi Shastri screaming on the mic “Dhoni finishes off in style” still echoes in our heart. The hope and expectations from every Indian fan at every ICC event is for the Indian team to lift the trophy. The world cup squad for the 50 over 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup has been announced. In this article, let us dig a little deeper into our squad and see if they can repeat the 2011 Magical performance.

2023 World Cup Squad

India has a solid top order loaded with experience. The return of Bumrah is a gift and together with Siraj, pace department is stocked. Spinners especially Kuldeep is in top form. Moreover, playing in home conditions should help the batters and bowler. But, When Rohit Sharma was questioned in the press conference about the lack of all rounders in the team. His response was very casual, “We have to play with who we got. May be myself or Virat can bowl.” This is a statement of concern. Is the team good enough to win the world cup especially with some unanswered questions.

Strengths and Weakness of ’23 Squad

The Number 4 Slot

An issue that was there in 2019 WC and is still open. Who is going to play at Number 4? It highly looks like it is going to be Shreyas. But he is coming back from a injury. His weakness with short ball is well documented and he will be targeted with short ball barrage. Meanwhile, Suryakumar looks out of sorts and has not clicked in the limited opportunities he has got. KL Rahul could be another option but he too is coming back from an injury and not someone that I would consider.

The Keeper Conundrum

Who is the best person to don the gloves? Rishab Pant’s injury came at the worst possible time for team India. First, Rahul is a decent keeper but blows hot or cold with the bat. Seocond, Ishan though inexperienced in ODIs is good keeper and a terrific striker of the ball. Also, he brings that much needed left hander in the batting department. But he has been playing as an opener and it’s hard to displace the current openers, Rohit and Subhman. Can he play down the order? Does he possess the much needed temperament to play in the middle order?

Batters Who Bowl

Another issue that has continued from 2019 world cup. Evidently, India has to play with 4 bowlers and 2 all rounders in Ravi Jadeja and Hardik Pandya. Even if one bowler has a bad day, it looks like tough day in the office for bowlers. Looking back the 2011 side, 8 out of 11 could bowl which gave the captain some great options. Sachin, Virender, Suresh Raina and Yuvi all them chipped in. Did India miss a trick here by not being strategic and lacking a long term vision?

Is it too One Dimensional

The pace attack and the batting order, when Rahul and Shreyas play, will look too one dimensional. The top order will have no left handed batters to provide that left right combo to disturb bowler’s line and length. Also, the pace bowling department has no left arm fast bowlers. Why did India not take Arshdeep? Or failed to groom a good left arm fast bowler after Zaheer Khan would remain mystery. Besides, why have both Jadeja and Axar who are very similar? I would have gone with Yuzi Chahal to have a variation in the side. Moreover, The World Cup is in India so bringing a replacement isn’t all that difficult.

But we have to play with who we have and this what my playing XI would be for the first few games.

  • Rohit (C)
  • Subhman
  • Virat
  • Rahul
  • Ishan (WK)
  • Hardik
  • R Jadeja
  • Shardul
  • Kuldeep
  • Shami
  • Bumrah

Squad of 2011 World Cup: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/icc-cricket-world-cup-2010-11-381449/india-squad-497114/series-squads

What happened to the Mighty Windies: Unravelling the Decline

Posted on by Karthic Vaidyanathan

Once a dominant force in world cricket, a team that won 2 consecutive cricket One-Day International World Cups and almost won the 3rd one, has failed to qualify for the ODI World Cup in 2023. The 2 time Twenty20 World Cup champions only recently failed to qualify for the T20 world cup as well. I have always been a big fan of the Caribbean way of playing cricket and the swag they bring to the sport. Their steady decline is a shocker and a disheartening one not only the Caribbean cricket fans but every cricketing fan in general. The team once showcased a formidable combination of talent, flair, and dominated world cricket with their intimidating attitude. They have struggled to maintain its past glory in the last couple of decades. The fall of the mighty Windies is inexplicable.

My first memory of the great cricketing team was watching them play, dominate and win the 1975 and 1979 World Cup on my Peripa’s (uncle) VCR tapes. Viv Richards, Greendige, Gomes, Haynes, Lloyd, Walsh, Ambrose, Lara and so many greats entertained the fans in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Ask any cricketer in that era, they would dread facing the pace bowling of the mighty Windies. Those pulls and hooks of Lara and the resilience of Chanderpaul are still fresh in my memory. I would stay up all night in India to watch India tour of Caribbean. Such was the excitement but there is hardly any now. So what could be the reason behind this steep decline?

Statistically, Windies have won only ~30% of their test matches in the past 25 years. In the last couple of decades their ODI win percentage has dropped below 50%. To make things worse their stock in T20 has also dropped alarmingly. According to me, there are many reasons behind this fall in quality. Some of them are

  • Awful Management: Cricket West Indies have to take a huge blame for this sharp decline. They have been at loggerheads with current and former players many times. They have faced criticism for not being transparent, poor governance and lack of stability. The board once even threatened to pullout the players from the World Cup if they do not agree with their terms. Different board presidents had different agenda but I am sure Cricket Windies was not in their plans.
  • Player Exodus: Since the advent of franchise cricket, global cricket travellers have increased especially from Caribbean cricket. Players like Russell, Naraine, Pollard started prioritizing franchise cricket that offered lucrative deals over international cricket. The best players did not play regional cricket or international cricket thereby causing a dip in quality. A recent press article reveals that Nicolas Pooran earns 8 times his International fee in just 2 months at IPL.
  • Poor Infrastructure and Lack of Development : There has been hardly any investment in developing cricket at grassroot level and run academies efficiently to keep the talent flowing. There has been hardly any talent that is worthy of a discussion in the recent past.
  • Impact of T20: Too much T20 has also impacted West Indian Cricket a lot. There is no patience for the players to build the innings especially in test and ODI cricket. The cricketers are either undercooked or know only one way of playing their game. There needs to be aggression but you also need to know when to slow down.
cricket players wearing gear

It is important to preserve the heritage of cricket and West Indies are a big part of the history. They need to find a way to reinvent the wheel and make a comeback. Rome was not built in a day and the same should be applied to West Indian Cricket. To change their fortunes, they should think long term and focus on nurturing young talent. Provide them with opportunities and resources to develop their skills. Arrange A-team tours and back the talent to come good. They must help their cricketers to find a balance between franchise cricket and International Cricket. Create a transparent system for the players and the administration to have an open conversation.

Only through proper strategic planning and a phased execution can help them regain their past glories and become a formidable force again. They should now focus on 2024 T20 which they are the hosts and build a team for 2027 starting with the India series. Comment on your favorite moment associated with West Indian Cricket or post your thoughts on the article in the comments section.

Master Blaster Turns 50: A Tribute to Sachin Tendulkar

Posted on by Karthic Vaidyanathan

24th April has always been a special day for a long time. 50 years ago, this day a child with superhuman abilities was born in Mumbai and went on to capture the hearts of millions of cricket enthusiasts across the world and ruled the sport for 3 decades. He broke multi records some of which I doubt anyone would break in the near future. He changed the way cricket was played in India and inspired many to take up the sport and batting in particular. His name is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Photo Courtesy: Sachin Tendulkar Instagram

My first memory of Sachin was the 1992 world cup in the classic retro jersey. I was hardly 5 years old then so this did not feel big to me. But it was in 1993 that I took a liking to this genius when he bowled the defended 6 runs in the final over to lead India to the finals. I instantly took a liking to him. To me, he was everything. I remember when I played badminton against a tall opponent, my sir asked him if I can manage, I confidently responded that if Sachin a guy who was hardly 5 foot 5 inches can not only play Curtly Ambrose who was standing tall at 6.5 feet so could I play well against a taller guy as well. Such was the mark he left upon me.

My joy was unbound when my father took me to watch him live at the famous Chepauk – MA Chidambaram Stadium to watch a test match against Australia. To watch him take the battle to the dominant Aussies was extra special for a 9-year-old me. Over the years, my love and admiration for my hero went up leaps and bounds. There was a period where if Sachin got out, millions of TVs around the country would be turned off and when he played the time would freeze. I used to sit in front of my prayer room when he plays and would pray for him to score a century and lead India to victory when he plays.

Here is a glimpse of some of my favourite events featuring Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Most Favorite Moment: A 22-year-old dream was fulfilled when Ravi Shastri screamed in the commentary box – Dhoni finishes off in style, and Sachin lifted the world cup finally after 5 unsuccessful attempts. I was going crazy at my friend’s place. Little did I realize that I was welling up and tears of joy rolled down my cheek.

Most Favorite Shot: Sachin can play every shot in the book. The classic cover drive on the up against Wasim Akram, the uppercut against Shoaib Akhtar, the pull shot against Andrew Caddik or the glance down to the fine leg boundary but the shot that stood out the most for me was his trademark straight drive. According to me, no one can play it better than the great master blaster. My celebrations went wild when I saw him play this shot from D stand MAC, the perfect stand for viewing this shot, the crowd just stood up and applauded the shot for sometime.

Courtesy: ICC Instagram account

Favourite Century: It is a hard task picking 1 from his 100 hundred. But to me, it would always be his century against Sharjah in 1998 which is famously known as the Desert Storm innings. He took the fight to the Aussies who were otherwise considered undefeatable. He believed in himself and single-handedly took India to the finals and scored another century to help India lift the trophy. 1998 stamped his authority as the best One Day International player to have played the game. Virat Kohli is the closest to the legend in matching his records and stands a chance to beat his ODI records.

Favourite Wicket: Sachin was pretty handy with the ball as mentioned in the introduction. He claims that he wanted to be a fast bowler and thanks to the MRF Pace Foundation, he quit that dream. My initial memory of him was bowling right-arm medium but then switched to Right Arm Spin. To me, the best wicket he took was that of Moin Khan on a flat Multan pitch that offered nothing for the bowler. This changed the course of the match.

Sachin dismissing Moin Khan of the last ball of the day.

Favourite Innings: This is a toughie but I am going to go with the innings at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) where he scored an unbeaten 241. What made this knock extra special is that he did not play a cover drive that entire innings despite being teased by the bowlers. It is very tough for a batsman to restrain for that long but he had the grit and the patience to avoid that shot that caused his downfall in the previous matches.

Sachin the Leader: Sachin never had a great tenure as the captain of India which is something that I wish he had. But no one is 100% and if it was not meant for him, so be it. But he carried along well playing under different captains. His input was keenly listened to by everyone on the team. Had it not been for him and other seniors, India would have not got its greatest captain in its Men’s cricket history, MS Dhoni. He conducted himself very well on and off the field leading by example for the younger generations. His recalling Ian Bell after being run out is one of the best cricketing leadership moments I have seen.

Happy Birthday to the Genius who taught billions across the world to dream and lead the way. May you continue to spread smile across the faces of your fans for many more years to come. SACHIN SACHIN will forever be ringing in our ears.

Kapil’s Devils

Posted on by Karthic Vaidyanathan

As an Indian Cricket fan, I dedicate this blog to the Men who made Indians a great force in World cricket and stunned everyone. 25 years ago on this day 25th June, out of the blue India suddenly became a huge force to reckon with in world cricket. This World cup was a morale-boosting one for the nation. The Indian team was the underdog in the tournament. Not many would have expected them to even win 3 out of its 6 league matches let alone the world cup given they had won only one match against the lowly ranked East Africa back in 1975. The team did not win a single match in the 79 World Cup. The team consisted of a few all-rounders (Kapil, Madan Lal, Amarnath, Binny), a technically sound opener in the form of Gavaskar, and 2 dashers in the form of Patil and Shrikkanth. None of them were great heroes in the ODI arena then. They played according to the mantra ” Where there is a will there’s a way”. Kapil always insisted the team on fighting hard for success, which they achieved at last.

Heroes

It all started with the morale-boosting victory over the two-time defending champions West Indies on 9th June 1983 at Old Trafford. But India was then defeated by West Indies and Australians convincingly in the league phase(but India got a sweet revenge over the latter in the other league game). Then came the day that the whole Indian squad witnessed what’s called the “BEST INNINGS FROM AN INDIAN”. India’s team was struggling at 17/5 and then came an inning which can be termed as the perfect example of CAPTAIN’S KNOCK played by Kapil Dev, the chief architect of India’s victory. He scored a smashing unbeaten 175(Due to a BBC camera crew strike this epic knock had no video coverage sadly) and increased the confidence in the Indian camp with the help from the likes of Yashpal Sharma, Sandeep Patil, Jimmy Amarnath and others India went into the finals.

Old Trafford June 22: England won the toss and batted first.  the  Indian bowling England to score 213 (all out, 60 overs). Fowler (33 from 59 balls, 3 fours) top scored, and Kapil took 3 for 35 in eleven overs, with Jimmy and Binny taking two wickets each. In reply,  Yashpal (61 from 115 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) and Patil (51 from 32 balls, 8 fours) made half-centuries, as India reached their target in 54.4 overs, winning by 6 wickets in an upset victory over the Englishmen. Jimmy (46 from 92 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) picked up the man-of-the-match award for his all-round performance, which saw him add 46 runs to his earlier bowling success (2/27 in 12 overs).

The final was played in the mecca of cricket The LORDS on June 25th. Roberts, Marshall, garner and Holding ripped through the Indian lineup. The Indians were bowled out for a low score of 183 and Shrikkanth scoring the highest individual score of 38 for the match. This total is nothing considering the batting power of the Mighty West Indians. But the agenda was take the fight to the opponent for the Indians and no one forget the ball that got rid of Greenidge. What a snotter to start the defense. He left the ball expecting it to move away like the previous 3 balls but it swung in and took the bails. The great West Indian Viv Richards started to flourish with an array of powerful strikes. It took a stunning catch from the Indian captain to get rid of the great man and the man of the match Jimmy(in both semis and final) polished off the tail and the rest is history. However, the Indian bowling exploited the weather and pitch conditions perfectly to bowl out the best batting lineup of the era for 140 from 52 overs in return, winning by 43 runs and completing one of the most stunning upsets in cricket history, defeating the previously invincible West Indies.The joy and the celebration in the camp were great.

The proud captain lifted the trophy with great joy and pride. In two years’ time, India went on to win the world championship of cricket under Sunil Gavaskar. Let this inspire India to win more World cups.