The Ashes
Time for BCCI to wake up and smell the coffee!
Most of the Indian fans will be finding themselves in a familiar territory. Yet another overseas series involving the Indian cricket team, and yet again, the men who took the field have failed to deliver.
As the India-Australia Test series reaches the WACA (Western Australia Cricket Association) in Perth, the threat of the scoreline going 0-3 in favour of the hosts loom large. Who is to be blamed for this royal mess? Who is to be blamed for organising unwanted series such the one against West Indies in India right before this important one? Who is to be blamed with injuries becoming more frequent for the young guns (Praveen Kumar, Varun Aaron are part of the injured bench) than it should have been? Who is to be blamed if the big three (Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman) have no replacements at all in the Test side?
The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) is the one to who needs to be rapped on their knuckles. Winners in any form of sport are known for having their priorities in place.
The moment former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly called it quits, there should have been a player of the likes Rohit Sharma who should have been drafted and given an extended run. The powers to be should have realised that other batting stalwarts too would be bidding adieu sooner or later. The Big Three are not getting younger by the day, and it would have made perfect sense for them to be phased out, much like a long-serving employee who was with you through thick and thin.
Trust me; it is never easy to tell a player that his time is up and legends such as Rahul Dravid or Laxman are too proud and level-headed to wait for the axe to fall on their heads. The rebuilding phase will mean that the likes of Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohlis are given an extended in Tests and given the cushion of featuring in the playing XI despite failures. If one looks at India’s record since the Boxing Day Test in 2007, Dhoni’s team have just won four while going in 12 Tests out of 27 played. It is quite human to be caught with the way the Big Four have batted with panache for years now and to have overlooked at the transition, but if it has to happen, it is NOW. Not to forget, the seniors do need to be treated by not just the men who do the commentary, but those who watch and those who chose the teams. We all do know that a repeat of the fateful tour of England looms large, but we can’t conveniently turn a blind eye to the past and look to conquer the future.
