The future is here

Avinash Subrmanium

And it's our responsibility as cricket lovers to do our bit to ensure it fructifies. Too many opportunities have been lost. Too much damage tolerated. And if what they say about cricket is true, it being one of the few things that unify this country, this is an important a time for India and Indian cricket to not. But…don't you just hate that word?

We're going to have to change a few things around here for that. We're going to have to seriously look at managing our talent a lot better than in the past. Fortunately... now that word I like. The appointment of John Wright as the coach for a period of two years is a good sign. The appointment of Anshuman Gaekwad as his understudy is an even better sign. (Two good signs in two weeks! It must be -- Christmas!) This team has performed well under Anshuman. (Both, now and when he was coach before some of the darker times that followed.) But -- no -- this is good but -- the nicest thing about the partnership is the fact that both Wright and Anshuman were known for just the kind of qualities a good cricket team needs. This team needs. Simple things like hard work, the ability to make the best use of their respective ability and never forgetting that the team is greater than the individual. (Read being most un-SUPERSTARlike.) But--what these hard-working men also need is to be allowed to make the best use of the raw material on hand.

And speaking of raw material, on evidence of the performance in the Nairobi tourney, this team has shown it can take a crack at being among the best in the world. (In a couple of years' time and if handled well.) They look hungry, committed, hungry, proud, hungry, and don't need to wear a shirt that says proud to be Indian. It shows on their faces. (A refreshing change from not so long ago.) Nicer still, they're smiling a lot more. They seem to be thinking on their feet. And, this one I couldn't believe, they can field! Give or take a couple of lapses, this was not the Indian team we had grown used to seeing. Diving on bumpy ground! Hitting the stumps with a degree of consistency! Boy, it's been a while since I've had so much fun watching the Indians field. Hopefully, this will also mean it's the last we've heard about the need for a regular physio. (It's jolly well time we made one part of the think tank!) Or-- is the benefit still not obvious enough for the powers that be? And are we still going to see the ridiculousness of a cricket team in modern times functioning in the dark ages of sports medicine. (If the prehistoric-thinking board is allowed to have its way, your guess is as good as mine.)

A team without Azhar and Jadeja .. fielding like--- like, yes, I love the way Sir Geoffrey would put it...like DEMONS! We saw it happening. And not once in a blue moon, but four matches in a row! (Give or take a couple of...as Ian Chappell would say... 'fear-of-winning' related lapses in the final.) Sure we weren't perfect. But we were good. And...this I love...we didn't miss the superstars. (Especially the ones dumped!) Then, the big three didn't fire against the Aussies. We won. Sachin didn't fire against the Big Two. We won. Saurav, the run-out King, lost his nerve in the final. We played atrociously 'stupid' and 'rubbish' cricket against the Kiwis. We had a bad day all round. And yet, we nearly won. Agreed, a great team would have come up tops even on bad day. But this is a young team. Even better, this is not a team of nice losers. They really--- really sulked. And our captain? Man, does he sulk like hell! Does he hate losing! Maybe now, we'll see less of that happening. Nothing like a hard-to-please captain who makes it just as clear how hard to please he is. (Though, he really ought to beat himself a bit with that same stick he uses to beat his team into shape.)

Dangerous? Maybe. But better than soft. A captain ravenous for success. Two solid, hardworking, intelligent and levelheaded men as coaches -- come to think of it this combo does make the coach and assistant coach idea look pretty promising. A superb pool of senior talent and excellent team men like Rahul, Sachin, Anil, Robin and Prasad for youngsters too look up to. But--- that word again:

Things are going to have to be done right. (And there's a 'Himalayan' amount of work to be done.) We're going to have to nurture our youngsters with a lot more sensitivity than we have shown in the past. We've got to get a lot better at identifying and picking our players. We've got to make sure the kind of things being said and written about our future players like Murali Karthik are a lot more responsible. We've got to ensure more players are not mismanaged or left to their own devices. (The way more than a few talents like Laxman, Kambli, Agarkar and Harbhajan have.) Things like what happened, is happening, to an outstanding talent like Nikhil Chopra must not be allowed to happen again. In fact, we've got to do a lot of things other men will be a lot better at articulating:-) My point is, we've got around 20 players and names most of us would agree can do immense good for Indian cricket. And the sooner we identify them the better are our chances of, for once, converting potential into actual performance.

My future (Our future? Your future?)

I'd like to set the ball rolling, hopefully in the right direction, by suggesting my pool of 20 for Test and one-day teams to work with on all aspects of the game for the next two years: Sachin, Saurav, Rahul, Anil, Srinath, Venky, Robin, Ramesh, Laxman, Agarkar, Yuvraj, Sriram, Zaheer, Kaif, Sodhi, Badani, Sharandeep, Karthik and two keeper/batsman I haven't a clue where we're going to find from. (Any assistance is welcome. God knows they haven't managed to find a decent enough one since Sadanand was allowed to be lost to Indian cricket.) I'd also look at a sports psychologist as part of the think tank. And a...actually, to cut a long story short, this could, perhaps, be the team with every chance of taking Indian cricket somewhere closer to the top. And, like I said before, every one of us has got to do our bit to make sure it happens. How?

For starters, by keeping up the ante and making sure enough good ideas get aired enough times for them to penetrate the thick craniums of the people in charge. That's what made them pick this team that did so well in Nairobi in the first place. And we've got to make sure it stays that way.

Ps: Just when you think the BCCI is getting its house in order you see more bungling when it comes to the appointment of coach. First, a newspaper reports John Wright has been finalised as coach and Anshuman as his deputy. Now, we hear Mr. Muttiah denying it. Then, you hear one of the other candidates, Geoff Marsh, saying he was never interested in taking up the job. And Muttiah saying he's not aware of such a statement emanating from Marsh! Can we not even appoint a coach, after all that has transpired, in a sane manner? Why does everything have to be so complicated and messed up! By the way, do more of you see the combo of Roger Binny and Robin Singh taking over the reins of this team some time in the future?

Ideas and reactions, violent or otherwise, welcomed at s.avi@mailcity.com.

Avinash Subramanium

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