Mahendra Singh Dhoni is definitely a cool, composed captain but did he deserve all the accolades? Indians are so magnanimous with their praise and with their criticism too! We get carried away by the glorious moments and heap praise without rendering a holistic evaluation. Dhoni has won 5 games away from the Indian soil in his 3 years span as an Indian captain! I am not trying to say Dhoni isn’t a good captain, all am trying to infer is, as Indian fans we are very ephemeral with our views.
One hit and we are soaring to the sky; one loss and we nose dive into the deep sea!
A true fan is one who is with the team through their ups and downs. I give to the Indian fans for staying with the team; no matter how much they abuse their players for non-performance, they still would wake up at odd hours to catch the game with a hope! If only we could render this unparalleled support without being frustrated, it would be lot more encouraging for the players away from home.
I am with the Indian team at all times; I may refuse to follow a series but would never raise my voice! I feel it is time we accept our team with the shortcomings they possess. We have had many transitioning moments were we have surpassed our own defined standards yet we still haven’t conquered the pinnacle. Consistency is something our team lacks and we better admit to the fact!
It is one thing to live in your past glories and it is another to work on your weakness while you are enjoying your success. It is vital to understand that even during our best moments in the Cricketing arena; we still had our own pile of weaknesses. Had we worked on them, we wouldn’t be going through such a depressing tournament.
I have heard the voice of the Indian fans over media and social networking. Indians want the senior players to be sacked. Would bringing youngsters inside change the table? If one senior player fails to deliver in a team that’s performing, you can axe him but when the team falters what’s the prudence in axing a few? As Indian fans, I feel the best tribute you can pay to your heroes is a decent farewell. Let us give it to the senior players to decide when they want to hang their boots. After having played for so many years, they would want to end it well. Nobody knows it better than them on when to call it a day! Axe a player when he is not performing senior/junior in a team of master performances but not when the whole team needs a new life.
Grooming new players is essential but you don’t groom a youngster by directly giving him a call to play against the Aussies in their home ground. If he doesn’t perform well on his debut and there you ruin his entire cricketing career. As a moment of reflection, have we got a player to replace Ganguly’s position in the test format? It is easy to say throw out the old and bring in the new but are they long term solutions? They may give momentary relief but Indian team would continue to reel under embarrassment now and then. Instead, our focus should be to bring permanent solutions to the table where we dominate the cricket world for a decade or two. Dominance translates to consistency!
I still believe, we have a team and a captain who can turn the tables given the right guidance. The composure that Dhoni holds if directed well by the acumen of the seasoned can bring in the consistency that we have been playing hide and seek with.
Sourav’s period helped us move a level up. He and his team brought grit and determination to the side and am sure the current side is capable of leveraging the merits of the previous regime to embrace solid consistent performances. Fight, the result doesn’t matter!
Patience and immense faith in the team’s ability is required from the ordinary Indian fan.
Playing away from home has been our greatest concern. Can the administration do something to groom our players face tough overseas conditions. Yes! Has it done anything so far that has led to results? Not anything I know of. After every overseas series we talk about the conditions of our home pitch and how it isn’t able to produce world-class seam bowlers. It just stops at the newsroom! BCCI, being so cash rich can do more that what it is doing – one, it can create more opportunities where our players(current & upcoming) to play in overseas conditions; other than the regular international games. Two, create pitches for practice that can resemble overseas condition – only for practice. With no such forthright vision, replacing the young for the old is not going to bring in glorious success.
The administration has to take equal responsibility as the players for the debacle overseas!
We should never doubt the ability of our players. They have given us some glorious moments and have proven to the world, of their class and brilliance; it is unfair on our part to ask them to prove it time and again. With such dire home conditions, India has still managed to produce world class players. It is time now for our administration to provide various other supporting aides that can translate the talent into magnificence!
