A Case for Yuvi & Sehwag

shared by straight point on Thursday, November 15, 2007

Before you start reading this blog...be warned of blogger's 'high handedness of english language'...though i wanted to start the blog much before but was bit apprehensive cause of reasons mentioned...i came thru a comment by soulberry somewhere that he has stopped reading Dilip's articles in CricInfo coz of so many grammar mistakes he makes or something of that sort...made me more nervous...

but comments from friends like homer and ottayam (forgive me for taking liberty of treating both of you as friends) has given me confidence to start it...so here i am daring to blog amongst the august company of well articulated, masters of language, definitely more knowledgeable guys blogging...

but i do hope that more than language i would be able to put across the message...so here i go...

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Although yuvi name does not arise so much of surprise as does sehwag's...for test team i.e.

For far too much time India is missing players who can crack the game open with their sheer talent and stroke play in Tests owing to various reasons not entirely of their control...

sehwag once considered second only to tendulkar was once even overshadowing him at one stage with his blistering strokes or else how many batsmen in world can boast of scoring almost double hundred in opening day of a test match down under!!

but with applause and media attention came some arrogance...some ignorance....towards the very game that brought him thus far...so we started to see different sehwag with heavy tyre around his waist...the once famous one liner 'the only difference between me and sachin is the bank balance' not turning up for practice sessions (as reported in media) not giving the post of vice captain of India the respect it deserves...and more importantly his own place in the team...and the most glaring aspects of these fact came in daylight for all world to see during SA series...

he was getting out in similar fashions during tests...one could say he always gets out in such ways...but difference to the past and then dismissals were that he was vice captain then...his dismissals had touch or arrogance and little respect to match and team situations... he kept on stroking balls same way as if to show to the world that there is nothing wrong in him and his form and that was sure recipe of disaster....

Same more or less with yuvi....although his case is more complex for not entirely of his fault though...he came in to test team with so much of anticipation...and started good with century against pakistan...and looked good for his future as well as team India...but then he was seen as threat to our reserved-for-life middle order of rd-sg-srt-lx...and there came the twist...as with sehwag's 'experimentation' of making him an opener...he was also 'guided' to become an opener so that the reservation policy of middle order is not breached...but he was not as lucky as sehwag coz he got confused....on how to approach his innings...

after sg's fiasco and his return to test team he got bit laid off thinking that now sg will not come back and taking things easy and thats where i think he faulted...

but now spending time in wilderness out of test teams (though yuvi has consolation of being regular in ODIs) they have come to know what it takes to be in the team...no amount of money...media adulation and 'difference in bank balance' can fulfill it...

thats why as Madan Lal says that there is purpose in Yuvi's batting these days he seems to have put his focus right up there and one can cleary see that its hearting him to no end to not to be in test team...that to not to be treated as good test match batsman that he is only respected for his ODI and more recently T20 flings...

and with sehwag...i still believes that he was and is not in the team not only for his performance only...and he too seems to learn his lessons the hard way...looking more fitter and eager and one can clearly feet the hurt thru his statements....
the way he was running between wickets in his only innings since his comeback (???) of 25 odd runs proves the point...

But people like sehwag and yuvraj can not be judged only by career stats coz their value lies elsewhere....coz when they will be on roll they will win you more matches then all other guys put together...they are what we call in modern cricket as 'game breakers' and their lies their true values...unless we want to play cricket like the era of b&w movies...as once the test cricket was played...

ask Australia who they want to see bat against them the jaffers, the SGs or Sehwag, Yuvraj (and Laxman too) and you will get the answer...

by not including them in test matches against pakistan we are depriving ourselves to see what they can do together in a team...and if we can not even pick them against pakistan now, who are hurting badly with the absence of asif and huffing-and-puffing akhtar, then i wonder when...

India is in the brink of the start of toughest season and what type of players you would like to see in team...the ones who are eager...got some points to prove to the world or the ones who even at the best of their day can only provide so much...

the choice is ours....and as they say we will be right either way if we think we can or we can not...

now start shooting....


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

"reserved-for-life middle order of rd-sg-srt-"

Thats a good one straight point.

Unknown said...

gambhir, uthappa, raina, rohit sharma, yuvraj, sehwag... that would be an interesting test batting lineup, and if we're going to keep losing in australia as we've done throughout the long and illustrious careers of rd, sg, srt, then we might as well lose with new players.

straight point said...

thanks ottayan for the visit...

straight point said...

sumit

first, thanks for your visit and comment...

thats the point sumit some where down the line we will have to discard with past by saying thank you very much for all the good things...but we will have to make a way for youth which is not necessarily a comment on their recent performances as many other like to believe...

Unknown said...

look at the aussies. clarke, hussey, jaques, and even symonds came into the scene much after yuvraj, but they've been groomed to establish their places - that too in a team that hardly loses as often as us.

Anonymous said...

Thanks SP for the blogroll addition. let me do the same. Keep visiting :)

straight point said...

we are not good decision makers...we tend to look at peers...liked to be goaded...see what others thinks of and then by the time we make the decision the 'right' time passes...

same thing can be seen in our cricket...we just dont have selectors who have guts to say that so and so is 'eased' out of his services not for his performance but to make a door to future like once they got the opportunity...

and even if they show some guts (a la SG dropping and RD 'resting') we make hue and cry over the top and make it sure that it gets reversed...

Anonymous said...

Your point about being bad decision takers is well taken.

Soulberry said...

Hi Straight Point. Come on man, I kick some of cricinfo's authors for their slanted content rather than grammar...I'm the last to be particular about that! :)

Yuvi was in an uncomfortable situation and it isn't the fault of the rd-sg-srt eithet. India was lucky to have such a triad in the middle...just kismet.

I'm just wondering where Sehwag is going now...I think towards the IPL or ICL. Unfortunate to lose a player like him but now I'm rather gloomy about his comeback to test cricket. Hope he kicks my words right back down throat.

we are not good decision makers

Curiously, I think some things are changing. Intended or unintended, India in the limited overs scene, is actually charting out an independent course. They are making decisions there slowly but surely.

straight point said...

soulberry

thanks for the visit and comment...

please don't mind it was not intended that way...i was just highlighting my nervousness coz when i read your and others posts i not only marvel your ideas, thoroughness, in depth analysis but also the command over language...

but maybe some day i will be OK if not good...

straight point said...

exactly soulberry...

we are progressing despite the system...the sheer talent we have on our disposal (though certain DBV wont agree) can not be bogged down...but the point is why...why a talent has to come by this way...

look at rohit, tiwari and badrinath when they will get chance...they are on top of their game if not now then when...are we (read BCCI) waiting for their form to dip and say look we don't have any talent left in country to come to international level...

we losing countless opportunities on our over fixation to win series...first against england then here...

Anonymous said...

I feel proud to see Straight Point of Pankaj Sharma my beloved friend, on the web.

What he has written in his column is, no doubt, absolutely right...as Pan is an eloquent that is why he speaks or writes very well....

Please enjoy his forthcoming columns....and keep commenting...

Best wishes Straight Point 'Pan'
Sanjay Awasthi

straight point said...

speaking like a true friend sanjay!!

about me...

BCC!straight point (sp) is restless... relentless... but a fun loving guy... likes to live life to fullest... trying to discover himself through cricket... welcome to this little world of his...

sp is also a bored member at BCC!

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