this one is for SAM...i read his latest post on DK being larger than team...
i wanted to comment on this but my response got too much for space, so i have posted it out here...forgive me for wearing devil's advocate cap again ;-)
now look at what SAM says...
that it was DK's fifty who costed us victory in last test match...and he should be so ashamed that he should rule out himself of any future assignments with team india and better go to mollywood or bollywood... hummm....it got me thinking...
but, seriously even after thinking very long and hard i could not find a single reason...why DK should be ashamed of this...
he was not captaining india that day...so obviously it was not his decision to carry on batting...if kumble wanted that he wont bother for declaration and would go for full fifth day (we are not debating the rights or wrongs of declaration)...what DK, or for that matter any batsman, had anything to do with it...
you mean that he should have retired himself out from batting...put his hands up and said sorry captain i will not bat coz you are not declaring...common...SAM...would you have ashamed say SRT too if he was batting...??? he scored fifty coz he got the opportunity to play...as simple as that...
now other parts....why he is still in this team...i tried very hard to come up with reasons on this too...but could not come to term with it...that why he is in the team...then i found a way to crack this puzzle...for this we have to do it in reverse...like we used to do in school days to prove theorems...so lets start...why he is in team...
he must be a very BIG player...
seriously...why our captains (first dravid...then kumble), team managements and selectors can find a gut to drop out Ganguly's, Dravids...can keep sehwag out of team...can not find a place for YS in the team and yet we find DK in the team...coz he is as much a bigger player as cricket has seen...so he is untouchable...
he must be a HYPNOTIST
...he must have collectively brain washed everybody so much so that they can not see the obvious...
He has the backing of BIG CORPORATE HOUSES...
coz they have invested crores of rupees in him and if he is not selected in the team then they are going to loose BIG TIME...
he is the STAR...
people are falling over him like anything...they are queuing in daylight, sun blazing on their head...to see him play...he has cought the fancies of youngs and olds alike...has set up field blazing with his stroke play and all over world fans are going ga ga over him...
but on carefully examining all this i found that he is not a very big player...he is not a hypnotist either...yet to see a brand he endorses...and definitely not a star...so why he is in the team...
coz he is team man to the core...
coz he did the job in much tougher conditions when his more illustrious colleagues refused...inspite of never opening in his career...
coz he is the most shuffled batsman in recent time for india...you want him open...he is ready...you want lower down to finish match...he is ready...who will come at no. 3??? he will...he will keep wickets...he will open for you...he is one of the best close in fielder and also good in deep down there with his agility that despite all in his career he has been keeper...
he averages at least a fifty (till this series) per test match...against much tougher teams...when team required it most...and its not that he is on his way to the fag end of his career...he is only 22 something...you wont find many players for which Harsha commenting (on record i.e.) that indian cricket got to find a way for some space for him...(during SA and/or england series)
and has this to say about DK in his recent column
i wanted to comment on this but my response got too much for space, so i have posted it out here...forgive me for wearing devil's advocate cap again ;-)
now look at what SAM says...
that it was DK's fifty who costed us victory in last test match...and he should be so ashamed that he should rule out himself of any future assignments with team india and better go to mollywood or bollywood... hummm....it got me thinking...
but, seriously even after thinking very long and hard i could not find a single reason...why DK should be ashamed of this...
he was not captaining india that day...so obviously it was not his decision to carry on batting...if kumble wanted that he wont bother for declaration and would go for full fifth day (we are not debating the rights or wrongs of declaration)...what DK, or for that matter any batsman, had anything to do with it...
you mean that he should have retired himself out from batting...put his hands up and said sorry captain i will not bat coz you are not declaring...common...SAM...would you have ashamed say SRT too if he was batting...??? he scored fifty coz he got the opportunity to play...as simple as that...
now other parts....why he is still in this team...i tried very hard to come up with reasons on this too...but could not come to term with it...that why he is in the team...then i found a way to crack this puzzle...for this we have to do it in reverse...like we used to do in school days to prove theorems...so lets start...why he is in team...
he must be a very BIG player...
seriously...why our captains (first dravid...then kumble), team managements and selectors can find a gut to drop out Ganguly's, Dravids...can keep sehwag out of team...can not find a place for YS in the team and yet we find DK in the team...coz he is as much a bigger player as cricket has seen...so he is untouchable...
he must be a HYPNOTIST
...he must have collectively brain washed everybody so much so that they can not see the obvious...
He has the backing of BIG CORPORATE HOUSES...
coz they have invested crores of rupees in him and if he is not selected in the team then they are going to loose BIG TIME...
he is the STAR...
people are falling over him like anything...they are queuing in daylight, sun blazing on their head...to see him play...he has cought the fancies of youngs and olds alike...has set up field blazing with his stroke play and all over world fans are going ga ga over him...
but on carefully examining all this i found that he is not a very big player...he is not a hypnotist either...yet to see a brand he endorses...and definitely not a star...so why he is in the team...
coz he is team man to the core...
coz he did the job in much tougher conditions when his more illustrious colleagues refused...inspite of never opening in his career...
coz he is the most shuffled batsman in recent time for india...you want him open...he is ready...you want lower down to finish match...he is ready...who will come at no. 3??? he will...he will keep wickets...he will open for you...he is one of the best close in fielder and also good in deep down there with his agility that despite all in his career he has been keeper...
he averages at least a fifty (till this series) per test match...against much tougher teams...when team required it most...and its not that he is on his way to the fag end of his career...he is only 22 something...you wont find many players for which Harsha commenting (on record i.e.) that indian cricket got to find a way for some space for him...(during SA and/or england series)
and has this to say about DK in his recent column
"Now, people feel the need to react similarly about another fine and gutsy player. Since he began opening the innings, Dinesh Kaarthick has hardly ever failed. For a man not yet 23, he has been shunted all over the order and in the field, has faced more uncertainty than a stockbroker and has inevitably responded with good cheer and great attitude. He is not prone to making wild statements and, let’s face it, is performing a role that more pedigreed players were not too keen on. Openers have to be persevered with, you don’t throw a fresh lot in everytime, and that means riding the trough from time to time."
and i believe he has seen enough cricket to know the traits of a player...
the way he adjusted to the late inswing of sidebottom after getting out cheaply in first innings of first test match speaks about temperament, cricketing brain and the character of the man...that he is prepared to fight it out...showed he is always thinking about his game...that he is continuously looking to improve his game...
his true value lies elsewhere...he is a player from rare genre now...he is a TEAM MAN...its only that we are used of seeing so many stars out there that we don't don't give enough credit to this value...
yes he has spilled some easiest catches...yes he has shown some antics when he could have done it more calmly without showing off...yes he should have scored more runs against this weaker attack...but who has not...i have seen more specialist fielders spill dollies...Sehwag don't have good record against bangladesh...even SRT did not had good record against Bangladesh for a while...are they bad players...and surely you cannot drop a player for that he is a showman...
if anything he will learn with time, as i said he is only 20 something, when to show exuberance when to conceal expressions...etc..etc...
but can't we allow even this much to a guy so young...?? is it so difficult for us that we cant see the obvious through our tinted glasses of personal hate???
disclaimer: this post is not to score some brownie points over my friend SAM...
28 comments:
Pan, thanks for the post. I dont have hatred for the dude. But his repeated failures did me in. At one point of time in England i had started being his fan and then i loved his 93 in Eden Gardens 2005.
He was gritty, had all those points which you mentioned. But is he going to be in the team forever on England s feasts ? He was given ample chances in England ODI series, T20 WC, Australia home series and then the current series. He never managaed to get past 10 in ODI and T20 game he played and even in Tests he failed up.....
Sehwag was judged on his ODI form and dropped from Test team too, whereas the reality was he had relatively 2 bad series in SA and home vs Eng. Wasnt that unfair ? Same yardstick if applied to KKD, he should have been out long time before.
And for his record, barring 3 50s in England and a 50 in Capetown, he doesnt have anything to show. A 138 vs BD isnt credit worthy. he conceeded 35 byes, dropped a catch in 2nd test for Yousuf, dropped STrauss in Lord's, he gets out in same way, damn same way. doesnt he have so many stalwarts to go and talk to solve the problem ?
Thats shows his attitude, that he isnt willing to improve. Whenever any player has got to the stage where he s going to be dropped, he shows some courage or guts to fight it out, but this dude doesnt. He keeps poking to balls outside off and gets out in slip cordon or wktkeeper...
And now anyways he s not getting any game in Aussie series with Veeru and YS in contention and certainly MSD is better Test player than DK.
Let me reiterate i dont hate him, no personal grudges, but i dislike him on his cricket record. Period.
When we have options to choose, we can easily blame any one without looking at his previous performance. No doubt DK has potential to play a long inning as he did in England, but in recent series everyone raised his finger against him because we had YS ready to enter... If YS were not there, we cannot doubt on his performance...
SP, no doubt DK is a player of future...
do you mean couple of innings (at test level) after england are forever???
no one is complaining about his being dropped from ODI side...we are talking about tests my friend!!
anyway...i dont want this to be never ending saga of arguments... just expressed what i felt after your post...no hard feelings...thanks for your comments...
:))
Curious thing....my comments didn't appear...did I forget to log-in? Maybe...but can't type all that out again. I'll try to recapture the spontainety...
I've been to Tubby's before this...a couple of small points I agree with him...always felt DK's toothy smile after dropping a catch would get him into trouble someday...that said, you've covered up all the issues very well. Spot on stuff.
No, I couldn't recapture the flow...
thanks SB...
yes its difficult to recapture the flow of thoughts...
there will always be some points against any player...but we have to look at overall picture...and overall i don't think he has done bad...
you hit right on the head SP... awesome... the reason he is there in the team is because there is no-one prepared to take the role which DK has got into... a Yuvraj can play in the 11 if he opts to open... but he wouldn't dare so :)... neither will many of the established big names... that's why Dravid is a real hero and a team man and appreciates DK for the same values.
Either we find a regular seasoned opener who is good or cajole Dravid once again into being a sacrificial lamb and accommodate yuvraj. When none of these happen, DK plays.
thanks Scorpi...
nice to see you after so long...keep coming and keep blogging... :-)
Scorpcity, Sehwag is one good opener we have. But he s being sacrificed. Did he get that many chances in TESTS as KKD have got in 6 consecutive innings ?
Sehwag was dropped after one poor tour of SA, I agree. But DK did deserve the Pakistan series. I am not so much against his selection for Oz either for he has done the job against SA and England in their own dens but would be bothered that he isn't playing as close to the body now as he did then.
The uncertainity of poor form makes one push the front foot away, with the bat leading it, outside the off stump, which is what DK is doing. He needs to re-set his approach to the game and not get carried away with his success or the needs of limited-overs which fell in between since the test series in England.
sb
i am of firm believer that sehwag's exclusion from test team was not merely on performance only...there were some other off field factors as well...regarding his commitment to teams cause...like not turning up for practice after informing
coach...he did not show any respect towards the fact that he was vice captain...he kept on batting and getting out same flashy way to the level of arrogance...irrespective of team demands and refused to acknowledge that he was not in form...even when he was stripped of vice captaincy he issued statements like it doesn't matter to him...
i would like to believe that he must have tested the last thread of patience of team management...hence his ouster...
Is Dhoni cent percent fit? (I am not keeping up with the news these days)
I'd at least like DK to be tried instead of him a few times. I haven't been impressed by MSD's wicket-keeping lately.
I am with Sam- DK is clogging up a vital batting spot.
We should consider him as a keeper.Period.
Now that Dravid is to open,this discussion is moot. DK will automatically sit out.
Which brings me to my worry- I think VVS days are numbered. Any thoughts on that?
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you SP.
Enjoying the winter spirit in Delhi? :)
Sam... we might have been a bit unfair to sehwag on leaving him out so quickly in test matches which I agree on. Having said, he has been out in the cold for so long playing domestic cricket and he has not made much improved or posted great sets of scores at this level. KKD is there because he was getting runs at the domestic level. Sehwag has been recalled now... do you know that guys like Badrinath and Suresh Raina have been playing brilliantly! And they don't find a place! And sehwag gets selected over them all! It is obvious that there is no real process in place and domestic cricket is not treated seriously at all!
So I guess there is some shameless under-the-carpet issues happening... don't know! KKD is not doing great. As long as he has this flaw on nicking to the slips, he is no good as an opener. But until we have an alternative player ready who is better, let's not dismiss KKD's efforts and hard work... he has worked hard and come up the ladder via a process through the domestic circle. India has to identify a good opener after which they can drop him.
One malice that has often inflicted Indian cricket is that of converting wicket keepers to the role of openers. I am not a big fan of converted openers, although they may have succeeded in short term.
As for DK, I think Ottayam has hit the nail on its head, when he says that DK should be primarily in the team as a keeper/stand in keeper. Yes, there may be instances when he would require to open the innings, but once that moment passes, he should be back to the role that he does best. Flexibility is the keyword here.
DK maybe a team man and most of the experts have spoken well of him. But would you find the thought of DK as a regular opener comforting? Would you play him in the team when players in the class of Sehwag and Yuvraj are warming the bench?
I won't.
I agree that DK is not a natural opener at all... but who is the alternative regular good opener available in domestic cricket? Any names anybody for some prodding on this subject? I can't seem to think of anyone... Parthiv based on domestic form as a opener... maybe... anybody else
Scorpi,
Is there a species called 'natural opener'.:)
I used to open to ensure that I got what we used to call 'full gajji'i.e., a long batting stint.
Seriously, you raise a valid point about the paucity of openers.
I held fond hopes for Sadagopan Ramesh.
Otts... LOL... I used to fight to open to get "full gajji" too :)... street cricket is a different ball game altogether isn't it!
G'day from Melbourne,
I used to be an India-based cricket writer. Great to see such passion for the sport.
Hope you're watching every ball of the Boxing Day Test.
Cheers
David
OTT
i wonder where we were when he was gutsing out there in middle in SA and England tours???...when he was highest scorer in England...did at that point anyone raised voice...yuvraj was still scoring good...
all it took couple of failures for us to come with gun blazing to nullify his hard work...??? were we waiting for his failures??
CG...
i dont get this fixation for 'natural openers'...first there arent many...
SA dont have...they either go with Gibbs or AB diviliers...langer and jayasuriya were not openers...
anyone who is willing and does a good job is good for me and i would persist with him...
i dont even get this when ppl say DK is wicketkeeper...if he is doing good with opening everything else is a bonus and provides options for team management...why he being WK should come his way??? why we fall on this trap time and again...???
hi david...
welcome to the blog and thanks for nice words...merry belated xmas and happy new year to you...
hope you will keep coming with insightful comments...
Your comment on my blog was very thought-provoking. I thought Ganguly and Tendulkar would have stitched up the bowling today, but that just didn't happen.
Laxman got a brute of a ball from Lee and after that it seemed like Ganguly and Tendulkar wold turn the ship around ......
Still, should be a great series anyway.
Dravid,
on what basis??? i thought we played more batters than vvs, sachin and ganguly...
SP,
There is no such thing as 'natural openers'.
Jayasuriya and LAnger were 'converted' openers, but once they did, they weren't shuffled around in the batting order.
Also, wicketkeeping and opening the innings would be too taxing on DK and he won't be able to do justice to either in long run.
I would much rather have a specialist/regular opening batsmen and allow them time to setlle over a period of time without resorting to chopping and churning.
FYI, I did a three part series on Indian openers - First In, First Out - in my blog. Here's the link for the Part - I:
http://cricketandallthat.blogspot.com/2007/06/first-in-first-out-part-1.html
Apologies for barging in again, SP.
But the Part II of First In, First Out is more relevant to our discussion. Here is the link:
http://cricketandallthat.blogspot.com/2007/06/first-in-first-out-part-ii.html
don't be CG...debating on different opinions is always healthy...
thanks for the link...
we both seems to agree on the use of makeshift openers against the lack of 'natural openers'...
its only that dk being keeper apart from him being makeshift opener is where we differs...
but if you look at it differently...who wants him to keep??? cant we accept him as another make shift opener...as simple and plain as that...like jayasuriya, langer, sehwag...etc
i would go on to say if tomorrow parthiv patel and dk both are selected for openers job (which can happen under certain circumstances) why they being keeper should come in their way or their career...provided they do good job of being openers i.e.
Post a Comment