good bye no. 1 ranking...

shared by straight point on Monday, July 26, 2010

it was nice till it lasted... was nice up there for a while...

if there were already doubts that we are actually no.1 or not in the real sense... then be prepared to safely say good bye even to the no.1 ranking and not only coz of the skills or talent the current team has at its disposal... which is how unfortunate it can be...

for quite some time it is clear that there is no synchrony between team management or to be precise dhoni and our bunch of jokers... if one is heading north then other is heading south just to show who is actually the boss... there just does not seem to have any thought or effort put into to not only keep the rating at the helm going but taking it to beyond the realms of ranking...

i agree that injuries have not helped but the functioning of current regime goes beyond buffoonery...

we have already discussed here that how 'farsighted' was the selection of ishant and sreesanth... but the ongoing omission of mishra is the classic example of open tussle that is going on between dhoni and the selectors...

it is clear that dhoni does not like mishra... and he has good reason to not... you don't boost your chances of play when you say "sehwag will be better captain than dhoni" while playing under later without putting up performances that can't be ignored...

without going on the merits and demerits of mishra's (non)selection in final xi... under the circumstances picking mishra is just a waste of place as it is happening in sri lanka right now... despite below par performances of harbhajan who is refusing to be the leader of the pack despite his claims and ojha who not even looking like restricting the scoring to bolt one end up leave alone coming close to taking wicket... is playing second tests on a pitch which is offering some bounce where mishra would have been more effective and logical choice...

amit mishra is a seasoned campaigner... he was bowled 20637 deliveries and taken 367 wicket in domestic cricket... and so its not that they want to give exposure to him by selecting him for tests and away tours... but somehow the rope given to him is so short that before you notice him bowl in tests you see him carrying drinks for his mates...

if you pick a player with an intention of not playing him then this is a waste of place to me... no.1 teams do not carry passengers with them... but the ongoing tussle between leadership and bunch of jokers has ensured that we are one option short to fall back to... one place that could have gone to ashwin... piyush chawla (sangakkara rates him as best leg spinner from india) or even to murali karthik or ramesh powar...

in a well settled team most players pick themselves... but selectors gain reputations for their selection of fringe players... which not only shows which direction they are heading to but keep the talent at disposal interested... but current selection panel is hell bent on killing everything their predecessor have managed... and if our team is still performing well and winning more matches than they are losing... then it is despite their buffoonery...

part of the blame should go to dhoni as well who seems more interested in creating his comfort zone... massaging his ego with his set of pet players rather than rise above it and play final xi on its merit... and if someone is thinking that in second test there at ssc we are playing with best xi then i must be watching different cricket...

12 comments:

Mahek said...

The selectors have shown faith in Mishra so why bag them for him not being in the XI? In any case, picking him is pretty much a leap of faith and not based on him showing he belongs at this level. Maybe if he stuck to bowling instead of overstepping or talking himself up he'd be in the side.

straight point said...

if you read the post again then i have not argued about merits and demerits of mishra's (non)selection but have used him to highlight the unofficial tussle that is going on between selectors and dhoni where both parties refusing to buzz... to see the light...

hence team india is short of one place that could have gone to rp, irfan, or any other player who would have either got exposure or would have kept the players featuring in final xi interested... and on their toes...

Mahek said...

How do you know Mishra never figured in Dhoni's plans? Maybe he would've got a place ahead of Ojha had he bowled better in the practice match. Do you think he wouldn't have played had Harbhajan or Ojha been unfit on the morning of the test?

straight point said...

How do you know Mishra never figured in Dhoni's plans?

how do you know he did...?

what cricket acumen suggests that basing your opinion/selection on a tour game should be the final and decisive...?

straight point said...

and if you are talking about hypothetical situation let me present you one...

had raina and yuvi both played in tour game and raina scored century while yuvi not... would dhoni played raina ahead of yuvi...?

straight point said...

Do you think he wouldn't have played had Harbhajan or Ojha been unfit on the morning of the test?

exactly this happened before the start of first test if you remember... but they still played half fit and ill harbhajan... their official stance was there was no option but to play him 'for lack of choices'

Soulberry said...

Ishant's decline is worrisome. ot yet demise but could be soon.

Mishra - enough said read and heard.

on a different tanget, an interesting view at Date's - http://cricketingview.blogspot.com/2010/07/is-m-s-dhoni-entering-trough.html

vmminerva said...

Ah, that is one irritated fan in you SP. While it is disappointing to lose the #1 ranking, the team that owns it to deserve it. There was a time in the last couple of year that the Aussies kept playing worse and worse cricket, losing more often to India, and yet maintained their #1. Many of us have discussed this ad-infinitum that the rankings need to catch up with reality. While Sangakkara has a point, I don't appreciate the timing of it. Would he have the same opinion if SL were in India's position. So much for rankings.

straight point said...

i can sense the grudge sB!

straight point said...

if there were already doubts that we are actually no.1 or not in the real sense... then be prepared to safely say good bye even to the no.1 ranking and not only coz of the skills or talent the current team has at its disposal... which is how unfortunate it can be...

now you know what irritates me VM!

i do not have problem if other team beat us by playing good cricket... but when the board room politics plays its part (at it is happening) in the defeat its irritating... disgusting... pathetic...

if being no.1 team (at least in ranking) we can field only this attack against which even bangladesh will fancy its chances tell me one reason why not to say good bye to being no.1...?

Freehit said...

Hey everyone,
The selection has been wierd ever since Srikanth took over. Besides,the ranking should not be with India.Because if the World's number one team can't get 20 wickets,they don't deserve to be at No.1.
South Africa is a way better team than Sri Lanka or India.Australia is still getting adjusted with newcomers and injury problems.
I even took out some stats in my latest article.Check it out.

Cheers,
Mayank

straight point said...

mayank the seen is right now no team can claim to be clear no.1 but that does not mean our being no.1 is by default...

tell me can any team become no.1 without consistently taking 20 wickets...?

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