when getting dropped is not a setback...

shared by straight point on Friday, December 24, 2010

come durban test... and we might see a very talented cricketer in suresh raina being dropped for another talented player... cheteshwar pujara...

but this post is about suresh raina...

recent failures of suresh raina has not been well received... pundits have already started calling him limited overs cricket bully not suited for test cricket...  his perennial problems against short pitch bowling... his lack of foot work... basically you name it and he has that deficiency in his game...

for once i don't think he has any more short coming against short pitch bowling than the other talents around... its just that it has been hyped so much that he has fallen into no-man's land... the mind is cluttered with so many thoughts that it has started to infiltrate the functioning of his more strong skills... now more than the talent or skills it has become a question of temperament...

right now he seems to be in quandary whether to play a pull shot, he is perfectly capable of than most, or leave it... and in doing so isn't doing both... hence we saw him giving catching practice to slip cordon in centurion test... that was the shot of a man who wanted to leave it till last minute but played coz of instinct...

make no mistake... he has better footwork than most famed left-handers... he is one of the better players of spin... and has the skills that can change the complexion of the game by his sheer stroke play in just one session... given right dose of confidence and care... he could be the game breaker in the mold of gilchrist for india at no.6... but like many before him... he needs to find the right bearings to make a career in highest form of game... test cricket...

its only going to serve him good that he has been confronted with some uncomfortable questions at the very beginning of his test career and now knows exactly what it takes to be consistently successful at highest level... coz unlike one day cricket one can not get away in test cricket by just playing shots...

he needs to find his batting arc but for that he needs to be in relaxed and right frame of mind... which can only come from facing the same uncomfortable question again and again till it stops bothering you... once he will be able to make distinction of batting arc viz a viz which (short) ball to play and leave he will become that game-breaker at no.6 everyone wants in his team but only dreams about...

i know it is easier said than done but when playing at highest level was supposed to be easy...?

the same south africa tour last time saw another stalwart in virender sehwag getting dropped from team india... felt the pain of seeing team india playing from the idiot box in his own words... how he used that pain and how he has returned with vengence since then is a story worth telling...

so, if i were suresh raina, i won't see getting dropped from playing eleven as a setback... but a timely learning towards a long fulfilling journey...

13 comments:

Golandaaz said...

Raina was clearly the weak link in my view coming into the series and he had to come good in the first test.

I agree with you to some extent. But Raina is a "flow" player. He does not adjust well over short periods of time.

If this were a 5 test series, I think by the end of it he would be belting 100s.

Pujara for Raina is the right switch. In fact I had said, I hoped Dhoni had the balls to make that switch in the first test it self.

Whoever gets a chance in this indian team should realize that they can be afforded on a couple of failures. It would be just criminal to keep talent like Pujara, Rohit, Kohli, etc, etc on the bench

straight point said...

gol... i am not saying pujara for raina is not the right switch... in fact i am glad that he will finally get the spot he deserve...

but having said that i feel once anybody gets to get a look in... he deserves couple of series as a fair chance to succeed... but i guess with every match (from now on) becoming direct threat to no.1 the chances and with it patience will run out fast...

the dropping is a test for raina too... lets see how much hunger he has to reclaim the spot by working on game... i think he will come out more strong and will be a value addition to team india... that is why i refuse to see it as setback to raina...

Golandaaz said...

SP, wasn't disagreeing with you entirely.

I am in general opposed to statements of finality. Saying that if someone is picked then he needs to be given x matches....hmmm...I don't buy that. It mat be a good strategy 80% of the time, but not always.

I understand the advantage it brings but I would say our selection should not blindly follow that plan.

straight point said...

I understand the advantage it brings but I would say our selection should not blindly follow that plan.

but too much chopping and changing too leads to insecurity in the team and its easily rubs onto others as well...

i believe with the six batsmen right till dhoni india has... india can carry one batsman who is trying to find his feet at highest level... whoever that player may be...

Anil Singh said...

As cricket is a mental game, every player will have to go through ups and downs and no one can do anything about it. And as sports persons are resilient people they bounce back.

I agree, If Raina sees this as something he can take lessons from, then great. I agree with Golandaaz, Right now he seemed to be the weakest link. Though, Indian batsmen in general appeared ordinary before vicious pitch assisted great bowling.

Mahek said...

You have got to be kidding me if you really think he's just as good/bad against the short ball as other talents around. I don't know what other talents means but if it means "any other batsman" then you just have to look at Hussey at the WACA and Ricky Ponting in his heyday. I don't know how you can say it's not a weakness and follow it up with "But it's got him thinking about it". He wouldn't be bothered by it if he didn't consider it his weakness, and there is no shame in admitting he's not good against the short ball.

That he can stay focused on cricket and make a comeback is not in doubt. He was dropped in early 2007 and made a comeback a year later and has been one of the best ODI finishers since then.

Anonymous said...

Zaheer, Sehwag, Ganguly, Gambhir..these are all the players who came back stronger after getting dropped...If Raina can do the same, he can be considered to be in the same class as the above....right now, he has some of the best batsmen in the world to turn to for advice...hope he can make the most of it..

straight point said...

Though, Indian batsmen in general appeared ordinary before vicious pitch assisted great bowling.

this is exactly what i call speaking from memory anil... and specially about india...

a lots of people associate this 'ordinariness' about india without caring a glance at what's happening around world...

oz gets folded in three sessions when ball is swinging or seaming... so does england and so does south africa but when times comes to call about vicious pitch struggle i always wonnder how only india's name gets highlighted...

straight point said...

i have always wondered mahek that do you actually read the post or just glance through before commenting your prejudices...

for example... i wrote...

for once i don't think he has any more short coming against short pitch bowling than the other talents around...

now how on earth you can conclude what you have concluded after reading that...?

moreover... thank goodness you not compared raina with don in his heydays... :D

straight point said...

exactly my point tracerbullet...

this will serve as testimony to his hunger to not only regain the lost spot (if that's the case) but comeback strongly with vengeance like the names you have mentioned... :)

Vidooshak said...

I'm not sure if Pujara is a good fit at number 6. He appears to be an ideal number 3. I'm glad no one is disputing Raina's talent and the fact that he might actually belong in test cricket. I agree with SP. He's no worse than any of our greats were at this stage in their careers barring Sachin. Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly, Vengsarkar, Azhar et al had their troubles against good fast bowling away from home. Raina's dismissal in the second innings is cause for concern. Should it invite the axe? I'm not sure.

straight point said...

vido... i too feel and was amongst the first to advocated him for no.3 as soon as he was included in the squad....

but having said that i don't think it will be a good idea to reshuffle the batting order midway when we are already trailing... to conclude wud have played him at no.3 at the outset but now now...

regarding raina... how easily we develop convenient insomnia against our prejudices... :)

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