you read everywhere there has been this persistent debate about where sachin should bat... whether he should open... the position for which his love is known to everybody... or he should bat in middle order... there there is debate here too on whether he should bat at no.3 or further down the order...
yours truly too on more than one occasions have argued that he should bat in middle order given his experience... but last night i re-visited my argument and come out with conclusion that he is best suited to the opening now...
before you blame me for two things... first what's new in it... and secondly for changing my stance... let me defend myself... thanks...
most of us still perceive sachin tendulkar as the 'sachin' he used to be... but the thing is he is not... sachin of today at best is an earnest batsman who uses his experience and skills the way his body allows it to be... the reflections are getting decidedly slow... and that's why you see opposition teams have started coming up with strategies to ball wide and full to him... to make him stretch even further... the balls which he used to dispatch to boundary even in his sleep finds fielders now... he is also getting slow with age so you can not expect him to run between wickets the way he used to do... the very demand of playing in middle overs when boundaries don't come as frequently as say in power plays...
this leaves only one spot for him in the team... that is to open... but with a twist...
sachin seems to have decided his role even before the start of this series and is religiously sticking to it... the role of a 'dravid'... to play through the innings... to accumulate runs... and that's why we are seeing him play the way he is playing in this series...
there used to be the time when india used to depended on him a lot... many used to switch the tv off when he got out... but today the scenario is altogether different... the team is full of match winners... who on their day can win on their own... and although they still look upto him... but in different way altogether...
its time to carry his legacy forward and let jatman don some responsibility which he is perfectly capable of without losing much sheen the way he plays... this could just be the gift team india can give to sachin for completing 20 intense international cricketing years of carrying the hope of billion fans on his shoulders without every complaining...
its the time sachin reap on the freedom this team provides him... its the time to liberate himself off all the burdens he used to carry on his shoulders... its time to let him play as freely as he wanted to but could not... its time to let him enjoy in the middle without much botheration...
suddenly sachin will find that the 'touch' is also coming back with the enjoyment and we might just be able to see the old sachin the bowlers used to fear of... its time to go back to his youth days when there were seniors who used to bat around him and he was asked to open to destroy the bowlers confidence and was given the license to go for the kill...
i hope he completes the cycle which has been longing for sometime to complete...
let bowlers around world hear some much needed (sa)chin music... the sound of balls whizzing pass straight close to their ears...
go unwind yourself sachin... unleash yourself the way it meant to be...
on why sachin should open... only...
shared by straight point on Thursday, November 05, 2009
find permanent player for no. 3 spot...
shared by straight point on Monday, October 26, 2009
whenever sachin opens gambhir comes at no. 3 or sometimes either dhoni or raina come at one down depending upon the match conditions...
its time india finds a permanent player who can come at no. 3 rather than playing musical chair game for this coveted position... and what better than using this 7 match marathon series to test water... without compromising the balance or composition of the team...
we all know whenever sachin is in the team... he opens... and given the explosive start jatman provides he is best utilised there... so this leaves gambhir to vacant the space and drop down to no. 3...
india have invested so much time on raina that its time he should be made to stand up and be tested for whether he has it in him to become one down player... give him the assurance of two full series (oz and srilanka) and see how he responds to the responsibility... currently there is so much happening in the name of flexibility that the stability is being compromised and sometimes player do need to be told about their batting order in the team so that they prepare themselves for the challenges of the job...
its also not going to help kohlis, rainas to come at different positions virtually every game coz they are still in formation stages of their career and it will help them and their overall game if they are told in advance of their batting positions...
so to me either gambhir opens or comes at no. 4 and the dashers bat around him in the middle... what is happening is that once top order goes the onus of keeping the innings together falls on dhoni... subsequently he has to curb his attacking instincts according to the requirements of situation and if the burden can be shared in middle overs then it will only help india to either launch full throttle attack in case of good start... or do the dirty work of consolidation if the start is not that good...
as i said earlier... the goal can be achieved without compromising on the balance or composition of the team and we might just unearth proper and permanent batsman at no. 3... for most occasions...
the form of one... life line for another...
shared by straight point on Wednesday, September 23, 2009
most of us are wondering why jaya still plays and more than that why srilanka keeps playing him in spite of his form... are they being too gentle to turn to their hero and say its time sir... or there is something into it...
the answer lies in the dilstructive form of dilSHAAN...
since he is going great guns at one end... srilankans are carrying jayasuriya with the hope that he too will play his characteristic innings here or there if not that consistently... like the innings he played against his favorite team india... in a dress rehearsal before finals of compaq cup... its not hurting srilanka either coz they are still winning more matches than they are losing...
the problem will start for jayasuriya once team will start losing or the form of dilshan dips alarmingly... then srilanka will be forced to take a call on jayasuriya... coz then they won't be able to carry on with two non-performing openers and dropping dilshan for some failures will be akin to cutting your nose for someone else' swine flu... ok ok... bad example... but you get the point...
so jaya... make hey till dilshan shining...
...and when you step in field next time... don't forget to say "thank you dilSHAAN" with one hand on your heart...
sachin finally relents...
shared by straight point on Wednesday, April 01, 2009
to give up opening in ODIs...
sachin finally relents...
check out why...
