Where Does India Go From Here?

India's ouster from the world cup is heartbreaking but it is also an opportunity. Will BCCI do the right thing this time around? Based on their past track record, we doubt it. There will be a lot of bloodletting and heads will roll but if these are cosmetic to assuage the rage of "fans" it would be a travesty. April 6th and 7th are the dates to watch as BCCI is convening a meeting with ex-captains to decide the future of Indian cricket. In the meantime, it gives us an opportunity to pontificate about the kind of cricket team India should be aiming for.

What kind of a cricket team do we want?
A cricket team which can play well outside India has to be the top priority. For far too long, Indian teams have been flat track bullies. A tinge of green on the pitch should not make our batsmen yellow with fear. India should be able to win away tours, be aggressive in the field, play hard, not wilt under pressure, field as well as the Australians, and run the singles well. In short, the much clichéd term: "Total Cricket".

Coach:
Greg Chappell will most probably be sacked. One can argue that his “process” was never given the chance it deserved but it can also be said that a coach who rolled over without a fight when his scheme was being systematically dismantled does not deserve to be the coach. If, as reports seem to suggest, GC has lost the trust of his players; then he should be fired. No coach, however great, can succeed when his players don’t buy into the scheme. Getting players to believe in what the coach has to offer is a major part of the coach’s job.

His sacking might be symbolic: getting rid of the ‘foreign’ element from the team might be therapeutic for the loonies out there. Whatever the rationale behind GC’s firing, it is most likely that he will be gone.

Operating on the belief that GC will be sacked. Who should replace him? Will BCCI be wary about hiring a foreign coach after this fiasco? Will the Wadekars and Kapil Devs succeed with their vociferous racist remarks? Time will tell. Some of the names doing the rounds:
John Wright
Bob Simpson
Sandeep Patil
Anybody else? Any interesting names out there? Please let us know.

If by some miracle, he retains his job, it has to be considered a win for Indian cricket. Not because he is a good coach but because, for once, an administration took a stand of not pointing fingers at the easiest target and stuck by their employee in the face of immense pressure.

If BCCI decides to give GC another chance then a lot has to be done. BCCI has to empower GC and give him the team he wants, giving GC a core group of younger, fitter players and letting him mould them into a cohesive unit, having a pool of players to pick and choose from, not second guessing GC after every defeat and selecting a team based on performance rather than reputations. This will invariably lead to axing of star players like Ganguly, Sehwag, Bhajji, Tendulkar and Kumble. This option will be traumatic for a lot of fans. Will the BCCI do it? We doubt it.

Whatever we do, we should not fall back on hiring great Indian ex-captains (Kapil Dev, Wadekar, etc) as the Indian team’s coach. It will be a step backward if we do it. These great ex-players don’t have the coaching pedigree. Hire a coach who has a proven track record and technical know how.

Whether BCCI keeps GC or fires him and hires another coach, one thing they have to do is hire a bowling coach. Why India doesn’t have a bowling coach is beyond our understanding.

Captaincy:
This is a knotty problem. Overall, Rahul Dravid’s captaincy has not been bad. He had a poor run as a captain in the world cup. Is that enough to sack him? Dravid has shown himself to be thoughtful and tactical as captain. Can he emerge a stronger person and a stronger leader from this ordeal? We think so.

If there is a knock against Dravid, it is that, after buying into GC’s “process” he capitulated after a string of defeats and opted for ‘captaincy by committee’ approach. His captaincy took a step back by preferring experience over younger and fitter players. He should have known better than to underestimate the importance of fielding.

There is talk about bringing back Sachin Tendulkar as the captain. That would be a bad idea. Even worse would be making Ganguly the captain. Realistically, India doesn’t have many choices when it comes to captaincy. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and Saurav Ganguly are the only candidates unless BCCI opts for ‘out of the box thinking’.

Dravid is reaching his peak as a batsman while Tendulkar and Ganguly are sliding down. We also believe that Dravid will come out of this debacle as a better captain. If there is anyone in the Indian team who does not wilt at the first sign of pressure, it is Dravid. Dravid has also shown that captaincy does not have an adverse effect on his batting. Dravid has always done well when his back is to the wall. We believe that Dravid still has a lot to offer Indian cricket. If the choices for captaincy are Ganguly, Tendulkar, and Dravid, we prefer Dravid.

Md. Kaif is another player we are very fond of. He was the captain of the U-19’s and is the captain of UP. From everything we have heard, he has the tactical nous and people skills to be a good captain. Bring back Md. Kaif into the team and make him the vice-captain. True, he is not the most prolific batsman in the country but his fielding alone should guarantee his spot in the ODI team and if he were given as many opportunities as, say, Sehwag, he would have probably cemented his spot. Kaif’s batting style (anchoring one end and rotating the strike) makes him ideal to be sent up the order.

The idea of Sehwag as the captain or vice-captain did enter our mind but we quickly discarded it because his spot is in jeopardy now. Sehwag has to go back the drawing board to sort out his fitness and technique.

Does anybody know if Yuvraj can be considered captaincy material? Again, Yuvraj’s test spot has not been cemented so he and Kaif are in similar boats. If given a choice, we prefer Kaif over Yuvraj because we believe Kaif has the common touch to get the best out of his team-mates. Maybe Yuvraj can be India’s Graeme Smith. We doubt it.

Another option could be VVS Laxman. Laxman is well liked and might not make a bad captain. By making Laxman the captain, BCCI could neatly side step several problems. He is senior enough to command respect from the younger players and is well liked by the senior players. One great thing about Laxman being the captain is that he would be in the ODI team. Dropping Laxman from the ODI team because he was considered to be a bad fielder was a gigantic joke.

We did consider having 2 different teams: one for the ODi’s and one for the Tests. Australia is pointed out as an example of this system. The reason this worked for Australia is because the captain of the test team was not part of the ODI team. One could argue that Dravid could remain the captain of the Test team while someone else could captain the ODI team. This will only work if Dravid is not part of the ODI team. That is a bad idea. Not having Dravid in the ODI team will hurt India. Again, we believe Dravid has a lot to offer Indian cricket. Talent like Dravid’s comes along rarely and we should value it.

Our preference is to stick with Dravid as the captain (for both ODI’s and Tests) and make a younger player (Kaif) the vice-captain. If Kaif succeeds, he could take over after Dravid retires and if he doesn’t, India will have time to identify another candidate while Dravid is steering the ship. Our second preference is to make VVS Laxman the captain (for both ODI’s and Tests) and again, make a younger player the vice-captain.

Team:
Tendulkar, Ganguly, and Kumble should retire from ODI’s. Sehwag, Agarkar, and Bhajji should be dropped from ODI’s. That gives us 6 spots for youngsters to fill. Agarkar can be replaced with Sreesanth, Bhajji can be replaced with Powar, and 3 batsmen can take the place of Tendulkar, Ganguly, and Sehwag.

Ganguly, Kumble, Agarkar, Sehwag, and Bhajji should be dropped from the test team. We believe Tendulkar still has something to offer in the Test arena so he should be allowed to keep his spot. Actually, we will be depressed if Tendulkar is dropped for Tests but will get over it very quickly.

The emphasis on future players has to be paramount. Jaffer, Kaif, Raina, Kaarthick, Gambhir, Pathan, and Sreesanth should be nurtured and given enough chances. The emphasis on star players has to decrease. Indians have to realize that the team comes first. It was a pleasure watching the Aussies, Clarke and Ponting, disregard their personal milestones in their match against SA. That would have never happened in an Indian team.

Indians have to realize that to reach Australian and South African level of play, their fielding has to improve drastically. A good idea would be to hire a fielding coach like the South Africans have. It’s not enough to bat well or bowl well, one has to field well. The star players cannot be excused from fielding drills. Fielding has to be an important criterion for selection (not a fake criterion like it was with Laxman’s non-selection). Running between the wickets is also something that needs to be improved. Influx of younger players will improve that to a certain extent but it can be improved further.

Cricket, especially ODI’s, has become an athlete’s game. Emphasis has to be paid to fitness, stamina, and endurance. It is a disgrace that young professional cricket players like Sehwag turn up at fitness camps overweight and out of shape. Players have to follow their off-season regimens. Heavy fines should be levied if a player does not follow their off-season regimen.

Miscellaneous:
BCCI should invest its millions in infrastructure. Our stadiums are falling apart and the conditions inside are horrible. Our one and only visit to see an ODI was traumatic. The stench of urine in the stands was gut-wrenching.

India needs better pitches and outfields. Let’s not kid ourselves about our batting prowess by belting out hundreds on flat tracks. These flat tracks have been the graveyard of many an Indian fast bowler. Why would anybody want to be a bowler when there is no glory in being one? It is not like we don’t know how to build bowler friendly pitches. Mohali is a prime example. We need more Mohali’s in other states.

India should also invest in the massive talent pool it has. We need more ‘A’ matches. A good performance in the U-19’s should not equate to a spot in the national team. The U-19’s need time to hone their skills and BCCI can provide it and should provide it.

For too long domestic cricket has suffered. Plans to reinvigorate and improve domestic cricket are many and varied. Domestic cricket deserves its own post and will be tackled at a later date.

Are we missing anything from our long discourse? Does anyone disagree with us? If so, convince us we are wrong and we will edit the post accordingly.