The Tribune - Spectrum
 

Sunday, February 9, 2003		 Lead Article

India will have to play to a plan to be
in the reckoning


When the players need time to iron out their deficiencies at the nets, they have to ‘‘shoot’’ for their sponsors, who have gone into a frenzy to market the tournament as the championship draws near, says Abhijit Chatterjee

IF the adwallas and the jingle-writers operating in the country have their way and are to be believed, India should win the World Cup in 2003. But will it be so? So much time, effort and, of course, money is being spent to promote the World Cup! To whose advantage? The hype created by them, even if the Indians do not have a realistic chance of laying their hands on the glittering trophy when the tournament ends on March 23, has only put the players (smarting as they are after their miserable showing in New Zealand) under additional pressure. When the players need time to iron out their deficiencies at the nets and to rest their tired minds and body they have to ‘‘shoot’’ for their sponsors, who have gone into a frenzy to market the tournament as the championships draws near. They also attend celebrity events, again at the bidding of various advertisers. It is money which is making the (Indian) mare go. What effect it will have on the performance of the Indian players only time can tell!

The Indian cricket team: Will they be able to pull it off?
The Indian cricket team: Will they be able to pull it off?

Why such a situation has come about is difficult to answer. Even the triumph in 1983 at Lord's, when India put it across the then mighty West Indies to lay their hands on the World Cup for the first and only time, did not see such an outpouring of ‘‘nationalistic fervour." In 1983, what worked to India's advantage was probably the fact that we expected very little from the team. The team was an unknown entity and was not in the public glare. Maybe, market forces and media hype have something to do with this but of one thing one is sure — the Indian cricketers of 2003, even if their performance is below par and leaves much to be desired, are far richer and more well known than the members of the winning team of 1983 barring, of course, Kapil Dev, who still looks fit enough to walk into the current Indian team. And even today his face is seen as often as that of Ganguly or Rahul Dravid. The ‘‘great’’ Sachin Tendulkar is, of course, a class apart. Open any magazine, switch on any television channel or walk past any Indian street and the face of some member or the other of the Indian cricket team is there for all to see.
 

Sachin Tendulkar But the players are not complaining. Time and again, they have gone on record to say that representing the country is a great honour, a privilege and they would do their best to put the country on top of the cricketing world but it seems this is more of a lip service than anything else. Performance be damned, it is the money which is more important. Actually this is the time when they stand to earn the biggest lolly, both from the actual sponsors of the World Cup but also from those indulging in ambush marketing, a term which now has become synonymous with cricket. From cricketing gear, to mobiles, to television sets to motorcycles, to cars — in fact on every product imaginable — it is the face of the Indian cricketer which dominates the ads, specially in the electronic media. However, even the print media is not complaining as these companies are more than willing to take out large ads extolling the qualities of whatever they are selling or promoting with the help of the Indian cricketers.

The uncertainty over the participation of the Indian team just a couple of weeks before the commencement of the World Cup over the signing of the contract with the International Cricket Council (ICC) only added spice to the World Cup story. It may be emphasised that India's participation in the tournament in South Africa was never in doubt. Not only are three of the four main sponsors for the World Cup from India (and these companies would probably not have agreed to have a World Cup without India) but even in South Africa a large number of Indian expatriates are expected to throng the match venues when the tournament gets underway. There is an estimate that about 5,000 fans would travel from India to South Africa to witness some or all matches of the World Cup. Just imagine their plight, as also of the sponsors, if India were not to play.

Yuvraj Singh Speaking of sponsors, one is reminded when India (together with Pakistan) bid for hosting the World Cup for the first time in 1987 a very senior functionary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confided in this writer that given the factors at play India could bid for the World Cup every time it was held because the money available in India was much more than what could be given by any other country. His prophecy came true when the World Cup again came to India in 1996 (this time with Pakistan as also Sri Lanka because votes do matter in the ICC) before the international body put a stop to this by deciding to rotate the tournament among the Test-playing nations because they knew that if the Asian cricketing nations stuck together the World Cup would never be played anywhere else.

Last year was a great year for Indian cricket before the New Zealanders spoiled their party. They put it across England in the final of the Natwest Trophy in Lord's in the summer of 2002, after chasing a 300 plus score and then put their hands on the ICC Champions Trophy, albeit jointly with Sri Lanka, in September. The Sri Lanka result was probably not to the liking of the Indian fans because the way the Indians were playing in the tournament they could have put it across the hosts in the final had not bad weather intervened. But then something went wrong with the Indian preparation as they first lost a tight home series against the West Indies before the disaster in New Zealand. Even now the mental attitude of the Indian cricketers is difficult to judge and only time will tell whether they have overcome the battering they received in ‘‘Kiwiland’’.

 


For India, the first task on hand in the tournament is to qualify for the super six, which now seems a difficult task after the team's miserable showing in New Zealand. True, the pitches provided by the hosts for the matches were far below standard (a fact admitted by the New Zealand authorities themselves after the conclusion of the seven-match series which India lost 2-5) but then the much-vaunted Indian batting line-up simply was not up to the task. Why is of course the moot question.

In the World Cup, India have been placed in the tougher of the two pools with Australia, England, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and qualifiers Namibia and Holland clubbed with them. With the top three teams to make the ‘‘super six’’ stage from each pool, India will have to win at least four matches if it is to move ahead in the tournament. Two wins, against Namibia and Holland, can be assured but after that every match can be anybody's game. And it must be remembered that the co-hosts, in this case Zimbabwe, have always been a tough team to beat, at least at home. And they are scheduled to play their match against India at Harare, a venue which does not hold very happy memories for the Indian team. On any given day, India can put it across any team, even the mighty Australians, whom most pundits says should be the logical winners of this year's ‘‘greatest show on earth’’, but can they do it now when their morale must have hit rock bottom after the disaster in New Zealand ? Of course in a way the World Cup draw has been very favourable for India as they play a qualifier, Holland, in their first match, on February 12, at Paarl, near Cape Town. In contrast, Pakistan, who incidentally have never been able to beat India in any of the previous editions of the World Cup, are scheduled to play Australia in their tournament opener.

For India to do well in the tournament, they have to play to a plan. The batsmen as well as the bowlers must click right from the word go. There is simply no time to learn from mistakes in such a tournament. The team, a happy blend of youth and experience, has enough players of class and talent, provided of course they can deliver. Skipper Saurav Ganguly, whose form totally deserted him in New Zealand, has gone on record to say that the team has put the happenings of the tour of New Zealand behind them and was looking to the games in South Africa with confidence. But the most unfortunate part of Indian cricket is the fact while other teams were fine-tuning their gameplan for the World Cup the Indians were shuffling and experimenting with their batting line-up, their attack, their fielding plan, in fact with everything imaginable. Therefore, they are probably going to the World Cup without a definite plan of action, be it in batting or in bowling. Questions like who will open, will it be Virender Sehwag with Saurav Ganguly, or with Dinesh Mongia or with Sachin Tendulkar, who will come at number three and four, who will open the bowling and who will be the change bowlers are all questions which skipper Ganguly will have to decide on the field once the tournament gets going. And this could be India's biggest handicap in the tournament.

But if India are to do well in the World Cup the one cricketer—who answers to the name of Sachin Tendulkar and who can, single-handed, turn any game India's way — with have to perform with all cylinders firing. For somebody who started playing international cricket even before he started shaving (for the records, Sachin played his first Test seven years before skipper Ganguly made his debut), Sachin has seen the best of times as also the worst of times as far as Indian cricket is concerned. Of late, he has missed quite a few international matches because of injury and his fitness should be the topmost task of the team physio and cricket coach. Without Sachin in the playing eleven, the team's confidence and performance are bound to dip dramatically.

Even in the past editions of the World Cup, there have been batsmen who, single-handed, have won the cup for their countries (for example Vivian Richards of the West Indies in 1979 and Arjuna Ranatunge and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka in 1996). So what prevents Sachin from emulating them in this tournament? He has the class and the confidence to do what every Indian would like the team to do: Win the cup for India . There have been suggestions from certain experts that Sachin Tendulkar should be asked to open the Indian batting, along with Sehwag, and if these two explosive batsmen click together woe betide the fielding side! Tendulkar who has been batting at the number four spot since the West Indies tour early last year to lend solidity to the middle order should be promoted so that he, with his precise placements, can take full advantage of the field restrictions in the early stages of the innings. And with seven identified batsmen in the side, the panic button should not be pressed just in case Sachin gets out early.

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One of the most exciting cricketing finds of recent times, Delhi's Sehwag has already sent alarm bells ringing wherever he has played. His explosive batting coupled with his youthful exuberance could well play a decisive role in India's campaign for the World Cup. However, it must be remembered that the Delhi-based Sachin Tendulkar look-alike has the technique to succeed but not the tightness required in crunch situations. He often tends to throw away his wicket, not making the opposition bowler work hard enough for his wicket. Maybe, he needs a good talking to by John Wright prior to the tournament because if Sehwag can get his priorities right there is nothing which can stop him from getting his due place in India's ‘‘cricket hall of fame.’’

Together with Sachin Tendulkar and Sehwag it is vice-captain Rahul Dravid who constitutes the trinity of the Indian top order. Rahul has the technique, the temperament and the class to come good on any type of wicket. The year 2002 was particularly good for him as he came good both at home (who doesn't) and, more importantly, abroad. He can combine high levels of skills with uncanny tenacity. Nothing, simply nothing, can ruffle him. In England last summer it was he who blunted the England fast bowlers even as they bowled in pace-friendly conditions. But one thing which keeps cropping up in discussion on Indian cricket is the fact that Rahul has to double up as the wicketkeeper since India cannot rely on the six batsmen, four bowlers and one wicketkeeper line-up. By asking Rahul to keep wickets India can play an additional batsman but then the question which arises is — if six batsmen cannot deliver does seven really matter? The New Zealand experience is there for all to see. Even the additional batsmen could not steer India out of harm's way there. By asking Rahul to keep wickets, India, in fact, are putting ‘‘Mr Dependable’’ under additional pressure since one injury to him will see India not only losing its wicketkeeper but also one of the mainstay of the batting. The team management might like to see young Parthiv Patel keeping wickets in South Africa but as has been discussed earlier India are going into the World Cup with very little planning. Therefore, if Parthiv has to play then the whole team composition has to change. Can India chance that in the course of a World Cup ?

The team might have quality batsmen who deliver in fits and starts but it is the bowling department which must be put under the scanner whenever one discusses India's chances in the World Cup. The one international class bowler who can operate on all kinds of strips is Zaheer Khan who has really grown into a class player in the year gone by. Much will depend on him in South Africa, provided of course, the batsmen can put up the runs on the board. In Javagal Srinath, who was literally pulled out from cold storage in the course of the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka last September, India have the guile and the experience and whenever these two bowlers bowl in tandem it certainly raises the hopes of all those connected with Indian cricket. But left-handed Ashish Nehra as also Ajit Agarkar bowl good only. Nehra, in particular, is expensive and injury prone, a dangerous combination for a fast bowler.

In South Africa, one area where India can have the upper hand as compared to other teams in their pool is spin bowling. In Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh India have two of the best exponents of this art and both should find place in the playing eleven even if it goes against the normally followed cricketing strategies. Both are restrictive bowlers and can pose problems even to the best. Both these spinners have vast experience and even if Harbhajan Singh has never played in South Africa he is a quick learner and could well turn out to be India's trump card.

The Indians landed in South Africa on January 29, and should have got enough time to get used the weather and pitch conditions there. The team will be based in Durban, where there will be no dearth of local supporters given the diaspora settled there.
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