Post-mortem of any public event seems to be our favourite national past-time. Agenda based selections offer enough fodder for critics but one needs to address the real issues which are the major roadblocks for the Indian team.
Paddy Upton, the mental conditioning coach of the Indian team has hit the nail on its head. He has rightly pointed out mental fatigue as the cause of the team's abysmal performance. And Bishan Bedi says, “we are stuck in the IPL mode.”
Chandu Borde, known for his precise footwork against any type of bowler, makes a poignant comment; the batsman's feet get positioned correctly only when he has prepared well. Borde played in an era when bowlers were permitted to drag their backfoot.
Imagine for a moment six-and-a-half-foot bowlers like Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett bowling to batsmen in that fashion. And there was no protective gear then. Borde almost scored a century in each innings (109 and 96) of the final Test against West Indies at Delhi in the 1958-59 series braving the frightening pace attack of Wesley Hall and Roy Gilchrist.
He says: “Not only present day cricketers don't get into the correct position but because they use heavy bats, they are always late on the ball. When I was the team manager in 2007, I had cautioned them but at international level it's the prevailing trend and this creates technical flaws.”
‘Bradman-centenary collection' — a highly educative film reveals how Bradman strategically got into position to counterattack the bowlers. To him that meant a lot. He never faltered. And when one watches Len Hutton, Peter May, Colin Cowdrey bat against Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller or Neil Harvey facing ‘Typhoon' Frank Tyson on uncovered wickets, the beauty of footwork comes alive.
To young Indian batsmen this education is a must. The video analysis of a technique does help, but watching films of technically correct batsmen is a learning of its own.
Casual approach
“The casual approach in the nets gets a batsman to practice wrong footwork. And when you face a bowler with shoddy footwork in a Test match, the opposition spots your weakness quickly and attacks from both sides relentlessly,” says Borde.
Either the young batsmen in the Indian team haven't grasped coach Duncan Fletcher's advice or haven't been able to implement it. International cricket is not the place to experiment. A player is expected to display his skills and temperament. Do we get that impression when Suresh Raina, who scored a century on his Test debut, bats? He is neither back nor forward.
It's time for corrective measures. The fact that the selectors have opted for Tendulkar and Dravid for the ODIs indicates they have pressed the panic button.
And finally, who is responsible for Zaheer Khan's fitness mess? The selectors, the physiotherapist of the team or Zaheer Khan himself for succumbing to external pressures? What were the criteria on which he was picked for the Lord's Test and though he continued to be unfit, why was he picked for the ODIs? We need these answers in the national interest. It's a serious matter.
It does seem there is a three-tier system in India. Those who play for the country are the privileged lot. Others are kept happy by making them play for India ‘A' and the lot that suffers — those who perform consistently and yet find a place in the national team elusive.
