This
time he has chosen to write on the Indian cricket
team's captain Sachin Tendulkar. Read on to see what
our writer has to say on Tendulkar's captaincy, and
his ability to lead the Indian team at an age as
early as 23.
Sachin
Tendulkar's Captaincy.
Good or Bad (or
Ugly)?
The
nation rejoiced when Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
was appointed skipper of the Indian cricket team
after Mohammed Azharuddin, India's
most successful captain,returned home after a
disastrous tour of England.
Everyone,
myself included, thought that the young man's
captaincy would be just as magical as his
batsmanship.But that was not to be.Sachin Tendulkar
the captain was a nervous starter,unable to effect
quick bowling changes, unable to nail the opposition
when they were down:in all, a total contrast to his
explosive batting.
But
to be fair to the little genius,he is captaining a
young Indian side whose average age is about 24
years,and barring the skipper and the former
captain,the other members of the squad have played
less than an average of 10 Tests.
And
who can deny him credit for bowling Srinath on a
spinning wicket, leading India to victory against the
South Africans at Ahmedabad;or that wonderful field
placement at Trinidad:inducing Sherwin Campbell to
hit against the spin of s his batting.He is conservative
at most times:as indicated by the team's approach in their
quest for 120 runs at Barbados.He could easily have
told a few of his batsmen to play aggressively as
survival on that wicked wicket was most difficult if
not impossible.He tends to overbowl his strike bowlers
to which Srinath bears testimony! Most importantly,to
the concern of all India,his form with the bat has
dipped after being crowned captain.
In
the positive side of things,he is young:his talented
team is young and things can only get better with
experience.So hopefully, in the next two years,Sachin
will be captain of an Indian side that will crush all
those who stand in their path to success!!
Now
lets see if one were to select the World's XI
who would you include in your team. Make your list
and see if they match Mahadevan's World XI.
He has reasoned for selecting his players. Are his
reasons satisfactory ?
As the last Test
between Australia and the West Indies,Down Under, was
drawing to a close,the results of a contest to pick
the World XI were announced and the winning entry
selected by the 'highly distinguished' panel was:
- MARK
TAYLOR
- SANATH
JAYASURYA
- BRIAN
LARA
- SACHIN
TENDULKAR
- ARAVINDA
DE SILVA
- MARK
WAUGH
- STEVE
WAUGH
- IAN HEALY
- WASIM
AKRAM
- GLENN
McGRATH
- SHANE
WARNE
Now, the least that
can be said about the above selection is that the Australians
are quite a patriotic lot--what with six Australians
in a World XI!
So here's my World XI for both Tests and One Day
Internationals.
Test Matches:
- AAMIR
SOHAIL
- SAEED
ANWAR (when most Test teams are
struggling for opening batsmen, picking these
two was no problem!)
- BRIAN
LARA
- SACHIN
TENDULKAR (sorry,Aravinda could not
get into this side as it would affect it's
balance.)
- MARK
WAUGH
- BRIAN
McMILLAN (good bat,decent
bowler,great slipper)
- IAN HEALY
(the other contender, Dave Richardson, is a
bit too old to play the game.)
- WASIM
AKRAM
- ALLAN
DONALD (these three pick
themselves!)
- WAQAR
YOUNIS
- SHANE
WARNE (only Anil Kumble's mother
could question this!)
One Dayers:
- SANATH
JAYASURYA (@#@#%$# who else?)
- SACHIN
TENDULKAR (World class batsmen con't
need justification!!)
- BRIAN
LARA
- MARK
WAUGH
- ARAVINDA
DE SILVA
- MICHAEL
BEVAN (do I need to justify this?)
- MOIN KHAN (better
bat than Healy.)
- WASIM
AKRAM
- ALLAN
DONALD
- CURTLY
AMBROSE
- SHANE
WARNE
I'll cook up some more
as soon as my exams get over. So long till then.
For your suggestions and queries, mail me at my friend's address
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