Desicritics Author: Ayush T

BCCI vs. ICL: A Walkover Looms

Ayush T — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:02:51 EDT

In comprehensive favour of the ICL, that is. Especially with the announcement that four of Pakistan's most important and talented players: Inzimam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzak, and Imran Farhat have stuck a boot in the PCB's bloated belly and opted for a more professional organisation that is not run by greedy and unqualified despots.

Organisations like the BCCI, ICC and PCB have got away with gross mismanagement and utter ineptitude for far too long. It has taken an organisation with some semblance of vision and, more importantly, cash to burn, to confront cricket's traditional rulers. This moment, for us fans, couldn't have come at a more opportune moment in the game's history.

The winds of change have gathered such momentum that they are about to sweep with them most cricketers who would otherwise have been called upon by Team India in case of injury and/or (in the absence of illogical selection policies) poor form of one of the incumbents. Players like Deep Dasgupta, Thiru Kumaran, JP Yadav, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Mongia have all represented their country or the 'A' team, at one time or another.

It is unfortunate that the BCCI could not heed the calls of cricket's stakeholders in time to avoid impending humiliation. Time is one commodity the BCCI has had no shortage of. What more could we have expected from the BCCI when it is run along the lines of Indian politics where development is a dark term and progress is best left to chance, rather than achieved through design?

What Does The Future Hold?

I have no doubt that the ICL will stage very successful and entertaining matches in stadiums that are not sorry excuses for gallows. They will make money, and plenty of it too. The crunch, for the BCCI, will come when the ICL expands to one-day cricket and impinges on the BCCI's traditional territory.

At this time, I have very little doubt that this war will go the way of the Australian Rugby League v Super League battle, some years ago. Both parties will not be able to offer a complete package to their employees, without joining hands with each on some level.

After gaining official accreditation with the ICC, the ICL will develop into a competition similar to that of football's English Premier League or rugby's Super 14. It will be interesting to observe how international cricket fits into a calendar which is being increasingly dominated by a club/franchise-based multinational competition.

Until Then...

Lets enjoy the bickering and the BCCI's futile attempts to gain lost ground against a rampaging ICL setup. If nothing else, we might just be treated to a competition run by people who care as much for the sport as they do for their bank accounts.

I just hope that the ICL can deliver what it has promised. Even if the ICL does fail in organising a well-oiled, global cricket competition, I would be happy if it managed to kick Sharad Pawar, Niranjan Shah, Lalit Modi, et al out of office with their tails well and truly entrenched between their fat legs.

Indian Cricket: BCCI Cops One Tight Slap

Ayush T — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 05:34:54 EDT

Mukul Kesavan opines that the "BCCI comes across as a rich repertory company with a particular talent for farce." I am left with a strange suspicion that this fracas has not ended with Graham Ford's refusal of the Board's offer. Truth is, in this instance I sincerely hope I am not mistaken.

The BCCI has long taken all and sundry for granted. Everyone and everything outside the ruling faction is a replaceable instrument, fit only to be used and abused at the Board's will, and discarded like the most worthless pieces of meat would be from an abattoir. Dav Whatmore's unceremonious dumping from the head of the short-list being the latest incident that springs to mind.

Now that Whatmore has been slighted and that John Emburey was more of a smokescreen than an option, where will the BCCI go? The requisite, lame bumblings have been muttered by the honourary buffoons. These quick thinking, proactive ~~fools~~ gentlemen, in all their collective wisdom, have decided to appoint one Chandu Borde as Team India's "manager" for the tour to England and Ireland.

There's only one problem - the new "manager" had not even been informed before the news was leaked to the media.

There are very few phrases to describe this latest happening that do not include any expletives. 'Typical', will suffice for now.

The only thing I hope for now is that Chandu Borde and/or whoever is appointed the next permanent coach/manager also does a Graham Ford, and rejects the BCCI's offer. If the uproar and disgust of millions of fans is not sufficient in forcing the Board to undertake drastic and long overdue reform, then public humiliation is the last hope.

I am led to believing that the BCCI officials are wearing blinkers as dense as that sorry excuse they have for brains. Are the officials of the BCCI so wrapped up with their greed and lust for power that they are willing to suffer humiliation after gutting humiliation?

Bangladesh Cricket: A Generation Too Soon

Ayush T — Fri, 1 Jun 2007 00:17:02 EDT

The final Test match ended in under three days. The whistle-stop tour concluded without Bangladesh winning a single match. To be brutally honest, except for a moment or two in the very first ODI, the Bangladeshis were nothing but pretenders on a stage that is far too large and daunting for them.

The topic of Bangladesh's inclusion in the Test playing ranks is a touchy topic with its passionate supporters. However, passions aside, this tour has proven that Bangladesh falls into Zimbabwe's league, when it comes to Test cricket, and do not deserve their full membership of the ICC.

This statement has been made by many prominent people in the past and must be given due consideration by the ICC. Cricket's flagship format deserves better contests than are currently offered by the likes of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. In fact, crucial to Test cricket's survival is the offering of tough, give-no-inch cricket where one team is not overwhelmed as a matter of course, rather as a freak result.

Bangladesh have done well to significantly improve the level of competition they regularly offer to the opposition in the one-day format. However, it is no overstatement to say that Bangladesh do not yet have the resources, in terms of skill and mental fortitude, to offer a serious challenge to the traditional Test playing nations.

Bangladesh's problems are compounded by the ICC's six year itinerary. Sri Lanka, which is frequently used as an example for Bangladesh's Test status, had the benefit of being able to grow their system and structure by playing selectively in home conditions that were familiar to them, without the added pressure of an unforgiving itinerary. Bangladesh, on the other hand, have been unceremoniously and mercilessly torn to shreds in foreign conditions that they do not have the capacity to negotiate. In fact, foreign conditions alone cannot be blamed for Bangladesh's heavy losses, as the team also gets regularly humiliated at home.

It seems to me that Bangladesh's Test status has been handed over a generation too soon. It was quite obvious then that Jagmohan Dalmiya's greed was the primary motivator in granting this Test status, and this has been manifested in the results that the Bangladeshi has produced.

For the sake of Test cricket's future, and primarily its appeal to us, the viewers, the individual members need to apply serious pressure on the ICC to revoke Bangladesh's right to play Test cricket. At the same time, making a firm commitment to replace the scheduled Test matches with "A" team fixtures.

This is the only sane and logical path that will be for the benefit of all.

Sachin Tendulkar: Should He Or Shouldn't He?

Ayush T — Wed, 4 Apr 2007 00:22:58 EDT

A few days after the WC exit I wrote an article about why Sachin Tendulkar should not be made captain. Unfortunately, in the comments of the DC post, the debate has veered towards whether Tendulkar should be in the team at all.

Let's address this question, then. Does Sachin Tendulkar warrant a place in Team India in the current climate?

IMHO, those that want Tendulkar out of Team India should be able to name a (or multiple) creditable and talented replacement. Most of the names that have been cropping up, to date, revolve around the likes of Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina.

Don't get me wrong, these two players have potential that they need help in realising. However, that help should not come at the expense of SRT. One could argue that Kaif has had all the help in the world, and then some. Yet, he still has not been able to flourish and cement his place in the ODI team - unlike his good friend Yuvraj Singh.

For all his dips in form and changes in mental approach, I would still bank on Tendulkar playing consistently better over the next few years than any new cricketer coming into the side. Anybody who suggests that Indian cricket is ready to forge ahead without Tendulkar (and apparently that is 60% of India, as well as Ian Chappell) is seriously deluded or has an axe to grind.

A Question of Age

People like Jabberwock and Ruchir Joshi have vastly differing reasons for asking for Tendulkar to be shunted out of the team. Although, I do understand Jabberwock's angle (not because, like me, he is a self-proclaimed Tendulkar loyalist), I fail to understand what Ruchir was on about. Sample this:

"For a person born and brought up in India, age *does* matter. Most indians are indoor-people, by nature. They don't have the physical build to be in tip-top shape, as age advances. Compared to a normal adult of 33 years age, Sachin may be in great shape, but that does not mean he is in a great shape to play cricket. Add to that all the injuries he had to suffer. Sachin is definetly one of the better physically fit players, but it doesn't mean he will be able to play till 40. Most western country people have thick bones. Even if they are skinny, they look healthy. They are mostly outdoor people too. They indulge in lot of physical activities on weekend, at all ages. So, they have better physical structure to support them in sports, even at advancing age."

To anybody living outside of India it is quite obvious that Ruchir's sense of a Western lifestyle is quite misguided, as is his contention that Indians cannot remain as fit as their Caucasian counterparts. Most Western people do not indulge in physical activities, that is why obesity is rampant. Secondly, a person's bone structure has nothing to do with how well he/she can play cricket - they call it skill.

It is also highly irresponsible to suggest that Tendulkar's injuries are a result of him being unfit or under-prepared. His injuries have undoubtedly been a major cause in his lack of form over the past two years. It is hoped that with a bit of luck the injuries will stay away, allowing him to play as freely as we all know he can. Nobody is suggesting that he play till 40, for that is a long way off. Do not forget he is only 33 - hardly the geriatric period for a specialist batsman.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

No, I do not intend to deliver a mathematics lecture here. But, I would like to refer to a certain Chandra who produced some rather interesting statistics pertaining to the performance of Tendulkar and Kaif, in the comments section of the article I mentioned earlier.

I do not intend to dispute Chandra's statistical data, nor his analysis. However, I would like to refer you to Jabberwock's contention - and one that I wholly support - that every (sane) Tendulkar fan understands that the man "hasn't been the world's leading batsman for at least six years now; he hasn't even been India's best batsman for at least four years, going back to roughly the time when Rahul Dravid had those great series in England and Australia." You do not require statistics to prove this.

It is important to give statistics their due. Having said that, I also believe statistics should not represent the be all and end all of a case for the in/exclusion of a cricketer from a particular team. Our over-reliance on statistics has led to many a situation where a Ranji star has been picked for the national team based on a stunning average, when honest subjective analysis would have highlighted that he clearly lacked the gumption to put in what international cricket demands.

Quantitative objectivity has its merits, but in a game that so heavily relies on touch and timing, too often we conveniently forget the insights that our very own eyes and brains can afford us.

Here's to hoping that common sense prevails and SRT can remain injury-free and be allowed to play like we all know he can over the next few years. I am all for introducing new blood, but, the kids will simply have to find another road into Team India - for now.

The Woolmer Murder: Is The Tablighi Jamaat Involved?

Ayush T — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:48:47 EDT

Cricket commentators that have kept a watchful eye on the Pakistani team over the past 2 years have often commented on the not-so-minor role that religion has played in uniting the players towards a common goal. Some have even suggested that the focus has been shifted from cricket to religion.

In fact, PCB Chairman Naseem Ashraf thought strongly enough of the issue to suggest that the focus of his national team should return to cricket and religion should play a secondary role in the thinking and workings of the team.

Prem Panicker happened across an interesting article by B Raman, former Addl. Secretary in the Indian Cabinet Secretariat and current counter-terrorism wonk.

Raman references an earlier article (apparently written just before the World Cup) by a Pakistani columnist, that described links between a "jihadi" organization, Tablighi Jamaat (TJ), and the ultra-religious faction within the Pakistan team. It is said that Inzamam-ul-Haq was the leader of the faction within the team and the group included the likes of "Mushtaq Ahmed (the bowling coach), Mohammad Yousaf, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, and Yasser Hameed."

Apparently, Inzamam's faction are all members of this conservative Islamic organization and Inzamam himself regularly preaches its beliefs across Pakistan. The organization's clergy are often seen leading players' prayer sessions and organizing meetings with international chapters of the organization during overseas cricket tours.

Raman believes, although he has no concrete evidence, that Woolmer may have questioned or criticized TJ beliefs or practices, leading to rather disproportionate action being taken in revenge by a TJ member.

Revelations are coming to light pertaining to the command that Inzamam had over his players, and the lack of control that Woolmer was able to exert over them. In this light, it is quite reasonable to assume that Woolmer may have questioned the players' commitment towards the game, as compared to their religion. After all, a coach's job is not to stand by idly as a cricket team transforms itself from a group of focussed players to wannabe jihadi clergymen.

Quite correctly, Raman ponders whether the Jamaican Police have explored this avenue in the course of their investigations. These claims are quite different to the common themes revolving around shady characters that fix matches.

Assuming that the Jamaican Police were unaware of these details, one cannot help but wonder whether they were able to ask the right questions during their interrogation of the Pakistan squad.

I do not believe a Pakistan squad member had a direct link to Woolmer's murder. However, a seemingly innocent conversation between a player and another TJ member could have sown the seeds for what transpired in Woolmer's hotel room on that fatal night.

The question remains, did the police ask the right questions? Moreover, does the Pakistan team know more than it is letting out?

Captain Tendulkar? Never Again, Please

Ayush T — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:37:44 EDT

How can so many people, with so much "experience" and "wisdom" be so short-sighted? Discounting the fact that the Indian media tries its shameful utmost to create the news, rather than merely report it, many supposedly knowledgeable elder statesmen are pining for the reappointment of Sachin Tendulkar as Indian captain.

Instead of calling for mindless "blood-letting", cricketers whose opinions are solicited or opportunistically offered should wisely consider their views before creating unnecessary drama. Indian cricket has suffered far too much and far too long at the hands of self-promoters. For once in Indian cricket history, the people that matter are called upon to unite and restructure the game in a manner that will promote success in the long-term. Taking decisions and spouting needless rubbish on a whim is not what the doctor ordered.

Let me preface my views below with the information that I am an unashamed and long-standing fan of Tendulkar. Regardless of the fact that he has failed to win pressure matches in recent times and seems unable to overcome a mental block that is prohibiting him from wowing us with his true genius, he has been one of the reasons (quite often, the only reason) why many of us have continued to watch Indian cricket. He has also been a big part of the little success that Team India has achieved over the previous decade and a half.

I will continue to be a fan of Tendulkar until my dying day. This has not, and will not, cloud my judgment pertaining to his true worth to Team India. I believe the calls for his axing or retirement are premature and irresponsible. I challenge the proponents of this school of thought to name one emerging player of considerable talent who will be able to consistently outperform Tendulkar over the next few years. Emotional and illogical arguments aside, not one name will be half of what Tendulkar can be over the coming years.

Sachin Tendulkar's worth to Team India is indisputable. However, his qualifications to lead the side leave a lot more to be desired. His two previous stints in the top job were nothing short of disastrous. He would have, undoubtedly, matured as a person and developed as a leader in this time. This should not paper over his blinding inability to inspire and cajole his troops to perform during his previous attempts.

Instead of discussing potential replacements for Rahul Dravid, the question that needs to be considered is whether Dravid deserves the sack. Tendulkar was not alone in being unable to convert his players into a cohesive and focussed unit. Mohammad Azharuddin also suffered the same problems. Azharuddin only survived for as long as he did thanks to politicking and a lack of desire within the BCCI to try and improve the game they are supposed to manage (obviously, nothing has changed to this day). A second failing of Azharuddin, Tendulkar and Ganguly was their significant decline in form while they were captain.

Rahul Dravid has only been in the job for 18 months. In that time he has shown that his batting has prospered, or at the very least, not suffered. He has also shown that he has the ability to lead his players to out-perform their potential, as evidenced by the 17 straight ODI victories while chasing.

Moreover, he has shown that he wants to be his own man. Nobody quite knows what prompted him to take the collaborative route for the World Cup, but he has also shown in the past that he has an ability to isolate and remedy his shortcomings - remember how he wasn't good enough to play ODIs.

Admittedly, his tactical awareness and ability to innovate went distressingly MIA when the going got tough. However, to be fair to Dravid, he is not the only international captain that suffers from this affliction. Only Stephen Fleming, and Michael Vaughan to a lesser extent, have consistently displayed the ability to come out on top in difficult situations. The few times that he was strenuously tested, even Steve Waugh lost the plot.

If Captain Dravid's only drawback is that he needs to improve his tactical nous in difficult situations, does he need replacing? Do we have a ready-made candidate who is a shoo-in for both teams and also has the ability to captain like Fleming? I seriously think not.

Captain Tendulkar, is the worst thing that could happen to Indian cricket in these troubled times. We do not need to change the captain, we need to change the system that produces his players. Concentration on the issues that need addressing rather the shuffling of deck chairs on the Titanic is the need of the hour. The decisions that need to be made are tough, but the reasons for making them are simple and require only common-sense.

Unfortunately, we all know that the likelihood of the BCCI making common-sense decisions is the same as George Bush capturing Osama Bin Laden.

Cricket India: The Rot Starts at the Top

Ayush T — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 01:20:12 EDT

After what is easily the worst ever performance by an Indian team at any edition of the Cricket World Cup, I am still struggling to believe it actually happened.

It is blatantly obvious to anyone with half a brain that the archaic structures and systems that have sustained Indian cricket for the last 20 years are inadequate for the needs of today's game. They will continue to prove themselves ineffective and inefficient as long as the game is governed by a haphazard, illogical and inept organization that is manned by equally worthless and petty individuals that care for nothing more than their own selfish, personal agendas.

Despite the said structures and systems many good men have invested much thought, sweat and courage in trying to ensure that at least the national team can enjoy the right environment in which it has the opportunity to prosper. A building is only as safe as its foundations. Unfortunately, and far too soon for the hopes and wishes of many supporters, the building that is Team India finally gave way. I am inclined to argue that it is a true wonder that it has remained somewhat erect for so long.

Now that India have finally been ousted from the World Cup, I must say that I strongly agree with Sharad Pawar in that "harsh" decisions are required for the good of the game in India. But, that is where our agreement ends.

I maybe numb, but my sense of reason has not deserted me. Thinking through the events of the past week has made me angry. Very angry. Angry that a bunch of misfits and idiots posing as managers of the wealthiest body of its kind still have a job, as honorary as it may be. Pawar has come out with the same rhetoric that we all expected of him in the current climate: something about more youngsters and planning for the next World Cup.

Where does he plan to pull the said youngsters from? From a soft and bloated domestic competition structure that is not worth its first class status? From a situation where players bribe selectors to make it to Ranji squads (remember the DDCA)? From an environment where a pitch is known to be a strip of mud, devoid of any substance, in the middle of a green oval? From a system where 30 year old men with 5 year old children are still playing in various under-16 age-group tournaments?

Pawar needs to own up. The majority of the "blame" for this unfortunate defeat lies with him and his cronies, along with all those that have come before them and deigned it unnecessary to execute their duties with due care for the game. Greg Chappell and his staff are not to blame. Rahul Dravid and his players could have done things a little better than they did. However, it is Pawar and his calamitous group of fools that have no interest in making India a superpower of the cricket world - on the field - who are the real culprits in this drama.

All the BCCI's greenbacks are of no use or importance when it continually fails to employ them for the right purposes. Forget trying to help potential Olympians to reach their goals, it needs to look after its own pathetic backyard first. As obnoxious as it sounds, the simpletons that damaged the player's houses and burnt their effigies should have done it to Pawar and his mob instead. He is not worth the seat he occupies and it has become a waste of the nation's resources to listen to the unending gibberish he spouts.

Someone needs to do us all a favour and dethrone Pawar's pitiful administration. In fact, it is high time that he did us all a favour and stepped down of his own volition. The most unfortunate fact is that it's not going to happen and the professionals who should take his place are never going to surface.

The blame, Mr Pawar, lies with you.

Ricky Ponting's Chip

Ayush T — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 10:45:17 EDT

I refer to the rather ostentatious mold of anti-matter that resides on his shoulder. If he has not done enough damage to his tattered reputation by being regularly disciplined by match referees for gesturing, on-field irregularities and shoving Federal Ministers off it, the Australian Captain has now resorted to taking pot-shots at Sunil Gavaskar.

In what can only be described as the pathetic venting of a long-held angst against the former world record holder, Ponting has again proven that Cricket Australia has forever cheapened the institution that is the post of Australian Captain by appointing him to it.

Insipidity and a dearth of real leadership qualities have characterised Ponting's captaincy and have led to his charges looking and feeling lost when the pressure is unexpectedly applied to them. This lack of ability to think on his feet has tarnished his legacy as a cricketer and was quite evident when he was quizzed on the topic of Gavaskar airing his views on Australia's recent demise as the unchallenged occupiers of Mount Cricket's summit.

This Cricinfo article accurately points out Gavaskar's propensity to lambast the Australians for their many on and off field transgressions. When asked for his views on Gavaskar's latest comments, Ponting blurted:

"Have a look at how many Test matches they [India] have won. He [Gavaskar] has been a big part of that, he has been a selector and he has been on the coaching committee. They might want to start to look at the way they play their own cricket rather than looking at us."

It baffles me as to how Cricket Australia could appoint this man as its captain when he clearly does not have the intellect or the skill, to represent his country like a real statesman should. At the very least, Ponting should not have fabricated facts and made dubious links between the subject and an uninvolved institution.

The only selecting that Gavaskar has performed in recent times has been of the ICC World XI for the disgrace that was the Johnny Walker Super Series, and if you really want to stretch it, he was a member of the committee that interviewed and recommended Greg Chappell for the post of Indian Coach. In short, the only interest Gavaskar has in Indian cricket is purely an emotional one and as a commentator and columnist.

Furthermore, at no time, whilst criticising Australia's ways has Gavaskar compared them to the current Indian team.

It is blatantly obvious that Ponting has either no sense of the world around him - the same world that has been his life for the last decade - or he has willingly and deliberately employed his limited creativity to insinuate titles and linkages that clearly do not, and probably have never existed.

Cricket Australia would not have sent its team to the Caribbean without a Media Manager. It should now hurriedly shoot an email to its daft captain advising him to desist from any further public displays of ineptitude, instead deferring all questions to the said professional.

One wonders at the length of time it will take for Ponting to reduce the aura of the title of Australian Captain to the rubble that epitomised the Pakistani Captaincy in the days of W Akram, W Younis, R Latif and M Khan.

God have mercy on the legacy of Bradman, Border, Taylor and Waugh.

Chetan Chauhan, Have You No Shame?

Ayush T — Wed, 7 Feb 2007 00:14:21 EST

That particular question should be posed not only to Chetan Chauhan, but also his band of brown-nosing fools who control the affairs of The Board for Veteran Cricketers in India (BVCI). According to Chauhan, the BVCI is an organisation that aims to utilise the talents of former cricketers to provide them a means to earn a living and entertain. Very noble indeed.

Then, in this context, the decision of the BVCI to appoint Mohammad Azharuddin as captain of the India Veterans team can only be described as a cheap, ill-judged and unpatriotic publicity stunt - with no inherent semblance of nobility.

The Hindu reports that the Indian Veterans will play their Pakistani counterparts in a three-match one-day series, featuring big names of yesteryear such as Venkatesh Prasad, Manoj Prabhakar, Nayan Mongia and Chetan Chauhan, among others.

Nobody, especially not ex-cricketers, should need reminding of the circumstances around which Azharuddin was banned from participating in any official cricket matches and his record purged.

It need not, and does not, matter that he was one of the most talented players of his generation. I too was an Azharuddin fan before the match-fixing scandal broke. What matters is that he sold his soul for a few extra notes in his back pocket and he betrayed hundreds of millions of his fans. Azharuddin sold out his team mates and connived to pull the rug from under their feet. He does not possess the decency or integrity to make an honest buck and for this he should be labeled the traitor that he is.

People like Azharuddin do not deserve to rehabilitated and accepted back into society. People who attempt to do so obviously do not have the courage to call him a liar and a cheat and ostracise him for committing one of the most heinous betrayals of faith possible in life.

Chetan Chauhan and his cronies at the BVCI should be ashamed of themselves and admonished for trying to make a quick rupee by using the name of a traitor. I loathe people who feel they need to partake in an entrepreneurial undertaking that glamourises cheats and traitors, whether they be players or spectators.

All talk about how patriotic we are as a nation amounts to pure and utter dribble when our own do not have the common sense to place personal integrity and national pride above their own back pockets.

Azharuddin deserves to rot, and rot alone. Harsh, but true.

Cricket: Does Team India Need Virender Sehwag?

Ayush T — Fri, 2 Feb 2007 04:49:34 EST

The most recent performances from the ODI version of Team India would be enough to coerce many an Indian "fan" into answering, "No!" The team is doing well, posting scores well in excess of 300 without Sehwag, bowling out the opposition without Sehwag and taking stunning catches without Sehwag.

Why on God's dear Earth would you want the said Sehwag to return to the fold when all is so supremely hunky dory without him? Right?

Wrong!!

Dilip Vengsarkar and his wise friends finally took our advice and dropped Virender Sehwag, so that he could return to domestic cricket and find his touch again. Only that, there is a distinct dearth of domestic matches being played for Sehwag to go back to basics in.

Thankfully, the Almighty has instilled enough sense into the powers-that-be within the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) for them to organise a practice match or two for the fallen Indian hero. As a result he has been able to show us that he can take a trick. Sehwag has lost weight, scored runs and grown a beard - the quintessential mark of wounded tiger (read, man) poised to pounce once more.

The real story is that Virender Sehwag got lazy and tired. Every professional faces a point in their career where they need a break, a change of scenery, maybe even a jolt that awakens them from their deep slumber. Sehwag will return to Team India all the better for his own personal jolt. He will return to international cricket knowing how it feels not to be there.

Do not commit the mistake of assuming that it is only Sehwag that needs Team India. This is as much a give and take relationship as any successful marriage (I don't necessarily mean in a typically Indian sense, either). Virender Sehwag provides attacking options and prowess that a captain would die for. Whether that be at the top of the order or in the middle of it. A fully fit and in-form Sehwag coming in to bat in the 28th over will give opposition captains big headaches.

For all of Team India's heroics over the past couple of weeks the middle order is still brittle. Suresh Raina has seemingly forgotten how to hold a bat, Yuvraj Singh is badly undercooked and I remain hugely skeptical of the Dinesh Karthik experiment. With Mohammad Kaif unlikely (and rightly so too) to be selected for the final World Cup squad, a middle order inhabited by both Karthik and Raina is a gamble that India cannot afford.

For all the success achieved by comeback kid Sourav Ganugly (more on him later), my man Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir, there is still plenty of space for Virender Sehwag.

Team India needs Virender Sehwag if they are to win the World Cup.

There! You have that in writing.