Blogs Sachin or Saurav or Dravid - Who should be dropped ?
October 25th, 2007 by marauderWell if I were the selector of the Indian cricket team. And given the dismal performance of the Indian team immediately after their all time high @ South Africa, i would definitely have a few action items to be immediately executed.
On papers yes, Saurav and Sachin are a fearsome duo to confront with. But how long to boast on papers, its time to do something that our passionate spectators would desperately want to see. India clicked as a team in the 20-20 World Cup, because they played as team. They played with a spirit and passion to win, and how did that passion evade in the immediately following series. The answer is simple, the young lads arent able to be themselves when the three biggies are around. Its time we realise that we are heading nowhere with statistics and records. Its time we do what is good for Indian cricket. The need of the hour is fresh legs, spirited young lads, giving it their everything. I would still opt to have Dravid in my team, because he’s too good a player to be left out and he stil plays the game with the same spirit. Maybe he’s temporarily out of form, but it will not take him time to get back in business. I believe its time Saurav and Sachin call it quits and move aside leaving the young generation to take over. Am i right guyz ? Any objection ?
October 25th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Pardon my french marauder, but you are absolutely crazy!! You are contradicting yourself within a span of your paragraph. On one end you are saying that records on paper are not enough, but on the other hand you want to retain Dravid because he has played well before.
And Sachin should call it quits!! Please note, in case you did not know he was the top Indian ODI scorer against both England and Australia (almost scoring 3 centuries) and I am sure he was not exactly coming in the way of young lads like Gambhir or Yuvraj or Dhoni when they were out there batting. Sachin is the only Indian in the top 10 ODI batsman list and that list reflects “current” form. Even Gilchrist or Clarke are not in the top 10 anymore.
Mark my words marauder, Sachin is not finished yet. Hardly the case. He would be pushing very hard to get to the top ODI spot in the next 6 months. He is playing with tremendous focus and still have lot of power and elegance.
Now in regards to Ganguly, I would like to keep mum. Because personally I don’t really care. Of course no one can deny the fact that even in recent times (including away series in England and home series against Australia) he has been an effective opening partner with Sachin.
Now about T20. Twenty20 and Fifty50 are two different ball games. As you can see that someone like Gambhir, who has been playing so well in the 20 overs format is a total flop in the 50 over version. So comparing the team composition and bringing up the age factor is completely illogical.
In a nutshell, the heat is on now. And as Sachin clearly challenged the other day in an interview, it will be all about performance and not about age. Because otherwise Jaisuryas of the world would have been looking after their grandchildren rather than batt”l”ing it out there.
And BTW, in case you did not know, If Cricket Is A Religion Then Sachin Is The Ultimate God!!
October 25th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Here are scores for Sachin in his last 15 ODIs or so.
99, 93, 8, 17, 99, 8, 55, 71, 94, 30, 0, 16, 43, 79, 47, 72, 21
4 90+
3 70+
1 50+
2 40+
And Here are scores for Dravid
7, 0, 13, 0, 31, 0, 4, 24, 1, 56, 92, 46, 10, 36, 2
1 90+
1 50+
1 40+
Now you tell me who should stay and who should go.
To be quite honest, I am not even saying that Dravid should call it quits. He is too good a batsman to have lost it that quickly. But to say that selectors should keep Dravid and drop Sachin is absolutely nuts.
October 26th, 2007 at 4:09 am
there should not be any argument about saying goodbye to Mr.Dravidkumar from both forms of the game. he is exhausted and retaining him is going to be liability to team india. as far as sachin and saurav are concerned Saurav has to be retained without doubt and Sachin can be retained considering his past glories. Saurav is definitely doing better than Sachin,The god to some people.
October 26th, 2007 at 6:51 am
Saurav doing better than Sachin??? Currently?? Here are his performances in the last 15 ODIs:
13, 42, 18, 39, 2, 72, 9, 59, 53, 15, DNB, 41, 0, 86, 0
0 90+
2 70+
2 50+
Err… is that better than Sachin’s?
And most of Ganguly’s runs were scored in a very slow fashion.
October 26th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Sachin should be there. He should be allowed to pick and choose his matches. Sourav Ganguly is a liability which team India can do without. And as far as Dravid goes , he will bounce back. It is only a matter of time. It is only in the last series that he failed.( Sourav Ganguly did not do anything for about 2 years till he was given the ‘treatment’ by Greg. yet he managed to find a regular place just because he was a captain. It is only after the ‘dose’ that he trying his best. But he seems to be more interested in his own statistics rather than the team’s cause). Come on Rahul , show them that you are still India’s best batsman.
October 26th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Just to put this together
Ganguly: Sachin
0 90+ 4 90+
2 70+ 3 70+
2 50+ 1 50+
0 40+ 2 40+
#43 #9 and moving up — World ODI Ranking.
Ganguly’s career strike rate 70odd, Sachin’s around 85.
We have absolutely no answere or replacement for Sachin and he is only going to get better.
In any case, it is good to have you back on crickdigs ashokphatak. We really missed you
November 1st, 2007 at 4:25 am
i said Saurav is doing better than Sachin was in the context of how Sachin Worshipers were criticiing Saurav and not in absolute terms. the order of preference between the trio would be Sachin,Saurav and if at all required Dravid. In my opinion Dravid will be suitable(if at all) for Test only. Sachion and Saurav are suitable for Test as well ODI ,but all three of them are not for T20 form. Dravid is finished the moment he resigned as a captain, whereas Ganguly has to leave captainship as a punishment and is doing well after comeback. Sachin is GOD and he cannot be compared with humans. usne kuch bhi kiya to achahi hota hai( like few of Hindu gods have many wifes but we still prey them and we criticize human if he does the same thing). i donot understand why people give comparative figures all the time when one should understand the current status of the player. the player can be chosen by his past performance.