Dr. A. Prabaharan's

Yuvaraj Singh has become synonymous with sixers. He hit the longest six of 119 metres against the mighty Australians in the ongoing Twenty 20 tournament. The semi final was a magical treat for the cricket watchers. The huge presence of Indians in the gallery doubled up the spirit of Yuvaraj and his teammates. Of course that also put them in tremendous pressure. But  Dhoni’s men were carefree and unleashed their skills without any frills attached to their cricketing abilities. Most of the Indian supporters belong to the Diasporic community in South Africa. A country known for the large scale presence of Indians, South African fields resembled home ground for the men in blue.

Despite hurting his elbow, Yuvaraj got into the field with the willow. The starting was as per the calculations of Dhoni’s team India. First the toss turned to India’s side. But the run making was a bit slow. It seems that the team decided not to lose quick wickets while trying to score big initially. The slow and steady approach was adopted to stabilize the order. After estimating the pace of Australians, they went on for a rampage. A decent score was made when Virendar Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were sent to the pavilion. Now the turn of Sixer raj in Durban arrived. Yuvaraj swash buckled sixes all over. He hit fours in the same fashion but rarely he ran for singles. It was the Indian tricolor fluttering all over the mammoth stadium. The meager presence of Australian flags was submerged by thousands of tricolurs.

Audience was awe-struck. They saw Yuvaraj coming, hitting and reaching half a century in minutes. In an eye-blinking moment Yuvaraj crossed his fifty. In the line of Indian firing the Kangaroos were clueless. They bowed down to the new found master cricket men from India. For the second consequective match  Yuvraj had exhibited his gladiatorial skills. Every one was wondering where was this six hitting skils all these years? Why Yuvaraj failed to show it on the ground? Nevertheless the Indian cricket lovers are happy to embrace their new hero.

Now the bar is high for Yuvaraj. His willow needs to swing the ball to sixes otherwise the audience will be disappointed. As the team for the tournament without any bigger expectations the performance has scintillated the nation. Even if they failed to win the world cup they will be lifted and celebrated as the heroes. The killer instinct, worriless gaming, cool handling and giving fitting action replies to the critics proved the younger team very tough.

Yuvaraj has decided to play to the wishes of the nation. He understands his responsibility as the player who holds the emotions of billion plus population. The sixer king is keen to deliver with his entire cricket fraternity backing him up. There is a mutual admiration and support for the eleven blue men. Yuvaraj is one among the eleven and sure to do the fire works with Pakistan. The sky is clear to welcome the cool punching of the ball by Yuvaraj

The Indian cricket team is on the overhaul. After the resignation of Rahul Dravid as the team India’s captain, the BCCI was put under tremendous pressure to choose the right man to lead the demoralized team. At this crisis hour of Indian cricket, the nation needs a player with high class maturity and toughness to handle various adversities to triumph on fields. Anil Kumble the veteran cricketer who never hogged limelight or the media ignored hero can be the best bet. Apart from Kumble’s professional qualities he can manage the many troubling sides of the Indian cricket very well. Although Kumble announced his retirement fromODIs, he can be pursued to take up the challenge. The choice of Mahendra Singh Dhoni may not redeem the lost prestige of the team. He will also follow the troubled path of his predecessors – Sachin, Saurav and Rahul.

Why suddenly the gentle star put down his papers? Rahul Dravid citied his personal underperformance as the reason for resignation. Of course this is valid cause of concern. Not only to the player but also to the team and the country. As there is no suitable alternative to take the command of the toughest cricket team, the BCCI was put in a state of total confusion. The timing of the Rahul’s step down had sent shock waves across the country. In fact it told that he wanted to announce this during the launching session of IPCL (Indian Professional Cricket League). When he whispered his decision to Shrad Pawar before taking the mike, the politician president of BCCI was clean bowled. Quickly he recovered from the dosra which Rahul bowled, Pawar requested him not to announce at that moment. The clever move to counter ICL (Indian Cricket League) will be lost if Rahul’s resignation takes the centre stage. It will also lead to commoner’s wrong perception about Pawar’s leadership. Bowing down to the President’s request, Rahul postponed his resignation announcement.   But after few days of the gala launch of IPCL,  Rahul spelled his disastrous decision through press to the public. People started thinking about the political interferences as the sole cause for the exit of a brilliant player as the captain.

Why the talented and tough cricketer Rahul failed to win India matches? Generally captaining the Indian team is not easy. Apart from the sound cricketing qualities one has to master many talents to discharge the duty as the captain of Indian cricket. Navigating through the troubled political waters of BCCI, managing the media, overcoming the audience pressure, meeting the off field expectations, harmonizing the team members, exhibiting professional abilities and taking quick decisions on field are the major essential factors. The first three reasons can be dangerous for the Indian captain to handle. Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, the brilliant players of our time have failed to produce remarkable victories for the nation. Despite holding envious personal records all the three players failed miserably. Saurav Ganguly is better among the all three.

To save the Indian cricket from further decline, one has to consider these professional and sociological matters before going into the issue of captaincy. Unless this is done neither Mahendra Singh Dhoni nor god sent player can win cricket matches for India.

Depoliticisation

 Today the Indian cricket is controlled by full time politicians. They are giving constant headaches to the players and audience. Their involvement in the cricket management reduces the effect of the game. How can a powerful and significant union cabinet minister can allocate time judiciously to the game and his ministerial duty? The portfolio of the BCCI president as minister is very vital. Agriculture is the backbone of the country. Due to the irregular management of ministry, cricket of the country suffers and the improper lead of the cricket damaged the agriculture. His involvements in both the important fields have reduced two important areas of the nation to mockery. 

 Professionalization

Cricket is not only a serious game but it is also a national passion. The eleven on the field are playing over the millions of fans aspirations. Only professional and full time board administrators can save the Indian cricket. Those who have long standing experience and bitter and better taste of the country’s cricket should lead the team management. Sunil Gavaskar can be the good choice. Apart from the Office of Profit a separate rule should be formed to prevent politicians occupying professional posts. This will automatically change the contours of Indian cricket.

Reformation of the players

The Indian cricket players are spoilt a lot in the world today. Too much of honours, prize money and public recognitions have spoiled their abilities. There is little of urge left in them to win cups for the nation. A complete motivation tonic feeding is required to boost up their morale.  Much time has been spent by the Indian cricketer in endorsing commercial products. Their advertisement roles have reduced their concentration and abilities to perform on filed 

Minimizing the on field time

Many times the schedule of the Indian team is too tough. Without a gap the players are compelled to play. There should be an adequate time gap between one tour and the another. This will give them ample time to improve physical fitness and health standards. Frequent foreign trips too put them in trouble.

Once these issues are addressed the Indian team will be victorious wherever it goes. There is no lack of talents but the unprofessional management of the team is the prime reason for its downfall. A passionate team management can pull the boys in blue to perform. The sooner it is done the better the team and the nation’s official religion.