thoughts on dravid's captaincy

How about this:

 

it cant be pamela .. she doesnt have any nuts ..

P.S: this post makes more sense and is more true than perhaps 90% of the posts in this thread ...

 

https://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s119/st93196.htm



The Core Problem


By Gaurang - March 24 2006

After the second embarrassing fourth innings collapse in four Test matches, the question is being raised as to what is wrong with the Indian team?

One defeat such as the 341 run drubbing in Karachi where the team shows a collective lack of fight and throws in the towel is one too many, but one can understand that such things happen, especially when in the previous two matches you have been unlucky with the toss and have faced deficits of over one thousand runs collectively, before you even strap on a batting pad.

But to collapse so ignominiously twice in the span of four Test matches is alarming to put it mildly. In a previous article this writer had suggested one of the reasons teams routinely collapse in a heap when faced with tough situations and grimly determined opponents is that they have stopped trusting each other, and being there for each other. In an atmosphere of constant chopping and changing, where fear and insecurity dominate, every person is playing basically for himself. In such an atmosphere nobody is willing to put their hand up when the rest of the side is unable or in their mind unwilling to do so.

When a team sees that the man who was largely responsible for building it up over the past few years is unceremoniously dropped, and not only that, but is also publicly ridiculed and humiliated by the one person the team is supposed to trust the most after the Captain, i.e. the coach, it sends the message to them all that “I could be next.” On top of that, when they see the Captain is unable or unwilling to take strong decisions and override the Coach and selectors in matters such as team composition, etc. it makes the feeling even more acute.

In the recent past, under Sourav Ganguly you could identify a group of players who were the core of the team. Now under Greg Chappell that core has been shattered. Nobody is sure who the core is. The core, such as it exists currently in the Test team is: The Captain, his statemate and trusted veteran, Anil Kumble, and maybe Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni the two rising young stars. But that is it.

Every other player, from the vice Captain Sehwag, to veterans like Laxman, Harbhajan, Tendulkar, to new comers like Jaffer, Gambhir, Kaif, RP Singh, and Yuvraj, can sense that if they do not meet some pre-set criteria of performance, they could be on the verge of getting the “Ganguly” treatment from their coach. And they all know that their captain will not stand up for them even if he thinks it is the right thing to do, because he himself does not want to antagonize the Coach to whom he has handed off lots of responsibilities that normally would fall within the purview of the Captain.

Dravid’s team has twice sent a clear message to their skipper, about standing by him, first in Karachi, and now in Mumbai. I hope he pays heed to the message and takes the reigns more into his hands and steps in when necessary, even if it means on occasion telling his know-it-all coach and interfering selectors, who now even conduct portions of the team's net sessions, to back off. The question is whether Dravid has the nous to do so? The answer to that could well determine how his tenure as Test captain turns out.

 

https://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s119/st93254.htm


Done in by Chappellization



Chappellization is defined as random and fickle changes made on whim, accompanied by unsuccessful attempts to rationalize them in the guise of experimentation for the future.

Coach Greg Chappell's methods are reminiscent of a child who rips apart a working model of a toy airplane: wheel first and wing by wing, then the engine. He can't put it back together and throws it away... yuck! Bad toy... doesn't work!

Chappellization has manifested itself in a multitude of ways:

1) Psychobabble: Chair practise, De Bono tricks, catching lecture, color ball practise, psychology, multi-media, yoga, and biomechanics. At the end of all that, the boys can't hold simple sitters.

2) Confused Sehwag and Bhajji: Simple rural minds who understood compassionate phrases like Ja ke Maar, Dho daal, Rok ke khel, Mar jana par haarna nahin, or just the simple Shabaash have had fuzzy pseudo-intellectual junk talk from the Chappell library imposed upon them: It's not about winning or losing but about psychosomatic evolution into betterment and other such nonsense. This has left Bhajji and Sehwag -- two major pillars of Indian cricket success -- confused wrecks.

3) Opener Position: Mutual back-scratching has traded off Gambhir for Jaffer, who with his feet movement will always be either an LBW or caught-in-slips candidate early on against good attacks. Throwing in the Pathans on whim has merely aggravated the harmful impact of Chappellization.

4) Stomach disorders treated for headache: Lack of integrity is another aspect of Chappellization. Problem link is Tendulkar, but drop the second best test match batter VVSL and hurt yourself further.

5) Engulfed by self-created hype of 5 bowlers: Chest-thumping foolhardiness in the name of bravado. I will be aggressive & play 5 bowlers. Like Saddam I will teach America a lesson; never mind that in doing so I eradicate my own existence. Beggars shouldn't pretend to be millionares. With one opener confused, and other a political football suspect to the moving ball, the star (SRT) faded and the youth (Yuvraj) not used to playing out long innings, common sense would suggest playing extra bats. In any case, only 3 out of 4 bowlers take the wickets and have won us series both at home and overseas for time immemorial. But no, Chappellization means covering one blunder with another.

6) Analysis Paralysis: In wanting to look clever -- there has to be that extra smart strategy in every game -- Chappellization leads to monumental blunders that even the Dhobis of Ghatkopar wouldn't make. On a spinner's paradise, put the opposition in, rendering the only match winner Kumble ineffective and the batsmen at the mercy of journeymen spinners on the fifth day.

Common sense = Play to your strengths
Chappellization = Play to your blunders.

 

^You know dude, seriously, dont you think you've stated your views enough? I mean, i've seen a good number of fanatics, but none quite as obsessed with one topic for such a long time.

 

at least they are relevant to the topic, unlike some posts by some members that go on for ever about stuff which arnt germane to the topic at hand at all.

 

@jam wake up .. its 1-1 .. ok ?? not like we;ve been steamrolled
.. go into hiding wen india wins and torch up the world wen we lose .. wtf ??

 

I just found out now that there is life outside cricket :O

 

You just proved to us that an excessive amount of articles relevant to the "topic" can be just as bad as a scenario when people go off on tangents irrelevant to the topic. I second what shsnawada said.

 

Yes....a 1-1 result where the Board Presidents XI beat an English team stronger than the one which won the 3rd test inside of 4 days.


Victory for sure.

 

O RLY?


Go listen to sumit ramchandran. He is a big time Harry Potter fan by the way. He's got a Warner Brothers logo on his guitar which he bought from australia(the logo) and also a "Harry potter and the chamber of secrets" stick on.

 

so what do we do now ? you wanna suggest something ??

ohh wait i'll just make a guess on ur behalf .. indian team consisting of 11 gangulys .. :beer:

 

You still don't get it....and I doubt you've read any of my posts well enough so I'll just let this slide. It's really not worth it. It was worth the typing with essi since it was an interesting discussion more than an argument about getting what "we" want.

 

whatever .. carry on ur "intereseting discussion" ..



:yawn:

 

Congratulations! You got the last word.