GLORY OF '92
Test Debutant
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2007
- Runs
- 13,622
PakPassion.net : Winning a Test series in Australia or winning the World Cup - what would you prefer and why?
SIF : Obviously winning the World Cup holds MORE value in my eyes. In the subcontinent, a World Cup win is remembered for decades. It gives us countless fond memories to recollect. It inspires future generations to take up the sport.
The World Cup is a matter of HUGE HUGE HUGE pride.
A test series win is awesome but I don’t think it has the aura of a World Cup win (atleast in the subcontinent).
With that being said, I must also mention that we humans crave for stuff that we don’t have.
For example, before the Semi Final match against Australia in this World Cup, I found myself having a strange feeling. A few other posts by other Indians confirmed that my feelings weren’t unique.
All of us Indian fans knew that the Aussies were super strong and firm favourites and the odds of us winning were kinda low. But UNLIKE the past, we weren’t too worried about it.
We were ready to accept the result of the game whatever it may be.
Let me tell you…that feeling was WEIRD (considering it was the freaking World Cup) but it was there. For quite a few of us. While the excitement of the game was there, the agony and tension of a loss wasn’t present (I am talking about our feelings before the match).
And you know why that’s the case?
That’s because we won the previous World Cup and also the Champions Trophy (I don’t mean to sound arrogant in any way).
This doesn’t mean we were happy to lose…its just that we were thrilled to see our team punch above our weight in Australia and when the super tough do or die game came…we weren’t all that emotionally vulnerable (even though we really really wanted our team to win).
When the match day came and we got thrashed by the Aussies, we got over it quite fast.
Maybe if we were favourites then we might have felt really bad (like in World Cup T20 2014 finals).
Now contrast this to how we felt when we reached the 2003 World Cup final.
Even there, we punched above our weight (we entered the WC in the worst form possible), lost against the Aussies at first and then won against every side to enter the finals.
And in that final, we were crushed by Haydos, Gilly and Ponting (the scar marks of his assault still remain). Then Glenn McGrath’s wicket of Tendulkar in the first over felt like someone pulled our hearts out.
It STILL pains to this day.
We felt that way because it was a long long time since we won the World Cup.
I guess that’s just human nature.
When you have a World Cup (in recent times), its possible that you may crave more for a test series win in Aus/SA.
But on a general level, assuming you haven’t won anywhere, you would consider a World Cup win to be more special.
I know that’s not the case for Australian and English fans but for SC fans…a World Cup is just OUT OF THE WORLD special achievement.
Nothing can even come close to it for us.
PakPassion.net : Do you think Virat Kohli is a suitable captain?
SIF : To be honest, I really really don’t know.
I support Kohli in tests because he replaced Dhoni (who started off great in Tests but over the years became super stale). I feel any option is better than Dhoni in tests (as of now) but from a general perspective, Kohli’s tactics aren’t all that amazing though its very heartwarming to see him infuse the feeling of never say die attitude in tests. The way he attempted to chase down the Adelaide target in so few overs and ALMOST succeeded in breaking a 100 year old record took my breath away.
Its stuff like this that inspires your team to achieve great things.
Kohli may not be the best player of swing (as of now) or the most sound player for all conditions (as of now) but there is one thing about Kohli that I absolutely admire:
The willingness to take on the impossible and try to achieve something that is virtually impossible.
The Hobart knock and Adelaide knock are special in that regard.
Its not just about winning or losing those games. As a team mate when you see a guy take on the opposition against all odds, you do start thinking….”maybe all this is possible, maybe its just my limiting thoughts that’s preventing me from achieving incredible stuff”.
The reason why I feel Kohli’s performance is inspirational is because there is a METHOD to his madness. When you see guys like Viv, Lara, SRT play certain knocks, you feel like “Oh God…only they can do those stuff”.
They are amazing to watch no doubt but you don’t feel like you can do it.
But Kohli is different.
When he plays in full flow, you feel like:
“Bloody son of a gun. That’s a solid strategy. Why didn’t I ever think of it?”
Now I am not saying you would feel like you can play exactly like him but you would feel like you could achieve a LOT MORE if you think like him and you know what….
This kind of inspiration is POWERFUL. It can’t be delivered via flowery speeches or by understanding a person’s mentality.
It can only be delivered by DEMONSTRATION as it hits a person hard, shakes him up and makes him evaluate his belief system.
These things can be very inspirational for the team and I think Kohli is the kind of guy who will lead the team via these demonstrative performances.
While all that is good, captaincy is a lot more than that.
Man management skills and tactics are aspects that are important too which is where Kohli lacks.
So let’s see how he goes.
If he doesn’t improve in those areas, he would be stripped of captaincy cos to be successful, you need to either be a tactical expert (like Clarke) or have great man management skills (like Ponting, Fleming, Strauss).
As of now, I am a bit disappointed with Kohli’s attitude and I hope he works on it.
Only time can tell.
I think purely from a tactics point of view, Raina could be a brilliant captain in LOIs (not that I am suggesting him for captaincy now).
To be honest, its kinda hard to imagine an Indian ODI team without Dhoni leading us but I guess every good thing comes to an end one day.
PakPassion.net : Who is your favourite Pakistani player and why?
SIF : Its hands down Wasim Akram.
He was the most complete pace bowler (heck…bowler) in the history of the game.
He could swing the new ball, reverse swing the old ball, had pace, could bowl lethal yorkers, well directed bouncers, etc. He was equally proficient at everything.
I didn’t watch Akram’s full career live (watched him from late 90s) but whenever I get a glimpse of some of his exploits, let’s just say it gives me a heart attack. That over to Michael Slater, that over to Dravid and a lot of other videos ….its just…..poetry in motion.
For Tests + ODI combo – I think Wasim Akram was the best ever pacer (this is my view based on a combination of stats, peer opinions and expert opinions).
He was the most iconic pacer of them all.
PakPassion.net : What do you think has been the effect of IPL on Indian cricket? Has it been an overall positive effect? What are the negatives in your book?
SIF : Yes, I do think IPL overall has had a positive effect on Indian cricket. Its effects have been discussed many times in this forum.
1) Youngsters get to play in high pressure situations in front of packed crowds
2) Indian players get to train with world class players from all countries (the experience, the little tips they receive would be invaluable)
3) More financial security
4)Hitting skills of batsmen do improve (which is a major requirement in modern day LOI)
As for the negatives,
1) Lack of county cricket which happens at the same time as IPL
While we do say this, we have to remember that counties these days are allowed to play only 2 overseas players or so (I think). Plus there is some criteria for selection too like you need to have played a few test matches or certain ODIs (I think).
So even if IPL isn’t there, I don’t think everyone would qualify to play county cricket.
I personally think the onus should be on the specific players to skip IPL and go to county cricket to improve their game. Yes, yes I understand that no one wants to forego easy money but when it comes to taking a small pain (like a season or two) to improve your international career, that’s an acceptable trade off.
We do trade offs all the time in life (when we study in a university, when we go for a job, when we start a business, etc). So a trade off here is no big deal. No pain, no gain.
I do understand that its NOT easy when you watch your peers make 10X the income but all it takes is a season or two which could drastically improve your game. Zaheer Khan came back as a transformed bowler post his county stint and helped us get to No 1 in test ranking and played a pivotal role in helping us win the WC.
Now with that being said, I do think BCCI should offer more money to test specialists so that they could choose this option.
Apart from negatives, there are a couple of perceived negatives of IPL (basically stuff that IPL gets accused of which are entirely untrue)
IPL is killing the techniques of batsmen (I too was guilty of thinking this)
Not at all true. IPL performance is not enough to get selected in the national team. You need domestic performance too. So if you are rubbish in List A, then your IPL bashing is isn’t going to land you a place in the ODI squad.
Similarly to get into the Test squad, you need to have First Class domestic performances.
Every domestic player knows that where has to perform to stand a chance for national election.
That is why guys like Uthappa go to Amre to work on their technique instead of practicing slogging the ball in IPL to impress the selectors.
Simply put, IPL gives you recognition. But First Class/List A/A tours seal the deal for you.
IPL is creating darters in domestic cricket (another aspect I too was guilty of thinking)
A spinner who doesn’t perform in First class has no chance to make it to the test squad in IPL. Karn Sharma was an exception probably due to desperation to have a leggie to play in Aus (and we all know how that turned out).
To perform in tests, a spinner has to work on his flight, loop, dip and turn.
The fact that our spinners are becoming more darters is not due to the IPL but because we are dishing out pacer friendly green tracks which makes our trundlers look like McGrath. While this whole setup helps our batsmen become better against pace bowlers, it harms our bowlers as our pacers get easy wickets and our spinners are rarely used (and even if they are used…its for containing option where darting comes into play).
What we need is bouncy tracks with minimal movement which rewards those bowlers who have good skills and punishes those who have bad skills.
So coming back to the point….
IPL overall has had a positive effect but personally I would prefer if teams are allowed to have more foreign players which would result in more quality bowlers in the playing XI which in turn would massively increase the quality of cricket being played.
PakPassion.net : Who would you rate the 3 best upcoming Indian cricketers. Should all be U-23 age right now?
SIF : Here’s my list based on whatever little I have seen and stats
Sandeep Sharma – Hands down the BIGGEST talent in India right now (even better than any of the batsmen we have now). That’s how good he is. Averages 22 in First class, 21 in List A and 18 in Twenty20. Performed well in last IPL and is doing great in this IPL too (outbowling Mitchell Johnson in most games).
He can bowl at a good pace and swing the ball both ways. The best part about him is that he has BRAINS and works hard on his game. Last IPL, his speeds were 120s and now its mid 130s with no reduction in swing.
I am very excited about this guy because he seems to be doing well in every format and at every level. He doesn’t seem troubled when bowling to international batsmen.
That booming inswing at 130s is his hallmark. This guy is going to surprise quite a few international batsmen when he makes his debut (which should be pretty soon).
Sanju Samson
He has woeful List A stats and hasn’t been firing this IPL but still I would rate him as a big prospect. He averages 45 odd in First class which shows that he has the quality in batting and his IPL exploits in the past show his potential. He also performed in Australia recently during the A tour (ODI series) which again shows his quality.
The best part about Samson is that he can smash the ball with complete ease. A straight forward swing of the bat and the ball would be gone. The way he can lift proper good length deliveries off international bowlers and hit them for 6 over their heads is simply shocking. You just have to watch his innings to know what kind of a talent he is.
With that being said, I think he is a few years away from an international call up. Needs to work on his game and temperament too (in the past I have noticed that if he is in the mood to smash the bowling and you keep him tied down, he would sky one – maybe he has worked on that but if he hasn’t, he must make efforts to do so). Definitely one for the future.
Lokesh Rahul (Tests)
Personally speaking, I didn’t find Lokesh Rahul to be really that impressive (as of now) but a guy who can score 100s on green Ranji tracks and has the temperament to score a 100 on the Australian soil (albeit a flatter one) has some potential. Add to the fact, Dale Steyn himself vouched for this guy WAY before he was even selected for the national team…I think we need to back him.
Special Mention to Shreyas Iyer. Seems to have great stats in First class and List A. I watched him in the first few IPL games and wasn’t impressed (he didn’t score much) but later in the tournament, he seems to have found his zone (has been scoring quite consistently but unfortunately I missed watching him bat).
PakPassion.net : What do you do outside the forum for a living?
SIF : I run an online business and I work from home (as of now). Have huge huge plans for the future. Want to expand big.
PakPassion.net : How did you come to know of PP? And what makes you keep coming back and how is it different than other forums you've visited?
SIF : Well…here’s the full story.
Several years back when I used to search about cricket related terms on Google, I would notice Pakpassion popping up a lot of times in the search results. I used to think that since it was a PakPassion…it would also contain heavy duty India bashing which is why I didn’t any of the posts at that time.
You see, a few times BEFORE I first stumbled upon PakPassion, I had somehow found my way into some Pakistan Defense Forum (dunno which one). Eeks. 10 minutes there and I never visited that place again. Naturally, my first impression of PakPassion was influenced by that site.
Then one day during Champions Trophy 2013, I searched about something on Google and landed on this site (again). This time I thought I would read some posts to see what’s what.
10 minutes later…
I am browsing through threads after threads after threads.
Shocked.
Oh God…..how wrong was I. This site was amazing. A goldmine of cricketing information. Sue there were weirdo posts but overall I found most of the posts balanced and insightful and I thought “wow this is so much better than the nonsense I have to put up with Cricinfo” (that time Cricinfo was my only other source).
Since then I have been a lurker who then slowly turned into an occasional poster who then slowly turned into a regular poster who then slowly turned into a PakPassion addict.
Amazing site without a doubt. Very well moderated. Very fair (you can be critical of anyone as long as it remains civil).
We have posters from different nationalities here (though I would love to see more Aussie, Saffer, SL, NZ and WI posters).
Personally I love forums because:
The discussions are much more in depth and analytical. You can express yourself freely without everything getting censored.
You get to make quite a few online friends - I have made a ton of friends (Indian, Pakistani, people from other nationalities) on this forum and elsewhere.
As for cricket forums, I am part of a couple of them and here’s my view:
I think good posters are the life and soul of any forum. Whenever I visit any forum, I do it purely to listen to the views of the balanced posters (I ignore the rest). Any poster who has balanced views is a good poster in my view. I may or may not agree with their views but I sure as hell want to listen to them because its insightful.
As for comparison of forums, I haven’t visited all the cricket forums out there to pass a judgement but among the ones I have been to, I would rate PakPassion as the best one out there.
Considering the fact that I spend majority of my posting time here, you could call this my home.
PakPassion.net : Where do you see the Indian team over the next 5 years?
SIF : While we fans (which includes me) will always criticize and get annoyed due to various issues in our team…overall, I think we have a very good future.
We definitely have a few issues to address (like captaincy, WK batsman post Dhoni retirement) but in general things are shaping up quite nicely.
Talent is coming through, we back our players and give them fair chances and hopefully more A tours will be conducted which will help us identify those players who are likely to make the international cut.
If we take a look at our team in different formats:
Tests:
We have a solid core consisting of Vijay, Kohli, Rahane and Pujara who will be 4 names in our Top 7. I have included Pujara inspite of his horrendous performance because that guy even in his worst phase can play out 50-100 deliveries in overseas Tests. I think he will improve. If he fades away, we may have to go and search for someone else.
Now we have to find out our other opener (Lokesh Rahul looks decent but let’s see), a WK bat and a No 6 batsman (and no I don’t trust Rohit Sharma).
Bowling is an issue for us (as always) but for the first time in Indian history, I am seeing some hope in this front. We have a few bowlers with good potential. We should back them as they seem to have the talent but just need to become more consistent.
At home or in SC conditions, we are pretty much solid. No issues.
Outside the SC, I think we should go with 5 bowlers every game. 3 pacers and 2 spinners as we shouldn’t forego our strength (I say 5 bowlers because we don’t have batsmen who can roll their arms over so 4 bowlers are risky on today’s flat tracks as they may tire and let the opposition pile up runs). In tests, we will always be a batting oriented side. We just need to put together a decent bowling lineup to compete.
ODIs: We always good well in SC, England and WI…while being abysmal in SA, Aus and NZ bilaterals. We seem to do well in tournaments conducted everywhere (as of now).
Things may remain status quo in this regard.
T20I: It’s a lottery. No one really knows how anyone would do in this format.
PakPassion.net : What triggered your interest in cricket and what other sports do you like?
SIF : Just like almost every other kid in India, I got interested in cricket because my Dad follows it and he taught it to me. My friends love cricket too so you kinda start get into the zone fast.
Apart from cricket, I am not into any other sports in a major way. Follow Tennis once in a while. Football is strictly limited to playing video games (haha).
PakPassion.net : Do you think India can ever regain the no.1 status in test Cricket? If so how?
SIF : In today’s times, no one apart from SA deserve the No 1 spot as everyone is good at home and horrendous away. So the rankings are all about who tours where.
India if it ever has to regain the No 1 spot has to follow its tried and tested formula.
Rock solid batting combined with great bowling in subcontinent (basically spin) and decent bowling outside SC (basically one that can punch above its weight in a select few test matches).
This is how we were No 1 for two and half years around the 2008-2011 mark.
Around that period, we won most of the series at home (or drew them) and as far as away series were concerned…we won against England, NZ; lost to Aus (2008) and SL (2008) and drew with SA (which was almost a win but thanks to our bowlers who chose the most inopportune session to screw up).
India now may not have the same batting quality as Fab 4 but considering it already has a decent Test core….we can build upon it and make a solid team.
If we are going to do it, this has to be our formula. But it all depends on how our pacers and batsmen develop.
Let’s see.
PakPassion.net : Do you think majority of Indian fans prefers ODIs and T20s over Tests, if so then why?
SIF : Majority of subcontinental fans (let alone Indians) prefer LOIs (ODI and T20) over Tests.
Reasons are:
We (as in the masses and not forum posters) do not recognize or enjoy the subtleties of Test cricket. No this is not an attack on ODI and T20 lovers but just stating a fact about the masses. The past generation may have enjoy the subtleties of test cricket but very few in the present generation do it.
Time factor. With schools, colleges and jobs – we really don’t have the time to watch Test cricket the whole day. Now checking score via Cricinfo means nothing as you do not contribute to a cricket board’s revenue in any way. The only way you do it is by ACTUALLY watching the live match which very few of us do (for understandable reasons). I still don’t understand how many in England, Australia tune in to watch a whole day’s match live. In comparison, LOIs are generally played during the evening/night when its more easier for people to attend match/tune in on TV.
We find LOI more interesting. Plain and simple.
To be frank, I really don’t see a future for Test cricket in the next few decades even though I personally enjoy it.
PakPassion.net : Do you think India can ever get another player like Dravid playing test cricket?
SIF : When we could produce patient test batsmen like Murali Vijay and Pujara then its possible that we could produce a Dravid in the future. If we could have a Dravid, that would just be awesome.
PakPassion.net : Do you think standard of Asian cricket is falling behind the other teams?
SIF : Not really.
While its true that Asian teams never had good domestic structures compared to non Asian teams, things are now improving. The domestic structures of India, SL and Bangladesh are getting better. If anything the gap is getting reduced and not widening (though I agree there is a lot of ground to be covered).
Instead of looking at everything from a vague perspective, let’s look at compare every team in each format:
Tests: SA is still far ahead of any team. England may be next best when it comes to all round game (though I really doubt whether they would do well in Asia with the current team they have). Australia can’t play in Asia and Asian teams can’t play outside Asia. NZ are on a steep upward curve these days. WI are a joke wherever they play.
So in tests, we can conclude that non Asian teams as a block are much better than India, SL, Pakistan and Bangladesh as of now.
But its all marginal. Apart from SA, no one really stands out.
ODIs – Taking the win loss ration for this decade (from 2010) - Australia, India, SA and SL have been the top 4 teams followed by England, NZ, Pakistan and WI.
Its all mixed up. Even stevens.
T20s have so low sample set that no data can be taken out of it.
So as you can see…things are all over the place.
Nothing to suggest Asians are falling behind the Non Asians. If Pakistan continue to decline and SL don’t recover after Sanga, Dilshan and Mahela retire, then yeah we can say Asian teams are declining.
At the end of the day, its all about talent.
NZ a few years back were nothing. Now they look like world beaters. Even Aus in the CT 2013 looked like a joke team. Now they look almost invincible.
Bangladesh is growing these days. Who knows…SL may find a few youngsters and become a good team post Sanga, Mahela. And Pakistan may find a way to arrest its slide and start its recovery.
We can’t simply look at the players in a team right now and start making assumptions on how things would pan out. We need solid data to pass judgements.
PakPassion.net : Your favourite foods and favourite movies/TV programmes?
SIF : Favourite Food – North Indian food (hate South Indian food barring a few dishes – hate rice in general but I have to eat it almost everyday)
Favourite Movies (not in order atleast from No 5):
Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick)
Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
39 Steps (Hitchcock – one of his masterpiece masala movies)
Vertigo (Hitchcock)
No Country For Old Men (Coen Brothers)
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet)
Lagaan (Ashutosh Gowariker – masala but super fun)
No Smoking (Anurag Kashyap)
Kill Bill 1 (Tarantino)
The Killing (Kubrick)
And lots and lots of others.
Favourite TV Shows (I stopped myself from watching many of them because once I get hooked, I tend to drop everything and keep watching the episodes):
My favourite would be Friends followed by Dexter (horrible last few seasons though). Big Bang Theory was great first but I find it a torture to watch these days. How I met Your Mother was fine (meh towards the end).
Have a few other shows queued up to watch (will probably watch it later on).
SIF : Obviously winning the World Cup holds MORE value in my eyes. In the subcontinent, a World Cup win is remembered for decades. It gives us countless fond memories to recollect. It inspires future generations to take up the sport.
The World Cup is a matter of HUGE HUGE HUGE pride.
A test series win is awesome but I don’t think it has the aura of a World Cup win (atleast in the subcontinent).
With that being said, I must also mention that we humans crave for stuff that we don’t have.
For example, before the Semi Final match against Australia in this World Cup, I found myself having a strange feeling. A few other posts by other Indians confirmed that my feelings weren’t unique.
All of us Indian fans knew that the Aussies were super strong and firm favourites and the odds of us winning were kinda low. But UNLIKE the past, we weren’t too worried about it.
We were ready to accept the result of the game whatever it may be.
Let me tell you…that feeling was WEIRD (considering it was the freaking World Cup) but it was there. For quite a few of us. While the excitement of the game was there, the agony and tension of a loss wasn’t present (I am talking about our feelings before the match).
And you know why that’s the case?
That’s because we won the previous World Cup and also the Champions Trophy (I don’t mean to sound arrogant in any way).
This doesn’t mean we were happy to lose…its just that we were thrilled to see our team punch above our weight in Australia and when the super tough do or die game came…we weren’t all that emotionally vulnerable (even though we really really wanted our team to win).
When the match day came and we got thrashed by the Aussies, we got over it quite fast.
Maybe if we were favourites then we might have felt really bad (like in World Cup T20 2014 finals).
Now contrast this to how we felt when we reached the 2003 World Cup final.
Even there, we punched above our weight (we entered the WC in the worst form possible), lost against the Aussies at first and then won against every side to enter the finals.
And in that final, we were crushed by Haydos, Gilly and Ponting (the scar marks of his assault still remain). Then Glenn McGrath’s wicket of Tendulkar in the first over felt like someone pulled our hearts out.
It STILL pains to this day.
We felt that way because it was a long long time since we won the World Cup.
I guess that’s just human nature.
When you have a World Cup (in recent times), its possible that you may crave more for a test series win in Aus/SA.
But on a general level, assuming you haven’t won anywhere, you would consider a World Cup win to be more special.
I know that’s not the case for Australian and English fans but for SC fans…a World Cup is just OUT OF THE WORLD special achievement.
Nothing can even come close to it for us.
PakPassion.net : Do you think Virat Kohli is a suitable captain?
SIF : To be honest, I really really don’t know.
I support Kohli in tests because he replaced Dhoni (who started off great in Tests but over the years became super stale). I feel any option is better than Dhoni in tests (as of now) but from a general perspective, Kohli’s tactics aren’t all that amazing though its very heartwarming to see him infuse the feeling of never say die attitude in tests. The way he attempted to chase down the Adelaide target in so few overs and ALMOST succeeded in breaking a 100 year old record took my breath away.
Its stuff like this that inspires your team to achieve great things.
Kohli may not be the best player of swing (as of now) or the most sound player for all conditions (as of now) but there is one thing about Kohli that I absolutely admire:
The willingness to take on the impossible and try to achieve something that is virtually impossible.
The Hobart knock and Adelaide knock are special in that regard.
Its not just about winning or losing those games. As a team mate when you see a guy take on the opposition against all odds, you do start thinking….”maybe all this is possible, maybe its just my limiting thoughts that’s preventing me from achieving incredible stuff”.
The reason why I feel Kohli’s performance is inspirational is because there is a METHOD to his madness. When you see guys like Viv, Lara, SRT play certain knocks, you feel like “Oh God…only they can do those stuff”.
They are amazing to watch no doubt but you don’t feel like you can do it.
But Kohli is different.
When he plays in full flow, you feel like:
“Bloody son of a gun. That’s a solid strategy. Why didn’t I ever think of it?”
Now I am not saying you would feel like you can play exactly like him but you would feel like you could achieve a LOT MORE if you think like him and you know what….
This kind of inspiration is POWERFUL. It can’t be delivered via flowery speeches or by understanding a person’s mentality.
It can only be delivered by DEMONSTRATION as it hits a person hard, shakes him up and makes him evaluate his belief system.
These things can be very inspirational for the team and I think Kohli is the kind of guy who will lead the team via these demonstrative performances.
While all that is good, captaincy is a lot more than that.
Man management skills and tactics are aspects that are important too which is where Kohli lacks.
So let’s see how he goes.
If he doesn’t improve in those areas, he would be stripped of captaincy cos to be successful, you need to either be a tactical expert (like Clarke) or have great man management skills (like Ponting, Fleming, Strauss).
As of now, I am a bit disappointed with Kohli’s attitude and I hope he works on it.
Only time can tell.
I think purely from a tactics point of view, Raina could be a brilliant captain in LOIs (not that I am suggesting him for captaincy now).
To be honest, its kinda hard to imagine an Indian ODI team without Dhoni leading us but I guess every good thing comes to an end one day.
PakPassion.net : Who is your favourite Pakistani player and why?
SIF : Its hands down Wasim Akram.
He was the most complete pace bowler (heck…bowler) in the history of the game.
He could swing the new ball, reverse swing the old ball, had pace, could bowl lethal yorkers, well directed bouncers, etc. He was equally proficient at everything.
I didn’t watch Akram’s full career live (watched him from late 90s) but whenever I get a glimpse of some of his exploits, let’s just say it gives me a heart attack. That over to Michael Slater, that over to Dravid and a lot of other videos ….its just…..poetry in motion.
For Tests + ODI combo – I think Wasim Akram was the best ever pacer (this is my view based on a combination of stats, peer opinions and expert opinions).
He was the most iconic pacer of them all.
PakPassion.net : What do you think has been the effect of IPL on Indian cricket? Has it been an overall positive effect? What are the negatives in your book?
SIF : Yes, I do think IPL overall has had a positive effect on Indian cricket. Its effects have been discussed many times in this forum.
1) Youngsters get to play in high pressure situations in front of packed crowds
2) Indian players get to train with world class players from all countries (the experience, the little tips they receive would be invaluable)
3) More financial security
4)Hitting skills of batsmen do improve (which is a major requirement in modern day LOI)
As for the negatives,
1) Lack of county cricket which happens at the same time as IPL
While we do say this, we have to remember that counties these days are allowed to play only 2 overseas players or so (I think). Plus there is some criteria for selection too like you need to have played a few test matches or certain ODIs (I think).
So even if IPL isn’t there, I don’t think everyone would qualify to play county cricket.
I personally think the onus should be on the specific players to skip IPL and go to county cricket to improve their game. Yes, yes I understand that no one wants to forego easy money but when it comes to taking a small pain (like a season or two) to improve your international career, that’s an acceptable trade off.
We do trade offs all the time in life (when we study in a university, when we go for a job, when we start a business, etc). So a trade off here is no big deal. No pain, no gain.
I do understand that its NOT easy when you watch your peers make 10X the income but all it takes is a season or two which could drastically improve your game. Zaheer Khan came back as a transformed bowler post his county stint and helped us get to No 1 in test ranking and played a pivotal role in helping us win the WC.
Now with that being said, I do think BCCI should offer more money to test specialists so that they could choose this option.
Apart from negatives, there are a couple of perceived negatives of IPL (basically stuff that IPL gets accused of which are entirely untrue)
IPL is killing the techniques of batsmen (I too was guilty of thinking this)
Not at all true. IPL performance is not enough to get selected in the national team. You need domestic performance too. So if you are rubbish in List A, then your IPL bashing is isn’t going to land you a place in the ODI squad.
Similarly to get into the Test squad, you need to have First Class domestic performances.
Every domestic player knows that where has to perform to stand a chance for national election.
That is why guys like Uthappa go to Amre to work on their technique instead of practicing slogging the ball in IPL to impress the selectors.
Simply put, IPL gives you recognition. But First Class/List A/A tours seal the deal for you.
IPL is creating darters in domestic cricket (another aspect I too was guilty of thinking)
A spinner who doesn’t perform in First class has no chance to make it to the test squad in IPL. Karn Sharma was an exception probably due to desperation to have a leggie to play in Aus (and we all know how that turned out).
To perform in tests, a spinner has to work on his flight, loop, dip and turn.
The fact that our spinners are becoming more darters is not due to the IPL but because we are dishing out pacer friendly green tracks which makes our trundlers look like McGrath. While this whole setup helps our batsmen become better against pace bowlers, it harms our bowlers as our pacers get easy wickets and our spinners are rarely used (and even if they are used…its for containing option where darting comes into play).
What we need is bouncy tracks with minimal movement which rewards those bowlers who have good skills and punishes those who have bad skills.
So coming back to the point….
IPL overall has had a positive effect but personally I would prefer if teams are allowed to have more foreign players which would result in more quality bowlers in the playing XI which in turn would massively increase the quality of cricket being played.
PakPassion.net : Who would you rate the 3 best upcoming Indian cricketers. Should all be U-23 age right now?
SIF : Here’s my list based on whatever little I have seen and stats
Sandeep Sharma – Hands down the BIGGEST talent in India right now (even better than any of the batsmen we have now). That’s how good he is. Averages 22 in First class, 21 in List A and 18 in Twenty20. Performed well in last IPL and is doing great in this IPL too (outbowling Mitchell Johnson in most games).
He can bowl at a good pace and swing the ball both ways. The best part about him is that he has BRAINS and works hard on his game. Last IPL, his speeds were 120s and now its mid 130s with no reduction in swing.
I am very excited about this guy because he seems to be doing well in every format and at every level. He doesn’t seem troubled when bowling to international batsmen.
That booming inswing at 130s is his hallmark. This guy is going to surprise quite a few international batsmen when he makes his debut (which should be pretty soon).
Sanju Samson
He has woeful List A stats and hasn’t been firing this IPL but still I would rate him as a big prospect. He averages 45 odd in First class which shows that he has the quality in batting and his IPL exploits in the past show his potential. He also performed in Australia recently during the A tour (ODI series) which again shows his quality.
The best part about Samson is that he can smash the ball with complete ease. A straight forward swing of the bat and the ball would be gone. The way he can lift proper good length deliveries off international bowlers and hit them for 6 over their heads is simply shocking. You just have to watch his innings to know what kind of a talent he is.
With that being said, I think he is a few years away from an international call up. Needs to work on his game and temperament too (in the past I have noticed that if he is in the mood to smash the bowling and you keep him tied down, he would sky one – maybe he has worked on that but if he hasn’t, he must make efforts to do so). Definitely one for the future.
Lokesh Rahul (Tests)
Personally speaking, I didn’t find Lokesh Rahul to be really that impressive (as of now) but a guy who can score 100s on green Ranji tracks and has the temperament to score a 100 on the Australian soil (albeit a flatter one) has some potential. Add to the fact, Dale Steyn himself vouched for this guy WAY before he was even selected for the national team…I think we need to back him.
Special Mention to Shreyas Iyer. Seems to have great stats in First class and List A. I watched him in the first few IPL games and wasn’t impressed (he didn’t score much) but later in the tournament, he seems to have found his zone (has been scoring quite consistently but unfortunately I missed watching him bat).
PakPassion.net : What do you do outside the forum for a living?
SIF : I run an online business and I work from home (as of now). Have huge huge plans for the future. Want to expand big.
PakPassion.net : How did you come to know of PP? And what makes you keep coming back and how is it different than other forums you've visited?
SIF : Well…here’s the full story.
Several years back when I used to search about cricket related terms on Google, I would notice Pakpassion popping up a lot of times in the search results. I used to think that since it was a PakPassion…it would also contain heavy duty India bashing which is why I didn’t any of the posts at that time.
You see, a few times BEFORE I first stumbled upon PakPassion, I had somehow found my way into some Pakistan Defense Forum (dunno which one). Eeks. 10 minutes there and I never visited that place again. Naturally, my first impression of PakPassion was influenced by that site.
Then one day during Champions Trophy 2013, I searched about something on Google and landed on this site (again). This time I thought I would read some posts to see what’s what.
10 minutes later…
I am browsing through threads after threads after threads.
Shocked.
Oh God…..how wrong was I. This site was amazing. A goldmine of cricketing information. Sue there were weirdo posts but overall I found most of the posts balanced and insightful and I thought “wow this is so much better than the nonsense I have to put up with Cricinfo” (that time Cricinfo was my only other source).
Since then I have been a lurker who then slowly turned into an occasional poster who then slowly turned into a regular poster who then slowly turned into a PakPassion addict.
Amazing site without a doubt. Very well moderated. Very fair (you can be critical of anyone as long as it remains civil).
We have posters from different nationalities here (though I would love to see more Aussie, Saffer, SL, NZ and WI posters).
Personally I love forums because:
The discussions are much more in depth and analytical. You can express yourself freely without everything getting censored.
You get to make quite a few online friends - I have made a ton of friends (Indian, Pakistani, people from other nationalities) on this forum and elsewhere.
As for cricket forums, I am part of a couple of them and here’s my view:
I think good posters are the life and soul of any forum. Whenever I visit any forum, I do it purely to listen to the views of the balanced posters (I ignore the rest). Any poster who has balanced views is a good poster in my view. I may or may not agree with their views but I sure as hell want to listen to them because its insightful.
As for comparison of forums, I haven’t visited all the cricket forums out there to pass a judgement but among the ones I have been to, I would rate PakPassion as the best one out there.
Considering the fact that I spend majority of my posting time here, you could call this my home.
PakPassion.net : Where do you see the Indian team over the next 5 years?
SIF : While we fans (which includes me) will always criticize and get annoyed due to various issues in our team…overall, I think we have a very good future.
We definitely have a few issues to address (like captaincy, WK batsman post Dhoni retirement) but in general things are shaping up quite nicely.
Talent is coming through, we back our players and give them fair chances and hopefully more A tours will be conducted which will help us identify those players who are likely to make the international cut.
If we take a look at our team in different formats:
Tests:
We have a solid core consisting of Vijay, Kohli, Rahane and Pujara who will be 4 names in our Top 7. I have included Pujara inspite of his horrendous performance because that guy even in his worst phase can play out 50-100 deliveries in overseas Tests. I think he will improve. If he fades away, we may have to go and search for someone else.
Now we have to find out our other opener (Lokesh Rahul looks decent but let’s see), a WK bat and a No 6 batsman (and no I don’t trust Rohit Sharma).
Bowling is an issue for us (as always) but for the first time in Indian history, I am seeing some hope in this front. We have a few bowlers with good potential. We should back them as they seem to have the talent but just need to become more consistent.
At home or in SC conditions, we are pretty much solid. No issues.
Outside the SC, I think we should go with 5 bowlers every game. 3 pacers and 2 spinners as we shouldn’t forego our strength (I say 5 bowlers because we don’t have batsmen who can roll their arms over so 4 bowlers are risky on today’s flat tracks as they may tire and let the opposition pile up runs). In tests, we will always be a batting oriented side. We just need to put together a decent bowling lineup to compete.
ODIs: We always good well in SC, England and WI…while being abysmal in SA, Aus and NZ bilaterals. We seem to do well in tournaments conducted everywhere (as of now).
Things may remain status quo in this regard.
T20I: It’s a lottery. No one really knows how anyone would do in this format.
PakPassion.net : What triggered your interest in cricket and what other sports do you like?
SIF : Just like almost every other kid in India, I got interested in cricket because my Dad follows it and he taught it to me. My friends love cricket too so you kinda start get into the zone fast.
Apart from cricket, I am not into any other sports in a major way. Follow Tennis once in a while. Football is strictly limited to playing video games (haha).
PakPassion.net : Do you think India can ever regain the no.1 status in test Cricket? If so how?
SIF : In today’s times, no one apart from SA deserve the No 1 spot as everyone is good at home and horrendous away. So the rankings are all about who tours where.
India if it ever has to regain the No 1 spot has to follow its tried and tested formula.
Rock solid batting combined with great bowling in subcontinent (basically spin) and decent bowling outside SC (basically one that can punch above its weight in a select few test matches).
This is how we were No 1 for two and half years around the 2008-2011 mark.
Around that period, we won most of the series at home (or drew them) and as far as away series were concerned…we won against England, NZ; lost to Aus (2008) and SL (2008) and drew with SA (which was almost a win but thanks to our bowlers who chose the most inopportune session to screw up).
India now may not have the same batting quality as Fab 4 but considering it already has a decent Test core….we can build upon it and make a solid team.
If we are going to do it, this has to be our formula. But it all depends on how our pacers and batsmen develop.
Let’s see.
PakPassion.net : Do you think majority of Indian fans prefers ODIs and T20s over Tests, if so then why?
SIF : Majority of subcontinental fans (let alone Indians) prefer LOIs (ODI and T20) over Tests.
Reasons are:
We (as in the masses and not forum posters) do not recognize or enjoy the subtleties of Test cricket. No this is not an attack on ODI and T20 lovers but just stating a fact about the masses. The past generation may have enjoy the subtleties of test cricket but very few in the present generation do it.
Time factor. With schools, colleges and jobs – we really don’t have the time to watch Test cricket the whole day. Now checking score via Cricinfo means nothing as you do not contribute to a cricket board’s revenue in any way. The only way you do it is by ACTUALLY watching the live match which very few of us do (for understandable reasons). I still don’t understand how many in England, Australia tune in to watch a whole day’s match live. In comparison, LOIs are generally played during the evening/night when its more easier for people to attend match/tune in on TV.
We find LOI more interesting. Plain and simple.
To be frank, I really don’t see a future for Test cricket in the next few decades even though I personally enjoy it.
PakPassion.net : Do you think India can ever get another player like Dravid playing test cricket?
SIF : When we could produce patient test batsmen like Murali Vijay and Pujara then its possible that we could produce a Dravid in the future. If we could have a Dravid, that would just be awesome.
PakPassion.net : Do you think standard of Asian cricket is falling behind the other teams?
SIF : Not really.
While its true that Asian teams never had good domestic structures compared to non Asian teams, things are now improving. The domestic structures of India, SL and Bangladesh are getting better. If anything the gap is getting reduced and not widening (though I agree there is a lot of ground to be covered).
Instead of looking at everything from a vague perspective, let’s look at compare every team in each format:
Tests: SA is still far ahead of any team. England may be next best when it comes to all round game (though I really doubt whether they would do well in Asia with the current team they have). Australia can’t play in Asia and Asian teams can’t play outside Asia. NZ are on a steep upward curve these days. WI are a joke wherever they play.
So in tests, we can conclude that non Asian teams as a block are much better than India, SL, Pakistan and Bangladesh as of now.
But its all marginal. Apart from SA, no one really stands out.
ODIs – Taking the win loss ration for this decade (from 2010) - Australia, India, SA and SL have been the top 4 teams followed by England, NZ, Pakistan and WI.
Its all mixed up. Even stevens.
T20s have so low sample set that no data can be taken out of it.
So as you can see…things are all over the place.
Nothing to suggest Asians are falling behind the Non Asians. If Pakistan continue to decline and SL don’t recover after Sanga, Dilshan and Mahela retire, then yeah we can say Asian teams are declining.
At the end of the day, its all about talent.
NZ a few years back were nothing. Now they look like world beaters. Even Aus in the CT 2013 looked like a joke team. Now they look almost invincible.
Bangladesh is growing these days. Who knows…SL may find a few youngsters and become a good team post Sanga, Mahela. And Pakistan may find a way to arrest its slide and start its recovery.
We can’t simply look at the players in a team right now and start making assumptions on how things would pan out. We need solid data to pass judgements.
PakPassion.net : Your favourite foods and favourite movies/TV programmes?
SIF : Favourite Food – North Indian food (hate South Indian food barring a few dishes – hate rice in general but I have to eat it almost everyday)
Favourite Movies (not in order atleast from No 5):
Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick)
Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
39 Steps (Hitchcock – one of his masterpiece masala movies)
Vertigo (Hitchcock)
No Country For Old Men (Coen Brothers)
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet)
Lagaan (Ashutosh Gowariker – masala but super fun)
No Smoking (Anurag Kashyap)
Kill Bill 1 (Tarantino)
The Killing (Kubrick)
And lots and lots of others.
Favourite TV Shows (I stopped myself from watching many of them because once I get hooked, I tend to drop everything and keep watching the episodes):
My favourite would be Friends followed by Dexter (horrible last few seasons though). Big Bang Theory was great first but I find it a torture to watch these days. How I met Your Mother was fine (meh towards the end).
Have a few other shows queued up to watch (will probably watch it later on).
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). There are many other awesome Indian posters who don't get noticed as much just because they have normal usernames.
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