Under normal circumstances, a cricket coach would bear only marginal responsibility for a team's failure. But Chappell has been no ordinary coach. He mounted an extraordinarily high-profile campaign to drag Indian cricket forward and his Mission 2007 became a significant signpost for Indian cricket. The blame for the mission's failure cannot be laid at his door alone but he will find himself facing some tough questions.

Questions are already filtering out to the media. Was he too authoritarian? Did he lack the human touch so vital for man-management? Did he have his finger on the pulse of players? Did he get obsessed with his ways and failed to explore any other way? Did he plant the seeds of unrest and mistrust within the team by his frequent slagging off of the players to the media? Did he create a sense of insecurity among a section of players that ultimately led them to play for their place in the side rather than for the team? And finally, did the team achieve the best it could have under him?

What of Rahul Dravid? Did he allow himself to be hijacked by Chappell? Did he lack authority and fire? Did he fail to inspire his teammates and forge a team that would fight together?

And the seniors? Were they aloof and self-absorbed? Were they so focused on protecting their own turf that they ended up stifling the junior players? Did some of them openly promote groupism and try to undermine Dravid? Did Dravid ever receive the kind of support he gave unflinchingly to captains who went before him?

These are all important questions that need to be asked when the review committee of the BCCI meets on April 6. But there are far more important, and deeper, issues without addressing which Indian cricket cannot move forward, and any progress the team makes can only be temporary.

Nothing about Indian domestic cricket could have equipped Sunil Gavaskar to withstand the most hostile pace bowling ever seen in cricket, or Sachin Tendulkar to score hundreds in Australia as a 18-year-old, or Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble to be so damn tough mentally. They were exceptional as cricketers and men

The biggest question is why, despite the passion, the base and now the wealth, can't India produce a truly world-class team? Why do most Indian batsmen, despite the big averages, come unstuck on pitches that bounce and seam - and now even on those which spin? Why is the bench-strength so thin that they were forced to recall Sourav Ganguly? Why isn't there a single batsman in sight who can challenge for a place in the Indian middle order? And, shockingly, who after Anil Kumble?

Money can buy another coach. Players will line up to become the next captain. But Indian cricket will go nowhere as long as the system continues throwing up soft cricketers. India has produced great players, but that's been despite the system. Nothing about Indian domestic cricket could have equipped Sunil Gavaskar to withstand the most hostile pace bowling ever seen in cricket, or Sachin Tendulkar to score hundreds in Australia as a 18-year-old, or Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble to be so damn tough mentally. They were exceptional as cricketers and men. Freaks, if you please. A country of one billion people who call cricket a religion shouldn't have to rely on freaks.

For about a couple of years India enjoyed an exceptional run when the batting stars converged as a happy coincidence. Virender Sehwag burst on to the scene and it was too early for bowlers to devise a plan for him, VVS Laxman peaked, Dravid became great, and Tendulkar crafted some big hundreds. And, with runs to back him, Kumble became the bowler that he rarely had the opportunity to be outside India. He tossed the ball up, varied his pace, and added to his repertoire.

But age has caught up with Tendulkar, Laxman's luminance has dulled, Sehwag finds himself batting the demons in the mind and his technical shortcomings, and India have nowhere to go. Call it cyclical but the truth is that India lacks a structure that produces players ready for the international challenge. The pitches are awful, competition scant, team selection is mired in politics and administrators are more focused on self-preservation than development. It would be a miracle if the cricketers who emerged from this structure remained untouched by it.

	The board has to objectively review if Chappell and Dravid went about rebuilding the team the right way. If they didn't, another way must be found. But it must point forward © AFP

When the wise men sit around the table in few days time, they must go beyond the surface. Change for the sake of change will not only be superficial but also counter productive.

Process has become a much abused word in light of India's recent travails and it is amusing to hear former cricketers evoke Indian cricket culture to knock foreign coaches. What culture? Revelling in individual glory? Being losers away from home? Being soft and unfit? Skills and artistry can take you only so far in modern sport, which is unforgiving of any weakness, either mental or physical. India have to become contemporary to be competitive and they have to realise that the transformation will not come overnight.

Progress was made under John Wright and Sourav Ganguly. But Chappell and Dravid came at a time when there was need to rebuild. Chappell's methods might not have been palatable to many, and that must be a factor while taking a decision on renewing his contract, but decision makers must guard against mixing up the issues with the personality.

Indian cricket needs a renewal. It needs to embrace new ideas, it needs fresh energy and fresh legs. It will not be without pain. It will require foresight, courage and the maturity to absorb losses in the short run for long-term gains. Indian cricket cannot be rebuilt with the objective of meeting marketing targets. If excellence is achieved all else will follow.

The wise men must examine objectively if Chappell and Dravid went about achieving this objective the right way. If they didn't, then another way must be found. But it must point forward. Returning to the old ways is not an option. Indian cricket needs a revolution. And it has to start at the bottom. And as for accountability, can we start at the very top please?

Hi
I am really surprised to find that lots of commentators are so willing to blame the Players for the failures, and able to give a clean chit to the coach. Whatever be the reasons ultimately in cricket as in any sport the results have to speak for themselves. The fact of the matter is Since Greg Chappel became Coach, he took a bunch of very talented individuals who had the past few years been really harnessing their talents wonderfully together and started winning abroad, into a bunch of no hopers. Now if the coach cannot take the blame for this who should. Greg Chappel might be agreat player and a great captain, but there has never been any evidence to say, He is a great Coach. Great players tend to be quite stubborn and dont necessarily make great coaches. Chappel seems to be trying to live vicariously throguh the players but seems to want to impose such authroity on the team that it has to become his team. Now that is not a good way for a caoch to succeed. The best coaches work in the background and cajol the best of teh players. Chappel has been so prominent and 'in your face' that it was bound to cause problems in a team like India with such big stars. And to blame the seniors for not letting junior players blossom is such claptrap... Ask all teh juniors who have come into the team in the past 10 years and they will all tell you that people like tendulkar are so welcoming of them and teach them so much. Chapple in his desire to stamp his authority on the team seemed to be ebnt on destroying the very fabric of the team he was trying to build. Questioning tendulkars plac ein the team is sacrilege, not because tendulakr is a great player. Tendulakr's poers might have waned, but even at his presnet level tendulkar plays a damn sight better than Raina can ever hope to on his best day..

You know what???? Indian Board will do nothing...media hyped indian cricket team and it faltered..media already hyped that board will take stringent actions but, i dont think so..Indian Board doesn't have guts to do that..every one is insecure..board..selection comittee and players..why not selection committee resign taking moral responsibility coz they could not pick a team in one billion that gets past preliminary rounds...Indian cricket is just money..with money you can select 11 players of your wish who can only fail to bring atleast 1/11th part of PRIDE...Pathetic Indian cricket team..Pathetic Indian Board...Pathetic Indian selection committee..

People often look at why the Australian system throws up so many good players and more importantly, good replacements and back up personnel. It's simple really - players who aren't performing are dropped and players who are performing are promoted. Dropped players who perfroma at the lower level are given another chance (Hayden, Ponting, Martyn, langer and co have all been dropped). Age and reputation don't come into it and it happens at every level of the game. You don't need an enquiry, just apply that simple philosophy.

There aren't enough even basic quality grounds in India for kids to play on, let alone good grounds. Just look at the cricket ground in Jamnagar - the home of the great Ranjitsinhji, and after whom the Ranji Trophy came about - then you'll understand what I mean. If the BCCI can't spend money on improving and creating new grounds in every town or city instead of lining their pockets, then where will the wealth of Indian cricketers who can genuinely play good cricket even on rubbish heaps, go to? India has the players - and plenty of them, but BCCI does not have the will to find and nurture them.

Every major team/Organization has inner problems like groupism, Politics etc. The best coach who is getting millions should handle this type of situation. But Our Coach is playing a blame game. He is not at all a gentleman. We should remove him. We can’t ignore Sachin, Saurav, Rahul, Yubraj and other senior members in this stage. They are playing for years and always they have given their best in the field. We don’t have any replacement now. Even a child knows that Md. Kaif cannot replace Sachin Tendulkar. But we can have better coach than Mr. Chappell.

You put it right. Indian cricket is not going to go anywhere and learn anything new as long its a) Bench strength is great b) Attitude, Mental Strength and approach towards the game is as high as Australians. They will go to Bangladesh beat them and will return back saying Indians are on top and have taken revenge. In the long run its going to be same old story!!! Better to support some other national sport and cheer them.

Looking at the Chappell Vs Senior Players fight in last couple of days,I feel thee will be many question which will remain unanswered POST april 7th.In this whole mud slingging episode,I think all people involved in this "Fight" are giving no importance at all to the long term benifit of Indian Cricket.All that will happen ,what i feel, is that coach will be changed,may be the captain too and a few players here and there.But I dont thing this will take anywhere near to the "LEVEL" at which Australia is playing it's cricket.All I can say is that GOD SAVE THE INDIAN CRICKET

Fantastic article. First of all Congratulations to Sambit.

Indian cricket needs to take some tough decisions now. They simlpy have to drop the trouble-makers and those who indulge in groupism. In a team sport, even lack of talent can be made up by hardwork and blending well as a team. But groupism can disintegrate even a star studded team to pieces.

Let the heads roll. Even if the heads are of champions who have brought past laurels. It is the present and the future that everybody is living in. To hell with all the glorious records and glittering awards. Bring in the enthusiastic brigand and give them time. Youth is the only way to take India forward.

I don't think any thing constructive would come out of it. Chappell and other support staff wuold be sacked and all the EGOISTIC biggies who fail on the big stage will be happily retained. After all what can be expected from a biased committee. How come Sunil Gavaskar be a part of the committee when he has openly mocked at the word "process" so much. Isn't it a basic justice to have some one judged by an unbiased committee? My views on why Chappell should not be blamed entirely

Chappell - the scape goat
Most of the news articles and the media are after Chappell. I am not sure why this poor soul is being targetted for India's debacle rather than the over hyped players themselves. He is being portrayed as a villain who came to India with a singular aim and hidden agenda of making India the worst team. If there is an argument that the players would be the most disappointed after this and they would feel bad much more than any one else then wouldn't Chappell have known that a disastrous campaign would invite ridicule and wide spread criticism from the Indian public. And if even after knowing that he has done the same, hail his brevity.

Here are the reasons why Chappell should not be blamed.
1) Yes, he came with a vision, VISION 2007. Was he allowed to execute that? He did ruffle a few feathers and brought in change and groomed youngsters. However, at the very first sign of failure he was ridiculed and he was forced to compromise on the same and people wanted him to bring back whom he had dropped. How many of Chappell's prodigies play this WC (made it to the final XI)? No body except Uthappa. There was no Raina, VRV Singh, Pathan, Sreesanth, Karthick, Powar, Gambhir. Still, how can he be blamed? If all these players had played and India had lost then he certainly could have been blamed.

2) Yes, all the coaches don't get the team that they want. They have to work with the team they are given. However in other countries the players co-operate that easily they don't think themselves to be larger than life figure or bigger than the game. But, things are different in India and Pakistan. People have EGOs and simply are not willing to learn. Did he coach them all? How many new players played this WC? In batting except for Uthappa the same team played the last WC. In bowling too if Srinath had not retired I bet it would have been unchanged. So, how come he be blamed for this debacle, weren't these players coached by "n" number of coaches till now and shouldn't the blame go to all the coaches who let them do what they wanted instead of bringing in the necessary discipline?

3) Yes, we cannot compare ourselves with the Aussies and should not try to emulate their system. However we can compare ourselves with our neighbours - Srilanka. Tom Moody and Jayawardene have dropped Atapattu and have been successful. I am not sure if there are repercussions in SL (because we might not know) but at least there is nothing in the news papers or the web sites. If Chappell was to do the same thing - drop Ganguly for a couple of matches (just an example because he is the former captain, can be SRT too) and if India were successful would he have been spared? Would the media and the public just ignore saying we don't care who plays as long as India wins? If people answer this honestly, there in lies the answer whether he can be blamed or not.

Also, Tom Moody can suggest Murali that he is not fit enough any more to field in the in circle and Murali can take it as an inspiration, motivation for him to excel and not use it as a tool to take cheap pot shots at the coach or try to get sympathy from the fans.

4) Yes, he experimented and tried out a few things. Isn't that something to be praised because he knew he would be at the receiving end if it all failed? Why not blame the selectors and particularly the chief selector Mr.Vengsarkar? If Chappell had the daringness to do this, Vengsarkar was cowardly. He chose a team full of experience and made us all feel that experience would bring us back the cup. He kept on saying we need experience and should go with these experienced players. Where is he today? Why is he not speaking? He chose this team because he wanted to save his face, knowing if this team succeeded he can take credit and if it failed he can easily escape saying "we chose the best possible combination with lots of experience and if they failed he cannot be made accountable". It was always WIN-WIN for him.

Having said all that, it is time Chappell moves on, because India doesn't deserve him. I hope no foreign coach with an honest aim of taking India to a higher level take up this job, because he won't be allowed to do his job quietly. May be, if he is after money he can go for it else let an Indian take up this job. I would be waiting to see how he performs and then see what the media has to say.

Here are a few comments on a well written article :

a) Process : I think the word process has been much misused and altenatively maligned / praised to the skies in this debate. As a management consultant, I would be loathe to denigrate the need for proceess or structure. However, one of the lessons drilled into us is that the process is as good as the results it produces. For some time, it has been evident that Greg Chappell needed to relook his processes and methodologies to understand if they were delivering value. A case in point being Irfan Pathan. And having recognized that the process / methodology was not delivering as expected, he should have shown the initiative to adapt and alter his own process to come up with results. The knock against Chappell is therefore not about process or the lack of it, but simply his inability to adapt and review the process. It is not about the Process being good or bad, but the inability to adapt the Process to produce the result.

b) Man management - as any Project Manager will tell you, a methodology or a project is as good as the people in the team, and more importantly, what you, as a PM, can get out of the team. From reports, including the one by Anand Vasu, Chappell seems to have failed in winning the trust of his team. If you do not have that, no amount of process will work.

c) Responsibility : A coach is not a CEO. He is a mentor. Someone who does not stay in the limelight but allows others to shine. Post India's showing at WC2007, Chappell has made the headlines every day with some leak (SMS / news item) or the other where he has blamed almost everyone else for the poor showing, from senior players (which farcically in this team leaves out perhaps just 5 people: Irfan, Sreesanth, Karthik, Dhoni, Utthappa), to the Chairman of Selectors. Everyone apart from himself.

On the basis of these three points, I am not sure Chappell qualifies as a good overall coach, despite his brilliance as a batsman and perhaps as an individual batting coach. Therefore, it is time for a change.

Re: captain, it would be unfair to let Dravid go. He is not an inspiring captain, but he deserves another shot. What would be key is whether he retains the trust of the team.

Re: seniors, for a person who came back with such grit in one day cricket, it is always amusing to see the bogey of "neglecting instructions to score faster" being raised across the ages to target people the coach did not like. Ganguly did not have any issues either against WI or Sri Lanka in India with strike rates. Yet, one slow game against Bangladesh, and suddenly it seems that he deliberately scored slowly. That is surprising given that no one else managed a good score. It is equally disappointing to see people like Tendulkar's commitment being questioned or to have suggestions that he wanted the captaincy and therefore created frisson in the team. Surely, he has been one of the more selfless players in terms of captaincy, and if he could have not shown such desire for the 4 years when Wright and Ganguly were at the helm, why would he do so now ? Did he get pushed into this by Chappell ?

Bottomline, let us not kid ourselves that this is the defeat of a "Western, process based approach" rejected by decaying players clinging to "Indian norms". Excellence is excellence, whether achieved by showing the needed ability to adapt one's process, by showing the same in adapting TO a process, and by displaying the man management maturity needed to make the process work. We were found wanting in all of these areas.

Awesome article. We Indians don’t take criticizes well, we should be ashamed of our country one billion who cannot even play single sports properly. When sachin tendulkar was asked to retire, no one came up with proper reason rather stated that Ian chapel is an aussie he does not know about Indian cricket. The administers are more interested in developing revenue, rather than the game of cricket. Good example was when whole world started playing 20/20 cricket, we did not even play a single game because administers thought that it would not help their revenue.

Firstly, management. The board needs to define an administrative and cricketing charter, and stay by it. The adminstrative respobsibilities should not cross the cricketing ones, and the power brokering, politicing, sniping, meddling and involvement in all things "cricket" should stop.

The "CRICKET" charter should be adminstered by a panel that should be formed by committed ex cricketers, Indian or foreign, who are paid substantially, and have a vision and accountability towards transformation. They should manage all things "CRICKET" not the board secratary, president and his chappie.

Next, issue of Captain and Coach: Why not one and the same ? playing or non-playing ? Why not a page out of another sport - American football, baseball or basketball? Above all, bring the respect and reverance to the coach to the level of a corporate guru, and that of a true strategist. For certain that needs qualitative assessment and you may not find a great many candidates.

But when we find the person, we need to empower him, and work with him. He cannot have too long a noose yet he cannot be working with a ball and shackle. The "process" of good, bad and ugly needs to be assessed and he needs to develop a game plan in the first 30 days. This should immediately eliminate the ugly, establish plans to curtail the bad within 6 - 9 months, and leverage the good with innovative short and long-term programs.

The captain needs to be a captain - and it is not necessary that he is just a good cricketer. Case in point - Mike Brearly. The captain needs to stand on the bridge and take charge, kick butt is needed, but be incharge - not chew away at their nails. The captain needs to be a strategist, he needs to be schooled and he needs to be supported. The team needs to be clear who is the boss, and his word is the law. He should carry the can and be primarily responsible for the teams success and failures. He should have a major say in the team, and he should be accountable for selection.

The team is where we have a real problem - emotion needs to step aside and when one looks at Sachin, Ganguly or others there needs to be reflection. Mistakes have been made - GROSS mistakes.........Sehwag, Harbhajan and Kumble instead of Pawar, no Laxman, issues of persisting with Pathan........but I dare say Kaif and Raina had their chances.

Move the team back from being cult heroes and lock them to performance as all we salaried joes are. Kill the demi-god status and invest instead into the grass-roots.

Bring forth a great many more tournaments and get the corporate sector to sponsor facilities, teams and the growth.

This tournament is dead, and I dare say soo is the year. We should cut down our cricketing commitments internationally and play a great deal more domestically, and step out when we are a great deal stronger.

We need to get our self respect back, and we should above all, not panic. This is time for reflection and strategising where the sane head will win.

The BCCI strongly needs to look at the panaromic picture of cricket in India. Not just the Indian cricket team.
1. The nationality of the coach doesn't matter at all. If the BCCI is thinking of replacing Chappell, just throw all the candidates (from India, Australia, Moon anywhere) in a common fray. The person who has the most acceptable and visionary views and action plans will come out as the coach. Selecting a coach from India doesn't show patriotism. Thinking purely in the interest of Indian cricket is the patriotic thing

2. Improve the Indian A team. Make them tour SA, England and Australia. Unless you have players knocking the selection doors all the time, our players in the National Team will continue to take their places for granted and carry on like "Living Legends"

3. If Sachin Tendulkar is not performing despite the opportunities given to him, the Board must not hesitate to drop him. He should not be given any additional preferential treatment because of his status among the Indians. He is no different from the other 10 members in the team. This is the only way to also encourage fresh talent and creating a future pool of cricketers to fall back if the current crop fails to perform.

4. Most importantly, please have a separate person in-charge for bowling and fielding. Finally, its the players who perform on the field. The coach can only devise plans, movitate and sort of technical issues with cricket among the cricketers. So the players have to take PRIDE in playing for India and perform in the middle.

Best Regards

One has to divide the two issues facing Indian Cricket 1) Who should be the coach,captain and team. 2) The Cricket infrastructure.

For no1) Chappell needs to go before other factors can be taken into occassion. Noone likes him at all. There is clearly a cultural clash. Rahul is not a strong enough captain neither will Sachin be. Sourav should be made captain for two more years and in that time two players should be tested and groomed - Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni. Ideally in 2 yrs time Yuvraj should be Captain and Dhonhi Vice.If Mohd Kaif performs and can retain a slot in the team he also becomes a candidate for captain in 2 yrs.

For no2) There is no short solution - but it should be run like the corporate sector is. Corporate executives should be made nondirectors in their respective cities or regions and play a role in implementing far reaching reforms there.

A well-thought out article on the state of the Indian ODI team by Sambit Bal except it doesn't apply to the Indian Test team. In the Chappell-Dravid era, India has made good progress in the test arena, specially outside the subcontinent -- won a series after 35 yrs in West Indies and won a test and nearly the series in South Africa. Therefore, I think what is needed is a practical appreciation for the fact that ODI format demands a different team composition where physical fitness is necessary but not sufficient. If there is a crisis, it is how one goes about selecting the ODI side for India which should be independent of the test side, maybe using different selectors, ones like Robin Singh who exemplified the prototypical high-achieving one-day player, not Dilip Vengsarkar who played out sessions to graft his many skilled hundreds and probably doesnt appreciate the very different unsophisticated nature of the ODI game, specially in the last four years. If I were making a decision, I would keep Chappell and Dravid as coach and captain and have the BCCI focus hard on what is needed of a player in the ODI format in alien conditions. It is likely that the criteria would exclude Ganguly for lack of fitness and Uthappa for lack of skill on bouncy tracks to name two players, but we will be getting a good reality check of where we are in the ODI arena.

I am sick and tired of people tryiong to defend Chappel. Honestly, this argument that the coach is not responsible if the players do not perform is the most stupid argument one can give. I wonder what the coach is there for then. If he is there just to see if they turn up for practice then I do not see the point in paying him millions. I mean I can make sure too that all 15 of them turn up for practice. Chappell needs to go. He has no man management skills. Any management guru will tell you that when something goes wrong the boss needs to take responsibility. You do not point fingers at your juniors when things do not work out. It is up to the coach to make sure that players perform and if they do not then they should not have been at the World Cup and that should have been said before the World Cup and not in a SMS to some journalist after the damage was done. Sacking Chappell will not solve all the problems but keeping him will only increase the headaches of Indian cricket.

It's my sincere wish that instead of blaming the coach and the captain, let us look at the players who went for the world cup 07. The players are responsible for the situation we are in. Make the players accountable for what they do. Sachin, Shewag, Harbajan, Kumble, Pathan, don't deserve to be in the team at all. Sachin says he is playing for the country but invariably fails in the crunch matches. It's high time that Sachin retires and save the Indian Cricket from further embarassment. We have Harbajan who is suppose to be a strike bowler (so called spinner even world class ) - I fail to understand why he is in the team, he should have been out of the team long long ago and he has been a mere passenger for almost every tour. some of the part time bowlers are much much better than him. I can go on saying about the other players but it's of no use... only god save Indian cricket.

If we are going to persist with Sachins, Shewags and Harbhajans I am sure it will take ages to even beat Bangaladesh and Bermuda in the future.

well, it's time to think more logically. The intial reactaions to the early exit of WC have been expressed it out in many ways. But has any one thought abount the route cause for this debacle? Well it could be due to a number of reason - 1) Lack of ability to control a team by coach and captain 2)No application of mind by the players and The last but not the least the players over ruled by commercials. It's money that ruining the indian team. Not chappel, Not dravid and Not the senior player. The blame has to be put on the BCCI. India is the second largest country in terms of population. Why this country cannot produce good cricketers? has BCCI ever discussed this point if their motto is to make India the No -1 team in the world.. Well after losing the match Players, BCCI all saying it is a game take it in the right spirit. There are millions of people who are still staying below the poverty line. It is not a game for them if the govt could allocate this money instead of paying it for the cuase of bilions agony.

The way forward must focus on players remuneration. Need to pay them double when they win matches. And pay only a marginal amount to meet the expenses of travel and bording. And BCCI should take serious measures to pass a bill prohibiting players endorsing to commercials. This is the need of the hour for Indian cricket's future.

Given the overtly political nature of sports administration in India, it is highly unlikely that this group will ever take hard decisions. The only way out of this jumble is to take firm decisions, and stand by it. If that requires dropping the so called "big stars", then do it. Unfortunately, our tabloid electronic media seems to be calling the shots, and any decision seems to be taken with one eye on that. Disagreeing with Chappell is ok, but in India, the media is almost xenophobic about him. The board has no real time for introspection, and unless the core issues - discipline, technique and temparament are addressed, there is no way that Indian skill alone will pull the team through.

I have observed that indian cricket has been on the decline for a long period of time. It has been noticed that seniors are taking their places for granted and are exerting their poor attitude upon the young members of the team. The BCCI has not been strict enough with these senior players. The BCCI MUST implement performance related contracts. It seems to me now that Indian cricketers are just in it for the money. Cricket has taken a back seat. Even the younger cricketers who have come into the team and performed so well initially (MS Dhoni, Pathan) who were a 'revelation' to Indian cricket have found themselves in the same position. The love of the game is no longer evident. The BCCI must ensure that ALL players senior and junior have the right attitude towards the game. If they are not playing for their country, they dont deserve to be playing. If they arent performing, they dont deserve to be playing. People like Tendulkar and Sehwag particularly have been given way too many chances. These men should be put to the test just as Saurav Ganguly was. If they show that they still have the hunger to play for India, then they should be allowed to come in and prove themselves. It is about time that Indian cricket begins to show some progress rather than continuously failing and placing the blame on other people such as Greg Chappell. Yes it is partly his fault. However, he has made a great effort to the help the team. On occasions, his advice has been ignored and the consequences are grave as was shown in the WC match against Bangladesh. The BCCI needs to make these tough calls when they meet on April 6. It is the only way Indian cricket is going to progress. They must be strict on performance and encourage the young generation to come forward by giving them opportunities. The older players who are not performing were great for India. However, it is time that Indian cricket learns to leave the behind and look to the next generation of Indian cricketers

Don't blame Dravid,, his sincereity and committment to the Team are unquestionable..
Future steps for the Team:
Drop Saurav Ganguly immediately from both the forms of the game. His fitness was visibly lacklusture in the tournament.
Ask Sachin Tendulkar to step down as VC.
Make Yuvraj as Captain & Dravid as his deputy (dravid to help Yuvi in managing the things)
Drop Virendra Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh temporarily. Give chance to new young talented spinners like Chawla.
And for the god sake.. don't continue Chappels' Contract and don't keep any coach.. Give full freedom to Yuvi & Dravid to build the team & tactics.
for BCCI:
Stop intervention of politicians inthe game... make structure more transparent... Prepare max. nos. of sporting wickets in accordance withthe conditions..
for Media:
Ban all medias interventions from Cricket till next world cup.. Ban all frustrating old crickets from apperaing on News Channels for the analysis.. and ask them to limit themselves to coaching and commentry only...
for Endorsing brands...
Don't create campaigns like BLUE BILLION... its laughable...

I would earnestly hope that never before in our entire cricketing history have we reached a point of no return like the present moment. I hope this is the most opportune time ever for bringing about professionalism in the functioning of our Board and a complete overhaul of our cricket structure.

It may seem ironic that we are the next host of the Cricket World Cup in 2011 while our cricket has reached rock bottom especially in the one day format.

Let nobody whatever be there stature be spared in this process and then you shall find the so called former cricketers turned experts having their mouths shut for the rest of their lives.

We cannot let the only sport in our country perish and the transparency brought about in the bidding process by the present officials of BCCI, should also be brought into other aspects of the game.

Reform always has to start at the top. An agriculture minister cum leader of a political outfit cum president of the Cricket Board. This may happen in the 1970s but not in this day and age. Can anybody expect better outcome than the one we got in CWC 2007? People will then argue about 2003 and how the same was achieved under the same structure. To which I can only say that team was under the best leader the country ever has and ever will produce and one of the mildeast but most effective coach. I quote Dan Quayle's rebuttal to Lloyd Bentsen during the 1988 US Presidential debate "Senator, You are no Jack Kennedy." to our present captain stating that "You are no Sourav Ganguly".

The so called process of the last 18 months has undone all the good work done between 2000 - 2005. You cannot implement an Australian philosophy or work ethic on an Indian mindset especially when they are spoilt superstars emerging from a system which thrives only on votes and money.

So, although Mr. Bal a lot has been written, when it comes to action, I can bet my last rupee that it will be a whimper rather than a bang.

The BCCI needs courage and foresight to make the necessary decisions to move Indian cricket forward. When a player goes out on the field he plays not for the coach but for his country, his team, his pride and himself. Its a cop out blaming the coach for the miserable failings of the team, especially the senior players who one would expect would've taken a more mature approach. Perhaps Greg Chappell's regime was too tough mentally and physically for the players and possibly endangererd the marketing and other interests and self absorbed mentally that accompanies Team India. They are a disgrace to Cricket and to their country and should stop being treated as demi Gods - especially given their lack of miracles recently. The BCCI needs to have a good look at the performance and attitude of the players with a view to letting go some of the "seniors", including yesterday's man Sachin Tendulkar. Retain Dravid as captain, he performed valiantly when others simply gave in. Why should he be punished for his efforts.

Keep the coach and give him the team he wants and let future results speak for itself.

sorry sir but the future looks bleak.Cricket being played at the domestic level is pathetic.

I don't think any thing would come out of the BCCI meeting. Sachin would on behalf of the players lay the blame entirely on Chappell and to some extent on Dravid. Both will get sacked. The gentleman that Rahul is, he would continue to be the wall. We will get the same team to tour Bangladesh, probabbly without Uthappa. Our flat track bullies will take revenge on Bangladesh and akk will rejoice. The moment we step out of India, we will be routed, because the Sehwags and Tendulkars of the world are past their best by dates.
Listen to Chappell. Our problems are that we are not objective and want to shoot the messenger who brings the bad news.
We need to rebuild this team. it is better to have a team of decent players fighting as a unit rather than ageing superstars saving their places and ad contracts

Obviously it is a huge temptation to start discounting everything that happens in Indian cricket right from the administration down to an individual's performance on one delivery.

It is also very difficult to not find ourselves masked by what the outcome has been. The reality is the passion that goes into supporting Indian cricketing results far outweighs an objective assessment of a situation, whether it is the huge expectations behind winning or the huge outcry after a loss.

Attempts must be made to assess the Indian cricket environment without being shrouded by this mask of passion.

If India wants to win, then they must play every game at home. A ridiculous thought, but in reality our expectations of victory or heroic performances should only be pitted against the lame conditions to which Indian teams of now or past are suited to play

And that to me, is the crux of the issue. Until some dramatic foresight is applied to resolve this, the Indians & the fanatic supporters will continue to bask in the glory achieved on day 1 square turning pitches or ones with no seam or bounce. This is also the reason that we think that our stars as stars - because they did not have a tough time batting in India & they were more often than not able to come out glorious. To add substance to the point, how many star bowlers have we had who have had equivalent star status as the star batsmen ? Anil Kumble comes closest to it, but enjoys nowhere near the adulation that some of the premier batters enjoy. Kapil Dev is the last bowling star in my memory. This happens because they never had a chance bowling in those conditions and the reverse of what applies to the star batsmen does to them.

It really is a shame that we really believe that we have the best team capable of winning. We probably have the best team or combination & this is subject to debate. The point is that I dont believe there was a better combination that could have been put through, as the capability is limited. Talent, though is not. Talent not honed the right way is going to result in poor capability. Sehwag is a strong example of this. Exceptional, breathtaking talent - probably the best eye & hand eye coordination that I as a huge cricket fan have seen. He is not the player that he could have been because of not having gone through the mental & physical rigours of cricket beyond hitting the ball because it is meant to be hit. And we will fool ourselves into believing that he can still be, because he is way past it. This should have happened at every stage, from when he was 14 or 15 going through school cricket. To have learnt the lessons of one's own incapabilities to be able to sort them out.

So, to summarize - it begins at the very basic level of being able to play in world conditions & at a very early stage. This is not to say that we do not have turning wickets or not have spinners - but to say that we have a right mix.

I will even be bold enough to say that India should forget about winning the world cup or a test series in australia or south africa for the next 7 to 8 years.If it comes, treat it as a bonus. Victory would come in the way of having laid the right foundation at the right levels. The outcome of that is bound to bear fruits in the form of a victorious team. I certainly will look forward to that. Till then, I will watch the indian cricket team dispassionately. I hope !

A consideration that Greg lacked the human touch may be true, because a man who can not be polite with the media and smiles like a miser, in my opinion, is no good at managing people. With all due respect to Greg's credentials, it is highly accepted that Indian players might actually be facing a communication gap. I am of an opinion that BCCI must look for a coach that has strong Indian roots and present no difficulty in communication with the team. Communication is a key ingredient in team working and recent failures may corroborate this. Another aspect that should be looked at is the uneven distribution of wages among players. The grading system promised to take care of this issue, however it could not ensure performance. So the way out is a system, that motivates performance, that motivates a C grade player to jump to grade A, and that explicates that a place in the team in not always granted, rather it is pushed by performance. A team should be one that contains only performers and not a broad category of seniors and juniors. To have a team like this, it is very necessary to have impregnable bench strength, which should not be a problem in a country of billions of people (considering not everyone can play cricket). However recent failure is every indication that our bench strength is another word for replacement. It cannot be avowed as strength, because it was never tested. A constantly failing Robin could not make way for now matured Dinesh affirms my feelings.

In the hindsight, it is easy to write and almost impossible to expect the transparency of what went wrong with the India Team for 2007 world cup, but I believe, justice should be done to masses of people who follow cricket more than anything in their lives. The cricket team’s performance should be accounted for, with less blames, more responsibilities and a guaranteed forward progressive momentum.

This is exactly what I was thinking to myself. We need a cultural change or even creating culture at the domestic cricket level. If i were the coach, what would I have done different for the Sri Lankan match? NOT MUCH! that batting line with 7 players is as strong as its gonna get. Maybe I would have had Romesh Powar at number 7. But we did everything RIGHT before the world cup. We tried new players, new positions – everything. In the end, the constant pressure and our culture that doesn’t produce well rounded individuals failed us.

Point is - we havent got a system in place for us to produce COMPLETE players. When our boys reach the international scene or the national team; they have to go through a lot of learning that domestic cricket doesnt provide them.

Good example is Zaheer Khan, I am certain his stint with Warwickshire helped him a great deal; the professionalism, the facilities etc. Although cricket is already so serious that people are killing themselves and burning effigies, I think we need to take it more seriously. We need to develop a new eco system. Need India A team tours, pitches that turn and bounce - ones that provide help for the bowlers and equip the best batsman to play their shots.. When the players arrive on the international scene, they need to have the confidence that they are ‘almost’ ready. NOT go through a whole new learning process - thats where many fail. We cant have a system where only the once in a generation players survive and the rest fail. Guys like Badani, Mongia - they didnt fail because they didnt try hard enough, they failed because the system failed them. And no matter how much we can finger wag at individuals, its the culture/system that will give certain skills/exposure from an early age. You cant expect a 22 year old man to become a high class fielder all of a sudden! HE needs good ground to field on from the age of 11. You cant expect Badani to go to Australia and play his hook shots – if he never faced bowlers at 91 mph with steep ling bounce in domestic cricket!?!

We have the money, we have the will, the only challenge we have is the Indian mentality. It'll be fun, we can overcome that too! Lets do it.

Finally, I am Indian so I always have something to say – so here s my take on the team’s future – Greg Chappel should stay, Dravid remain captain. The seniors aren’t really near retirement so we could use them to gradually bring in the youngsters. IF the reports are true that Sachin wants to become captain and Ganguly and Sehwag not behaving themselves – then we ought to say bye bye to them. Sachin is not India anymore and we can survive with him, Sehwag and Ganguly. I am a big fan off all these guys, but none of them change the course of them match.. they ARE replaceable. I ll quit watching cricket if Sachin becomes captain – he ll just bring the entire Mumbai team into the national squad. We ll have Kambli and all the others – they’ll even come out of retirement! Sachin destroyed Mohanty’s career.. he ‘ll do it again.

I do not understand why there is such a hullabullah about 'Process'. What process ? Greg was adament and focussed to his single agenda of keeping 'Ganguly' out of the team. Playing J P Yadav was 'Process' ? Opening with Dravid was 'Process' ? Playing Venugopal Rao whose runs come at a strike rate of 60 was 'Process' ? Selecting Raina for the test team was 'Process' ? Greg had HIS team for more than a year before India 'Got the team she wanted'. What did he do ? Win some matches on friendly/ordered pitches against lackluster bowling attacks that also boosted by super-sub rule or individual briliance. All those benefitted by his 'Process' are struggling for runs even in Indian Domestic Cricket. First remove him. We can think of everything else later.

The simplest plan is the most difficult to adhere to. in response to this great piece of writing by sambit, I would like to add that the key here is why do Indians play cricket? Is it because of the so called passion or is it the doorway to stardom, fame, glamour and above all huge amounts of money. it was very clearly demonstrated when Dilip Vengsarkar came on strongly advising the players that it is more important to focus on cricket than walk ramps. I would also like to point at the Australian side who do military training camps in the middle of nowhere to strengthen physically and mentally. The Indian Team not only needs a strong disciplinarian but also needs binding in the form of monetary measurements that are totally performance oriented and there certainly needs to be a very strong need for a check on things and players who are not disciplined no matter what level they are at need to be axed in order for Indian Cricket to be revived.

I think we need to change half of the team, first of all as soon as board receives report from chapell culprits should be punished..whoever it is (whether it's sachin, or dravid). This will give players clear indication that no body should be given up if they don't fit in team's winning. Following solutions will be the best to rebuild team india.
1) Change captain make Sachin as captain.
He doesn't have clashes internally with the team, every member of the team has respect for him. His decisions will be saluted mostly.
2) Make coach out of this Sunil Gavaskar, Steve Waugh or John Wright.
3) make yuvaraj vice captain
4) change the spin duo..anil almost retired...drop bhajji to..he is not taking wickets now.
4) bring atleast 2-3 young talented batsman, like Raina, Venugopal rao....not utthappa.
5) Our fast bowling dept is strong at the moment, as Zaheer, Agarkar and munaf are giving good performance and we have bench strength likes Pathan, Sreesanth, RP singh, VRV etc.
7) Develop Pathan as an allrounder..let him contribute with bat and bowl on an average..don't expect drastic results from him..no allrounders (except kallis, flintoff) are regularly making 50s and 100s and taking 5 wkts..don't under estimate his abilities.

Above all we need a good mentor to support our players..we don;t need the coach who distributes the team...
hope this will reach to board and can be implemented.

regards
Kiran

As far as ODI's are concerned: A big 'thank you' and 'al vida' has to be said to Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly (who should do the noble thing and join Anil Kumble). They are not fit, past their prime and are undermining the coach-captain. We need to groom youngsters NOW. Not in 2009, NOW!! We can't let Sachin play on for 1-2 years, and add a couple more centuries to the 41 he's already got. In that 1-2 years, a young talent might be lost in the wilderness that is Indian cricket and by the time, he's rediscovered - it may be too late. No, the time for change is NOW. Keep Chappell and Dravid. Groom Yuvraj or Dinesh Karthik as V-C. Youngsters like Uthappa, Karthik, SreeSanth, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel must be played game in, game out. With a new batch of seniors - Dravid, Yuvraj, Kaif - we should be able to progress and focus on fitness, fielding and above all, a team ethic!

As usual Sambit has expressed his thoughts clearly. In my opinion, the game has suffered because of over-commercialization. BCCI and the players are raking in so much money that they don't need to care about playing the game..winning or losing does not matter to their future because we, the gullible public, are here to support them and pay them no matter what! The only way they will become accountable is to remove that support.

Lets all stop watching India when they play Bangladesh or whatever tinpot banana republic agrees to play with them..lets not buy something just because it is promoted by these losers. Let them face the situation of playing before empty stands..let there be no juicy advertising deals. For once, let them be in a situation where they have to play well to actually *earn* their living..unless that happens, things won't change. Remember that unless the shoe pinches, they have no real need to change it.

pigs might fly first!!

Hopefully the Indian Board and selectors do not go the way of the PCB. No doubt the team has failed, but 3 matches is too short a time to shun all individuals. However, the Indian Board is likely to look for a scapegoat, and Chappel/Dravid certainly look likely to get the hangman's noose. However, it must be said that Chappel's future looks bleak even in the case of Dravid surviving. The reason for this could be that he has washed dirty linen in public too many times now. He is larger than life because he was an exceptional player. I think the indian team needs a new coach who has a lower profile.

Drop Chappel - regardless of how good his vision is no coach who sends SMS's to the media and slates certain players, regardless of how true it is can forge a UNITED team. If you have a problem with the player talk to them behind the scence, not create doubts and insecurities and ultimatly cause the rifts that seem to be tearing the team apart. He has great ideas but sadly he is a dictator and is adverse to any suggestion that is not his own (remember the bowling coach debates - 'we don't need one - we have Ian Frazer')

1))Instead of making new grounds concentrate on making better ground with better pitches.

2)) Devide all the players country wide in 5 different zone...

3))A player can be selected to international cricket only if he has very good record in zonal cricket and only zonal statistics should be considered.

4))Players should be ranked in order of batting bowling and allrounder(carries feilding abilities).

5)Zonal cricket should be more regular....

Mr. Sambit Bal deserves praise for hitting the nail on the head. For Indian Cricket to change for better, firstly, politicians must be barred from holding offices at BCCI. Only People who have a thorough knowledge of running the game professionally should occupy the BCCI. Paid Executives with proven track record in Management should be brought in. This is mandatory. If this does not happen,nothing else can happen. We have seen how politicians destroy the game, like in Zimbabwe,Pakistan and to some extent S.Africa. On the other hand, look at Aus, NZ and Eng. You do not hear of politics in these countries. That is how a game's control board should be run. After all, how can politicians be entrusted with sports? they will only play politics.

If BCCI really wants to rebuild the Indian cricket team first they have to change Domestic cricket format and Wickets in India, then change the seclection procedure, first find out best emerging 25 players (on the basis of players current performance and fitness not from players past performance) from domastic teams, then divide these 25 into two teams and arragne there tours to countries like Australia & South Africa & England and make them play against "A" teams of above mentioned countries when Domestic Season finishes it will help the players to improve their technics on fast, bouncy & Seaming wickets as wel as players will remain fit through out the season. While selecting team for International matches first of all select 15 players and then select captain. Make domestic cricket mandetory to all the international players of indian team

An extremely well written piece, shorn of the histrionics and hysteria which normally accompany writeups on Indian cricket. As Indians, our cultural mindset is to venerate history and worship heroes; often this blinds us to their obvious frailities and weaknesses. Add to that a system rotten and corrupt (name me one BCCI official who has taken responsibility for the debacle)and a media which sustains on the frenzy which the love this game so obviously attracts, it is no wonder that we can never produce world class cricketers. The hype has gone... pray that the hope does not go as well

There is really not much hope that the Indian Cricket board will make any good changes keeping in mind the long term benefits of the team. They will find a few scapegoats and crikcet will continue to be treated on commercial grounds.
But this could back fire if the team continues to perform and play with the emotions of the cricket crazy people of India.

The solution in my opinion is as follows:

Get rid of the star system where people are selected more on reputation. The tem selection should be not on regional basis as is done now.

The selection shoudl be done as follows:
We should identify a pool of about 100 best cricketers and make them play a mini world cup in India. The cricketers can be from agra, goa, silchar, madras, bombay anywhere. Everyone aspiring to play for India including Tendulkar should play. If there are say about 8 teams, the tournamment could go on for about 3 weeks. The best 5 batsmen, 5 bowlers and the best WK would play for India XI. The best 5 batsmen are those aggregating maximum runs in the tournament. all 5 could be from Calcutta. It is possible that a couple of exceptional talented batsmen failed to make it to top5(may be their team did not reach finals or whatever other reasons). Those 2 along with 2 bowlers will be the 11-14 players for India.
This kind of tournament (one day and 3-5 days)will be an ongoing affair for the pool of 100 players who belog to category A. If some one in the indian team is not performing you will have the bench strength and also the ones performing in the domestic matches. The dropped player can still make a comeback by competing with those in the domestic macthes.Also Cricketer's remuneration should be based on performance.
The captain is also the one performaing as a player and skipper in the domestic competions!

First to start with, let us have sporting pitches throughout India like what one gets in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, West Indies and also few turners like what one gets in Sri Lanka and Pakistan and totally get rid of batting tracks. This will not only encourage fast bowling talent but also unearth top class spinners who can adapt to different pitches when we travel. Based on the batting performance, we will be able to judge batsman's true calibre and at the same time bowler's potential to perform when we travel.

Next important thing is to pay cricketers based on performance with minimum amount for every match or salaries and no endorsements to be allowed. This will allow them to concentrate on the game better and we can see more committed cricketers.

Third aspect is one of the serious factor that threw us out of the World Cup i.e., we need to get the mental strength to always remain positive, never say die attitude every time we take the field. I don't how other international teams can always get that energy and stay positive believing in themselves that they can win. A classic example would be the games between Australia and South Africa. Though Australia scored 377 and when South Africa started about the chase, it was clearly evident to all how positive they were and were comfortably placed at 194 for no loss. If not for the run out and Smith's cramps, South Africa would have come very close. Another thriller being Sri Lanka and South Africa game, where each and every cricketer would have enjoyed thoroughly. No matter whoever wins, it is such fighting spirit is what is expected from Team India in each and every game. We can easily notice such aggressive attitude not only with Australia, South Africa, New Zeland and Sri Lanka but with teams like Bangladesh and Ireland.

We need to groom players who have all round capabilities such as batting, bowling and fielding and never be dependant on one single individual.

I think we should avoid knee jerk reactions while at the same time penalise this entire team including the coach. In a nation of One billion , it is unfair that we do not have a separate team for One Day cricket and Test cricket. We should develop an entirely independent set of 16 members who play test cricket exclusively, purely for the love of the game.
Each of the senior cricketers should be given a choice to continue only in one form of the game. Dravid should be retained as a Test captain and should focus on Test cricket along with Laxman.
Tendulkar should ideally hang up his ODI boots too and concentrate on the Tests at least till the next World Cup. Sourav should retire from Test Cricket as he never belongs there. But his presence in ODI's could definitely help nurture a new ODI team. Perhaps he could be a captain till a talented youngster appears.
As to coaching, we should have two coaches, an Indian batting coach and a foreign bowling coach working in tandem with both the teams.

I would like to concentrate on the domestic side of cricket. I grew up in a small city in India (Belgaum) and there was an intense passion and competition in all the local school and college tournaments. What I found amazing that there was no structure and system available to carry this forward to a higher stage and many talented players were lost. We need a system of local disctrict level comepetitions which will throw up players at the state level. There will be a lot of local support. Hardly anyone watches Ranji Trophy state matches but I am sure if the competition was more local i.e. say between Belgaum and a neighbouring town the interest will be intense. We need a proper pyramid. This will also encourage the most competetive people to populate such teams. The money the Board has needs to go into grassroots cricket. That is the only way the passion and talent in cricket will be harnessed.

Important decisions need calm and cool heads. No
correct solutions are achieved in a state of frenzy or 'hurt emotions'
I suggest the following:
1- Complete appraisal of the present system, the reason for 'non-perfomance' in the World Cup. An
in depth probe. Once the the facts are available,
then sit over them for some time. Let the heads
cool.
2 - Remedy: Once the illness is known, and after a
cooling of minds/emotions period, the relevant authorities must call a meeting of all the great past Indian cricketers and sound out their views.
3 - Action: Once this is done, then a master plan for rejuvenating Indian cricket be planned. While doing this, inputs from cricketing brains should be welcomed. With a detailed data from a wide
spectrum is at hand, solutions will start to pop up.Study the set up of other countries (specially
Australia)and how they handle crisis.
Indian cricket should not be handled like a pendulum - from one extreme to the other.
All the current players did not become suddenly bad overnight. May be there are different reasons for different players. May be the solutions may lie within the same team plus a few new talents.
It took time for Kumble,Dravid, Tendulkar,Ganguly,
Sehwag and others to reach where they are - let us
not throw it away in a whittle. Let this be a step by step remedy with CALM & COOL HEADS, with acceptance that the rejuvenation period will take time. There are no INSTANT solutions and let no one fool themselves that there are.
If handled well with objectivity and calmness, cricket will regain it's glory in India.
All the best.

First of all in this article you have spoken of Ganguly as if he is a pariah. Mind you he has scored 10000 runs in ODI which not many people have scored. So i guess he deserves some respect for that and with this debacle more credit should go to him for building the team and handling it well to make it the best time in Indian cricket. Now for the current problem Chappel should be fired just for trying to play a media game with the players. Dravid is the best batsman in the indian team period but he is not a captaincy material. You cannot have a captain who thinks people know their roles and should play their part..if that is the case then you dont need a captain.

As for Greg Guru Chappel he is the worst coach ever.Even in the NBA and NFL when a coach comes in he takes the seniors in to confidence and sells his idea to them and convinces them to go as per his vision but here he created too many ruckus. He has to be in the background but he relegated Dravid to the back and hogged the limelight. Plus in his tenure there was no new thing learnt instead all the old things they did well was lost by the way side.

Its said it not the coach who plays which is right but he has to get his team ready to play and have the right stratergy in place and should be good enough to devise a change in the gameplan as per the situation but that never did happen once. Just for leaking emails about not being happy with the team for the WC he should be fired.

The solution is that we need to create a pool of talent and give all of them an opportunity to prove themselves without much affecting the balance of the team. Well easier said than done... How do we do it? The solution is simple!!!

We need to create a pool of 30 players and give opportunity to everyone. This can be done by having a clause that a player can only play a maximum of 70 days of international cricket in a calendar year.

So how does this help?

1) On average the team plays 100 days of cricket (30-35 ODI and 10-12 test matches), by limiting the maximum number of games to 70 days to a player, 11 players will play at a maximum of 70 days of international cricket and atleast 11 other players another 30 days of international cricket.

2) This will help us to build a pool of atleast 25-30 players with internation exposure. It should be ensured that everyone gets to play atleast 30 days of cricket.

3) It will not create any kind of insecurity as the yardstick of 70 is same to every player including the captain. Thus we will also be able to create a reserve team and also a reserve captain.

4) This will also create a healthy competetion as each player knows that there is someone else who is capable of replacing him if he does not perform well. At the same time those in the fringe cannot blame that they were not given opportunity to prove themselves. This will also ensure that no coach in future can say the senior players acted as a mafia and prevented youngsters from entering into the team ;-)

5) This will also give the players much needed rest/break in the hectic schedule of cricket and avoid burnout or breakdown of players.

6) These players will also need to play 30 days of domestic cricket, thus giving more importance to the domestic games and giving more exposure to the players of the domestic league.

While this may sound complicated it is not so since we know well in advance the amount of cricket that will be played in a calendar year. It is only a matter of proper planning. Going forward this is the best way to create a good pool of talent with a healthy competetion among players and also help in identifying and nurturing budding talent.

And it has to start at the bottom. And as for accountability, can we start at the very top please? (last lines from your piece above, Sambit)

What a beautiful way to end a very comprehensive piece that goes across sub-continent. I honestly wanted to edit and replace India with Pakistan, send it out BCCP and it will still rock/groove/jive/jiggy what ever. Does the answer lie right there? I think it does! I think it is right in front of every eye but because we are looking for something else, evades us.

First thing first! every body talks about bringing a major change in the infrastructure, understandable! yet nobody points out to the simple matter of having green tops and hard pitches underneath. With the advent of technology if a pitch can be sprayed glue to keep it intact. Why the hack can we not dig up the old sponges and try putting in a brand new set of pitches with green tops and hard surfaces in mind. Give them only the green tops to play! Let the youngsters play on these pitches adapting the batting techniques required to cater to the pace. They will be the players of tomorrow right! let them master the technique the very best way possible i.e by repetition. I have been crying out for years to get green tops in Indo Pak and no body is ready to listen. Now when both the teams are licking their wounds should some one point it out to the wise men as to where their teams failed? On green tops! Ok so they have problem playing on it, how about if we provide them green tops here, would they improve? In my humble opinion yes sir they will. BUT you wont know it unless you have tried! So try! and try again and again until this or something else works. Change of a coach, change of a captain dropping few players is not going to solve it. They are people and will always be that way. The answer lies somewhere else!

Sambit, I think this is a very objective look at the questions that should be asked and answered. However the commitment needs to start at the top and the 'wise men' need to ask themselves if they have the stomach to make the bold moves ('the revolution' as you call it). Are they willing to churn out change that might be unpalatable to many in the short term but is our only hope of competing with the best (might be a stretch since we struggle to cope with the 'minnows' today!). Are they willing to peek behind the veneer of 'statistical fortresses' and focus on how good individuals are today? For far too long players have relied on the weight of their past performances and have become passengers on a train that can ill-afford them.
On another front, when you think of collective responsibility, I think the corporations that endorse these 'home-turf giants' and you and I who elevate them to the status of demi-gods do share some blame. As a people, with such limited sporting success on the global stage, we look at cricket as the great leveler and more often than not, we end up disappointed and that disappointment manifests itself in ugly ways that suddenly puts pressure on the system. We are seeing that today and it would behoove us to recognize that we are contemplating a BIG fix here and a knee-jerk reaction that has so often been the way out will not serve us well. That’d be akin to putting lipstick on a pig!
The way cricket is played has changed a helluva lot in the last few months. This is evidenced by the way the Aussies, NZ, SL and SA have consistently leveled bowling attacks. Unless we are looking at 4 stumps and the use of a golf ball in future, the one-day sport has become a slog fest! Putting a gazillion runs on the board and fielding like the wind is how the top teams play cricket today. Bowlers have to re-invent themselves and learn to mix-it up. The great knack of bowling down the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ and landing the ball on a dime now equates to ‘plain predictability’. The future of bowling will rest in specialists – those who can bowl upfront, using pace and swing to take some quick wickets, those who can bowl the middle overs by mixing it up and those who can bowl at the death by consistently pounding in yorkers. Heck, with technology today even mis-timed shots go for max! I think all this leads to the benefit of test cricket. Give me that any day!!

We need to look at the domestic system for starters. I am not sure the people of Mumbai (or anyone else who wins) are really invested in the experience of winning the Ranji trophy. So why then is this a regional format? We should consider following a ‘process’ that works (there's that word again!). 10 to 12 teams in a league, much like the MLB structure in Baseball with scouts, player transfers etc and more importantly a remuneration system to allow players to make a living from playing cricket.

While I am livid with the Indian players and their sheer incompetence, I hope this is the kick in the butt they require. I believe that even if they had squeaked into the Super 8’s they would have been shown up at that stage.

As in the business world, the blame for this debacle needs to be placed at the door of the Board, the selectors, the captain and the coach. Greg Chappell obviously needs to go. While he may have been a phenomenal batsman and might even be a good coach, I think he is not a good coach for India. As for Rahul Dravid, being from Karnataka myself, I really did want him to succeed but I am disappointed by his inability to strategize on the field, let new batsmen get off the mark right away and also his inability to inspire his troops. Dravid has always been the bridesmaid so many times in his career and as a batsman he is clearly great but as a captain, I am not inspired. Sachin needs to figure out what his legacy is going to be. I think he has a couple of years of cricket left in him but can he elevate himself beyond his commercial interests and earn a fitting swan song to a great career? Or in pursuit of the brave new direction will the selectors have the ‘cojones’ to put him to pasture? I guess we will have to wait and see but history teaches me to not hold my breath!!

The most positive action that I heard so far is the one by Zee TV owner to start a separate cricket league. For the population that we have we need two international teams.

I encourage any one who competes against BCCI. For the money involved we do need a tough competition. Let Indian people and India fans get to see some good cricket.

I really enjoyed reading Sambit Bal's article.

Oh my gosh - right after the loss to Sri Lanka Niranjan Shah comes on Aaj Tak and says... and I quote with his unforgiving Gujrati accent" cricket is a game of luck and chance - or like he said in his miserable Hindi - cricket luck aur chance ka game hain". If that is the case then how come Australia, SF, NZ, SL, didn't fold against the lesser teams. When I heard that I was fuming. I paid $200 to Dish Network in US to watch world cup and that's the kind of performace I get from the players and the head of BCCI. The problem in India is that there is no accountability. From here on - I'll no longer support the Indian team. I'll no longer order their games on dish network. And here is an advise for the Indian audience - the players are more interested in walking on the ramp than running on the pitches....so here is a clue - stop buying any product they endorse. Don't follow those losers. Here is another thing I don't understand....Indian team can only play on pitches in India - but no where else? - Cricket is what they do for living - and if you can't play on all kinds of pitches then may be this is not the right profession for you. If I underformed at my work I would definitely be let go - We need to let most of our team go. I love India - but never again will I support the Indian team - beacuse truth be told - they suck!!! literally!! Also, for God sakes - Please kick the following trio out of the team - they are too old to be playing Cricket - they were good very very long time ago - Tendulkar, Ganguly, Sehwag - This is a young man's game - since they are too dumb to retire let's kick them out of the game and ban them from playing cricket for team India. Also, please someone shave Dhoni's head!! - Good bye Indian team - You were terrible and will no longer get my support. A pissed off customer - Ajay Sharma

As an Indian cricket fan, I never for a moment think that we lacked talent in Indian cricket team. However, Cricket essentially is a team game and what Indian players need is the spirit to fight. You can have the greatest talent, but if you lack the killer instinct, passion to stay there at the crease to do "whatever it takes to win" the match attitude. What can the best of the selectors and coaches do? There are never two options about winning.

Nobody can teach this. I believe Indian fans are not worried about India loosing the matches. Everyone looses and wins in a game, it is wilting under pressure, it is going down without fighting are the prime issues that everyone is worried about.

Cricket players need to be treated as such and paid for their services at par with their international counterparts. In a country where cricketers are worshipped rather foolishly, Perspective is lost on the part of the players and they take huge personal pressure. Cricketers need their due respect like any other sport celebrities, nothing less and nothing more.

As you can see from the history, if there is no fear of failure or if the matches are "warm up" nature, we are more likely to win even against the best teams. The illness is in the psyche, for which Indian cricket fans at all ranks are collectively responsible. Collectively, the Indian team could not stand up to the expectations of the millions of hopes which, understandably, enormous pressure on the players.

The cure for illness is to be mentally calm and focused and play to win for the country rising beyond the small self. If you are fighting a battle, you fight and never let the thoughts of being killed into your head, if you do, you will soon be dead. Similarly, it is not difficult to see why Indian team is dead before it is killed.

So long these demons are not thrown out; we are likely to repeat these drama episodes.

Time heals everything as they say. Privatizing cricket in India is one such healing time might provide as a natural solution to this illness.

Sambit, I enjoy reading your meme in general. I fear though that the media is going into overdrive with this worldcup defeat. And the media is a big reason the indian team is the way it is. Press coverage has insidious effects on the team dynamics and the coach-captain relationship. This is not new to India, such power conflicts and turf wars and ageing players and the changing of the guard are true of many sports and probably other cricket teams as well. What's different is that they get the freedom to operate without pressure inspite of such issues.

Another issue is the emphasis on talent. We constantly cite our billion-strong population as the basis for more prodigious and proliferating talent. Teams such as australia and south africa aren't winning on talent alone. they play with a grit and passion unseen in sport. We have seen glimpses of it when we had youngsters such as sehwag, kaif, dhoni, pathan, yuvraj, raina etc made it into the team and all they had to play for was stardom and glory. Now they are saddled with expectations. Thanks to our unreasonable billion people. Its not a war of talent we are losing, its a war of having the right sporting spirit. cricket is becoming too much of an obsession. so much its not just the bcci and brands that are jumping on the bandwagon, but also the media which can only benefit from upping the ante further.

Respect the present coach's recommendations. It were players who prformed in a silly manner. Mr.Jagdale had warned the Board of "dadagiri" of some players. Dadas get help from ministers and well placed names and sbotage nobility of this great game. The team has to play for the national pride at International scene- not for a batting practice. This defeat must be carefully analyzed. Punishment in the form of end of contract must be the mimnimum. Mr.Chappell must be treated with respect and not be biased as he an Australian. He himself was an outstanding Captain, Batsman,Bowler AND Fielder. He knows about winning but cannot play for the "star" players. This team is full of rotten athletes. Sehwag looks 6-month pregnent- dravid has poor leg strength and so on. Fitness must top issue. We must pay attention to what Sir Viv said about mental strength of Indians."Billions" can wait for a young team a la Bangladesh, but not the remodelled old team.

Sambit,

There is no easy solutions for Indian Cricket. I've been watching cricket from 1983 when India won the world cup and now it's almost 25 years that we have been struggling to add another one. It's time for introspection. I believe in planning, oraganizing, streamlining along with a strategy for long term to have quality process. The whole corporate in the world is talking about improving business process to achieve business growth, productivity and profits. The BCCI should form an expert advisory panel consisting of cricketers, coaches, pitch curators to recommend strategy and solutions to revolutize Indian cricket. The advisory panel should learn how Australia tranformed their cricket and what process worked for them. The panel has to come up with a report(blueprint) which should provide direction for Indian Cricket. There is nothing wrong in learning from someone who is very successful and translate it to your need.

Here are some perspective from my end.

1) BCCI should form Cricket Schools in important metro and as well Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. The role of cricket school is to identify talents, provide training, physical fitness plans, conduct seminars about batting and bowling with professional coaches in order to provide them the exposure to learn about what international cricket requirements are to the young minds. There has to be a mental preparation from the young age to nurture qualities like professionalism, mental toughness, competitiveness, physical fitness to achieve certain standards. Future cricketers of India are the ones who are at the age 12-15 now and they will be our cricketers for the next world cup...

The idea of domestic cricket leage will work certainly but it has to well planned as well. Modern day cricket has changed a lot, soon 20-20s are going to a reality. We need cricketers with power, speed, atheltism, innovative thinking, etc. I think BCCI should send a team to American to learn about how they transfrom school kids into sport stars here in sports like basketball, american football. We need to have a clinical approach here in order to find some permanent solutions for Cricket. Think Big and Think long term.

Thanks,
Raj Baskar
Atlanta, US

The real solution is India MUST MUST be allowed to field at least 3 if not 5 International Cricket Teams. It has 6 times the population of the Second biggest Cricket playing Nation of Pakistan.It is the biggest joke I have heard in my life that Inida gets the same allotment as does New Zeland. Totally unfair. 1 Billion against 4 million. No way can it be same. When was the West and Third World treated same based on economies of billions and Inidan econmoy of paltry millions in those days. In today's cricketing world India and Pakistan are the old West and rest are Third world. ( It is West who invented the term and hence it is not unfair to use it now. I did not agree with the use of that term then and do not agree even now).
To ask 11 to represent 1 billion means a lot are going to miss out because of no fault of theirs, they know it and get disinterested in Cricket as career. That is what has happened. For example, Mumbai always produced great batsmen and South came up with fantastic spinners. What happened in the last 15 years? There has been no one after Sachin and Kumble. The younger ones are not interested because they understand the limited scope available.

The Indian Cricket League is a great answer. Hats off to people who thought about it. It will be even more good if India invites Pakistan to Join in with 2 teams too. It will be good for the game and a big morale booster for generations of young cricketers to come.

The solution is certainly not to listne to adocates fo Underarm Bowling

Lets face it,the last two world cup games were not the only failures for the Indian team in the recent past.The story has been shameful for quite sometime now,5-0 against South Africa,4-1 in West Indies,first round exit from the Champions Trophy 'held in the sub-continent' and the list goes on. We have always been pussy cats outside home,but the worrying fact is that our competitors have improved leaps and bounds and give us tough competition even on our home soil.I wonder what stops our so called 'GREATS' from performing outside india and in pressure games.Why do these GREATS perform only in matches where everyone has contributed and things are going smooth for India?
Keeping in mind all these things, some tough decisions should be made in the next meeting.The performance of the Indian team has been so pathetic( we are more than happy being No. 3 or 4 side in the world) that if decisions don't come now,I'm afraid I'll lose all my faith in the Board and especially in ex-cricketers such as Ravi Shastri,Gavaskar.Decisions have to be taken considering the modern day cricket which is so unforgiving,I wonder if a slow,unathletic Ganguly,Laxman or a 'made for flat pitches' Sehwag
fit into the modern day cricket.While teams are going ahead with their fielding,running between wickets,hitting abilities,fast and spin bowling, India,at best,is moving at a snail's pace.Our domestic structure gives an impression that our Board is one of the poorest cricket boards in the world.When our young blood gets used to those flat pitches,that is when the biggest crime is committed.
However I have full faith in ex-cricketers like Shastri,Mohinder Amarnath who unlike others have the guts to point out the problems in our structure and I bank upon them to present a case before BCCI that will "force" the Board to do something about team India.
Remember,this is the 21st century.Everything has become so competetive and cricket is no different."Accountability","Collective Responsibility" have to be integrated with our cricket.Some of our existing Greats will agree that they are not performing when the team needs them to perform the most.There is a vast difference between the fitness of our 33 yr olds and that of people like Jaisurya,Symonds,Hussey who belong to the same age bracket.So I expect decisions to be made at the meeting,decisions which should increase competition,decisions that should do away with complacency,decisions that are taken keeping in mind the long term goals of our cricket.Please Mr. Sharad Pawar,Mr. Shastri and others,do not let the opportunity to be the architects of tommorow's team India go begging.

The first order of business is to terminate Chappell's contract. Pay him off and let him go. He was a failure as South Australia's coach and he was a greater failure as the Indian coach. It is a pity the BCCI allowed itself to be overwhelmed by his glity powerpoint presentation. He was a great batsman. Full stop. Lousy coach.
Step 2: Start with a new, younfer captain. Dravid is not going to be the man for the job in 2011 so start now. Think big picture and use the bi-nation tournaments to develop the new captain. Losing those in the short-term should be tolerable if they provide discernible signs of progress towards 2011. Dravid and Tendulkar can play out their days as batsmen.
Step three: Well, start with the first two and then we can proceed further.

There is no need of wholesome changes to the Indian team. Coach Greg chappel should be retained and even dravid. there is no need to drop seniors such as ganguly and sachin. But youngsters should be groomed.dirty state level politics should be abolished and zonal system of selection should be stopped. Talented players like Ambati Rayudu etc., were crushed by politics.
India should adopt the rotation policy and groom the youngsters along with the seniors. There should be a pool of about 20 players who are ready to play in any conditions.If that happens nobody's place is taken for granted and each and every player will be on their toes.

The problem currently with Indian team is that we have too many players who had a glorious distant past but sketchy performances in recent times. I am amazed to hear that the indian cricket board is thinking of handing over the captaincy to Sachin Tendulkar, who has achieved the least in the past year or more. As a matter of fact, whenever we really needed him to perform in recent times, he has been nothing but a failure. It is probably the lure of money or fame that is keeping him in the sport. Any person with integrity & honesty would have resigned after this type of lackadaisical performance would have resigned let alone think of captaincy.

I guess it's true that in Indian cricket, each person is elevated to his level of incompetence.

You are absolutely right in your assessment. Nothing substantial will happen in the next few weeks. They will change a captain. The team will remain more or less the same! Indian team without drastic measures and discipline will never achieve the greatness similar to Australian team.

I think the entire perception when it comes to how local cricket is played in India needs to change. More participation from senior players, the media and public is required to make the local competitions like Ranji trophy, etc more meaningful and interesting.I think media and public participation in local events is esssential so that good players get due recognition and publicity. The BCCI should work out different ways to attract the local public to these kind of events. Only when the quality of cricket improves at the local level, we can expect good cricket to be played by the team at the national level.

Again the selection process needs to be purely merit based and also needs to take into consideration the current form of the players. Current form is something that needs to be determined based on how a player fares across various local competitions and this process should be entirely transparent and based on facts.

Mandatory rest periods for national players in between competitions should also be encouraged and followed rather strictly so that other performing players also get a chance and thereby get groomed at the national level.The long term intent should be to build at least 22 players at the top level who compete with each other for a place in the final national eleven.

The only way India can improve its cricket is to have lots of cricketing acadamies (in each city with more than 500,000 population) and have a STRONG competion amongst the league teams that born out of these acadamies. This will give us a huge pool of highly competitive players at all times and it will create an environment where ANYONE with a talent / strong desire coupled with hard work, can come to these local cricket acadamies and emerge as talent that can play in the league games. India needs much more than the lousy 5 zone approach that is currently under way. I am sure the recent world cup demise will have created enough pressure in the big heads to make fundamental changes in our approach. One more BASIC change that is a must > creat fast, bouncy pitches in every stadium or else we will continue to be killed on all such international grounds where the pitches are fast and bouncy.

The bcci should team up with companies like ZEE, pump in the money in the domestic cricket, have good bouncy tracks, and some thing like indian cricket league should be ideal, with players from outside hoting up the competition. Think about bret lee, bowling to the indian juniors, or some youngster sharing the new ball with him. that will be awesome, but i doubt bcci would be ready to part with the authority. I hope they think positive and team up with zee. We dont always need international matches alone, think if the domestic cricket is watched by all, with good sporting wickets and all the great stars playing, it will be awesome for the game, like the what happen's with football.....

Idol worshipping at its best!

The following snippet from the cricinfo website written by Anand Vasu helps clarify why the Indian teams, despite great talents, can never be dominating in any sport, unless a MAJOR shift in the collective Indian psyche is made soon:

"There is also a school of thought that believes that Sunil Gavaskar might do the job better, if there is need for a change, and it is believed - despite his extensive television commentary commitments - that he is not averse to the idea, however incredible that may seem. That might just suit the board perfectly, for there are few in India who will publicly criticise Gavaskar, even if the team fails under his tutelage."

Greatness can never be achieved by mere 'Idol worshipping,' as status quo, whilt it may seem comfortable, does not challenge anyone to become better than their current state. Many of the senior players are irate at the possibility of being questioned about their work ethics. However, do they hold themselves accountable for not having produced when it counts the most? I am sure that I will get a billion replies to justify how those seniors had performed great 'in the moment that mattered!'

I am by no means questioning the commitments of the seniors and will fully acknowledge that they have made significant contributions in the past when it 'did matter.'

Having said that, I also think that the first phase of fixing 'what's wrong with Indian teams' starts with accountability! Unfortunately, due to our tendancies of 'Idol worshipping,' some of the players may think that it is their 'rights' to continue playing despite recent poor performances. I suggest that it is a priviledge, rather than a 'right' to be able to play on any of the sport teams. I am sick and tired of hearing from senior players that the fault is with coach, BCCI or the captain. I am equally sick and tired of hearing that a billion fans would 'Idolize' players based on their past performance, but would be more than willing to point fingers at everyone other than their 'idols' when things go bad.

Being an Indian, and a supporter of every great achivements from Indian team, my message is that forget about who is to blame, but look within you. Forget about politics, commercialism or past heroics, but find that spirit of excellence even if it does not meet the conventional ways of doing things. Measure the current performance, not based on past performance, but based on effectivity for the greater good.

We, as a nation, need to rapidly shift from the culture of 'idol worshipping' to a culuter of accountability and responsibility.

If we don't, we will be repeating this blog, or the main flavor of it, every four years.

It will take a lot more than just changing the Coach or captain or shift in the BCCI, the change will have to come from the collective psyche of a billion plus nation to have a common vision.

Are we there yet?

The job of a coach is to prepare the team for the battles on the field through traning, strategy and by addressing the mental side of things. Our ageing star players currently neither posses the skill nor the will to execute this on the field. They just want to prolong their sagging careers for the monetary side of things. The coach is not batting or bowling for them on the field. Even a John Buchanan will be a failure with these guys. I have known most of the players closely for a long time now and have also spoken to Chappell on a few occasions and in this backdrop this performance or lack of it was long time coming and it is due to the attitude of several of our top stars and not because of Chappell as he seems to be a reasonable man who wants to do his job well. In the aftermath of this debacle, hopefully, Chappell will expose the ugly faces which lie underneath the masks of these so called heroes that some of our billion dollar cricketers wear. They are arrogant, greedy, and easy money is the only thing that drives them. Those players who don't go along with them are treated like outcastes and eventually driven out of the team and are bad mouthed everywhere. The Cricket Mafia includes player agencies and large multinational companies like Reebok and LG who want to keep their non performing billion dollar bunnies in the team. They also have sympathizers from the outside like Sunil Gavaskar who is a regular Chappell baiter who prefers the cool environs of the commentators box and has never volunteered to help Indian Cricket as a coach. Our paper tigers are timid from inside and are too scared to fight against good opposition and are mentally fragile. They cheat the whole nation with the help of the media and clever marketing companies who make them some sort of mega heroes. Go close to them and see they don't have the ticker. For a cricketer there is nothing more hallowed than his cap, which he earns the right to wear and swears and commits to always fight for the team that the cap represents. For our team the blue cap means nothing but a means to make money, money and more money. Ultimately Greg will be blamed for everything and the same set of losers will continue in the same vein which will ultimately spell the death knell of Indian Cricket. Let's make a change now as a new set of players would not do much worse than this lot and they would certainly put Indian Cricket back on the right tracks and start winning matches in times to come. Its now or never, if not now then when would be a question every Indian cricket fan should ask himself. Please put your hand on your heart and ask yourself whether these traitors should be punished or not and the answer will be there for you.

Mr. Sambit, you have made 2 points which were totally baseless and whole India will agree with me.So its better to clear you first then BCCI.
1.Why is the bench-strength so thin that they were forced to recall Sourav Ganguly?- Very good question but the answer is simple there is no other players who can replace Ganguly.For the last one and half year India under leadership of Dravid-Chappel has given so much oppurtunities to younger players bt anybody has succeeded.So BCCI had no other options but forced to bring back Ganguly.Who will replace Ganguly?No body.

2.Progress was made under John Wright and Sourav Ganguly. But Chappell and Dravid came at a time when there was need to rebuild.-As far as i remembered,i think Indian cricket was in doldrums when Sourav and Wright took over the matter due to some betting issues.And when Dravid and Chappel came they already had an established side.So Ganguly-Wright rebuild a side but Dravid-Chappel destroyed a side.
When Chappel came he told that he would make India 2nd best side within world cup.But what he has done?we are worst than Bangladesh right now.How long will take a good coach to make an average side into good side?Just look at Dave Whatmore-He took just 18 months and made Srilanka the world champion.But Chappel?FullStop.
Now he is blaming senior players that they were against juniors.
After serving 18 years of cricket with dignity,how can one blame Sachin Tendulkar for not supporting junior cricketers?
And Ganguly?Everybody knows that he had always fighted for the juniors.He himself got suspended for that.And still now Indian team is comprising of players which are all his products(except Sreesanth).So how many players did dravid and Chappel recruit in last two years?None except Sreesanth.

So now BCCI has lot of work to do-

1.Sack Chappel immediately and make one indian as a coach who will better understand our culture than any foreigners .
2.Make Ganguly captain again-he is the only man who can take India again to next level(make one junior(maybe Yuvraj) his assistant so that he can learn from him).
3.Make 3 permanent selectors who will only look after the interest on Indian Cricket but not his zones(Gavaskar,Vengsarkar and Kapil-preferably)
4.Change the total infrastructure-from slow low turning pitches to hard bouncy fast tracks.
5.Make everybody compulsory to play domestic leagues.

But how far BCCI will follow its a real doubt.

India needs a proper team balance. only one or two good performances can not win the match. Starting with bowlers, we need consistency. I never understood why Srishant was not in the team? In which game he did not perform well, and we took Agarkar? India can be the second best nation if not first, but we need discipline and focus. We do have confident players and finishers in the team. They should be given just that role and they must perform in any circumstances. No need to blame Dravid, b/c when it mattered, he was the only one who stood strong and everyone else played an absolute immature inning. Players should be picked with their present form and not by their personal records. Indian pitches must be made in such a way that can be similar to foreign countries. Players must be given responsibility to stay fit like Austrailians. our players are very talented, its not like they are not, but they need to stay focused. Another blow was not taking Dinesh Kartik, what did he do wrong? From his past 20 consecutive performances, not even single one he failed. He was the only one who fought against Australians in Championship trophy. why was he not taken? If Sachin is not in form, its nothing wrong dropping him for a game or two. He is a great player, but victory is more imp than our desire to see him bat. The bottom line is, make minor changees, but keep the team same, everyone must work exremely hard on their project, they must not be allowed to do too many commercials, there must be some type of limit on it. They should eat right, do yoga, work out and keep themselves extremely fit. In Australia even Brett Lee comes and hits 40. India has the talent, just utilize it. we should have mix of senior and junior players. If we make a whole new team and if suddenly they fail, the team will completely collapsed. The way Australia is playing, except may be New Zeland, there is no other team that can beat them in such a big event anyway. so, no need to get panic. just work hard on the game and go with a killer instict to every game thinking victory is the only thing that matters. Too much insecurity can also make them personalize rather than a team player. If they are a proven talent, they need to be given enough chances as well.

Terrific article Sambit!!

You brought up an important point regarding the PROCESS. Recently Narayan Murthy Of Infosys fame also defended the PROCESS approach. Here also important in Kapil Dev's talk regarding the Indian Mentality. My question is - What is this Indian Mentality we are talking about? Is the "Sab Chalta hai" attitude? Is it the total disregard for discipline - on the road, at work etc.? Is it the immense pleasure we indian's get from politisizing everything? Is it the Indian hunger for power? Is it over emotional atitude we carry in our personal lives and in our movies? Is it the job security culture that has made PSU's ineffecive and trade unions "demons"?
If this is what the Indian mentality is, then its time we move on.

Infosys, Tata, Reliance etc. have become a world class companies by following world class processes and believing only in meritocracy and not by following the "INDIAN MENTALITY". I think the same should apply for all others walks of life. The sorry state of Indian cricket is just a reflection of the sorry state of our culture. Its time we stand up and do a "Rang de Basanti" - not just in cricket, but to our lives...

Sambit

I had made these suggestions a few years ago, to Kris Srikanth (my contemporary in Inter Collegiate Cricket)and he acknowledged that they should be looked into.

Astro turf has changed hockey completely. We can use it to create a bouncy and fast pitch anywhere in India and use it to simulate the tracks in Australia or South Africa.

At least, they can be laid in the MRF pace foundation and used for camps.

Similarly, spinning tracks can be used to prepare for matches in the subcontinent. Ranji trophy matches should be conducted on these surfaces to give players at the State level a feel of these surfaces.

Another method is to ask fast bowlers to bowl from say 20 instead of 22 yards to improve the batsmen's reflexes and getting them used to short pitched bowling.

Have regular matches like we had some time back between 4 teams having the best 44 of the country's players and have each team play the other more than once (to give a fair chance) and then finally, the selection should be based on form and performance and not on averages.

Batting practice should include a compulsory 2 over 'hitting out' to simulate the last 10 overs situation.

These of course will also benefit the bowlers. As other readers have pointed out, at least some of the pitches should be changed or conduct the coaching camp in places like Mohali, when we visit countries with bouncy tracks

We all have seen Ganguly's innings in the worldcup(strike rate of around 50's) so i feel he has been playing for himself not india. We have seen Tendulkar struggle against pace and spin but blast weaker bowlers(bermuda). We dont have the guts to drop any of the so called super stars. We need to learn from the Aussies who have dropped their superstars and given chance to the younger lot. This is how they produced Gilchrist, Mac Grath, Brett lee etc. There should be tough competition for each place in the line up. Aussies dont crack in pressure but they perform, they fight it out. Indian player on the other hand feel insecure and lose confidence when threatened with the thought of getting droppped or replaced. Greg is not to be blamed as he is an aussie so he had applied aussie type of coaching but he forgot one most important thing that is we are not aussies but indians. God only can save our cricket and best thing would be stop watching cricket and concentrate on other sports.

I dont think any revolution will be there at all. Sunil gavaskar will be the coach and Tendulkar the caption. Selection will continue tha same way and we will return from Sonar Bangla victorious with many centuries and sixers and prove the Seniors right, their attitudes right. By that time Greg Chappel will be a forgotten name.
Sachin and the ol' folks gave us many a proud moment but, no more we r getting them. If Sachin could think like a welwisher of Indian cricket, he should've reacted differently as he is a pesron who can think cricket better than most in the team.
Under Allen Boarder, long ago Aussies built a team and a crecketting decendency, it is still working. Senior players are fighting there to keep their positions in the team. Do it here and do it now. I dont say this for the next world Cup, it is for this Billion people who will give anything they have for this game!
(Zee's project sounds good, but how will they recover 100 crore??????????? any agenda hidden? .)

The time has come to rebuild the team. Forget the bloodletting. Lets look at this failure objectively and concentrate on healing the wounds of the nation. It is quite obvious that a new leader capable of commanding the team and bringing out the best in the players be called upon to lead. In the current climate two names need to be considered. Dravid has to go. He does not have the respect of his team mates. The choice then falls on Tendulkar and Ganguly. Let these two players guide the team. The Austrailian has caused a severe rift amoung the players no different from what the British did while they were in India. Is he to blame ? I say no, he isnt we should have the moral spine to resist the manipulation. We dont so we just have to live with the problem. Draft Jimmy Amarnath and see how he fares. If he is able to deliver then we have solved the problem. The healing must start now no more devisiveness , that is just not the way graet teams play.

Sambit,
Well written article.My two cents on the same.
1.BCCI should look at the performances to choose a team and not by reputation.BTW Performance is decided by venue,opponents,conditions,stage of the game.Not by scoring 145,183 against kenya,bermuda on feather beds.14000 runs for not winning cause is not glorious nor is the 129 ball 66.
2.Motiviation for 30+ people who have played cricket for last 20yrs.Absolutely rubbish.Playing for the country itself should be motivation.
3.Media is either breaking or making a champion in india not the onfied deliverables.
4.Play professionally and not with emotions.
5.Always remember coach is as good as the team

I Would Like to Echo the comments of Peter about Australian Cricket and its success. Australia have won when Marsh was Coach, when Buchanan was coach and are winning still, they have won under Border, Waugh and Ponting. So the talk of good Coach or good Captian really matters least. Australia follow a simple strategy viz. He who performs stays in the team and stays as long as he performs. They have sacked Players of like Steve waugh, Mark Waugh, Michal Bewan and others too and some were brought back when they performed well in domestic circuit. Bret Lee did not have a place in the team for about 1 year when Kasprowitz was bowling well. So... it really does not need an inquiry but common sence that team should be made based on performances not paaaaast records or big names else we still have place for Gavaskar, Kapil et. al in our Start Studded Indian Team.

Sambit,

Firstly, kudos on a marvellous article and particularly on exposing the humbug that is India's cricket 'culture'. Secondly, my armchair isn't the best position from which to take a stand on the current controversy Indian cricket is embroiled in, so I'll not comment on that.

Here are my suggestions on what can be done to improve Indian domestic cricket.
The importance of restricting the top tier of first class cricket to a handful of high quality teams has been realised by everyone interested in India's cricket- barring the BCCI.
Globally, the move to reduce the number of first class teams has been fraught with controversy - the case of Girqualand in South Africa springs to mind. India, on the other hand, can neatly circumvent that issue as, in the Duleep trophy, we have a first class trophy with perhaps the optimum number of teams. While it was introduced in 1961-62 to strengthen first class cricket, the time has come to take that idea to its logical conclusion by making the Duleep trophy India's premier first class tournament - displacing the one named after Duleep's illustrious uncle.
I'd suggest a double-round-robin format involving the five zonal teams on a home-and-away basis (foreign team, optional). Besides appropriate financial renumeration, the winning team should also be provided an incentive of a (say, month long) cricketing tour outside the subcontinent to further hone their skills.

The Ranji trophy should be structured as a feeder to the Duleep Trophy teams - analogous to the way the Provincial Cup underpins the SuperSport series in South Africa. Additionally, the Ranji should revert to its old zonal format from its current incarnation. I can think of three reasons to justify this:
a) It will be more straightforward to choose teams for the Duleep Trophy and reduce selection-related heartburn amongst players. (which led to Hyderabad's farcical omission from the Quaid-e-Azam a couple of years ago)
b) As the best players would be in the Duleep trophy , the gulf in class between the Ranji teams (within a zone) would be reduced to an extent.
c) The amount of travel, and its concomitant expenses, involved would also be reduced.

Two other changes I'd like to see in the domestic levels are: an emphasis on athleticism and players being provided greater exposure to the kookaburra balls.

But, given the BCCI's past record, hoping to see any of this happen soon would involve - to use Wisden's favourite phrase - touching the confines of lunancy. Nonetheless, a cricket fan is allowed to dream, isn't he? And perhaps, Mr Chandra's latest initiative might provoke the BCCI to put cricket before commerce.

Your views on this?

Sad...

Sad that India didn't even make it to the Super Eight because their senior players failed to perform and counted too much on their past records and "demi-god" status.

Sad that India is divided, some want to play the blaming game, very few sees sense, many allow emotions to get the better of them and worst of all too many allow the media to influence their point of view.

Sad that Indian's in India take cricket too seriously and place too high of an importance of cricketers like sachin, ganguly etc. Do they share their spoils / match winning fees with their fans?

Sad that Chappel (despite my hate for the man because he's an Australian) will probably get sack because someone has to take the blame.

Sad that all the issues about Chappels / Dravids' faults are only now openly coming up after a dissapointing World Cup.

Sad that the Senior players have to point the finger at the captain and coach because it's the only way to save their hides.

Sad that the coach and captain had to work with a team of old past-their-due-date players.

Sad that the coach and captain also play the blaming game however credit to them for doing their job, as a captain / coach it's their job to do so.

Sad that as usual, a foreign coach is hired, the coach has a vision and wants to make changes but doesn't get the support he needs to get the job done.

Sad that there is too much politics in Indian Cricket and too much focus on revenue than developing a team.

Sad that for a population of 1 billion people and with cricket being the main sport..India can't compete to the level it should be competing in. Of all the other cricketing nations, India should be par with Australia.

Sad that NZ, despite having only 4 million people and cricket having to compete with Rugby...we are still far better off than India.

Sad...sad...sad

Lot is being made of wrong team selection but I suppose this fifteen, if not the best, at least was good enough to beat Bangladesh; I feel the selectors had given as good a team as India could have had and therefore Chappell's views that he did not have the best team (to beat Bangladesh) amonuts to passing the buck. I have no doubts that Chappell had a sincere approach and had best of Indian Cricket in mind. He had failed possibly in man management. I think the solution lies in retaining Chappell as coach with someone like Paras Mhambrey or Pravin Amre as an Assisitant Coach (they being much junior to Greg, may not have ego clashes with Chappell). A bowling and a fielding coach may be provided as well. As for Captainship, I think we may try a totally new face like VVS Laxman. These are short term measures. For long term measures, Ranji trophy players must be paid at par with test cricketers if not more; boad has money and so this should be possible. Finally, the players who peformed well in the last domestic seasons must be given opportunity viz. Gambhir, Ranadeb Bose, Manoj Tiwari, Amol Muzumdar, Sahab-ud-din, Badrinath, Chawla etc. Also good coaches at domestic level must be given high incentives.

Fist of all we should stop commenting on others in media. It will only breaka relationship with others. I dont think sacking a coach or captain will give you a permanent solutions. There are lot other things which needs to be addressed. We are too emotional rather than accepting the reality. It was the worst moment for Indian cricket. We should blame ourself instead of pointing others. Having such a talent in our country and not losing a game like this means, we are destroying the game by playing a ugly politics around us. Our BCCI administration is not very good enough & everything is thrown out to media. we should change the entire system which is not possible at one shot. Some of the process should get steamlined.

Coaching is toughest job in cricket that too in India, were we think cricket as a religion. Greg has done a decent job. we can't blame him alone, ofcourse he didn't get a full support. We should respect his views about Indian cricket & its system. It is team work at last and we should accept the reality. I think we are far away from accepting. As a fan of Indian cricket, i wish the people to provide thier full support at this time & not get emotional. Motiovation is best word which i suppose to use now. Hope we get ride of the current situation & come back as team. All the Best. Jai Hind

I think we need to redefine the role of the "Coach". We need specialist coaches for batting, bowling and Fielding. We need a head coach who is will be more of a strategist and man manager. The best candidate in my mind would be Ravi Shastri, One of the best cricketing minds in the country.
-Sachin

Without proper diagnosis you can't cure any disease. And treatment in wrong way only goes in the favour of the disease. Every one criticises Mr. Chappel. He told you how to play, his job was over. You don't require any motivation from him to perform on the field, b'cos you are matured enough and you are representing your country,it makes you resposible and become motivated of this position. And also, u r not such a player that was picked out from anywhere on the roadsides. U were judged closely and deeply and selected after being techniquely and physically fit. Because of all these matters i dont think that the team was as bad as it performed on thefield.
Today, BCCI's meeting is going on right now but media person were strictly prohibited, WHY?. After hammering the India's strong image in the cricket world, nobody gave atleast an intention of the resign, from top to bottom, from Sharad Pawar to Daravid, WHY?. And today the meeting is held under so secrecy that nobody will be able to know that actualy what happended there. WHY?.
SO, IT SEEMS SOMETHING WRONG ANYWHERE ELSE, ONLY THAT MUST BE DIAGNOSED AND CURED.

I think the BCCI will think of a long term solution because they dont want to face all the complaints of the people. However, what needs to change is the method of our domestic system. They need to revamp the pitches to harness batsmen that can play on bouncing and seaming pitches. Without this, we will never get good batsmen. For the short-run, the idea that seniors, even Sachin and Ganguly, can be DROPPED is important. Young talent needs to be brought in and a coach has to come in that understands the analytical points of cricket as well as dealing with the Indian media and be able to connect with the players. That kind of person is hard to find, but we are talking about India=it aint easy.

The following wer the main problems for the poor performance of Indian cricket team in the world cup:
1. Opening batsmen were never developed due to constant experimenting by Chappell and Dravid. Sehwag is technically unsound to open against good pace bowling. Top priority iw develop a good opener pair.
2, Keep Dravid at 3, Yuvraj at 4, Sehwag at 5 and Dhoni at 6. Let them form the nucleaus of middle order.
3. Develop 2 excellent all rounders to bat 7 and 8. We already have Tiwari and may be Sharma.
4. We need a left arm spinner of the type Vinoo Mankad or Rusi Surti or Salim Durrani or Bapu Nadkarni. This is one of the all rounders. Can Yuvraj be such a player?
5. Have a pair of genuinely fast opening bowlers who can command control in length, direction and pace. Something like Malinga or Snane Bond.
6. Number 11 position is either for a spinner or an accurate medium fast bowler, depending upon the pitch.
We need to keep the team constant once established. Chappel and Dravid killed the team by experimenting. The mental psychy of the whole team was fargile. Hence they lost.