KINGSTON ( JAMAICA): The land of Bob Marley, to put it in the words of the Reggae king, gives the Indian selectors the right opportunity to pluck some weed.
The five-match one-day series against the West Indies saw the wise men picking the best of India's young talent in the absence of senior cricketers. Having seen them put their brand of cricket on display, selectors now have the chance to pick the best from the lot and mark them out for the future. The rest will have to simply take it into account that as much as they've earned a reputation for themselves in India's vast domestic circuit, the temperament to do equally well at the international level is not quite there.
There's no shame in accepting that. Not every good cricketer is necessarily good enough to play international cricket. And it becomes all the more important to realise this when you're discussing a World Champion team.
Tamil Nadu's S Badrinath – certainly a batsman of considerable talent and with a lot of runs to back that in the domestic circuit – is a case in point. At 30, Badrinath managed to make it to the Indian team on two separate tours and has played seven one-dayers and batted in six innings so far after making his debut in 2008. Three of those innings have come on this current tour of West Indies.
In all these outings put together, he's aggregated a mere 79 runs and a highest of 27 not out. His one-day average thus stands at 15.28 and the strike rate has been a dismal 45.93.
Now, before one goes any further, it is important to note that Badri made it to the Indian team in the first place only because of the massive number of runs he's stacked up in domestic cricket and most importantly in all formats.
He averages a whopping 62.41 in first class cricket and 32.44 in Twenty20. Those are impressive figures.
Then why exactly has a man of such talent – he underlines it when he cuts fast bowlers through point and gully with immense ease and plays spinners with a lot of heart – not been able to convert it all to the international level?
In the series against West Indies, Badrinath batted at No 4 in all the matches he played and every time he walked out to bat, circumstances presented him with an opportunity to make it his own stage. He missed thrice before being dropped for the final one-dayer.
Was it lack of temperament?
Opener Shikhar Dhawan, the Delhi batsman, is another example – but certainly not in Badri's league even when it comes to the domestic circuit.
On slow batting wickets where seeing off the new ball can be the easiest thing to do instead of walking in late in the batting order and managing situations, Dhawan made a mess of his chances too. With the exception of a 67-ball 51 on an eased out batting track in Port of Spain in the first one-dayer, Dhawan has failed miserably in other games, only to be rested in the fifth and last match. As an opener, which is Dhawan's regular batting position, he had absolutely no shots to show in the 'V' and entirely got his runs playing square off the wicket.
Yusuf Pathan is another batsman to make it to this unwanted list and stands thoroughly exposed with each day in international cricket. While there's little doubt that he can hit the ball harder than most of his ilk, the belligerent right hander can do almost nothing if the delivery doesn't get pitched in his zone. Anything on good length, just outside the off-stump and he'll smash it into the stands. Anything else will leave him in big trouble.
It doesn't take bowlers in international cricket long to figure that out.
Among the three, Badri may find it the hardest to digest that getting another chance at this level for another time will be difficult, especially because he is a very good batsman who has earned his runs with sheer display of talent.
However, like his two other teammates, he has to realise that international cricket is a different ball game altogether. No disrespect meant.
TOI
The five-match one-day series against the West Indies saw the wise men picking the best of India's young talent in the absence of senior cricketers. Having seen them put their brand of cricket on display, selectors now have the chance to pick the best from the lot and mark them out for the future. The rest will have to simply take it into account that as much as they've earned a reputation for themselves in India's vast domestic circuit, the temperament to do equally well at the international level is not quite there.
There's no shame in accepting that. Not every good cricketer is necessarily good enough to play international cricket. And it becomes all the more important to realise this when you're discussing a World Champion team.
Tamil Nadu's S Badrinath – certainly a batsman of considerable talent and with a lot of runs to back that in the domestic circuit – is a case in point. At 30, Badrinath managed to make it to the Indian team on two separate tours and has played seven one-dayers and batted in six innings so far after making his debut in 2008. Three of those innings have come on this current tour of West Indies.
In all these outings put together, he's aggregated a mere 79 runs and a highest of 27 not out. His one-day average thus stands at 15.28 and the strike rate has been a dismal 45.93.
Now, before one goes any further, it is important to note that Badri made it to the Indian team in the first place only because of the massive number of runs he's stacked up in domestic cricket and most importantly in all formats.
He averages a whopping 62.41 in first class cricket and 32.44 in Twenty20. Those are impressive figures.
Then why exactly has a man of such talent – he underlines it when he cuts fast bowlers through point and gully with immense ease and plays spinners with a lot of heart – not been able to convert it all to the international level?
In the series against West Indies, Badrinath batted at No 4 in all the matches he played and every time he walked out to bat, circumstances presented him with an opportunity to make it his own stage. He missed thrice before being dropped for the final one-dayer.
Was it lack of temperament?
Opener Shikhar Dhawan, the Delhi batsman, is another example – but certainly not in Badri's league even when it comes to the domestic circuit.
On slow batting wickets where seeing off the new ball can be the easiest thing to do instead of walking in late in the batting order and managing situations, Dhawan made a mess of his chances too. With the exception of a 67-ball 51 on an eased out batting track in Port of Spain in the first one-dayer, Dhawan has failed miserably in other games, only to be rested in the fifth and last match. As an opener, which is Dhawan's regular batting position, he had absolutely no shots to show in the 'V' and entirely got his runs playing square off the wicket.
Yusuf Pathan is another batsman to make it to this unwanted list and stands thoroughly exposed with each day in international cricket. While there's little doubt that he can hit the ball harder than most of his ilk, the belligerent right hander can do almost nothing if the delivery doesn't get pitched in his zone. Anything on good length, just outside the off-stump and he'll smash it into the stands. Anything else will leave him in big trouble.
It doesn't take bowlers in international cricket long to figure that out.
Among the three, Badri may find it the hardest to digest that getting another chance at this level for another time will be difficult, especially because he is a very good batsman who has earned his runs with sheer display of talent.
However, like his two other teammates, he has to realise that international cricket is a different ball game altogether. No disrespect meant.
TOI
