Mission M&M

India needs to be bold and innovative with their strategies if they are to be competitive in Srilanka. It's very clear that a 5-0 scoreline is staring us in the face. Here is my strategy note...

We need to continue playing 5 bowlers. Our best chance is to restrict the Lankan's to a reasonable score if they are setting it or less than our's if they are chasing. Everyone talks about Srilanka's strength (their bowling), but i am sure that at the back of his mind Mahela is worried about his batting. It's dependent on the big 3 and we need to get them out if we are to do well. It's a blessing that all 3 come in the top order. A good spell from Zaheer and co can break their back.

Now, to the best approach to batting. Or let's say, the best appraoch to tackle Murali and Mendis. We have two sets of batsmen- those comfortable facing M&M and those who dont have a clue. Those comfortable facing them need to face the bulk of the 20 overs they will bowl. Those not comfortable should be given the best chance of facing them- they should face them only once they have spent a good number of overs at the crease.

Sehwag (if he is fit), Gambhir and Dhoni look like the 3 most capable of facing them. They should be India's middle order. Yuvraj, Rohit and Raina should allowed to bat at the most comfortable time and should be well set before they get to face M&M. So, they need to be India's top order. Infact, batting at the top against Vaas & co must be the easiest task in Srilankan conditions. So, my batting order will be

Raina

Rohit

Yuvraj

Gambhir

Sehwag

Dhoni

Irfan should be a floater and if the openers get off to a good start, he should come up and try and score a quick 40 odd.

This might look too radical and unorthodox, but you need to be exactly that when faced with a challenge like M&M. I would infact go on to suggest that if we have wickets in hand and a guy like Sehwag to come in, a set batsman should take on Murali. he doesnt react too well when put under a hammer. Here is an interesting sub-plot- Imagine the pressure Murali will be under, if he is taken for runs while Mendis is bowling tight. Infact, I think, the advent of Mendis will harm Murali more than help him.

Cricket Story- 2011!

The often unfair focus on batsmen is again in evidence with this new usage- Fab Four. For me, Indian cricket from 2001 has been about the " Fab Five"- Dravid- the solid one drop batsman, Saurav-the captain, Kumble- the tireless bowler, Laxman- the touch artist and Sachin. Hmmm..Sachin, the what? Before you think, this post is on Sachin baiting let me clear my stand on Sachin. Sachin, to me has changed his style of batting very courageoulsy in the last few years. It would have been easy for him to continue like the "Master Blaster". But he didnt. He curbed his stroke play for the team and in the bargain became a very laboured and often unattractive player. So, Sachin- the courageous!

For me, Indian cricket till 2001 is a story of one big FLOP. It was a story of selfish individuals, lack of ambition and above all the most over estimated sporting moment in the world -India's '83 world cup triumph. The Fab 5 changed all that. Here were 5 men who were not happy being the best in India. They wanted to be the best in the world. And they had their moments being the best. Above all, they wanted India to be the best in the world. They wanted India to start winning overseas. To me, India's string of overseas wins were bigger than WC'83. Let's give credit where it is due- the Fab 5 re-shaped the way the world looked at cricket.

They are the real cricket heroes for India but it's now time to bid farewell to them. Let's not trivialize their contributions and insult them by dropping them or forcing them out. Let's send them out with dignity and let's send them out with a plan. These are guys who always had clear plans and they would like nothing better than being phased out as part of a larger plan.

Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh are without doubt the most talented youngsters to come out in the last 5 years. But, let's face it- Viru is walking the tight rope between " Hit" and "Miss". Yuvraj is clearly not test material, atleast till now. Dhoni is a safe keeper, a batsman who needs to work within his limitations and a captain with great potential. Harbhajan to me is a spent force. In the age of dead pitches, heavy bats and attacking batsmanship, you need tonnes of "Mystery" to succeed and the Sardar has none of it! But these 4 have a role to play. They have to be the buffers between the Fab 5 and the young turks.

Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Ishanth Sharma, Suresh Raina and Piyush Chawla have it in them to take India to the top but they need to be phased in. So, here is the plan.

A Batsman in the Fab5 has to go out right away to accomodate a youngster. For me, the axe will have to fall on Ganguly. Kumble has to be given a specific role of keeping the run flow down in tests and has to be eased out in favor of Chawla by the end of the England series. The man who replaces Ganguly ( Rohit, as of today) has to come in at #4 and move up to #3 when the next Batsman in the Fab 5 leaves. Based on performance and form at the end of April 2009, it has to be either Dravid or Sachin. Either way, Laxman has to move into #4 and keep that role for another year. This would be the ideal time to slot in Yuvraj at # 7 (dont be surprised!!!) and bring up Dhoni to #6. This way, Yuvi has to face less of a new ball and can make tremendous impact with Dhoni and the tail. We have a +150 assured everytime we reach batsman 6,7 and down. The batting order will look like this

Sehwag

Gambhir

Rohit

Laxman

Dravid/Sachin

Dhoni

Yuvraj

Laxman and Dravid/Sachin have a very clear role to play here. They need to play with the young batsman and also help Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni and Yuvraj to levels that they got to, in 2003.

Now, we will get into a very critical stage. It will be time for Rahul/Sachin to leave and we need an all rounder to slot in at #7. It is hardly practical for India to have a fast bowler all rounder but in the next 2 years we need to develop a top-class spin- all rounder. We need to invest in developing Piyush Chawla or someone like him. A leggie will win us matches abroad and him at #7 will let us play 3 spinners at home. If Irfan re-discovers bowling form and can be a genuine 3rd seamer abroad, we would do even better.

The other eventuality we need to plan will have to be Sehwag's move down the order and groom a good opener. Sehwag's move down will coincide with Laxmans departure. So, for me India's test team batting order in 2011 will look like this.

Gambhir

New opener

Rohit Sharma

Sehwag

Dhoni

Yuvraj

Piyush/Irfan

For India to be the world's # 1 team by 2010, we need a world class spinner. Either, Harbhajan steps up or we get someone really special. I hope its the latter. Harbhajan and Chawla will at best be support spinners.The batting will sort itself out and we will keep getting Ishant Sharma's, but the spinner will be the key difference between us being a world beater or an also ran. Wrapping up here with a small prayer on the lips- please give us a special spinner!