Cricket Australia: Contradictions Galore For Team India!

Just when Indian dashing opener Virender Sehwag was needed most he was dropped or rested or whatever! In the first one day international cricket match between India and Australia in Melbourne on February 5^th Indian top order failed again and Team India had a disastrous start in the triangular one-day series too. 

  

The argument was that youngsters needed to be encouraged. Where were these youngsters when the ‘seniors’ failed and failed and failed in the Test series? During that time Sehwag and others were not considered as ‘seniors’! We have always maintained here that young Indian cricketers should be trained and prepared for test cricket—the real format of the game. If you have no faith in them for the real cricket then your encouragement is immensely ‘short’ sighted! Sehwag has proved his worth in the shorter format more effectively than in the real one and just one explosive innings from him can turn a match on its head.

Then again, on Australian bouncy wickets you go for two spinners which is a rare tactic even in ODIs played on flat Indian wickets. Pravin Kumar and Vinay Kumar gave India a terrific start in that match, but the two spinners neutralized it completely and helplessly saw Australia taking absolute command of the game. And by the way, what’s Zaheer Khan doing nowadays? Is he another ‘senior’ fit only for test cricket? 

And not the least, in place of ‘senior’ opener Sehwag only Sachin Tendulkar came in to open for India! What is his status—senior, junior, youngster or what? Or is it only because he has to accomplish the hundredth hundred feat? It is getting very ominous—the more the delay in achieving this record the more will be the sufferings and humiliations for Indian cricket.  Sachin’s ‘century of centuries’ dangler is almost creating the dilemma of the ‘millennium’ for Indian cricket! Back home, you have lost the biggest sponsor too. 

For the time being, end the contradictions so that the one-day series does not become another disaster. Tomorrow’s match against Sri Lanka is the immediate challenge. 

Meanwhile, medical experts have confirmed that Yuvraj Singh has no lung cancer, but a tumor or a rare form of seminoma in between his lungs just above the heart. Yuvraj is responding  to treatment very well and with his positive energy he will indeed be back into the cricket field in May, the doctors add confidently.