We miss Sachin. We miss him more in 'Tests' than in ODI. One great performance with the bat or ball by a player can invariably take a team to victory in ODIs. But in test matches, most of the time, it is the 'Sustained Brilliance' of the stars that can take you home. Ebbs and tides can be experienced in the longer version where a genius with experience can help 'in resisting the ebb' and 'riding over the tide' to take his team towards safety. Here Greats like Sachin count. Let us see how Team India has performed in the two versions when it missed him (Of course stats alone do not tell you everything, but it helps).
India without Tendulkar

In all, injury has kept Tendulkar out of seven Tests and 69 ODIs.
A look at the matches missed because of injury.

Tests:
1. vs Sri Lanka - Galle (Aug 2001); SL won by 10 wickets
2. v Sri Lanka - Kandy (Aug 2001); Ind won by 7 wickets
3. v Sri Lanka - Colombo (Aug/Sep 2001); SL won by inns & 77 runs
(Reason: Hairline fracture on right toe).
4. v Australia - Bangalore (Oct 2004); Aus won by 217 runs
5. v Australia - Chennai (Oct 2004) Drawn;
(Reason: Tennis elbow).
6. v Zimbabwe - Bulawayo (Sep 2005); Ind won by inns & 90 runs
7. v Zimbabwe - Harare (Sep 2005); Ind won by 10 wickets
(Reason: Opted out of the series because of the elbow surgery)
Out of these seven matches, India won three (Zim2+SL1) and lost three (Aus2+SL1).
One match was drawn.

One-Day Internationals: India Won/Lost
1 match vs New Zealand in New Zealand (Jan 1999) lost1/won0
5 matches - Pepsi Cup in India (Mar/Apr 1999) lost3(pak/won2(SL)
5 matches - Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah (Apr 1999) lost2/won3
1 match - Aiwa Cup in Sri Lanka (Aug 1999) lost1/won0
1 match - Coca Cola Cup in Singapore (Sep 1999) lost1/won0
3 matches - DMC Cup in Canada (Sep 1999) lost1/won2
4 matches - LG Cup in Kenya (Sep/Oct 1999) lost1/won3
7 matches - Coca Cola Cup in Sri Lanka (Jul/Aug 2001) lost4/won3
5 matches vs Zimbabwe in India (Mar 2002) lost2/won3
1 match vs West Indies in West Indies (Jun 2002) lost0/won1
7 matches vs West Indies in India (Nov 2002) lost4/won3
4 matches vs New Zealand in New Zealand (Dec 02/Jan 03) lost4/won0
5 matches vs TVS Cup in Bangladesh (Apr 2003) (NR1)/ lost1/won3 (BD2) 3matches - VB Series in Australia (Jan/Feb 2004) lost2/won1zim
2 matches - Videocon Cup in Holland (Aug 2004) (NR1)/ lost1/won0
3 matches - NatWest Challenge in England (Sep 2004) lost2/won1
2 matches - ICC Champions Trophy in England (Sep 2004) lost1/won1
5 matches - Indian Oil Cup in Sri Lanka (Jul/Aug 2005) lost3/won2
5 matches - Videocon Tri-series in Zimbabwe (Aug/Sep 05) lost2/won3Zim2
(*NR-No Result) TOTAL:(NR2)/lost36/won31

Out of these 69 matches, India won 31 and lost 36. Two were abandoned.
Of the 31 matches won, 5 were against Bangladesh & Zimbabwe

(fished out from 'Statsguru' at cricinfo.com) Source taken from an email

There is yet again a controversy. It happened before two years and it is happening again this year. Who is the right choice to coach Indian Cricket team? An Indian coach or a foreign Coach

Well this is one of the most famous controversies in India during the selection of coaches and the support staffs who will help those coaches. Always there are some people who bats for foreign coaches and there are some who bats for Indian coaches. Who is best for Indian Cricket team? In the past decade we saw coaches from both India and also abroad. The supporters who support cricket coach from India put forth a major point to all selection committee. The strong points of those supporters are

• Indian coaches can only understand the work culture of India.
• Indian coaches can communicate well with team due to the same culture
• Indian coaches can only understand the strengthens of the Indian cricket team and board
• Due to these understanding only Indian coaches can take the team to win the major events

These three are the major points that are put forward for selecting Indian coaches by these supporters. The qualities which was put forth by supporters of foreign coaches are

• New methodologies and game plan for the team.
• Can workout various strategies based on player's strengths
• Can bring out a new skill from the cricketer by providing opportunities
• Bold to take any decisions without looking to past records

Both side look more or less balanced in their stand points but how can we decide whether the Indian cricket team coach is Indian or a foreign player. To look into this, let’s go to yet another game which is more popular and played in more number of countries than cricket. Let’s go to European leagues of Football. If you see those teams (Madrid, Manchester etc) all will have at least one foreign player in the team and they recruit foreign players in their coaching squad too. From India only Baichung Bhutia played in those clubs. They strengthen the team by introducing the new techniques, which was used in the foreign teams. How this is useful for them.

Those players who are playing for European leagues will represent their nation in events like world cup. Due to those the attack techniques that they understood in league matches; they were well defended and also make their national team to understand the techniques followed by the European opponents. On the other hand, lets take our Hockey team, which is coached by Indian coaches and not accepting the foreign coaches. It is struggling to gain a 4th place in any event.

we are not saying just by bringing the foreign coach there will be a magic within the team. It is in the hands of players who are taking field on the particular game. For Indian cricket team both Indian and Foreign coaches took the team to Finals in world cup. This shows that the foreign coaches too can perform their jobs well in Indian soil. Ashuman Gaekwad took the team to finals during 1999 world cup and John Wright took the team during 2003. With this kind of result, supporters of foreign coaches attack all the supporting points of Indian coach supporters. Supporters of Foreign coaches put forth some record statistics in front of everyone.

• 2001 - India won after a follow on in Kolkatta
• 2002 - Nat west Trophy was won by two youngsters which none thought as a winning game
• 2004 - Went Australia and made Australia to struggle for a draw to save the series
• 2004 - Won the First test in Pakistan soil against Pakistan after 18 years
• 2004 - Dependable duo (Rahul and Laxman) showed yet another fight back against Australia.
• 2005 - 2006 (Aug) Won 13 matches by chasing without loosing one.

If we see the statistics most of the win came in foreign lands than in home ground. It was a biggest achievement of Indian cricket team under foreign coach. During the start of 2006 where the experiments of Greg are on peak India achieved a much bigger victories which looked like hungry beast waiting to be unleashed. Suddenly there were internal troubles and lot of changes in management made the team to get shuffled which lead to a disaster which was never seen before during world cup 2007. During the coaching of Anshuman Gaekwad, team was elephant in home and rats when away. That is because India's strength was in spin and players had lot of spin game than a pace game. Under the foreign coaches team was playing with pace bowlers than a spin bowlers which gave the confidence to play against the pace.

But does appointing a foreign coach make the team to win all matches like Australia. No we don't think so. It is player’s capability which will make the team win. During 07 world cup Indian cricket team had a bunch of individuals who plays for country. During 03 world cup we had a bunch of players who played as a team. We cannot blame a coach for the non performance of the team. Coach has only 5% of responsibility on a game. Remaining 95% of responsibility lies within the players not with a coach. A coach can only create possibilities not they can go down for play.

I Bat for a foreign coach who is creative and constructive, whom do you bat for?

Retired Australian pacer Glenn McGrath will take his first step towards a coaching career when he arrives in India to share his experience with young cricketers here and Hyderabad later this month.

McGrath will interact with around 300 junior cricketers selected by Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) during his day-long stay in Kolkata.

The World Cup's Most Valuable Player will also visit Hyderabad and conduct a similar session with junior players there.

An excited CAB President Prasun Mukherjee said he wants the selected juniors to learn as much as they can from the legend, who finished his career as one of the leading wicket-takers of all time.

"From the CAB point of view I am very excited about Glenn McGrath coming here. All the bowlers from right from Ranji to under-15 level should take maximum advantage of this opportunity," he said.

Burying the World Cup debacle as a "thing of past", skipper Rahul Dravid Wednesday emphasised that India is keen to win the three-match One-day International series against Bangladesh starting Thursday. "The boys are very keen to get out and play some good cricket, especially after the World Cup, which had been a disappointment. We are very keen and we all want to win the series here," he told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, the match venue. Dravid didn't comment whether it was a fresh beginning for his team after the first-round exit at the World Cup in the West Indies in March. India lost two of the three matches, including one to Bangladesh, in the tournament.

"We are going to play a lot of cricket. We can't pick a team for one event. We have to keep a lot of things in mind and consider the whole scheme of things to see how we get the best out of each player to win. And that's the way we are looking at it," he said. Dravid pointed out that this was not the "end of something and beginning of something". "It's an on-going thing," he said of the increased number of matches played all round the year. The captain stressed that Bangladesh have shown some good results recently, not only against India but also against other teams.

"They have been getting a consistently good side and they no longer can be called minnows or anything. Now, everyone knows that if you want to beat Bangladesh we will have to play really well and to our best," he said. Dravid, who will be playing his 314th ODI, said that India also have good players who can cope with the local Bangladeshi conditions and perform well. He said that left-arm pacer Rudra Pratap Singh, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and batsman Manoj Tiwary, who has been ruled out for five days with an injured right shoulder, have been left out, leaving XII for the match.

The XII are: Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthick, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, Ramesh Powar and Dinesh Mongia

This time let numbers do the talking. Take a look here on the extraa in(come)nings of our star cricket players -

M.S Dhoni - 8 Crores!
Days spent in Advertising: 75 days
No of Brands - 15 [Reebok, Reliance Comm, TVS, GE Money, Siyarams, Brylcreem, Titan Sonata, Exide, Castrol, Pepsi, Seagram etc]

Rahul Dravid - 13 crores
Days spent in Advertising: 60 days
No of Brands - 12 [ Bank of Baroda, Max New York, Hutch, Britannia, Pepsi, Reebok, Citizen etc]

Virender Sehwag - 5 Crores
Days spent in Advertising: 40 days
No of Brands - 8 [ Adidas, Pepsi, Boost, Hero Honda, Sahara, Britannia]

Yuvraj Singh - 8 Crore
Days spent in Advertising: 40 days
No of Brands - 8 [Microsoft, Pepsi, Seagram, SBI Cards, Reebok, Marico, Trent etc]

Sourav Ganguly - 5 crores
Days spent in Advertising: 35 days
No of Brands - 7 [TCL, Hero Honda, Tata Indicom, Sahara, Puma etc]

Dinesh Karthik - 40 Lakhs
Days spent in Advertising: 5 days
No of Brands - 1 [Nike]

And brace yourselves for the heartstopper of them all:

Sachin Tendulkar - Whopping 40-45 crores
Days spent in Advertising: 70 days
No of Brands - 14 [Pepsi, Cannon, MRF, Adidas, Pantaloons, Sunfeast etc]

So they have all the time in the world to endorse and make money but have nothing but lame excuses when it comes to performing for the country. Remember folks this money is apart from the hefty retainer fee from BCCI and per-match fee's they get.

Why Should India Be "Grateful" to Sachin Tendulkar?

CNN IBN runs an article - 'India ungrateful to Tendulkar'. Pray, tell me why in the name of the good Lord should India be grateful?

He sure has played some good cricket and he has received loads of accolades as well as compensation for the same. He is treated nothing less than a demi god in this part of the world. So if he has given his all to cricket, so has cricket given him everything be it fame or money. So where does the question of being grateful arise?

Sachin does not even bother to play domestic cricket. He has the audacity to ask for a tax waiver for his Ferrari!. And our government hands it to him in a silver platter and makes a proud statement of it to the media too!.

Wow, it surely pays to be a cricket star in India!

When Brian Lara retired from cricket after the cricket world cup 2007, there was a big vaccency for the leading West Indies in future games. Problem with West Indies cricket team is, there are lot of efficient stars which performes in the games. It is not a single stared cricket team like India, but a multi stared team like South Africa. Every player plays with his own ups and downs. It was a close contest between Ramnaresh Sarvan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle for the captain post.

Chanderpaul is an ageing legend who has lot of potential in both test and ODI but with two main problems, like Rahul Dravid he is an slow starter in any match and his physical fittness is not upto the mark. Once settled chanderpaul is a free flow player who can divert the course of play from any odd situations. On the other hand Chris Gayle is an opening batsman, explosive on a good day who can provide a rapid fire for the score card. Chris Gayle is youngest talent in West Indies who can be considered for leading the team in future.

What West Indies needs now is a player who can lead from front with good experience in hand and must be young. The situation of the selection is more like Indian team selection in which an Indian got a chance to lead the West Indian cricket team. Ramnaresh Sarvan was offered with captaincy of West Indian cricket team. Ramnaresh Ronnie Sarwan, who has his roots in India, an elegant player who maintain his cool during testifying times named as West Indian captain. There are some Non resident Indians in other cricket teams but what makes this as big is that, an Indian is now on a place where legends of cricket like Clive lloyd, Alvin Kallicharran, Vivian Richards, Desmond Haynes and others.

All the best Saravanan oops sorry Sarvan

Cricket world cup 2007 ended with its style on April 28 2007. With the victory of Australia over Sri Lanka, Australia created the history in the cricket world cup by winning three consecutive world cups. Also there is yet another record made by Australia, which is, the team which won 29 games in cricket world cup without loosing. Apart from their win, there are lots of data to take home for other teams.

Lets see how the teams went ahead and let them down in this tournament.

India - The team of uncertainty

India, backed by a billion pressures made its 9th appearance in this world cup. Indian cricket team lead by Rahul Dravid provided a lot of hope for their countrymen. Their hope is on the deep batting lineup backed by experienced players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and other young bloods in the team. They had a decent bowling line up which also looked promising.

With lot of experience Indian cricket team started its game with Bangladesh which is also considered as a minnows in the game. But the fate of Indian cricket team in this cricket world cup was well written by Bangladesh team with a win over India. It was the match which decided the fate for India. None of the India's top batting lineup performed in the game and every player in Bangladesh performed well on the ground.

With a loss over Bangladesh and lots of pressure by Indian cricket fans back in home, India faced Bermuda where virender Sehwag made his first century after a long time. Everyone thought Sehwag is returning to form but the hope got shattered during Sri Lanka vs. India match. India won Bermuda with a huge total and all the top four performed in the game decently.

Then India entered into its crucial match against Sri Lanka which is a Do or Die match. India is on the edge of the knife which can tear the flesh of the team. With the brilliance of Sri Lankan fielding India was controlled by Sri Lankan bowlers during the match. Alas, India lost the match against Sri Lanka. India lost its berth on group stage matches in cricket world cup 2007.

From this cricket world cup, India has lot to take back home. The high hope on their batting lineup and the experience which they backed got fired by other teams. India's over confident on the experience and under estimation about Bangladesh paid its price. The internal politics and the lacking team sprit during the troubled times in the game are some of the reasons for their fall. It was the first time India got eliminated from the cricket world cup in group stages. It was one of the bad performances from Indian cricket team during the recent years.

Test playing Nations : India | Pakistan | West Indies | Sri Lanka | New Zealand | South Africa | England | Australia
Non test playing Nations : Canada | Bermuda | Scotland | Zimbabwe | Kenya | The Netherlands | Ireland | Bangladesh

Heard a lot about India's dismal performance in the world cup and more than that the voice against Sachin putting questions on his credentials and asking him to retire. In one of the article even read that Sachin should take the responsibility and announce his retirement so that it relieves the pressure from the other Team players after the team's show in Caribbean.

But one thing always keep haunting me, why for more than fifteen years, the country of a billion has been expecting only one men to bring victories and take blame for every loss. As far as I know there are eleven players in the Team. I remember during the 03 World Cup, everybody blamed his failure in the final. But nobody thought that India was in final just because of 673 runs scored by the little master. What were other players doing there? Were they not playing final?

When Sachin hits a century and India loses, mind you even in the case the match is gifted to the other team courtesy Duckworth-Lewis, then its quiet common to hear that he can't win the match for the country, but people are even happy with Dravid's 50 against Srilanka though for not a single time India looked like winning. Is Dravid lacking something in terms of experience?

Inzamam took the responsibility for his team's performance and left his captaincy, even announced retirement from one-day cricket. But in India we want to hear this from a player of the Team, not the Captain or the Coach. I would like to know when did Dravid won a match single-handed for India; the fact remains that he has just played to turn a complete disaster into a more respectable loss (just like he did against Lanka). Now read the routine of THE WALL that it follows in an ODI match "Whenever he arrives at crease the run rate required is around 4.5 to 5 runs per over usually. Then this 'wall' block all the runs and India's run rate starts climbing. In this pressure others start losing their wickets. After 7 or 8 down the 'wall' suddenly remembers that they are playing in an ODI not test. So he plays some shots, reaches to his 50 and then get out. On the way he already earns all the respects and claps that the WALL stood again." But where he stood?? He fell and made India to fall.

We won't like to blame the Captain and Coach, asking what a Coach can do if the team performs like this. But then why do we have a Coach? I guess most of the players were having a much better technique before the Chappel era, and the Coach was brought to improve the remaining flaws, but he introduced some new ones, whether it may be Sehwag, Pathan , Kaif or anyone. No wonder India is now 8th in the Ranking.

Most of the people will say that this is another article from a typical Sachin fan. I do accept that I have been his fan for last 15 years, but did he ever say that he was the very best; in fact we crowned him as the God. We always compare him with Laras, Pontings, the Waughs, Sir Viv Richards and even Sir Donald Bradman. Every time a player is at his peak, we start comparing Sachin with him, but why can't we find another Indian player who we can compare with them? Still remains a mystery.

I don't know he should retire or not because he knows more of him than us. But, I wish he didn't because that will be succumbing to the pressure created by the former cricketers (who stand no where to him) and the media. No matter what has happened, no matter how things go and no matter how much media shouts I will always salute the God of Indian Cricket, who made this game the passion of a billion hearts.

The selection committee has wasted another golden opportunity. The talk of infusing fresh blood into the team after the World Cup has not materialized into something concrete, and Indian cricket continues to tread a dangerous path. The selection of the senior team, as with so many times in the past, has been fuelled by confusion and, more, by 'compromise'.

After all the big talk on youngsters replacing the tried and tested, only Bengal lad Manoj Tiwary finds a place. What happens to other youngsters who have proved themselves in the Ranji Trophy and A tours? What more should a bowler like R. Bose of Bengal do to claim a stake?

Two batsmen who will feel extremely disappointed are S. Badrinath of Tamil Nadu and Mumbai's Rohit Sharma. Remember the chairman of the selection committee stating that the 80 made by Badri in the Zal Irani Cup was one of the best domestic knock played on a difficult wicket? And add the runs he made against the likes of Shaun Tait and Clarke on the faster and bouncier wickets in Australia. Rohit, with his recent exploits, gave enough proof that he was a decent limited overs prospect. The signals that are sent to such players are not very healthy.

When performances in the Ranji Trophy and A tours are not going to be looked at with interest, one can lose faith in the system and unless the selectors start giving preference to players who toil and perform in the domestic scene, things can go haywire.

Some of the so-called recalls are only going hamper the progress route. Dinesh Mongia and R.P. Singh have been given enough chances to cement their place in the side but they have not done that, and no one else can be faulted for that. And Ramesh Powar making it only to the Test squad was highly amusing as he had looked the best bowler in the ODI's whenever he had been given a chance.

A tour to Bangladesh was the ideal platform to groom some of the youngsters. The kids would have got a fair idea of international cricket and readied them for the tougher assignments ahead. The upcoming season is one of the toughest Team India would have in a long time and with the majority of the side ageing and on the wane, this would have been the ideal time for a shake up and for the rebuilding process to start but sadly and as always another chance to put things in the right perspective and turn a new leaf has gone a-begging. Save your prayers for Indian cricket.

With the news of the Indian selection dominating the headlines, a small matter called the World Cup was conveniently forgotten. Australia's annihilation of their Trans Tasman rivals would have filled fear in all sides. If this is what the Aussies can do to a side that was widely expected to run them close…!

The Australian batting looks too good at the moment, and the bowlers seem to be hitting the straps well and getting into a good rhythm at the right time. It would take a Herculean effort from the remaining sides to stop the Aussies from claiming their hat-trick. It would take an extremely brave heart to put the money against the reigning champions.

Wow what a news, Sachin Tendulkar & Sourav Ganguly is out of office from Indian Cricket team. This is the first time in the history of Sachin's Cricketing life where he was forced for an exit from the team. Is This forced exit is the indication for sachin Tendulkar to retire from the game.

When contacted Dilip Vensarkar, he said this is only for Bangladesh Tour not for all games. Since India is going to play 45 games this year Dilip said it cannot be the same team always.

Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly are out from both forms of cricket and Virender Sehwag was out from Test team but he will play One day Internationals (what is the use of this one). I believe here the captain's recommondation is been considered. Rahul Dravid who is recommending and backing Viru for a long time. No idea why?. Rahul Watch out people are angry on you a lot. This recommondation for a non performer might turn against you.

Sachin, Don't worry Go home and do some net practice which you stopped before the world cup. That will bring back your game. If God (not you i said abt almighty) thinks then he might give you another chance of life.

Sourav, I don't have any idea why they haven't selected. So till the end of confusion go to Kolkata and do the family business

Fresh trouble seems to be brewing for cricketer Yuvraj Singh as a Delhi court has issued summons to him and his mother Shabnam Singh with seven others in connection with the brawl that took place at a party last year on his birthday.

The court received a petition filed by complainant Neelam Mahajan Singh that challenged a lower court's order of summoning only Yuvraj and his mother in the case. Neelam said in her petition that the court must seek responses from all the nine accused in the case.

The court further allowed the plea in Neelam's petition that all sections of the IPC should be considered while proceeding in the case and modified the judicial magistrate's order to summon the accused only under a few penal provisions.

The judicial magistrate had summoned Yuvraj and his mother on January 9 in connection with the alleged assault during the cricketer's birthday party last year. However the seven other accused were excluded.

Neelam, a journalist and mother of Yuvraj Siddhartha had alleged that the cricketer and his relatives and friends at the party assaulted them. Neelam further charged them with defaming the duo and making obscene gestures at them.

The incident allegedly occurred at Yuvraj's DLF flat in Gurgaon during his birthday party on December 13.

Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and other members of the Indian cricket team faced a fresh bout of public rage when they stepped out of the airport on Sunday.

Entire cricket team got a rude shocking welcome from fans of Ahmedabad during their arrival in the city to take part in the inter state Twenty20 Cricket.

The fans, who had been shouting slogans for two hours, also staged a protest in front of Hotel Taj Ummed where the team was put up. The bunch of protesters also took out a rally in Hatkeshwar and displayed banners to show that the players were not welcome in Ahmedabad. The city police said that they had made adequate security arrangements.

Heavy security was provided to Sachin Tendulkar at the Sardar Patel Stadium, where he came to practice. Armed policemen provided security cover to Sachin, who arrived in a special car along with bowlers Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar, while his other teammates arrived in a bus.

Following the afternoon incident where fans shouted slogans against the three, the police shooed away curious onlookers, including children gathered to see the Indian stars practice.

Activist Harshad Patel who led the protest said cricket fans are still smarting from India's shock defeat to Bangladesh in the World Cup. "Either these players do modelling assignments or play cricket," Patel said.

Social worker Harish Sharma demanded that the players responsible for India's humiliation should quit. "After the ouster from the World Cup, it becomes their moral duty to call it a day," Sharma said.

Also joining the rally was ex-corporator of Khokra, George Dias, who said there was an urgent need to inject fresh blood into the Indian team. "There is too much money at stake when the Indian team plays. There should some accountability," Dias said.

Against my better judgment I watched as the West Indies team once again sputtered in front of the millions of viewers worldwide, glued to their television sets. As the farce unfolded I revisited my thoughts at the beginning of this tournament. I knew that our team paled in comparison to the juggernaut qualities of the brilliant Australians. The South Africans throughout the tournament demonstrated their ability to choke, and I hoped this would have been one of those times, except that I had forgotten their Bangladesh encounter. I equally too forgot that games at this level are won or lost before a ball is bowled based on the team selected. It was not surprising therefore, that the team presented for this encounter reflected the confused state of our cricket. It does not help that we have at the helm, a captain who either knows very little about the strategic management of the team and the game, or worse, is a gambler who is at sea as to the nature and state of the contest. Brian Lara without question is one of the best batsmen to have played this game. His ability as a captain though is nonexistent. This was always my view, a view that was completely solidified with today’s performance.

Today though was not the day that West Indies cricket died, that was some time ago. Today was the day we were embarrassed in front of the entire world by this core of prima-donnas and those who parade with them while wearing the title of team management. Today was the day when our players brought home to us all the need for development, the need for structure and more so, the need for us to begin again. It is a pity though that we have spent throughout the region some US$400 million to develop these lovely structures, but would never come together to make an investment in the development of the game in the region. It really is a pity, because today more than ever we demonstrated how far behind the rest of the world we are at our game.

South Africa squeaked past Sri Lanka (with one wicket in hand). Sri Lanka blasted past New Zealand. New Zealand defeated South Africa in the match (winning by 5 wickets). So, who is the better team? That is still unknown. But, unlike South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand are already definite for the semi-finals at this stage. Bangladesh has caused the Proteans to be in this flux now. The remaining matches of Sri Lanka and New Zealand are of no consequence to them.

West Indies and Bangladesh have theoretical chances of getting to the semi-finals. But, the likeliest one to get through would have to be either South Africa or England. The pitches seem to be helping the faster bowlers in this phase, more than the initial set of matches. That might be see an upset happening in the last 3 matches (semi-finals and finals). The semis will see the Kiwis and Sri Lankans face each other, most likely. Sri Lankans would be fancying their chances against the Kiwis yet again. Their bowling is having a steady look and even without Malinga,
their highest wicket-taker in this tournament, Sri Lanka managed to defeat the Kiwis in the Super 8s.

Hence, it would be a good time for them to give chances to Malinga Bandara so that he can be used against the Australian superpower. The best way, it seems, to defeat the Aussies is to have a spin-based attack (like what the Sri Lankans had in the 1996 World Cup) - have Murali, Bandara, Jayasuriya, Dilshan bowl atleast 35 off the stipulated 50 overs. This way, the total that they would eventually score would be reduced considerably. This looks the only route to defeat the Aussies at their current form.

The Kiwis have not managed to get rid of the Sri Lankans so far. If they face them again in the semis, they are not likely to be the favorites. So, they need to get on top of the league (by beating the Aussies possibly) to meet the 4th placed team (South Africa probably). Their bowling is good with Shane Bond, Franklin, Vettori and Patel. Mcmillan has given them a backup option with his tight bowling in the match against the Proteans. Batting is suspect against top-quality spin bowling, though.

The Proteans are more suspect than the Kiwis against spin and this is good enough for them not to proceed all the way in this World Cup. They will come up short against whoever they face in the semis. The way Kallis has had to give up his style of batting, to adopt a more aggressive stance, is proof enough of the fact that the thinking of the Proteans think-tank is not logical enough.

The English might feel that if they win their last 4 matches, they will win the World Cup. But, they might not see how they plan to do it. Their batting has shone in spurts - their win against Bangladesh was by luck, really. If only there were few more runs, England would have had to plan for their return. They havent won against the bigger teams and dont look like capable to win also.

That leaves Australia. What do they have to do? Ensure that the laws of averages dont strike now (they have been winning matches for a very long period in the World Cup now without a defeat). Hussey and Symonds still havent had a decent play in the middle. Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark havent had much to do all tournament. Will they be required? Australia would hope not.

If reports that suggest a row between senior players and coach Greg Chappell are true, then Indian cricket is in its most messy state. What I have been unable to fathom in the whole issue is the regular leaks to the media, especially if it is to do with a report from Chappell.

Everyone except the intended recipients seems to have the news much in advance.The 'seniors' have been in the news for quite the wrong reasons. Let us get this right. There are four seniors in the side: Sachin, Dravid, Kumble and Sourav. The first two will not stop youngsters from flowering in the side because there is no threat to their place in the team (at least there wasn't till the World Cup).

Kumble, for all I know, is not the kind of player who is going to sabotage a youngster's career. Cast your mind back to February 2001 when Kumble, braving an injured arm, was helping a young Harbhajan before the gruelling series against Australia. For a player who has always put team interest first, such things would not be on their agenda at all.

Sourav has just returned to the side and is least likely to have resorted to such tactics. So which senior player is Chappell talking about? Harbhajan and Sehwag are two experienced campaigners. If Chappell felt they are acting against the interests of the team, he should have pulled them up personally. As coach, he has to submit his report to the board.

If Chappell had indeed used 'friends' in the media to get the news out before it could be discussed in the appropriate forum, then that does not talk highly of his methods. Right from the moment he took over the reins of Indian cricket, he has resorted to a policy of divide and rule. It may have worked in the ouster of Sourav. Maybe, he is trying his hand again now.Another area where Chappell has been found wanting is in not understanding his role with Indian cricket. He is not a Messiah to clean the system. He is a paid professional whose job was to ensure the Indian team won matches. Sadly, that never happened.

There is no denying the fact the coach and captain must be given the side they want. The squad that played the Champions Trophy or the one that travelled to the World Cup was the best India had at that point of time and so there can be no excuses.

The damage has already been done. Things can get only better for Team Indian from this point on. Axing the captain or a majority of the team is only going to make things worse. Let sanity prevail and selection in the future be based on merit rather than emotion.

Chappell's failure is another reminder on how great players need not make it big as a coach. He is the one who harped on the 'perform or perish' mantra. The board must look at a new coach who will understand the Indian psyche better and keep the side as one fighting unit rather than let infighting grow to such an extent that it paralyses performance.

After the worst performance of Indian cricket team, BCCI called for an urgent meeting on Apr, 6th to decide upon various factors that can help to improve the standards of cricket in India. Everyone expected the formoer players to discuss about the team, coach, selection procedure, and the endorsements from players, grounds and pitches.

Most of the expectations are been analysed and discussed during the meeting and BCCI came up with the below decisions to improve the standards of the game in the country.

There will be full time selectors who can travel across the country. There will be minimum eligibility critieria for being a selector.
Zonal matches will be strengthened from the coming season. Only 10 teams will be allowed in Ranji trophy games.
Players are not allowed to comment in media. Captain can write and comment in media but not exclusively
No players are allowed to endorse more than 3 products.
No sponsers can book no more than two players
There is no grade based payment
Performance based payments will be implaced.

With these conditions all the contracts of players are renewed and players must sign the contract otherwise they are not allowed to play in any BCCI sponsered games. This way BCCI puts some checkpoints on player's performance and the revenue.

I believe BCCI is Reloading from its old fashion way to a new fashioned way. These measures will nto produce immediate results but can yield future results. Some players might get trouble with these conditions but they must adhere the new rule.

Finally BCCI heared the shouts of cricket fans and BCCI RELOADING....

India's newly appointed cricket manager cum coach Ravi Shastri is hoping for young blood into the team following last month's early World Cup exit in the Caribbean.

The 44-year-old Shastri was given the task of coaching the team for next month's tour of Bangladesh after Australian Greg Chappell resigned as coach in the wake of the India's World Cup early exit.

"You need to look at youth for the betterment of team. There is a shelf-period for everything," Shastri told CNN-IBN news television channel on Monday.

India were knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage after shock defeats to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.Indian cricket fan and several former cricket player are demending large-scale changes to the team.

The working committee of the board after the meeting on 5th and 6th april advised the selection committee to send a young team to Bangladesh under an experienced captain on Saturday in Mumbai.

"If you have got to experiment and try and do something, do it against Bangladesh," said Shastri, who played 80 tests and 150 ODI for India.

Starting on May 10, the Bangladesh tour consists of three one-day internationals and two tests.

Due to the downfall of the Indian cricket and its poor performance in world cup, BCCI Slammed all players in different ways. BCCI Addressed the issues that are pointed by Indian cricket fans BCCI slammed players with a ban of advertisements which hits the player's income to greater extent.

With the new rule a player is allowed to endrose only 3 products which means a great time to be spent in cricket. This affects the player's income since no sponser are allowed to book two players at the same time. This gives the sponsers a very little option and forcing to see alternatives than the cricket players.

The players are not allowed to comment or write articles in any form of media. Only captain is allowed to comment or write that too without exclusivity. yesterday BCCI clearly said all these conditions and asking players to sign the new revised contracts.

BCCI Spokesman clearly said that if players are not signing this contract then it is like they are not interested in playing for the country and BCCI will not turn back its decisions due to pressure from the senior players lobby.

For the first time in the history of Sachin, BCCI had sent notice to him for the comments made by him against Greg Chappell. There is a notice to Yuvraj Singh too on the same regard.

The spat between coach Greg Chappell and senior players in the Indian cricket team has taken a dramatic an ugly turn.

After media reports which claimed that Chappell was not happy with the World Cup squad and his accusation that some senior players were acting like a mafia, comes another sensational news that Sachin Tendulkar has slammed the coach for questioning his attitude towards the game and the team.

In an article in national daily The Times of India Tendulkar has been quoted as saying that he was shattered and hurt by the coach questioning his attitude.

The Times of India has quoted Tendulkar as saying: "I've given my heart and soul to Indian cricket for 17 years. No coach has ever mentioned, even in passing, that my attitude was not correct. Cricket has been my life. I am shattered beyond words and I feel helpless. I've never felt so bad in my entire career. World Cup was our passion, our collective dream. Tell me, even as the world goes on talking about our defeat at the World Cup, has anyone spared a thought to ask what we are going through"

For over 17 years, Tendulkar's confrontations with the best bowlers in the world have been the stuff legends are made of.

But with the World Cup debacle, this is one confrontation that the Little Master had so carefully avoided all these years but just couldn't anymore.

A senior bowler has also picked up the cue from Tendulkar and is quoted as saying, "It's quite obvious that Chappell has a guilty mind. That's precisely why he is having a go at anyone and everyone."

"Chappell did not speak to us for 3-4 days during this World Cup. He just doesn’t listen to anybody. How can a coach behave like this? It’s a disgrace," he says.

More senior players are quoted in the article speaking out against Chappell's methods.

Time for introspection of the indian team. Every cricket fan is acting like an expert now. I m also doing the same. Posting some expert opinions of my own :).

This is a fact that Sachin has failed to deliver the goods in the ongoing world cup. All the reasons that are in the air are acceptable. He is ageing, but who isn't? What about Ganguly and Dravid? And especially why Dravid is getting escaped from criticism? He did not perform at all. He was a big zero in this world cup. Why he is getting escaped? And he is such a shameless person that even after this debacle, he hasn't resigned from his post yet. What a shame to a so called Wall(on papers)!!! This shows that he has no generousity and no nobiltiy at all.

Sachin's batting order was tampered with just 2 series before the world cup. I cant understand why he was not used as opener on those flat pitches. Clearly stupidity from Coach and captain.

Sachin has always been a source of inspiration for the indian team. Whenever sachin misses matches due to injuries India lose. Then excuse is given that Sachin was missing. Latest example is India's tour of West Indies. What excuses would be used for India's losses if Sachin retires.

So many questions to ask and answer.

The simple solution is sack Dravid and Chappell. Have a new captain. Sachin is the best choice. Make Yuvraj vice captain. Groom him under Sachin's guidance. And if Sachin retires after 2 years then by that time, India will have a new captain ready. And if Sachin continues then nothing better than that.