India’s problem -- It’s all in the Head, they say

India’s problem -- It’s all in the Head, they say
Press Trust of India

New Delhi, March 2: India’s chief selector Chandu Borde today ticked off the team that went down to Australia by ten wickets yesterday, criticising batsmen for “caving in without a fight” and bowlers for “some unimaginative bowling” at a crucial point in the game.Asserting that “necessary changes” would be made in the team, cricket board’s selection committee chairman said barring Sachin Tendulkar, other batsmen had not put in a fight. They should have applied themselves better, Borde from Pune.

He said the wicket at Wankhede Stadium was not an ideal Test wicket as the ball started turning from day one. Once the ball takes turn and bounces on the very first day, then it becomes difficult for the batsmen to play shots, he said.

“However, I should congratulate both Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist for the way they batted when five wickets had fallen for just 99 runs,” Borde said adding that it was at this stage the Indians let the visitors off the hook with “some unimaginative bowling”.

“Now we will have to look ahead and make the necessary changes after watching the three-day match between Board President’s XI and the Australians at Delhi from March 6 to 8,” Borde said. India’s humiliating defeat came in for sharp criticism by some other former greats too who said the team did not apply itself properly and was outplayed in every department of the game. While the dismal batting performance in both the innings came in for obvious criticism, former captain G S Ramchand and former opener Abbas Ali Baig lamented the overall approach and Saurav Ganguly’s captaincy too.

Sachin Tendulkar, who was the only saving grace for India scoring 76 and 65 in the two innings, came in for unanimous praise, but the other batsmen were severely criticised for ‘throwing their wickets away’. “Absolutely, everything went wrong,” former opener Abbas Ali Baig said. “Our much-vaunted batting line-up let us down.”

“The Indians were found wanting not just in batting but in all departments of the game. Their fitness level too looks nowhere near the Australians and if they don’t improve immediately they will find it difficult to come back in this series,” former captain G S Ramchand said in Mumbai.

Both Baig and Ramchand criticised Ganguly for what they said were some unnecessary bowling changes at crucial junctures. “Saurav Ganguly’s captaincy was found wanting. When the Australians were five down for 99 runs, he should have applied pressure. Instead, he made some unwanted bowling changes and helped Adam Gilchrist not only settle down but go after the bowlers along with Mathew Hayden,” Ramchand said.

Ramchand said too much one-day cricket had prompted the Indian batsmen to go for shots even before settling down. “Our batsmen, with the exception of Sachin, looked in real hurry and threw away their wickets. None of them could apply themselves to the longer version of the game and went for rash strokes too early in their innings,” he said. “I don’t think any of the team’s think-tank, including coach John Wright of New Zealand, are giving any guidance to the players who kept playing one-day shots in both innings.”

Baig said the absence of Anil Kumble proved costly as the other spinners could not extract much even from a favourable pitch. “Inexperience of the spinners showed when they were confronted with a pitch tailor-made for their trade. They were trying too much,” he said. He however asked the team not to panic and approach the next two Tests in a positive frame of mind. “We must play to our strength. Minus Kumble, we probably have the best combination we could get together. (But) if a change in spin attack is must, they might consider bringing in leggie Narendra Hirwani for Rahul Sanghvi. It would also be unfair to drop Shiv Sundar Das after one failure”.

Ramchand advocated bringing back speedster Zaheer Khan and also experimenting with some new players. “It is time to call Sairaj Bahutale and include Zaheer Khan in the eleven for the second Test and probably play relatively new players like Vinayak Mane or Reetinder Sodhi.

“I also think the team is leaning too much on Sachin which is not a good sign for the future,” he said.