We have a bowling coach and a fielding coach. What we really need is a sledging coach, preferably an Aussie. Sreesanth is accused of taking things too far.
After achieving dizzying heights at Johannesburg, South Africa, Team India has thudded back to ground. Mumbai’s cricket lovers, who showered a grand welcome on the Twenty20 heroes, tell Speak Up it’s time to get out of the T20 mould and take the Australians a little more seriously
A sledge is a sledge
Sumit Chakraberty
We have a bowling coach and a fielding coach. What we really need is a sledging coach, preferably an Aussie.
Look at the irony: the Aussies are the acknowledged masters of sledging and it is Sreesanth who has to rein himself in. Dhoni said before this series that the Indians would more than match the Aussies in “chit-chat”, which, according to him, doesn’t require much talent. But his team has already come out a poor second not just in the game, but in gamesmanship too.
Sreesanth is accused of taking things too far. But if you look at how it affected the Kochi game, his taunt, however crude, came after Symonds’ dismissal. Compare this with Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist initiating a verbal exchange with Harbhajan Singh, who jumped out and got himself stumped off the very next ball. A wicket, no penalties, and Gilchrist’s post-match homilies on behaviour to Sreesanth on top of everything. So who’s winning this contest?
The issue is why the ICC lets a fielding side disturb the concentration of a batsman, through abuse, provocation or even banter. It should not be a matter of degree—all forms of it should be labelled for what it really is: cheating. And the umpires are aware of all that is said or done on the field.
Can you imagine in a game of golf whispering obscenities into an opponent’s ear when it’s his turn to tee off? Or take tennis, where the calculated tantrums of McEnroe and Nastase have become history because of zero tolerance.
Chakraberty is a journalist with DNA
It seems as if the team is still under the T20 spell, which in all fairness, is not serious. They are trying to hit every ball for a boundary. Sreesanth’s aggression is good, but he needs to focus on getting wickets. The team is taking the Aussies lightly. Australia rule the cricketing world right now and it’s not going to be easy to beat them.”
—Ajit Wadekar. Former Test cricketerT20 celebrations left no time for practice
It’s obvious that our players are still reeling from the T20 effect and are finding it difficult to shift gears in the ODI format. That’s the reason no player from the T20 lot has been able to sustain himself for a longer duration on the field.
The younger lot is intolerant on field, which is not a good thing. T20 requires aggression, but a longer game requires a balance of aggression and temperament. The Indian team was overconfident after the T20 win and the spate of celebrations did not give the players the time to practice.
Now, the team should rise above the T20 win and concentrate on the matches ahead. The youngsters do have the talent, but whether they are technically competent to beat the Australians remains to be seen.
—Sharad Thakur. Kandivali
Team India overestimated itselfThe T20 World championship win seems to have gone to our players’ heads. The team can’t look beyond the T20 win and hence their behaviour has been haughty on field. They need to calm down and come back to being normal. T20, after all, is an altered form of cricket. No doubt, it is interesting to watch, but it’s nowhere close to the real thing.
More than India underestimating the Australians, I think they have been overestimating themselves and hence took the match lightly. It was okay to be carried away by the T20 win for a while. But it is time for players to calm down and not think about the win anymore.
If they apply themselves, the team can still win against the Australians.
—Mayur Kovil. Santacruz
We have it in us to trouble the Aussies Losing to Australia in the second match has to be taken in a sporting spirit. The team got attention from the public after the T20 win, which I think they deserved. The team is playing with the same aggression that they had at the T20 World championship.
But what they need is a good coach who can guide the team in all three forms of the game. The Australians are known for their rude behaviour and one cannot blame Sreesanth if he shows a bit of aggression.
We have the talent required to give the Australians a tough fight. History has proved that no team is unbeatable. India must keep up the pressure and the Aussies will surely crumble at some stage.
—Avik Pandit. Goregaon
No need to change the winning formulaPlayers at the international level are professionals and know the difference between a T20 and a 50 over match. Australia won the second ODI because they performed better than India; there is no question of Indians being in the T20 mode. The more aggressive you are with the Aussies, the better. We shouldn’t take their mind games lying down.
This is the same team that made cricketing giants look like minnows at the T20 championship. We should continue with the same formula and not change our game too drastically. This team definitely doesn’t require anger management. To beat this Australian team is always an uphill task, but this team definitely has the aggression to give them a tough time.
—Apoorva Wagh. Parel
It’s time to rein Sreesanth inIndian fast bowler S Sreesanth can start an ashram—Sri Sri Santh and teach the art of sledging, going by his prolific record of mouthing expletives during the match. Agreed, the young bowler is aggressive and takes his game seriously.
But that does not give him the licence to misbehave on the cricket pitch. Sreesanth has done it against South Africa, Pakistan but in the recently concluded T20 cup his duels with Mathew Hayden left a bad aftertaste.
People argue that the Australians themselves are massively into sledging. But two wrongs don’t make a right. Cricket is still a gentleman’s game, meant to be played decently. It is time to pull the strings on this runaway horse.
—Altaf Ladiwala. Bandra
Youth incompetent for longer versionsEvery team sticks to a winning formula and Team India is no different. The second ODI loss against the Aussies is not cause for great alarm. Both teams are to be equally blamed for the aggressive verbal duals. The Australians are not exactly a team with the best sporting spirit in the world. We lost the second ODI because we underestimated the might of the Aussies.
Celebrating a win is alright, but there’s no need to get carried away with it. The Indian team, especially the youngsters, is not exactly competent enough to stand up to the might of Australians in the longer version of the game. The 50-over matches seem excruciatingly slow after the T20 adrenaline rush. I definitely want more of Twenty20.
—Tarun Naik. Sion 
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}