It was no long before the knives were out. Mickey Arthur can have his cake and eat it too. The South African coach minced no words on what he thought of the one day side. But another South African and another coach is finding himself in the docks for expressing similar views. It’s not the top five who are hanging by a thread; it has been extended to Gary Kirsten as well.
It is a difficult scenario where no coach would like his thoughts be known to the world, at least to the world who will measure the coach for the comments made, not the team. it is even more difficult with such a hounding media hungry for cricket to promote its cause that Kirsten is often asked questions to which there can be no politely avoiding of it. One such question was : is Mahendra Singh Dhoni ready for Test captaincy?
What knowledgeable gentleman of the game would answer no to that question? In light of the dismal series in Sri Lanka where the skipper Anil Kumble himself has been one of the blips on a spinner dominated tour, these uncomfortable questions were bound to be raised. However, what must be carefully noted is if Gary Kirsten paid attention to the contract and its finer details of what he could or could not express his views about. Clearly he had misread those lines or so says the rap on the knuckles from the BCCI delivered via Niranjan Shah.
It is being said that it is unfair to judge the established players on the basis of one flopped series. That could well be true but it would be a greater sinner to not look to the future and begin the succession planning in earnest. The fact that Australia is next on the agenda and that too at home means that players will enjoy some form of immunity, if the BCCI’s habit of cowering on major decisions is anything to go by, and perhaps this will then be the swansong for some of these aged folk. That would then depend on how well India performs at home. History says not too many Indian players have willingly dethroned themselves, neither when they were on the downward slide nor when the opportunity to bow out on a high presented itself. It seems unlikely that it will happen now.
In what must be seen as something taking off on an equal footing, Sachin Tendulkar now joins the ranks of his other aged four in a Ranji tie in the Rest of India side against Delhi. For too long, it has been considered Sachin’s pedigree would not require him to play to prove himself like some of his contemporaries are being speculated to be subjected to. But the fact that domestic cricket has not always been on the agenda once players have hit the international stage could not have been more highlighted than by the fact that all the big names are now likely to descend on this suddenly all-important tie when the selectors sit down to pick a team on Monday. But apart from this discrimination or double standard scenario, the move is being seen as an attempt to see players when they are away from international tour pressure and also, additionally provide match practice against a better domestic side comprising the likes of Virender Sehwag and Ishant Sharma amongst others. Funny what one tour can do!