Vaughan Says 4-0 to England without Zaheer; Calls Indian Fans Blinkered

Vaseline controversy notwithstanding, Michael Vaughan has once again lunged at the Indian cricket team, stating that Zaheer Khan’s injury will give England the opportunity for a series whitewash with a 4-0 series win over India. Also, the former England captain believes the Indian cricket fans are delusional. Is it enough to provoke the Indian cricket team?

Vaughan has not let the Vaseline slide affect his interests in taking jibes at the Indian cricket team. In fact, with his allegation on V.V.S. Laxman emphatically denounced by the Hot Spot owners has done little for Vaughan from holding back playing a proxy battle of the mind with Indian cricket and all those associated with it.

On the heels of the news that Zaheer Khan will have no further part to play on the England tour, Vaughan wasted little time in telling Indian cricket fans to take their blinkers off and see that it was not possible for India to win the series because India did not have it in them to take twenty wickets without Zaheer Khan in the team.

This is Vaughan’s tweet:

4-0 England in the Test series. Zaheer coming back was India only hope. Big loss for them. Sorry to all my new found Indian followers

Indian fans seem to be very blinkered.. Just accept that without Zaheer you will struggle to get 20 wkts in English conditions

Vaughan is not altogether wrong in his assessment given that in the past and in recent times, the Indian cricket team has looked decidedly different without the presence of Zaheer Khan. It became apparent that the heir was yet to be found but that there would be a transition period before someone like Ishant Sharma perhaps could become India’s mainstay in the bowling department. To an extent, Ishant’s meteoric rise and fall has been good for him early in his career but also, it has also slowed down finding India’s one surefire bowler, particularly in the Test format, although attempts are being made to show Ishant the ropes of Test cricket and holding back just that bit from the shorter formats.

However, it appears that while the Vaseline allegation fell flat in the midst of being disproved, Vaughan has found another line with which to fire at the Indians, off the field. It has been a matter of debate the manner in which media in some countries act as vehicles for sledging or banter against the visiting team even as the Indian media has gone into a critical assessment mode after India lost the first two Tests. Vaughan is perhaps bullish with the idea that while England last tasted such high in the Ashes of 2005 under his captaincy, England’s resurgence since then in this phase has been more consistent. It is his confidence perhaps rather than the true assessment of the Indian team that has called for such comments.

Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, and even Sreesanth have shown semblance of their capabilities in Zaheer Khan’s absence on this tour. However, what is needed is for these relatively inexperienced bowlers to grab the opportunity with both hands, which is not easy given the situation India are in as well as the fact that they are playing in foreign conditions which though suitable may take time to adjust to, and collectively present the force that keeps England’s feet on the ground.

While the trio of bowlers have been able to caused flutter, India have had to take the foot off the pedal through reasons described by the Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as a fall out of fatigue, which is also something India will have to look in as far as fitness is concerned.

However, for Vaughan to call the Indian fans blinkered would seem rather unfair and out of place given the average Indian cricket fan has been more critical despite being supportive and England themselves had shelved themselves into a sense of mediocrity over the years, and yet the England fans, including the Barmy Army, continued on their chants in the hopes of a revival, whose brief glimpse was seen during Vaughan’s time. Perhaps it is only fitting that England not forget the backing of their own fans when in the midst of their slumber that had rendered the Mecca of cricket rather barren for a long period.