'Mass Exodus' - End of an era??
The forthcoming worldcup is probably the end of an era as far as cricket is concerned. One can expect a lot of retirements by the frontline players after this worldcup. Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath(though he has opted to continue his stint in the shorter version of the game), Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, Steve Harmison and Nicky Boje have made their announcements earlier. How far does this 'mass exodus' have an impact on the respective teams??
As far as the Aussies are concerned, they don't seem to worry about this too much, as they have already got a bunch of young players waiting to replace the giants. Stuart Clark has been a very valuable prospect for Australia in the Ashes and he is expected to fit in the 'McGrath' spot after his retirement. Bracken and Mitchell Johnson seem to be a perfect duo in sharing the new white ball. Ben Hilfenhaus is impressive with his ability to bowl the perect 'outswingers'. However, Brett Lee will be the spearhead of the pace department after McGrath. Warne's relinquishment has opened up the gates for other spinners like Bradd Hogg. The Aussies have clearly planned their future and have groomed players in the recent years. Players like Shane Watson, Nathan Bracken and Michael Hussey have emerged as match-winners.
Unfortunately for us, this remains a questoin mark. Greg Chappell has been in search of fast bowlers right from the day he sworn in as the coach. We aren't able to produce fast bowlers who could do the job for us in the Carribean. We've tried many speedsters in the past couple of years but only a few could manage to hang around till today. Sreesanth's natural agression as a fast bowler is very impressive and he could easily mature as a frontline bowler in near future. Asish Nehra was impeccable in the last world cup(except for the finals, obviously) but today?? He has not been included in the World Cup probables even! L.Balaji had a promising start to his career, but he has been a 'injury-prone' player. Zaheer Khan's comeback has given some hope for the team though. Robin Uthappa's immaculate hitting in the last couple of matches against the West Indies were eye-catching, but with just under ten matches under his belt, we should really wait and watch how he moulds himself as a LOI player.
A tough task ahead for the BCCI to identify the players for the future. Our domestic cricket's infra-structure has to be reviewed and quality piches that match International Standards should be made. Domestic cricket should no longer rely on the Ranji matches and Duleep trophy games sice the Twenty 20 games are gaining popularity. The board should concentrate on the extra-short version of the game and bring out good players.
As far as this World Cup is concerned, all teams have their key players, who could put up a match-winning perfomance...
According to me, players to watch out in this world cup (New Comers)
Australia - Mitchell Johnson
Sri Lanka - Chamara Silva
New Zealand - Peter Fulton and Ross Taylor
West Indies - Dwayne Bravo
England - Kevin Pieterson
Pakistan - Mohammad Asif
South Africa - AB de Villiers
India - ?
It is very difficult to point a single player as of now, coz the players who could fit in there are all struggling for form right now... Cricket is a game of uncertainities. So, don't be surprised if India goes on to win the world cup!
Cheers,
Gowri Shankar
"Proud to be an Indian"
As far as the Aussies are concerned, they don't seem to worry about this too much, as they have already got a bunch of young players waiting to replace the giants. Stuart Clark has been a very valuable prospect for Australia in the Ashes and he is expected to fit in the 'McGrath' spot after his retirement. Bracken and Mitchell Johnson seem to be a perfect duo in sharing the new white ball. Ben Hilfenhaus is impressive with his ability to bowl the perect 'outswingers'. However, Brett Lee will be the spearhead of the pace department after McGrath. Warne's relinquishment has opened up the gates for other spinners like Bradd Hogg. The Aussies have clearly planned their future and have groomed players in the recent years. Players like Shane Watson, Nathan Bracken and Michael Hussey have emerged as match-winners.
Unfortunately for us, this remains a questoin mark. Greg Chappell has been in search of fast bowlers right from the day he sworn in as the coach. We aren't able to produce fast bowlers who could do the job for us in the Carribean. We've tried many speedsters in the past couple of years but only a few could manage to hang around till today. Sreesanth's natural agression as a fast bowler is very impressive and he could easily mature as a frontline bowler in near future. Asish Nehra was impeccable in the last world cup(except for the finals, obviously) but today?? He has not been included in the World Cup probables even! L.Balaji had a promising start to his career, but he has been a 'injury-prone' player. Zaheer Khan's comeback has given some hope for the team though. Robin Uthappa's immaculate hitting in the last couple of matches against the West Indies were eye-catching, but with just under ten matches under his belt, we should really wait and watch how he moulds himself as a LOI player.
A tough task ahead for the BCCI to identify the players for the future. Our domestic cricket's infra-structure has to be reviewed and quality piches that match International Standards should be made. Domestic cricket should no longer rely on the Ranji matches and Duleep trophy games sice the Twenty 20 games are gaining popularity. The board should concentrate on the extra-short version of the game and bring out good players.
As far as this World Cup is concerned, all teams have their key players, who could put up a match-winning perfomance...
According to me, players to watch out in this world cup (New Comers)
Australia - Mitchell Johnson
Sri Lanka - Chamara Silva
New Zealand - Peter Fulton and Ross Taylor
West Indies - Dwayne Bravo
England - Kevin Pieterson
Pakistan - Mohammad Asif
South Africa - AB de Villiers
India - ?
It is very difficult to point a single player as of now, coz the players who could fit in there are all struggling for form right now... Cricket is a game of uncertainities. So, don't be surprised if India goes on to win the world cup!
Cheers,
Gowri Shankar
"Proud to be an Indian"
