T20

I am not much of a follower of the capsular form of cricket. But I rejoiced in the hours of midnight when England won the third edition of T20 World Cup.

England is the birth place of three major sporting events of the world. But due to sheer misfortune they haven’t been lucky to dominate in any.

Thankfully the victory in WC provided some kind of contradiction to their fortune in previous outings. Except in a very few countries, cricket is no longer a thriving sport. I believe England hasn’t been able to find an exceptionally talented player or match winner for the past 10 years.
The very few who promised, ended up as casuality. Steve Harmison was a man who promised a lot only to end up as a big failure. Flintoff would have been the match winner England needed for long. His infamous injuries cut off his career. There were many more than these two. It could have been due to the incompetent medical staff.

England’s struggle to find a wicket keeper was as famous as its World Cup victory. There hasn’t been anyone coming since Alec Stewart. When Monty took over as the main spinner for the England team, it highlighted the poverty in spin department. I still remember the sarcasm with which he was met with by Indian commentators. One couldn’t disagree with them. He was not even fit for a local game.

T20 format game is just in the phase of evolution. Everyone are on the path of learning and the rest of the world has learnt more than what India did.
T20 doesn’t require an exceptionally skilled player. It’s a brainless game and you just need a bunch of guys with great physique and die-hard attitude. May be you will need a captain with a bit of brains.

So there is no point in selecting semi-fit players based on their past performance. Players have to be selected only if they are fit- physically and mentally.
You need the raw strength and energy. T20 is not for the timid. Bowlers are the least respected and has to be punished invariably. No matter what, not a single ball should be allowed to pass through and has to be chased all the way to ropes. And we desperately need good divers.
No matter how big or small the team is battle lasts till the last over. So you need the hard attitude to change the momentum at the last minute.

And almost all the eleven players get a chance to bat. So what we need is some 8 batsmen who can bowl decently well. And a few bowlers who can haul the ball to 6.
When we have the only competitive T20 league in the world, why don’t we select players based on the performance in the league? Years ago I used to read Srikanth’s fiery column in ‘The Hindu’. He used to bash the selectors helter and skelter. He had the image of rebel from his playing days. Now I believe the only guy who needs to be sacked is Srikanth, who filled up the team with semi-fit, out-of-form favorites.

When it comes to sports, when will India learn?