My Theory on Dravid's actions

Without the BIG THREE of Indian cricket the team has become world champions in Twenty Twenty which was one of the most competitive tournament that I have ever witnessed.

But there could also be a method to the actions taken by Dravid in first convincing the other BIG TWO to shun this tournament, and later, in resigning from captaincy.

Had he resigned from captaincy without convincing the other BIG TWO to shun Twenty Twenty cup the BCCI might have made one of them the captain which would indeed have been a step back.
Also, by resigning from captaincy after the new Twenty Twenty captain was announced and had left for the tour it was ensured that Mahi would definitely be offered the One-Day Captaincy and no one else. The BCCI could not have gone any other way on this.

So now in hindsight it looks like the perfect steps were taken to ensure the next level was passed on the baton and that 'experience' was not called up again for captaincy for a 2nd or 3rd time.

Now did this happen by chance, or did Dravid make this happen deliberately, trying to ensure the good and progressiveness of Indian cricket?

Congrats and Well Done!

Heartiest Congrats to the Men in Blue for being the 20-20 world champions.

Muaah :-D

T20 cup

So Indian team ... the 'Young' Indian team in in the final setting up a dream clash for the spectators with Pakis in South Africa tomorrow.
I am not going to talk about the team's performance etc coz enough of it would be seen and heard already.
What I have in my mind is a thought about the potential change in the way cricket is going to be played around the world.
I have begun to believe that One-Day cricket as we know it is going to come to an end.
Now having experienced the exhiliration of 20-20 cricket, I am unable to think of how am I going to spend a whole day watching a limited overs cricket match when there is another format which lasts for 3 hours, gives me the best of batting, bowling and fielding and not a single dull moment throughout.
Also, with two competing 20-20 leagues starting in India soon, because of the strength India commands in the cricket world, this means that 20-20 is the future of limited overs cricket.
The thought of having to spend one full day for a limited overs match does not excite me anymore and I dont believe that there is space for 2 different versions of limited overs cricket.

Test matches are a different ball game altogether and they, just like all classical stuff, will continue to stay and charm one and all.

Limited overs cricket has taken the next step in its evolution and has emerged a more beautiful being after this metamorphosis.

Twenty Two and its effects

Just like the impact one-day cricket had on the game- better fielding, faster running between wickets, diving stops, more attractive strokeplay- I believe that Twenty Twenty will also have an impact, the biggest which could be scores of 400 in 50 over matches.
It is said that this new format is all to the detriment of the bowlers, but on the contrary, it puts a lot of pressure on the batsmen! Every dot-ball puts pressure on the batsman. Every wicket to fall is a dot-ball to, so if a team loses 6-wickets in their innings, thats 6 dot balls additionally or one over less for the batting side. So not losing wickets is also as important here, even though it is just twenty overs. And again, this is adding to the batsmen's pressure. Where is the pressure on the bowler here? I dont see it.
This format will also bring about changes in bowling skills. Bowlers will have to learn to be more and more accurate and precise. The action is quick, fast-paced which would mean that bowlers like Munaf Patel who are pathetic fielders have no place here. which I feel is the right way for it to be. Fielding is a very important part of the game, its one of the 3 dimensions of the game where each player needs to compulsorily perform and if you are not fit to perform in this one, you better stay out.
So better fielding, more accurate throwing will also be positives emerging out of this format.

The one possibility I am not happy about is the chances of this game also becoming a power game, just like tennins has become now. I hope it doesnt become a slogger's game.