The Best of the Best – Part I

“Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the greatest batsman of them all?” The mirror would for once be confused, following some of the threads going around on the web and ofcourse it being a favourite topic elsewhere for time immemorial! Thank God, the great Don had such a record that there is no doubt about the all time greatest batsman, or is there? What about those who vouch for Trumper (on sticky dogs), Archie Jackson (if he had not died young), Wally Hammond (if I were an Englishman), George Headley (if I were an West Indian) but we will let that pass, and concentrate on the period post 1960’s when the game has continuously undergone humongous changes in the last 30-35 years. It has done more so in the last 10 years but that one would guess is in a natural progression of the changes in the 1970’s with Packer Circus, important changes in the laws, one-day cricket influences, etc.

So who is or was the best batsman in World Cricket of the modern era? We will restrict the question to Test Cricket since one-day form is a fickle mistress and many one-day giants are/have been incapable Test batsmen, throwing up odd-balls like the Bevans, the Jayasuriyas and the Afridis, as a case in point, and ofcourse since test cricket is just that, ‘a test’ of a batsman, or a bowler for that matter.

The favourite and possibly a lazy way of deciding on cricketing greatness has been with the weapon of statistics, since the game is a statistician’s delight. Hence this part, tries to decipher the best of the best using various statistical parameters (which are by no means exhaustive) using which possibly gives an insight into a genuinely great batsman’s capabilities and performances over a substantial period of time (thanks to ‘statsguru’ most of them are readily available at cricinfo, some not) and how they rank against each other. The ranking is based on the highly debatable ‘batting average’ count.

For this purpose, I have included 12 batsmen who have played from 1970 till date, some of whom may go down as all time greats, others may fall in the category of ‘greats during their time’. There are 9 middle order batsmen and 3 openers in this list & they are: (in chronological order) 1) Geoffrey Boycott 2) Greg Chappell 3) Sunil Gavaskar 4) Vivian Richards 5) Javed Miandad 6) Sachin Tendulkar 7) Brian Lara 8) Inzamam ul Haq 9) Mathew Hayden 10) Ricky Ponting 11) Jacques Kallis and 12) Rahul Dravid.

At the outset, one must say that it is unfair to club opening batsmen with middle-order ones in ranking for ‘greatness’ and ideally should be separately measured, because of the uniqueness of the complicity that an opener faces, and on that factor alone the three mentioned here come up the rank of greatness. However, for this analysis we will consider them at par to start with and the rankings are based on the debatable ‘batting average’ criteria.

The criteria selected are (and the reasons for the same) elaborated here with the batsmen who did very well or otherwise on the given criteria:

1) Career average (till date, for the last 7 players): The overall career records tell about the overall prolificity of a batsman till he has hung up his boots or bat! On this parameter the rankings are:

Rank Players Tests Innings N.O. Runs Average 100's 50's Avg/Inns Inns/50
1 R. Dravid 100 169 21 8553 57.79 22 42 50.61 2.64
2 R. Ponting 103 172 23 8601 57.72 30 33 50.01 2.73
3 J. Kallis 99 167 28 7840 56.40 24 38 46.95 2.69
4 S. Tendulkar 132 211 22 10469 55.39 35 41 49.62 2.78
5 Greg Chappell 87 151 19 7110 53.86 24 31 47.09 2.75
6 M. Hayden 82 147 12 7219 53.47 26 25 49.11 2.88
7 B. Lara 124 219 6 11294 53.02 31 47 51.57 2.81
8 Javed Miandad 124 189 21 8832 52.57 23 43 46.73 2.86
9 I. Haq 109 180 19 8266 51.34 25 42 45.92 2.69
10 S.Gavaskar 125 214 16 10122 51.12 34 45 47.30 2.71
11 Viv Richards 121 182 12 8540 50.24 24 45 46.92 2.64
12 G. Boycott 108 193 23 8114 47.73 22 42 42.04 3.02

Synopsis: As we can see, the band is only within a difference of 10 runs in the average between this 12 greats. Further I noticed a problem with a lot of lopsided not out % for a few which notoriously skews up the averages, hence a column for average per innings to get a even better view of the performances and the rankings would change somewhat. We notice that Gavaskar and Boycott ‘languish’ in the bottom three along with Richards which might make a mockery of this statistical ‘greatness’ obsession. No wonder, that in a video program Steve Llynch and Tim de Lisle (respected Wisden men) said, not so long ago, that in case of openers they should be judged by adding 5 to their averages if being compared with middle order batsmen. On point of consistency, however Gavaskar and Dravid come up tops with an ‘avg. innings per 50 of 2.64’! No wonder they were/are known as the ‘Fort’ and ‘Wall’ respectively!!!

2) First decade: A logical breakup of the first point since it is widely recognized by experts that a batsman’s best period is between 28 and 32 and except Tendulkar and Miandad all cover this range at the end of 10 years of playing. Even for Tendulkar and Miandad this will hold good since both of them have played for 17-18 years till date (Tendulkar one hopes will go on for another 3-4 years, though) and had played enough in their first 10 years to be considered mentally mature well before that age bracket as the analysis will show. On this parameter the rankings are:

Rank Players Tests Innings N.O. Runs Average 100's 50's Avg/Diff Inns/50 Age >10

1 M. Hayden 50 85 8 4488 58.29 17 14 4.81 2.74 32
2 R. Dravid 100 169 21 8553 57.79 22 42 0.00 2.64 33
3 J. Kallis 94 157 27 7420 57.08 22 37 -0.71 2.66 30
4 S. Tendulkar 71 111 12 5612 56.69 21 21 1.30 2.64 26
5 R. Ponting 97 160 22 7738 56.07 25 30 -1.65 2.91 30
6 Javed Miandad 74 115 17 5413 55.23 14 28 2.66 2.74 29
7 Greg Chappell 62 110 15 5206 54.80 17 25 0.94 2.62 32
8 Viv Richards 69 102 5 5247 54.09 17 22 3.86 2.62 32
9 S.Gavaskar 67 122 8 6127 53.75 23 26 2.62 2.49 32
10 I. Haq 81 133 13 5929 49.41 16 31 -1.93 2.83 32
11 G. Boycott 62 108 14 4563 48.54 12 26 0.81 2.84 33
12 B. Lara 72 125 4 5833 48.21 14 30 -4.82 2.84 31

Synopsis: As it can be seen from the ‘Avg/diff’ Hayden, Miandad & Richards were more prolific during their first decade of batting than their overall record (till date for Hayden). Ponting and Gavaskar were the most prolific 100 makers during this period (Dravid has 4 more tests to go in the West Indies before he completes 10 years in Test Cricket). Lara and Inzy had a different story to tell though. Their overall record shows a better picture than it did for their first decade in Test Cricket!

3) Second decade or part: This is considered to analyse, how did the wine mature (some are still maturing, viz. Dravid who is yet to complete 10 exact years) to the end.

Rank Players Tests Innings N.O. Runs Average 100's 50's Avg/Diff Inns/50
1 R. Ponting 6 12 1 863 78.45 5 3 20.73 1.50
2 B. Lara 52 94 2 5461 59.36 17 17 6.34 2.76
3 I. Haq 28 47 6 2337 57.00 9 11 5.66 2.35
4 S. Tendulkar 61 100 10 4857 53.97 14 20 -1.42 2.94
5 Greg Chappell 25 41 4 1904 51.46 7 6 -2.40 3.15
6 Javed Miandad 50 74 4 3419 48.84 9 15 -3.73 3.08
7 S.Gavaskar 58 92 8 3995 47.56 11 19 -3.56 3.07
8 M. Hayden 32 62 4 2731 47.09 9 11 -6.39 3.10
9 G. Boycott 46 85 9 3551 46.72 10 16 -1.01 3.27
10 J. Kallis 5 10 1 420 46.67 2 1 -9.74 3.33
11 Viv Richards 52 80 7 3293 45.11 7 23 -5.13 2.67

Synopsis: This is the absolute inverse of the 2nd criteria mentioned above and thereby it shows that Lara & Inzy have actually matured as vintage wine in their latter part of their career, where as some of the greats like Richards, Hayden, Miandad & Richards have not had a great going towards the end. No wonder, we see 2 of them being openers, which again speaks volumes of the travails of being an opener. One can understand why Gavaskar used to say towards the end that it was getting increasingly difficult for him to concentrate on opening specially at the fag end of the day after spending 2 days in the sun ball chasing or standing in the slips! Ponting & Kallis cannot be judged on the basis of this data since they have played only 6 and 5 Tests respectively in their second part of their careers till date and much water to flow remain.

4) Home Record: ‘Tigers at home’ oft heard remark for some of the teams today were true for yesteryears too. Most of the good batsmen do better at home than abroad, the greats do better overseas. The rankings based on this parameter are:

Rank Players Tests Innings N.O. Runs Average 100's 50's Avg/Inn Inns/50
1 M. Hayden 41 72 7 4145 63.77 17 15 57.57 2.25
2 R. Ponting 57 94 16 4907 62.91 16 22 52.20 2.47
3 Javed Miandad 60 86 13 4481 61.38 14 17 52.10 2.77
4 B. Lara 61 103 5 6006 61.29 16 26 58.31 2.45
5 J. Kallis 52 84 14 4082 58.31 13 21 48.60 2.47
6 I. Haq 45 72 9 3575 56.75 11 19 49.65 2.40
7 S. Tendulkar 60 99 10 4917 55.25 16 19 49.67 2.83
8 Greg Chappell 55 96 13 4515 54.40 16 21 47.03 2.59
9 R. Dravid 47 81 8 3761 51.52 8 21 46.43 2.79
10 S.Gavaskar 65 108 7 5067 50.17 16 23 46.92 2.77
11 Viv Richards 48 67 4 3136 49.78 11 14 46.81 2.68
12 G. Boycott 57 100 10 4356 48.40 14 15 43.56 3.45

Synopsis: Based on this criteria it is easy to see the 2 Australians are champions at home, joined by Miandad in the top 3 and ironically its Gavaskar, Richards & Boycott again who are the bottom 3 in the home stakes along with Dravid at 4th from bottom. These 3 gentlemen’s records ‘suffered’ comparatively since they did not rule the home ground like some of the others though their averages & performances still is comparable with the rest, averaging near the 50’s.

5) Overseas Record: This is the other side of the home coin. The men from the boys are separated here.

Rank Players Tests Innings N.O. Runs Average 100's 50's Avg/Inn Inns/50
1 R. Dravid 53 88 13 4792 63.89 14 21 54.45 2.51
2 S. Tendulkar 72 112 12 5552 55.52 19 22 49.57 2.73
3 J. Kallis 47 83 14 3758 54.46 11 17 45.28 2.96
4 Greg Chappell 32 55 6 2595 52.96 8 10 47.18 3.06
5 S.Gavaskar 60 106 9 5055 52.11 18 22 47.69 2.65
6 R. Ponting 46 78 7 3694 52.03 14 11 47.36 3.12
7 Viv Richards 73 115 8 5404 50.50 13 31 46.99 2.61
8 I. Haq 64 108 10 4691 47.87 14 23 43.44 2.92
9 G. Boycott 51 93 13 3758 46.98 8 27 40.41 2.66
10 B. Lara 63 116 1 5288 45.98 15 21 45.59 3.22
11 Javed Miandad 64 103 8 4351 45.80 9 26 42.24 2.94
12 M. Hayden 41 75 5 3074 43.91 9 10 40.99 3.95

Synopsis: The laggards here are the leaders in the home territories, with Hayden, Miandad and surprisingly Lara settling for the bottom 3 places with Boycott at 4th from last. Dravid and Tendulkar reign supreme in their averages, with Tendulkar and Gavaskar being the most prolific 100 men overseas. No wonder they were the pillars of their sides for majority part of their careers. ‘The Little Masters’.

6) First Up: The 1st innings criteria, which is, how did these great men fare in the first innings, since these in most cases would be the 1st day of the match or if batting second the 2nd or 3rd days. Usually this is when a match is set up, since mostly, barring the first couple of hours of the 1st day the next 2 days are usually batsman friendly. Let’s see how the numbers stack up.

Rank Players Tests Innings N.O. Runs Average 100's 50's Avg/Inn Inns/50
1 B. Lara 124 123 1 7911 64.84 24 32 64.32 2.20
2 R. Ponting 103 103 4 6265 63.28 25 23 60.83 2.15
3 R. Dravid 100 100 7 5790 62.26 17 25 57.90 2.38
4 S. Tendulkar 132 129 6 7464 60.68 26 28 57.86 2.39
5 Greg Chappell 87 86 4 4791 58.43 18 18 55.71 2.39
6 Javed Miandad 124 123 8 6504 56.56 19 28 52.88 2.62
7 J. Kallis 99 99 7 5032 54.70 19 20 50.83 2.54
8 M. Hayden 82 82 0 4393 53.57 16 15 53.57 2.65
9 I. Haq 109 107 7 5307 53.07 19 19 49.60 2.82
10 S.Gavaskar 125 124 3 6159 50.90 23 23 49.67 2.70
11 Viv Richards 121 121 2 6045 50.80 18 30 49.96 2.52
12 G. Boycott 108 108 3 4795 45.67 13 25 44.40 2.84

Synopsis: As expected all the great middle-order batsmen made hay while the sun was shining in the 1st innings. The handicap of the opening batsmen is seen here with all three of them in the last 5, but except for Boycott, both Hayden and Gavaskar actually averaged more than 50, no mean achievement, considering a fresh and unknown pitch, fresh bowlers, or coming into bat at the fag end of the day, with no ‘nightwatchman’ cover. This criteria is further fine-tuned to focus on the ‘charge of light brigade’ in point 8.

7) Second Helping: The 2nd innings mostly defines where the match is in a pregnant position where the outcome might be decided by an innings or two. The 2nd innings in many cases requires a different mindset because it is the 2nd and the last chance and in many cases the 4th innings and may be played on the 4th and the 5th day. The rankings based on averages again show:

Rank Players Tests Innings N.O. Runs Average 100's 50's Avg/Inn Inns/50
1 J. Kallis 76 68 21 2808 59.74 5 18 41.29 2.96
2 M. Hayden 65 65 12 2826 53.32 10 10 43.48 3.25
3 S.Gavaskar 94 90 13 3963 51.47 11 22 44.03 2.73
4 G. Boycott 89 85 20 3319 51.06 9 17 39.05 3.27
5 R. Dravid 76 69 14 2763 50.24 5 17 40.04 3.14
6 Viv Richards 91 61 10 2495 48.92 6 15 40.90 2.90
7 I. Haq 84 73 12 2959 48.51 6 23 40.53 2.52
8 R. Ponting 80 69 19 2336 46.72 5 10 33.86 4.60
9 Greg Chappell 75 65 15 2319 46.38 6 13 35.68 3.42
10 S. Tendulkar 92 82 16 3005 45.53 9 13 36.65 3.73
11 Javed Miandad 84 66 13 2328 43.92 4 15 35.27 3.47
12 B. Lara 103 96 5 3383 37.18 7 15 35.24 4.36

Synopsis: It is clear that Kallis, Hayden & Gavaskar are the ‘come from behind’ men and with only Gavaskar and Hayden having more than 10 centuries in the 2nd innings. Gavaskar and Hayden will lead this brigade if avg/inns criteria is held to be sacrosanct, since Kallis ‘the not out’ man has almost 24% not out instances to boost up the average. Gavaskar holds supreme in the level of consistency here with only 2.73 innings required to make a 50. No wonder many of us faced with a situation would like him to bat for our lives. On the other end of the spectrum, surprisingly Lara, Miandad and Tendulkar average below 45 batting in the 2nd innings.

8) 1st Match Innings: Further fine-tuning criteria no 6, we now concentrate on the instances where these greats have batted in the 1st innings of the match, which is invariably the first day of the match, and have played a large part in taking the early initiative. The figures stack up very interestingly:

Rank Players Tests Innings N.O. Runs Average 100's 50's Avg/Inn Inns/50
1 B. Lara 56 56 1 3929 71.44 12 11 70.16 2.43
2 S. Tendulkar 62 62 4 4091 70.53 15 12 65.98 2.30
3 R. Ponting 52 52 3 3434 70.08 15 13 66.04 1.86
4 Javed Miandad 60 60 6 3730 69.07 9 17 62.17 2.31
5 M. Hayden 41 41 0 2557 62.37 9 9 62.37 2.28
6 R. Dravid 43 43 3 2455 61.38 8 10 57.09 2.39
7 I. Haq 46 46 1 2484 55.20 9 9 54.00 2.56
8 Viv Richards 48 48 1 2531 53.85 8 9 52.73 2.82
9 J. Kallis 50 50 3 2466 52.47 11 6 49.32 2.94
10 Greg Chappell 48 48 2 2413 52.46 7 9 50.27 3.00
11 G. Boycott 62 62 2 2878 47.97 8 12 46.42 3.10
12 S.Gavaskar 61 61 0 2546 41.74 11 8 41.74 3.21

Synopsis: No wonder the age of batting shows here with 3 modern stalwarts averaging over 70 in the first hit of the match and another two namely Hayden and Dravid averaging above 60, sandwitched by the ‘old fox’ Miandad. No surprise that Boycott and Gavaskar were relative failures when it came to batting on the 1st morning, Gavaskar more so, with an average 10 points lower than his overall career average. Despite that one point in favour of the little man is that he took 3.21 innings for a 50, which would all have come in the first day, whereas some of the other modern great middle order men might have batted when the fury of the new ball and fresh bowlers would have been extinguished by their opening batsmen. Hayden with an average of 61 here stands out like a beacon thus.

9) The last straw: This is one of the most important criteria for being counted as a great batsman, which is further fine-tuning of the point 7. Performance in the 4th innings of a match usually denotes efforts towards securing a win for your team or trying to stave off defeat (specially if one is representing a weaker team), and usually on the 4th and 5th day of the match. The path is almost always treacherous. The strength of the mind, the technique of a batsman is supremely tested and here’s how the numbers stack up:

Rank Players Tests Innings N.O. Runs Average 100's 50's Avg/Inn Inns/50
1 G. Boycott 36 34 13 1234 58.76 3 7 36.29 3.40
2 S.Gavaskar 34 33 9 1398 58.25 4 8 42.36 2.75
3 Javed Miandad 36 22 7 816 54.40 2 5 37.09 3.14
4 R. Ponting 39 30 12 965 53.61 3 3 32.17 5.00
5 Greg Chappell 34 25 11 688 49.14 1 4 27.52 5.00
6 R. Dravid 41 35 12 1112 48.35 1 8 31.77 3.89
7 Viv Richards 50 24 5 911 47.95 2 6 37.96 3.00
8 M. Hayden 33 33 11 1052 47.82 1 7 31.88 4.13
9 J. Kallis 32 27 11 711 44.44 1 5 26.33 4.50
10 I. Haq 35 27 7 770 38.50 1 5 28.52 4.50
11 B. Lara 49 43 5 1380 36.32 2 7 32.09 4.78
12 S. Tendulkar 48 38 11 960 35.56 2 2 25.26 9.50

Synopsis: It’s no surprise that two of the finest technicians occupy the 1st two slots on this analysis, both incidentally openers. This is one parameter where despite being tempted, it may not be correct to eliminate the “not outs” (the avg/inns) since remaining not out is an important part of the final chase or saving the game. Some instances come to mind straight away. Gavaskar’s 221 at Oval – If he had remained not out India would have won the match. Lara’s 153 at Trinidad – He remained not out and won the match for Windies. Inzy’s 100 against Bangladesh to win and save an embarrassment at Faislabad(?). Gavaskar’s 96 at Bangalore – again if he had remained not out India would have won the match. I am not being unfair to the man since cricket is a 11 batsman game, infact he was the unparalleled master of the 4th innings, it was more a comment on his other comrades, but more of that elsewhere.

10) Leading by Example: This is the last criteria used in this analysis. Captaincy is a millstone in the neck for some, the inspiration for some others. Some led from the front some sank with the responsibility. So let’s see how our 12 fared as batsmen when holding the captaincy, and whether it affected them at all. Well, its 10 of them since Hayden has been spared the responsibility and Kallis has captained only one test (the recent 3rd Test against Australia), where he didn’t excel himself but it is a stray case and hard to judge.


Rank Players Tests Innings N.O. Runs Average 100's 50's Avg/diff Inns/50
1 R. Ponting 28 53 8 2780 61.78 10 12 4.05 2.41
2 I. Haq 21 35 4 1850 59.68 7 10 8.34 2.06
3 B. Lara 40 72 4 4026 59.21 11 18 6.18 2.48
4 Greg Chappell 48 86 10 4209 55.38 13 19 1.52 2.69
5 S. Tendulkar 25 43 3 2054 51.35 7 7 -4.04 3.07
6 S.Gavaskar 47 74 6 3449 50.72 11 14 -0.40 2.96
7 Javed Miandad 34 51 4 2354 50.09 5 13 -2.49 2.83
8 Viv Richards 50 74 6 3068 45.12 6 23 -5.12 2.55
9 R. Dravid 13 23 4 797 41.95 2 4 -15.84 3.83
10 G. Boycott 4 7 0 253 36.14 0 3 -11.59 2.33

Synopsis: Again 3 of the modern greats rule the roost as captain batsmen. Their avg. differential between overall career avg. and batsman-as-captain avg. is in the positive. It is right to say that they have enjoyed the responsibilities of captaincy, though Ponting and Inzy are still some time away before ending their captaincy career. Chappell and Gavaskar remained rather unaffected by the burdens, while Boycott (albeit with a very small population of matches), Dravid, Tendulkar and surprise, surprise Richards had huge negative differentials. Some of these could logically be explained though. Richards captained towards the end of his career when the average usually drops as shown earlier. Dravid is still young at captaincy and one hopes his captaincy average improves. Tendulkar and Miandad cases probably shows the vagaries of captaincy in the sub-continent with political plots, sub-plots and the overall burden that falls on the leading batsman, along with it. Only Gavaskar seems to be have been able to negotiate the pitfalls, without being the usual ‘inspirational’ leader. Ponting is in the midst of a golden run being in the age bracket of 28-32, but the most amazing performance as a captain has to be that of Inzamam who despite in the last leg of his career has been able to raise the bar in his batting, while being the captain.




Summary:
So after all this number crunching who comes tops. The 10 parameters, some of them more important than others, depending on other multiple variables, doesn’t throw us a clear winner as based on numbers alone it becomes an odious task to mark the best batsman. And as we have seen purely career averages have no meaning specially when the difference is a few points, getting even more skewed with the “not out” column.

The Average Rank Basis: If we average the ranks (i.e. Total of Ranks under each parameter/ 10 or 9 in the case of some, the number of paraemeters) we may come to a conclusion, or will we? Let’s see how the avg. rank stacks up these greats.
Rank
Boycott : (12+11+10+12+9+12+4+10+11+1) =92/10 = 9.2 12
Chappell : (5+7+6+8+4+5+9+4+10+5) =63/10 = 6.3 6
Gavaskar : (10+9+8+10+5+10+3+6+12+2) =75/10 = 7.5 10
Richards : (11+8+12+11+7+11+6+8+8+7) =89/10 = 8.9 11
Miandad : (8+6+7+3+11+6+11+7+4+3) =66/10 = 6.6 8
Tendulkar : (4+4+5+7+2+4+10+5+2+12) =55/10 = 5.5 3
Lara : (7+12+3+4+10+1+12+3+1+11) =64/10 = 6.4 7
Inzamam : (9+10+4+6+8+9+7+2+7+10) =72/10 = 7.2 9
Hayden : (6+1+9+1+12+8+2+5+8) =52/9 = 5.8 5
Ponting : (2+5+2+2+6+2+8+1+3+4) =35/10 = 3.5 1
Kallis : (3+3+11+5+3+7+1+9+9) =51/9 = 5.7 4
Dravid : (1+2+9+1+3+5+9+6+6) =42/9 = 4.7 2

So the rigmarole throws up the above rankings. Now do the statistics want us to believe that Ponting & Dravid are the No:1 & 2 batsmen over the last 35 years and Gavaskar & Viv Richards at only the 10th & 11th spot? What happens if we take a different criteria, like eliminating “not outs” and rank on the basis of net avg/inns?
Rank
Boycott : (12+12+11+12+12+12+7+9+11+4) =102/10 = 10.2 12
Chappell : (7+7+6+8+5+5+9+4+9+10) = 70/10 = 7.0 7
Gavaskar : (6+5+9+9+3+10+1+6+12+1) = 62/10 = 6.2 6
Richards : (9+2+12+10+6+9+4+8+8+2) = 70/10 = 7.0 7
Miandad : (10+9+7+4+10+7+10+7+5+3) = 72/10 = 7.2 9
Tendulkar : (4+4+5+5+2+4+8+5+3+12) = 52/10 = 5.2 4
Lara : (1+10+3+1+7+1+11+1+1+6) = 42/10 = 4.2 1
Inzamam : (11+11+4+6+9+11+5+2+7+9) = 75/10 = 7.5 10
Hayden : (5+1+8+2+11+6+2+4+7) = 46/9 = 5.1 3
Ponting : (3+6+2+3+4+2+12+3+2+5) = 42/10 = 4.2 1
Kallis : (8+8+10+7+8+8+3+10+11) = 73/9 = 8.1 11
Dravid : (2+3+11+1+3+6+10+6+8) = 50/9 = 5.6 5

The ranks change quite drastically for some, not so much for others. Further if we were to give weights to some of these parameters, things will get even more complicated. Thus what this exercise tells us that statistics are really akin to the famous saying “reveals what is exciting but hides the vital”! and is hence rendered useless when comparing great batsmen specially of different eras. The basic benchmarks of having a certain number of runs, a benchmark average band, no: of 100s, is the starting point to bunch them up together, but various intangibles renders the statistical outlook as only a “half glassful”.
This specially if we add factors like Richards and Gavaskar batting without helmets? The quality of opposition? The quality of bowlers? The soft targets like Zim and Bangladesh that has boosted some of the modern averages? The factor of playing for a weaker team against a stronger one or vice-versa? And many more? That is reserved for the 2nd part of this story. This writer has his own ranking of greats. Pick yours, if the head is not spinning already!

Ganguly vs Dravid ?

It’s a natural state of progression, in this country with it’s only non-controvertial religion, cricket. After a bombastic captain we have a more staid one. A tooth for tooth, blood for blood series is currently on and India has been hammered for a day and half or more. That four centuries have come off it is only a happenstance. But the picture that stands out on the 2nd day at Gaddafi Stadium is of a ‘lazy’ and the ‘worst fielder', who after stopping another definite boundary minutes before, has just taken an outstanding catch to dismiss one tailender when the opposition is 600 plus going at more than 6 an over over the best part of the day. Initially misjudged, like it can happen with anyone, and then to recover with tottering steps backwards and come up with this one one-handed, falling backwards, was out of the ordinary, like many things happening in Indian cricket these days. His team mates rejoicing and running towards him in unadulterated joy (and not the smirk that we saw minutes after) Can’t call it ‘experimentation’, can we ?
Within half an hour of that we see the new captain coming out to bat with the ‘309’ man as his opening partner which is another revelation, despite what the cameras had to say yesterday. By jove, it looks like India is playing against India. But did it anytime seem in those 13 overs that this is a new look opening pair ? Why did it take Dravid so long to realize that he is the best man to partner Sehwag in the heat of a battle ? Why does it take a situation of bailing out his old friend turned strange bed-fellow to take up the cudgels where no one befits it better than him ?
But cricket is a strange game. Tomorrow we might be made to feel small within half an hour but if Indian cricket survives this one (the next 3 days) then happy days are here again, despite what the so called pundits might have to say.
As we are seeing life in miniature, friends have turned foes or less because of the incessant media spotlight on them or ‘him’. The ‘management’ hasn’t helped matters by speaking out of turn. Still the fire burns on as the main protagonists have made a statement and another little man is yet to make it, sitting in the pavilion credited to have given ‘him’ the clean chit.
We can’t wait for tomorrow to come.

Ganguly Saga Part II

This was originally posted on Amit Verma's Cricinfo blog '23 yards' on 15th December 2005. Obviously little has changed in Indian Cricket since then except that Sourav Ganguly has come back to the Pakistan bound Indian Team. Unfortunately, there is so much that is behind the curtains, under the table that it's hard to believe that this is the same Team India of 2002 - 2004. Hence the urge to update this post.

The fact that Ganguly's inclusion was due to the political pressures put on Sharad Pawar cannot be overemphasised upon. Further with the public outcry that it generated one was not sure whether the Kiran Mores of this cricketing world would be safer in Bin Ladin's hideout or at large in Pune or Baroda wherever they were.
But adding fuel to fire are people like Raj Singh Dungarpur who has no cricketing credentials except that he went for a walk or two with Vijay Merchant or that he watched Wally Hammond play the coverdrives. Well if we all had the money in those days and were the raja of some non-descript colonial outpost living off the alms of the Brits we could have also gone to England to see Wally Hammond's cover drive and the Gilbert Jessop's cow shots. These days he resembles a "relic-non-grata" just like the CCI that he is the president of. What business did he have to raise the Ganguly rumble again, just before such an important series as this ? What importance has it got in this context ? People like him are going to create more problems for Dravid and his team and hence my take in the original post that this Indian team is not going to go far.
Ofcourse Chappell must be the only person happy with this. And who knows what diabolical schemes are running in his head when he answered the scribes query that he had "no differences with Ganguly". Spare us Mr.Chappell.

The queries in the following post have also not changed and neither the answers. Indian Cricket has not moved ahead in this one month or so. The hue and cry over the win against Sri Lanka will soon be lost in the din that is to emerge post Pakistan and we will take stock again.
Oops... one thing seems to have changed after all. Chappell has a signed contract finally.



Dear Amit (posted on '23 yards' 15th December 2005)

Another fine piece that deserves to be commented upon. But I will also refer to Sambit’s post on the main site ‘poignant end’ as well as your earlier one ‘power to the coach’.
These are emotional times where everything will be seen from extreme points of view. Bring on ‘wicket to wicket’ !
While we need to be cold headed a bit of emotion will seep through simply because some people are trying to pull wool over our eyes with the dirty business that is Indian Cricket. Let me take the pains to elaborate a little bit of the events to clarify.

At the time of dropping Ganguly from ODIs & sacking him as captain : Chappellway says Ganguly has to prove fitness and form to get back into team.

At the selection committee’s press-conference for the Chennai Test : Kiran More – Chairman says that Ganguly is included as ‘a bowling all-rounder, eh – batting allrounder’ instead of Zaheer Khan (wonder if he is on dope these days)

Before the AGM in Calcutta : IS Bindra in the PCA web-site lambasts Dalmiya for using, abusing Ganguly to meet his own ends and that in the ‘New Era’ that will not be the case.

Supremo Pawar’s pearls of wisdom : Supports Ganguly’s inclusion in the team and says “He’s one of the best allrounders India has produced”. (don’t know whether we fools should laugh or cry)

2nd day of Chennai Test – Chappellway says ‘Ganguly is another mentor for the youngsters in the side’ and a part of the think-tank. He’s coming on ‘nicely’ and will be valuable with his ‘experience’.

What we saw on the 5 days – 1st inns – India 133 for 3 in walks Ganguly when Sachin himself is fumbling and held in shackles by Murali and co. Ganguly survives an ugly heave and a missed stumping, but thereafter puts his head down to help stich together a partnership of 120 odd with Sachin and helps Sachin in scoring that elusive 35th ton, (we saw what was happening with Sachin on 99) Ganguly gets out to a doosra the next morning and the team collapses. The lead is 60 for India (could have been the other way round) In the field Ganguly’s brains are picked by more than one at various times. But not required to bowl. 2nd innings early shocks and enters Ganguly again in fairly trying times. Dravid runs himself out (or does he want to put the blame on Ganguly this time). Stitches a partnership with Yuvraj of 85 odd in the evening and 4th day morning (where all wickets had fallen in the mornings previously). All of us who know our cricket will agree that he was more fluent in the 2nd dig and was hardly beaten on the 4th morning and soothed Yuvraj’s nerves on more than one occasion when he fumbled against Murali. Ganguly exits for 39 (at which time his & Yuvraj’s strike-rates were quite same) through another doosra. Enter Dhoni, exit Murali from the attack and enter Bandara. Merry making follows and the rest is a cakewalk. Though onfield contributions remain in the SL 2nd innings, despite one misfield of Kumble.

Post match press conference – The captain goes on to praise Ganguly amongst others for playing crucial part in the match at critical junctures.


Selection of 3rd Test (minutes after) – Ganguly chucked out of the window unanimously 7-0 by the selectors, captain & coach team (as reported by ToI). It’s said, he’s not needed in the team and cannot sit on the bench (read between the lines potential disruption of team spirit), etc,etc. but the carrot is held out ‘great player, can come back. Replaced by Jaffer an opening batsman to strengthen openers pool.

Through the chronological events a few questions arise:
a) Does Ganguly warrants a place in the team
b) If no, was this the way to throw a former captain (let’s not get into his greatness as a captain here) and player with more than 15,000 international runs and 34 international centuries ?

Now let us try to answer them:

a) No, probably not, after having groomed Yuvraj & Kaif for more than 4 years now and considering their talent it would not be fair to make them sit on the bench. But here is my next point, what about Kaif instead of Laxman. An inferior fielder again, definitely not in the 2007 scheme, and frankly 8 centuries in 75 tests ?? mark of greatness ?? No, or is that 281 going to remain like an ‘limitless’ debit card ?? So isn’t Laxman’s case another one for a ‘poignant end’ Sambit ?
b) This is the most vital point which raises uncomfortable questions about our cricket as I had raised during the wicket to wicket blog. The whole imbroglio starting post Zimbabwe, actions of Chappell, BCCI (this one or the earlier avatar), Dravid and his converted team mates all reek of a sham going on. Ofcourse, India has been winning a bit in the past couple of months against Sri Lanka, and that will sweep all else under the carpet but they didn’t win the ODI series against South Africa, and sterner tests are coming.
Let us face facts as they have unfolded in the recent past.
Chappell’s true double-face is out – ‘smells like sham spirit’. But his job is only half done. One half of the cancerous cells are out. Harbhajan & Sehwag is still going strong and GSC is alive awake and will not stop till the goal is reached. Is it this ‘power to the coach’ you were talking about Amit. Remember Chappell’s coaching stint in Australia’s Pura Cup days. Even his earlier wards have nothing great to say. Analogy - A Manager who cannot run a Branch is being made the General Manager of a company and such white-licking despots like Raj Singh Dungarpur continue to sing high praises, what’s new ?
The ‘pack of jokers’ continue in their merry drunken way. They are true champions of imperialism again, if this was an Indian Coach would they have listened to him ? Or are they just in awe of a great past batsman ? Hey we are talking about a current coach not a past great cricketer and what he is doing with the Indian Cricket team. No, no, but we are the 5 blind mice.
The current Captain and his comrades – This is the saddest part of them all. Most of the lot playing in the Delhi test had been with Ganguly for the last 10 years. If we remove the newcomers like Dhoni & Pathan (who also made their debut under Ganguly) none of the seniors or the stars had a word to say about his predicament. Have they forgotten how their former captain fought for most of them ? Has Sachin forgotten that five and a half years back when he bade a tearful farewell to captaincy, dropping it like a hot potato and see the still young Ganguly taking up the reigns and from the bottom 3 has taken them to top 3 in a span of 4 years and a small matter of a WC final ? All he can say is “No Comments” !
Has Dravid forgotten how Ganguly bear-hugged him after the series winning Madras Test against Steve Waugh’s Australians on that sultry afternoon in 2001 ? – All he can say is .. no ‘mum’s the word’.
And Kumble – Everytime he had to be dropped for an overseas Test, Ganguly made almost public apology at press conferences, TV shows for his exclusion though till England 2002 he was a below-par overseas performer – Mum again.
Probably, none of them can speak at the moment. Some of them are secretly enjoying the boot, that Sourav got, some of them are probably scared lest they got a wrap on their knuckles from the BCCI or the selectors or the coach. Some may even be disgusted at the turn of events over the last 4 months.
Are we expecting continuous and consistent performance from this bunch ? What precedence are we setting for the new entrants ? As the great Prasanna has reacted we are Indians and like to repeat history specially when it comes to treating our heroes.
I am sorry Amit this had to be a long one but spade has to be called a spade at times.
Synopsis ? Watch my lips, sorry these lines, keep this in your archives, Cricinfo.
Status quo, this Indian Team is going nowhere different. It will remain where it is, probably will slip back to where it was 6-7 years back and yes WC2007 will end up as a pipe dream and ‘Chappell’ will dance all the ‘way’ to the bank in Australia by then. Oh did I see somewhere he doesn’t even have a signed contract till now !!!

Half the Battle

Now that the high profile Team India selection for Pakistan tour has been successfully put out of the way (or was it so successful for some!), one can breathe a sigh of relief, but hold on yet…since Ganguly is back and so is Zaheer, must be a matter of relief for their supporters, but the process which had been undertaken, and the background in which these events unfolded, can one really breathe easy.
That it’s going to be a tough tour, even the peripheral cricket follower knows. But what makes it so tough?
For one, India will be taking on a different Pakistan unlike the one saw two years back. Like always in the past, it will be a series full of adrenalin, but this time the juices are likely to overflow from the hosts. For a change Pakistan is more settled than what it was the last time around. Inzamam has finally settled into the captaincy role. Then he was still a greenhorn. His batting has flowered like never before. Woolmer has taken over from Miandad and a semblance of method in the Pakistani madness has set in. Younis Khan has led the charge of the young brigade in the last year and a half and the middle order has a settled look about it. The bowling attack, while remaining the same has a more menacing look about simply due to that man Shoaib Akhtar who seems like a born-again-Pakistani team man. The one Christian in the team has converted to Islam and though the lone Hindu is yet to, the team, if one goes by various reports has turned verily religious within the cricketing format. All this could make Pakistan a formidable opposition. Add to that a successful foray into the English reputation in the just concluded series.
On the other hand, India, which had embarked on the last tour on the back of a successful series down under will be going after a successful series against Sri Lanka, but there are more things which have occurred than meets the eye. The coach and the captain are going to be different (though Dravid did captain a couple of Tests last time round, but we know who was in charge). The India XI which was more or less settled last time around, is just the opposite this time simply because of all the controversies and the behind-the-scenes action. Can anyone really put a finger on the XI at this moment or even on the day India arrives in Lahore. And it’s just because of the emplacement of the two players, mentioned at the beginning.
It was well known from the beginning, despite all the posturing by Chappell and his coterie of selectors (and not the other way round obviously), Ganguly and Zaheer had to be back some time or the other, because their exclusion in the first place was wrong. Now everybody who follows Indian cricket closely knows that Team India built up by Ganguly-Wright combination was floundering a bit ever since the Asia Cup 2004, but if one looks closely it was basically a period from July 2004 to April 2005, in which time India had a disappointing time in the ODIs, while in the Test arena it was more of a mixed bag. The series against Australia was lost 2-1, which really can’t be a shame considering Tendulkar was not available for the first 2 tests and a ‘new 281’ wasn’t coming around this time. After all they, still were the best team in the world. The series against a bull-dog’ish South Africa was won 1-0, and the series against Pakistan was drawn 1-1. So really speaking, combats against the 3 top teams in the world yielded a net 3 – 3 result, which can’t really be that bad. However, the jadedness could be seen and a bit of lackadaisical approach could be felt by all, plus add to that 2 suspensions faced by Ganguly the captain in a span of 6 months, which can be debated on without any end. Now a new coach comes in, ironically, mainly at the behest of the captain who was about to be disposed. The next five months has gone off in a whirl of excesses. At this point when Chappell probably sits with his head between his hands, he will realize that he missed a vital point. That, the primary responsibility of a coach, and let truth be told ‘a limited responsibility’, was to galvanise his existing resources in the best possible format and gear them up. Instead gimmickry surfaced in the garb of so called ‘experimentation’ and again let it be clear to those suffering from amnesia that the ‘inspired’ moves that came about in the time between 2001-2004 is yet to be beaten by this new regime. Yes, the fielding has moved upto the next level, but little else to be honest. The bravado that the commentators and a part of the media has been carrying out, still reeks of colonial hangovers and myopia. Everyone knows that Sri Lankans are tigers at home and meek lambs abroad and a depleted South Africa was not beaten, (despite the dew!)
All that was needed for the deposed men like Ganguly and the boys that he backed was kick in the rear and some admonishment and an advise to pull up their socks, incase they really became that lazy and rudderless. Instead the teeth was pulled out. If Shoaib can be reigned in by Woolmer, why not Ganguly and the likes of Zaheer, far more committed men.
But to come back to the Pakistan tour. Now that much water has flown under how do Ganguly and Zaheer fit in the XI? Let’s take Zaheer’s case first as it is less complicated and thank God for that. If 3 pacers play, then Zaheer moves in seamlessly. However, if only 2 pacers is the name of the game, who gets a game Agarkar or Zaheer ? If Zaheer has a mediocre record in Tests, Agarkar’s are even more abysmal. More so, when the Baroda paceman has been having a rollicking time in the Ranji & Duleep Trophies. Tricky one for the team management, who seem to have discovered a born-again-bowler, though results are nothing different from the past pages.
Now the real cracker, how does Ganguly get in the batting lineup (assuming he can’t be put on the benches)? Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar & Laxman chose themselves. Yuvraj too is almost certain, since it will be foolish to drop him to accommodate Ganguly. Now the choice remains between an opener (Gambhir/Jaffer) and Ganguly. Questions galore throw themselves up. Can Ganguly open in a Test ? He hasn’t even opened in the ODI format for almost 3 years. Will he be able to do the job ? What if he fails in front of simmering Shoaib and Sami and Gul ? Will it be fare to ask Yuvraj open again when he is clearly out of depth at the beginning of an innings ? Either way it will be playing with two careers one in it’s evening and the other in it’s glorious morning, and that too against the old enemy.
Hang on, we have a solution. Swap the wicket-keepers, play Parthiv and ask him to open and draft both Ganguly & Yuvraj in the comforts of the middle-order. Sounds familiar? Let’s go back to March 2004. This will spur Dhoni on and he might just go berserk in the ODI series. Win-win situation, right out of the Gregory Stephen Chappell’s coaching manual !!!! Go on, time for apocalypse now Mr.Chappell. The game has just half begun.

Comments ’a’ Lament

We live in these days of cricket overkill, especially with one-day variety and even test cricket, specially the ones where Zimbabwe & Bangladesh are involved in the latter. If one has the interest and time at hand, currently, like yours truly, then you would not have the time to actually take your eyes of the idiot box.
In these days of technology we get to see telecasts from channels from all across the world, the count of which will probably run upto more than a dozen and the game is being commented upon by more than fifty experts and that is what this piece is all about.

Having grown up, partly, during the pre-live tv days one always remembers with fondness, the days of the radio and the bits one saw and heard on the highlights programmes beamed by the generous doordarshan in the ‘80s.
We know that TV and Radio commentary is different due to the obvious, however, one wonders whether the commentators really do know, that, unlike on the radio the viewer can actually see what’s going on.
However, surprisingly most of these com-box men, who are ex-cricketers keep on going at a break-neck speed, some with their baritones, some with their high-pitch voices, repeating the obvious ad nauseam till the viewer has slumped exhausted in his seat.
To compound this, more than a fair share of them, are partisan towards the team they support and however hard they try to camouflage it, tense moments give them away. Backing your own team is fine but jingoism is better avoided when you are supposed to be a neutral, but these gentlemen are blissfully ignorant about the viewers’ sensibilities.
Add to this, the fact that many of these gentlemen indulge in hyperbole, when everything seems ‘great’, ‘lovely’, ‘fantastic’ & ‘beautiful’, and premature exclamations which tends to make the game seem actually mundane.
The latest addition to this state of affairs is the fact that most of them seem to have turned know all psychologists repeatedly ‘getting’ into the heads of the captains, batsmen, bowlers and sometimes even the fielders if they have their way.
Most of these ailments seem to affect the majority of the commentators from the sub-continent but some from the other parts of the world are also guilty of some of these bad habits.
The only one who remains unaffected with all this mayhem around is probably the man who was voted the best commentator of the day, the one and only Richie Benaud, who is the bridge between the times of a John Arlott and a Sanjay Manjrekar. Another personal favourite is Ian Chappell, who,with his polished Aussie accent, must rank as one of the best raconteurs amongst them all although our own ‘little master’ the great Sunil Gavaskar is trying to pick up this trait. All three mentioned are genuine greats of the game and have their own styles which does not play with the patience of the viewer and at the same time respect his intelligence. The ones for the future is definitely Ian Healy and probably Sanjay Manjrekar, though he is developing this bad habit of getting into the head of the guy on the field.
The absolute no-no’s of the current lot are most of the Pakistanis and Sri Lankans, (except the 2 W’s) who either get repetitive or plain cantankerous with alarming regularity. Some of the recent Indian commentators are equally ill equipped for this job and at the top of the list comes L.Sivaramakrishnan with his false accent and shrill-shrieks and Arun Lal can be better but keeps on going like a train, both of them getting on the nerves of the viewer with their incessant hamming, a bit like Anupam Gulati of the DD days. Srinath doesn’t promise much and looks still too involved in the game going on. The best of the current Indian lot arguably still is Ravi Shastri, though he has got a bit opinionated over time and Harsha Bhogle who started off so promisingly but has disappointed lately with his irritating habit of interrupting the likes of Gavaskar and Shastri mid-sentence.
The one man whom one doesn’t know what to make off is another grand old man Geoffrey. Very informative he is and very technical and comes up with his usual gems, though opininiated at times. A pity he is not on air anymore, since ‘even his grandma could comment better than most of the present lot’.

State of Indian Cricket

Let me first introduce myself as this is my first post, for those of you who don't have the time to actually get to my profile. My name is Supratik and am about 39 and Chartered Accountant by profession (how mundane). An insufferable cricket fanatic, I have just returned to India from Dubai and on a sabbatical (jobless if you are an old timer). Hence the time at hand.
Have finished reading a few books on Indian Cricket in the past few months. Liked most of them, but none more than Guha's 'Corner of a Foreign Field'. Went on a time-machine so to say to those days when the CKs, Lalas & Ranjis & Duleeps ruled Indian cricket psyche and was pondering over what kind of rigmarole Indian Cricket has been through. And then comes the latest episode "The Ganguly Saga". We have already seen a tumultous response, completely polarised and is getting murkier by the day. Eminent writers,journalists,mediamen,websites, novices, politicians (god save the prince of cal), have all had a swing either way.
Hunger strikes are on here at Cal, Train services have been disrupted, 'Bandhs' are being planned. But has anyone thought where does Indian Cricket stand after this episode ?
Let's not go into the rights and wrongs of dropping Ganguly and just let us try to get into the minds (hypothetically ofcourse) of the players who will take the field in the future, starting with the batting order.
1) 'Viru' Sehwag - He will be captaining India in Ahmedabad in Dravid's absence and even after acknowledging the fact that he is the last kind to get affected by bowlers let alone 'outside-the-field' issues, will he be really at peace ? He was one of the four marked men for the coach. 'Dada's Man' at one point of time, not a great fielder, decent mid-riff, slam-bang approach. What lies in store for me, he might say.
2) Gambhir - Hanging by the thread - competitor Jaffer brought in. May be I will slip away to the black hole of domestic cricket.
3) Jaffer - Son of a BEST conductor. Current giant of Ranji Trophy, A greenhorn in the Chappell regime. My past stint in International Cricket was poor. Might try to compare to compare Chappell with Wright, Dravid with Ganguly. I have no clue what I have got into, he might say.
4) Dravid - The one who was the 'best man' bear hugging his buddy at various highs achieved by Team India under Ganguly-Wright regime, now the chosen one. Doesn't open his mouth in selection meetings, 'happy with the team he is given', is this the Dravid we have known for the last 10 years. Down with flu, gastroenteritis,etc. and currently hospitalised. Is it pscyhosomatic ? that he can't undo a wrong. or is it guilt. Is the 'wall' crumbling ?
5) Tendulkar - When he should have been celebrating his record-breaking century, upstaged by a blunderous selectorial decision. He is a focussed genius no doubt, but would he be at peace at the treatment meted out to his original successor to the hotbed of captaincy. Rumours are that he was the only one to visit the forlorn Ganguly after the stab in the back, but no comments. He may ask. Remember the coach had originally said that Sachin will not be the same player again, later made a slight change saying that he will have new challenges ! He will remember, I am the original mentor. What fate will befall me?
6) Laxman - Hanging by a very very special thread. Confused. If they can do this to SCG, what about me ? After all I too am no spring chicken, ODI place is history, what remains ahead of me ?
7) Yuvraj - I am taking the place of my biggest supporter. An opportunity yes, but at what cost ? Let's say I am selfish but cricket is a cruel game, if i fail a few times tomorrow, who will back me, Dada is no longer there to support my inclusion in the squad at all times.
8) Kaif - much as same as Yuvi, but no light at the end of the tunnel. I am playing in Ahmedabad instead of Dravid, but what when he gets back. I know I should get in place of Laxman but who will back me, Dada is not there and anyway Dada was a threat to the powers that be, but VVS is not. What do I do
9) Dhoni - Not much affected, coach's darling at the moment. But will note that if this happens to a once-upon-a-time stalwart, what can happen to him ? Definitely would not like to be a mentor till the 2007 World Cup.
10) Irfan - Not much affected again, but is getting into the needless debate of being an 'all-rounder' or not. Coach finally decides he is an allrounder,but the captain sides with him that he is not. Right now the floater of the side (meaning can go from No:1 to No:9 in the batting line-up) but failure to live up to the tag can cause disaster.
11)Agarkar - The beneficiary temporarily. But no life-lines left. Lock out time, either way. Lives as long as the jaundiced eye towards Zaheer remains.
12) Kumble - Banished from the ODIs. No one was apologetic unlike the previous comrades who is licking his wounds at the moment. No dangers in the Test arena yet or have i forgotten a Chawla !!?
13) Harbhajan - The worst suffering. Mouth has been shut, form up-and-down, will not be surprised if he fades away, since he was the other one on the cancerous radar
14) Kartik - No change is stature. On the fringes. Hell I was born at the wrong time ?
15) Zaheer & Nehra - Cancerous cells, chemotherapy undertaken, eliminated. &&&&&&&&

16) Sourav Ganguly - Sourav's Pavilion is doing well with an increased footfall of 40% in the multi-cuisine restaurant, will get 2 more acres for the cricket academy, the Parliament might ask him to retire and stop taking so much of it's time and as a compensation might offer to give him an ambassador's posting to Australia !!