Indian cricket in the doldrums?

The performance of the Indian cricket team of late has been dismal to say the least. Barring the win against the West Indies a couple of days back, the Indians have generally disappointed the thronging millions who skip work and other emergencies to watch them play. The way things are going, the looming World Cup 2007 looks like a very distant dream, something that Indian team cannot even afford to dream of right now. They must, as a first, pull up their socks in the batting department. Simply flaunting the best talent in the world is not enough. One expects them to deliver which has been a rarity over the past several months.

Except Yuvraj, and to an extent Kaif, who is not even in the team that is playing Australia today, the batting has been mediocre and sometimes even downright pathetic. Sehwag looks a mere shadow of his old self. Sachin is just back from a long layoff and has already stamped his authority on the world of cricket with a scintillting innings against the West Indies in India's opening match in the DLF triseries. There is no player who can dominate the bowlers like the Little Master and the Master looks in great touch. That is about the best thing that has happened to Indian cricket for a while. the Return of Sachin 'Ton'ulkar!

The rotation policy proposed by Greg Chappel and executed meekly by Rahul Dravid is a damp squib. A number of players are being tested and rested which is creating consistancy problems in the team. A winning combination should never be tampered with, at least that is what old wisdom held. But it seems like Chappel's wisdom says something entirely different. Something that is proving to be totally disastrous for India.

One hopes the new bunch of players like R P Singh and Munaf Patel fire and remain consistant in their approach. The treatment being meted out to Irfan Pathan is also inexplicable. First Chappel criticised him in public saying that he is not in the right frame of mind. Now Pathan is gracing the bench more than the field, something which he should do in every game that India plays considering that fact that he is our frontline bowler.

It is time Indian fans demand an apology from the Board, the coach and the captain...or at least an explanation.