You may not be aware what position Murali Kartik bats – possibly because you don’t think he bats.
But batting is a gift, and after Bhajji, it’s a gift that keeps on giving.
It’s now clear to every bowler, at least spinner, that if the spin doesn’t get you in, the batting will.
Murali Kartik opened the batting for Railways today. He scored 57 (144 mts, 96 balls, 9 4s, 2 6s). Good for him. It’s a shame his team wasn’t bowled out today, he could have opened the bowling. And topped that in the post match conference by opening his mouth.
That if anything goes far in India’s team selection.
I'm tired of the Bhajji vs Mishra comparisons, even Mishra is. He’s on twitter now.
But surely there are others who have not given up.
I suspect Kartik is still hanging in. Right now I don’t put the keeping gloves beyond him.
He’s only 34, been through a lot already, did you know, he even played for KKR – that’s a lot in one lifetime.
I’ve run into Kartik a few times, he always looks dazed – as if still reacting, somewhat incomprehensibly to the selectors.
Once was before an India tour, so that must be a long time back. And when I see cricketers I like, I just wish them luck.
So here I see, Kartik, by himself, in Priya market – and I call out, “Murali!” He nearly jumps out of his beads. “Best of luck for the tour” I add. If he spoke to strangers, think he would have said, “best of luck for the nets?”
Btw Bhajji has a first class average of 19.83 with 2 100s, 12 50s (155 matches). Kartik’s first class average is 19.21 with 16 50s (167 matches).
As for their bowling averages, why bother? The selectors don’t look at it, why should you?
Showing posts with label batting averages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label batting averages. Show all posts
December 24, 2010
April 07, 2008
Average Guys.
“You have been weighed, you have been measured and you have been found wanting.” - when Graeme Smith declared overnight, only 418 runs ahead, he had slapped India’s batsmen with their net worth in runs. Had Smith a sense of humour, he would have declared at 152 – 76 runs ahead of India’s similar first innings total. However, taking into account inflation and a true 3rd day wicket, 494 for 7 declared was almost bold for the South Africans.
Here was a team that reveled in playing oppositions into the ground, specially the likes of New Zealand, Bangladesh and other one-day wonders. This however, was India. Fresh from one man’s wonder in Chennai, and a one test wonder in Australia. But with such teams, before long, wonders cease.
What’s disturbing is how the team selection plays blind man’s bluff. Presumably, the Aussie summer (along with Ponting) belonged to Ishant Sharma; but he only played after an injury to Zaheer Khan. Just as Sehwag played at Perth after the twin faults of Melbourne and Sydney. Or Irfan Pathan played here, because of Sachin Tendulkar’s injury. Or as Piyush Chawla may play in Kanpur.
Pathan’s inclusion may be the least of India’s concerns. He remained not out in both innings, scoring a fun 21 and 43. He bowled 21 listless overs, uncannily similar to R.P. Singh –in both input and output. Forget the Australia tour, darling, yeh hai India!
But how does a bowling all-rounder replace Sachin Tendulkar? Had Tendulkar played this test, would Pathan have played too? Unlikely. But he played due to a vacancy, while India couldn’t decide whether it was a seaming wicket or a spinning track. Also India had to first play its two best bowlers (on reputation, seniority, captaincy), so Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh picked themselves. But there was some green on the wicket. And India got greedy and took Tendulkar’s unavailability as a sign from God knows who. They decided to play Pathan in addition to the opening bowlers.
That R.P Singh was rueful at Chennai, in addition to being unfit did not matter. Most players carry niggles anyway – an injury occurs only when you’re fully incapacitated. Also there was a game to be won: three quicks, two spinners, let’s pulverize the Proteas with all we got!
By the time Pathan played his role as a bowler, the match was lost many times over. But to make sense of his selection, let’s flip Pathan’s role – and call him a batting all-rounder. Let’s revisit Jacque Kallis’ modest beginnings as a test batsman: initially Kallis’ test match average hovered in the 30s. But it wasn’t long before his average shot up through the 40s to the high 50s of today. While comparing Pathan to Kallis is nigh ridiculous, it’s a pointer for Indian cricket - to decide what it wants from Irfan. Kallis was always a batsman first, and then the 3rd or 4th bowler, in spite of being one of the world’s leading allrounders.
Repeatedly against the South Africans (in the tour games to that country) and now in Ahmedabad, Pathan has shown enough skill as a middle-lower order batsman against quick bowling to be taken seriously. But it’s his bowling that has failed him; at least in India. While the multiple roles, from test opener to pinch hitter at number three, in addition to the Chappell-Dravid experiments, have only confounded matters, it’s worth asking, why is only Irfan Pathan deemed special enough to be experimented with?
Today, Pathan’s test batting average is in the low 30s, much like his bowling average. Dhoni’s test batting average is a tad higher than Pathan’s. But while Dhoni is a power center, Pathan is a mere pawn. In spite of this, Pathan continues to look good with the bat.
Another player who has looked good with the bat is Saurav Ganguly. Over the last year, he’s scored regularly. His career average is in the 40s, as is VVS Laxman’s, who has also had a good last year. Not so with Rahul Dravid, in spite of which he’s still perceived as India’s most reliable test batsman. Most impactful batsman: Virender Sehwag. Most influential batsman: Sachin Tendulkar. The last three with test averages in the 50s. Untouchables?
In the make-believe joint family of Indian test cricket, all these batsmen should play together in harmony. But after 76 all out, there is a dire need for accountability. And frankly dropping Wasim Jaffer, Irfan Pathan or R.P. Singh, and including Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma or even Munaf Patel is far from the answer.
This cannot be more dirt under the carpet like the World Cup first round ouster. Where players conveniently return after a short sojourn. Until the time when a Dhoni wins a World Cup and demands his own one-day team.
What happened? And why did it happen? Can the shareholders of Indian cricket have some answers?
Or do we continue to blame an expendable opener or lower middle batsman? That is always easier. As the highly respectable batting averages continue to maintain themselves. With some feel good cosmetic changes to the team. And the circus moves on to the next town!
“You have been weighed, you have been measured and you have been found wanting.” - when Graeme Smith declared overnight, only 418 runs ahead, he had slapped India’s batsmen with their net worth in runs. Had Smith a sense of humour, he would have declared at 152 – 76 runs ahead of India’s similar first innings total. However, taking into account inflation and a true 3rd day wicket, 494 for 7 declared was almost bold for the South Africans.
Here was a team that reveled in playing oppositions into the ground, specially the likes of New Zealand, Bangladesh and other one-day wonders. This however, was India. Fresh from one man’s wonder in Chennai, and a one test wonder in Australia. But with such teams, before long, wonders cease.
What’s disturbing is how the team selection plays blind man’s bluff. Presumably, the Aussie summer (along with Ponting) belonged to Ishant Sharma; but he only played after an injury to Zaheer Khan. Just as Sehwag played at Perth after the twin faults of Melbourne and Sydney. Or Irfan Pathan played here, because of Sachin Tendulkar’s injury. Or as Piyush Chawla may play in Kanpur.
Pathan’s inclusion may be the least of India’s concerns. He remained not out in both innings, scoring a fun 21 and 43. He bowled 21 listless overs, uncannily similar to R.P. Singh –in both input and output. Forget the Australia tour, darling, yeh hai India!
But how does a bowling all-rounder replace Sachin Tendulkar? Had Tendulkar played this test, would Pathan have played too? Unlikely. But he played due to a vacancy, while India couldn’t decide whether it was a seaming wicket or a spinning track. Also India had to first play its two best bowlers (on reputation, seniority, captaincy), so Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh picked themselves. But there was some green on the wicket. And India got greedy and took Tendulkar’s unavailability as a sign from God knows who. They decided to play Pathan in addition to the opening bowlers.
That R.P Singh was rueful at Chennai, in addition to being unfit did not matter. Most players carry niggles anyway – an injury occurs only when you’re fully incapacitated. Also there was a game to be won: three quicks, two spinners, let’s pulverize the Proteas with all we got!
By the time Pathan played his role as a bowler, the match was lost many times over. But to make sense of his selection, let’s flip Pathan’s role – and call him a batting all-rounder. Let’s revisit Jacque Kallis’ modest beginnings as a test batsman: initially Kallis’ test match average hovered in the 30s. But it wasn’t long before his average shot up through the 40s to the high 50s of today. While comparing Pathan to Kallis is nigh ridiculous, it’s a pointer for Indian cricket - to decide what it wants from Irfan. Kallis was always a batsman first, and then the 3rd or 4th bowler, in spite of being one of the world’s leading allrounders.
Repeatedly against the South Africans (in the tour games to that country) and now in Ahmedabad, Pathan has shown enough skill as a middle-lower order batsman against quick bowling to be taken seriously. But it’s his bowling that has failed him; at least in India. While the multiple roles, from test opener to pinch hitter at number three, in addition to the Chappell-Dravid experiments, have only confounded matters, it’s worth asking, why is only Irfan Pathan deemed special enough to be experimented with?
Today, Pathan’s test batting average is in the low 30s, much like his bowling average. Dhoni’s test batting average is a tad higher than Pathan’s. But while Dhoni is a power center, Pathan is a mere pawn. In spite of this, Pathan continues to look good with the bat.
Another player who has looked good with the bat is Saurav Ganguly. Over the last year, he’s scored regularly. His career average is in the 40s, as is VVS Laxman’s, who has also had a good last year. Not so with Rahul Dravid, in spite of which he’s still perceived as India’s most reliable test batsman. Most impactful batsman: Virender Sehwag. Most influential batsman: Sachin Tendulkar. The last three with test averages in the 50s. Untouchables?
In the make-believe joint family of Indian test cricket, all these batsmen should play together in harmony. But after 76 all out, there is a dire need for accountability. And frankly dropping Wasim Jaffer, Irfan Pathan or R.P. Singh, and including Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma or even Munaf Patel is far from the answer.
This cannot be more dirt under the carpet like the World Cup first round ouster. Where players conveniently return after a short sojourn. Until the time when a Dhoni wins a World Cup and demands his own one-day team.
What happened? And why did it happen? Can the shareholders of Indian cricket have some answers?
Or do we continue to blame an expendable opener or lower middle batsman? That is always easier. As the highly respectable batting averages continue to maintain themselves. With some feel good cosmetic changes to the team. And the circus moves on to the next town!
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