Blog Posts by Venkat Ananth

On their on-going tour of India, the biggest event in the Australian camp has occurred off the field and did not even involve the opposition. Australia’s bizarre axing of Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja did inject some interest in the series. But it has reduced the fading rivalry to a farce. 

In 1996, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy began on a dustbowl in Delhi, paving the way for one of the most gripping rivalries in international Test cricket. It enriched the game in general. The early legacy of the rivalry was shaped by the promise of a challenge: while both teams were nearly unbeatable at home, the challenge was to prevail in foreign conditions. From the fast, bouncy tracks in Brisbane and Perth to the sandpits or minefields in Mumbai and Chennai, the contests between the two nations redefined modern cricket in a way that few have.

At home, India were incredibly tough to beat. Australia had to wait 35 years for a series win in India when, in 2004, Adam Read More »from The death of a rivalry

For a generation that seems to be immersed in the brevity of the format that predominates India's cricketing narrative off-late, the Twenty20 - the Ranji Trophy might come across as a product not worth consuming - unattractive, stale, ho-hum and perhaps static. It comes across as a theatre sans the absurd cacophony, set at times in an ambience where the very charm lies in the tranquility of proceedings.

There's a genuine sense of modesty as far as the Ranji is concerned, a tournament that comes stripped of the exhibitionist facade that Indian cricket has tended to put in the last five years or so. In a sense, this is an entirely different world - quite lonely, in fact - a world where greed doesn't equal more money or bizarre kamikaze valuations, but equals runs or wickets with that eternal hope of visibility, or that single-minded aspiration of making it to the big-time.

There's so much to love about the Ranji Trophy, despite it's oft stated deficiencies (the standards, the pitches, the Read More »from The earthy charm of the Ranji Trophy

As unfortunate as it might seem, it’s perhaps getting easier for Gautam Gambhir to memorise and state convenient stats than conjure up a useful Test knock at the top of the order. By resorting to number-crunching, widely considered as the last credible attempt by reasonably successful sportsmen to save their legacy and justify their relevance, Gambhir has discursively given away the fact that he’s struggling, short of confidence and indeed, short of runs. It’s not as if Gambhir is a lone ranger here, for we’ve seen Indian cricketers  tediously harp on their past performances with stat-attacks - the likes of Harbhajan Singh or for that matter even Sourav Ganguly towards his fade away phase. And as much as these numbers do count for something, the lack of honesty in acknowledging failure is inexplicable.

Undoubtedly, the numbers that Gambhir let-off so convincingly do add up - the fact that both he and his partner Virender Sehwag have collectively managed to average 52.69 in their Read More »from Testing times for Gautam Gambhir

Around this time last fortnight, as the BCCI met for one of its landmark boardroom events, the Annual General Meeting - they had an imperative task at hand which could perhaps define the route Indian cricket has chosen to take for the next year. The suits had to sit together and pick a national selection committee to succeed Kris Srikkanth & Co and in their wisdom and in a first, much unlike the usual bazaar like cacophony, negotiations, politicking etc and resisting every zonal pressure that came their way, they chose Sandeep Patil and his colleagues as the five supposedly-wise men to take and make decisions. Patil, who has previously involved himself with Indian cricket in various capacities as a coach and until recently, the director of the National Cricket Academy, was appointed Chairman of Selectors, with the likes of Saba Karim, Vikram Rathour, Rajinder Singh Hans and Roger Binny as his new colleagues in the job. Save Roger Binny, none of the other four selectors were first

Read More »from Selective attention: All eyes on Patil & Co.

First things first, and I thought India Under-19’s successful campaign in the recently concluded World Cup was special for a variety of reasons. They tasted defeat upfront, came through fixtures that could have gone either way with a sense of character not expected of teenagers, and ultimately, excelled in the final.

This was an eventual culmination of everything they did right and went through together as a squad over the last two years.

The BCCI, whom I otherwise have no particular love for, deserve every ounce of credit coming their way for their work in age-group cricket, for their proactive measures in ensuring this success. It’s an aspect of Indian cricket they’ve always believed in, and taken whatever steps needed to facilitate age-group cricket. While celebrations are a must, especially for a bunch of lads who’ve been through the classic ups and downs in the last two years, a little sense of perspective will help, and hopefully prevail.

THE REAL STORY
While praise is somethingRead More »from Mind the gap

It's finally here - a rather unusually scheduled home season that most of us have been looking forward to for reasons that range from the curious to the exciting. The curiosity, or rather a sense of anxiety that has been fuelled by the retirements of two of Indian Test cricket's stalwarts. The much-discussed transition is now a matter of reality and not just your average pub chat in Bengaluru or Hyderabad.

The exciting part about this very phase is the sheer joy of watching youth in action, trying in their own little way of finding their feet in the big time, trying to admonish whatever little self-doubts they had, trying to show and prove that they belong there and set the narrative for hopefully, years to come. The next eighteen months, a majority of which India will spend playing its best cricket at home, will play a critical role in setting the blueprint for its long-term future.

This blueprint I am referring to requires a pretty clear and specific mission - the next overseas tour isRead More »from India roll up sleeves for busy season ahead

Braving the ever-caustic Chennai heat and more than a few trickles of sweat down my face, I made my way to the team hotel on the day of the IPL final. What I expected was a routine interview - the interviewer speaks, more often than not interrupts and the interviewee talks on, regardless. Frankly speaking, it was quite the opposite with Ravichandran Ashwin, as he made his way to the breakfast table for what would be a fascinating conversation about international cricket, dealing with a broken wrist, spin-bowling and well, domestic cricket. Thankfully, we managed to keep the IPL out of the way for a fair bit. It’s been that kind of a season for Ashwin, an eventful start against the West Indies with a bucketful of wickets, a Test hundred, a man of the series award and importantly, marriage. And then, a tour to Australia - an assignment which Indian cricketers say, makes men out of boys and vice-versa.
 
A quick review of what he learnt in his first year of international cricket resulted Read More »from 'To be an international cricketer, you need to be a survivor more than a performer'

For Ishant Sharma, this forced break couldn’t have come at a better time. It meant that he’d be watching his franchise play the IPL from either the National Cricket Academy or his home, located in the little vicinage of South Patel Nagar in the heart of West Delhi. He doesn’t regret it though, as the time-off from the rigours of bowling has given way to an ardent stint in introspection and study about his recent performances with the national team. The good news, however, is that Ishant, midway through his post-surgery rehabilitation has started bowling, albeit off six steps and if all goes well, is scheduled to put himself up for contention when England turn visitors this winter.

“I am not quite missing the IPL, because for me playing for the country comes first. If this injury break can help me come back better for India, I think it is worth it,” Ishant says rather assuredly when asked about this break. He adds, “I’ll take my time and ease myself into cricket. Last time, I didn’t rush

Read More »from Ishant Sharma 2.0