Indian captaincy — Time for a change

They had one simple strategy: Single out the rival skipper for `special’ treatment and shatter his confidence. With the head taken care of, the rest of the body would cave in.

Both Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards, as West Indies skippers put their quartet of fast bowlers to devastating use. The rival skipper was peppered with bouncers of searing pace and his poise and composure were systematically destroyed. Every team in the world was intimidated by their approach and caved in sooner or later.

Other teams, notably South Africa and Australia, understood the West Indian cricket philosophy and adopted it as their own. Those like Pakistanand to a lesser extent Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England were able to rise above their limitations as they used the attitude to shape their response.But India, barring some glorious exceptions like Sachin Tendulkar, Javagal Srinath, and Anil Kumble, still treat an international match like a picnic.The Indian skipper’s attitude is the worst. The recent series against Pakistan magnified this far beyond the confines of the playing field. The manner in which he was chatting up the Pakistani close-in fielders and bowlers while batting was sickening to watch.

One wondered how he could make all the small talk and grin at every opportunity when he should have been conserving all his energy in confronting the `enemy’. Thus, instead of having his adrenaline pumping and his determination and concentration at peak levels, his body language was all wrong and that of a loser.

The signals being sent out were alarming, and so diametrically opposite to that being sent out by a determined Tendulkar or a stubborn Dravid oreven a grim battling Kumble.

LUCK RUNNING OUT?: Perhaps this was the reason Azharuddin was always referred to as a `lucky’ captain and never a `shrewd’ or even good one. The results at home on tailor-made wickets overshadowed his flaws as a leader. And now perhaps even that luck has run out. (Of course Colombo with its flat wickets might be just the toe-hold he needs !)

His blaming the Calcutta defeat on VVS Laxman was the last straw. It was irrational, especially as the Saeed Anwar catch was dropped by Azharuddin and not Laxman. Perhaps the skipper should see the replays. Of course it is a part of the game that catches are sometimes dropped. But to blame it on a junior is simply not on.

Frankly, it is difficult to visualise this Indian team as champions with Azharuddin at the helm for the World Cup. Of course the team, with Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Srinath, Agarkar, Prasad and Kumble would be very capable. But can it afford a skipper whose body language is diametrically opposite to lead itschallenge ?

Perhaps the best course for Indian cricket would be to reinstate Tendulkar or even elevate Kumble to the captaincy post. If nothing they would bring a lot of aggression and seriousness to their work. May be that is just the spark of motivation India needs to grab the Cup again.

Lara’s fate on February 28

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) chief Steve Camacho has reacted angrily to a newspaper report that Brian Lara was to be sacked as captain for the upcoming series against Australia.

The Antigua Sun, quoting highly-placed cricket sources, said yesterday that Lara, who led West Indies to their worst defeat in 70 years when they went down 5-0 to South Africa in their recent Test series, would not be considered for the confrontation with Australia.

“I do not know where the writer of the article got his facts. Someone just seems to have prejudged the situation,” said Camacho.

“We have not had any recommendations from the selection committee. I am not even sure if they have decidedupon who they want to captain the side.”The selectors are due to meet next week to recommend a captain to the board, which will then ratify it on February 28.