Finally, the Indians have really started looking quite confident. The earlier victory against Zimbabwe was a good morale booster. But, there was absolutely no necessity of attributing the success to the team’s unity and the team spirit. When the team starts losing match after match consistently, the (team) spirit gets evaporated in no time.In fact, the recent huddle syndrome now being exhibited by the Indian team was displayed prominently in all newspapers at home. But wasn’t it in vogue a long time ago? The only difference was that it used to be at the beginning of each day’s play after the warming-up session with a pep-talk from the coach. It wasn’t showcased every time the wicket fell.Yes, the Indian team is always in a hurry to pass on the credit, even if the victory is against a weaker team, mostly to the paid employees of BCCI from outside the country. If the Indian team starts looking fit, it’s the foreign physiotherapist and the trainer who are showered with praise.If somebody scores a brilliant hundred or takes five wickets, it’s the foreign coach who gets into the limelight and in the process, gets his fabulous package renewed. And if you notice huddle or slight change in fortunes, it is the psychologist from Australia who gets all the credit.Why is there no accountability demanded from these persons when the team fares badly? In other countries, it is the team which is given all the credit for a good performance.Anyway, the Indian team must have drawn a great deal of inspiration unveiling the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Ironically, though the Mahatma led us to Independence 56 years ago, we are dependent on foreign coaches, physios, consultants. With so much money in the coffers of BCCI, why can’t our specialists be sent abroad to update their knowledge?Now that India has won against Namibia the babes, without any hiccups for a change and with Sachin getting his 34th hundred in the ODIs and Saurav looking good for big runs ahead, it now requires only one more match to win in Pool A to qualify for the Super Six.Yes, there’s always chance of a slip between the cup and the lips but still India shouldn’t have many problems in beating either England or Pakistan, whom they have beaten many a times in the past.And if it’s Pakistan, nothing like it. Everyhting seems to be in our favour to do so especially because Pakistan’s batting line up is currently in disarray. And remember, they have never won against us in the World Cup.
