Dear Mr.Gary Kirsten,
Your wards face an epic/titanic clash against the men from the Caribbean Isles on the hallowed pitch of Chennai's Chepauk stadium on Sunday March 20,2011 with serious doubts being raised about their status as overwhelming favourites to win this edition of the World Cup,mental fortitude and toughness to overcome and surmount the pressure of expectations exerted by their legion of expectant fans,stubornness,bullheadeness and egos of the team management and captain with regard to changes of personnel,unnecessary and unimaginative changes in the batting order when least required,the timing of the batting powerplays and last but not the least,the perennial problems associated with an underperforming bowling attack and arguably worst fielding unit in the World Cup.
The pride and confidence of the men in blue must be severely dented by the loss to the Proteas in their last outing and they must be believing their doubts and doubting their beliefs as the irrepresible Sardar Navjot Singh Sidhu is prone to remark.While Messrs Tendulkar and Sehwag have got the team of to a more than reasonable start more often than not, the middle order comprising of the likes of Gambhir,Kohli,Yuvraj,Dhoni and Yusuf pathan has put paid to the effort of the dynamic duo more often than not.
While Gambhir has not exactly set the Ganges on fire as yet with his exploits in the World Cup thus far,Kohli seems to be afflicted with the strange problem of being unsure about his batting position and precise role within the batting set up.Yuvraj has certainly shown welcome signs of returning to his best form with three fifty plus scores on the trot,but the lower middle order has certainly been a cause for concern as both Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan have not fired even once in the five matches played by the team thus far and for reasons best known to the team management, the hapless Yusuf Pathan has been shifted up and down the batting order like a yo yo despite the entire world and it's cousin being aware of the fact that Pathan has been most effective at number 6 or 7 in the batting order and all his sterling deeds thus far have come at those numbers.
So much for the ills that plague the batting,the less said about the exploits of the Indian bowlers thus far the better,while Zaheer Khan has been the only spark on the horizon,Harbhajan's loss of wicket taking form is surely a cause for worry and consternation as Harbhajan has always been regarded as the spin bowling spearhead after the retirement of India's best ever spinner Anil Kumble and his failure to pick up atleast a brace of wickets in every match thus far must indeed be causing sleepless nights for the team management.
Nehra has been an enigma with his blow hot blow cold exploits and tendency to get injured at the wrong time,one surely expected much better from this experienced Delhi pacer who shone on the World stage with his exploits during India's 2003 World Cup outing and on many a subsequent occasion,Munaf Patel has been the epitome of predictability with his stereotyped line and length bowling and his abject failure to infuse or introduce any variations to his repertoire makes him a sitting duck for a marauding opposition batsman who is willing to move about the crease and dance down the pitch when least expected to.
Piyush Chawla has only flattered to deceive thus far,his sterling exploits in the warm up game against the mighty Aussies at Bengaluru's M.Chinnaswamy Stadium did indeed warm the cockles of one's heart and raise expectations that he would prove to be India's surprise weapon in this edition of the World Cup,but, his subsequent efforts with the ball have all but eroded the new found confidence in his bowling abilities but also raised questions about his place in the side as he is keeping a red hot Ashwin out of the side with his pedestrian performance that would shame any two bit leg spinner worth his salt.Pray, can you throw some light on the fact as to why Ashwin has not got a single game so far despite acquitting himself more than creditably in the limited opportunities provided to him thus far.
You are on record as having said that expecting an overnight change in team India's fielding standards would indeed be an exercise in futility and fodder for a fool's brain.You have been around for the best part of three or more years and also had the added support of India's best ever fielders Robin Singh for more than a year and a half as India's fielding coach,yet the team's abysmal fielding standards and less than sterling exploits on the field make us hang our heads in shame and wonder when the day will come when India will be regarded as a safe if not spectacular fielding unit,the fielding is one area that requires maximum attention,and one is sorry to say that you have not paid due diligence to India's fielding.
One can only hope and pray that you and Dhoni get the team composition and batting order right at last and bring Ashwin into the team in place of a struggling Piyush Chawla and rope in Sreesanth in place of a stereotyped Munaf Patel cause one more defeat to the men in maroon might well see the men in blue knocked out well before they were meant to be knocked out of a tournament of this magnitude and importance.
Here's wishing you and wards godspeed and all the best of luck for your fortcoming match against the once mighty West Indians.
Regards,
Sundeep Chopra.
Your wards face an epic/titanic clash against the men from the Caribbean Isles on the hallowed pitch of Chennai's Chepauk stadium on Sunday March 20,2011 with serious doubts being raised about their status as overwhelming favourites to win this edition of the World Cup,mental fortitude and toughness to overcome and surmount the pressure of expectations exerted by their legion of expectant fans,stubornness,bullheadeness and egos of the team management and captain with regard to changes of personnel,unnecessary and unimaginative changes in the batting order when least required,the timing of the batting powerplays and last but not the least,the perennial problems associated with an underperforming bowling attack and arguably worst fielding unit in the World Cup.
The pride and confidence of the men in blue must be severely dented by the loss to the Proteas in their last outing and they must be believing their doubts and doubting their beliefs as the irrepresible Sardar Navjot Singh Sidhu is prone to remark.While Messrs Tendulkar and Sehwag have got the team of to a more than reasonable start more often than not, the middle order comprising of the likes of Gambhir,Kohli,Yuvraj,Dhoni and Yusuf pathan has put paid to the effort of the dynamic duo more often than not.
While Gambhir has not exactly set the Ganges on fire as yet with his exploits in the World Cup thus far,Kohli seems to be afflicted with the strange problem of being unsure about his batting position and precise role within the batting set up.Yuvraj has certainly shown welcome signs of returning to his best form with three fifty plus scores on the trot,but the lower middle order has certainly been a cause for concern as both Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan have not fired even once in the five matches played by the team thus far and for reasons best known to the team management, the hapless Yusuf Pathan has been shifted up and down the batting order like a yo yo despite the entire world and it's cousin being aware of the fact that Pathan has been most effective at number 6 or 7 in the batting order and all his sterling deeds thus far have come at those numbers.
So much for the ills that plague the batting,the less said about the exploits of the Indian bowlers thus far the better,while Zaheer Khan has been the only spark on the horizon,Harbhajan's loss of wicket taking form is surely a cause for worry and consternation as Harbhajan has always been regarded as the spin bowling spearhead after the retirement of India's best ever spinner Anil Kumble and his failure to pick up atleast a brace of wickets in every match thus far must indeed be causing sleepless nights for the team management.
Nehra has been an enigma with his blow hot blow cold exploits and tendency to get injured at the wrong time,one surely expected much better from this experienced Delhi pacer who shone on the World stage with his exploits during India's 2003 World Cup outing and on many a subsequent occasion,Munaf Patel has been the epitome of predictability with his stereotyped line and length bowling and his abject failure to infuse or introduce any variations to his repertoire makes him a sitting duck for a marauding opposition batsman who is willing to move about the crease and dance down the pitch when least expected to.
Piyush Chawla has only flattered to deceive thus far,his sterling exploits in the warm up game against the mighty Aussies at Bengaluru's M.Chinnaswamy Stadium did indeed warm the cockles of one's heart and raise expectations that he would prove to be India's surprise weapon in this edition of the World Cup,but, his subsequent efforts with the ball have all but eroded the new found confidence in his bowling abilities but also raised questions about his place in the side as he is keeping a red hot Ashwin out of the side with his pedestrian performance that would shame any two bit leg spinner worth his salt.Pray, can you throw some light on the fact as to why Ashwin has not got a single game so far despite acquitting himself more than creditably in the limited opportunities provided to him thus far.
You are on record as having said that expecting an overnight change in team India's fielding standards would indeed be an exercise in futility and fodder for a fool's brain.You have been around for the best part of three or more years and also had the added support of India's best ever fielders Robin Singh for more than a year and a half as India's fielding coach,yet the team's abysmal fielding standards and less than sterling exploits on the field make us hang our heads in shame and wonder when the day will come when India will be regarded as a safe if not spectacular fielding unit,the fielding is one area that requires maximum attention,and one is sorry to say that you have not paid due diligence to India's fielding.
One can only hope and pray that you and Dhoni get the team composition and batting order right at last and bring Ashwin into the team in place of a struggling Piyush Chawla and rope in Sreesanth in place of a stereotyped Munaf Patel cause one more defeat to the men in maroon might well see the men in blue knocked out well before they were meant to be knocked out of a tournament of this magnitude and importance.
Here's wishing you and wards godspeed and all the best of luck for your fortcoming match against the once mighty West Indians.
Regards,
Sundeep Chopra.
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