Goodbye Robin

P Sreekaanth

This was an article that I wanted to write on Sunday morning. I had no idea that the selection of the one-day team was so near and hence did not 'MS WORD' down my thoughts. Now that the selection has been announced, I am mixing both my pre-selection sentiments and post-selection sentiments together.

First, what I wanted to write on Sunday morning:

I think that the time has come to make a change. We have to blood Sodhi. There is no point in continuing with Robin. I have read numerous articles suggesting that he continue for a year-and-a-half, be an assistant coach, Robin for Tests anyone and so on.

I am from Tamilnadu and every time a TN player is in the side (which is not often), I hope expectantly that they will deliver. I have admired Robin for a long time now. He is one TN player other than Srikkanth and Venkat who has had an extended run with the Indian team though it has been with the ODI team only. He has been a model of what I wish every TN or Indian player for that matter could be, but is often not. He is a team man, consistent, committed and his fielding leaves people like Sadagoppan Ramesh flatfooted despite the age difference. He has won matches by his fielding (Ricky Ponting in Nairobi). I honestly don't know whether he will make a good coach or not but to me going by the way he has always worn his flag on his sleeve in the playing field, he is good human being which means more in the long run.

Most TN players have a 'Rameshian' approach to cricket. Casual, lazy, laid-back. They irritate. Obvious talent, no focus. So often, they have been on the brink and so often they have failed. Sometimes it is thanks to biased selectors like the infamous period of the early nineties. But, if Sourav could kill the tag of a water boy to become a top class player what prevents the TN players from doing the same? When will someone tell them it is the age of professionalism, globalization and you need to be a Steve Waugh not a David Gower.

Instances from the recent Sharjah games. Sridharan Sriram getting out hooking twice. Badani in the last game hooking once, getting an edge over the keeper and then throwing his wicket away with an attempted pull. Where was the necessity to try the shot again. The obvious thing to do is to be professional and think right; no one is giving India or me a chance. Let me settle down and make a few runs. It will inspire more confidence in me for the future, maybe just maybe we could get close and if we make a decent score, we will atleast retain some pride. Maybe someone could do a thesis on why this attitude is prevalent in TN but not in Mumbai. Maybe like Jimmy Adams, TN should recruit a psychologist. I would have thought that this professional attitude is what should be drilled into the younger players from the start. I am surprised that we have not done this, the players themselves seem oblivious. It seems like TN players have not read about dodos who refused to change and became extinct.

However, I drift. There is so much of thinking and passion built into every cricket-loving Indian and there are millions that we could all be potential writers on cricket. To come back to what I want to say, the time has come, as the walrus said to the oysters. I remember this quote as we were once given a tough Maths quiz with this quote in the first page. About a hundred of us failed the test.

Robin has to go gracefully. He is old, his bowling is no longer very effective, he still bats well but he cannot remain in the team as a batsman. The crying need in the Indian ODI team is for at least two if not more good allrounders. Sunil Joshi could be one. Maybe Sadagopan Mahesh. But, Sodhi has to be given first try. I felt sad on Sunday thinking of what I was suggesting and I feel even sadder now seeing that the selectors have echoed my thoughts. But, the bottomline is clear. If we are to make a good showing in ODIs and if we want to focus on the World Cup, Sodhi is the first choice and we have to persist with him even against Australia.

As P Smith said: 'Robin has to go.' We should not go back to him. We should tell him, "Robin, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You showed us what is possible if an Indian cricketer is committed. But, we feel that the team needs to go forward from here and look at the World Cup." This should have been done prior to this selection meeting and I only hope that it was so. I wonder why no one has thought of a Harsha Bhogle avatar so far in his or her plans for Robin. He would make an excellent unbiased commentator.

It has been obvious from when Sachin took over and then Sourav that they do not place much reliance on Robin as a bowler. I hate to admit it but they are right. Of course, the TN bias in me makes me ask about Agarkar. When has he delivered the goods as a bowler in the recent past and why is Sachin and then Sourav so partial to him? Sachin preferred him to Thiru Kumaran and again I hate to admit it but he was right. One more TN player bites the dust.

But, definitely Agarkar is not good enough. If I were to select four bowlers, I would rather select Zaheer and Prasad and Joshi and Kumble for the ODIs. Agarkar is expensive and while he does take wickets with balls that don't deserve wickets, he is erratic, gives away too many runs and is not capable of applying pressure. Why are we forced to put up with him? He is unlikely to make the grade as an allrounder.

Again I drift. Back to Robin again. Once his utility as a bowler went, he has no place in my team and he should have no place in any fair team selection. My feedback would be for him to retire from the ODIs and coach a few younger TN players to imbibe his attitude. Robin was never an outstanding talent but he made it up with his attitude. If he teaches Sadagoppan Ramesh to go on to score a hundred every time he crosses 50 that would be a boon to Indian cricket. If he can teach Sriram and Badani not to believe that they are Sachin's reincarnations in the matter of pulling and hooking any bowler early in their innings, that would be equally great. If he can help the younger bowlers learn the virtues of Mcgrath line and length and ruthlessness, for after all commitment comes from a ruthless desire to excel, that would be fantastic.

But, his time for playing in the national team is over. Even if the selectors go back to him, he should refuse in the interests of India. He has been a person who has always tried his best to put the team before his personal goals. I hope he does so now in a most critical moment of his career.

Now about the other selections or should I say misselections

I feel that the selectors deserve a public trial for the meaningless things that they do and here is a prime example. Just as I was congratulating them mentally for bringing in Sodhi, in comes Nikhil chopra and S S Das? May God have mercy on us.

Das may yet prove me wrong and leave egg on my face as Sourav did in 1996 to Bedi, but I don't think so. Das may do well in India but whether he will be fit in the ODI arena given his traditional opener style, I am not sure. Not a single major ODI nation has a traditional slow scoring opener at the top. In all the Test matches, Ramesh has outscored Das. So what makes the selectors think he will suddenly become Sachin No 2. As to making him bat in the middle order, if I were Das though I know that I will get money and fame by being part of the ODI team, I would say no like Javagal Srinath.

First, they forced Laxman into opening the innings and gave him a nightmare and now they want Das to bat in the middle order.

If a replacement opener had to be in the side, Ramesh is a better bet than Das having already been in the ODI team and proving himself to some extent. In my opinion, we do not need a replacement opener as we have Sriram the third opener who is also in the team. So, what was the reason for Das's inclusion?

A few days back, I was reading Harsha Bhogle's article on the Board President's XI, and to me Das's inclusion seems a similar zonal quota. If a middle order batsman were to be needed, wouldn't Kaif be the right choice? Alternately, they could have gone in for another allrounder to try out in the Zimbabwe series. I feel that accountability has to be enforced on the selectors.

Nikhil Chopra? Please, why? He is not talented, he is definitely not another Robin and so why should we bear with him? Because he was proved innocent in the match-fixing scandal. It is senseless. Why don't they use Harbhajan, who is a better off spinner? If Harbhajan is still suspect for his action, the kinder option would be to tell him so directly.

We seem fated to watch a team that is quota based and not the best possible unlike in Australia. Take Michael Slater for example, an aggressive opener. Yet, he is not part of their ODI plans. No one is going to convince me that Das is better than Slater is. His captain calls Justin Langer the best batsman in the world. Yet he is not a part of their ODI team. In Australia, priority is to win the matches and the best 14 are selected. Here, it is to satisfy zonal priorities and aspire for votes in the subsequent elections.

We are the consumers and I hope that there is a consumer court which will allow us to take action against a) all such selection decisions b) DD's telecasting horrors being forced on us by the Board and c) the Board's lack of professionalism. As it always happens in India, it is the ultimate consumer (you and me) watching TV, buying products endorsed by cricketers who pay the price. Just as we do for our politicians who dole out gifts to their pet vote banks. Just as we do for our government agencies which most of the time fail to do an efficient job. Just as we do to so called public servants who expect us to pay 'bribes' for services for which they already draw a salary from the government.

Please spare us this nightmare.

Mail P Sreekaanth