16 October, 2000

Good day all -- the Rediff Diary, after a hiatus, resumes herewith.

Six months ago, if someone had suggested that India would actually make the finals of a tournament involving the ten Test nations, plus the host country; that too in a knockout format after being drawn to play the world's number one and two ranked nations in the preliminary stages, he would have been laughed out of court.

Yet, that is precisely what has happened, and that seems to me cause for some celebration. More so, since it comes at a time, and after a tortured 12 months, that have given us no excuse whatsoever for joy.

For me, though, there is a greater reason for celebration -- and it lies in the fact that the three wins registered by India in the tournament came not from individual brilliance, but through committed team-work. Sure, there were standout individual performances -- but we've had those before, without however being able to translate that into results. A good team is one where the stars are backed by the workers, the ones who look after the nuts and bolts and ensure that the machinery works smoothly -- and in that sense, this Nairobi safari provided some real cause for cheer. For once, India played not as 11 individuals wearing a common uniform, but as a team in the real sense of the word, and the difference in performance levels was immediately apparent.

There are a few worries -- quite big ones -- evident even now. But for once, let's shrug the worries aside for a day (Does that sound like I'm paving the way for tomorrow's diary, aka diatribe?) and see the good bits.

Good bit number one: Zahir Khan. Three years ago, I'd visited my old school, Madras Christian, now the home of the MRF Cricket Academy. They have this interesting array of pitches -- the first is a typical Indian wicket; the second is what would qualify as a good Test wicket; the third is unabashedly fast, sort of like the Durban and Perth wickets when India is the opponent; and the fourth is dead, period. The idea, apparently, is to get trainees used to bowling in all possible conditions, so that they can learn to adjust their bowling to suit.

That was where I first saw Zahir Khan -- at that time, a teenage tearaway who, to the naked eye, seemed noticeably faster than Srinath. After watching him bowl for a while, I asked Dennis Lillee whether he thought the lad was ready for the big time. Lillee's reaction was immediate: "Don't write about him! Indians have this problem, once they are written about they think they have arrived and have nothing more to learn. The lad's quick, but he needs to learn seam and swing before he is ready for the big time." Lillee said, then, that in his opinion, it would be at least two years before the young left-hander was match ready.

It's now three years. Lillee was off by about 12 months -- but then, how was he to budget for the politics that invariably plague Indian cricket at all levels? Zahir Khan languished in Bombay, sitting on the bench because the Bombay management in its wisdom thought that Abey Kuruvilla, Paras Mhambrey and Ajit Agarkar were the better bowlers. It took a move to Baroda before Zahir could finally break through the glass ceiling.

Today, I'd think he is a yard or two slower than when I first saw him -- but cent per cent better. At the academy pitches, he was just steaming in and slinging them down -- quick, yes, but nothing to alarm international batsmen reared on a diet of pure pace. Today, he has learnt to work the angle that comes naturally to the left arm quick, he swings it away, he seams it both ways, he bowls a classy yorker -- and remember, he is less than midway through the learning curve. A few matches spent bowling in tandem with Srinath should further that learning experience, and make him a finished product.

An opening attack with one right arm quick complemented by a left arm quick? Now that would be to die for.

The other, is Yuvraj. With the casual arrogance of the really talented. And the exuberance, the in-your-face attitude that is the prerogative of the really young, the hallmark of those who are yet to feel the chill of defeat.

What strikes you about his batting is the enormous amount of time he has to play his shots, a certain lazy elegance in execution (both reminiscent, in fact, of Sadagopan Ramesh), and a power that is all the more striking because it is not really in evidence. I mean, he doesn't club the ball, like say a Gilchrist or an Afridi or a Jayasuriya -- yet the end result is the same. Power, accompanied by such economy of effort, is thus doubly impressive.

Couple that with fielding ability that, in the space of just three games, has seen him displace Robin Singh as the permanent presence at point, and Yuvraj becomes another entry, in bold, in the credit side of the ledger. His left arm spin is the least impressive of his cricketing attributes, but he did show in course of his spell against New Zealand in the final that he has a cool head on his shoulders, knows to bowl to his field, and is content to just do the job without trying to be a hero. All of which means that when India's bowling is back at full strength, he gives the captain a very valuable wild card option.

So let's see -- team spirit, and two young kids who show promise of permanence. Not too bad, for a season-opening outing, really.

I'm tempted, in passing, to raise a cheer for Federal Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. It was he -- in tandem with the Finance and Home Ministry mandarins -- who insisted that Azharuddin, Jadeja, Chopra and Mongia should be dropped. In fact, he even went so far as to inform the BCCI that if those four picked for the touring party, the team wouldn't be given the necessary permission to go abroad.

That opened the door for the two youngsters. More importantly, that brought back, into the Indian cricketing matrix, a commodity that has been sorely missing in recent times. Thus, for once, the team played with an almost complete freedom from politics and personalities. And in the process, proved the point that 11 guys playing as one unit is any day preferable to 11 stars each doing his own thing.

Thanks, meanwhile, for bearing with us while we took that one month break. Normal service resumes with this edition and, here on in, we will be with you six days out of seven.

Have a great day, all.

PREM

Mail Cricket Editor