Chanderpaul: Contemporary Cricket’s Most Underestimated Batsman?

If you look at the career statistics of Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, it will suggest that he is among the best of batsmen who are current playing and that is across all forms of the game, i.e. the ODIs and test cricket. This might cause some of you to raise the argument that he hasn’t excelled in T20. However, it should be understood that this isn't because of his inability to adapt to the faster version of the game but simply due to lack of opportunities. For some reason, despite being the perennial saver for his team and an awesome ODI record, this guy is never counted among the current crop of batsmen who are often heralded as ‘greats’.I presume that this is due to two main factors. One, he is simply too raw in terms of handing the media part of one’s career that has become a necessity for the modern player. Even the newest of entrants in the Caribbean team can be seen making some form of a style statement by either covering themselves in oodles of gold or with some ritual-like dance after dismissing an opposition batsman. Some folks might say that this is a part of the Caribbean heritage but I would like to opine that these are simply practices stereotypes that are being done to make a splash in the media coverage of the game, ensuring that their overall marketability is sustained for money-making tournaments like the IPL or for county stints.
This is even more applicable to a West Indian player, considering that they lose so many matches that even centurions and five-wicket hauls are mentioned in a remote corner of the newspaper column. Secondly, Chanderpaul has a strange, un-classical batting stance which might be the reason that he is continuously omitted from the bracket containing stars like Sachin and Ponting. Some people might argue that the modern era of cricket is very accommodating in terms of accepting people with unconventional batting styles but I personally feel that the stance used by Chanderpaul is simply so hideous that it drives-out any form of serious praise that might be coming his way.

IPL3: The 'old' guys shining bright!

I have myself never bothered to think too much about the age factor at least when it comes to sports but it does seem that many of the players and coaches in international cricket do think that it is only youth that can survive the rawness with which T20 is played. I would like to point-out to these people that if the performances of IPL3 are closely watches, it seems that it is the older, more experienced guys who are excelling in performing consistently. Whether it is the sheer genius of the master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar or the prolific form of the very-consistent Kallis, it seems that experience does matter even when it comes to playing a game that many believe is all about batting like crazy and hit the living daylights out of the cricket ball. Yes, someone like Murali Vijay has been able to impress but what about the likes of Brave or Pollard or for that matter, the much talked-about, Rohit Sharma? These guys are supposed to be the force that is supposed to take T20 game forward, but they cannot seem to score some runs against the near, 40-yr old Kumble in a competition that isn't even being played with clear distinction in terms of representing your country.

Is Tendulkar's Epic Innings precursor to ODI 200s??

It is an unarguable fact that Sachin Tendulkar is perhaps the greatest batsmen in contemporary cricket even as the debate on his status as an all-time great among the game’s leading run-scorers will continue to seep into every cricketing conversation for many years to come. His most recent landmark—the 200+ score in an ODI may become something of a precursor, considering the amount of runs that are being scored in an average ODI game. It seems that scoring in excess of 300 runs is a mere formality when playing in the sub-continent and with Sachin’s record-breaking effort, the mental block of reaching the double-century mark in the 50-over game might have been broken. Considering the kind of batsmen that are opening the innings in the modern ODI format, from Sehewag to Gayle, and the mediocrity of the bowling oppositions, it might become a more regular feature than any of us could have imagined a couple of years back. I would say this is Sachin’s second biggest contribution in redefining the ODI game. Firstly, he single-handedly introduced the feature of an aggressive, opening bat who was relentless on the bowlers and the pattern was emulated by every international team. Now, he has reset the benchmarks for ODI openers and might have opened the floodgates for ODI doubles!!

Dhoni as the next ‘Tendulkar’??

I would like to clear-up before anyone reading this heading gets the wrong idea. I am not trying to suggest that in terms of batting greatness and his overall genius, Dhoni can takeover Tendulkar. I am simply suggesting that the time is near when Tendulkar’s presence as a part of the regular Indian team is bound to decline considerably, i.e. in the very near future. In this perspective, being perhaps the most consistent batsman in the team after
 Tendulkar and showing ample resolution to take upon the challenge in a crisis, shouldn’t Dhoni be prepared in the role of a batter-cum-captain, by freeing him from his wicket-keeping responsibilities? The reason why I say that is that no matter what experts say about cricketers doing double-edged roles today, wicket-keeping along with captaining the side and being a major wheel for the team’s middle-order performance is bound to take a toll on Dhoni at some point. Should the selectors take stock of how they plan to ensure that Tendulkar’s eventual absence in the team is compensated to some extent by having someone as reliable as Dhoni, up the order, as a specialist bastman? The point is that even if Dhoni is freed from his wicket-keeping responsibilities, the team’s balance wouldn’t suffer to a damaging effect. For starters, having Dhoni at number three would mean that more stability and tenacity would be maintained at the top. Further, some folks might recall that even as an occasional, part-time bowler Dhoni has bowled a few overs in the domestic circuit and in some test matches against Pakistan with his average speed around the 130 km/hr mark. Considering that most mainstream bowlers in the Indian squad bowl not more than 135 km/hr, this talent of Dhoni could be worked upon, essentially as a part-time contributor. With Dhoni and Yuvraj at number three and four in the batting order and their ability to share a bare minimum of eight overs among themselves, the inclusion of a specialist keeper like Dinesh Karthick would ensure that the team doesn’t lose out on either batting or bowling resources… though that is even hard to contemplate when a certain phenomenon called Sachin Tendulkar is missing from the equation.