The Hindu : Sport : Thinking has to be positive

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Wednesday, Dec 20, 2006
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Thinking has to be positive

Ganguly and Laxman proved that performance comes from experience, writes Makarand Waingankar

The exploits of both Sourav Ganguly and V. V. S. Laxman must have convinced those who decided to replace them (with domestic under performers) of the error. A month back, Laxman was not even in the scheme of things. Mysteriously, he is back as the vice-captain.

Though the balance sheet of the Indian team of the past season has given clear indication that the youngsters chosen to replace Ganguly and Laxman had not only more deficiencies in technique but also their temperament was suspect at times.

Yet they were persisted with. Hoping they would succeed immediately was unfair to them. Remember, they did not select themselves.

Mohammad Kaif with only seven first class hundreds and Suresh Raina with only two first class hundreds were expected to prove that experience is not everything.

They made a gallant effort with their body language. But a cricketer needs not only confidence but also cricketing intelligence and experience to effectively handle situations.

The mental make-up so very essential for a cricketer to succeed was evident when Ganguly and Laxman batted. And yet, for reasons best known to the decision-makers, that aspect was never considered.

If sidelining them had to do anything with discipline or fitness, then the selection committee ought to have referred the matter to the disciplinary committee. It is not that Kaif and Raina are not talented. They are oozing with talent but the selectors seem to have toed the line of the team-management in giving them a long rope.

While doing so, one did get the impression that having taken the decision to dump Ganguly for both versions of the game, the decision-makers were refusing to make amends.

Decision-making ought to be objective, but analyse the history of Indian cricket selections and it shows that most of the time the decisions have been subjective.

Baffling decisions

From middle-order batsman Jaisimha flown in for spinner Bhagwat Chandrasekhar to Australia (1967-68) to off spinner Noel David replacing medium pacer Javagal Srinath on the tour of West Indies (1997), selections have been baffling.

Those were days when professionalism was not there, but with top foreign coaches and support staff being invited to take the Indian team to another level, the thinking too ought to have sound cricketing logic. Sadly, the thinking has been so individualistic that even connoisseurs of the game have no answers.

A few years back, the BCCI asked sports psychologist Sandy Gordon to interview former Indian cricketers on their mental toughness. The study revealed a defining common streak among the most successful of the veterans of extreme competitiveness in their thinking. Ganguly and Laxman, being subjected to humiliation after performing consistently at the international level, too may have the same thinking. It is a lesson to aspiring youngsters keen on making a mark, that no matter what happens, the thinking has to be positive.

Cricket is a mental game, and the way Ganguly and Laxman batted at the Wanderers proved they spent equal number of hours conditioning their minds along with fitness and the nets.

Fitness training and net practice are visible. What is not visible is the process of conditioning of mind. That is seen when the body gets into right position when the team is under pressure. Ganguly and Laxman showed that.

Both needed to prove that experience and consistent performances matter, and for that one has to have the combination of high level of skill and mental toughness. When these aspects combine well, you watch the ball bisecting the fielders. We often hear class is permanent and form is temporary. We all saw it.

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