Thursday, March 17, 2011

MASTER-PLAN !!

WC is about to reach the knock-out stages and as expected, there’s hue-and-cry everywhere about the weaknesses of Indian team, ineffective bowling attack, slacky fielding etc etc. Lots of cricket experts are stressing on the implementation of basics and other traditional methods in the training sessions. But the thing is other teams are also following the same strategy and methods to improve the concerned departments, thus in spite of doing all this we will be at most as good as others, not better than them. To have the edge we should try something different, something extraordinary, out of the box. Here are few things which we can try out-
Fielding is our major area of concern. Except for a few descent ones (yuvi, kohli, raina), rest of the team is quite hopeless. What they can do is- whenever the ball goes to any fielder, people around the stump should start shouting ‘yuvi or kohli’ to give batsmen the feel that the fielder is a quick one. Changing the look of the Munafs and Zaheers (hairstyle etc) to match those of quicker fielders can further help in deception.
We also lack bowlers who are good at breaking partnerships. We cant generate those bowlers overnight, so we have to work something else out. One way is to make 3-4 players bald and position them such that the light reflects from their shinny skull directly in the batsmen eyes. Some kind of oil or glow lotions can be used to improve the effect. To further distract the batsman’s concentration, Dhoni should deliver some deadly PJs regularly shortening their temper.
With a top order consisting of Sachin and Sehwag, often we get a blistering start. The problem is to maintain the momentum after a great start. Here we can use a bit of Physics to handle the situation. We all know that ‘Momentum = Mass * Velocity (run-rate in this case)’. As a wicket falls down, the run-rate is bound to slow up a bit. So to keep the momentum going (constant), we should increase the mass (send the batsmen with max weight). Thus Gambhir and Kohli shouldn’t be sent after a fast start.
Some experts also feel that there is lack of team-spirit in the Indian team. Some players drink pepsi, some coke, some boost, some milk etc. If the team is not united on a small thing such as drink…how can they be united on bigger things. Imagine the team goes to a shop in which only Pepsi is there. Sehwag would be drinking it and teasing Sachin “Hey sachin…wheres the secret of your energy!”. The solution is that BCCI should manufacture a new drink consisting of each of these mixed in equal proportion. Now nobody will feel left-out and the bonding between the players will grow stronger.
Often Indian team is accused of not having the ‘killer instinct’. To remedy this players should be having regular sessions on computer games full of violence such as Counter Strike, Quake etc. After having multiple headshots and knifing the enemies can awaken the ‘killer instinct’ inside them. To extend their killer-instinct concept to the living world,killing cockroaches and rats left in their rooms can also be tried.
Another area in which we are constantly faltering is when to use the UDRS. One solution is to have a team staff watch the match on TATA SKY ( HD highlights on demand from different angles). Then he can give some signal to the captain whether to take the review or not.
Come up with your own deadly ideas and put them up in the comments section.
Amit Ranjan for DieHard Cricket Fans

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