Skip to main content

Veeru and Jai no more

Just as the lead characters in what is (arguably) India's best loved movie will remain cherished forever, Sehwag and Gambhir's will go down as India's best ever opening pair in history. The similarities are remarkable to say the least. There is of course the fact that Sehwag's nickname is the same as Dharmendra's character and he's also as easy-going yet destructive as the elder of the duo in the film. In fact, Sehwag's known to whistle/sing Kishore Kumar songs to himself while batting and maybe he sometimes hums one of the tunes that the legendary singer played back for Veeru? Gambhir on the other hand, reflects the same intensity and grit that Bachchan did as Jaidev and is also clearly the more compulsive thinker.

Together they created batting magic for India and (prior to May 2011), for all pairs that had scored more than 2000 runs opening the innings in Test matches, they had the fifth highest average of all-time (and the best post-1968) which is a phenomenal record by any standards. They averaged more than five more runs per innings compared to the next best Indian pair (Gavaskar-Chauhan) and more than two more compared to the next best modern pair (Gooch-Atherton). Since then though its been steadily downhill. Extending the previous list to date drops them down to eighth on the list (and the second-best Indian pair). To add to that, they have not lasted more than 20 overs together since December 2010. They are still second on the all-time ODI list (in terms of averages) for pairs that have scored more than 1500 runs opening the innings. That though masks the fact that they have put on 50 runs or more only thrice in their last 15 attempts.

Their individual records are even more dismal. Since May 2011, Sehwag averages 30.6 in Test matches (with no hundreds), 36.8 in ODIs (which is respectable but goes down to 21.6 when you remove the one freak knock of 219), and 16.2 in T20s (where he hasn't passed 30 once). Gambhir's figures are equally disappointing - 24.4 in Test matches (no hundreds either), 41.8 in ODIs (the one area bucking the trend), and 26.8 in T20s (though he did lead KKR to victory in the IPL). This at a time when the retirement of Dravid and Laxman plus Yuvraj's illness means that these two are the senior batsmen in the side after Tendulkar. To make matters worse, they are not the sprightliest in the field so that means that if they're not making runs, they are hard to keep in the side. Additionally, age is not on Sehwag's side and Gambhir doesn't look likely to become the next captain unless Dhoni suddenly decides to retire from one of the formats.

It'll be interesting to see where the two go from here and if they can turn things around. Sehwag's chances are low if you believe Greg Chappell and Osman Samiuddin's views and I personally find it hard to disagree with them. Gambhir has a better attitude and is also a few years younger so can hopefully stay fit and regain some touch. India can ill-afford to see both of them becoming IPL specialists only.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Et tu?

As a single sport website, I think Cricinfo has brought about a revolution and the fact that they were bought by ESPN is testament to how highly valued they've become. Their editing and approach to articles/opinion has been refreshing to say the least and even though they seem to have had a lot of editorial staff movement they've usually maintained very high standards. Off late though, both in their headline styles as well as in actual content, there seems to be an occasional slippage of standards and an inching towards the modern media sensationalism which is a bit of a pity. This piece  by Siddharth Monga is a classic example. Granted that the last two press conferences by Dhoni and Sehwag  indicated clearly that the captain and his deputy did not agree on this aspect of selection but "discord", "dissent", "public sniping" feels rather presumptuous and heavy handed. Yes, it is a team sport but there is no reason why everyone on the team needs ...

First thoughts on the Ashes

The only minor surprise for me in the 2013 Australian Ashes squad announced last week was the selection of James Faulkner ahead of Moises Henriques as the second all-rounder. Minor because given  the Shane Watson shenanigans of recent times, I would have thought that Inverarity and co would have opted for a second batting all-rounder (which is what Henriques clearly is). Instead they've gone with a bowling all-rounder in Faulkner and it'll be interesting to see what happens if Watson's batting woes in Test match cricket continue in the first two Tests. As for the rest of the squad, given the way the inexperienced batting performed in India, Rogers and Haddin were always going to make it in to the team and the choice of Khawaja over Smith appears sound too given that the latter's strength is in playing spin bowling. The batting still looks as unsettled and shaky as the Indian fast bowling line-up and its here that the series will be won or lost for the Aussies. The retu...

Much ado about a run-out

Judging by the amount that's been said and written about Ian Bell's run-out-that-wasn't at Trent Bridge, you would think that it has been the most significant occurrence of the series so far when nothing could be further from the truth. Andrew Miller  and Samir Chopra seem to be of the opinion that it was the crucial turning point in the match, which I completely disagree with (the post-tea sessions on days one and two were far more critical and momentum shifting). Andy Flower says that if Tendulkar had been run-out similarly in Bombay, it would have caused an international incident. He's clearly feeling the effects of having been in the England cricket set-up for too long given that a) its very improbable that Tendulkar would do something as daft as Bell did, and b) when a controversial run-out (but within the laws) did happen to him (against Pakistan at Eden Gardens no less), Tendulkar went out to the crowd and appealed to them to calm down and let the game proceed...