Published: Aug 15, 2011, 11:42 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 21, 2014, 08:34 PM (IST)
By Nishad Pai Vaidya
The Indian team in England has hogged all the limelight for the wrong reasons. With the series gone and along with it the No 1 ranking, Indian cricket is facing the kind of crisis that it has not seen in a long time. However, in the midst of the entire crisis, another Indian team has done very well Down Under. The Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian side in the Emerging Players Tournament have finished on top of the table in both the four-day matches and the T20 games.
The Emerging Players Tournament held Down Under is a yearly event where new players get recognition. As the name suggests, it is for the emerging players of the participating countries and is an ideal opportunity for them to knock the doors of their respective senior sides. With the main Indian team in all sorts of trouble in England, the selectors and the Board have to take the performances of the emerging players very seriously.
India sent a 15-man squad, out which players such as Shikhar Dhawan, Manoj Tiwary, R Vinay Kumar, Saurabh Tiwary and Umesh Yadav have already represented India at the highest level in limited-overs internationals. For these players this tournament was to continue their good work so that they do not go off the selector’s radar. For players like Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Ambati Rayadu, Varun Aaron and Rahul Sharma, it was an ideal opportunity to fast-track their elevation to the highest level.
With questions being asked about the Indian batting in England and also the future after the trio (Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid) call it a day, it is apt to look at the top batsmen for India in the three-day games at the Emerging Players Tournament. The fact that they have done well in Australia would keep them in contention when the senior side makes its trip at the end of this year.
Manoj Tiwary and Rahane were the stars without doubt. Both of them performed brilliantly in the three-day games and averaged over 60. The other batsmen like Saurabh Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan and Manish Pandey did decently well but Manoj Tiwary and Rahane stood out due to the number of runs they amassed.
| Player |
M |
Runs |
Avge |
100s/50s |
Highest |
| Manoj Tiwary |
3 |
306 |
76.50 |
1/1 |
188 |
| Ajinkya Rahane |
3 |
274 |
68.50 |
2/0 |
109 |
| Saurabh Tiwary |
3 |
229 |
57.25 |
1/0 |
151 |
| Shikhar Dawan |
3 |
205 |
41.00 |
1/0 |
146 |
| Manish Pandey |
2 |
162 |
81.00 |
0/2 |
96 |
The reason why Manoj Tiwary and Rahane stand out is that they have scored over fifty more than once. Although, Pandey scored two fifties and averages 81, it must be remembered that he played only two games and had only two outings in the middle. Ashok Menaria, too, was amongst the centurions but that came in his only knock in the three-day games.
It is time Manoj Tiwary gets a longer run in the international side. He played a solitary One-Day International in 2008 and was discarded after he failed to impress in his only outing. The West Indies tour earlier this year marked his comeback, but in two innings there he couldn’t impress the selectors to keep his place for the tour of England.
The kind of talent he has, he should be groomed well so that he is ready to step into the Test side. He averages 55.59 in 50 first class games and although he can be a bit unorthodox with his technique, the fact remains that he has shown the ability to play the longer format of the game. It is time he gets a proper chance to show it at the highest level.
Like Tiwary, Rahane has been consistently scoring in Indian domestic cricket. He has shown the ability to get huge scores and has become a mainstay in the Mumbai batting line-up. What impresses one about Rahane is that he is technically correct and has most of the textbook shots in his repertoire. A first-class average of 67.72 after 48 games shows that he has been consistent and that should be rewarded with a call-up to the senior side. In the age of T20s it is good to see a youngster who follows the copybook and is in the classical mould.
The reason why Rahane and Manoj Tiwary should be considered ahead of the likes of Saurabh Tiwary, and Pandey is that they seem more suited for the longer version than the other two. Tiwary and Pandey have done really well in T20 cricket and still need to play a lot more Ffirst class cricket to get ready for the highest level. Rahane and Manoj Tiwary have played over 45 First class games and their average indicates that they have been very consistent.
On the other hand Dhawan will have to wait for his chance because India have Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir as the openers and Abhinav Mukund and Murali Vijay waiting in the wings. If Dhwan shows more consistency at the top, he may push his case ahead of the likes of Mukund and Vijay.
India have made the mistake by roping in players in the Test side based on their performance in the limited-overs games. Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh’s struggles prove this point. Players like Manoj Tiwary and Rahane average a lot more than Raina and Yuvraj in first class cricket. Thus, it is time Indian selectors pick the players who have done well in first class cricket and not base their decisions on performances in ODIs.
Manoj Tiwary, and Rahane are the future of Indian cricket and it is time they are given the right direction by the Indian set-up.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya, a 20-year-old law student, is a club and college-level cricketer. His teachers always complain, “He knows the stats and facts of cricket more than the subjects we teach him.”)
