Indian cricketers must take a leaf out of Australian cricket’s book
Indian cricketers must take a leaf out of Australian cricket's book
It is a known fact that Australia rules the roost in the cricketing arena. They have been force to reckon with since time immemorial. They have attained every feat possible in the 22-yard game. Since the first World Cup, they challenged the two powerhouses — West Indies and England — and attained the big trophy finally in 1987. The mighty Aussies (as they are vividly known) have dominated world cricket and never let any other team get a hook off them. The abundance of quality players they keep on producing is commendable, to say the least. How have they reached the pinnacle in this game may well remain a mystery? Or is it? It is not a mystery. They take their game damn seriously and the culture revolving around this sport is amazing. We have seen players like Andrew Symonds, Dirk Nannes and in the recent times, David Warner having evolved as player. It is the work process and mindset of Australians which sets them apart from their contemporaries. Full Cricket Scorecard: Australia vs South Africa, tri-nation series 206, Match 3 at Guyana
The Proteas have a lot of fire in them but succumb to pressure. The New Zealand team is starting to come good. On the other hand, the Indian cricket team has become stronger with time because they have had good captains in the past few years and the insanity of treating cricket as a ‘religion’ works well for them. Having said this, are all Indian players learning with every game or series? Sure they are but it has not been evident in some players’ performances till now. The likes of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, of late, have been the driving force of the new Indian cricket team. MS Dhoni is master of all trades so he is excluded from this list. He is a proven match-winner since the past decade. The likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan need to revamp their careers as soon as possible. These left-handed batsmen have a tendency to throw their wickets and deteriorate their positions in the team. They can learn and make huge impacts for themselves and the side by following the Australian team and their tough ways.
Every team trains hard. There is no second though on this. The question is what creates difference in two teams and their performances. Mindset sets them apart. Jadeja plays a lot of shots since the start of his innings. He looks in a hurry to pile up runs. This is where he leads to his downfall. A batsman should play every ball according to their merit. Same goes for the Delhi lad, Dhawan. The moment an opponent team’s skipper puts fielders in his usual playing areas, he looks clueless. A thinking cricketer eases the job of a captain. Both Jadeja and Dhawan have immense potential and have shown it to the world as well, but their inconsistency not only hurts the team but also their avid followers, cricket writers and analysts.
Warner has recently been most productive for his team. In his early days, he was reckless. He has changed his playing style. He is aggressive but has churned down his aggression with the willow at the start of an innings. He starts off at a good pace and then is calculative in the middle overs after which he explodes in the death. Dhawan tries the same but his confidence is shaky at the start. The former scores well above him as confidence play a vital part in a player’s growth. Raina has psychologically bowed down to bouncers and this is where mindset comes into play. He is a fighter on the field who always is seen cheering up the lads when the going gets tough, but coming to his batting, he gives up and does not think as much as required.
If we compare the away averages of Australia’s most dependable middle-order batsman, Micheal Hussey and Andrew Symonds the picture becomes much clear. They have been excellent when it comes to adapting in different conditions. From the period of 2005-2012, Hussey’s batting average stands at a healthy 50.62. Symonds was never a great all-rounder but still averaged 43.30 during 1998-2008, in which he got better and better from the mid 2000s. On the other hand, Raina and Jadeja average 36.50 from 2009 to 2016. The numbers look decent but this is where they fall behind. They have been good, at times, but never been extraordinary.
The Australian cricket team stands out because they work extra hard and most importantly; execute their strategies on the field. The other teams challenge or replace them from the No. 1 position, at times, but they always find a way to crawl from behind and stay at the top for long. Their functioning, grooming and consistency of players is outstanding and other teams should take a leaf out from them.
(Aditya Sahay is journalist with CricketCountry who is completely into sports and loves writing about cricket in general. He can be followed on Twitter at adisahay7)