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Maybe they should start by inquiring into whether or not they overrate their players.
Inquest into World Cup flop
April 01 2007 at 10:31AM [SIZE=+1][/SIZE]By Yusuf Manjoo
The Board of Control for Cricket in India will conduct a post mortem on the country's disastrous World Cup campaign, following India's premature exit after losses to Sri Lanka and minnows Bangladesh.
The inquest on India's poor performances will begin by interviewing captain Rahul Dravid, coach Greg Chappell and manager Sanjay Jagdale. Administrators will then speak to former Indian captains, including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri, for advice.
There are calls for heads to roll, but there's also the cautious approach to avoid extreme changes. After all, this is the same squad many neutral pundits believed was one of the hot favourites. It wasn't long ago that India were boasting that their top order scored more one-day international (ODI) runs than any other team in the World Cup.
Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid and Sourav Ganguly scored an amazing total of 35 297 runs. If one thought this was down to the flatter pitches in the subcontinent then you would be countered with the fact that the Indian players also had the most wickets, with 1 479 in total.
India last won the World Cup in 1983, but many of the current generation of players had the experience of reaching the 2003 final.
The loss to Bangladesh was a huge shock.
In the previous 14 ODIs between the sides, India had won 13, their only loss being by 14 runs in 2004.
Before the game, Dravid himself underlined Bangladesh's improvement and warned his players against complacency. Bangladesh had beaten Australia in the past, proving anything is possible on any given day.
Chairman of India's selectors Dilip Vengsarkar believes there is no need for extreme changes, but there have been calls for Yuvraj Singh to take over as captain and Sandeep Patil is tipped to be interim coach for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh.
It must be questioned why India didn't play Anil Kumble in their all-important matches at the World Cup, given the veteran's experience. In 271 matches, with an economy of just 4.3 on mainly batsmen friendly pitches, Kumble had 337 wickets under his belt.
Following India's early exit, Kumble has retired from one-day cricket.
Ultimately, it was India's batting department which was the biggest disappointment. In the past this was their greatest strength. The critics point fingers toward their most experienced players, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid. Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh also have great experience and in Mahendra Dhoni there's a new star in the making.
Tendulkar keen
The legendary Tendulkar, 33, has played in five World Cups and stated he would be keen to participate in 2011 if he can keep himself fit. Judging from his recent football advertisements Tendulkar might have a better chance of taking India to South Africa in 2010.
India were in poor form the whole season, starting with the Champions Trophy at home. The writing was on the wall and the players failed to lift their game.
Sri Lanka will play their second Super Eight game against the West Indies at the Providence Stadium in Guyana today. The Asians will be under pressure after losing against South Africa on Wednesday.
If they drop further points against the home team, then Sri Lanka would have to win all three of their remaining games against Test nations Australia, England and New Zealand to progress to the semi-finals.
Bangladesh will take on New Zealand at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua tomorrow.
Like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka were deemed minnows up until the 1992 World Cup, before winning cricket's most famous trophy in 1996.
Watch this space.
Inquest into World Cup flop
April 01 2007 at 10:31AM [SIZE=+1][/SIZE]By Yusuf Manjoo
The Board of Control for Cricket in India will conduct a post mortem on the country's disastrous World Cup campaign, following India's premature exit after losses to Sri Lanka and minnows Bangladesh.
The inquest on India's poor performances will begin by interviewing captain Rahul Dravid, coach Greg Chappell and manager Sanjay Jagdale. Administrators will then speak to former Indian captains, including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri, for advice.
There are calls for heads to roll, but there's also the cautious approach to avoid extreme changes. After all, this is the same squad many neutral pundits believed was one of the hot favourites. It wasn't long ago that India were boasting that their top order scored more one-day international (ODI) runs than any other team in the World Cup.
Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid and Sourav Ganguly scored an amazing total of 35 297 runs. If one thought this was down to the flatter pitches in the subcontinent then you would be countered with the fact that the Indian players also had the most wickets, with 1 479 in total.
India last won the World Cup in 1983, but many of the current generation of players had the experience of reaching the 2003 final.
The loss to Bangladesh was a huge shock.
In the previous 14 ODIs between the sides, India had won 13, their only loss being by 14 runs in 2004.
Before the game, Dravid himself underlined Bangladesh's improvement and warned his players against complacency. Bangladesh had beaten Australia in the past, proving anything is possible on any given day.
Chairman of India's selectors Dilip Vengsarkar believes there is no need for extreme changes, but there have been calls for Yuvraj Singh to take over as captain and Sandeep Patil is tipped to be interim coach for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh.
It must be questioned why India didn't play Anil Kumble in their all-important matches at the World Cup, given the veteran's experience. In 271 matches, with an economy of just 4.3 on mainly batsmen friendly pitches, Kumble had 337 wickets under his belt.
Following India's early exit, Kumble has retired from one-day cricket.
Ultimately, it was India's batting department which was the biggest disappointment. In the past this was their greatest strength. The critics point fingers toward their most experienced players, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid. Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh also have great experience and in Mahendra Dhoni there's a new star in the making.
Tendulkar keen
The legendary Tendulkar, 33, has played in five World Cups and stated he would be keen to participate in 2011 if he can keep himself fit. Judging from his recent football advertisements Tendulkar might have a better chance of taking India to South Africa in 2010.
India were in poor form the whole season, starting with the Champions Trophy at home. The writing was on the wall and the players failed to lift their game.
Sri Lanka will play their second Super Eight game against the West Indies at the Providence Stadium in Guyana today. The Asians will be under pressure after losing against South Africa on Wednesday.
If they drop further points against the home team, then Sri Lanka would have to win all three of their remaining games against Test nations Australia, England and New Zealand to progress to the semi-finals.
Bangladesh will take on New Zealand at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua tomorrow.
Like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka were deemed minnows up until the 1992 World Cup, before winning cricket's most famous trophy in 1996.
Watch this space.
