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The Core Problem
By Gaurang
March 24 2006
After the second embarrassing fourth innings collapse in four Test matches, the question is being raised as to what is wrong with the Indian team?
One defeat such as the 341 run drubbing in Karachi where the team shows a collective lack of fight and throws in the towel is one too many, but one can understand that such things happen, especially when in the previous two matches you have been unlucky with the toss and have faced deficits of over one thousand runs collectively, before you even strap on a batting pad.

But to collapse so ignominiously twice in the span of four Test matches is alarming to put it mildly. In a previous article this writer had suggested one of the reasons teams routinely collapse in a heap when faced with tough situations and grimly determined opponents is that they have stopped trusting each other, and being there for each other. In an atmosphere of constant chopping and changing, where fear and insecurity dominate, every person is playing basically for himself. In such an atmosphere nobody is willing to put their hand up when the rest of the side is unable or in their mind unwilling to do so.



When a team sees that the man who was largely responsible for building it up over the past few years is unceremoniously dropped, and not only that, but is also publicly ridiculed and humiliated by the one person the team is supposed to trust the most after the Captain, i.e. the coach, it sends the message to them all that “I could be next.” On top of that, when they see the Captain is unable or unwilling to take strong decisions and override the Coach and selectors in matters such as team composition, etc. it makes the feeling even more acute.

In the recent past, under Sourav Ganguly you could identify a group of players who were the core of the team. Now under Greg Chappell that core has been shattered. Nobody is sure who the core is. The core, such as it exists currently in the Test team is: The Captain, his statemate and trusted veteran, Anil Kumble, and maybe Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni the two rising young stars. But that is it.

Every other player, from the vice Captain Sehwag, to veterans like Laxman, Harbhajan, Tendulkar, to new comers like Jaffer, Gambhir, Kaif, RP Singh, and Yuvraj, can sense that if they do not meet some pre-set criteria of performance, they could be on the verge of getting the “Ganguly” treatment from their coach. And they all know that their captain will not stand up for them even if he thinks it is the right thing to do, because he himself does not want to antagonize the Coach to whom he has handed off lots of responsibilities that normally would fall within the purview of the Captain.

Dravid’s team has twice sent a clear message to their skipper, about standing by him, first in Karachi, and now in Mumbai. I hope he pays heed to the message and takes the reigns more into his hands and steps in when necessary, even if it means on occasion telling his know-it-all coach and interfering selectors, who now even conduct portions of the team's net sessions, to back off. The question is whether Dravid has the nous to do so? The answer to that could well determine how his tenure as Test captain turns out.

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