England speedster James Anderson was dead right. Virat Kohli will need to be challenged in English conditions because that’s the only place he has not scored runs. But the massive reaction to Anderson’s comments is quite unwarranted.
For years now, Indian cricketers have not received the respect that they deserve and have earned. Every time an Indian cricketer has done well at home, there have been jibes about his away returns. Very few Indian cricketers have managed to earn respect from overseas fans, pundits and cricketers.
The list of Indian players who have been respected is so limited that you can count the number of cricketers in on your fingers.
Sunil Gavaskar for his grit, Rahul Dravid for his steel, Bishen Bedi for his patkas and turn, Sachin Tendulkar for his mountain of runs. None of the other cricketers from India has ever earned any kind of plaudits from pundits away from home.
Some of our other champions like Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, the other famed spinners, Tiger Pataudi, Vinoo Mankad, Dilip Vengsarkar, GR Viswanath, Amarnaths et al are not good enough for the rest of the world.
He (Kumble) was the heart to Rahul Dravid’s soul of the Indian teams in which they played with such distinction. If they had been blessed to have been surrounded by other selfless individuals whose only aim was to serve the team, the Indian teams in which they played would have been impossible to beat.Greg Chappell on Kumble’s appointment as Indian head coach in June 2016
It is a different matter that these stalwarts have performed in different conditions both at home and away. But the Indian cricket legends were always underestimated or rated lesser than their much fancied overseas rivals.
The jibe about India’s overseas performances was always thrown at them when rating our heroes.
Even the improvement of our away record from 2000-2011 was disregarded as India slipped overseas under MS Dhoni.
Even in the ongoing series, there has been remark about Ajinkya Rahane getting injured to a short ball thrown at him in the nets, thereby apparently proving that Indians cannot play the snorters!
Ajinkya Rahane had a finger broken hitting throw-downs before this Test. Yes, even in practice India’s batsmen are troubled by the short ball, while out in the middle Pujara has been hit on the helmet several times and Murali Vijay has been out glovedScyld Berry, Cricket Correspondent, The Telegraph
Kohli rightly avoided raising questions about English ability to play spin, whereas an Indian surrender in 2011 and 2014 to English seam/swing was criticised heavily.
The overseas cricketers have conveniently forgotten that stars like Shane Warne (9 Tests in India, 34 wickets, average 34.11, one five wicket haul), Ricky Ponting (14 Tests in India, 662 runs, Average 26.48, one hundred), Dennis Lillee (never played in India!) had poor returns in India.
Similarly a number of stalwarts like Ian Botham, David Gower, Richard Hadlee, Gordon Greenidge and Michael Holding avoided playing in the subcontinent through the 1980s for varied reasons.
The 1987 World Cup, staged for the first time in the subcontinent, was completely shorn of stars because the aforementioned champions simply refused to tour!
The perfect illustration of where Indian cricket stands in the eyes of the world lies in the Hall of Fame of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Just four of our legends Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Bishan Singh Bedi and Anil Kumble form part of the hallowed group.
England and Australia by virtue of being founders of Test cricket have wider representation, along side West Indies who tormented them for decades. Even South Africa’s two players who played no major part owing to apartheid ban find a place.
India’s rich tradition in cricket, its current status as a financial powerhouse, base for all major TV and sponsorships in the sport almost does not count for anything.
Maybe it is time for us to continue to fete, celebrate and respect our own achievements much like American sports. Let’s not wait for the rest to endorse us anymore.
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