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Mysorean




A new captain

While beginning to write this article, I am also parallely preparing myself to face those Bengali babus ire!

Ganguly must step down now. On his own. He may lose his place in the team as a player also. Might have to work his way back up from the Ranji trophy. Or he might slowly shift into films [horrible actor, IMHO]. I say that because I see lot of girls go crazy about him.

My pick for the captain's post of Indian cricket team is:
Mohammed Kaif

No. Not because he played very well in the last two matches of the recent series in Zimbabwe. But because:
  1. Cool head on stable shoulders.
  2. Young blood. Good bet for the future.
  3. Fit as a fiddle. Might work as a tonic to improve the fitness of the eternally unfit team.
  4. Good student of the game.
  5. Enthusiastic and self-driven. Can always be seen involved in on-field team meetings during crucial stages.
  6. Good batsman. Consistent. One among the best fielders in the World!
  7. Most important aspect: Toughness. Shows that in his fielding and batting.
The only "against" points that I see are:
  1. Age. Conventionally, a bit too young for the captain's post. Sehwag seems more apt in this case.
  2. He is not a top-order batsman [Only in this Zimbabwe series he started coming in at #3], neither is he a bowler. [But he is a world-class fielder]. He will need to convince the batsmen and bowlers by showing his commitment and deep understanding of the game. Sometimes, senior players might just refuse to go with this.
Among the contenders, Sehwag is the strongest. With Greg Chapell's backing, he might as well get the nod. But Kaif is definitely a captain for the future. He should be handed over the captaincy within the next year 2006, with the goal that "India should win the 2007 World Cup". So that he has ample time to rally the team around him and achieve the objective.