Still we depend on them

Nothing has actually changed in five years. It is a pity that we have not seen a consistent performer since the entry of stylish Yuvraj Singh and explosive Sehwag. The sad thing is that India is still dependent heavily on their senior players.

On the other day I heard somebody comment in a news channel that Piyush Chawla is better than Anil Kumble! Such kind of remarks are only testimonials of the die hard passion of the common Indian cricket fan. When his superstars win a match for India, he worships them. When they dont perform to his expectations, he calls for their heads. It is really amazing that players such as Tendulkar maybe a little worn out, maybe he is not as good as he was five years ago, but he is able to perform even when under the enormous pressure of the hundreds of millions of his fans.

The obvious and scary question that India will have to find an answer pretty soon is : Who will fill the space soon to be left vacant by the fab four: Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman? Gautam Gambhir who has been in and out of the team in the past three years has a long way to go before he can be called a reliable batsman. Robin Uthappa knows only one way- hit the ball. He showed a lot of promise when he came first came to the scene. The good thing about Uthappa is that he looks to play straight more often than the others in his era. But he has to give more value to his wicket. Hopefully, Sehwag will come back to the team soon and will answer his critics with his performances.

Even when some of the Indian teams were not competent enough when compared to the other comtemporary teams in the previous decades, we had at least one spinner in top form. I strongly believe that Anil Kumble's retirement will make a bigger impact than any of the others'. Will Piyush Chawla be able to take over the reins from Anil Kumble, once he retires? Seems like there are already too many questions to find answers for.