MiD DAY February 23, 2007By: Suhrid Barua
BANGALORE: As the World Cup draws closer, comparisons between Kapil’s Devils and Rahul Dravid’s men have set the cricketing tongues wagging. And member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, Kirti Azad, feels the present side is much richer on experience. Cannot compare“Actually, there shouldn’t be any comparison. The present team is vastly experienced. You’ve three guys who have scored over 10 thousand runs and played quite a lot of matches. There’s a storehouse of experience in the side,” Azad told MiD DAY.The 48-year-old former national selector, however, pointed out that the 1983 World Cup team was packed with all-rounders who would invariably come to the party. “We had the likes of Amarnath, Binny, Madan Lal who would chip in whenever we needed them to.
Kirti AzadThen, we had Kapil Dev who led the side very imaginatively,” he said.“You don’t have to get a hundred or take a five-wicket haul for a side to win. If you pick a crucial wicket or pull of a brilliant run out or weigh in cameos of twenties or thirties at decisive moments, nothing can be bigger than that,” Azad added.Need five bowlers?Azad’s only concern is the bowling department. “I don’t agree with the theory of going in with four frontline bowlers,” he said. “We could have Dhoni batting at No 6 and use Pathan as an all-rounder at seven (provided he is fit), followed by the four bowlers.“I don’t think that is the right way to go about it. You have to assume that one bowler is going to have a bad day. Then you would end up bowling the rest twenty overs with non-regular bowlers which can be a big risk,” he said.Azad believes two spinners must be fielded at all times. “Anil and Harbhajan should be in the playing XI at any cost,” said Azad, who played 7 Tests and 25 ODIs for India
BANGALORE: As the World Cup draws closer, comparisons between Kapil’s Devils and Rahul Dravid’s men have set the cricketing tongues wagging. And member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, Kirti Azad, feels the present side is much richer on experience. Cannot compare“Actually, there shouldn’t be any comparison. The present team is vastly experienced. You’ve three guys who have scored over 10 thousand runs and played quite a lot of matches. There’s a storehouse of experience in the side,” Azad told MiD DAY.The 48-year-old former national selector, however, pointed out that the 1983 World Cup team was packed with all-rounders who would invariably come to the party. “We had the likes of Amarnath, Binny, Madan Lal who would chip in whenever we needed them to.
Kirti AzadThen, we had Kapil Dev who led the side very imaginatively,” he said.“You don’t have to get a hundred or take a five-wicket haul for a side to win. If you pick a crucial wicket or pull of a brilliant run out or weigh in cameos of twenties or thirties at decisive moments, nothing can be bigger than that,” Azad added.Need five bowlers?Azad’s only concern is the bowling department. “I don’t agree with the theory of going in with four frontline bowlers,” he said. “We could have Dhoni batting at No 6 and use Pathan as an all-rounder at seven (provided he is fit), followed by the four bowlers.“I don’t think that is the right way to go about it. You have to assume that one bowler is going to have a bad day. Then you would end up bowling the rest twenty overs with non-regular bowlers which can be a big risk,” he said.Azad believes two spinners must be fielded at all times. “Anil and Harbhajan should be in the playing XI at any cost,” said Azad, who played 7 Tests and 25 ODIs for India
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