Tendulkar will always be a legend but India need to move on!

Some people call him a national treasure, some call him their idol and a few even call him God, but to me he will always be known as the greatest batsman in my lifetime of cricket. 

The date was 15 November 1989, this day was a very special day for Indian cricket. A young boy from Bombay made his way to the crease in the toughest of circumstances. To start your career against the arch enemy in their own back yard must be one of the toughest starts a cricketer could ask for.

Back on this day no one could have predicted what was to come over the next twenty four years. He has countless records to his name, but the one that sticks out in my mind is him being the first player to score a double century in a ODI. What is great about Tendulkar is that he seems to take joy in every shot and every century. 

On many occasions it could be said that Sachin carried India, he has seen it all in Indian cricket. Throughout the early to mid 90's he had very little support from a fledgling Indian side which struggled. Tendulkar kept this team afloat with his class. Playing with the likes of Kapil Dev, Ganguly, Dhoni and Virat Kohli he has gone from the kid of the side to father figure. It is hard to imagine the pressure that this one man has had to deal with but as with everything nothing lasts for ever.

Over the last five years Sachin has enjoyed a good run of form, helping India to world cup glory and raising the team to world number one in test cricket. This probably was his last hoorah. The last year and a bit have been slightly tougher for the little master. It is evident that like Dravid before him, his seeing of the ball is getting slightly slower. 

The announcement that Sachin will retire after the West Indies series comes as no surprise to anyone who has seen him play. The only surprise is that it had not come slightly earlier. The state of Indian cricket is the healthiest it has ever been, with many young players in the system. 

The man that I predict will be given the first opportunity to replace the great man is Rohit Sharma. A very similar type of player, he know deserves a long run in the test side to prove his quality. No one is expecting him to do exactly what Sachin did but they want him to make his own name. If Rohit does not succeed there are plenty of others waiting in the wings for their chance. 

I could go as far as saying with Dhoni and Kohli at the helm India have the best side they have ever had. These two names mentioned above are the two players who now carry the mantle of Sachin. They ironically grew up watching Sachin the superstar, now they call him bhai or paji.  

Its with a heavy heart I say that Sachin Tendulkar retiring is a good thing for Indian cricket. He has given me so many good memories that I am sure I will treasure for a life time but I think it is time to keep these as good memories. Lets hope that the last few games of his career will highlight his whole career. Goodbye Sachin, have a great retirement in what ever you do. 

India trying out all options before South Africa tour

"Change can be very tough for any sports team, its all about the way you handle it." Those were the wise words of Ravi Shashtri at the time Rahul Dravid and V.V.S Laxman retired. The last two years have seen India go through a massive change both on and off the pitch.

The selection committee has to be praised, they have realised mistakes of the past in keeping big names in the team despite poor form. Sehwag, Gambhir Yuvraj, Zaheer and Harbhajan have all felt the full force of this policy. New players have been a hit, the main two being Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikar Dhawan.

Apart from the series loss against England, India have been very dominant at home and very poor away from it. This massive change in form can only be explained by poor preparation in the run up to these tours. It seemed that India were packing in matches meaning that they could not fully concentrate on one series. For example during the period that the England team went home for Christmas, they played a ODI series against New Zealand. 

There seems to have been a change in mentality for the upcoming tours of South Africa and England. India last played in June a tri-nations series against West Indies and Sri Lanka. The next year sees a comparably light year ahead with slightly more space between big games. 

The fact that India finish the last test match against South Africa on the same day that they are scheduled to play a ODI match against New Zealand is slightly puzzling. This indicates that either India will be sending a team minus all their test players or this match is in doubt. 

The gaps in the fixtures has allowed India to prepare fully for the upcoming year, with many India A games being played. Players such as Dhawan and Pujara were sent to experience South African conditions in the India A tour in July. 

Others such as Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj and Zaheer Khan have been picked for the A team for the upcoming A team series against West Indies. The squads that have been picked for India A seem to be either giving fringe players a chance to impress as well as a second chance to those who had been culled before. 

Not only does this give team India the luxury of resting all the established stars, it allows for every person who is in and around the squad to be given a fair chance. I feel the current idea from the BCCI gives India a better chance to succeed in what will be one of the hardest years. It seems that if Dhoni succeeds in the tour of South Africa and/or England he will go down as the undoubted best captain in the history of modern cricket.  

Dhoni and Sachin

Please comment with your answers:

New look India set to dominate cricket:

When India won the world cup a few years back many people put this down to the team playing on home soil. They answered the critics in fine fashion not losing a game in the champions trophy victory.

The win is special for two reasons, one being that the last time the team played in England they had been embarrassed by being whitewashed.  The other reason being that many of the big names in Indian cricket had previously retired. The team was void of Tendulkar, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Harbhjan and Zaheer Khan. This is a lot of experience lost from the squad.

The replacements for these players were the stars of the show, Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar all stepped up. By bringing in these new players India have also gained in the field and now can be classified as one of the best fielding sides ever to have graced the game of cricket.

The skipper MS Dhoni has to go down as one the greatest captains to have played cricket. He has guided India to world number one in test cricket, world cup wins in ODI cricket as well as T20 and now the champions trophy. He is a key part to India’s success over the last six years, not only is he a great captain he is very underrated as a batsman and wicketkeeper. He could make the Indian team on his batting alone.

India has always had a star studded batting line up but they have never put together a consistent run in non-subcontinental conditions like they did. The form of Shikar Dhawan has played a part in this, the way he played against a swinging ball is unlike most Indian batsmen. Many a player before him has struggled to play in English conditions.

In the bowling department India now have three genuine bowlers who can trouble any batsman. In particular Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed a lot of promise. He showed the reasons why many people such as myself think he will one day become a bowler who could one day compare to Dale Stein or James Anderson.

One day cricket has suffered in the last few years as there has not been one dominant team, but this Indian team are in a good position to dominate for a long time. The experienced players in the team are Dhoni, Kohli and Raina. The later two being under the age of 28, meaning that they could actually play for another possible eight /nine year. The future for Indian cricket is very bright. 

India v West Indies my thoughts

Today I made my way to the Oval to watch a match between tournament favourites India and many peoples dark horses to win the competition the West Indies. These are two teams who I have tipped for the tournament. 

Going to the ground there were serious questions asked over the weather. The majority of the crowd seemed to be Indian, resulting in a very good atmosphere. The tone of the match was set early on by the very impressive Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He bowled a fantastic spell taking the wicket of Chris Gayle as well as giving away very few runs. What was better for India was that Kumar was being backed up from the other end by all the other bowlers. Yadav and Sharma bowled quick, Ashwin and Jadeja frustrated the batsmen. 

Apart from a few flashes from Gayle, Pollard and Sammy at the end the West Indies did not show much with the bat. India also demonstrated why many people have dubbed them the best fielding side in the competition, stifling many chances for the West Indians. Credit has to Raina who as usual seems to give it his all for the side, often sprinting from one of the pitch to the other at the end of each over.

India's batting started off very different to the West Indies, Rohit Sharma and Shikar Dhawan once again showing they are the partnership for the long term. Sharma can count himself to be given out on review and Dhawan was given a lifeline by Roach, who we all cheered on for the rest of the match. The moustached opener went on to score a century after a rain delay. 

The only issue I had with DK and Dhawan batting was that they could have gone a little quicker in the chase. They could have finished the match off before the rain delay, but they did the job so I shouldn't complain to much. 

Below I have included a few pictures which I have taken today:

Rohit Sharma is India's future

Watching this seasons IPl it is evident that Rohit Sharma is a man on a mission. His aim is to cement his place in the limited over squads and to make the step up into test cricket. It is a little surprising that a player with his ability has yet to grace test cricket, especially as he is now twenty six years of age. 

For many years people have dubbed Rohit as the next Sachin Tendulkar, this unfair comparison may have affected his past performances resulting in him being in and out of squad. It seems that Sachin is now very close to calling it a day in all forms of cricket and a possible replacement for him could be Rohit Sharma. The poor form of the other openers (Sehwag & Gambhir) resulted in him being drafted into the openers role for the last ODI series against England. This was a very interesting move, as  he was given the  chance after the much fancied Rahane had failed.  

In limited overs cricket I see him being an opener, this suits his game very well. I feel he is ready for test cricket and a position at either number four or five should be an option. This season Rohit has seemed to mature as a player, taking over as captain of Mumbai Indians in place of Ricky Ponting. When he was appointed as the captain I was unsure if he could handle the demands of the position, especially for Mumbai the most glamorous side in the IPL. Although he has not had too many tests of his captaincy he seems to be calm and confident with his decision making. 

Other than being a good batsman and captain he is also a stand out player. His batting form has also shown consistency, him having the sixth highest average in the IPL this season. Out of the other five players above him in the list only Chris Gayle has played as many innings. One could argue that his form has been more consistent than Gayle as the West Indian has his average inflated by that one big innings of 175 not out. 

Below is a table showing his career:

	Matches	Innings	Runs	Highest Score	Average	Strike Rate
ODI	88	83	2,065	114	30.82	78.22
T20	35	28	531	79	29.5	127.64
IPL	90	86	2405	109	33.87	132.14

The above table highlights both his huge potential as well as his inconsistent form. It shows that he can score quickly as well as heavily, the batting average in ODI cricket shows there is space for improvement. 

If I were to do a straw pole of Indian cricket fans I am pretty sure that most of them would say that Kohli is the best young player. I do not disagree with this statement but feel an argument could be made to support Sharma's case.  It all bodes for exciting times for Indian cricket, taking many back to the early days of the last great group of players. Comparisons of Sharma, Raina, Kohli, Pujara and Dhawan could be made to Sachin, Ganguly, Sehwag, Laxman and Dravid.

There could be another argument in the future about the next captain. Right now vice captain Kohli is a shoe in for the role, but if the selectors go against his overly aggressive style then again Sharma or Raina are an option. Like Tendulkar he oozes class when batting, the only issue is if he can handle the pressure. The future for Rohit Sharma looks very positive, it is all in his own hands as to how much of a name he could make. 

Would England cricketers make an impression on the IPL?

So today another story has re-emerged about English players wanting to be a part of the money spinner that is the IPL. Apparently the ECB are in talks with IPL chiefs after pressure from players to negotiate a way for England's cricketers to enter into next years competition. 

This story seems to be true and there is a suggestion that the BCCI could move the competition a few weeks earlier and the first test series in England could be pushed back a bit. This would allow England's top players to be a part of the competition for a longer period, thus making them more attractive to the teams. For this reason I have looked at the players who would have a chance in the IPL and if English cricketers would make an impact on the competition. 

In theory looking at Englands past performances and the domestic T20 competition they will make a big impact in India. Over the course of international T20 competition England have been near to the top of the rankings. There are however a few signs that these players will not have as much impact on the competition.

A few England stars who have made been selected in the Indian Premier League, these have had mixed success. At the top of the list has to be Kevin Pietersen, he has established himself as one of the biggest names in the competition. In contrast to Kevin Pietersen there is Luke Wright, a player who has been in a poor Pune Warriors squad for two seasons and is yet to play. 

The players who have been selected in the past are, Pietersen, Morgan, Flintoff, Broad, Shah, Bopara, Wright, Collingwood, Lumb, Napier. Three of the players on the list have not played for their franchise, a few of them have not been re-selected and a few of are bench warmers who bring on the drinks. It is a real shame actually because England do have some good players who can make a big impression.

If you look closely at IPL teams then it is very noticeable that most teams have young relatively unknown Australians and South Africans in their squads.  The problem lies with the fact that there are many South African and Australian coaches in the IPL. This is the reason why their younger players are bought up. If England players are given a chance it is likely that they will be used in the same way as these young players from the above named countries. 

The IPL fairly keeps a quota system on foreign players, this being that only four can play at one time. This unfortunately would effect English players, the reason I say this is that most teams already have their four top players. So either they go to one of these teams and sit on the bench or go to a lower ranked team.  

Looking through England's players I believe that Bairstow, Butler, Samit Patel, James Anderson, Graham Swann, Bopara and Steven Finn could all have a positive impact on the competition. It would also develop these players further, facing top players and training with other players from different backgrounds. 

I can take Eoin Morgan as an example, he is currently back into the KKR team but this is only because the worlds best allrounder Shakib Al Hasan is injured. If Shakib was fit, I can guess that Morgan would be back onto the bench. If a player like Morgan struggles to get into a team it does not bode well for the other English players. Luke Wright in my opinion is the fifth or sixth choice foreign player in PWI, I do not really rate their captain Matthews who is somehow keeping Steve Smith out their squad, but that is a totally different issue. 

In short I believe that England players could have a massive impact on the IPL, but the reality of it is that they will not. I do not think teams will give the players a chance, they will just stock pile the good players into their squad to fill in when others get injured. English cricket will still benefit because the players will be training with world class players, but they will not get game exposure in Indian conditions. This valuable experience is being taken up by average Australians and South Africans like Aaron Finch and Ben Hilfenhouse.  

End of the line for Sehwag?

I hate to pick out individual players, especially those who have been so great for their country, but Sehwag increasingly looks a shadow of his past. Over the past ten or so years he has been one of the best and most dashing batsmen in world cricket. Holding many many records he will go down as one of the great Indian batsmen. 

He also has been a huge reason why India have been so successful over the last ten years. It is no surprise that the decline of Sehwag has coincided with a loss of form for team India. His fast starts mean that India could allow other players to come in and take their time to settle while he kept up a good run rate. I am sure players like Gambhir and Tendulkar would state that he has played a huge part in their success. This can be highlighted again by seeing the form of Sachin Tendulkar and Gutam Gambhir, they do not have the guy on the other end taking all the pressure off or the guy that has blasted his way to a big score before they have come into bat any more. Subsequently their own form seems to have suffered. Is that just a coincidence that can be put down to ageing or have they been effected by Viru's form?

Sehwag has always had poor footwork, he's success is down to his impecable timing of the ball. My dad always says that if he had slightly better footwork he would be considered in the same list as Bradman, Tendulkar and Lara. He in my opinion is in the bracket of players just slightly below these players.  Many records have fallen when Sehwag is playing, being part of a great Indian side. He is the only Indian to reach three figures in test cricket, doing this on two occasions. I have also admired Sehwag's attitude, he is always smiling, every player and umpire like him, I doubt anyone has a bad word to say about him. 

Also his ambitious statements that he makes every now and then, for example when he first stated that he wanted to be the first player to score a double century in ODI cricket, people like Nassir Hussain very rudely mocked him. He wasn't the first player but second player to do this after Tendulkar. On another occassion on day five against England in a test series he stated that India would not play for a draw, the English media laughed at him trying to suggest that England would concede a world record total on day five, he lived up to his word and did it.

Currently he has a very healthy average of 49.95 in test cricket, but that will probably decrease soon, he has scored 23 test and 15 ODI centuries plus a total of 136 wickets in international cricket. This is not bad going is it? What cant be questioned is his ability to give his all for his country, but is it time  he recognises that India may be better off without him? India travel to South Africa soon and cant afford to take any passengers, his drop of a dolly catch in the first test did not cost India, but can you imagine him giving Amla, Smith or Kallis a second chance? 

The problem that India have is that there are not many players who can replace Sehwag currently. Vijay has been hit and miss in his international career, starting as a classical test batsman, then he became a slogger and currently showing his ability to grind out runs again after a four years of not being able to do this. 

Gambhir has been dropped from tests and kept only in ODI's, in my opinion he would be the safest bet to take over. Although his own form has been ropey. Another option is Rohit Sharma, he is a good player, he has been successfully promoted to opener in ODI cricket many times, he is similarly attacking to Sehwag. Rahane is a good player, but was exposed against Pakistan and has currently not played since being dropped from that ODI series. The young guy for the future is Unmukt Chand but he is very raw and untested. 

It will be a very tough decision for Sehwag or the selectors, but it is clear that if he doesnt perform in the third test against Australia then either party may make this call sooner rather than later. I just hope that if a new player is tried out, the fans of Indian cricket give him a chance, otherwise he will always be compared unfairly to Sehwag. 

England and India going in different directions - Series Review

The first thing that has to be said is well done England, they outplayed India in every single department. The signs are good for Alistair Cook as he and his team have done something that no other England team has for twenty eight years. For India however they will need to have a serious look at where they need to improve in the future. What makes the win even better for England is that they were thrashed in the first test and improved then after, showing  that they have a lot of mental toughness.

England:

Apart from the nine wicket loss in the Ahemedabad, they never looked in trouble. This was down to England being very clinical and India being poor. Alistair Cook's first series after being made captain could not have gone any better. He has passed the test with flying colours and the experience of captaining in India will stand him in good stead. 

Monty Panesar's selection for the second test onwards played a big part in England winning. In my opinion he is probably the best English spinner, and far better than any spinner India had to offer. James Anderson also played a massive part of this win, he on past tours of India has been clueless, this time he was prepared and performed well. In all the tests Matt Prior has shown why he is now regarded as a top keeper/batsman. The demoralising effect he kept inflicting on India, probably helped out the bowlers. The last test cameo from Joe Root and the century by Ian Bell showed some encouraging signs for the coming year.

There probably is not too many of the players who didn't feel they contributed much in this series, the only exceptions are Stuart Broad, Sammit Patel and  Tim Bresnan. 

India:

At the start of the series Virat Kohli declared that this was the chance for revenge. This was a total wrong thought, India should have concentrated on winning first, then revenge would have come.They lost the series pretty abysmally, didn't show any fight at all. There were problems in all three departments, the most worrying has to be the much lauded batting line up. The openers did not perform that well, Gambhir in particular looking dodgy despite making some runs. Cheteshwar Pujara did his job with the bat well and sometimes showed the senior players how to bat. His only flaw was to drop Cook in the fourth test whilst he was only on seventeen, going on to score a big century. 

It could be the end of the great career of Sachin Tendulkar, if it is then it will be a shame he could not have gone out on a high. There is a series against Pakistan coming up, where he could finish against the team where it all started. 

The series has already seen Zaheer, Yuvraj and Harbhajan cut from the team, it is very likely there test careers are over. Up until the last innings of the last test M.S Dhoni did not do anything. The pressure is mounting on him as captain, but I do not think there is anyone on form who is good enough to take over. It also has to be shown that he battled well for his 99 runs. One positive for India is Ravi Ashwin, this was for his batting. In my opinion he could fill a higher role as a batsman, possibly the position vacated by Yuvraj. On the other hand Ashwin has been very disappointing with the ball. 

The Future:

England will go home for the Christmas period after a few T20 games and come back refreshed for a ODI series where India will still be favourites. Then then travel to New Zealand all in preparation for the big summer. India take on Pakistan, the pressure on the team will double. I would hope by then India accept the DRS system, and make some big changes to the team. 

India ring the changes, but is it the answer?

Indian cricket is in a bad state, at the moment it is probably the worst it has been for at least 20 years. The alarm bells must have been ringing after the bad tour of England or the disaster down under, on both occasions not much had been changed. The signs of a home defeat were also highlighted after a poor showing against New Zealand which covered up the cracks. The final straw seems to be the loss of the 2nd and 3rd test against England. 

For me the old selectors who did nothing after the bad away tours took too long to act, I just hope the new selectors have made the changes out of future thought and not just for a way to differentiate between the old selection committee and new. The players who have got the chop for the last test Zaheer, Harbhajan and Yuvraj. It seems pretty clear to me that these players test careers are finished, they all have been playing for a while and a recall will only now come through influence and not form. 

What is worrying is that Zaheer Khan is a shadow of the player he was, he is not worthy of being called an international cricketer any more, but there is no one to replace him. I am a fan of Yadav, but am not sure if he is injured or just left out. Awana is a good bowler and worthy of a call up in place of Zaheer, but is he a bowler which will scare England? All in all the dropping of Zaheer is a decision I agree to. 

Harbhajan Singh has also been chucked out AGAIN, I am still not sure why he had been brought back into the team, but he definitely will not get another chance. Where has the passion gone for him? He was once the most passionate player for India, always giving his all for the cause. In my opinion he is egoistic, when he was first dropped he did alot of TV work, this is probably his new career. 

My gripe about the squad is the dropping of Yuvraj. He has been one of a bad bunch of batsmen. By far not the worst of them either, it seems that the selectors have singled out one of the batsmen to drum home their message. It really could have been any of the batsmen to get the chop apart from Pujara. 

It is now really clear that the more Sachin plays, the more his reputation will be tarnished. Dhoni seems to be playing with the weight of the world on his shoulders, maybe a change of captaincy could help. All I know is that something is wrong, Gambhir quite easily could have been the man instead of Yuvraj. 

Ashwin showed some late fight on the last two days, a brilliant 91* as well as two wickets on the last day. If it wasn't for this I believe his position in the team could have also been under threat. He probably will get a promotion in the batting, possibly moving above Dhoni in Yuvraj's place allowing an extra bowler in the team. 

The selection committee have no authority to change the coach, if they did I would suggest that they would Fletcher. He has been an absolute disaster, especially as he came with a big reputation. It seems that Gary Kirsten had the right idea leaving India when he did, at number 1 in test cricket as well as world cup winners. He probably foresaw the upcoming problems. 

Whatever happens in the next test, India need a change. People like Ganguly need to be more involved in the selection/coaching process. Pressure needs to be taken off Dhoni, it is not clear what Fletcher does for him. India have made some small changes but surely there is much more to come. 

Lifeless, Lacklustre, Limp - India need some changes fast

First thing that should be said is that England deserved this victory, and look a class above India, in all departments. Kevin Pietersen laid the foundations for a classy win and Panesar completed the job. It gets me thinking about why the England management do not play him more often, being one of the best spinners in world cricket currently.

My main concern is for India, the performance was the worst on home soil for a very long time. It highlights everything wrong with Indian cricket at the moment. 

All the signs were there in the last two away series, in both series team India came back with their legs between their tails. Nothing was changed from these annihilations. Then came the series against New Zealand where India were unconvincing against an average New Zealand side. 

Let me start with the bowling attack, this has to be one of the worst bowling attacks in world cricket currently. In my eyes only Yadav is worthy of being mentioned as good, yet he is the first to be dropped. Zaheer Khan has not performed well for a long time now, he brings bags of experience but he is becoming very predictable. I don't blame him much for two reasons, one that he is getting old and two India do not currently make pitches to help him. He has been a great bowler and will always be remembered as one of the best Indian bowlers, but for me if it came to a choice of him or Yadav, then the younger guy should be preferred. 

Harbhajan and Ashwin likewise have been very poor, both are capable of producing good things but have not done it for a long time. Like Zaheer it may be time to dispense of Harbhajan. In my opinion he is now a better batsman than bowler and therefore pretty useless for India, as Ashwin does a better job in both departments. When was the last time that England had two better spinners than India? The funniest thing I have heard today was that many Indian fans outside the ground were saying about Panesar being Indian, that India should poach him, this is something I would love although it would never happen. 

In the batting department there is a definite problem. The once champions of spin now struggle badly on turning tracks, this is more concerning considering that the last two tours also highlighted that they cant play on seamer friendly wickets either.

Laxman had been pushed out, but was he playing any worse than Sachin has done in test cricket over the last few series? The guy is a legend but every great player has to end some time. I think he should definitely consider his retirement now, maybe wait to finish against Pakistan.  

The batting expectation is left on the two most inexperienced players in the team. Pujara and Kohli, this is something that seems rather unfair, as they have not played many tests yet. Kohli himself seems to have caught the disease, there were signs in the last test. He was very scratchy, looked nervous and his wicket in the second innings was disgraceful. A dolly catch off a full toss, I will allow him a little bit of a dip as he has been great for India in the last two years and every player has a dip.

Others who were guilty of being stupid in the second innings at Mumbai are Ashwin and Harbhjan. Both needed to knuckle down but instead played a fast cameo by trying to hit sixes. 

Lets not start on Dhoni, who has underperformed badly with the bat for the last year or so. In my eyes he has been a great captain, the best captain but he is in danger of loosing his great record as captain. 

I am not advocating dramatic changes through this series, just saying that these players need to have a serious think about their positions. They should have a bit of pride and work harder to change things. That is the only way that India can regain the lead in this series. 

Could anyone beat Sachin Tendulkar's century record?

He is treated like a God in India, he has pretty much broken all batting records, including having scored the most amount of runs, the most test centuries and most ODI centuries. The question is if Sachin Tendulkar will retire soon, if he does there are some players who could possibly break either his test match century record or ODI century record. Personally I think it will be hard to break his combined ODI and Test century number (100 centuries).

If I were to have said this about 5 years ago, many would have said that these records would last quite a while, this was because Sachin at the time was out playing his closest rivals Ponting and Kallis and did not look to be anywhere near retirement. But now things have changed as Sachin's rate of centuries has slowed down, Kallis has regained form and retirement is on the cards this could go. Sachin could still add to his tally before he retires.

Lets look at some of the possible candidates:

Jacques Kallis: This is the most likely guy to challenge Sachin's test centuries. Currently he needs six centuries to equal Tendulkar, that's if Sachin does not add to any. He has been on fire recently with his latest century in the first test. He is now 37 and still in good shape, he could get pretty close to the record if he plays another two years. 

Ricky Ponting: He like Kallis was pretty close to Tendulkar's test record a few years back, but has seriously tailed off now. He needs 10 more test centuries to break the test record. This would take some turn around in recent form, I can see him getting another one or two but not more than five. 

Kumar Sangakara: He like Ponting has 30 test centuries, at the age of 35 he has around 3/4 years left in the game. If he were to score four centuries every year for four years he still would have only 46 test centuries. So it is a hard task for him, I don't think he can.

Virat Kohli: At only 24 I am in no doubt that if he continues his ODI form of the last two years he will smash the 49 ODI centuries that Tendulkar has. He already has 13 centuries to his name and if he stays fit and away from injuries I think he will play around another 12 years. Even if he only scores 4 centuries every year for these twelve years he will pass Sachin's record.

A.B Devilliars: He like Kohli has 13 ODI centuries to his name, although he is four years older than his RCB colleague. I think he will struggle to get near 49 ODI centuries but could be around the 40 mark. He has a lot of pressure on him, being the captain, wicket-keeper and best batsmen. 

For me the only player who could challenge the test record is Kallis, there may be a younger player who can challenge the test century record. Some names to throw into the hat are: Amla, Cook, Clarke. 

As for the ODI record I can see Kohli eventually breaking this, although it will take some time. There could be some other players coming through who in the future but Tendulkar is so far ahead that it will take a young guy to beat this record. 

How England could surprise India but South Africa will prevail

The excitement of test cricket returned last night, two fascinating series between some of the best teams in the world will run simultaneously. In my opinion India are the best team in the sub-continent and when they are on form they are almost unbeatable at home. 

The question which should be asked is if England can take advantage of India's new batting line up. The retirement of Laxman and Dravid could be the chance that England have been waiting for. Add to this the poor form which Sehwag and Gambhir have been going through, India's well known batting strength could struggle. 

England also have players such as Bairstow (even if he doesn't play), Bell and Pietersen who are all on form with the bat. Samit Patel looks the real deal as a test allrounder and the bowlers are pretty good. The good news for England is that Broad and Finn seem likely to be fit for the first test. Another factor that may favour the Englishmen is that they now have three genuine spinners. They could actually play all three in a match, not that I think they will. Over the winter England struggled against Ajmal and Hearth, so alot rests on Ashwin. We do not know how England will play Yadav but it is clear to see that Zaheer Khan is not the same bowler which has troubled world batsmen all these years.

I personally think that Sehwag and Gambhir had tons of experience so either or both of them will click very soon. The middle order has talent, even if they are inexperienced. Virat Kohli hasn't played that much but already looks like the real deal as a test player. I can only see this being a close series, but I think India may just edge it, even though England could cause India alot of problems.

The other series may not be as close. After day one of the first test South Africa are 255/2. The number one side in the world looked like that on day one. The ever reliable pair of Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis should both score centuries tomorrow. This could be a hard day for Australia to come back from. The second day will be important for them. The pitch does look like a good batting wicket, but surely after South Africa are done with it, the pitch could change.

The loss of Shane Watson does not help to the cause. Saying all that I think if Watson was fit for the next few matches and Australia happened to find a good spinner from somewhere they could have made the series closer than it will be. One thing is clear though, Australia always have fighters in their team, people such as Peter Siddle and Ponting will battle hard. 

India v England: The preview

The T20 cricket is now over and with that it brings the return of International cricket. One of the many series starting is India v England. A fixture that is considered as one of the best. It has been described by a few in the England team as the final frontier, this is because they have never been able to do well in India. For India it is a chance to avenge the thrashing they received in England two years ago. At that time India were the number one team and England dethroned them. 

The Teams:

It is to be seen if England will play two spinners in any match. That would mean Monty Panesar or Samit Patel could do a job. I personally think they would play two spinners as India play Swann relatively well. India have a pretty settled team but will need to decide if Raina should keep his place. The main competition comes in the form of Yuvraj Singh, who should get the role. England will have to decide between Joe Root, Compton or Trott to fill the boots of Strauss. If they do go with two spinners they may decide to use Trott as the opener allowing for the experienced batsmen to play. 

The captains:

It is a first chance for Alastair Cook to make an impression as the new skipper. He comes up against Dhoni who is very experienced and used to the conditions. It all points for a hard job for Cook, one I'm sure he will relish. 

Players to watch:

England have not seen much of Umesh Yadav, he is a good young bowler who has taken to test cricket very quickly. He was by far the best bowler on the tour of Australia as well as performing well against New Zealand. Ashwin will also be important, if England can play him then they have a chance.

Johnny Bairstow is a talented batsmen, he could be the fall guy if England decide to play one of the new openers and a second spinner. He has made a good start to international cricket and this should be his toughest test yet. Much depends on Finn and Anderson. Jimmy Anderson has in the past looked very average on the sub continent, this is something he would want to right. 

Predictions:

I would say that India will take it as they are used to the conditions. I think that on the sub continent they are the best team and very hard to beat. England have a good team and could cause a surprise but it will be very hard for them. 

Why Tendulkar is thinking of retiring and why I think he should.

The legend that is Sachin Tendulkar first came to the public eye whilst in schools cricket. The first of many records was his 664 run partnership with Vinod Kambli, a record which has only just been broken. 

He made his international début against arch rivals Pakistan, in that series he showed some glimpses of what was to come, although his scores were low. His first test century came at Old Trafford against England but his most notable early performance came against Australia two years later at the WACA. Many people still believe this as the best innings played in Australia. 

Since making his debut at 16 years of age he has gone on to play another 22 years. This 22 years has been a breath taking ride, which has transformed Sachin into a superstar. Some of his many records include 51 test centuries, 49 ODI centuries. The highest scorer cricket has ever seen and the first man to score 100 international centuries. What makes his record even better is the fact that he only scored his first ODI century in the 79th match. Tendulkar is also the first man to score a double century in a ODI, and I am sure winning the world cup on his home ground is the highlight of his career. 

Where ever he has played, be it team mates or opposition love and respect him. The first foreign man to play for Yorkshire, he was accepted like one of their own. Incredibly Tendulkar started playing when I had just turned 2 years old, he is still going well. 

Players such as Lara, Warne and Ponting have all come and gone, but Sachin Tendulkar is still performing well. He has played with 3/4 generations of Indian players:

1. Players much older than he was: Ravi Shashtri, Kapil Dev, Srikkanth, Azurudhin

2. Players his own age: Ganguly, Dravid, Kumble, Laxman

3. Players slightly his junior: Yuvraj, Zaheer, Sehwag, Dhoni

4. Players who were just babies when he started: Kohli, Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yadav

Sachin has played to such a high standard that he has become a GOD like figure for some in India. Today was the first time that he has ever commented on a potential retirement. His exact words were "I don't think I have plenty of cricket  left in me." This could be an early warning for his fans, so it doesn't come as a total shock to his fans when he does. 

This is something pretty important as when he does go, it will not be blamed on him being pushed out. Without these hints of retirement there will always be a minority of people who will think these thoughts. 

The day he does call it a day will be a sad day for cricket, as it will lose one of the all time greats of the game.  I just do not want to see him go out of the game on a low. 

Comparisons can be made with Dravid, they way that he was bowled in all his innings in Australia. Later Dravid stated that this could be due to his diminished ability to see the ball. This must surely have played a part in Tendulkar stating this today, as he himself has been bowled in his last 3 innings. 

If Tendulkar believes it has nothing to do with his eye sight and only concentration he should play on. I personally believe a player who has achieved what he has could have retired on top, this would have been after the world cup. Although I understand that this should be the players own judgement depending on how they see their body. 

A possible option for him is to play on only tests after the England series, this especially as there is the possibility of Pakistan coming up. I think it is more likely that he will cut out both the forms of the games which he currently plays after the England series. His retirement would be a blow for India after loosing Laxman and Dravid recently. 

I just hope he makes a decision which is best for his legacy and best for Indian cricket. The perfect ending would be to go out after scoring a few centuries, adding to his records.