Last chance for India's golden generation

India's ageing greats are here one last time, seeking a first Test series win in England since 1986 and confirmation that so many glorious individual talents can finally pull together for the good of their nation

By Angus Fraser, Cricket Correspondent

Saturday, 14 July 2007

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The Indian cricket team have much in common with their footballing counterpart in England, a lot more than they might really care for. They are surrounded by glitz and hype, have enviable exposure and are awash with money. Billions of fans all over the planet cannot get enough of the team and the leading lights are genuine superstars. Sponsors queue up to throw their cash at top players who have fame, fortune and a profile that is hard to imagine.

In England we have a fixation with David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and co but, when compared to India's obsession with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag, it is little more than a holiday romance. Each of the cricketers named above could probably walk down Oxford Street unrecognised in the build-up to Thursday's first Test at Lord's - unless, of course, he was to run into a man of Asian descent. At home, it is a completely different story. To avoid being mobbed, Tendulkar has been known to wear a false beard and moustache when he goes to pray or takes his children to the park.

Yet there is one stigma both groups of sportsmen would love to lose. The huge talent possessed by these players has led to each group being described as a "golden generation" but, as of yet, neither has come close to realising its potential.

India have come closer to fulfilling the high expectations of those who follow them, reaching the World Cup final in South Africa in 2003 and competing favourably against Australia in Test cricket since 1996-97. But this is pretty small reward for a country that has such huge resources to draw from. India ought to be a major, if not the major cricket force in the world, yet they currently sit fourth in the Test rankings and sixth, only one place above England, in the one-day list.

Even so, they are the star attraction of the summer. The West Indies were a pale imitation of the sides who used to visit these shores and the quality of the cricket played in the past two months, particularly in the Test series, was low. The arrival of Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, and V V S Laxman - Sehwag is out of form and not on tour - even if they are all getting on a bit, should provide spectators with a series to savour. On what will undoubtedly be a final tour of England for each of them, victory for the first time since 1986 would help to alleviate some of the frustrations of the past decade.

There are capable youngsters in the Indian squad that will play three Tests and seven one-dayers in England over the next two months, but it is the four batsmen above and Anil Kumble, the admirable leg-spinner, whom spectators will flock to watch. Each batsman plays the game with a flair that is impossible to coach. At times they can look horribly out of sorts but there are few better ways of spending a sunny afternoon than watching them bat when they are in form. The records of Tendulkar and Dravid make them all-time greats; Ganguly and Laxman are still capable of playing the most sublime innings imaginable.

So why is it that India have been unable to turn such an abundance of talent into a successful team? As with most Asian sporting organisations, internal politics play a huge role at the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Those in positions of power inevitably have their own agenda, and the interests of the region they represent tend to take preference over what is right for the country as a whole.

That is why Harbhajan Singh, one of the finest spin bowlers in the world, has been omitted from the current touring squad. It would come as no surprise, however, to see him drafted into the squad from Surrey, where he is playing county cricket, in time for the third Test, at The Oval early next month.

Yet Indian inconsistency is not all down to the BCCI. The players have to take a large slice of responsibility too. It is widely felt the huge sums of money available turn them into selfish individuals who are more interested in keeping their sponsors happy than committing themselves to the team. The fielding of Indian sides, which is generally of a low standard, is seen as an example of this ambivalence.

Batsmen and spinners stream out of every village but India has produced few quality fast bowlers. Yet this trend is changing. Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan ripped England out at the 2003 World Cup and, in Sri Sreesanth and Munaf Patel, who is currently injured, they now have two of the most exciting young fast bowlers in the world.

Accusations of selfishness among the players are refuted by Ravi Shastri, the former India captain who is now a highly respected commentator on the game.

"The Indian side has a very strong desire to win things as a team," he said. "I was told about the supposed factions and selfish nature of the players before I had my short spell as stand-in coach a couple of months ago, but within 10 minutes of being in a room with them I felt they all wanted to pull together.

"This Indian side might not say it but there is huge frustration that they have not been able to turn the talent in the team to wins. I would say, having spent some time working with them in Bangladesh, that they are on the right track. They realise now that at the end of the day it is a team game and if they can pull their weight in that direction, where India plays to win, they will be remembered a lot more for that than for what they have done as individuals.

"But I would not say that this is the best group of cricketers India has produced because it all boils down to team performance. Yes, it has great individuals, but what they would want on their CVs is a lot more wins as an Indian team. For that, though, you cannot beat the Indian team of the Eighties. It won the World Cup, the World Championship, every one-day tournament in a six- or seven-year period. And it was not just in India but overseas too.

"As a team we all want them to perform better and this could be the one, this tour of England. This is a huge tour for this side because it might well be the last tour for all those players, so they would like to leave on a winning note. Individuals will come and go, but individuals will be remembered more if they are part of a winning unit."

It was the unexpected World Cup victory at Lord's in 1983 that turned a latent Indian interest in cricket into fanaticism. The 11 players who defeated the West Indies by 43 runs that day became instant heroes - and millionaires, no doubt - and cricket to an Indian, whether he or she lived in or outside Asia, has not been the same since. The passion for the game is, quite frankly, alarming; one-day matches in major Indian cities are as noisy and exciting as any sporting event in the world.

The achievements of the 1983 side inspired this golden generation to play cricket in the first place. Now they are getting old together. Kumble is 36, Ganguly 35, Tendulkar and Dravid 34 and Laxman 32. It is the handling of Tendulkar's departure that will cause the greatest interest.

It is hard to imagine an Indian team without Tendulkar but that day is fast approaching. Who will be the brave man to tell him his time is up? The England manager Steve McClaren's conversation with Beckham after the 2006 World Cup would, in comparison, have been a doddle. Indian cricket fans tend to act more excitedly than England's football followers when greeted with such news. McClaren may think he has a tough job, but he is yet to have effigies of him burnt in the streets.

Tendulkar will leave the game holding most batting records - though Donald Bradman's average of 99.94 will elude him - but he still has a point to prove this summer. Like Brian Lara, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, cricket's other modern greats, Tendulkar is yet to produce his best at Lord's. The honours boards in the visitors' dressing room at the home of cricket do not bear their names and next week's Test gives the "little master" his last chance of joining this exclusive club.

The impending departure of the five greats does not worry Shastri, though he does feel that the infrastructure of cricket in India needs to change.

"There is not a fear that India will struggle to replace these players when they finally go," he said. "India is a big country and there is enough talent there. It is about spotting the talent and getting it on at the right time. With the amount of cricket being played in India and the amount of exposure that exists I am very positive about talent coming through. Suresh Reina is 20, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 26, Dinesh Kartik is 22, Sreesanth is 24. There is Munaf Patel too, and Harbhajan Singh is still only 27. There is a lot of talent there.

"But the infrastructure in India has to be sorted out. The BCCI were right to delay their decision to name a new coach when Graham Ford turned them down. I am not in favour of an Indian coach or an overseas coach. What I am in favour of is the right coach, a coach that will organise the team and get them pulling in the same direction.

"A national academy at a junior level is an absolute must. You have to have the right people looking after that. Talent has to be spotted when boys are playing Under-13, Under-14 and Under-15 [cricket]. It then has to be watched and groomed before it comes through the ranks and goes on to play for the states in India. I think that is happening now. To have a brilliant national cricket academy is the most important thing Indian cricket could have."

While India - and, for that matter, Pakistan - fail to make the most of their resources, the rest of the cricket world can allow itself a huge sigh of relief. That is because when - sorry, if - they do sort themselves out, the others will be in trouble. Indian cricket is a sleeping giant that is yet to get out of bed.

Anatomy of a rich cricketing nation

By John Coulson

India is said to provide 70 per cent of world cricket's revenue. This is hardly surprising - 86 per cent of a population of more than a billion list watching television as their main hobby and cricket is the national sport.

Over the next four years the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will receive £570m from media and sponsorship deals. The largest are the £360m sale of the global media rights for all cricket played in India to production company Nimbus and a £128m agreement with Zee Telefilms for the rights to 25 one-day internationals at neutral venues worldwide.

Critics say this move is motivated by neutral venues allowing the BCCI to keep television revenues. For example, a one-dayer between India and Pakistan at Lord's would see the ECB receive a match fee and the BCCI keep the television rights.

In 2005 India secured a £40m, four-year deal with Air Sahara and a £25m kit sponsorship deal with Nike. England's current deal with Vodafone is worth an estimated £15m; the West Indies deal with Digicel £10.5m. The BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi says Indian cricket is now "the most valued brand in team sponsorship".

"The aim was to maximise the gains for the benefit of the game," Modi said. "The BCCI is looking at exploring new sources of revenue and will soon open itself to product merchandising, ground sponsorship and other licensing as part of its strategy to market the game." in the four years prior to Modi's appointment the BCCI's income was $67m (£32.9m). He believes this was due to widespread corruption and the underselling of TV rights. The next four years will see income rise above $1bn (£492m).

This wealth is not confined to the BCCI. In 2003 the batsman Sachin Tendulkar had an estimated fortune of £24.6m. Were he a Premiership footballer, he would be in the top 10 earners.

Indian Summer: Four attractions who are ready to turn on the heat in their final tour of England

* SACHIN TENDULKAR
Born 24 April 1973, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Age 34
Batting style: Right-hand

* TEST RECORD Matches 137
Runs 10,922
High score 248
Average 55.44

* TESTS IN ENGLAND Matches 10
Runs 1,074
High score 193
Average 71.6

* TESTS AT LORD'S Matches 3
Runs 96
High score 31
Average 19.2

* SOURAV GANGULY
Born 8 July 1972, Kolkata, Bengal
Age 35
Batting style: Left-hand

* TEST RECORD Matches 93
Runs 5,563
High score 173
Average 40.9

* TESTS IN ENGLAND Matches 6
Runs 666
High score 136
Average 74.0

* TESTS AT LORD'S Matches 2
Runs 136
High score 131
Average 45.33

* RAHUL DRAVID
Born 11 January 1973, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Age 34
Batting style: Right-hand

* TEST RECORD Matches 109
Runs 9,366
High score 270
Average 57.46

* TESTS IN ENGLAND Matches 6
Runs 431
High score 95
Average 53.87