Theories Unleashed On Breaking India’s 17-Year Old Jinx

CEAT Cricket Rating organised a Panel Discussion on " Can India break the 17 year old itch". The session was moderated by the legendary Ian Chappell, and the speakers were Farokh Engineer, Yajurvindra Singh, Suresh Saraiya and Sanjay Manjrekar.

October 30, 2003 – How can India break the 17-year old jinx – of not winning outside the subcontinent – was the topic for discussion when an elite panel consisting of Ian Chappell, Farokh Engineer, Yajurvindra Singh, Sanjay Manjrekar and Suresh Saraiya got together at the C.K.Nayudu Hall, Cricket Club of India, Mumbai, on the eve of the 8th Annual Ceat International Cricket Rating Awards ceremony to be held at Hotel Taj Mahal, Mumbai.

The discussion – triggered by the fact that India has not won a single test series outside the subcontinent for the last 17 years – was initiated by Ceat Ltd. in view of India’s tour Down Under next month. The views expressed by the panellists were a bag of mixed opinion. While the ex-champion stumper Farokh Engineer, Sanjay Manjrekar and Yajurvindra Singh sounded very optimistic, Legendary Ian Chappell and well-known commentator Suresh Saraiya jingled a not-so-optimistic note.

Sanjay Manjrekar said, “In the late l980s and 90s there used to be nine out of eleven players in the team who would feel overawed by the ‘foreign feeling’. However, today the scene has changed drastically. There may be only a couple of players in the team who might not feel ‘at home’ abroad. But that can be taken care of by a sports psychiatrist easily. There is also another aspect which favours India’s chances of winning a test series outside the subcontinent. Now a days playing short series of only a couple of tests is in thing. So it is a question of winning the first test match and drawing the next one. India would then have broken this 17-year old jinx. India too have a few champion players in Tendulkar, Dravid, Sehwag, Zaheer and Harbhajan. This is India’s best chance”.

Farokh Engineer too was optimistic, “First of all, let’s not forget that India has won abroad before. So the talent, ability and performance are not alien to Indian outfit. It is only a matter of few adjustments. On the bouncy Australian wickets Indian batters have to bat with grit and determination. They will have to bowl well, meaning to the field placement, and of course the bowlers must get the hundred per cent support from the fielders. Strong mind and perfect physical fitness are the key factors. Having said this I must also admit the fact that Indians look a very confident side after their world cup success”.

On the positive note was Yajurvindra Singh, “I think today India’s under-age group cricket is taking good shape. More and more scientific ways and professional guidance is being made available. Obviously, the future looks bright. About India’s tour to Australia, I must say that India is blessed in the bowlers such as Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan. All these are capable of taking twenty Aussie wickets. And Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Captain Sourav Ganguly are all skilled enough to raise the bar. Ok, if Australia is too tough a side to beat, India should be able to beat at least teams like Zimbabwe”.

Commentator Suresh Saraiya, however, kept bowling bouncers at the Indian team. “Today’s good cricketers are being made to look like great cricketers and great cricketers are made to look like legends. At times, even an ordinary performance gets blown out of proportion. And I will hold the media responsible for this. It has become a sort of public relations business. The players seem to have lost focus. I may not sound very optimistic but somebody has to talk the truth”.

Legendary Ian Chappell moderated the entire discussion and gave his opinion too on the subject. “If you look at the Australian cricket’s history during all eras it was a combo of two great bowlers and one great wicketkeeper. They were always supported by terrific batting. Also the visiting teams find it difficult to adjust to the wickets Down Under which are pro pace and bounce. Visiting team’s batsmen have to adjust to the bounce that is not there on their own wickets. Obviously, their adjustment is from down to up. However, Aussie batsmen are used to pace and bounce so they find it very easy to adjust from up to down. The secret of the success enjoyed by the Australian teams is this. As far as India’s tour is concerned, I feel VVS Laxman needs to be promoted to number three to set the tempo. If he successfully does this then the job of Sachin Tendulkar becomes that much easy. Otherwise the responsibility of holding one end and also score runs will put Sachin under tremendous pressure. However, to expect that the Indian team will break the 17-year old jinx on this tour looks a remote possibility”.