RAHUL DRAVID: batsman not a captain

What was most intriguing about Rahul Dravid’s decision to make himself unavailable for the India captaincy was not just the decision itself, but the timing of it.
It has come on the eve of what is possibly India’s toughest ever season of cricket - up ahead are series against Australia, Pakistan and South Africa. It can’t get tougher than this. Then again, it has come at a time when the Indian team finally seemed to have thrown off the bad memories of the Greg Chappell era and the shadow of the World Cup debacle. The one-day series in England had been lost but was a closely fought, enthralling contest; the Test series had seen a historic victory. Perhaps a combination of these two points resulted in the decision.

Who next? The run-up to the announcement of a new captain on September 18 will saw a fresh, frenzied debate. Sources said that if Tendulkar wants the job, he will get it. There is reason to believe that this time, if offered, he will accept. If he doesn’t, given the tough season ahead, India might look to the experience of Ganguly, ahead of a rookie skipper like Dhoni.

Dravid had been appointed skipper till the end of the England series and would have - as selection committee Chairman Dilip Vengsarkar said - “definitely continued if he hadn’t made this decision.” Possibly, he wanted to walk away on his own terms.
Now that the team has been brought together after being a house divided, and at a time when his invaluable services as a batsman adversely affected by captaincy - would be most needed, Dravid deemed it fit to step down.

He apparently told the BCCI brass that he couldn’t keep playing “two roles”, that of batsman and captain, successfully unless he did justice to and enjoyed both. Something he was finding increasingly difficult. .
Dravid had discussed this with board president Sharad Pawar once in England and then conveyed it to him formally here on Thursday.

The BCCI seems to have decided to accept Dravid’s decision; there is some talk of asking him to reconsider but for the most, there is a belief that it is a “personal choice that we respect.” India’s most prolific batsman of the last decade has cut a rather lonely, tense figure over the past two years, increasingly isolated by his natural reserve, the burdens of captaincy and perhaps an inability to properly communicate with his more flamboyant team-mates on several issues.

With T-20 cup in his hands, is Dhoni a right choice? For next few weeks, the hangover of South Africa might keep him there, on the top of it with Yuvraj and the history he made and the upcoming Australia’s tour of India will show whose decision was right?

Carvalho

Architect of India’s Asia Cup win

Eight time hockey Olympics champion, India failed to win a medal at the Asian games in Qatar last year. This was for the first time that India, which had produced hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, faced such an ignominy. Earlier, the Indian team came eleventh out of 12 teams in the World cup, sixth at the Commonwealth Games and last in the Champion Trophy at home. Disappointed at Indian team’s performance, the government stuck hockey off its list of sports eligible for extra funding.

Then came on the scene the "Messiah for the Indian hockey". Joaquim Carvalho, popularly called "jack" by his friends, was part of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic squad, considered one of the strongest ever to leave the Indian shores. He was in for a surprise when the Indian Hockey Federation offered him the post of coach of the team.

It was not an easy task to put the Indian team on the rail again. A surprised Carvalho, gave lot of thought to the offer, consulted his friends and family members and finally decided to accept the IHF offer but put forward certain conditions. Besides being given a freehand, he wanted to have supporting staff of his choice and a say in selection of team members. The Federation readily accepted his terms. Losing no time, Carvalho opted for two of his closest friends and former Indian team maters, M.M. Somayya and Mervyn Fernandes, as members of his supporting staff with Mohinder Pal Singh, former ace penalty comer hitter, and Parmeshwaran as assistant coaches.

Carvalho began his training session of the Indian squad in right earnest. A strict disciplinarian, he would not compromise on anything less than the best for his side.
He started paying attention to the minutest detail which other short-term coaches ignored. They included sharpening up play and deep penetration by the forwards, more legwork than better stick work, and sturdiness in midfield and stability in defence.

Carvalho turned out to be a self-made coach who believes that players learn more and quicker on the field than through computers and whiteboards. He made his sessions short, precise and to the point. His motto has been "keep it simple and talk to the players in a language they understand". During his playing days, he recalls, how he used to "spend boring hours listening to lectures from my coaches or watching match videos and promptly forgetting them the minute I left the room".

The Indian team’s performance steadily improved since Carvalho took over the job in March this year and culminated in a massive victory in the Seventh Asia Cup Hockey Championship with a 7-2 drubbing of South Korea, world’s sixth-ranked team.
Carvalho is now credited with motivating a team blamed in the past for lacking both unity and fitness. His mantra has been "hard running, retackling and pressing".
He has now set his eyes on 2008 Olympics in Beijing and says, "Our boys have talent and potential" to excel in China. The ensuing Champions Challenge tournament in Antwerp, the fashion capital of Belgium, would be the first step in the long journey towards regaining India’s pristine hockey glory.

Since his playing days, Indian hockey has slumped to an abysmal low. However, encouraged by the thunderous success in Asia Cup, Carvalho is all set to fine tune his team for Beijing. His long experience and dedication is proving to be an asset. His name stands among the leading hockey players of the sub-continent and he was picked up to play for the World XI in 1985. He also led the Indian team in 1985-86 season and was voted the best centre half in the world. He had been a leading player in 1984 Los Angles Olympics and 1986 World Cup in London..