The greatest Indo-Pak team of all time - A story of 2003 World Cup

The greatest team of all time

Republic Day – which comes up in 10 days – and Independence Day are the two days in a year which gets me into a contemplative “what-if” mode. We have heard many a wise person talk about an undivided India and what could have been its future potential as a nation.

One thing which doesn’t come up that often is the lip-smacking possibilities of a joint Indo-Pak cricket team. A team which would have the silken skills of Indian batsmanship and the unbelievable dexterity of Pakistani fast bowling. A team which would be capable of putting up a steady show each time it took the field and yet raise the bar a few notches higher in times of adversity with their mercurial skills.

Most efforts to “build” an Indo-Pak team in the past have largely concentrated on an All-Time XI. So you would have a Zaheer Abbas playing alongside a Sachin Tendulkar and a Bhagwat Chandrashekhar bowling in tandem with Wasim Akram. While the endeavours have mostly been noteworthy, what I would be interested in is a team which would be the greatest of its era. Something on the lines of Bradman’s Invincibles or the West Indies team of the late 70s and early 80s.

And it is very difficult to keep your personal bias out of the equation when you attempt something like this. Which is why I would place this particular team in the South African summer of 2003 – a time when time hadn’t dulled my passion or memory – as they look forward to launching their World Cup campaign. To give this article a feeling of authenticity, whatever comes next would be in the form of an actual newspaper article which might have been written at that time had our policy makers decided on a different fate for us in 1947.

January 26, 2003 – After celebrating Republic Day at home, the Indian cricket team departed for South Africa today carrying the wishes and goodwill of the world’s most populous nation. Most cricket pundits feel that 2003 is the year the trophy could come back home – eleven years after Imran’s Tigers had set the Australian shores on fire and seven years after Azharuddin’s men were booed to ignominy at Eden Gardens after a failed bid to retain the title.

The manager of this team, incidentally, is no one other than Imran Khan and there is no doubt as to which side he will put his money on in this year’s showpiece event in the cricket calendar. In his own words, Imran feels that Sourav Ganguly‘s team will “not just win but will not lose a single match in the tournament”.

Coming from someone else and from a different team, these claims might have sounded ludicrous but, at least on paper, Imran’s words carry a lot of weight. The side is chock-a-block with superstars and for some of them this might be a final hurrah on the international stage. They would leave no stone unturned in a bid to sign out on a high.

Sachin Tendulkar and Inzamam-ul-Haq

Opening the batting would be the reliable firm of Messrs Tendulkar and Ganguly. As of date, they already share the highest number of century partnerships for an opening pair as well as the highest stand for the first wicket. Both of them are in good form and would be gunning for quick runs and a steady base at the same time.

The reserve opener lacks none of the pedigree of those mentioned earlier. Saeed Anwar has been one of the mainstays for his state team Pakistan. Pakistan has won the A H Kardar trophy – India’s domestic first class competition – a record 53 times and is known for providing an unending supply of quality fast bowlers to the national team.

They are also known for racking up big totals against opposition and, in recent times, this man has had a greater role to play in that more often than not. His most memorable exploits include a breathtaking 194 in an unofficial Pakistan versus the Rest of India match in 1997 to commemorate 50 years of India’s independence. His score still stands as the highest List A score by an Indian batsman but he reckons his teammate Sachin Tendulkar or the new kid on the block Virender Sehwag would beat it in the years to come – possibly even against an international attack.

Making a comeback at number three would be the familiar figure of Rahul Dravid. Dravid took over the gloves from Kamran Akmal last year and demoted himself to number five to lengthen the batting order but the presence of MS Dhoni (whom we will talk about later in the article) in the squad has allowed himself to bat in his favourite position. It is a mark of a team’s bench strength when a young Turk like Younis Khan, who would walk into any other team, has to wait for a chance to even make it to the final fifteen.

At number four would be the reassuring girth of Inzamam-ul-Haq. There has been a call for more athletic players in recent times but the likes of Yuvraj Singh are yet to hold up a candle to the batting of Inzamam-ul-Haq who provides India with both a calming presence and a battering ram in the middle order. His presence would be boosted by the inclusion of Yousuf Youhana at number five which essentially means that even if the opposition manages to make early inroads into this Indian batting lineup they would still have to contend with a rock solid middle order.

Given his batting style, it is incredulous that coach Kapil Dev sees Virender Sehwag as a long term Test opener despite his exploits in England but, as of now, he would have to make do with a lower middle order slot. The top five have the batting firepower to tire out most bowling attacks and Sehwag’s job would be to capitalise on their efforts in the death overs.

You can understand the level of belief India’s selectors have in MS Dhoni by their decision of selecting a rookie wicketkeeper with no backup for a tour as important as the World Cup. Dhoni is seen by many as the “ultimate athlete in Indian cricket” – a man with seemingly no limits to his physical or mental prowess.

Both Imran and Kapil have earmarked him as a future Indian captain even before he has made his international debut. As a keeper, he is considered a worthy successor to the likes of Kirmani and Bari; as a batsman much better than anybody India has managed to produce at number seven. However only time will tell – a lot of expectations were placed on Kamran Akmal last year and we all know how that story ended.

As with the batting, the new ball will be shared by those long time purveyors of misery – Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Both have announced their retirements after this World Cup to help younger fast bowlers emerge and therefore would be desperate to make a mark in this tournament. Despite their age, neither of them has lost an iota of their pace or – more importantly – their skill. As Kapil says, “We have a lot of very fast bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar knocking on the door. Right now we are spoilt for speed but the successors of Wasim and Waqar need to have much more than just that to prove themselves worthy”.

It is indeed remarkable that a single Indian state produces as many quality fast bowlers in a single year as the rest of the cricketing world put together. This would also explain the high turnouts of budding Australian and English pacers at the LPA (Lahore Pace Academy) every summer.

Wasim Akram of Pakistan and Javagal Srinath of India

The backup pacers can hold their own on their day as well. Since his emergence in the 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy, Zaheer Khan has taken rapid steps to fill up the crater sized hole to be formed by Akram’s retirement. He was discovered by Akram himself at a young age in the LPA and since then he has become well-versed in his master’s arts. He might get his chance to play if India decide to go in with three fast bowlers given a hard and bouncy pitch.

Like Anwar, it is sad that a talent like Javagal Srinath could not flower to its full extent because of the “problem of plenty” in Indian cricket. When he started out in the early 90s, Srinath was as quick as any of the pacers from Pakistan. Over the years he has lost most of his pace but has proved to be a more than efficient first-change option in overseas conditions.

Even that job has been somewhat of a rarity in recent times and it is safe to say that had the World Cup been held in the subcontinent Srinath might not have featured in it. His chances of playing seem bleak as only an injury and a really helpful surface combined would necessitate his need.

There will be no let up on the spin bowling front as well. The resurgence of Harbhajan Singh two summers back means that India has two world class spinners – the other being Anil Kumble – alongside two world class fast bowlers which would make them a force to reckon with on any surface. Harbhajan’s wily guiles and Kumble’s fastidious legbreaks complement each other as beautifully as the opposition batsmen wouldn’t want to be.

It is an irony that Harbhajan’s guru and the inventor of the “doosra” Saqlain Mushtaq has to play second fiddle to his protege. What works out for him is that he is on the right side of 30 and hence can form a two-pronged off spin attack with Harbhajan after Kumble retires – whenever that happens.

Having said that, Saqlain’s bowling is largely dependent on his moods and hence he often loses his radar in face of an onslaught. He plays a lot of his cricket on dead unresponsive surfaces like Multan in the north-western part of the country and the new breed of batsmen like Virender Sehwag, who take to spin bowling like an alcoholic to his bottle of port, could mentally disintegrate him with a calculated assault. Till that happens though, he remains one of India’s best spin bowling options.

MS Dhoni and Shahid Afridi

A cricket crazy country and no dearth of options have understandably led many to question this squad – notably the non-inclusion of certain players. The loudest shouts have been for Shahid Afridi, the young all-rounder who shot to fame with the fastest ODI century on batting debut in 1996. His supporters have been clamouring for the selectors to choose him instead of Javagal Srinath considering the fact that the latter would have no major role to play in the tournament. Ironically, it was a bat borrowed from Srinath that had brought about that whirlwind innings and Afridi himself accepts that he is a “perfectionist of the Javagal Srinath school of batting”.

However the batting and fielding coach Mohammed Azharuddin disagrees. “We have essentially tried to retain a core unit of players which was there when we won the World Cup in 1992. Sachin, Inzi, Anil, Wasim, Waqar, Sri were all there. These guys know what it takes to win a World Cup and Inshallah they will do it for us again. Besides that, we already have three brilliant spinners and a strong batting lineup. What we need is an experienced pacer to bolster us in case Wasim or Waqar get injured. Shahid and Yuvi are good lads – they will get their chances very soon.”

Azhar is also thankful to the ICC for their act of clemency in cutting short his lifetime ban after he played a major role in busting the match-fixing syndicate by providing critical and incriminating evidence.”A lot of things have happened in the past but now is not the right time to talk about this. Let just say this is a new beginning for both me and the team. I am indebted to the ICC for curtailing my ban and for the BCCI for giving me a second chance.” Azhar, Kapil and Imran all were around in 1992 land the team could not have asked for a better support team.

After the visiting Australian team had been ground to dust in two days by the state team in Karachi in 2001, the commentator Dean Jones had jokingly remarked that Pakistan should be allowed to play international cricket as a separate country. While the possibilities of this happening in the near future seem slim, it is fair to say that most of the other nations participating in this year’s World Cup would be entitling themselves to Jones’ opinion.