Ajit Agarkar should retire from all forms of international cricket immediately.
Is he past his prime? Is he not good enough to play international cricket anymore? Does India have really good bowlers to replace him permanently?
No, no and no!
Then why should he retire?
Because there is nothing he can do that will satisfy the cricket crazy (read just crazy) Indian fans. He could take a heap of wickets in a series, or bowl consistently for 6 months, but the next time he has 1 bad game, he will be dropped without mercy.
Let us look at the latest chapter in his cricket career;
Did he deserve to the dropped from the ODI team after the world cup? Would India have qualified for the Super 8s with a different bowler? Would India have managed bowl out oppositions with Sreesanth playing instead of Agarkar?
Let us analyze these questions;
Agarkar bowled as well, or as badly as any other seam bowler on show for India at the cup. He was in fact, the standout bowler in the crucial game against Sri Lanka, keeping Jayaruriya on a tight leash. It is a matter of a separate discussion why he was not bowled out against Sri Lanka. (Munaf Patel bowled in his place and gave away 18 in an over)
The average Indian fan understands the language of numbers. So allow me to use some numbers. In this world cup, this is what Agarkar did:
4 wickets in 3 games, at an average of 28, strike rate of 40, and economy rate of 4.02
How did the other seamers fare?
Zaheer:
5 wickets in 3 games, at an average of 25, strike rate of 34, and economy rate of 4.20
Munaf:
5 wickets in 3 games, at an average of 26, strike rate of 39, and economy rate of 3.98
Do you notice any significant difference?
'It is not about the world cup, Agarkar has always been an inconsistent performer, giving away too many runs'
Is it true? Has Agarkar failed Indian cricket time and again? Let us look at his performance under Rahul Dravid as the captain.
75 wickets in 50 games, at an average of 26, strike rate of 32, and economy rate of 4.81
Zaheer:
69 wickets in 50 games, at an average of 32, strike rate of 36, and economy rate of 5.19
Irfan:
62 wickets in 40 games, at an average of 25, strike rate of 29, and economy rate of 5.11
Munaf:
26 wickets in 20 games, at an average of 28, strike rate of 37, and economy rate of 4.53
Sreesanth:
35 wickets in 27 games, at an average of 36, strike rate of 37, and economy rate of 5.75
RP Singh:
24 wickets in 20 games, at an average of 31, strike rate of 35, and economy rate of 5.13
So, where does Agarkar stack up in this list? I would say top of the pile.
We should not be even talking about his career numbers;
276 wickets in 183 games, at an average of 27, strike rate of 32, and economy rate of 5.02
'What is so special about these numbers?'
Everyone knows he was the fastest bowler in the history of one day cricket to get to 50 wickets. But how many people know he is the 5th fastest to 250 wickets, taking the same number of games as Glenn McGrath. And at the current rate, he is in line to be the 2nd or 3rd fastest to 300 wickets.
He is a few wickets away from breaking into the top 10 wicket takers of all time, currently sitting on #12
He is #7 on the list of best strike rates amongst bowlers with minimum 100 games
Given a chance, he will end up as being India's best one day international bowler of all time. We are talking about Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble here.
But it is not just about the numbers. It is about what he has given to Indian cricket, and what Indian cricket has given back to him.
'He gets out for a duck almost every time he goes out to bat!'
He has always been blamed for his batting failures. Sure he had a lot of potential. But there came a time in his cricket career when he realized he could not be the all-rounder everyone, perhaps himself, thought was possible. So he had to choose between batting and bowling. He chose the latter. And he has tried to remind everyone that he is not a batsman. He would have hoped people would have heard him already.
So he is a bad batsman. Does he not field well? We should try to also note that he is by far the best seam bowler fielder we have. In the time when we have people crying for better fielding, it is strange that we replace him with RP Singh.
What about his attitude? He has been amongst the very few Indian bowlers who has the aggression. How many times have we moaned the lack of aggressive bowlers in our team who can give some back to the opposition?
It should also be noted that after 9 seasons in international cricket, he bowls at the same speed that he started off with. He hits the 140 kph mark with alarming regularity. How much has Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan's pace dropped just 1-2 seasons into international cricket?
He is also amongst the longest serving Indian pace bowlers. How many readers can remember names like Ashish Vaidhya, Thiru Kumaran, Dodda Ganesh, David Johnson, Salil Ankola, Abey Kuruvilla, Debashis Monhanty or Harvinder Singh? How well could some better names hold up? Venkatesh Prasad, Abey Kuruvilla, Ashish Nehra or Laxmipathy Balaji?
So he has given Indian cricket a fantastic wicket taking ability, great fielding, speed, longevity and loads of aggression.
What has he got in return?
He is Indian cricket's biggest sacrificial lamb. Any time there is call for change in the team, he is the first one to be dropped. With numbers like his, in the short term and long, he should have had his place secured in the Indian team. Any team other than Australia would take this performance from their seam bowler.
He still has no respect from the Indian cricket fan or the experts. Not one soul questioned why he was dropped from the team to Bangladesh. Some reports had noted pre-world cup that he was India's standout bowler last season.
If he has a heart big enough to take this total lack of respect with a smile, he should go on for the sake of Indian cricket. He is only 29, and has a lot to offer.
But for his sake, he should quit all international cricket. Maybe play some first class cricket in Australia, the only county that has appreciated him for his strengths, and not ridiculed him for his weaknesses.
Is he past his prime? Is he not good enough to play international cricket anymore? Does India have really good bowlers to replace him permanently?
No, no and no!
Then why should he retire?
Because there is nothing he can do that will satisfy the cricket crazy (read just crazy) Indian fans. He could take a heap of wickets in a series, or bowl consistently for 6 months, but the next time he has 1 bad game, he will be dropped without mercy.
Let us look at the latest chapter in his cricket career;
Did he deserve to the dropped from the ODI team after the world cup? Would India have qualified for the Super 8s with a different bowler? Would India have managed bowl out oppositions with Sreesanth playing instead of Agarkar?
Let us analyze these questions;
Agarkar bowled as well, or as badly as any other seam bowler on show for India at the cup. He was in fact, the standout bowler in the crucial game against Sri Lanka, keeping Jayaruriya on a tight leash. It is a matter of a separate discussion why he was not bowled out against Sri Lanka. (Munaf Patel bowled in his place and gave away 18 in an over)
The average Indian fan understands the language of numbers. So allow me to use some numbers. In this world cup, this is what Agarkar did:
4 wickets in 3 games, at an average of 28, strike rate of 40, and economy rate of 4.02
How did the other seamers fare?
Zaheer:
5 wickets in 3 games, at an average of 25, strike rate of 34, and economy rate of 4.20
Munaf:
5 wickets in 3 games, at an average of 26, strike rate of 39, and economy rate of 3.98
Do you notice any significant difference?
'It is not about the world cup, Agarkar has always been an inconsistent performer, giving away too many runs'
Is it true? Has Agarkar failed Indian cricket time and again? Let us look at his performance under Rahul Dravid as the captain.
75 wickets in 50 games, at an average of 26, strike rate of 32, and economy rate of 4.81
Zaheer:
69 wickets in 50 games, at an average of 32, strike rate of 36, and economy rate of 5.19
Irfan:
62 wickets in 40 games, at an average of 25, strike rate of 29, and economy rate of 5.11
Munaf:
26 wickets in 20 games, at an average of 28, strike rate of 37, and economy rate of 4.53
Sreesanth:
35 wickets in 27 games, at an average of 36, strike rate of 37, and economy rate of 5.75
RP Singh:
24 wickets in 20 games, at an average of 31, strike rate of 35, and economy rate of 5.13
So, where does Agarkar stack up in this list? I would say top of the pile.
We should not be even talking about his career numbers;
276 wickets in 183 games, at an average of 27, strike rate of 32, and economy rate of 5.02
'What is so special about these numbers?'
Everyone knows he was the fastest bowler in the history of one day cricket to get to 50 wickets. But how many people know he is the 5th fastest to 250 wickets, taking the same number of games as Glenn McGrath. And at the current rate, he is in line to be the 2nd or 3rd fastest to 300 wickets.
He is a few wickets away from breaking into the top 10 wicket takers of all time, currently sitting on #12
He is #7 on the list of best strike rates amongst bowlers with minimum 100 games
Given a chance, he will end up as being India's best one day international bowler of all time. We are talking about Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble here.
But it is not just about the numbers. It is about what he has given to Indian cricket, and what Indian cricket has given back to him.
'He gets out for a duck almost every time he goes out to bat!'
He has always been blamed for his batting failures. Sure he had a lot of potential. But there came a time in his cricket career when he realized he could not be the all-rounder everyone, perhaps himself, thought was possible. So he had to choose between batting and bowling. He chose the latter. And he has tried to remind everyone that he is not a batsman. He would have hoped people would have heard him already.
So he is a bad batsman. Does he not field well? We should try to also note that he is by far the best seam bowler fielder we have. In the time when we have people crying for better fielding, it is strange that we replace him with RP Singh.
What about his attitude? He has been amongst the very few Indian bowlers who has the aggression. How many times have we moaned the lack of aggressive bowlers in our team who can give some back to the opposition?
It should also be noted that after 9 seasons in international cricket, he bowls at the same speed that he started off with. He hits the 140 kph mark with alarming regularity. How much has Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan's pace dropped just 1-2 seasons into international cricket?
He is also amongst the longest serving Indian pace bowlers. How many readers can remember names like Ashish Vaidhya, Thiru Kumaran, Dodda Ganesh, David Johnson, Salil Ankola, Abey Kuruvilla, Debashis Monhanty or Harvinder Singh? How well could some better names hold up? Venkatesh Prasad, Abey Kuruvilla, Ashish Nehra or Laxmipathy Balaji?
So he has given Indian cricket a fantastic wicket taking ability, great fielding, speed, longevity and loads of aggression.
What has he got in return?
He is Indian cricket's biggest sacrificial lamb. Any time there is call for change in the team, he is the first one to be dropped. With numbers like his, in the short term and long, he should have had his place secured in the Indian team. Any team other than Australia would take this performance from their seam bowler.
He still has no respect from the Indian cricket fan or the experts. Not one soul questioned why he was dropped from the team to Bangladesh. Some reports had noted pre-world cup that he was India's standout bowler last season.
If he has a heart big enough to take this total lack of respect with a smile, he should go on for the sake of Indian cricket. He is only 29, and has a lot to offer.
But for his sake, he should quit all international cricket. Maybe play some first class cricket in Australia, the only county that has appreciated him for his strengths, and not ridiculed him for his weaknesses.
