[deehunk]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Completely agree. Only Kapil Dev got that extra leverage when the team carried him for three years before he broke the world record for most test wickets. Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan deserved their moment of glory but were denied, same as Dravid and Laxman.

There is a wrong assumption that Kapil played to break Hadlee's record, but having seen cricket of that era too, Kapil had lot of good outings before that one ODI match when Lara stepped out to maul him in an over. He was just 34 when he quit, but after him we never got an allrounder.

GG got the job because of his affiliation to a political party and not on merit. Once the 3rd test match headed for a draw, there might have been team selection for the 4th test match, and Ashwin has realized that he is not playing, so he took a bold decision.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by deehunk

There is a wrong assumption that Kapil played to break Hadlee's record, but having seen cricket of that era too, Kapil had lot of good outings before that one ODI match when Lara stepped out to maul him in an over. He was just 34 when he quit, but after him we never got an allrounder.

GG got the job because of his affiliation to a political party and not on merit. Once the 3rd test match headed for a draw, there might have been team selection for the 4th test match, and Ashwin has realized that he is not playing, so he took a bold decision.

I saw Kapil Dev struggling to get wickets after he crossed the 400 mark in Australia during the 91 series. It took him three and half years to take 34 wickets to cross Hadlee. He was indeed 34 when he retired but he had lost his pace considerably by then. I remember Subroto Mukherjee and Jawagal Srinath vying for the place in the team while Kapil Dev played on. While it’s true that he was the greatest all rounder we had and we have still not got another Kapil Dev, the team did carry him until he broke the record.

And yes, whole heartedly agree with the second part of your post but with only rider. Ashwin has been dropped before as well, what happened this time ?

These things have happened before as well and we in India are terribly short when it comes to honouring our sporting heroes. All I can say is that the whole thing could have been managed in a better way. But then, if Dravid and Laxman can retire abruptly after being treated shabbily, anyone can be treated the same, so no surprises there.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Ashwin has been dropped before as well, what happened this time ?

He was never dropped for another off spinner, that was the difference.