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Test Match Betting: Retirement of India's senior players has been on the cards but the timing of it will be to their detriment

Bat and ball RSS / / 10 October 2008 /

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Pablo Luna - Moonlighting for Betfair. Pablo discusses the retirement of Sourav Ganguly and how much truth there is behind the rumours that Kumble, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman will follow suit and the effect that the speculation will have on the current Test series.

A bombshell of gigantic proportions has landed on the lap of international cricket with the news that the Indian Cricket Board has drawn up immediate redundancy plans for five senior players in Sourav Ganguly (36), skipper Anil Kumble (38), Sachin Tendulkar (35), Rahul Dravid (35) and VVS Laxman (33).

The whole world was aware of the ages of these cricketers but this en masse retirement strategy is unprecedented in modern times! To purge India of their best batting talent in history and in one go represents extreme carnage and madness! The BCCI intend to remove them whilst allowing them to keep their dignity - not an easy task!

Sourav Ganguly had already decided to hang up his boots. Some said that his poor showing against Sri Lanka (averaging just 16) proved that time had caught up with him - I would remind them that he has scored 1667 runs in 21 matches at 45.05 in the last two years prior to that series. In the last series Tendulkar averaged 15.83 and Dravid 24.66.

Ganguly has been the most scrutinised and disliked from some quarters yet he leaves a legacy as a leader with the common touch and the man responsible for dragging Indian cricket out of its feudal past. I commend and salute him!

As his retirement plans reach hysterical limits it will be interesting to see if he goes out in a blaze of glory? Will he bat with greater freedom? He certainly loves this ground. The last time he batted here he scored 330 runs in two innings which is the second highest ever total in a single Test in Bangalore.

Despite my compete adoration of Tendulkar I had felt that he would have been the first to go! The pressure and years of toil are taking their toll. His ongoing tennis elbow injury is a permanent handicap. A groin injury forced him out of two Tests against South Africa in April and he now skips matches to stay fresh! Murmurs are coming out of India claiming he refuses to retire because several of his contracts are tied to him playing on.

Tendulkar looks certain to play in all the Tests against Australia as he pursues the 77 runs he needs to pass Brian Lara as Test cricket's leading run-scorer. Can you imagine what would happen if he was denied that opportunity?

As speculation mounted Indian skipper Anil Kumble merely parried questions whether he would be retiring after the current series against Australia. He confirmed that this match would be his last in his home city of Bangalore. The earliest Bangalore will get to host another Test is during the series against Sri Lanka towards the end of 2009.

38-year-old Kumble, who had already announced his retirement from one-day cricket, may quit after the Australian series. He is furious with the media for the speculation on the future of the seniors but the story is the biggest sport news in India ever! The Australians will use this smokescreen as camouflage as they enter the minds of these batsmen. The umpiring will make fascinating viewing.

Do stars like Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Kumble deserve the right to bow out on their choosing? I know they deserve a fitting send-off but what if they don't know when to pull up stumps? It is worth remembering that the Indian Cricket Team is currently the highest paid national sports team in the world. I accept that leaving them angry and disgruntled is unpalatable.

With the media on over hype as they watch the 'Fab Four's Last Stand' and with the crowd adrenaline levels at fever pitch it promises to be of enormous fun. Four Tests in five weeks in intense heat and on different pitches would drain Goliath let alone mere mortals. With this highly charged atmosphere I await the fireworks.

Will Australia have entered the final stages of their dominance or is this a start of a new beginning? They are in transition and fully exposed after so many changes. Have the Indians handed over the initiative before a single ball has been bowled hence concealing the value of this new Australian side? What sort of side will play England in December, these are exciting times.

Latest Betfair odds on the Test Series Winner are: India [2.32] Australia [2.56] Draw [3.6]

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