Mumbai: Time has come for the Rahul Dravid-led Team India to stop tinkering with the team's batting order and composition and start winning matches and titles, feels former paceman Javagal Srinath.
"It's time for India to stop experimentations and start winning (in the run-up to the 2007 World Cup). We have not done well in Sri Lanka since 1995 and it's a difficult place to play because of the sapping conditions and slow wickets," Srinath said at a panel discussion ahead of the forthcoming tri-series in the emerald isle.
"It's fine if we change the batting order when playing in India where even if we reverse it and play without a coach the team will win. But the important and crucial thing is winning overseas," Srinath said at the function in Mumbai.
Srinath also said the emphasis placed on the batting prowess of Irfan Pathan, who has looked listless of late, instead of allowing him to concentrate on his bowling has affected the Baroda youngster's performance.
"He's got good experience, but is just 21. He's a huge asset for the team. But the problem is we compare him to (former Pakistan skipper) Wasim Akram and expect huge things constantly. Knowing him as a cricketer and his attitude towards the game, I'm sure he will bounce back," Srinath said.
Former leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, who also took part in the discussion with ex-India middle order mainstay Sanjay Manjrekar acting as the moderator, differed with Srinath over the question of batting order and said it needed to be flexible.
"Flexibility is very important in deciding the batting order. It's a vital part of today's One-Day game," Siva said.
Srinath also cautioned wicketkeeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni to refrain from trying out too many shots against Sri Lanka's record-breaking off spinner Muthiah Muralitharan.
"Dhoni is extremely good against bowlers who are one-dimensional, but Murali is different. Dhoni has to be careful," Srinath said.
Both Srinath and Sivaramakrishnan agreed that it would be important to negotiate Muralitharan and slow left arm bowler Sanath Jayasuriya successfully during the middle overs.
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"I see some problems for India in the middle overs. If Murali can be seen off with figures like none for 45 in ten, his effectiveness as a whole will be reduced," Sivaramakrishnan said.
Maintaining that the Sri Lankan fast bowling attack was superior to India's, Srinath said the hosts had an all-round bowling attack.
All three former cricketers placed Lanka as the favourites for winning the three-nation event featuring South Africa as the third team.
Srinath said the Indian selectors had made a mistake by not including Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan in the team.
On Sachin Tendulkar's comeback, Srinath said the ace batsman would anytime walk into the squad, but added that the Mumbai batsman would take some time to find his bearings after his long lay-off.
Manjrekar pointed out that the media was not highlighting the important factor of fielding when they discuss team composition.
"There's discussion on the importance of having experienced players in the team, but we have seen that if the team has five or six slow movers in the ranks, it affects the performance in One-Day cricket," Manjrekar said.
Harping on the reign of Greg Chappell and his combination with Dravid, Srinath said the former Australian skipper started off well, but the country is now looking forward to the squad winning overseas.
"He has to make India win abroad. We are all looking forward to this," Srinath said.
Manjrekar said the Indian batsmen of late have become better players of pace bowling than spin, a view endorsed by Sivaramakrishnan, who said the batsmen have for long struggled against off spin, including John Bracewell of New Zealand in the late 1980s.
Siva said ex-West Indies great Andy Roberts, who gave the Irfan Pathan some tips, felt that the he was doing things exactly opposite to what he should be doing in his run-up.
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"He's starting off with long strides and then shortening them while it should be the other way around was what Roberts felt," Siva said.
"We should realise that Pathan is a swing bowler and not a fast bowler," Siva elaborated.
Srinath, while agreeing on the view, also maintained that a swing bowler needs to bowl at decent pace to be effective and added that one cannot always get movement in the air as it depended on other factors too.
"Pathan needs to operate at around 128-130 kmph which he can easily achieve. The fact is he's played a lot of cricket and has been training hard. His body is slowly coming to terms with international cricket.
Picking up the cue, Manjrekar said that the topic of training needed to be discussed about in details but will take a long time to achieve.
"The important question to ask is whether we have the ideal training regime for our fast bowlers," Manjrekar said.
On the topic of pace bowling, Manjrekar said it was very sad to see ace South African pacer Shaun Pollock resort to bowling off spin in the second Test against Sri Lanka which the Proteas lost by one wicket.
"It reminded me of Manoj Prabhakar and the Ferozshah Kotla ground (vs Sri Lanka) in 1996 (World Cup tie). It was terribly sad, " said the former batsman-turned-commentator.
Srinath felt that only by sheer experience Pollock and Sri Lankan left arm pacer Chaminda Vaas are keeping their places after having bowled tirelessly over the years.
Praising Dravid, Srinath said the Indian skipper derived strength from his own performance and said if at all his captaincy can be said to have some drawback it was because his former team mate does not "take risks".
"He's methodical (as captain)," he added.
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