Sports India

Youth or experience? Which will be the match winner for India in the forthcoming tri series in Sri Lanka? On one hand, the team boasts of 30- plus class acts like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, while on the other youngsters like Dhoni, Yuvraj and Irfan create excitement each time they get on the pitch.

In a BT spot poll, 60 per cent voters felt it would be the youngsters who would fire, while just 20 per cent expressed their confidence in Sachin and Co. While 20 per cent felt a mix of youth and experience would be best.

“The chances of older players firing in their skill areas are much better,” says sports commentator Charu Sharma, “But with cricket becoming very physically demanding, youngsters with their better fitness levels turn out to be match winners.

We have no choice but to stuff the team with athleticism,” he adds, “The older players, while extremely gifted in their own skill areas, tend to leak runs when it comes to fielding. The opposition knows that.”

This can end up being the decisive factor when matches are won or lost by 10-20 runs, he adds. “It’s a difficult toss up. You can’t have seniors on standby as 12th man.”

Ad professional Chandramouli feels balance is a must. “The youngsters have achieved a lot and deserve their place, but a player like Sachin must stay, too. His presence alone gives a psychological edge to the team.”

Still, with the World Cup just months away, “No one should take anything for granted.”

Says a former cricketer who didn’t want to be named, “Rahul, Sachin and Anil are the nucleus around which the team performs. So a blend of both youth and experience is right.” While youngsters are good players, they add little in terms of character or communication, he adds.

“Dravid keeps the team balance. He’s shrewd, low profile and complements Chappell. As for Sachin — he’s a genius. No one is really qualified to talk about him.”

But brand consultant Harish Bijoor unequivocally roots for the youngsters. “The team consists of the tested and untested. The tested seem to have had lows the last two seasons, while youngsters have delivered. While seniors are needed for leadership, an ideal line up would consist of 70:30 combo favouring youngsters. That would take us to the next World Cup.”

An additional advantage newbies have is the surprise element, as their form isn’t familiar to the opposition — a key factor.

“Sachin’s place has been kept for too long. He is now at the bottom end of his performance curve. We sometimes need to decimate the old brand to create a younger brand. And the time for that is now.”