Olympic gold bigger than World Cup glory

I felt goose pimples for the first time after 1983 when we won the World Cup at Lord's. Like millions of my countrymen, I watched Abhinav Bindra make history at Beijing and felt proud of the young man. His gold will change the way we look at sports. It is a great day for India and I say from the core of my heart that Abhinav Bindra's gold medal at the Beijing Olympics is a greater feat than India winning the World Cup in 1983.

Having said that, I think we need to also change the way we look at our cricket. Are we going to allow non-performers to continue or we would like to change or mindset and look ahead? The 1-2 Tests series loss to Sri Lanka is a lesson that can not be ignored and I firmly believe now is the time to decide. If I praise the cricketers when they do well then I also have the right to criticize them when they falter.

I am talking of the Fabulous Five of Indian cricket_Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble; three ex-captains and one current, all capable of taking good or bad decisions about the rest, but what about themselves? Why do they not apply the same yardstick to themselves and take a decision that will benefit Indian cricket. We are an emotional people but then at some point we have to take a step that should help the team and not just an individual.

The seniors presented a pitiable sight in Sri Lanka. I have seen them grow and conquer the cricket world. I have been associated with some of them from their under-19 days but it pains me to see them struggle, use their pad and not bat. I have supported their cause when they needed and I am sure they too understand the tough situation they find themselves in now. It is time for some serious introspection now.

Manoj Tiwary, S. Badrinath and Suresh Raina have been waiting for some time now. Would these youngsters be given the same platform to succeed as the seniors. I am not questioning the credentials of the seniors or their magnificent contribution to Indian cricket but is it not important to perform and perform consistently when you are saddled with the responsibility to guide the youngsters.

These seniors have invited this criticism on themselves with their non-performance in the series against Sri Lanka. It was not bad patch but bad play that harmed their reputation. They may even complain of some rough decisions but there is no room for excuses after you have been outclassed by the opposition. Kumble, sadly, has looked a shadow of the wonderful bowler that we have known him to be and the batsmen have looked out of place.

India's next Test series will be against Australia at home and the team will be picked by a new selection committee. Dilip Vengsarkar had an excellent term as the chairman and was responsible for blooding some youngsters but my worry is whether the new committee would have the courage to take the tough decisions for us to move forward. Of course, you can't remove the seniors in one strike but then the process of transition has to be set in motion. It would be sad if a senior continues to struggle and yet keep his place at the cost of a promising junior.

For long we have talked of performance-oriented selection. If that is the case, it is time we proved it by picking performers for all future assignments. Is it right for a player to keep a place by scoring once in six innings. I leave the decision to you.