Usually in the sub-continent the pitches are batsman friendly and unforgiving for the bowlers. In the India South Africa series there were no huge scores like in the India Srilanka series, but still, the margin for error for pace bowlers was minimum. In that light, I feel that the man of the series award should have been shared between Irfan Pathan and Shaun Pollock, who actually made the difference in each of the respective games by running through the top order. They also contributed some vital and useful runs with the bat. Infact in the India Pakistan series concluded in April 2005, Rana Naved Ul Hassan was declared Man of the series precisely for this reason. In the sub-continent, particularly, in India if fast bowlers perform well they definitely deserve a lot more credit simply because of the nature of the pitches.
Im so proud to be an avid reader of your columns. Unlike the tabloid of the century (indiatimes) with flaming articles despising one and all in the team, you always seem to maintain your head on sports commentary. Constructive criticism is the name of the game if you are in the media and Im happy rediff has never missed the boat.
Good luck for the future and respresenting Indian sports media in good light.
Looking at the data it is quite clear that Sachin Tendulkar must go. The only records he is making are related to the number of appearances in ODI & Tests.
Against South Africa he has scored a paltry 36 in 4 matches and was not much better against Sri Lanka. He does not have any decent scores in the domestic cricket either. There is absolutely no rationale for keeping him in the team while the youngsters suffer.
