The Indian team loses because it lacks passion for the game!

One day cricket is played in the mind more than any other form of the game. Teams do not need to have the best talent to have a winning record. They just need players who have the deep desire to win. India lacks players who have this desire and it is reflected in its record in recent years. The team ostensibly has enough individual talent at its disposal, it does not have players with a passion for the game. This is the single most important issue that Greg Chappell has to contend with if he has to raise the performance of his new team.

Sri Lanka is clearly a team with a lot of passion for the game. Its players have a lot of heart as exemplified by Jayasuriya braving a broken shoulder to win the first one dayer in the tournament of the game. The passion shows up on the field as its spinners strangle batsmen with a nagging line and by bowling to a field - and more importantly the field responds by throwing itself at everything that leaves the bat. Without exceptional talent (with the exception of Murali and an over-the-hill Jayasuriya), this is the single most important reason why Sri Lanka is ranked number 2 on the one-day international ranking and India makes the bottom of the list of serious one-day playing nations. What is even more interesting is that the ranking of money made by cricketers would be the reverse. Indian cricketers probably at the top of the heap whereas Sri Lankan cricketers could probably be close to the bottom. The Sri Lankans clearly play for the love of the game. The Indians clearly have a big distraction that probably leaves them less passionate for the game.