Recently, we heard Sachin say that the current Indian team probably has the best Indian batting line up ever. We also saw the almost quixotic Ravi Shastri equating this side to the great West Indian team of the early 80’s (this team goes out and attacks the opposition, having faith in the depth of their line-up…really?!?!).

Now let us leave Sachin aside. He is arguably the best batsman India has ever seen, but he is a part of the team, and he may have got emotional on this one instance, in such a long and respectable career. What is hard to ignore is that commentators – some of whom have never ever played cricket at any level – make such sweeping statements, without any credibility whatsoever.

Just because they have got a mike in their hands, the commentators do not get the right to say things that are not true, and, some might say, border on the foolish side of things. I have some simple questions for these commentators, who are out to make this Indian side look like the invincible team that they are not, and who, in the process, end up making a complete fool of themselves.

1. Is India the number 1 side now? In tests or one-days? (As of 11th march, they are 3rd in both the rankings)

2. For how long did the ‘invincible’ Australian team dominate this sport? Has the current team come anywhere close to what that team had achieved? A team is the best only when it has been on top for a long time, been dominant and set standards in every aspect of the game.

3. How many sides are going through a re-building phase due to retirements, Indian Cricket League and the likes?

4. Who are the major performers now? The players who are performing majorly now – Sehwag, Yuvraj, Sachin, Harbhajan – were a part of the team that went to the finals of the World Cup in 2003, a team that had Ganguly and Dravid who have both scored 10,000 plus runs in the One Day International (ODI) format of the game.

Yes, this side has had a good, very good run in the past one year. This run has also coincided with other sides losing key players to retirement and other reasons. What’s more, flatter tracks, better bats, changed rules (power plays), are all favoring a batting style that is nowhere close to elegant.

But, all I ask is for us to not jump the gun. Give them time to prove themselves before you put them on a pedestal. Otherwise, you’ll have to put your foot in your mouth and hide for cover…which I guess is not a problem for the un-ashame-able commentators.