Mumbai: Cricket in India is a religion that begets utmost excitement and unifies the whole nation. From a school kid to a retired man, men in blue have millions of ardent fans. The charisma of cricket is such that every victory is celebrated with as much zeal as that for any other festival in India. But one never thought that dark days would return to haunt Indian cricket again. Gone are the days when Indian cricket team brought laurels to the country by winning trophies, particularly post the World Cup. In the recent times, the continuous defeat of Indian team has left the fans in dismay leaving the stadiums empty. The 4-0 clean sweep in England was bad enough given the Indian team‘s lofty reputation. And just when one thought it couldn‘t get any worse, comes another disaster down Under. Eight straight away defeats outside sub-continent. It?s a roller coaster ride for the cricket fans!!

Aiming to highlight the concerns associated with Indian cricket, NewsX will hold a panel debate titled ?Hitting The Right Pitch? . The discussion scheduled to be held in Amity College, Noida will seek to explore the possible reasons behind the current state and the measures which could be taken to brighten the future of the game. Ace cricketers like Javagal Srinath and Aakash Chopra along with veteran sports journalist, Ayaz Memon will participate in the discussion. The debate will be moderated by Shamya Dasgupta, Sports Editor, NewsX.

The debate will also dwell on areas like exploring new talents such as fast bowlers, whether playing more county cricket matches as compared to domestic league & IPL would help and the possible reasons behind Indian cricket team?s poor performance outside the Indian sub- continent .

The panel debate will take place on Friday, 17th February,2012 at F2 auditorium, Amity College, Sector-125, Noida.