Something about

It’s been sometime since I wrote, well the reason was that I was busy having fun and cricket is slowly dying a sport. Let’s see what has happened in recent times:

 Ford snubs India; well I guess we deserve it as the BCCI is the most unprofessional organization run by a few individuals as their family business. It does not even have a website (And we call it the most powerful organization in cricket)
 Sachin is back in the Indian ODI team (Give me a break, when Brian Charles Lara is dispensable, I think this guy deserves to be dropped)
 England wins Wisden Trophy, well did not expect anything else but Harmy is still wayward, hope he finds his form.
 Mali is the new ICC President (Sonn passed away) and he claims that Zimbabwe still is a force to reckon with……I think Mylapore should apply for test status!
 I personally feel that Ireland should be given test status (Rumour has it Rankins could be called into the England A side). They any day better than Zimbabwe and now a 2 time Intercontinental Champions.
 Afro-Asian cup concluded in Chennai with Asians winning 3-0. Shaun Pollock played as a batsman with half the team filled with Zimbabwean and Kenyan players.
 Former Pakistan Coach is said to have died of natural causes. Jamaican Police is sure good at investigating.

No Future

Beating Bangladesh in sub-continent conditions is no big deal. No offence to the Bangla boys, they may a hard working one day outfit but when it comes to multi-day cricket, they are only slightly better than a club side. Now India wanted this tour to test out new players, well has that really happened? I don’t think so. For starters when you look at the test line up, our middle order has remained the same for the last decade of so. Yuvraj Singh was the only new player who managed to be in it for a very limited period. Others like Dravid, Ganguly and Tendulkar has become a permanent fixture there. Apart from Dravid, the other two are one a steep decline and more or less playing only to improve their personal records. I am sure Tendulkar and Ganguly cannot win matches against quality bowling. All they can do is nudging around the Bangla boys and make some scratchy runs. The dropping of Laxman is a sin. Why the hell should guys like Tendulkar and Ganguly keep getting opportunities to make runs against weaker sides and seal their spots while Laxman has to slug it out against the very best to keep his spot. This is dirty Indian politics at its best. Ganguly for long has been protected by the Bengal Circle and now the Mumbai circle is playing it ugly cards. The only good things about the tour is that the emergence of Karthik as an opener. But again we should not get too excited about his performance against this weak team. Let him score against England in England, then there is cause for making him the long term opener. As far as the bowlers are concerned, without Kumble the team looks lost and Zaheer is too patchy and inconsistent. The likes of VRV Singh, RP Singh and I Sharma do not instil fear among the batsmen and I guess we could end up having the worst bowling line up within the next few years. India has often been compared to the Brazil soccer team, which is sad. Yes both the sports are religion in their respected countries but when you look at the records it’s just plain ridiculous to compare them. Indian team is an over hyped money making machine and its population is filled with people of non-sporting culture.

A Few points

India has won its REVENGE tour of Bangladesh. The board promised a young side and well if Dinesh Mongia was part of this young side, then god save the team.

Australia is going to boycott its tour of Zimbabwe, well what about China, India, Burma; the list goes on....India? Many may be confused, but serious Quota system people!

Michael Vaughan is injured again, why the ECB can’t just ask this guy to retire and collect his pension

Same Old Story

The wait is finally over and another toothless selection by the selection brigade led by Bombay Mafia member Vengsarkar. Why any ex-cricketer in this country doesn’t have the balls to come out and say Sachin should be dropped. When Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh can be dropped why should Sachin and Ganguly only be rested? When was the last time this pair has won a game for India? When was the last time Sachin has won us a test match? People come out and say it’s a team sport, very true, but look at the number of times Brian Charles Lara has won games on his own for the West Indies. Stop the damm hero worship. Sachin is only mortal and when Steve Waugh can be dropped anyone can be dropped. It’s a sad day for cricket and Sachin should remember that one senior made the way for his place and now he should retire decently but what to do this guy is in for the money rather than the pride for playing for the country. You may make runs and runs but as a human you suck big time and you don’t deserve the special status. Go to Hell!

As for the team selected some interesting questions comes out. Why is Dinesh Karthik selected as an opener? Here is a guy who has never opened for his state but now he is all set to open for his country. An opener is a specialist job and the selectors should have picked Gautam Gambhir. Also based on the different yardstick for different players approach, Sachin makes it to the test team. Another case is Murali Karthik, he is good enough for Middlesex but he does not find a place in the national team. Instead Pawar makes it, no offence to Pawar but I guess his ex-Mumbai connections got him his place. Romesh Powar is a disgrace to cricketers all over the world. Talent alone does not count and his is no Darren Lehmann. He should shape up before he makes it to the side but the Mumbai Mafia worked in his favour. I don’t see much out of this. I just pray Bangladesh gives these guys a trashing of their lives.

Learn from the Irish

The problem with Indians as such is that we just cannot take a stand. I remember after the loss to Bangladesh and the subsequent exit from the World Cup, every other Indian including some former so called legends of the game complained that the problem was that of too many endorsements means that the players are highly distracted. Now the same group are complaining that the recent landmark decision of the BCCI is hurting a player’s right to living. Yes the constitution has this provision but I don’t think that a guy’s earning reducing from 30 crores to 10 crores is going to make a big different. It does for him but hell playing for a country is a great honour and given a chance I would do it free of cost. For all those who may not be convinced about this very particular statement, well I rowed for the Tamil Nadu state and rowing as a sport is not funded much. We guys during most cases spend money from our pockets. Why do we do it? It’s because we are passionate about what we do and we don’t care about the money. This one incident has proved that these people prefer making money rather than giving it all out for the country. The Irish team is made up of mostly amateurs except for 2 or 3 who have contracts with county teams. These guys here are not for the money, they are here for the game and they are proud in representing their nation. For those who are not well aware of the historical fact, the Irish team is made up of two nations (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). With all the history between them, they still play as one single unit with no bickering. It’s time that these so-called super powers of cricket learn the true sense of sportsmanship from the Irish team.

What?

It’s time we just stop all the nonsense which is going on and the time has come to seriously look at Indian cricket. It’s an open battle royal between everyone involved in the game and the media is having a field day. Being patriotic is one thing but being ignorant and blindly supporting the a few stars is another. It’s time to get away from the regional bias and think for the future of the game.

The key players:

BCCI – Richest cricket board in the world and its only aim is to make more money so that the politicians running it can get more out of it.
Selection committee – the only selection committee in world cricket to be selected on regional quota rather than merit
Senior Players – could be mistaken for models as the number of advertisement theses guy come in are at times more than movie starts. Each make around 10 to 20 crore per year on each advertisement
Chappell – one of legends of Australian cricket, a professional coach, though at times all his methods may not be right but its time he comes out and talk in the open
The blue billion – they love cricket so much because it is the only game/sport we are anyway close to being near the top. FYI V Anand is the current World #1 in Chess.

Key Questions:

When was the last time India has won a major series/tournament overseas (non Asia and Zimbabwe)?
How much is the BCCI actually worth?
Do the Coach and Captain have any real say in running of the team?
Last time Sachin won a game for us?
Last time senior guys made runs when it mattered most?
How can the entire bunch of guys lose form at the same time?
Why the hell are the guys so bothered about money?

To be continued…………………

Time for a Change

It’s time that the Indian team moved and makes some drastic changes. The so called great generation has bid its time and this is the right time to faze them out. Changing captaincy at this stage would not help as a captain should first retain his spot in both version of the games and then only should be appointed the skipper. The only Indian who currently fulfills that is the current guy Rahul Dravid. His is the best guy for the job right now. We do have guys like Yuvraj (needs to find a permanent place in the test squad); Laxman (too old) and Sehwag (no form) but Dravid should be the man at least for the next year or so. These decisions could be one the toughest but when Australia can drop guys like Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh and Michael Bevan, I am sure we can exe Sachin and Ganguly and send them on their retirement cruise. If we do not does it know, we are bound to be doomed for the next world cup and the state of our cricket team could just become like our hockey team.

This should be the squad that India should be building here onwards and apart from the senior guys a lot of other guys has to be dropped till the prove themselves in the first class stage.

The selected XI –
Gambhir (aggressive and solid)
Uthappa (raw talent)
Dravid (the Wall)
Yuvraj Singh (can dig it in)
Kaif (needs one last chance)
Dhoni (Wicketkeeper and late order hitter)
Karthik (only man I see could handle the finisher job)
Powar (till we find another spinner)
VRV Singh (fastest Indian, develop him like Tait)
Zaheer (the spearhead)
Munaf Patel (needs to improve fitness)

What could actually happen in reality is that Chappell will be shown the door and Dravid axed from captaincy and Tendulkar taking over.

Paper Tigers send Home!

It was one o the worst days in the history of Indian cricket when the Men in Blue were knocked out of the world cup. The million dollar players playing for the billion dollar team went down to an inspired Sri Lankan team without even putting a fight. The captain Rahul Dravid waged a lonely battle while others crumbled around him. Sachin and Ganguly with over 25000 ODI runs between them once again failed to play when it matters the most. It was a spineless performance from the team. Cricket was the only sport where we are close on being the best but after the 1983 world cup, we have been on a slow downhill. Its pity that we a nation of more than a billion has to rely on Bermuda, a nation with only 90000 people to get to the next round of the world cup. Even the captain of the team has said it openly that we do not deserve a place in the super 8s. The time has come for the board to make some harsh decisions. Blaming it on the captain and coach alone is bad. Heads should start rolling. Chappell promised a lot but 2 years is a long time and too much experimentation is also not good. I guess he will be axed soon. When David Beckham can be dropped from the English football team, I guess even Sachin can be dropped. It’s time we stop treating these guys as gods and drop all non-performers. No matter how much they have done for the country in the past, we should look at the present scenario and also take the future into consideration. As for replacing Dravid, well I don’t see any one in the current lineup capable of doing it. A captain should first be worthy of a spot on the team for his cricketing skills not for his leading skills, so Dravid is our best option and he should stay.

Just a Game

I am tired of watching all the pre match analysis. One channel had Sania Mirza giving her views on cricket. Seriously when you have two of the greatest all-rounder’s ever (Kapil and Sir Richard), you don’t need her. Well sex sells and these guys are making use of it. Now let’s come back to the game. Well first of all India should never be in this position. If India losses today, I don’t think sacking the coach or the captain makes sense. We have one of the best captains we could get and though the coach may be arrogant at times, no point in blaming these two alone. The Men in Blue should at least take the financial impact of this loss into consideration and play their best. It’s time we start performing where it counts. Even 1000 against Bermuda do not count. Win today and progress to the next round. Also the home team takes on Ireland. Well the last time these two teams met, Ireland pulled out an upset over the West Indies. I guess Lara and his boys won’t take this match lightly and will give their best in a match which could have some impact for the next round.

Get a Life

India has just scored 413 against Bermuda a team with one professional player. Our team made up of millionaires decided to go on a run spree against these guys. Sehwag scores century. So what? Others make runs too………well its happening all over again. Scoring runs in worthless games and sticking on to team for another few years. Look it’s time we as a public look at reality and stop supporting these morons. No one in team plays for the country. Look at the Irish team. A team made up of two countries is putting up a great show. What the hell is wrong with us? It’s time we ban cricket and start promoting other sports.

St. Patrick to the rescue

A great day for the smaller teams as neighbors India and Pakistan was stunned by Bangladesh and Ireland respectively. It was a great day for the Irishmen as they are most certain to qualify to the Super 8s while Pakistan has just crashed out of the tournament. Bangladesh is closer to qualification and if India loses to Sri Lanka, which is likely to happen the way they are playing, I guess India and Pakistan can share the flight back home. Sachin before the match was thinking about the 2011 WC, the way he played yesterday, I think he should think about his immediate future and plan a dignified exit. Its time Sehwag should be permanently dropped from the Indian team. Also Mr. Chappell should be let go and he has not done anything to the team so far. India should ban cricket and get going with its life. It’s time we stop paying these guys the huge sum of moneys which can be used for the development of other sports.

India and Glory

On paper India has always had a brilliant lineup, but again how many times has India won overseas? We even used to falter against Zimbabwe when they had some quality players. Realistically speaking India should do well to reach the Semi-Finals, but again one inspired innings from John Davison could just knock India out of the tournament. If that happens I guess it’s time we just ban cricket. India has never been a brilliant fielding team, but with aging stars like Dravid, Ganguly, Tendulkar and Kumble, well I guess u can also add in guys like Sehwag, Munaf Patel and Harbhajan Singh to this list. India effectively has very few good fielders. Some things that India should do to reach the Semi-Finals is that they never play the 2 passengers of the team, Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan. They should open with Sachin and Ganguly and its weird not to see one of the best opening combinations in ODI history not opening together. Also the ideal no. 3 would be Robin Uthappa. He is young and he is an aggressive batsman. He could effectively utilize the power plays. Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni should complete the middle order. The no. 7 is a very interesting position as he is the link between the top order and the tail. Dinesh Karthik would ideally suit in there as he can graft as well as play some good strokes. I guess India would go with 3 fast men and one spinner but I think if the pitches were similar to the ones when india visited a few years back, I guess they can play both Kumble and Harbhajan. Among the seamers, Zaheer looks the most convincing and though Agarkar has been there for ages, he still goes for too many runs and he can’t be trusted. Example would be the 1999 World Cup against both South Africa and Zimbabwe. The others will just be belted all over the ground on the flat tracks. As for Viru is considered, I guess he is lucky to be on an all expense paid trip to the West Indies.

All Time Indian XI

With the Indian team of to the Caribbean and also with every other team coming will an all time great XI, its time someone came up with an all time Indian ODI XI. One thing is certain, the current Indian side is much better than the one which won the World Cup. That one game proved that how an inferior team could win a one day match. Anyway coming up with an all time ODI team for India is not an easy job and I was forced to leave out some legends as though they may have a great test record, I don’t think they have a good enough record to qualify for this team. The team - Tendulkar , Ganguly , Dravid , Azharuddin, Jadeja, Robin Singh, Dhoni (WK), Kapil Dev (C), Prabhakar , Kumble , Srinath and Yuvraj Singh (12th Man). Some members were picked despite some controversy like Azar and Prabhakar, but their records justify their inclusion. On the keeper front, no other Indian keeper has managed to score a century in ODI cricket.