Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A joke called PCB
Is multitasking in BCCI required??
Sharad Pawar and his political heir, Supriya Sule all along claimed and continue to claim that they had, have and neither will have any stake or interest in any of the IPL teams. This claim has been disproved by multiple instances. Chirayu Amin, only after ousted IPL Commissioner, Lalit Modi, accepted that he had a stake in the failed Pune bid franchisee. But he insists that he would take all the requisite permissions and make all the amendments to the BCCI constitution to make him eligible to possess the stake. N Srinivasan says that the BCCI constitution was amended to enable him to be a part of both BCCI and Chennai bid.
I have nothing to say about the Pawar episode. The matter is too obvious to state it. My point of contention is about the other three “players”. Assuming that even the requisite constitutional amendments were made to accommodate them, simple logic suggests that it creates enormous room for foul play. Assume a situation when the owner of a team makes the rules of the game, which involves seven other teams. Also, in the closed bid, owner of one team is also a person to whom other bidders submit their offers. I am not saying that there obviously has been a foul play. If I say that, it would only be as good as a Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s cover drive. All I am saying is that it creates room for suspicion. It also creates room for unfair advantage to some teams.
India isn’t so short of sports administrators that same person has to hold multiple roles. A replacement to N Srinivasan could easily have been found. Same is the case with Amin. No doubt he might have done some good work for the Baroda Cricket Association. But that is in no way to say that he and only he could take charge of the messy IPL. Srikkanth the selector has at best, been his moody, unpredictable best, which he displayed in his batting. No person is indispensable in Indian cricket administration. Probably Dalmia thought he was an exception in his days. But even he was to bite the dust. Hopefully, good, dedicated cricket administrators enter the scene before Indian cricket has been done and dusted by a bunch of cricket-illiterates. After all, this was the agenda with which the Pawar clan came to power after throwing out the incumbent Jaggu dada (Dalmia)
Azharuddin = BAI President???
Oh common dude. Seriously? Do you really think people of India would back you to bring in transparency into sports? I totally accept the point that a convict should be given an opportunity to reform. But should the test of reform be the post of the president of BAI? I sincerely hope an emphatic NO is the answer. What is more of a test of his reformed behavior is his post of an MP from Moradabad from the ruling party. Every cricket lover, who loves the game for the sheer pleasure of a contest between bat and ball, would have loved Mohammad Azharuddin donning Indian jersey on the cricket field. A few moments of greed and a moment of truth turned all this admiration into hatred and rejection. Hopefully, Moradabad people will not regret their decision, if at all they care.
And what is it with Indian sports? Any Tom, Dick, Harry can become the administrator of any sport. Is sports administration such a piece of cake? Or is it that we are starved of specialized administrators? I know for sure that it is not the former. I sincerely hope it is not the latter.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Is Gary Kirsten right in blaming the players?
By whatever little cricket I have played at a competitive level, I understand that the role of a coach at the junior level is not much of strategizing. It is elementary. Teaching a young kid how to hold the bat, how to play text book strokes, how to grip the ball, and other basic stuff.
There should be some difference in coaching a junior team and an international team. You don’t teach a player forward defence as an international coach. They are supposed to have come with those basic skills. The major work for an international coach should be tuning the mental frame of their minds. If the coach, after the end of a tournament, blames the attitude, fitness and physique of his players, what it essentially means is that he has failed to do his job. I agree that you cannot be like a primary school teacher who holds a stick and smack his wards’ ass to get them straight. But if there is some unacceptable behavior from any of his players, it also becomes his duty to get them corrected. The players themselves also need to respond, I agree.
A coach’s job is no cake walk. That is why so many gifted players, sometimes even more talented than the coach, respect them. The excuse or accusation by the coach is not acceptable especially for the fact that almost the same team is ranked No 2 in the 50-over game. Also, the accusation has fallen on many of the senior players who have been working with Gary for some time now. Doesn’t it show his incapability to straighten them even after so many interactions?
I am not saying make Gary Kirsten the scapegoat for this defeat. All I am saying is that Gary Kirsten, instead of pointing out to so many problems in Indian Cricket, should concentrate on solving a few of those problems. After all, that is what he is being paid for!
Friday, April 30, 2010
A crash course onto becoming a cricket expert
Well, we all know (atleast 120 crore Indians know) that commenting on a cricket match is no rocket science. We all do it so much and so often in our living rooms. This post will help you elevate a couple of notches and become a cricket expert on SET MAX for the IPL coverage. Apart from the usual “That is a beautiful shot”, “Up, Up and over”, “In the air and taken”, etc, there might be a few tricky situations which a cricket expert might encounter. Here are a few dialogues memorizing which will help you sail through any situation, still assuring your viewers that you are indeed more knowledgeable than them.
On the eve of every game, memorize these words.
It is a high pressure game. So, bat first, put up a big score and then put the opposition under pressure
Though this might usually sound suitable only to series deciding matches, making these statements will reduce the guilt of a few viewers who have bunked their classes or jobs to watch a redundant cricket match.
Form is temporary, class is permanent
He is just one knock away from hitting the right notes
He is too good a player to fail repeatedly
We all know when experts make this statement. They make it just to save themselves from the embarrassment just in case that player plays well in that particular match. Their guess about that player is as good as any of yours.
They should take it one game at a time
Well, make this statement when you want to sound like a chief strategist of the team. It doesn’t matter even if the team has hardly heard your name.
The atmosphere at the stadium is electric
Make this when the broadcasters or the organizers have paid you money to say goody goody things about the match. If this is not the case, use it when the home team has lost the match, hoping that this statement might make them hate you less for your presentation ceremony speech.
The key is to pick up some early wickets
When the team which batted first have played pathetically and have no chance of winning the match.
Ball will come onto the bat initially, but as the game progresses, it gets slower and lower
One sentence pitch report which works everywhere in the world (ok, everywhere in
He is one of the cleanest strikers of the cricket ball
Well. When a heavily built guy slogs at a hapless bowler and the ball obviously sails into the crowd, much to the horror of purists.
He doesn’t drop many. He has got a safe pair of hands
When a fielder takes a dolly. Leave alone him dropping the catch, even you wouldn’t drop such catches.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Is Fan following for IPL greater than for Team India?
Do you feel fan following or fan loyalty is more for the IPL teams than the ones for the national team? I feel it is. The main reason for this, according to me, is our ego. Let me explain.
When India plays Australia or even Pakistan for that matter, the mood across most parts of the country would be similar. If India won the match, we would be happy. If India lost the match, we would be disappointed. The coffee room chat in all offices would revolve around the same point, with each member pointing out the nuances of the game, better than most of the “experts” on extraaaa innings. But fundamentally, they would all share the same feeling. So, no room for any argument, except some petty ones about the reason for the loss or victory.
Come IPL, the whole situation has changed. Honestly, when IPL was conceptualized, I believed that the excitement would not be too high, considering the fact that every match will be won by some part of India. Fortunately, I was wrong. People support their favorite team, not necessarily the team which is named after their city. The match is played and then begins the coffee room chat, the next day. Now, if someone ridicules the team you supported, you would try to defend them. If the other person continues, you try to defend them with all your might. Loyalty to your team strengthens. If, in the next match, your favorite team wins, you will be waiting to give that other person, a piece of your mind. Your joy will be magnified when you celebrate it in front of your detractors.
More than the liking for a team, it is this inherent desire to justify your choice of a team, which makes a person raise his voice for it. This unflinching support for a team, come what may, isn’t this what is called loyalty?