Aggression is good; Stupidity isn’t!

‘Indian Bowling is like playing a video game, press random buttons on joystick and hope for the best result’.

As I was following Cricinfo’s live scorecard of Day 3 of Gabba test, I saw the above statement which was one of many frustrated remarks aimed at India’s pathetic bowling to Australian tail. That was the case until Ishant Sharma set Johnson up beautifully with a ball that slanted across the batsmen. He was rewarded in the same over with wicket of Smith who played a lose shot to a good in-swinging delivery. That was some good bowling in an over. However what followed was another stupid carnage of short pitch balls to Starc which were whipped off to boundaries. The Australian tail has batted India out of the game.

India lost its plot after Brad Haddin’s wicket. They were over excited by the sight of Varun Aaron bouncing Haddin to dressing room. I was overjoyed myself when I saw the wicket. That sort of dismissal was a common sight in last Ashes series which spelled doom for English test cricket. Seeing an Australian batsmen bounced out by an Indian fast bowler was a rare sight indeed. It was great to watch such an aggression from Indian side.

Unfortunately, that was where Indians crossed the line of aggression and ended up in the stupidity zone. As Johnson walked to bat, Indian fielders let their tongues wag and Indian bowlers pepped him up with some hostile bouncers. That was aggression alright, but when Johnson was sending their bouncers to boundaries and the scoreboard was running at the pace of a Twenty20 match, they ought to rethink their strategy of bowling short pitch deliveries to Johnson. The Indians didn’t change their bowling lengths until it was too late and Johnson grew very comfortable at crease. Welcoming Johnson with hostile bouncers was aggression, persisting with bouncers to him was stupidity! Every successful general knows when to attack and when to fall back. India went on with a full throttle attack and didn’t pull back until they were massacred.

In any competitive sport, aggressive sides win most of the competitions. India can be as much aggressive as they want. They can place attacking fields and can take better catches. They can bowl quick and bowl better lines. Their batsmen can try to clear boundaries. But they must resist the temptation of going overboard and playing some very stupid cricket.

Tribute or just a BCCI gimmick??

Sachin to decide his 200th Test venue

Looking at how much he has contributed to World Cricket in general and to Indian Cricket in specific, Sachin Tendulkar deserves any tribute one pays to him. And as Cricket’s regulator in India, BCCI decision to pay a never heard before tribute to this great man shouldn’t raise many eyebrows. So why is there a storm of controversy around BCCI’s latest decision?

Sachin Tendulkar is just two match away from the milestone 200th Test match. Although Tendulkar owns almost every known batting record, playing 200 test matches is no ordinary feat and has almost no practical possibility of being achieved again. Hence it would be of great pride for India to host its champion’s landmark test match. So why is the noise all around it?

India is scheduled to tour South Africa this December and Tendulkar is all set to play his 200th Test match there. Don’t know what has happened but West Indies tour of India has come on cards all of a sudden. The Caribbeans will be playing 3 ODI and 2 Test Matches in India from 31 October to 27 November. Now Tendulkar is expected to complete his 200 tests landmark in this series.

Sachin didn’t play his 100th Test Match in India and hence it will be a great opportunity for India to host the 200th Match for the sport’s true champion. After arranging a tournament in haste for him, BCCI further decided to leave the 200th match venue to Sachin Tendulkar himself. Wankhade is competing with iconic Eden Gardens to host the landmark test match. Both Eden and Wankhade are not eligible to host this series as per BCCI rotation policy. But Wankhade, on grounds of being the master’s home pitch, is fighting for the opportunity to host the match while Eden, on grounds of being India’s iconic stadium and master’s favorite hunting ground, is pitching equally strong for the oppurtunity. Leaving venue fixture choice to a player is never heard of before in world cricket.

Although there is no doubt that Tendulkar deserves more than anyone can offer, BCCI’s latest decisions are infuriating the cricket sport lovers. No player can be put above the sport irrespective of him being one of the sport’s greats. By arranging a tournament just to allow him complete his 200th test on home soil, BCCI has put him ahead of cricket itself. And now by offering the choice of venue to him, BCCI is denying to give the sport its due. But the question here is that has BCCI crossed limits just to honor this man or for its selfish propaganda?

No denying the fact that Tendulkar has been the golden goose for BCCI. Tendulkar name itself ensures that stadiums are packed to capacity and TRPs are spiked to max. Tendulkar has played a crucial role in shaping current India’s influence on Cricket while BCCI has successfully converted the popularity he brought to sport into money. As the story goes, the farmer kills the goose in greed of more gold. Is the BCCI doing the same with Sachin?

Looking at BCCI’s never quenching thirst to fill its treasury, one suspects that the main motivation behind West Indies tour is that BCCI plans to commercialize the landmark moment. With the buzz around it, 200th test match for Sachin will open a lot of commercial opportunities for BCCI and BCCI can’t let the moment pass of with minimal money-making opportunity in SA. This also explains SA disappointment over WI tour of India; they have lost the opportunity to cash on Sachin 200th test. Some also say that BCCI desperately wants to push the limelight it has currently found itself under to someone who can handle it. BCCI is lately associated to all wrong reasons and is losing it credibility with every passing day. Analysts say this is the reason the WI tour was brought on cards; to allow the buzz of Tendulkar playing 200th test on home soil take over the news and buzz over corruption at BCCI.

Sachin Tendulkar is a man who plays his cricket with lot of devotion and reverence. He wouldn’t like himself to be put over the sport and he wouldn’t have any personal choices of where to play his cricket. Although I have no clue if BCCI truly feels it has been paying proper tribute to the legend, I sincerely feel that its more of  gimmick than a tribute.

Related articles:

• BCCI to let Sachin Tendulkar choose venue for his 200th Test (sports.ndtv.com)
• Exlusive: Sachin Tendulkar and the burden of expectation (cricketbadger.com)
• BCCI ‘using’ Sachin Tendulkar to mint money? (ibnlive.in.com)

IPL Spot fixing: weren’t we expecting this in IPL?

Why we suspected fixing in IPL?

When the IPL spot fixing news broke, not many eyebrows rose! Even though commentators and former players cried from rooftops that the sight of cricketers in black hoods being presented before a magistrate made that day a black day of our lives, not many were aggrieved!! Even when the triangular love plot between cricketers, Bollywood stars and underworld mafia surfaced, there weren’t many stunned faces!!! Although police arrested a team’s top executive for betting and revealing team info to bookies, too many emotions weren’t hurt!!!! One after other new links between star players and bookies were surfacing with little shock impact on cricket aficionados!!!!!

It’s not one’s mistake to expect news like spot fixing in IPL to rock the entire nation. Afterall Cricket has always been treated more of a religion than a sport in this country. But how many of us were shocked by this incident? Most people felt sorry for Sreesanth but not many were shocked to see a player who represented national team to be involved in a fixing scam! Why weren’t we shocked? Simple, we were expecting things like this to happen in IPL.

The question we have to ask ourselves now is: Why were we harboring suspicions on IPL? Although our suspicions were mere baseless speculations, we had our reasons to believe them. I have listed few of them:

1) We are being ruled by a government that’s always in news for wrong reasons. In last 9 years, how many scams did we witness? And who can forget the Common Wealth Games scam? Obviously people have lost their trust on the Government.  But it’s just not that, we began to smell foul everywhere wherever big money is involved. This is exactly what happens when we have a completely corrupted political class.

2) Team India had players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and Javagal Srinath who were simply spotless. These players were liked not only for their great performances on field but also how they handled themselves off field. They took their cricket very seriously and played it for their love on game rather than anything else. These names inspired the trust of people. How many such cricketers do we have in our modern-day team? Current day Indian Cricket lacks a name that can be called incorruptible and can instill trust in the hearts of billions of cricket fans.

3) It is of no doubt that IPL has managed to draw all sections of people towards cricket. But IPL itself has corrupted cricket. IPL may be the most entertaining form of cricket but it will never be the purest form of cricket. Ask any cricketer who plays IPL if he plays IPL for the love of playing cricket or for the money involved in it and an honest cricketer may say money. Cricketers’ love would be Test Cricket while they play T20 league for some thrill and more money. That was why IPL never looked correct for cricket fundamentalists.

4) Before IPL, only few had access to cricketers. Apart from team and support staff no one were allowed into dressing room. But IPL changed that all. We have seen people with no business with cricket sharing dressing room with cricketers. As if  it wasn’t enough after match parties make cricketers more accessible to shadowy figures. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that IPL has provided people with dirty minds all the means to corrupt a cricketer with feeble mind.

5) Most of the crimes take place at night. That could be the reason why late night parties weren’t a part of Indian tradition. Along with many other things it has brought to the table, IPL also introduced late night parties to Indian cricket fraternity. One look at those parties and you would be in doubt if the players play the gentlemen’s sport. IPL night parties have hit the news now and then for some wrong reasons. These didn’t help enhance the credibility of IPL.

These are few reasons among many that have contributed to trust deficit on IPL.  One can’t help but worry about the times our children are born in; times when crimes like spot fixing are no news!

Live long Sachin!!!

Happy Birthday SRT!

The clock struck 12 and so the new day has begun! Now the date is 24th April!! 24th April is no normal day; it is a day generations ahead will remember. It is the birthday of a man who lived most of his life being worshipped as demigod in this cricket frenzy nation. Happy birthday Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar!!!

Despite the fact that there many Sachin haters, it is of no doubt that Sachin Tendulkar is the most loved cricket player of this generation. At 40, his command over the game may have dwindled but he had dominated the game for 2 decades and rose up to be called as the most complete batsman of modern cricket. Tendulkar holds numerous records in International cricket including highest runs, centuries and half centuries in both the widely recognised formats of cricket: ODI and Tests.

More than his on-field achievements it is his off-field behavior that makes him the special man he is. Surviving 24 years of stardom without major controversies is no mean achievement especially given the fact that likes of Kohli, Bhajji and Ghambhir couldn’t stay off the controversies just as they rose on stardom.

Despite the fact that he is one of the most adored men on this earth, Tendulkar’s capability to stay low and humble is striking. When he was visiting a hospital, he told the star-struck doctors, “I guess I enjoy the freedom of making some mistakes on field where as your occupation gives you no room for error. I am doing a very easy job compared to yours.” On visiting an army camp, he was quick to quote that, “You are the true heroes!” Such is the modesty of this man.

Although many criticize him as a selfish man who plays cricket only for money, they will conveniently forget to tell you that Sachin rejected the highest paid deal in cricketing world only because he wasn’t interested in endorsing liquor and tobacco!! Such were the ethics of this gifted man.

Hayden appropriately articulated my feeling when he said, ” He’s more than the game. Beyond the realm of cricket, Sachin is country. He is home. He is hope. He is culture.” Thanks Sachin for being such a great motivation for me. There are two lessons I learnt from your life:

i) Love your work passionately. Be an evergreen student learning new lessons everyday.

2) Great achievements demand greater sacrifices. Make any sacrifice required to excel at your duty.

You are my role model! You are my hero!! You are my GOD!!! Live long SRT!!!!

P.S: Hopefully you will perform well against Kolkatta on your birthday at historical Eden Gardens! All the best 🙂

Make your holidays interesting!!!

Love holidays!

Huh, weekend is finally here!! After 5 days of hard work, here are the days to relax and rejuvenate!!! But sometimes weekends can turnout to be boring. So here are few tips to make your Saturdays and Sundays enjoyable:

1) Don’t over sleep. This is the mistake most of us do! Many of us will wake up late on weekends sleeping till early noon. So by the time you wake up half of the holiday is already over!! Many of us have a wrong perception that relaxing means sleeping for long hours. Relaxation means doing something that your mind finds funny and is different from your routine!

2) Play cricket! Cricket is the most loved sport of India. 70% of guys love playing cricket. If you are an office worker operating under crushing deadlines, Cricket helps you to shake off your physical rust and mental pressure! If you are a girl or you do not prefer cricket, try badminton or table tennis!! Come on guys, even carroms, chess or ludo will do!! The point here is being a kid again!!! Don’t try Football unless you are a fitness freak.

3) Make your holiday a ‘relationship maintenance’ day! Human relations are quite complicated and they need time to nurture. Time is the last thing we have on our busy working days. But time is available in lots on holidays! So use this holiday to repair relations that are in complicated state! Call your distant relatives and friends with whom you aren’t in touch for long. Don’t think of STD charges; people are important, money isn’t.

4)  Go out for window shopping! Shopping needs budget plans but window shopping comes for free!! Go out to your nearest shopping mall and check out latest gadgets and fashions. Once you enter a shopping mall, time will just run! Be cautious about your wallet too!! Don’t buy anything that isn’t necessary. You can even try some new hotels in your neighborhood and taste some variety dishes that stimulate your taste buds.

5)  Be a chef! Bring out your creativity. Experiment with spices! Try cooking some dishes you wouldn’t generally cook during weekdays. Let the cuisine be anything: Italian, Chinese, American, North Indian or South Indian, try something that seems weird enough to cook and good enough to eat! After you are done, have it with your friends and family for lunch.

6) Watch a movie! Yeah, go to a movie with your friends or family. Cinema is India’s biggest source of entertainment. Many Bollywood and regional movies get released on weekends. As if they weren’t enough, Hollywood releases are always around the corner to entertain you. If you aren’t interested in cinema, call your friends home and watch TV together. You can watch cricket matches or any blockbuster flicks being broadcasted on TV.

7) Read a nice book! Book is man’s best friend. A nice book can make your day. So pick up a book of any genre you like and spend the day with it. Reading novels may even inspire you to write one! So pick up your pen and paper and start scribbling your thoughts. Who knows one day your book can be nation’s best seller!

These are some tips to make your holiday a jolly-day! There are many other ways you can spend your weekend productively. Some like to participate in social activities on holidays while few cater holidays for their spiritual needs. The bottomline is never be bored on holiday. Holidays are here to be enjoyed, so enjoy every moment of it!!!!