Crocodile Tears and washing dirty linen in public !!
Well !! Well !! It is one non stop drama and saga; too many skeletons are falling from cub-board as far as Indian cricket goes and the pitched battlefield is all set for a busy weekend action at Bombay. The leaked memos to the media are claiming various 'sources' and coming out with lists of problems against the so called seniors (in my opinion, the men who made crores and are shredding crocodile tears on behalf of Indian cricket and trying to cling on to their 'Patta' wicket moolah) and of course, the so called seniors in a pitched battle against a 'high handed coach'. All the talk of bonhomie is over and the Indian dressing room would have been one heck of a pot stirrer show piece stage, for this much of emotion to cook up. Good that India lost; otherwise, all this would have been buried and the long term damage will be much more.
Let me first analyze the info in the press, that quotes the sources about Greg's report on seniors. According to these press reports :
Final verdict : Too much water has flown in and too much dirty linen has been washed in public. Inspite of plain common sense advantages of retaining Greg, it now looks like, things are beyond redemption. Rather than me attempting at what is best for Indian cricket, let me predict on what is going to happen - Sachin and co will have an audience with 'the boss' and shed crocodile tears and paint tearful stories of how they were mistreated (rather than going into aspects like how bone headed, they were when they played BD and SL and more important how his furniture was rearranged for the umpteenth time, when it counts most) and will see to that their lobby retains the power (and of course the crores). I think that there will be a band aid solution by bringing in some rubber stamp cricketer, who will be so colorless that nothing new will happen in the muddled waters of Indian cricket.
Let me first analyze the info in the press, that quotes the sources about Greg's report on seniors. According to these press reports :
- Sourav's penchant for batting for himself and chasing records top the list (According to me, what is new ? Any sensible cricket watcher could see from the dot balls and strike rate that SG was playing for himself, even against some school team attack like Bermuda)
- Tendulkar being not a team man (Entirely agreed. He stopped being one, years before. Sachin countering these by claiming about his 17 year saga and being hurt etc is hog wash and plain Hindi movie sentiment business. Let him be a man and answer for his poor performace rather than wielding lobby attacks and being ticked off for not allowed to open against Bermuda)
- Harbhajan and Yuvaraj having an attitude. (could not have agreed more. Yuvaraj behaves like a Maharaja of Maharajas on the field and as far as Bhajji, his singular failure to take wickets at vital junctures killed Indian hopes)
- Seniors behaving like Mafia (how can otherwise cling on to their ad roles and milk the next gullible sponsor?)
Final verdict : Too much water has flown in and too much dirty linen has been washed in public. Inspite of plain common sense advantages of retaining Greg, it now looks like, things are beyond redemption. Rather than me attempting at what is best for Indian cricket, let me predict on what is going to happen - Sachin and co will have an audience with 'the boss' and shed crocodile tears and paint tearful stories of how they were mistreated (rather than going into aspects like how bone headed, they were when they played BD and SL and more important how his furniture was rearranged for the umpteenth time, when it counts most) and will see to that their lobby retains the power (and of course the crores). I think that there will be a band aid solution by bringing in some rubber stamp cricketer, who will be so colorless that nothing new will happen in the muddled waters of Indian cricket.
posted by Crick_Love at 11:47 PM
10 Comments:
Hey!
I guess we should appretiate SRT, for once getting his timing right.
History repeats itself. The same episode happened not so long ago. At that time SCG got his timing spot on. This time it is SRT. Jagmohan Dalmia was the BCCI chief then and Sharad Pawar BCCI Chief now. Dalmia from Calcutta where SCG belongs and Pawar from Mumbai where SRT belongs!
There was this article in Cricinfo describing Irish Cricket with the letter 'C' referring to character when in other parts of the world it will be referred as 'Contract' 'Commercial Endorsements' etc.
When will we talk in the same breath in Indian Cricket, I guess never.
There are some serious questions that needs to be answered.
1. What is this 'Seniors acting like mafia in team selection'?
2. Why did India decide to bat against Bangladesh inspite of the Coach and Captain no willing to do so? I was also alliged that the Sr Batsmen of the team wanted to have some batting practice.
3. What about sponsors influencing the team selection? Who is the culprit in this regard? Was he referring to Sehwag's selection or Ajit Agarkar's selection or Utappa's selection?
Tough questions this, but they need to be answered sooner than later.
I would like to quote Harsha Bholge here.
"when Australian cricket was faced with a similar situation in 1985, they appointed two honourable, proud men as captain and coach, decided that players would be picked on attitude and that if it meant some good players had to leave, so be it. It served them very well but remember it was backed by a desire to do good. Can Indian cricket take a similar call?"
We have the answer already.
Cheers
PG
We not only have the answers but know how the hoodwinking affair will go on and the gullible will be the prey again.
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First of all,thanks Kalyan.You inspired me again to write things after long time.After coming to corporate life, my reqading habit continued, though I had lost my writing habit.And second, to inspire me to open an account in blogspot.
The day has come for me, I think that even I would be shouting that Cricket is "Opium of mass" as few people call it which first creates the enthusiasm to taste it once again, makes us feel drowsy, lazy n blah n blah, we reach to a peak and then in the end it takes us nowhere. Now that India is out of the World Cup, watching the games has become a pleasurable, anxiety-free, almost aesthetic exercise. My nails are beginning to grow back; hair fall rate as decreased; I go office peacefully. I have stopped giving the sofa a hammering every three minutes; and my family, I hope, will soon stop scolding me once he begins to forget the swear words he picked up by being in my presence during the India games. It’s great fun, unadulterated fun, watching the cricket now. (In fact, it’s a little like the football World Cup: No India, great games.)But there is this one thing: Is it ever possible to watch any sport without actually supporting one of the two sides? (Or players if it happens to be an individual sport.) I think not.
While watching England play Australia (or X plays Y when neither is India) I am not as tortured as I would be if India plays, but I am very engaged with the fortunes of a particular side. The game itself gives great pleasure; but we need to identify with one of the two teams to give the experience of watching that extra frisson. But I am yet to decide which side I really want to go all the way. (In football, it’s always an easy choice. Ever since Diego Mara Dona arrived, I have been an Argentina supporter.) But I shall have to make up my mind soon. This ends my views, which of course are the results of sheer emotion coming with certain oh-so-not-met expectations, anguishes, anxiety etc.
Let’s talk about the bit of politics or say ‘The way it works” behind all this, for which, one big chunk of credit goes to our well-known Indian bureaucracy. In politics we say that your enemies can't hurt you, but your friends will kill you. It is the same here. Regarding the great BCCI, The Board of Control for Cricket in India has the dubious distinction of being the only full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) which does not have a website. This, in the 21st century in the home of computer software, is a shocking commentary on the administration that's engaged in running cricket in India. What an irony. Coach Greg Chappell may have become the fall guy or say has been made the main fall guy in the wake of India's disastrous showing in the World Cup, the best replacement money can buy can be recruited, younger players can be phased in and older players phased out; but there will be no material change without a complete reform of Indian cricket. But will it really happen is again a question our bureaucrats must answer.
Given the money at the BCCI's disposal - obtained directly or indirectly from the Indian people - the millions that play the game in India, they ought to have been world champions or thereabouts a long time ago. This would have occurred if only the sport had been administered proficiently. Australia, with far less financial resources, has achieved sustained excellence because cricket there has been administered professionally. So yes. Bravo Aussies. You deserved it. While writing so, I am a little scared though. It may happen that after four years again, I will be writing a similar stuff with Australia replaced with Bangladesh.
Let’s come back to BCCI. It takes days, some times weeks or may be months (God only knows) for the BCCI to summon a meeting of their members. The executive has to move from the hands of part-timers to full-time employees, from the incompetent to the competent, from the corrupt to the clean.
Now calling our players to the Janta ki Adaalat, the players concerned are certainly answerable - and heads must roll. Greg Chappell could only take them to the water, but not forced them to drink. But the BCCI is responsible for the snail-paced progress of Indian cricket in the international arena for 75 years, and some times even for the wheels going backwards. From the maharajas to the new barons, they have let India down rather badly. There has never been and there still isn't any blueprint for excellence.
The centre thinks cricket is of such national importance that it muscled in legislation to force private TV rights holders to share cricket coverage with the state broadcaster, Doordarshan (the only terrestrial broadcaster in the territory), so that people who cannot access or afford cable or direct-to-home (DTH) TV are not denied contact with cricket; and all political parties deemed such a bill to be equally significant to pass this unanimously. After all this is one way you can keep whole India busy in things which, in current scenario are the least important things. But what to do. We are also not ready to change. We want to “LIVE YOUR(OUR) PASSION” and we are living it ignoring all other more important things aside.
Both the central government and parliament, who in the name of acting in the interests of the wider Indian public made it compulsory for TV licensees to provide footage to DD, now have a duty to demand on behalf of the same Indian populace why Indian cricket has not dominated world cricket, as it ought to have? And why it degenerated to such depths in the World Cup?
Academies exist for the sake of them, rarely producing any exciting cricketers. Domestic tournaments are uncompetitive and held unsystematically. They are also never integrated with India's international calendar. The program is flush with one-day internationals, which fill the BCCI and their affiliated state associations' coffers, but achieve little by way of honing skills. I had laughed to the core when I had heard that our players had been given the commando trainings. Now even Mr. Subhas Chandra has thought of entering into this big business. Let’s hope something comes up because ultimately the only way out of it is the complete privatization of Cricket Industry. A dream… Huh.
There is typically no sense of tradition. International matches are allocated any and every where to keep various state federations happy and induce them into voting in favor of the controlling faction. There is no exploration of eligibility, no process of making venues compete with each other to earn the right to host important fixtures. Most of the stadiums are not only third-rate - despite the money sloshing through the administrators' fists - but the infrastructure of some of the cities and towns hosting matches is embarrassing.
The lawyers, politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen and even policemen who comprise the Indian cricketing hierarchy need to surrender their executive powers. The operations of the board must, within a stipulated time frame, pass to an efficient, knowledgeable and caring corporate structure. Unless this is initiated, all this chaos will be much ado about nothing.
Wow ! Ankit..man, you can really write and write well too. Thanks for your observations. Years before, I heard a statement from Rajaji , our 1st Governor general - India will go no where, as long as the intellgentia is no where in politics and public life. The lettered men and women of India not only shun pub;ic life but do not even vote; so, they are neither a power base nor the ones to be counted by the powers to be. Bottom line - you get what you deserve.
Ankit,
Excellent write-up. You covered the length and breadth of problems pertaining to Indian Cricket.
Cheers
PG
Thanks to both of you sir,to encourage me. Actually I was going through both the blogs and was amazed by the way, you two have been maintaining it.That too completly dedicated to Cricket. Great.
Please when you find time, do see my blog and comment.That would be a great help to me, as I will know your views on them.
http://ankitgkashyap.blogspot.com/
"cricket_love": i've been following your blog for the past few months and must acknowledge of your deep interest and insights into this game. It is quite delightful to have a peek into your mind, reading your scriptings. Definitely enjoying the experience.
Let me put in a few of my thoughts and since this is my first official response to your blog, I am starting right before the WC.
Even before the WC began, i had reached a stage of saturation and almost a sense of shame at the amount of air-time our cricketers were getting in TV endorsements. It gave me a feeling of OMG, how could the corporate world put most of their eggs in a basket (read Indian team) where merely following the team results a few months preceding the WC, made is fairly clear where this was gonna go! If only the cricketers were able to spend that much time making runs while batting and taking wickets while bowling/fielding.
Well, then "it" happened. We were trounced by Bangla (some die-hard fans) may be thinking, after the weekend game in which Bangla gave the same treatment to the World No 2 ODI team of SA, that Bangla may not be such a bad side after all!
Ok so we were "finally" out of the WC, actually even before the WC fun really even started.
As it that wasnt misery enough, what followed was disproportinate salting of wounds, and from all sides if i may add. Felt like it was "free for all" and your's faithfully too is guilty of the same.
Now coming to the present day scenario... Expected from BCCI was whole-sale changes to the so-called "system". Well a few were anounced, though i dont have enough merits in following Indian cricket, to claim these are earth-shaking or not... But as naive as i am, following the last 2-3 days of events merely makes me wonder...
With the basic system changes being anounced, selection system overhauled, new set of coaches/managers appointed (at least in the interim), new re-imbursement and match-fee structure put in place... yet the one and only one item which has been getting all media coverage has been about the cap/limit on the endorsements which a player can entertain.
It feels like almost everyone is filled with so much envy that these select cricketers (or as some may refer mafiosis) are just minting.
Since no one is discussing the other changes, let me indulge in my own few thoughts on the said matter...
Personally i totally dont mind the men in blue enjoying the moolah from endorsements. After all a crickets life is at best 8-14 yrs depending on form and fitness levels being sustained. The logic is simple in my mind at least... If these gents dont deliver on the field, then the corporate world will soon be looking for alternatives (bollywood always can be banked on for rescue as did happen). So logic still defies me, why should BCCI even interfere into this at all.
Finally back to the WC, the Aussies are looking like they are gonna run away with the cup to complete a hat-trick. Strong and skilled as they are, it would give me tremedous pleasure to at least witness a match where 1 team takes the fight to the mighty Assuies. From the looks of it, it looks clearly like there is a honest fight for places 2, 3, and 4. But that just makes the WC so much boring for me. Will someone plz prove me wrong and generate some interest in this once in 4 yrs event. Or should i start looking forward to 2011 already???
vh..thx. Yep. Aussies are looking way ahead of the pack. On days, when things don't go their way, they seem to produce some new magic, like the other day against Eng. When Pieterson and Bell were on cruise control and Aussies were 1 bowler short, Ponting delayed the power play and stemmed the rot. When Tait returned for the 3rd power play, he made things count by taking those crucial wickets. What looked like 300+ score became a 240+ score and the rest was easy.
Delaying the power play is not new and even Dravid had tried it in the past but you need bowlers who can be counted when the power play is inserted again and that is crucial. Aussies somehow have the knack of producing wickets, if not by anything, by some unlikely run outs atleast..
Yep..2011 is a better way to look ahead but by then the nature of the game will be like baseball and India is simply not geared for that change.
cric_love:
Frankly speaking over the past few years never before have i eagerly awaited more to see if the highest cricketing body in India does have the spine to give enough freedom to the selectors + captain + coach (now added) to select a team keeping the future in mind or will the same tamasha continue??? Million paisa question about to be answered today...
Will eagerly await for your insights / analysis on the decisions regarding the selection of the team for the Bangla tour!!!
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