Why have these two stalwarts of Indian cricket never spoken out about the damage the IPL has done to the country’s Test team?

Guha is one of my favorite writers on the subject, and is infinitely more knowledgeable, so I had expected to be enlightened by this article. Unfortunately though, Guha not only fails to answer his question, but also inexplicably tries (and fails) to construct a grand unified theory with the sole view of implicating Gavaskar and Shastri in the matter.

Allow me to reconstruct Guha’s argument here.

Statement #1: The IPL is the reason India is no longer the best Test team in the world.

Statement #2: Gavaskar and Shastri are in the BCCI’s pockets, which is why they do not voice opinions against the body. Also, they should have supported Dileep Vengsarkar in his bid to lead the Mumbai Cricket Association.

Statement #3: India’s drubbing this far in England is because some key players opted out due to exertion, or are playing despite it.

Guha would like us to believe that the last two statements together prove the first.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that the second statement is completely irrelevant to the case. However, #3 is pertinent, but only goes halfway towards proving Guha’s point. The generally held view is that the Indian team has had to play too much cricket over the past six months, and this is the reason for the team’s poor performance in the first three Tests against England. I concur with this view. If this were indeed the case, and Guha himself implies this in his article, then his argument should have been that the most recent edition of the Indian Premier League has led to the national team’s slump in form; and not because of the nature of the tournament, but due to its poor timing; top-level cricketers are not machines, and they need proper rest in order to perform at their best. The Indian team would have performed just as poorly in England had the World Cup been followed by a five-test, seven-ODI, three T-20 series at home against South Africa, instead of by IPL 2011. Would Guha argue then that home series (in general) against the Springboks is the reason the Indian team is not the best in the world in Tests?

If, as he asserts, the IPL has wrecked India as a Test team, then how can one explain the fact that the Indian team rose steadily to the top of the Test rankings over the last couple of years, a period that coincides with the formation and growth in popularity of the IPL? I state this not to imply any causality; but Guha thinks he can get away with making the same point in reverse, and that is inexcusable coming from an expert like him.

The IPL per se does not cause exertion. It is this specific instance — IPL 2011 — that was poorly timed, at the end of a tiring World Cup. The BCCI was wrong in assuming that the players could handle the World Cup, IPL 2011, the West Indies tour and the England tour back to back and without much rest. If Guha had argued taken this line, I would have stood foursquare behind him. But Guha’s agenda in writing this article does not seem to be the fortunes of the national team, but the “fortunes” of the BCCI. For example, he wonders if “the ownership of the Chennai Super Kings by the board’s secretary is legally and morally indefensible.” A more impertinent line of argument is yet to be invented.

This is not a defense of the two ex-cricketers. Should Gavaskar and Shastri have spoken out about the timing of IPL 2011? As respected members of the Indian cricketing establishment, yes. Should they do more to develop young talent a la the Colonel? Maybe. Are they part of a deliberate attempt — a conspiracy, even — to forever destroy the Indian Test team’s standing? Are you kidding me?

I can only conclude that Ram Guha has a beef with Gavaskar and Shastri (or a bigger one against the board), one which might probably even be legitimate. But he has chosen the wrong topic to implicate the two, and has lost the plot as revealed by his article’s incoherence. Weaving Vengsarkar into the debate is a cunningly well-deployed straw man argument intended to establish a distraction in the reader’s mind to portray the duo in poor light.

Ram, I’m sorry, but you are wrong!

No related posts.

You know what irks me? It is not that she (whose only real calling card is that she is somewhat remotely related to Aishwarya Rai) is dating him or anything. But that this report calls her a “popular South Indian actress“.

Reminds me of Koundamani yet again: “மூணு வீலும் ஒரு தார்பாலினும் இருந்தா நீ ஓனரா? படுவா, அப்போ டாட்டா பிர்லா-வல்லாம் என்னடா சொல்லுவீங்க?”

No related posts.

No related posts.

Lefties & T20

Selva has an interesting observation about whether left-handed batsmen have an advantage in Twenty20 cricket. One possible explanation, if this hypothesis were found true, is that most bowlers are naturally suited to bowl to right handers. In longer versions of the game, bowlers have more time to settle down into a rhythm as well as size up the pitch with respect to line and length; so the advantage that left handers have can be negated. T20 offers no such cushion; plus batsmen are looking to attack from the first delivery. Maybe, this is why lefties do better.

The English Premier League

A few weeks ago, someone from India posted a comment on the Teamtalk forums, and referred to the English Premier League as EPL. A Briton took exception to this and sought to correct the Indian thus, “Don’t refer to it as the EPL! It is simply the Premier League, and that’s how we would like it to be.”When I read it, I did not find it patronizing. But back then, there was no Indian Premier League. Now we do have something to boast about. If the IPL does sustains itself and become a huge popular and monetary success, maybe we could fight back such condescending, and if I may add, imperialist attitudes.

United v/s Barcelona

Later today, Manchester United take on Barcelona in a must-win Champions League semi-final second leg. News is that Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic could miss out. Games like this are a test of character – the line that divides the great from the legendary. Cristiano Ronaldo is already spoken of as an Old Trafford legend, but tonight he should step up to the plate. Another year, and we might not know if form and circumstances would be similar or kinder. This is the night. Arise, thou champion! C’mon, ye Reds!

No related posts.

Incidentally, I thought the Mumbai Indians would do better than lose four in a row.

No related posts.

It would be interesting to see how the IPL impacts the future of cricket. One possible scenario is that cricket might be played more along club lines, like football. But I think it is currently more possible than probable. Regional cricket (like county cricket in England and state tournaments in India and Australia) face a greater threat due to IPL’s emergence. If the organizers were to expand the IPL from its current, compressed two-month schedule, regional cricket is sure to take a huge hit.

Interestingly though, Michael Vaughn’s recent comments made some sense in this regard. When asked if the IPL could threaten county cricket in England, Vaughn pointed out that each country could have its own league, and then the top clubs from each country could face off against each other in a super league, much like the UEFA Champions League in football.

I have some doubts if this would indeed turn out to be the case. India’s financial clout in cricket could make it extremely difficult for similar leagues in other countries to thrive.

Anyway, Twenty20 cricket and the Indian Premier League have definitely made the “business” of cricket more dynamic, and a space to watch out for. It is, as many have already said, the best way to take the game to a more global audience.

No related posts.

At stumps on day 3, Dravid was batting on 3 off 30 deliveries, a scoring rate well above that in the previous inning, where he managed to bore everyone (including his own self, possibly) by helping himself to 5 runs off 66 deliveries. At a strike rate of 1 from 12 deliveries, Dravid is probably aiming to bat out the next 180 overs and guide India to an unexpected draw.

But no, this is not about statistics.

India’s scoring rate shows, nay, exposes our lack of confidence in taking on the Aussies. We are giving the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Brad Hogg much more respect than their bowling deserves. On the contrary, the Aussies approach every Test match as if it were a one-day contest. They strive to maintain a run rate of around 4, which requires them to be aggressive. This pushes the opposition on to the back foot, and secondly gives the Aussies fighting totals quick, which lends their bowlers a platform to work with.

Over the past few years, the Australians have used this aggression-submission technique to transform cricket into a different kind of sport. Technique and artistry, once the hallmarks of the “gentleman’s game”, have been replaced by improvisation and brute force. Which also explains why we prefer watching MS Dhoni to VVS Laxman. And as sport is a result-oriented business, winning is everything.

The Indian cricket team might be World Twenty20 champions. But if we are to seriously challenge Australia in the other forms of the sport, submissive cricket is not going to get us anywhere. While blooding the team with youngsters is important, it is more important to infuse in them more aggression and killer instinct that has made the formidable Aussies the team to beat.

No related posts.

You have to watch India in India truly to appreciate the pressure that Sachin Tendulkar is under every time he bats. Outside grounds, people wait until he goes in before paying to enter. They seem to want a wicket to fall even though it is their own side that will suffer. This is cricket as Sachin has known it since the age of 16. He grew up under incredible weight of expectation and never buckled once – not under poor umpiring decisions or anything else. I place him very slightly ahead of Lara because I found him slightly tougher mentally. It is such a close call, but here is an example of what I mean: in Australia in 2003-04 he was worried about getting out cover driving so he decided to cut out the shot. I saw the wagon wheel for his next innings: he scored 248 without a single cover drive.

No related posts.

The prizemoney up for grabs is $2.9 million. That is huge for a domestic competition. (The overall prizemoney for World Cup 2007 was around $5 million.)

No related posts.

For one, the growth has been staggering. The beneficiaries in both cases have been few. In cricket, there is a huge gulf between earnings of players at the international level and domestic levels. And most of this growth hasn’t really translated into changes in infrastructure.

Back when we were kids, the papers used to scream for structural changes in Indian cricket, based on the Australian model. Today, nothing has changed. Except that the BCCI can claim to be world’s richest sporting body, surpassing footballing heavyweights like Juventus, Real Madrid and Manchester United.

Unlike in the case of these football clubs, India’s dominance of the economics of cricket isn’t because we are/were the best for any considerable period of time. As Chappell himself puts it, our cricketers haven’t won any major tournament on foreign soil in over two decades. The rise to riches in Indian cricket is not because we were superior to any of the other cricket-playing nations. It is merely a reflection of our population, and an acknowledgement of its spending power.

As India rises to prominence among nations, especially in areas where the country can assert its burgeoning middle-class, it pays to wonder whether this sheer strength in numbers alone is enough to help us remain there. When will we realise that mere brute force bends? Our policymakers would do well to learn from our experiences on the cricket field.

No related posts.

No related posts.

It’s okay. We lost, so what? It’s just a game. No one died. You didn’t go around asking us to support you. It’s really our mistake that we chose to hype you up and heap pressure on you. According to some rankings, the team was 8th in the world, so we were anyway not expected to go great lengths. Maybe we just were not good enough.

To sponsors of the team:

Ha! Ha! Do you now realise how not to make poor stupid marketing decisions?

To prospective stranglers:

Please spare Mr. Greg Chappell. Thanks.

To Mom & Dad:

I’ll hit bed early from now on.

No related posts.

But, don’t count India out of the World Cup yet!

The powers that be of Indian and world cricket know all too well that the money and viewership for this sport comes primarily from the subcontinent. Come on, did we not – a few hundred million losers – tune in to watch those eleven losers? We lost sleep to lose more sleep.

All the major sponsors – Pepsi, LG, Hero Honda, Hutch – have major businesses in India. Matches featuring India, even the practice matches, attract more ad money per minute, than most other games. Nike spent a fortune signing a huge deal with the BCCI. These businesses stand to win only if India continue to play. Play well or not, that’s secondary. But if India do make it to the Super Eights, these companies are guaranteed more eyeballs for at least six more games.

I believe that the BCCI, some of the main sponsors or bigtime bookies would currently be talking to the cricket board of Bangladesh and trying to cajole them into losing to Bermuda. Chances are they are already haggling over the price. A hundred crores, maybe?

No related posts.

After the loss to Sri Lanka, I bet he would have said, “We were short by 70 runs… er.. yeah!”

No related posts.

I would pity the selectors though. They really had little choice, and once you saw Sehwag’s name on the sheet, you knew they had thrown in their towels. Here is a man who was dropped for consistently underperforming. He comes back against Sri Lanka. India are in a strong position. He plays with such infectious diffidence and gets out cheap. (Honestly, one felt pity for Najafgarh’s favourite son. He was more comfortable back in the dressing room than in the middle.) Next day, he is queuing up to collect his flight ticket to the Caribbean. More on Sehwag’s selection here…

If you had watched the Rajkot game, you would have seen a marked difference between Sehwag’s approach and that of Dinesh Karthik. Karthik played with so much more confidence you always knew India would coast home if he were around. Some would argue “But Sehwag was short of confidence, because he had been dropped!” Pray how does diffidence help him at all? What if he is just that in the World Cup? Sehwag’s selection is because he is good fielder and can get a few overs through easily. If he bats well, I would count that as a plus.

Rajdeep Sardesai, in his usual come-slap-me style, asked Mohinder Amarnath this evening, “Do you think Dinesh Karthik is one of India’s seven best batsmen?”, as if Karthik had been picked to fulfil Tamil Nadu’s quota in the national side. Bloody hell, put your stats on the stove, Rajdeep. Here is a young chap who’s playing with such maturity and has won a few tight games for India. In terms of form, consistency, dependability, and technique, he is currently next only to the masterly trio of Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly. And did you not read Chappell’s comments on Karthik? Rajdeep, don’t waste airtime like a twat.

I would have liked the selectors to have tried out VVS Laxman for the World Cup selections. But Chappell’s belief that Laxman is only a Test batsman effectively sealed it. But did not Sreesanth evoke similar comments?

No related posts.

Will Luke and Martin Williamson are the folks that commentate on Cricinfo.com during the Ashes, and their attack of England is scathing, but extremely humourous – in the Ted Corbett mode. Sample some from the closing day of the Boxing Day test…

We have had a couple of emails arguing that this is the worst England tail ever. I offer this as my suggestion that makes this tail look world class … Irani, Caddick, Mullally, Tufnell, Giddins

Pietersen is padded up…the rumour is that he’ll finally bat at No.4. The other rumour is he doesn’t want to…believe what you will

Right, get your coats – someone call a taxi. This will all be over rather shortly I fear

What a nut that was! Murali would’ve been proud. Prodigious movement. England aren’t yet cooked, but they’re in a hole approaching cavernous proportions…Pietersen storms off like a child who, forced to try something by his parents, fails and is about to launch into a burst of “I told you so …”

Several emailers have asked if the two sides are likely to play a Twenty20 match tomorrow if this game ends today, given that so many tickets have been sold. I think that there is more chance of Duncan Fletcher doing a naked lap of dishonour while singing The Sun Has Got His Hat On.

For the 43rd time this series Ian Botham, commenting on Stuart Clark, says “Well, he’s a clone of McGrath. But, I tell you – I wouldn’t mind a clone of McGrath in my team. Would you?”

Excellent ball that – late swing, too. For the optimists among you, England only trail by 152 (Flintoff had just got out. England were five down, and defeat was imminent)

Great work, guys! Just can’t wait for the fifth test!

No related posts.

1. Sourav is the king of offside play. You could pay an entire month’s set-top box subscription just to watch that cover drive.




2. The 10 or 15 runs Suresh Raina scores, Ganguly will be able to score them with ease.




3. People won’t be able to raise questions like, “If performance is the criterion, why is Sehwag still playing?”




4. Since the Indian team’s cricket isn’t worth watching, we could at least have some Chappell-Ganguly showdowns to look forward to.




5. If, perchance, India were to win a game (against the likes of Namibia, Surinam, Burkina Faso etc), the dressing room would come alive, what with Ganguly’s shirt-swirling and a selection of the choicest expletives.




6. The Indian team desperately needs a bowler who can bat.




7. Sourav would attract all the criticism, and hence the others can play without much scrutiny. He is the kind of pressure-reliever our underperforming boys would want.




8. A better player would be given a chance to play for Bengal’s Ranji Trophy side.




9. Shoaib Akhtar won’t play cricket for a year; so dada won’t be anyone’s bunny any time soon.




10. You would be relieved of that sick commercial, “Mein hoon Sourav Ganguly… ooh, aah (ouch!) India!”

No related posts.

I’m no fan of Sourav Ganguly, but he used to be a bit more optimistic, and not afraid to experiment. Dravid looks like he is always rehearsing his post-match speech — trying to find the most acceptable excuse.

No related posts.

I’m a fan of both Tendulkar’s swashbuckling batting and Mr. Roebuck’s writing. I agree that in the overall scheme of things, we should welcome Tendulkar’s return to fitness. I believe that he should be included; but this should not be by default, but should rather be based on performance. The article in question though seems replete with overtones of idol worship, and doesn’t reflect a reality of today — that even Sachin Tendulkar has to earn his place in the team.

Roebuck writes:

Tendulkar must play until he has beyond argument been reduced to a pale shadow of his former self. Everything else is madness.

I’m not sure if adulation can extend to such levels where it can blind a level-headed writer. For one, I do not understand what Roebuck’s intentions are, when he brings this up. The point to be addressed here is not whether Tendulkar, based on his records, can be selected or not. If records were the only criterion, he can walk into any World XI, of any age. But records, while they are indicators of player’s greatness, must be viewed in perspective. Whenever great people fail, we hear a familiar refrain: “Class is permanent; form is temporary.” Yet, for all its temporal baseness, it is form which separates a paper-tiger from a performing player. If Roebuck’s argument were true, then Bjorn Borg can be given a wild-card entry into the pre-quarterfinals of the Wimbledon next year.

Roebuck’s argument that the selectors should “put him in the team, and then start thinking about the rest” reeks of a feudal mindset — one which is best captured in Bossuet’s theory of the Divine Right of Kings, according to which the king or the ruler is not answerable to anyone, as he is considered to belong to the line of God. Tendulkar’s fans may call him God, but really, that doesn’t bestow him with any such right. He is first a player, an equal, and then a great one. Let our adulation not make us deify him.

Haven’t we had enough problems already by waiting for Ganguly to come back to form? Isn’t it time we learn from our mistakes? Especially the ones we committed more recently!

P.S.: Roebuck makes a similar error, suggesting that Sehwag’s place should also not be questioned. But hasn’t Sehwag been inconsistent for long? If only one of Sehwag and Tendulkar can stay, however, I would vote for Tendulkar!

No related posts.

What he has also done is to walk into the media’s glare as another hero who will now be mercilessly targeted every time he fails to impress.

Good luck, Wasim!

No related posts.