News Round-Up

Harsha's father used to give "tuition" for free. 6:00 AM sharp. Good to know. Okay then, see you in the morning Mr. Bhogle. Frivolity aside, he raises some good points about BCCI but we are not all that sure about "benevolent" dictators. As the old saying goes: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We don't trust one person running the show without any checks and balances. As another old saying goes: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Mukul Kesavan's take on GC's resignation. Good post. Might be worth your while if you are not too busy. This bit makes complete sense to us:

"It can be plausibly argued that the problem with Chappell wasn't his candour, it was his propensity to intrigue. Several cricket journalists I've read or spoken to (and this includes Chappell's protagonists) testify to his habit of sending sms messages to journalists leaking his views on players, selection and policy. The players who disliked him complain about how manipulative he was. They might be wrong and self-interested but it's odd that Indian journalists and commentators should find the stereotype of the straight-talking Australian and the truth-denying Indian easier to credit than the chorus of allegations that Chappell's preferred mode for communicating with the media was the modern equivalent of harem whispers.
Just as odd is the 'balanced' view that equates criticism of Chappell and his methods with a willful blindness to the structural problems of Indian cricket. I find no difficulty in holding in my head (at the same time) two related but distinct ideas: 1) that the BCCI presides over a mess and 2) that Chappell is a terrible coach. The need for structural reform and the necessity of making the best of what you currently have aren't contradictory goals..."

Brett Lee is planning to terrorize everybody. Not with his bowling but with his singing.

"The move into music and films hasn't just dropped into his lap; it's been in the making for the past six years. The first song was just scratching the surface. It wasn't a huge revenue-raiser in itself . . . (but) it was part of a broader plan to focus a lot of our energies on the music and movie business on the subcontinent. It's not just about cutting a record. It's far broader and longer term than that."

Just kill us now.

BCCI's schedule for the next two days:

Day One
10.30 am: Captain, coach, manager, selection committee chairman Dilip Vengsarkar to meet BCCI officials to discuss on the World Cup debacle. Coach and manager to submit reports.
3.30 pm: Board officials meet other Team India players, including Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
Day Two
Working Committee meeting:
To discuss on improvement of the domestic structure, make it on the lines of Australia’s Sheffield Shield, improve playing conditions.
Discussion on players’ contracts, revising them specifically to be performance-based.
To discuss with former captains of India on complete revision of the country’s cricketing profile and appoint an interim coach.
To discuss on Zee’s bid to launch the Indian Cricket League.

Another interesting quote from the article:

“Don’t expect a lot of decisions to be taken. But do expect a lot of talking to be done. It is a two-day meeting and not just a two-day affair.”

Okay. No decisions and lot of talking. Have to remember that. What does the third sentence mean? "Two-day meeting and not just a two-day affair." We have no idea. Please let us know if you know what it means, my dear readers.

Talking Heads

Harsha's remedy for the ills plaguing the Indian cricket team is to reduce the number of first class teams in India and thus increase the cricketing standards. Fair enough.

Mukul Kesavan says it's Greg's fault (not in so many words...but...you know what, you should read the whole thing and decide for yourself). His theory:

I think we lost because Chappell, with the best possible intentions, tried to shake the team out of its settled routines by recruiting new players and rotating their roles. He bet on youth and fitness, on developing the all round skills of players like Dhoni and Pathan, and on undermining notions of seniority and hierarchy. He made an example of Ganguly to this end, made his indifference to slow-moving specialists like Laxman obvious and built up players like Raina on the strength of their fielding skills.

All of these policies are theoretically defensible: the problem is, they didn't work. Raina wasn't ready for prime time as a batsman, Pathan's bowling fell away, the experiments at the top of the order failed and by the time the World Cup came round, the Indian team looked remarkably like the one John Wright had handed over. Ganguly was back and he rejoined a team that had been stirred and shaken so hard that it was an anxious bunch of individuals with no esprit de corps

Ajit Wadekar, the senile old man of Indian cricket, decides to sound statesman like and for once eschews his garbage about "gora" coaches. One can peek into his psyche in this column. The column says: 'First find the cat you want to bell'. Right. Instead of talking about the causes/reasons of the bad show put on by India and how to go about correcting them, Wadekar, wants to pin the blame of this bad show on somebody. If that's the mentality 'esteemed' former captains have, there is no hope for Indian cricket.

Javagal Srinath says that Chappell's approach contradicted Indian way. We respect Srinath so we won't editorialize his column. Read it for what it is worth.

Confirming the fact that it is the best newspaper in India, The Hindu mentions that Polly Umrigar was inducted into the Legend's Club.

News Round-Up

Trawling the murky waters of a vast ocean (okay, we were surfing the internet) after yesterday's double feature upsets, we came across several stories (and back stories) by the simply clicking on a lot of random links. Among a lot of junk we found several interesting nuggets:

A delightful rant by Mukul Kesavan about the so called "processes" which are currently in fashion. This article might be a little dated but it is a soothing balm for that unreachable itch especially after India's loss yesterday.

Interesting (hat tip to My Two Cents and Prem Panicker):

"...Yet, every now and again his thoughts get the better of him, and he lets something slip. Like this line that slipped out, and has gone unnoticed, when in course of my interview with him for Rediff I asked him what he thought of the Indian team for the Cup. 'India has the team it wanted. It has all the brands..."

If by brands, he means Pepsi, Adidas, etc...then Hmmm...

Again, old news but very interesting. We love 'fly on the wall' stuff.

Osman Samiuddin's patience cracks and he lets loose a rant about the Pakistani cricket team. Fantastic stuff. And then it is Kamran Abbasi's turn.

Dhoni's house was stoned after India's defeat to Bangladesh. Is this ridiculous or what? What the hell is wrong with people? How is stoning someone's house going to help? You know what, we want India to be knocked out of the tournament. That will serve the lunatics right. Fucking morons. Bastards. It's just a game.

Finally, Pakistan's coach Bob Woolmer passed away in Jamaica after Pakistan's exit from the world cup. Details are sketchy. This is very sad. Tributes from people who knew him well. What a terrible day for Bob Woolmer's family and Pakistan.

When will people realize that however popular and however much money there is in cricket, it is at the end of the day, just a game. The best game on earth, but still a game. In all the hysteria that usually follows when a team from the sub-continent loses, the fact that cricket is just a game should not be forgotten. Bob Woolmer, RIP.

News Round-Up

Scary thought: Brett Lee to continue his abominable singing career.

Must read: Another one of Rahul Bhattacharya's great articles. We are hoping he will write a book about this world cup.

Another article about the decline of cricket in the West Windies. Meh...

Simon Barnes takes his shot at talking about cricket in the Windies:

"Where West Indies cricket goes from here, Lord knows. All I can say for certain is that I’ve seen more sporting wonders from those scattered islands than I have from anywhere else in the world."

Amen to that, brother.

Graeme Smith says that they are not 'chokers'. Okay...

Mukul Kesavan carries his allegorical metaphors too far. Did not like this post at all. Very hackneyed.

World Cup starts in earnest tomorrow. We are stoked!