Who Is Afraid of Virender Sehwag?

By John Cheeran

Who is afraid of Virender Sehwag? Alas, no one. Not bowlers, anyway. The most destructive of modern batsmen, who pushed the boundaries of batting along with the Sri Lankan genius Sanath Jayasuriya, cannot even contemplate his retirement from the game because his form is so wretched with the bat that the thought evokes only a yawn.

Sehwag is nowhere near the Indian team. He played his last Test almost a year ago, in March 2013, scoring 6 in India’s first innings against Australia when Murali Vijay (167) and Cheteshwar Pujara (204) laid the foundation for the hosts’s victory. Last heard, even the IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils are unlikely to retain Sehwag for the league’s seventh edition, when the deadline (January 10) to submit the list ends.

The only way to reclaim your spot in the Indian XI is by scoring heavily in domestic cricket and force Sandeep Patil, the chairman of the national selection committee, to suggest your name to captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But Sehwag’s batting average in the current season of Ranji Trophy is worse than that of tailender Ashish Nehra. Sehwag logged 234 runs averaging 19.50 from 13 innings while Nehra made 182 in eight innings at 22.75.

Normally, at such juncture, critics issue advisories to the batsman to call it a day. May be you too would have issued a note to Mr Sachin Tendulkar in his autumn, urging him to quit from international cricket, because you somehow cared for the guy.

In Sehwag’s case, no one seems to care. Neither the Board of Control for Cricket in India, nor the Indian captain, who has just lost both the one-day and Test series in South Africa but sports the looks of a Nobel peace prize winner for avoiding a massacre in Johannesburg and Durban, cares for Sehwag.

And this indifference reaffirms the business of sport. It does not run on recollections of past glory. Now you don’t need Sehwag because you have Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. You in fact even have a Shikhar Dhawan, a poor version of Sehwag, but with a high sense of exhibitionist twirl.

But remember Sehwag is no ordinary batsman even though, now, he is worse than ordinary. No one has pulled off the kind of feats Sehwag has done for India. Not even Mr Sachin Tendulkar. Sehwag holds the highest score by an Indian Test batsman --319. The next two best Test scores again belong to Sehwag -- 309 and 293. He is one of the four batsmen in the world who has scored two triple centuries in Tests. He has the fastest triple century in international cricket (300 from 278 balls). Sehwag also equalled Tendulkar’s feat of scoring a double century in ODIs. This is just for records.

His true worth lies elsewhere. As everyone knows, Sehwag upended cricket’s conventions. He redefined the opener’s role in Test cricket. He blurred the barriers between Tests and ODIs. He did not care for the game’s history or for its legends. His batting, at its best, is hardly flawless. He is an inspirational player who relies on reflexes. After 35 years, his eyesight is not what it used to be. The spectacles have not restored his vision for batting; it has reflected only in a string of poor scores in Ranji Trophy.

Sehwag needs help. Badly. More than any technical input, Sehwag needs to be reminded who he is. He should be told why everyone was afraid of Virender Sehwag. For someone who has been studiously ignorant of the game’s history, he should be reminded what his contributions for Indian cricket have been.

Before he becomes a mere statistic, Sehwag needs to be given a last chance to remind all of us that we will not see for a long time a certain kind of light  on the cricket field. For, he is no Corey Anderson, an instant hit. No one advocates an orchestrated farewell circus, but help can be a few words from his peers that he can still do it.

Will Mahendra Singh Dhoni be gracious enough to rekindle the fire in Sehwag’s belly? Just say you do care.

Or is Indian cricket still afraid of Sehwag?

How fixing Pakistanis has been a Good Fix for India

 By John Cheeran

 There is Good Fix and, then, there is Bad Fix. We, Indians, love the Good Fix.

 There has been an avalanche of protests, shocked expressions of fans, former players, commentators and administrators (read the BCCI) in the wake of Delhi Police – mind you, it is a police force that cannot keep rapists under check and cannot rein in the overflowing male testosterone on the streets of Delhi—exposing former India player S Sreesanth and two other cricketers from IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals as having colluded with bookies in instances of spot-fixing in IPL 6. But isn't it quite ironic that no one has taken seriously the charge that India’s semi-final against Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup was fixed? Why?

 Because it was alleged to have been fixed in India’s favour. And it was against our enemy, Pakistan. That was a Good Fix. Winning against Pakistan, by hook or crook, does matter and you better not ask any questions on that. And India won the World Cup after 28 years, so you better shut up and cheer our cricketers. And in any case whose fault is it if Pakistani cricketers had taken money to drop catches and throw their wickets cheaply, even though the tournament and the particular match itself was staged in India, and organized by BCCI? Didn't you know that all Pakistani cricketers were on take from the bookies? And mind you, we won, and our cricketers are clean.

Read full story

Who should be afraid of S Sreesanth?

Who should be afraid of S Sreesanth?

By John Cheeran

On April 3, the very day IPL 6 began, Times Blogs carried a cautionary post by me-- IPL 6: It can’t get bettor. (http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Arrackistan/entry/ipl-6-begins-it-can-t-get-bettor)

Let me quote from that post. “Players, and more than them, the franchise owners have a great responsibility to ensure that the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) remains free from quirky and 'funny' incidents. For, there is a strong perception that IPL matches are a god-send for spot-fixing. Every single ball is important and a lot depends on a dropped catch, a no-ball, and an unwarranted extra run.”

Now this morning comes the shocking news of the arrest of former India player S Sreesanth and two other young cricketers Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandilia (all three of them currently playing for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL). The charge against them—spot-fixing. The frightening prospect has finally come true, forcing the BCCI to suspend the three players.

Reports say that Delhi police, whose special cell made these arrests, believe there are more players involved in this alleged spot-fixing series in the IPL, including cricketers from other Test playing nations.

Sreesanth seems an ideal candidate to come under the bookmakers’ radar. Read the full story at

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Arrackistan/entry/who-should-be-afraid-of-s-sreesanth

2011 World Cup: When greatness beckons Dhoni’s India

By John Cheeran
Greatness beckons Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men. When it mattered, India came up with a fine team effort to knock the faltering world champions Australia from their unsteady pedestal. From being banished from the first round of the 2007 World Cup, India, under Dhoni’s leadership, has come a long way.
In 1996, too, played at home, India had carved out a confident victory in the quarterfinal. However, that quarterfinal will now be played when India clashes with Pakistan in Mohali in what is 2011 semifinal. Few would now like to recall what happened in the semifinal against Sri Lanka in 1996. Banish all negative thoughts, say shrinks.
This has been an interesting World Cup so far for India and Indians. Dhoni, as a captain and player, and his men hardly inspired confidence in the group stage except against the West Indians, in their last group match. They stuttered against Ireland, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, England and South Africa.
Well, the important point was that they lost only one game -- against South Africa -- though they came quite close to that against the now-hot, now-cold England.
No one can now accuse India that they are over dependent on their talisman, Sachin Tendulkar. Yes, Tendulkar is in great form. He has hit two brilliant centuries but none in a winning cause and to say this would be churlish. It was not Tendulkar’s fault that the rest of the batsmen couldn’t contribute enough in those two matches to seal the victory. But equally what matters is that whenever India won there were other men working hard to ensure the winning runs. And that augurs well for India not just in the World Cup but for the coming days as well.
Hopes are ballooning to new heights now all across this vast, passionate but broiling land. Heat is on. Can India defeat their neighbours and intense rivals Pakistan in the semifinal to be played on March 30? A lot many people said India’s match against Australia in the quarterfinal was the final played two matches early. That is preposterous. The real turner, the game-changer is only at hand. No match between India and Pakistan could be watched without keeping a dose of aspirin at hand. The heart attack could come at any moment.
Many are taking refuge in the fact that India has never lost a match against Pakistan in the World Cups. Three of those wins came during the campaign of Mohammad Azharuddin, who knew how to spread his butter and bets. In 1992, when Imran Khan lifted the World Cup we could console ourselves by replaying the winning moments against Pakistan in the group stage. In 1996, India’s disappointments were washed away in the slipstream of the quarterfinal victory against Pakistan in Bangalore. In 1999, in the backdrop of Kargil skirmish, Azharuddin’s Indians were feted for defeating Pakistan yet again, though Pakistan went on to play Australia in the final. There is no final bigger than the clash against Pakistan. In 2003, Sourav Ganguly’s decision to bowl first in the final against Australia was pardoned since India had beaten Pakistan in the early stage.
All these are comforting thoughts. In a surcharged atmosphere in Mohali, India could stop the band of mercenaries from Pakistan, led by the wild and wily Shahid Afridi. Pakistan the country would be on the verge of an implosion but despite almost being a cricketing outcast, that team has been justifying its right to play dazzling and exasperating cricket. The absence of star players has not stopped Afridi’s men from being inventive, divisive and united on the field.
By applying the right kind of heat, the solid Pakistan can be liquefied. India outclassed an Australia in decline by playing to its strength, spin. Ricky Ponting, despite a self-flagellating century, lost the match to India by investing his faith in his pace trio of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson, the Kangaroo hallmark in the post-Shane Warne era.
Has Dhoni sorted out his bowling worries? To ask R Ashwin to open bowling could prove suicidal against the fleet-footed Pakistanis. How would Indian spinners fare when confronted by the cheeky Pakistanis? Is there a spinner in the Indian ranks with the effectiveness of Afridi, who has taken 21 wickets in the tournament so far?
Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar are capable of hanging Pakistani spinners from the outside edge of their bats. But one cannot be blind to the reality that Pakistan boasts of a better bowling attack.
Someone – fate, God or the betting syndicate -- has already decided who will win this World Cup. All of us – including Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, are waiting to find out which is that side. The side that has much more than a Tendulkar, prayer mats and beads. You bet.

Now who will go beyond Muralitharan’s 800?

By John Cheeran
When I began to pay attention to cricket, Dennis Lillee was the ultimate bowler. The Australian fast bowler had 355 wickets when he bowed out of Test cricket. At that time, it appeared such an impossible task for anyone to overcome those numbers. Or in any case, the man would have been bloody tired to do that, as the English fast bowler Fred Trueman said when he became the first bowler to cross the 300 threshold in Tests.
On July 22, 2010, Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lankan wrist-spinning off-spinner retired from Test cricket in Galle, completing 800 Test wickets, with the last ball of his illustrious career. 800 wickets in 133 Tests!
But in Galle, on Friday, there were no traces of Muralitharan being bloody tired. He still sported his winsome smile as Mahela Jayawardene completed the catch to dismiss Indian rabbit Pragyan Ojha.
Even Lillee, the unabashedly aggressive Aussie, would not have dreamed about such a fantastic figure during his playing days. For a cricket fan, 800 wickets, anyway, was a mind boggling thought in the early 1980s.
Now the question is that will anyone in the future of the game go beyond the mark of 800? Shane Warne, may be the complete spin bowler, the one with prodigious turn and classical action and aggression, in the history of the game, left his pursuit with an awe-inspiring tally of 708 wickets. India’s own Anil Kumble finished, far too away, with 619 wickets in 132 Tests.
Before Lillee rushed through international batting line-ups, the bowling record for the maximum number of wickets was with the West Indian off-spinner Lance Gibbs (309). I wonder whether anyone remembers Gibbs in the glut of wickets now?
Yes, Sharad Pawar is determined to spread cricket into Russia, USA and many other European countries. There could come a time when India would be playing Tests against Latvia, Serbia and Ghana. When Lillee was playing Sri Lanka was taking baby steps in Test cricket. There was no opposition called Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
You cannot say with certainty that no bowler will overcome Muralitharan’s 800. Yes, Muralitharan had some unfair advantage thanks to his freakish action. He was the only wrist-spinning off-spinner in the history of the game. The Sri Lankan was a bowler with a freak action much to the chagrin of not only the irascible Australian umpire Darrell Hair, who no-balled him repeatedly during a Test Down Under, but India’s pristine practitioner of the craft, Bishan Singh Bedi too. Bedi who called Muralitharan a thief, however, saluted Muralitharan as a man of great qualities when the Sri Lankan Tamil retired after inflicting an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat on Indians and ruined captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s honey moon trip.
But to argue that Muralitharan’s success sprang from his action would be a denial of reality. Remember, Shane Warne, too, had taken an astonishing tally of 708 wickets without the benevolence of nature’s freakish side. But make no mistake, if anyone would scale the Mount of 800, it has to be a slow bowler with an appetite huge enough to scare away batsmen from the crease.

Twists and turns at Brabourne

By John Cheeran
At the end of the first day of the third and final Test at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, both India and Sri Lanka have reasons to be satisfied. It was an engrossing day, events doing justice to the ambiguities of Test cricket in full measure.
Of course, Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara finally won the toss. But he has an arduous task ahead of him to win the Test.
Sri Lanka has come up with an impressive first day score, amply aided by the belligerent batting of Tillakratne Dilshan (109 off 160 balls) and a sensible effort from all rounder Angelo Mathews. Sri Lankan openers gave their side an impressive start. But to India's credit, spinners Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha ensured that Sri Lankan batsmen did not think in terms of a total bordering on 500.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, however, will be a worried man. Odds are stacked against India. If Indian spinners can trouble the likes of Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene on Day One, the world's highest wicket-taker Muttaiah Muralitharan should be able to redeem his reputation on Indian soil. And consider that Indian batsmen will have the honour of playing the fourth innings. It is needless to say that India will have to play its first innings big, and in that opener Murali Vijay will have a huge role to play. Murali, who is filling in the leave vacancy of Gautam Gambhir just as he did in his debut Test against Australians in Nagpur earlier, has an opportunity to confound the national selectors.
For all that, twists and turns in this Test have just begun.

A Test of character for Indian batting

By John Cheeran
The fifth and final day of the Ahmedabad Test will be nothing less than a Test of character for the celebrated Indian batting. Yes, Sri Lanka is getting close to its first Test win on Indian soil. You cannot blame the pitch if Mahendra Singh Dhoni's India eventually runs out of patience and wickets in its effort to deny the Sri Lankans the glory.
To avoid an innings defeat India should get 334 runs. At 190 for two India still requires 144 runs to make Sri Lankan batsmen turn up again.
After losing Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid on the fourth day, India has a much tougher task to salvage a draw. The only bright point remains the pitch, which though offering a bit of turn, is not really assisting spinners.
Indians will have to get the equation of runs and time just right to come out of the Test with their pride intact. Yes, India will wipe off the deficit, but the mastery of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni will be in leaving too little time for Sri Lankans to rattle off the required runs for victory.
Any score within the range of 150 would be an easy meat for Lankans, thirsting for an opportunity to humble the big brother.
Sri Lankans will be basically trying to get the next five wickets to win the game. And that will include Gambhir, Tendulkar, Laxman, Dhoni and Yuvraj. The rest will follow.
So India must bat deep. Dig in but never let go any opportunity to score.

India's misery in Guwahati. A tale of 170 all out vs 175

By John Cheeran
So much for India's batting strength. It caved in Guwahati (170 all out, 27 for five, 75 for six at one stage of the innings), and if not for the carefree innings of fast bowler Praveen Kumar (54 off 51 balls), Mahendra Singh Dhoni's India would not have crossed 100 runs.
This is what I call as context. On a merry batting track, anyone can score. But your character and temperament are revealed when you are tested by a surface that offers some bounce and turn to bowlers.
Virender Sehwag 6, Sachin Tendulkar 10, Gautam Gambhir 0, Yuvraj Singh 6, Suresh Raina 0 and you want to win a match and the series?
We have seen this kind of inexplicable batting displays from Indian sides over the years. And again I'm not surprised by the abject display of Indian top order. As Sachin Tendulkar himself said the other night in Hyderabad, everyone cannot score on every day.
But what, then, about consistency?
Pundits and former players who have raved about Tendulkar's 175 should have reserved their encomiums for an innings that would be played in conditions that are challenging to batsman.
You are nothing but a statistician when you cannot appreciate the context of an innings. A batsman becomes great only when he towers over adverse circumstances. And again, you have to get out of the rut of calling every second innings played by batsmen, the best.
Well, I have taken note of the fact that Kapil Dev himself has rated Sachin Tendulkar's Hyderabad 175 better than his own stupendous effort of 175 not out in the 1983 World Cup. But I have never taken Kapil's comments on cricket seriously. A natural cricketer he is, but not the best of minds that can bring in a sense of dispassionate analysis to the game.
Now look at Ricky Ponting. Full credit to him for securing the series win against heavy odds. The way Australian batsmen handled the chase of 170 runs on a tricky pitch reveals their ingrained professionalism. It was a chase that could have gone wrong, had they lost a few early wickets. Not only did they not lose wickets but Shane Watson's positive approach to run gathering ensured that the innings never got bogged down.
Winning the toss did not help India and Dhoni. May be Dhoni wanted to unleash his spinners on a track that tended to break in the afternoon. But for all that, without posting a decent total, you could not expect bowlers to run through the innings.
Now there are legions of fans who will absolve the stars of the Indian side of the responsibility of losing this match, the one before and the one before that and the series.
And that is cricket for you in India.

Should we blame Asoka de Silva for Mohali defeat?

By John Cheeran
Who defeated India in the fourth one-dayer against Australia in Mohali?
Ricky Ponting or Asoka de Silva?
If Sourav Ganguly is to be believed, Asoka de Silva was the man behind India's 24-run defeat. De Silva's LBW verdict against India's well-set batsman Sachin Tendulkar (40 off 68 balls) was unpardonable, says Ganguly while giving his exclusive thoughts to an Indian television channel.
I thought there were others in the Indian batting lineup who could have met the challenge head on.
Yes, umpire De Silva made a mistake in giving Tendulkar out. But Tendulkar himself has said recently he is not in favour of carrying on with the referral system and umpires should be left with the powers to make LBW decisions. So?
You got to live with such decisions and still make a fight out of it. After all, cricket is a team sport and you cannot bemoan the loss of a wicket beyond a point and get befuddled.
You cannot turn your gaze away from reality. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli all failed to put their head down and chase down a modest target of 250. There was not a single legitimate partnership in the Indian innings. India's top individual score was Tendulkar's 40.
What's coach Gary Kirsten up to?
But, then, nothing is lost if Team India realises its shortcomings, especially the inability of its young batsmen to play shots when wicket offers a bit of bounce.
Any match in Mohali has its own twists and turns, and Australians showed a lot of character to bounce back when it all seemed a lost cause.
Sponsors Hero Honda should be the happiest lot, since the outcome in Mohali keeps the seven-match series alive.

Where did Dhoni, Yuvraj and Harbhajan go on Sunday night?

John Cheeran
Where did Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, star batsman Yuvraj Singh and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh go out on Sunday night?
For some match practice?
May be the trio is taking Indian coach Gary Kirsten's advice seriously. To channelise their creative energies and attain the blissful state of nirvana, on the eve of the match against Australia.
May be these three were off to discuss strategy in the cover of night because these days you cannot trust anyone in the dressing room. Some of the newbies and veterans in the team are a naughty lot and may leak inside information to our rivals.
The tricky thing is that you cannot even trust the cops these days. Their knowledge of cricket tactics is poor at the best. They are nothing but irritant fleas. Since Yuvi and Bhajji know Chandigarh inside out, and know all the dark alleys of Sector 16 and 17, there is no need to inform the security personnel when they are going out.
And just consider the reputation of Yuvraj and Harbhajan. Lions of Punjab. These two cricketers can handle any security threat. Ask S Sreesanth.
Not even gun-toting Kasabs could stop them in their tracks.
After all, these days, matches are all day and night affairs.
A bit of nightout should do Team India just fine.

Ponting has to win more than mere tosses

By John Cheeran
Despite Australia's apparent lack of bowling resources what made things easier for India in the third one-dayer at Feroze Shah Kotla was Ricky Ponting's too careful an approach while batting.
Now with the tide in the series turning in favour of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's India 2-1, Ponting has to do more than merely win the toss at Mohali. With former foe Sourav Ganguly offering unsolicited advice to bat first, things are not looking pretty for the Aussie.
Yes, the wicket at Kotla did not encourage shot-making, but Australians could have taken their chances against Indian spinners to put on at least another 50-odd runs. That, they failed to do so, handing over the advantage to the Indians. But, then, though they had five wickets in hand Australia was handicapped by the absence of wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Paine.
That wicket did not turn treacherous was evident when Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni were batting together. A missed opportunity, especially for Michael Hussey, Shane Watson and Ponting. As things stand, Aussies are far from winning the game in the mind.

When Gavaskar knows it better…

By John Cheeran
Sunil Gavaskar, always, has an interesting take on cricket. He tells viewers of CNN-IBN that Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's innings of 124 in Nagpur was reminiscent of Kapil Dev's 175 against Zimbabwe in 1983 World Cup in Tunbridge Wells.
Really?
To start with Kapil's knock came in a 60-over-a-side confrontation. There were plenty of overs when Kapil came in at No.6 but India had lost four wickets for a mere 9 runs as total. India had to win that match to retain its chances of advancing from the group stage.
When Dhoni began his innings in Nagpur India was comfortably placed at 97 for three in 16th over with the run rate exceeding 6 runs per over. Hardly a crisis situation. And how can you compare a World Cup encounter with a inconsequential seven-match series, even though its is against the once formidable Australians?
Yes, Gavaskar should know better since he was on the ground that day, opening the Indian innings, and during his two-ball innings he could not disturb the scoreboard.
Yes, there is no doubt that both players, as captains, had a responsibility to pull their side out of trouble.
Dhoni did a brilliant job, but for the moment let's leave it there.

When Dhoni gets his batting in order

By John Cheeran
Yes, a brilliant innings (124 off 107 balls; 54 runs in his last 27 balls) by Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Nagpur. So what's the debate all about Dhoni's batting order?
I believe more than the batting order, it was a question of Indian skipper getting his batting in order. This, he did splendidly in Nagpur against Ricky Ponting's Aussies to level the seven-match series 1-1.
Dhoni came at No.5 in Nagpur. Suggestions were swirling around that being one of the aggressive batsmen in the side, Dhoni should promote himself in the batting order to serve Team India’s needs better.
Dhoni has proved that such suggestions are, at best, unwarranted, when you have the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh in the batting lineup.
Yes, getting a century while coming in as late as No.5 in a fifty over game is not easy. But, then, the situation in Nagpur was tailor made for Dhoni on Wednesday. Dhoni had come in the 16th over of Indian innings. India had lost three wickets but there was no crisis. Runs were streaming in. Sehwag (40 off 31 balls, Tendulkar (4 off 8 balls) Gambhir and Yuvraj (23 off 24 balls) did not eat up overs but had scored quickly. That let skipper Dhoni the space to build his innings stealing singles and twos, and later explode in full glory in the final phase of the innings.
Now, should it mean that, Dhoni should be given a theoretical chance to bat the full 50 overs?
An honour that was given to Sachin Tendulkar in New Zealand? I don't think so.
At the same time you cannot expect MSD to come up with centuries and half centuries when he walks in at No.5 slot.
It would be prudent to remember that all great efforts are helped by conducive atmosphere. And very few cricketers could turn a match situation in their favour. Most of the times, you are at the mercy of the match. Yes, of course, great players are those who can redefine a game situation.
Hope Dhoni will not disappoint us.

Youngistan and perils of losing to Pakistan on cricket field

By John Cheeran
Now that India has lost to Pakistan in the final of Kitply Cup by 25 runs we can all forget that limbering up in Mirpur, and now look forward to another round of skirmishes. Yes. Asia Cup is beckoning us in Pakistan.
As I had noted in an earlier post, reactions to the outcome of India-Pakistan cricket clashes are lacking the frisson of yesteryears. So, as the case was in India’s group stage victory and now the loss in the final, not many are bloody bothered.
Have we grown up as a nation of cricket watchers? I honestly do not suspect such transformation, though; definitely we are on the road to such a destination. In the first place you cannot jazz up anything that’s happening in Bangladesh. It was pretty much evident from the fact that not many Indian cricket reporters were keen to go to Mirpur, not even Dhaka, you see, in the first place.
After the ecstasy of the Indian Premier League (IPL) who cares for the plywood of Kitply Cup?
As in any sport, occasion does matter in cricket too. Kitply Cup turned out to be something quite similar to the exercise once we had in the Commonwealth Games cricket championship. It fizzled out to the relief of everyone involved in that, including Mr. Suresh Kalmadi.
But in all these, in victory and defeat, India’s captain and hero of our fleeting times, Mahendra Singh Dhoni should heed the lessons of Mirpur.
You should win, when it matters. Dhoni and the youngsters are, of course, unencumbered with the baggage of history when it comes to Pakistan. They are not a generation who were traumatized by the last ball-six by Javed Miandad off Chetan Sharma in the Australasia Cup final played in Sharjah. They were too young to be hit by that sixer.
Today a loss in a final against Pakistan does not lead to the burning of Dhoni’s house in Ranchi. Despite the defeat to Pakistan in the final in Mirpur, not a stone was cast at any homes of the cricketers.
But there is a threshold in the mind of an average Indian cricket fan. Sooner or later he or she will demand more. A nation’s woes that have been aggravated by rising oil price, and raging inflation, will forgive you only up to a point. So that only means losing to Pakistan in Pakistan during the Asia Cup will be asking for trouble. And by that time the pleasant distraction of the Euro Championship will be almost over.
Summer will be harsher. Pepsi sales will (or, ought to) soar. So Dhoni, representing the apolitical Youngistan, will have to drink deep from the pool of lost opportunities.