Why cricketers never suffer from backbone injuries?

By John Cheeran

Have you ever wondered why cricketers never suffer from backbone injuries? Read Sachin Tendulkar’s statement to the media on Friday, and you will understand. The man who conquered the best of bowlers, slow and fast, is still uneasy about fielding questions. Hence a convenient, anodyne statement, that does not tell us anything, does not take a position on anything that is germane to the malaise that afflicts Indian cricket.

Let me quote the great batsman: “During this difficult phase, I join every cricketer, from the boys in the maidans across the country to those who represent clubs, states and the country, who trust the

authorities to take sincere steps to get to the root of the issue.”

So what’s the issue, Tendulkar?

It appears you are too terrified to utter the word ‘fixing’. And significantly, you still have trust in those who employ you, that is Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), when you say “you trust the authorities to take sincere steps.”

Ahem. This pearl of wisdom comes from the elder statesman of world cricket, who has played international cricket since 1989.

Is Tendulkar living in denial? Why? Does he think the BCCI has failed in keeping cricket clean and corruption-free in India? Does he think that the BCCI should subject itself to an overhaul? There are no answers.

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Mr Sachin Tendulkar, can you spell batting from betting?

By John Cheeran

Mahindra Singh Dhoni’s grin on Tuesday said a few things. It revealed Dhoni’s utter contempt for the ordinary cricket fan. Dhoni does not think it is important to allay fears of fans about the integrity of Indian cricketers, including himself. Also, something that I had pointed much earlier in Arrackistan, Dhoni is playing for a BCCI XI, not for India. He is the captain of BCCI XI, not the captain of India. This leaves me with one inference: cement has entered Indian cricket’s soul.

Dhoni’s kinship with BCCI president N Srinivasan is apparent. He is a vice-president with India Cements, where Srinivasan is the managing director. Dhoni also leads Chennai Super Kings, a team owned by India Cements, which is run by Srinivasan. Despite 0-4 defeats in England and Australia, Dhoni could cling on to captaincy thanks to the munificence of Srinivasan. And his wife Sakshi kept close company of disgraced bookie conduit, Vindu Dara Singh. Dhoni, by virtue of his role as Chennai Super Kings captain, had to spend time with a cricket enthusiast by the name, Gurunath Meiyappan. No, wonder, then, that Dhoni had a mouthful of cement when faced with irksome questions. Dhoni chose not to fall in line with BCCI diktat because that serves his own interests, not Indian cricket’s.

By speaking his mind, by speaking out against cricketers who are in collusion with bookmakers, and emphasising the need for the establishment to keep stricter vigil to steer clear of corrupting influences, Dhoni could have emerged as not just captain of Indian team, but a leader, this nation can look up to. Dhoni might have won the World Cup for India, but in this Test of character and leadership, this young man has failed in abject manner.

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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.

Business Standard Edit on Sachin Tendulkar’s 50th century

Editor's note:This brilliant editorial in Business Standard gives a balanced picture of Indian cricket….It’s a shame that analysis has been abandoned in favour of mindless eulogies in most of the sport pages of Indian newspapers.

After losing the final of the 1983 World Cup to India in June, West Indies came visiting four months later. They won the first Test by an innings and 83 runs, drew the second, won the third by 138 runs, drew the fourth, won the fifth by an innings and 46 runs, and drew the sixth. It was a comprehensive drubbing handed out to the new world champions. Clive Lloyd’s marauders had had their wish in what was termed the “revenge series”. The average Indian cricket fan seems to have very little recollection of that drubbing. They do remember the series, but for the two centuries Sunil Gavaskar scored in two drawn matches. They discuss in detail Gavaskar’s century in the second Test, his 29th, an uncharacteristically breezy one off just 94 balls, which brought him on a par with Donald Bradman. In the last Test, batting at number four, as opposed to the opening slot he occupied for most of his career, Gavaskar scored 236 not out. This took him not only beyond Bradman but also beyond Vinoo Mankad’s highest individual score by an Indian, a record which had stood for three decades.
Much has changed since then. West Indies, a world-beating force, have become the whipping boys. Australia have dominated and dissipated. Generations of players have come and gone. India has learnt to win overseas and risen to the position of the number one Test team in ICC’s rankings. It is not dependent on any one player anymore, as it depended on Gavaskar in the 1970s and 80s, and on Sachin Tendulkar for the entire decade of the 1990s. But one look at the last few days’ coverage of the first Test in South Africa will make any half-informed person wonder if much has changed. To be fair, Tendulkar accomplished a stupendous feat, his 50th century in Tests. That Gary Sobers, a bonafide all-time-great, scored 26 in his career would put Tendulkar’s accomplishment in perspective. However, the celebration around it glossed over the fact that, even as Tendulkar remained unbeaten when thundershowers washed off the fag-end of the fourth day’s play, India were staring at certain defeat. Curiously, the mood was celebratory, even euphoric. Everyone was busy digging out the list of Tendulkar’s centuries, his childhood photos, and the talking heads had a field day. No one would listen to the man himself, who insisted that 50 was just another number.
This could have been forgiven in the days when the team lost regularly. After all, everyone needs something to celebrate. Tendulkar often gave us the reason. His 114 as a 19-year-old in 1992 at Perth, whose pitch had much more spite then, is celebrated by his peers as arguably his best. Well, we lost that Test by a small matter of 300 runs! This attitude can be forgiven in an underdog. No one expects them to win, so they celebrate whatever they can, and cricket offers ample scope for an individual to shine even as the team surrenders. But, to be beaten by an innings and some, while being the number one team in the world, should call for some embarrassment, some hand-wringing.

When Sachin Tendulkar goes beyond his boundaries

By John Cheeran
Sachin Tendulkar has become the first cricketer in the history of one-day internationals to score a double century. Who would have thought that the Indian master would go beyond this boundary too, during the longest autumn an international cricketer can ever have?
I, forever a critic of Tendulkar’s ways at the wicket, especially in recent years, have never doubted his stroke-making abilities. It was more a question of his power to stay at the crease, with a string of injuries and other slights thrown at him, including those barbs from that guardian of Marathi Manoos, Bal Thackeray, making his comfort zone shrink at an alarming rate. The fact that Tendulkar has crossed this milestone in an era of Twenty20 shows how young he remains at heart. His appetite for runs remains intact as that of a schoolboy cricketer when he used to pad up for Shardashram School.
Tendulkar has had excellent company in this Indian team when it comes to scoring runs quickly. These days it is no affront to the great cricketer when one timorously points out that Virender Sehwag is the most aggressive cricketer the game has ever seen. In the last 12 months, Tendulkar has reinvented himself and the freedom with which he has batted at Gwalior on Wednesday and earlier against Australians at Hyderabad makes one nostalgic about the way Sunil Gavaskar played his final one-dayers, including that brilliant hundred against Kiwis in the 1987 World Cup.
On any other day one would have dared to talk about the benign nature of the pitch at Gwalior and the ease and brutality with which Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni clobbered the South African bowlers to the exasperation of a nation waiting for Tendulkar to run for that single to complete his unbeaten 200. Or, the inconsequential nature of one more one-day series being played out there for the benefit of brand managers.
No, not on this Wednesday, at least.
Yet, one suspect that after 20 years of top-notch cricket, there still remains a few more Khwaishs for this modern batting great. Scoring a Test triple hundred and winning the World Cup for his country could figure among that list. May be we will never know being the intensely private person that Tendulkar is.

Players survive as India sinks to the guns of South Africa

By John Cheeran
A Test match that began so well for India, when it claimed two South African wickets for six runs, including that of skipper Graeme Smith, has gone so awfully wrong in the remaining sessions that host is licking its wounds.
What went wrong for India?
Was it the inclusion of Wriddhiman Saha who made his debut as a specialist batsman? Poor Saha, for all you know this may be the end of the road for the youngster.
India lost by an innings and six runs in Nagpur largely because of its batting failure. It's an oft-repeated story; where some of the protagonists make run but not good enough to shore up the side. Yes, we can again rave about the skills of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar and their centuries.
Look at South Africa. Hashim Amla and Jack Kallis set up the match for their side by playing really, really big knocks. That's the essential difference in approach by the two sides and one that separates the winner from the loser and No.1 from No.2.
May be no Test team would have been able to avoid the kind of collapse that India suffered in the first innings. But, then, again efficient sides redeem themselves playing their second innings with purpose. Think Australia. That did not happen in India's case.
Would things have been panned out differently had Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman been part of the squad? I really don't know. In a sense, that is pointless.
But the point is that apart from Sehwag and Tendulkar none really played his part in India's both innings. Gautam Gambhir failed in both innings but none wants to blame him because he has had such a wonderful run in recent times. Subramaniam Badarinath survives thanks to his half-century. Murali Vijay survives as he hung around in the second innings. MS Dhoni survives since he is the hottest brand and the captain of the side.
But half-measures would not help you to become the No.1 side in international cricket.
In the circus that has cricket become there is nothing called ALL IS LOST. You forget and move on. There is Kolkota and then there is another match.
Selectors have made the changes and brought in Suresh Raina, S Sreesanth and Dinesh Karthick. Will these changes eventually reflect in the composition of the playing XI?
Do all these matter, when we are waiting for the IPL curtain to go up?

Virender Sehwag, the man with no burdens

By John Cheeran
Those who have spent their adjectives a few weeks ago on Sachin Tendulkar find now themselves paupers to describe the phenomenon called Virender Sehwag.
Sehwag (284 off 239 balls) was master of all he surveyed at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday. In Tendulkar's backyard, Sehwag has shaken the fundamentals of Test match batting to the core.
It's a brute reminder to all of us that there have been few exciting batsmen in the modern era to match Sehwag for sheer excitement at the crease. Sanath Jayasuriya and Adam Gilchrist included.
The simplicity of Sehwag's batting never ceases to surprise the onlooker. When on song, Sehwag, the destroyer, can only invoke the images of Shiva.
Sehwag, as you all know, is not your erudite cricketer who is deeply conscious of the tradition of the game. It is important to remember that while falling short of the opening stand record of Pankaj Roy during India's Pakistan tour, the guy simply asked the journalists, Pankaj who?
The biggest blessing Sehwag has faced in his career that he has played along with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. For Sehwag there has been no reason to put on the uncomfortable role of rescuer or defender of one billion people. When Tendulkar admirably carries the burden of one billion, why should Sehwag worry?
Sehwag terrorises bowlers, and in the process, it would not be inappropriate to say that he has put Vivian Richards in the shade.
Not that Sehwag has had his moments of wretchedness in international cricket. Without the unflinching support of Rahul Dravid, Sehwag would not have been made the cut for the disastrous World Cup in 2007. People, including me, did abuse Sehwag for his unrepentant ways at the crease.
Sehwag cannot play but the way he has been made out.
So he continues to confound, exasperate, enthrall and entertain you and opposition, in the manner of a street bully.
Jab thak balla chale, we all should know.

Who's a true Maharashtrian? Gavaskar or Tendulkar?

By John Cheeran
Now that Shiv Sena finds Sunil Manohar Gavaskar 'a true Maharashtrian' compared to Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, will the original little master, who writes anodyne columns on cricket, spell out where he stands in the Marathi Manoos controversy?
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut wrote in Saamna on Sunday that Gavaskar batted for Bombay and promoted cricketers from the city.
Raut writes: "There has been no instance of Sachin extending a helping hand to other Marathi cricketers. Forget others, he did not even support Vinod Kambli. In contrast, Gavaskar, when he captained India, had half the team drawn from Mumbai and Maharashtra. He gave Test caps to many Marathi players including Suru Naik and Zulphikar Parkar, at least for one match."
Raut adds: "In this context, Gavaskar is a genuine 'Maharashtrian' and the whole country loves him even now in the same way. Players like Sachin have become rich because of game of cricket. Sachin's wealth has crossed Rs 200-crore mark. We expect Sachin to be as 'proud' of Maharashtra as Saurav Ganguly is of Bengal. Rahul Dravid too is a Marathi player but he is loyal to Karnataka."
So was Gavaskar parochial during his career?
Did Gavaskar have the best interests of the nation when he pushed for players from Bombay and Maharashtra into the side?
I consider it is Gavaskar's responsibility to break his silence and explain whether he played his cricket as an Indian first, or a Bombaywallah.
And as for Tendulkar not helping fellow Mumbaikars, Raut is far from truth. Tendulkar, when he was captaining the side, did bring in cricketers from Bombay to Indian dressing room. Remember Abhay Kuruvila, Nilesh Kulkarni, Salil Ankola, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Sairaj Bahutule. And even Vinod Kambli got a second look when Tendulkar was captain during 1996-98.
And unlike Bollywood, in cricket, you can only give people opportunities. Even a Tendulkar cannot script a Test and ODI. Every cricketer has to stand up and deliver. You can have quotas only up to the playing XI, but out there in the field, you got to earn runs and wickets on your own.
But coming back to the point, what’s Gavaskar’s take on this?
Gavaskar, I’m sure, will let this bouncer alone.

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.

The silence of cricketers

By John Cheeran
Does it surprise you that Indian cricketers, the current and former lot, have kept their distance from the simmering Bal Thackeray-Sachin Tendulkar controversy on the great divide between Mumbai and India?
I'm not. Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, who both played their cricket in Bombay and continue to live there, never uttered a word on the Saamna editorial while doing commentary for Neo Cricket in the ongoing three Test series against Sri Lanka.
No player from the current Indian squad came forward to say that though they hail from different regions of the country, for them India comes first and no one should pillory Sachin Tendulkar for saying that "he is an Indian first."
Had this bunch of players were playing for India, and not for the BCCI XI, such a reaction would have been most natural. Nor did the band of former players castigate Thackeray for taking a swipe at Tendulkar. Who are they afraid of?
It is too silly to argue that cricketers are not interested in politics and they should be allowed to remain outside the murky world of politics. All actions are political. From fixing cricket matches to planting stories against a team mate to feigning injuries to playing a cracking cover drive.
Yes, politicians did make some noise about the Thackeray statement. But I'm yet to read a remark from Sharad Pawar, the Maratha chieftain, and union minister for agriculture, who is also the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Pawar, who knows a thing or two about the Marathi Manoos, let his dummy Rajeev Shukla issue a vapid statement.
There is not even a purr from the highly political Sourav Ganguly, who the other day was showering praise on Tendulkar.
So much for the people, who can spot the tricolour fluttering on the shoulders of Sachin Tendulkar, every time he walks out to bat.
Long live India.

Rahul Dravid, no God, but an ordinary man trying to achieve extraordinary feats

By John Cheeran
Almost a year ago, one wondered about the future of Rahul Dravid. It was a time when Dravid himself was wondering about what NEXT.
Sourav Ganguly had announced his retirement from international cricket, and released from the burden of expectations, was having a good run of scores against Australia.
Anil Kumble was struggling to get another wicket and eventually stepped down as captain. There was this theory gaining currency that Indian team's doors were shut on seniors. That, then, basically meant Dravid would have to search for the meaning of his life, outside of cricket.
There was no doubt that Dravid, after relinquishing captaincy in the wake of World Cup debacle and the Test series triumph in England, was struggling to reinvent himself as a batsman. The IPL experience with Bangalore Royal Challengers, too, did not make things easier.
With the BCCI firm on its decision not to consider Dravid for limited over matches, it was expected that Dravid would be left with no choice but to go the Ganguly way.
But Dravid persisted. And he succeeded. He even got a recall to the Indian one-day team for Champions Trophy in South Africa. And conveniently cast aside when the time came to select the one-day squad against Ricky Ponting’s Australians, despite a good string of scores, though India tanked in the tournament.
But there is more to Rahul Dravid, the cricketer. There are more bricks in this wall than holes as the Sri Lankans found out on Monday on the first day of the three-Test series in Motera, Ahmedabad.
On Monday yet again Dravid rescued the tottering Indian innings. Dravid played an exhilarating innings of unbeaten 177, after India frittered away the advantage of captain Mahendra Singh winning the toss, by losing the wickets of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, all for 32 runs.
Dravid, if you remember, walks in at the crucial position of No.3. It's as tough a spot to be that of an opening batsman.
With Sri Lankan seamers moving the ball around in the first hour, Dravid watched the ball keenly, tightened his defence and let his natural temperament take over.
By now, we all know, Indian batsmen have the habit of burying themselves in the pitch if the wind favours the bowler. Dravid's impeccable shot selection and ability to eschew flamboyance ensured that he remain unscathed during the difficult hour and was free to exploit the favourbale batting conditions, later on.
And silencing his critics, Dravid calmly scored his 27th Test century, an innings that India would be grateful for, for it came when the chips were down.
Yes, I acknowledge that conditions were not difficult for scoring runs, after the first session. Dravid played his strokes freely but kept the big picture in his mind, a crucial difference, compared to the Yuvraj Singhs of this world. He never let go of any opportunity to whip bowlers and his strike rate of 70.51 is something that should be lauded in the course of a long innings.
Why is it that Dravid, most often, scores runs when India needs them the most?
May be, despite playing for India for the last 13 years, often fighting against the odds, we have not yet labelled Dravid of carrying the burden of a nation of one billion people.
So, his shoulders are free to carry the burden of the moment, the burden of batting, and the burden of the moment.
Or is it because Dravid is no God, but a mere mortal, an ordinary man struggling to achieve extraordinary feats, just like you and me, praying and toiling for our daily bread, leavened in equal measure with hope and despair?

When Thackeray holds Sach ka Saamna with Sachin Tendulkar

By John Cheeran
All his life, Bal Thackeray has played only one stroke, though his brush strokes were brilliant and varied when he used to be a cartoonist with mordant wit during the great days of Free Press Journal.
Thackeray has perfected the daring hook shot of identity politics into the Marathi Manoos gallery, giving excitement to his diehard followers, and in the process, terribly fraying the many-coloured national fabric.
On the other hand, Sachin Tendulkar, one of India's finest cricketers, has dominated international cricket for the last 20 years precisely because he can play more than one stroke to any given ball. Tendulkar is a many-splendoured wonder.
So it does not come as a surprise that Bal Thackeray has censured Tendulkar for saying "I'm extremely proud to be a Marathi, but an Indian first," at a press conference last week in Bombay.
To a certain degree, the great PR exercise unleashed by Tendulkar's image consultants on the occasion of the batsman having completed 20 years of international cricket has been quite unnerving. At least, for me.
And, now comes this jarring note from his home turf. Tendulkar's spin doctors would not have expected such a googly from Thackeray when Shiv Sena is licking its electoral wounds.
Indian cricketers, though when it is convenient for them remind us that they are greatly honoured to serve the nation, always sidestep political bouncers. Remember, Sunil Gavaskar kept his mouth shut when Shiv Sainiks vandalised the Bombay office of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The problem with Tendulkar is that he is too naive to understand the many layers of sub-nationalism in India, though Ranji Trophy matches should have been a primer in such matters.
Well, now that Tendulkar has put his Marathi Manoos behind the Idea of India, though unwittingly, I stand with him. People all over India embraced The Idea of Tendulkar, precisely because it has been pan-Indian in its appeal. And quite importantly, Tendulkar did not play for a generation that shed blood for the formation of linguistic states. Tendulkar has played his cricket for a young republic, disdainful towards chauvinism and regional boundaries.
It is important to note in this context that Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani was advised by his image consultants to brand his Indian Premier League (IPL) team as Mumbai Indians, and that was a step in the right direction.
It would be interesting to know how Tendulkar would react to Thackeray's uncalled for jibe.
Most certainly, with a forward defensive stroke.

Cricket with Sri Lanka not sexy yet

By John Cheeran
So India is playing a Test series against Sri Lanka. Have you noticed?
Indian television channels and newspapers haven't taken the series seriously. The seven-match one-day series between India and Australia was dubbed as the honour series by a channel, whereas when the No:2 (Sri Lanka) and No.3 (India) in Test cricket are clashing, there is only muted interest at best.
Why? A fight against neighbourhood Sri Lankans has not become sexy yet for media mavens. Much in the manner of Sanat Jayasuriya not being sexy enough for brand promotion for Indian brands, even though the Man From Matara redefined the grammar and idiom of batting.
After all, it is only Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has had a rich tradition of cricket even before it played its first Test in Madras but India used to fancy its chances against the island nation for a long time. Not anymore.
The fact, however, remains that Sri Lanka is yet to win a Test in India, South Africa and Australia. Well, even India's Test record in Sri Lanka is not enviable. India has always struggled to beat Lankans at their own turf.
The current series, and the first Test starting on Monday at Ahmedabad, will be significant in one aspect. How many spectators will turn up to watch these games?
The series will be a barometer of the popularity of Test cricket in India. Sri Lankans are gritty cricketers and will spare no effort to win their first Test in Indian soil.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have an opportunity to think cricket and ensure that things do not slip from his hand while looking ahead, for 2011.
Certainly, it will be a treat to watch some of the greatest batting talent in this series. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman all are aware that they are in the last phase of their maha yatra. We will not get many chances to watch these masters in action. And the same holds true for the wily spinner Muttaiah Muralitharan.
If only Sanat Jayasuriya were there.

Why does Indian Middle Class adore Sachin Tendulkar?

By John Cheeran
Sachin Tendulkar, definitely, is a great batsman.
For any athlete to remain top of his craft for 20 years, takes enormous amounts of talent and effort. For 20 years Tendulkar has dominated international cricket, scored the most number of runs in Test cricket and one-dayers, scored the maximum number of centuries in both forms of the game.
And that, he has played all his cricket for India, a nation that has been starving for sporting glory since the times of Arjuna, makes Tendulkar's job tougher than the most.
I'm, certainly, impressed by the longevity of Tendulkar's cricket career. I'm all the more surprised that Tendulkar has kept himself motivated all through these years.
But the greatest thing about Tendulkar is not his ability to score runs. Tendulkar has not lost his moorings despite the wanton adulation that has come his way, some of which, quite unwarranted, I have felt.
Twenty years.
Why does India love Tendulkar?
Tendulkar has played the role of a middle class hero to perfection. A boy, who graduated to manhood, and remains at the pinnacle of the game, without sullying his reputation as a cricketer, or man. Although a few would recollect that bizarre charge of ball tampering against Tendulkar. Was it in South Africa?
Indian middle class adores Tendulkar.
In its hagiography, the great Indian Middle Class gratefully notes that Tendulkar has not uttered a single false line, nor has he played a single false stroke over the last two decades.
For Tendulkar could have married a Bollywood queen, or a Muslim beauty, for that matter. He could have had one-night stands with Bollywood starlets, he could have smoked pot, he could have run over the homeless and vagrant in Bombay in his Ferrari. He could have hunted Black Buck. Or he could have kept AK-47s hidden at his Bandra flat.
He was no Ian Botham, no Imran Khan if you can recall their heydays. Tendulkar lacks sexiness and flamboyance, and these have been his priceless middle class virtues.
Tendulkar only scored runs, calmed the waters when Indian ship was rocking out therein the choppy seas of international cricket.
Above all, Tendulkar's was one name that remained unsullied by the match-fixing scandal that shook India and the game.
Cricketers all over the world have accepted Tendulkar's moral and cricketing superiority.
Tendulkar, no doubt, is a genius. For, I was shocked when years ago, he told Amrit Mathur in an interview that he remembers all his dismissals. That's something incredible for me. Even in a recent interview to India Today, he has said much the same.
How could you keep all your low points in brain and still go ahead and score runs?
But in all these years India has not won the ultimate prize, the World Cup. On a personal note, a triple century remains unattainable for Tendulkar. He has broken all the batting records, but he has broken many Indian hearts too.
I was shocked when BCCI counsel Venugopal argued in the Supreme Court that BCCI selects not the Indian team but Team BCCI.
Tendulkar, being the middle class hero that he is, in his wisdom chose to rise above the politics of the argument and kept his silence.
Now could Tendulkar tell me, has he been playing over the last 20 years for the BCCI, or for India?
It does matter, after all.
In the name of the game, in the name of the land, it does matter after all.
But thanks for the runs, Tendulkar.

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.

175 vs 175? Did Tendulkar play his finest innings (175) in Hyderabad?

By John Cheeran
India lost.
Again, the winner was Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the greatest batsman in modern era. Tendulkar not only completed 17,000 runs in One-Day internationals, but played a truly magnificent innings of 175 (141 balls) in Hyderabad against Australia.
Now that we cannot debate about the outcome of the match, we are left with discussing whether the innings Tendulkar played in Hyderabad on Thursday night was his best effort in 20 years of international cricket.
Let's look at a few things.
First, let's take Tendulkar's reaction. Last night he said the knock was one of his best innings. Yes, it was. One of his best, I agree.
There are people, including Sunil Gavaskar, who, I believe, knows a thing or two about cricket, comparing Tendulkar's 175 to his 136 against in the fourth innings of a Test against Pakistan, which India lost after the great man fell.
And then there are pundits who compare Tendulkar's 175 with Kapil Dev's 175 against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup, an innings that few have seen.
Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but while putting an innings in context you have to look at the conditions in which it was played.
Why is it that no one is talking about how weak the Australian bowling attack was in Hyderabad? Without Brett Lee, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson, this attack was far from penetrating. Clint McKay, the man who took three Indian wickets, was playing his first ODI. And over and above, pitch was perfect for batting, a fact that has been underlined by the mere fact that Aussies posted a total of 350 in the first place. When you look at the Australian scorecard, you immediately notice that each one of the batsman -- Shane Watson (93), Shaun Marsh (112), Ricky Ponting (45) and Cameron White (57) excelled with the bat.
And about the consequence of India losing this match?
The seven-match series is still alive, though India trails 2-3.
So, the impact of Tendulkar's innings, assuming that he had taken India to victory, would have been hardly unsurpassable.
But Tendulkar played his role well, though not to perfection. I would have used the word perfection, had he remained there till the end, and struck home the winning run. Yes, cricket is a team game, others too have a role to play but we venerate Tendulkar for his innate genius and for the fact that at five feet two (5ft 5in) inches, he towers above the rest.
Regrets will be a few when Tendulkar finally walks into twilight, and not having won the fifth one-dayer against Australia in Hyderabad would not be among that list.
Yes, not having scored a triple hundred in Test cricket will rankle, though having played the most number of Test innings ever. Not having won a World Cup will blot his reputation, something that Tendulkar seems to be determined to achieve in 2011, in front of his adoring home crowd.
But 175 in Hyderabad, his greatest knock?
It was, no doubt, great entertainment. But not the best of the master batsman.
And I'm outraged when Gavaskar entertains thoughts of comparing Tendulkar's 136 against Pakistan in Chennai with the 175 in Hyderabad.
You cannot compare the oranges of one-dayers with the apples of Test cricket. By now we should realise that Test cricket, one-dayers and Twenty20 are different songs requiring different timbres, though some sing all three of them with ease and elan.
And now, the question of 175 vs 175.
Kapil Dev's 175 was not just Kapil's best innings in a long career but when it was played (1983) it stretched the possibilities of counter attack in a 60-over one-day international. For sheer impact, no innings in international cricket comes closer to Kapil's 175, since that innings led to India's World Cup triumph, an achievement unparalleled in Indian cricket.
And to know that Tendulkar would have quit playing the game by now, had he lifted a World Cup to kiss!

Partnership is the big word in Hyderabad

By John Cheeran
Now Indian batsmen have a wonderful opportunity at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad, to justify their star status. Australia has set India a target that would satisfy the appetite of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Sachn Tendulkar.
Batting is easy in the given conditions, and 350 is not a daunting target, when you have a deep batting lineup. Though hobbled by injuries, this Australian side has thrown down the gauntlet to the host. Pick it up, Dhoni.
Ricky Ponting did the sensible thing after winning the toss yet again. That the Indian bowlers could not get an early wicket helped a great deal in Aussies scoring seven runs per over. All batting efforts have to be measured against the nature of the wicket but Shuan Marsh (112 off 112 balls) and Shane Watson (93 off 89 balls) deserve fulsome praise for making the best use of their opportunity.
Harbhajn Singh was unlucky when skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni falied to latch onto a thick edge offered by Shane Watson when he came on to bowl. And only Harbhajan escaped unscathed from the Aussie onslaught.
But, again, India need not worry. Australia's bowling does not have its lethal edge.
It's a score that can be overcome, provided that each batsman steps out with a purpose, instead of coming up with a few cameos. Partnership is the big word. There has to be a steadying hand on Indian innings and that, ideally has to come either from Sachin Tendulkar or Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Let the chase begin.

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.

Can technology lead to pure cricket?

By John Cheeran
Can technology lead to pure cricket? Free from flaws, free from erroneous decision-making?
We have appreciated technology over the years and that is true even in sport. With the ICC planning to widen the scope of technology, may be to assist umpires, may be to undermine the authority of umpires, it is interesting to tune into different views.
When Sachin Tendulkar, the most successful batsman of the recent times, says that he wants more technology but no referrals, it is a contradictory statement. Technology is the only reason why there are referrals. Without technology would there have been a rethink on the pending decision?
Even a schoolchild knows that LBWs invove the most subjective decision-making in cricket umpiring.
Tendulkar now wants only clean bowleds and LBWs out of the ambit of technology. Many, including Ian Chappell and Michael Holding, feel that HawkEye predictions are far removed from reality. So again, a cricketer has no choice but to respect the integrity and intelligence of the umpire.
Gone are the days of walking.
Now commentators talk, critics carp and still few are happy with the decision-making out on the field.
As a cricketer your aim is to win. You need to score runs and take wickets. Contemporary cricketer may be pardoned if he argues that he has no business to walk and a right to appeal on every ball.
But at the end of the day, technology can be no substitute for honesty and integrity on the part of cricketers. We need to have upright and intelligent umpires who can earn the respect of the players.
You cannot control weather. You cannot have a level playing field even in Twenty20, leave alone in Test matches sprawling over five days.
Poor decision making is part of sport, as much it is part of life. Diego Maradona's Hand of God goal did not make Argentina's World Cup triumph in 1986 illegitimate.
Yes, I know that bowlers have had a tough time to prise out batsman and the recent innovations in technology such as HawkEye, HotSpot and referrals would have tilted the scales in favour of them.
Does batsman deserve the benefit of doubt any longer?
May be, may be not.
But all a bowler has to do to dismiss the batsman is to bowl again. Over after over.
If we reduce cricket to disease diagnose, for the sake of certainty, the game will be poorer, for, what will be left of the glorious uncertainties?

Indian cricket's misery continues in Sri Lanka

By John Cheeran
At some point in this five-match one-day series, I’m sure, India will find its way and overcome the Sri Lankan challenge. But to make a real fight of it, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men should win the second encounter slated for Wednesday.
It is not just the decline of Fabulous Four that plagues Indian batting. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman are out of the one-day side. Now Virender Sehwag has twisted his ankle to add to India’s woes.
This should have been a wonderful opportunity for the Generation Next in Indian batting. But so far big knocks, innings that set the scoreboard burning, have not come from the bats of Rohit Sharmas, Virat Kohli and for that matter even from Suresh Raina, that young boy who has been scratching around the crease for quite a while.
None should blame the BCCI for not getting his chances. Yuvraj Singh is back. But he struggled as much as the Fab Four struggled against spinners Muttaiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.
Dhoni is back from his luxurious break. He cannot now complain of the hectic schedule. There are no back-to-back matches in the current series against Sri Lanka. It’s time he put a stop to India’s slide against Lankans.
Well, one could take refuge in the fact that this series is just another string of one-dayers. More matches will come our way. But alarmingly the series – both Test and one-dayers -- have brought out the inadequacies of Indian cricket to the sunlight.
India needs performers, consistent performers to slay the opposition.