aditya kumar's weblog

Back in 2001, when Steve Waugh’s men toured India, they were in a similar position as Ponting’s men now. The team was on a roll and had created a record of sorts with their consecutive test wins. It took an epic test match and a monumental innings to put an end to something which had been nothing less of a supreme, majestic run.

Ponting’s men have showed, time and again, an insatiable appetite for winning but what differentiates them from Steve Waugh’s team is that these bunch of players don’t seem to have a taste for dignity and fair play. It is an ominous sign, when a sportsman starts to think of himself greater than the game. Its worse when eleven of them do that, while the captain leads them from the front.

Bad umpiring is one thing and playing with integrity is another. He may not like it, but it does raise a question on Ponting’s integrity. It does not matter if, in the past, he has walked off without looking at the umpire after he knew he was gone or if he admitted of an unclean catch. It usually seems a matter of his convenience. Its evident that the Australian captain has started to think of himself as larger than the Game.

Bad umpiring did sink India but what has come as a rude shock is the attitude of the opponents, who, almost ironically, pride themselves for the spirit they carry for the game. They look like a teenager with a gun.

If Steve Waugh were at the helm of affairs, would things be the same? Perhaps not. Not only do The Australians lack a batsman of his class, they will always be deprived of the golden legacy that Waugh left behind. Michael Clarke, the guy often pitted to be next in line for captaincy is no Mr.Clean, his babyface looks notwithstanding.

I have always maintained that ICC could well be the weakest sports body in the world. There is laid back attitude that has always been a trademark of the council. This is not the first time that umpires, single-handedly, have been instrumental in changing the course of a game of cricket at the highest level. But the test match could well be important for the simple reason that it is indeed the first time when so many wrong decisions have collectively defeated a team that was well placed on 3 out of the 5 days of a test match and at one stage sniffed a real chance of victory. Why then, do we persist with umpires that are responsible for undoing of this magnitude? Why, do we not hear cricket umpires being warned, let alone be penalized. Why, at the end of each season, can’t the ICC show videos of their crimes to these umpires and seek an explanation? Would that be technology put to use or would the cricket traditionalists call it yet another tech-abuse?

Either way, we’ll only know the answers if the supreme body of Cricket may seek them.

While it was on, it was a horror show. Now that its over, The Sydney test was nothing less than a crying shame. It was a mockery, an abuse of the Game.

For now, it certainly sounds better to loose with dignity intact than to win with soiled, dirty hands in the mire. I have no doubt, a certain Anil Kumble will agree.

Shoaib Malik’s comments, first words to the media in fact, after Pakistan lost to India in the T20 final, were on the lines of Islam. He said he wanted to thank the Muslims all over the world. Not everyone was amused. It could mean one of the following things:

1. He wanted to prove that he is as much a Muslim, than his colleagues in the team who have joined the Tableeghi Jamaat.

2. He indeed is on path treaded by the likes of Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-haq and Shahid Afridi.

I do realize that Shoaib Malik does not have an enviable fluency of the English language (Apparently, the English tuitions that he had been taking, seems to be a failed attempt now. See here, under the heading “The language barrier. No more”). I wonder if fluency in the language would have helped matters though. I think he said what he wanted to say. Maybe he meant to thank all the Muslims in the world who wanted Pakistan to win. It was a bad attempt to do so. Like many in blogosphere and elsewhere, I too think that Pakistani Christians and Hindus are perfectly justified to feel offended. I feel for their coach who is an Australian and perhaps more importantly in the context of the discussion, not a Muslim. I even feel for the guy in their support staff who was praying with folded hands while Misbah was fighting it out in the middle, only a few yards away.

And if Shoaib indeed meant to thank All the Muslims in the world, he certainly got it all wrong. Why would, for example, the second and third generation Pakistani Muslims, who are slowly making their way to English county cricket and dream of playing for the England team, want Pakistan to win? Why would Indian Muslims, a population that clearly outnumbers their counterpart citizens in Pakistan, be assumed to be Pakistani supporters?

In more ways than one, this immature and irresponsible statement from the Pakistani skipper speaks volumes of the mentality that the Pakistan dressing room, if not Pakistan Cricket, must be soaked in.

In a self-service restaurant while I waited for my order, a 30 something man wearing a t-shirt which says:

“Wife is like fire. Girlfriend is like water.”

Whatever that means.

Not far away, another gentleman sporting a t-shirt with the message:

“I can give headache to aspirin.”

Hmm.

You notice the cricketers introducing themselves on TV before they come on to bat during a live match? It goes like, “[Name]. Age [X]. Right Hand Batsman. Left Hand Bowler.” One of them never fails to amuse me — The one of England captain Paul Collingwood. It goes like – “Paul Collingwood. Right hand bat. Right hand fast bowler.”

Notice anything peculiar?

Talking more about the England tour, our fielding standards (and mind you we didn’t have them much high) have gone down. Now that makes life a little tougher for Robin Singh, the fielding coach who is on his first assignment. I admire the man for the fielding standards he raised during his days as a player in the team and this despite the fact that he was one of the oldest guys around. So I wonder how he must be cursing in frustration in the pavilion while out there basic fielding practices are fast becoming a rarity. I just hope that its because of that slippery ball in those overcast conditions.

Got a text message the other day on the eve of the 4th ODI against England. While India was struggling to put runs on the board, the same morning media reported that Chak De India! had had a positive effect on the team. Only that it was nowhere to be seen now. Someone at cricinfo was quick to snap: “Chok de India!”.

My article on Anil Kumble’s latest exploits, written specifically for Desicritics.org and crossposted here.

There are a couple reasons why Anil Kumble comes to my mind every time I walk around M.G.Road in Bangalore. First, there is this road intersection named after him right in the heart of the city. When I first came to know of it, I was amused to find something like it. Cricket administrations and associations have a habit of naming stands in the stadium on state cricketers who made it big but this is an altogether different way of showing gratitude.

Second, not very far away is Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium. The sixteen runs Kumble made here, in company with Javagal Srinath’s equally valiant thirty, that made India defeat Australia in the third league match of the Titan Cup back in 1996, cast a shadow on an innings that was perhaps one of the best, if not the best, of an illustrious career — Mark Taylor’s only century in One Day Cricket. I like to think that the unbeaten innings of 16 runs that Kumble made that very night was his greatest contribution with the bat to the shorter version of the game. In Delhi that night, how I wished I was at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The four towering flood light towers of the stadium are something that I envy to this day for they have been witness to such glory.

In Delhi’s Kotla, when Kumble got his 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan, his first reaction had been that India had won. It took a moment or two for the feeling to sink in, that he had got all 10. It must have been a typically modest Kumble, dealing with yet another achievement. But the Oval test, in many ways, has shown us a side of the man that we have never come across.

This is probably why I have a feeling that for Kumble, his only century at this level must rank higher than his 10 on 10. Think like a bowler and you would probably discard a possibility of taking 10 wickets in an innings. A feat like that, if it ever came one’s way, is served with a big slice of luck. Furthermore, one does not plan for miracles. But deep inside, you won’t discard easily the feeling of hitting the cherry all over the ground like a top order batsman and contemplate hitting a ton. And if you happen to be one of those in the pavilion who shoots the defining moments on an SLR, while the Sachins and the Dravids raise their bat, the wide open arms towards the sky and say a silent prayer — you probably have played the sequence in your head and tried to live the moment countless times.

Moments after Anil Kumble tucked the bat while coming down the track on the London Oval, it seemed like Kumble had not, for a change, come of age. Instead, the man had turned into a child, a 16 year old child who had somehow made it big finally. His helmet came off as if it were the biggest but the last obstacle to a celebration marking the realization of a personal dream that he had been secretly nurturing for years.

And that is why, after what was witnessed on 10th August 2007, “Anil Kumble Circle” — that intersection at Bangalore’s MG Road, will mean more than one thing to me. Not only will it indicate one of the busiest traffic intersections in Bangalore named after India’s greatest matchwinner, but it will also mark a life that has finally come full circle, for a man who has played the role of an unsung hero for most of his part in Indian cricket.

My reaction to India’s exit from the World Cup. Written for Desicritics.org, cross posted here.

It has been a tough time for Indian Cricket. The last 24 hours or so have showed that how the mighty fall.

Defeat becomes less bitter when you try everything that you can to avoid it. Things would have been less worse for our team if they would have put up a fight. When Wright and Ganguly took up the ruins of the cricket team they faced an uphill task. There was a need for people who could play good cricket and did not carry the huge bundle of egos and world records with them. Ganguly, in particular, was adamant on backing virtually unknown players, picking them up from the domestic games. No bloated egos and a hunger to do well while giving a fight — these seemed to be the prerequisites for being a part of the team. Wright went on to instill a work ethic that was unheard of in the past. For example, the new coach had to stop the serving of tea and biscuits while the players did the nets. The laid back attitude had to go.

I am afraid, this same laid back attitude has crept back in somehow. There is complacency somewhere, no matter how much the skipper denies it.

We are emotional fans. We go to extremes. Our team, which faces our wrath now while we burn their effigies also enjoys unprecedented fan support anywhere they are. We love our cricketers, we worship them. This, I dare say, is a privilege unavailable to most teams in world cricket. And that is why, we’ll be happy if our team fights it out in the middle. For them, putting up a fight should become obligatory. If everything else fails to inspire them, that is. Those billion people deserve it. If they do that, winning will become sweeter and loosing will be less bitter.

Chappell’s remarks, during the post-match conference, were made out to be inflammatory even when he had said nothing that could be termed offensive/arrogant per-se. The coach was briefing the media minutes after the world cup defeat. At one point, at the edge of getting annoyed, he said, “You are putting words in my mouth”. The media there, I think, was indeed doing so and in a bid to make him say something that would have indeed been inflammatory. That would have given them more masala for the day ahead. They have already dubbed the whole thing as Chappell and Dravid being unapologetic and it’s on air already.

But they did go wrong, the coach-captain duo, didn’t they? Some straight statistics now.

Harbhajan Singh has gone through a transformation. He looks a shadow of what he was in 2001. Figures suggest that when he came on to bowl against Sri Lanka in that critical world cup tie, he was (and still is) one of the most overrated bowlers in world cricket. Since the ICC Champions trophy held in 2004, the bowler has played in 61 matches and has taken 57 wickets — less than 1 wicket per match. And after the captain chose to commit the blunder of overlooking a bowler of the class of Kumble, he went on to overlook Ramesh Powar as well, even though the Mumbai player took 24 wickets at an average of 27.62 in the 18 ODIs he played. Mind you, he always has played as the second spinner. Singh, meanwhile, hasn’t been looking to take wickets. He has been way too defensive. In the game against Sri Lanka, I thought he should have come around the wicket to the left hander while it was evident that his bowling was not bothering the batsman. Instead, he chose to bowl the negative leg stump line. In contrast, while Sehwag was looking good in the crease, Muralitharan took the challenge on by coming around the wicket. Sehwag fell, almost immediately, giving a catch at first slip.

May 2006. The last time India toured West Indies, Kaif was a part of the ODI squad. He was the second highest scorer for India in the series, second only to Sehwag. Kaif scored 205 runs in 5 ODIs at an average of 51.25 while Sehwag went on to score 237 runs at an average of 47.40. In the next 15 matches that Sehwag played before the world cup, the opener scored 225 runs at an average of 15 runs per innings. Kaif stayed home while Dravid’s support to Sehwag was made public.

You don’t need to be an expert in Cricket to understand the significance of the number three batsman in the squad. Unfortunately, this fact was overlooked by Dravid. The team ended up without a regular number three. We had everyone from Dravid, Kaif, Dhoni, Raina and Pathan experiment with that slot. Eventually, when the world cup came, we saw Uthappa and Sehwag playing at the critical position. So much for the experiments. Personally, I think its always ideal to have a test-match mould player come into that position, but that’s just an opinion.

They should stop putting all the blame on the coach. If batsmen having 10000 runs under their belt are not able to carry the weight of their responsibilities, it would be unfair to blame the coach for that. In fact, these guys could actually do without a coach. India’s winning percentage in ODI’s with Chappell as coach has been 51%. India’s winning percentage since 2000: 52%

Where does Indian Cricket go from here? Too early to say. Introspection is required. Not only by the BCCI but an exercise of self-assessment has to be taken up by the senior players. This debacle should create an impact somewhere within those 15 men.

Bold decisions, not knee jerk reactions, from the BCCI are impending. We need decisions that would probably speak louder than our past glories. But keeping in mind the past record of BCCI, its asking for too much. BCCI is not an organization to be proud of, the past few years it has ended up doing less good to Indian Cricket, but that deserves another full length post. Like a friend suggested, I’d prefer to see the Daddys of this Daddy’s army play only test cricket from now on. Let the young men come in. It is hard to replicate the magnitude of change that was brought in by Ganguly and Wright but I’m afraid someone might just have to do that again for India.

Meanwhile, one suggestion. There is plenty of cricket left in this World Cup. Because it is just a game, and because you are such an avid lover of the game, I’d suggest you not to miss it. South Africa and Australia are playing some exciting cricket and whats more, those annoying commercials are almost gone.

May the best team win.

PS: All statistics and records mentioned here, courtesy the incredible cricinfo.com

Bob Woolmer
1948-2007

You will be missed.

… And for all the wrong reasons. Well at least in the context of this blog post.

During the course of the India-Bangladesh world cup tie, a friend messaged me on my mobile, already in sorrow of what was to follow — an Indian defeat. An Indian defeat alright, but one against Bangladesh? Those minnows? That too in the match which starts the campaign? Nah, I replied. Don’t despair, it won’t be a loss. Bangladesh hadn’t started batting and it would not turn out as bad as you think, friend.

It seemed an idea so absurd. It seemed to me, at that time, at least. Unexpected things happen in a game but a loss of this magnitude, that too at a time like this was unthinkable.

The media, the hype, the pressure, the hopes (and somewhere within — a bundle of fear), just about everything advocating the cause of our team. SMS your wishes to the team, says every news channel (Little do you know that you help the news channel get rich while you sms them). Four cricketers run and fight for pet bottles of Cola while the public says “Come on, India!”. The Master Blaster of them all, has just changed brand loyalties and chosen CDMA over GSM. The CDMA operator is advertising like hell now. One of our out of form bowler (or batsman..or bowler?) asks you to use that petrol with “power boosters”.

I have nothing in particular against those cricketers endorsing stuff. But yes, it hurts to see them advertise cola, toothpaste and what not during the TV Break while they return back to the pavilion after another miserable failure on the field. Tell you what, they should make it illegal to broadcast an ad of the cricketer who has just got out. Instead show us an ad of the guy next in order. I mean, would you really want to see Sehwag bold out for 2 after trying a yet-another-cut shot (apparently, that seems to be the only shot he attempts these days) and while he returns back to the dressing room, a “gleaming” he will tell you the secret of his energy, you know, that malt drink? God, won’t you hate that.

Anyway, I see I have drifted off topic. I was so sure of an uprise last night that I went on to see the complete match, the late night notwithstanding. Dravid, the captain, sometimes surprises me. It seems he waits for things to happen. While Ganguly was famous for talking with his bowlers at regular intervals, I hardly see that with Dravid. Communication helps. Besides it’s clear indication to the bowler that his captain trusts him and listens to him while the world is watching. Now, this is, however, not the only criteria for being a good captain. Just a thought. But he’s as baffling to me as his South African counterpart Graeme Smith but at least South Africa wins matches.

So, now, just imagine what would happen if India failed to reach the Super-8. Not so super, eh? How would you feel then, say, Australia v/s New Zealand, Live on your TV. By that time, our Indian team would be back in India. And while you watch the Aus-NZ match — Craig McMillan gets out, walks back. A commercial break and there comes Yuvraj with …

Meanwhile, here I am, hoping for a reprise. All is not lost and hopefully, won’t be lost (pssst…psst…they say we need a miracle from here)…

“Making miracles is hard work, Most people give up before they happen. — “Maybe that’s something” by Sheryl Crow”