Open Letter : From an Indian Cricket Fan

Dear BCCi and other custodians of Indian cricket:

As an ardent follower and fan of Indian cricket, I have had the pleasure and privilege of watching many memorable performers and performances.

However, it is also prudent to think and assess the ramifications of how we are performing overseas as well as in our talent scouting and talent grooming processes.

Apart from using the national team's performances outside the subcontinent as a benchmark and barometer for the standards we have set ourselves, it is also quintessential to look at our bench strength, the grooming of our A teams, the exposure they get through quality tours, the domeatic cricket structure apart from the IPL razzmatazz, and the junior level cricket (U-19s et al).

If we can ensure transparency and accountability on these aspects, I am sure we will be a much better team, not just despite the system but because of it too.

Here's to better days and better tours ahead, Amen!!

Cheers,

Just one of the millions of well-wishers of Indian Cricket.

To a Healthy, Happy, and Prosperous 2018 and to our till-date best version of ourselves!!

It's that time of the year again, when we meet another new calendar, reflect on another year gone by, and make resolutions for yet another time :)

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of this year and ushers in a 2018 which brings about peace, happiness, positivity, good health, prosperity, and joy to everyone!!

As we bid goodbye to 2017, I hope that more than anything else, we all become better versions of ourselves.
Let us all become better persons and what I consider most important is that may all of us be able to say that we were better in 2017 than what we were in 2016, and likewise, we would be the best-ever version of ourselves in 2018 (to be at a stage where we can say we have never been better than what we are now, in this year), only to be able to repeat this statement thereafter, in 2019, 2020, 2021, and so on, for every forthcoming year too!

Wishing all readers of Choc-a-blog a very healthy, joyous, happy, and prosperous 2018 :)
May you - in this year - be the best you have ever been, and may you be able to say this statement in every year henceforth! :)

Bye bye 2017, Cheers, and Welcome 2018!!

Time to celebrate a bowler's TRIPLE century!

In a game laden with batting feats, and in a country besotted with batsmen flaying bowlers to all corners of the park, we seldom have anything except sympathy for bowlers.

It is brave enough that they turn up.
It is even more commendable that they do well.
But when someone (and again, in a country where spinners are played perhaps better than anywhere else), spins batsmen into his trap as consistently as Ravichandran Ashwin has done, it calls for you to doff your hat!

I haven't even mentioned that he has done it in record time, taking fewer deliveries than anyone else, doing it in the quickest number of Test matches, and generally being dominant over all batsmen.

When you see such facts, you know you are looking at no ordinary bowler, but a great.
But apart from the statistics, what Ashwin has done most commendably in my books, has been to constantly keep learning and keep reinventing himself, all through.

Yes, like any other cricketer or sportsman for that matter, he has had his share of ups and downs.
Yes, you would like to see him dominate more in overseas conditions and on unresponsive pitches too.
But despite every glitch, you know it is not for nothing that he has been the fastest to a record which, even if you attain at the end of your career, makes you revered.
And he has reached there quicker than anyone else, and with a truckload of cricket left in him.

So here's to the triple centurion - congratulations to the wily, crafty, ever-improving and ever-ready-to-learn student of the game, Ravichandran Ashwin!!

Go well, and hope to see you conquer many more summits!!

Thankyou, New ZealAnd.. ..More Respect

There were 2 things that stopped short of making this an even more terrific series victory for India:

1) The series in question, was a One-Day Series, and not the pinnacle of cricketing skills and temperament called Test Cricket.

2) The Indian team was the host, and therefore, we need to deduct points that are always reserved exclusively for those hallowed victories outside of subcontinental shores.

So while we await good news pouring in from the time zones of South Africa, Australia, England, and New Zealand, we cannot blame the Indian team for exceling in home conditions.

It isn't our fault that we have been well-nigh invincible at home.
Any team that toured India earlier too, were always up against a formidable opponent in any Indian team of the last 20-25 years (at the very least).

So what's different now?
So, what is it that has changed now, which has made us so dominant and consistent?

The difference now, is that the magnitude, ruthlessness and consistency of victories that we have achieved over the years, across formats and over pretty much every team that has waded into Indian territory.

We have always retained a batting-heavy armory in our team, laden with precocious and sublime talents - be it the magical wrist-wizardry and exquisitely timed, surgically-placements of our batsmen or the brute power or nimble-footed mastery, destroying pace and spin attacks across the world, with aplomb.

The advent of wrist-spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, attacking and astute bowlers like Ashwin and Jadeja, and X-factored talents such as Yorker-master Bumrah, Swing-King Bhuvi, Seam-Star Shami, and Ace of Pace Umesh Yadav - have all contributed to the current team having all its bases covered, across all opponents, on all terrains.

The thrilling victory over New Zealand yesterday was another case in point.
As written earlier, so what if it came at home, and was only a short ODI series?

The fact that it was earned well and in tightly contested, well-fought matches, is a testament to the quality of cricket and the level of sportsman spirit in which the series was played.
The Kiwis are by far, the nicest cricketers around.
Suffice to say, if I had to wish that any team win any major tournament apart from my obvious preference for my country's team (India), I would any day root for New Zealand and South Africa.
Together, they are the most liked and skilled teams around - in not just cricketing skills but also in their demeanor.

With a population of just about 5 million, New Zealand is a classic example of a country that has harnessed its human and natural resources in perhaps one of the most optimal manners possible.


Apart from being a developed nation, in sports itself, the country has always remained among the best and most competitive cricket-playing nations, it has been a champion at rugby, and has also done commendably at soccer and various Olympic-category sports.

More than anything else, it is the manner in which they approach the game, and always play with their likeable and gentlemanly approach, which makes them respected as well as endearing.

Here's to New Zealand, and more power to countries like you!!
Well done India, and dear New Zealand, there is no loser in this series, but more power and respect to you!