Big Daddies: MSD's CSK

A daddy is always a daddy.

This ia true for the CSKians again, who have done it again, bossing around with the trophy as the most consistent, big daddy team in all years of the IPL since its inception.

It's the third time they have done it and this one, with a much older team, considering the average age of the team was well-nigh 30.

To still be able to trump all their younger, fancied "juniors" and with elan at that, proves that age is just a number.
Cliched, but proven true.

Their triumph once again underscores the fact that eventually, what matters is how good you are with your skills and attitude.

Sure, age tends to slow anyone's reflexes.

Be it the hand-eye co-ordination, or that throwing oneself around for either snatching that extra run or be it saving that extra run, all count - all of these make the body resist co-operating with what the mind and heart want to do.

The hamstrings become even more critical than those handle-with-care cutlery items.

But more than any of these, everything else takes a backseat when one can still be fit enough and skilled enough.
Because what age also does is to empower you with experience and habe enough nous to handle and overcome any situation.

This is precisely what Shane What-a-son did, come the big night. Much to the haplessness of the Sunrisers.

Or, for that matter, an Amabati-only-33-Rayudu. Or a Faf or a Bhajji.
And of course, the one and only M S D.

Captain Cool once again displayed his usual astuteness, marshalling his troops in the best possible manner.
His captaincy has always defied conventions, and him not opting to bowl one of his specialist bowlers (Bhajji) again underscores that the man can think clearly and for the occasion, even if it means trying something novel or unexpected.

But more than his batting or 'keeping, even more than his captaincy, what stood out (again), was his coolness in enjoying the comfort of his daughter more than the trophy, after the win!

A daddy is truly, more than anything else, always a daddy.

My IPL Takeaways

So, the Indian Premier League is back on, with its share of annual razzmatazz and what not.

As the tournament picks steam, I'd like to share what I find most riveting and pleasing too - the performance of the not-so-established cricketers as they rub shoulders with their more pedigreed colleagues and counterparts.
After all, isn't this the best available platform for them, to showcase their skills and to let their talent make a case for itself, by shining against such a set of illustrious and marqueed players?

This year, I have my eyes on the following youngsters - Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, and Basil Thampi.

I believe all of them have immense potential, each of them teaming with a reservoir of talent.
The thing to be seen now, is how they will tap into their talent, out their hands down, and convert it into something more substantive.

Wish each of them a great IPL, and while everything else is a circus, one hope s that atleast these cricketers do not turn out to be jokers or background artists only but in fact, become ringmasters.
More power to all!

CA: C'mon Australia

Now that the sordid tale of ball-tampering has led to Messrs Smith, Warner, and Bancroft being banned, it's also worth looking back at a few things.

The punishment: Apt or too harsh? Or too less?

What has really led to the quantum of punishment?

It is not the perpetrators alone but the fact that the world is pooh-poohing at Aussie claims of "playing hard but fair" with the more accurate Lehmann-guided approach to just "headbutt the line".

The whole episode has led to the Australian cricketing establishment losing all its sheen and moral high ground, if ever they could have claimed to have one.

So while the swiftness and zero-tolerance displayed by Cricket Australia in handling this fiasco is appreciated, what we are also witnessing is a damage-control exercise now.
The damage has already been done.

It would have been bettee to invest in creating a team like their neighboring Kiwis are - a true embodiment of giving their best on the field, being aggressive in their pursuit of victory, but not at the cost of gentlemanliness and sportsmanspirit.

The damage has been to the spirit and ethics of the game.
Which is why, it is no coincidence that the Aussies have always been the bad boys of cricket.
Sure, they are not the only team to cross the line and there are characters in every team but it is the consistency and encouragement and almost advocacy and patronization of such an approach from every team and their management (headbutt the line, mental disintegration, play hard but fair, it's just Australian to do so) which makes the team stand out in its brazenness consistently, in any and every era.

Pick any generation of cricketers, any team of any era, and you would find as Peter Roebuck had once described, "a pack of wild dogs" around, always.

Time to do away with such an attitude more than such players. If the cricketing establishment can, instead of encouraging, be strict and punitive in its implementation of playing the game and just the game fair and square, we woukd not have see any such players and attitudes prospering.

You think sledging, and you think of the Australian cricket team.
You think rowdyism, and you think of the Australian cricket team.

The country needs a makeover, and not just a cosmetic one, only for display purposes.

The cricketing world needs the game to rule, not brash, bullying talking heads.
Forget adopting unethical means, the world would see a team that is civilized and gentlemanly and likeable too.
Aah, to think of such a team in baggy green caps is a dream as of today.

And that is why, one hopes to see this come to life, atleast after the lessons and damages from this ball-tampering saga.

One hopes Australia can do it. We'd like to see them to do so.
After all, it is a shame to be so consistently talented as they are, but be the diametrical opposite of that talent when it comes to behavior, manners, and conduct.
Let that not happen anymore, guys...c'mon Australia, you can do it.
You must do it!!

Rest In Peace, Sridevi

In the tragic passing away of Sridevi, we have encountered a tragedy that is perhaps even bigger than her demise.
The way people have begun speculating about every possible scenario and the way every More-than-smart Know-it-all-Alec has started jumping to conclusions, is sad...even disturbing.

When one does not know the exact sequence of events, when one is so far off from what transpired, the scene of the incident, and in the absence of a first-hand account or the details of the 'crime' scene, who is anyone/how can people so conveniently run up every facet of their imagination/conspiracy theory, and pronounce their judgement in their self-anointed fast-tracked court of justice?

Alas, be that as the way it is, what I found worth sharing (in case you haven't read it already), was a heartfelt letter.
An open letter that Ram Gopal Verma wrote, as an ardent fan, whose adoration, admiration and love for her is palpable in the words that have poured through, straight from his heart, into this letter.

This is a person who is sad, distraught, even agonized and shattered.
He has not minced any expression - be it his feelings, his recollections, and their intensity (regarding the memories of his experiences and times with her) or the pain that he has felt on losing her.

We will miss you Sridevi, the great legend.

From all your fans:
May God rest your soul in peace.
Rest In Peace. Rock In Peace.