Fare thee well, gritty Gauti

Just as another riveting series was about to start between two of the most popular teams in world cricket, came an announcement: Gautam Gambhir announces retirement from all forms of cricket.

Although it would be fair to say that the news was not a surprise, when this did happen, one felt that the lone warrior was now sure that his time was up. Well, I say time was up, but I mean he might have still felt he could play but not realistically for his country, which is what he always aspired for.

The ultimate team man that he was and will always be remembered as one, he might have just felt that his stint and contribution in the domestic circuit was also done with.

It is a given that not being picked for a fairly long time except in his surprising selection for one Test match against England (except this one-off selection, he was never picked for the team since the last 6 years) made him finally hang his boots.

But it must be said that here was a man who gave his all to the team. A man of incredible dedication, passion, sincerity and (sometimes even more than required) aggression, he was a dogged cricketer who never threw in the towel and made sure he gave his 100% for his country, in every moment, on every single occasion.

This is exactly why I felt that even though he is now almost unsung, the guy deserves a special mention for all that he has done for the country. Not just for his exploits (highest run scorer of 2 World Cup-winning teams) but also for his exemplary demeanour off the pitch as well.

As someone who always proudly wears his heart on his sleeve, he has also been very actively involved with the Army, with charitable and socio-culturally responsible causes.

No wonder, even when he was out of favour, he became a lot of people’s emotional favourite to make a comeback into the team.

Well done Gautam, you have played your innings very well.

Fare thee well in your second innings too!

Just as another riveting series was about to start between two of the most popular teams in world cricket, came an announcement: Gautam Gambhir announces retirement from all forms of cricket.

Although it would be fair to say that the news was not a surprise, when this did happen, one felt that the lone warrior was now sure that his time was up. Well, I say time was up, but I mean he might have still felt he could play but not realistically for his country, which is what he always aspired for.

The ultimate team man that he was and will always be remembered as one, he might have just felt that his stint and contribution in the domestic circuit was also done with.

It is a given that not being picked for a fairly long time except in his surprising selection for one Test match against England (except this one-off selection, he was never picked for the team since the last 6 years) made him finally hang his boots.

But it must be said that here was a man who gave his all to the team. A man of incredible dedication, passion, sincerity and (sometimes even more than required) aggression, he was a dogged cricketer who never threw in the towel and made sure he gave his 100% for his country, in every moment, on every single occasion.

This is exactly why I felt that even though he is now almost unsung, the guy deserves a special mention for all that he has done for the country. Not just for his exploits (highest run scorer of 2 World Cup-winning teams) but also for his exemplary demeanour off the pitch as well.

As someone who always proudly wears his heart on his sleeve, he has also been very actively involved with the Army, with charitable and socio-culturally responsible causes.

No wonder, even when he was out of favour, he became a lot of people’s emotional favourite to make a comeback into the team.

Well done Gautam, you have played your innings very well.

Fare thee well in your second innings too!

Remembering the Unforgettable

Today marks 10 years.
One, full decade gone by.

As one looks back, it now seems that even the attacks were not the most cruel part.

I wonder what has killed us more: the attacks themselves, or the apathy and languid pace of investigations and closure?
Unfortunately, it's not even a close call.

We are still at this stage.

And, at this stage too.

We can keep writing, keep venting our frustrations, year after year after year.

Every sane and fair person is tired of only waiting and being subjected to some or the other tokenism instead of concrete action and results.

India and Indians have waited far too long, only to see nothing but empty rhetoric.

As we mark one decade of those dastardly acts, I just think that there is perhaps one sure way we can make a difference to the sorry state of affairs: let us just remain steadfast in our approach and quest for justice.

They say public memory is short.
Short it could be, but given the enormity of the tragedy, given the sacrifices made by our bravehearts, the least we can do is to neither forget nor resign ourselves towards bringing the perpetrators and masterminds of 26/11 to book.

The US had one 9/11 and they ensured everything in their capacity to not only avoid a repeat but to also hunt down the terrorists who dared to raise an evil eye on their soil and their countrymen.

Let's ensure Pakistan does not get any leeway or elbow room to wriggle out of this. They cannot be mere victims of terrorism if they cannot act on terror emanating from their soil, funded internally and exported to Indian soil.

Till then, we will continue to remember the unforgettable date, and continue to push on, till they ensure that justice is delivered.

Jai Ho!

Rohit the HeToo

In these times of #MeToo, we have a clear case of Rohit Sharma as well. No no, it is not about any misdemeanors on his part, but about his now legendary stature in the Indian One Day team, making his exploits do the talking despite the presence of a colossus called Virat Kohli.

In the era just prior to this one, we can recall another fabled legendary duo of the great Rahul Dravid and another great, a certain Sachin Tendulkar.

While Rahul was a much more dominant force in Tests than in ODIs, it is a diametrically case for Rohit. He has struggled to even cement his place in Tests, and even in the ODI team, the initial phase of his career, as a middle order batsman, was at best, average.

What changed his fortunes was the Champions Trophy of 2013 and MS Dhoni's decision to try him as an opener. The rest, as they say, is history.

With potentially he entire batting innings - a full 50 overs available for him, alokg with the initial Powerplay overs' field restrictions, he has taken full toll of all bowlers across all conditions and has just not looked back since then.

What has been most exemplary is his ability to hit those daddy hundreds, with ridiculous ease and mind-boggling consistency.
All this, despite having titans like Kohli, Dhoni, Dhawan, and Pandya sharing the spoils of each innings that he is a part of.

To come out as nothing less than a superstar in such a pantheon of greats is a huge achievement in itself.
He too, is a great, among greats.
More power to you Rohit, and hope you score many more!!

Bye Bye, Pakistan!!

As the Asia Cup comes to an end, without the much-speculated/awaited India-Pakistan final, it is time to reflect on a few things.

Churn in Asian cricket's pecking order
This Cup has firmly displaced Pakistan from the hegemony of claiming the - forget #1, even the #2 spot among the top couple of teams in Asia.

Sample this:
India of course, has had an edge over the Pakistanis for a long time now. The time from 1987 - 1990s is the only time Pakistan had an edge over India.
In the present times, India have been dominant almost every single time.

But India aside, it is pertinent to note that Team Green has now also lost to Bangladesh consistently every single time in their last 4 outings against them.

Even Afghanistan, the most promising team from the Asia Cup, almost beat Pakistan. It was only their inexperience and Shoaib Malik's calmness that saw Pakistan through.

Silence, Please!
The brouhaha over the fluke that was June 18, 2017 is officially over now. After having lost comprehensively to India in that tournament too except unfortunately on the day of the tournament final, one had the same feeling of injustice not taking place again.
We do not grudge them their good day in office too, but the way they began jumping and taunting an anyday-better Indian cricket team on the basis of just that fluke of a win, has never been in good taste. Hopefully, now that they have been chastised and chastened, at least the less shameless among them might have been silenced.
To all supporters of the Pakistani team who have gone hoarse shouting from the rooftops about last year's one-off fluke, it is now time for: Silence Please!

We beat Pakistan handsomely in both the matches of this tournament, and one felt that another one-off lucky day for the Pakis would too much of a travesty of justice for the decidedly better team.

Thankfully, helped by their own implosions, they could not even qualify, and perhaps even their most ardent supporters would agree that given their performance, and the calibre shown by Bangladesh and even Afghanistan, Pakistan do not deserve to be in the final when as per pure performance in the Asia Cup, they have been only the fourth-best team in the tournament.

As Harsha also tweeted, maybe the world (and certainly the Pakistanis) got carried away by what was just an off day for the Indians.

India's Gains from this Cup
India's batting bowling and fielding supremacy over all other Asian countries, Rohit's captaincy, the re-emergence of Jadeja and Jadhav, and the efficacy of our bench strength are only some of good things that have come out of this tournament for India.

Tuning in for the World Cup
Time to reflect on preparing a solid middle order now for the World Cup - Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav seem to be our best middle-order bets at the moment for positions 4 and 5 in England, sandwiched between the greats - Kohli (at 3) and Dhoni (at 6). KL Rahul is my backup opener hands-down.
Just avoid too much chopping and changing, and get the Cup home, Team Blue!

Jai Ho!

Bye Bye, Pakistan!! :-)
Though we all wish the Pakistani team does well, for the good of cricket's health globally, what gets people is their (and their supporters') vanity - of even thinking, let alone believing, that they are better than India - which stems more from impish bravado and jingoistic grandstanding, and less from logic and facts.
This is why, many Indians derive special joy in always sending them home: Happy to send you home again, Team Green...it's Bye Bye, Pakistan!! :-)