Champion of Champions!!

There was a time when I used to wonder what Ricky Ponting would want to achieve.
After all, he had won the World Cup (including hitting a defining knock in its Final in 2003), been a leader of the undisputed Numero Uno team in Test Cricket, and had also laid his hands on the Twenty20 World Cup.

These World-conquering were things that even an Indian demi-god who had Sachin Ramesh as his first and middle names, had only aspired to achieve, but never could (till then).

However, there was one thing that even Ponting had failed to do: win the Champions Trophy.

Cut to circa 2013:

Happy Days are here again! (Pic Courtesy: Cricinfo)

At the post-match presentation after India won the Champions Trophy, Nasser Hussain asked MSD about what else he thought was left for him to achieve, Dhoni could only smile and offer a platitude about every match being crucial and that his focus was only on the next match that he'd play.

Well, he could surely have answered Nasser's question with Ranji Trophy as his answer!
For, there is now absolutely no world tourney whose trophy does not adorn his cabinet. He has shouldered the onerous task of being the captain of the country where fans are not only the most demanding, most adulatory, and most idolizing, but also the most fickle.

It is no mean feat to achieve World # 1 ranking in Tests, be a World Cup winner in both ODIs and T20, and also be a Champion of Champions, just by itself - simply because no one else (including Ponting) has ever achieved it, with the best of teams too.
Add to this, the fact that he has done so with both experienced personnel (read legends) in his team (WC 2011 and Test # 1), as well as a fledgling, new unit with loads of youngsters (T20 and Champions Trophy).
And then, there is also the small matter of winning the IPL as well as the Champions League trophies too.

Oh, and before I forget, the guy bats and keeps too, with aplomb and adeptness.
Sure, he is not perfect, has his weaknesses (defensive captaincy in Tests, not as dangerous a batsman outside of the subcontinent against quality attacks) but then who ever was or will be?!

The ever-loyal, enthusiastic and passionate Indian cricket fan has had a tough time of late - on the field due to the 0-8 drubbings in England and Australia, and even worse, losing the Test series to England on home soil, and off-field due to the IPL and fixing shenanigans.

This win is all the more special, therefore, in that it might be some sort of a salve for the disillusioned fans who have had little to celebrate

Hopefully, the good times are here to stay now, much longer than ever before...Three Cheers MS, India, and Indian cricket! More power to thee!!!

In a Spot

Much has transpired over the last few days and weeks.
Most probably, we are currently at the cliched tip-of-the-iceberg moment.
The Bollywood connection has been unearthed, so too (allegedly) the role of team owners.

Amidst all the muck and heart-break, I have only the following thoughts that I'd like to share:

The Why
Ever since all this happened, not for a moment have I been able to stop thinking about why - just why, things would have come to such a pass.

When the Pakistani spot-fixing scandal came to light, there was a school of thought that said this happened only because the accused were from very modest backgrounds, not highly educated, and got entrapped in the glitz of instant success and hedonistic pleasures.

Well, as it turns out, our desi firebrands have shown that such an assumption was all hogwash.
If there is one thing that the tainted trio has irrevocably proven by their misdemeanor, it is that there is no such thing as 'enough' - money, girls, cash, greed - call it what you will.


The Why Now
For all its brave posturing now, the BCCI has a few uncomfortable facts and questions staring in its face:

Despite having had a precedent in 2000, the still-recent Pakistani spot-fixing saga, and the open secret of IPL being too unreal to consistently dish out last-minute qualifications and thrilling, unexpected results, why were the players and the franchises monitored properly?

Scandal or no scandal, what business has N Srinivasan ever had to continue being at Chennai Super Kings as well as in the BCCI top brass? So much for transparency and prevention of conflict of interest?!

How could we ever encourage post-match parties where every 'well-connected' anyone, could walk in to any gathering of cricketers, and have free access to every murky wheeling-dealing?

If you could never stop this till now, why the fake brouhaha over transparency and code of conduct and BCCI's compliance to such standards, only now? Spare us the moral high-horse, please. The cricket-playing public ain't no fool.

The What Now
The players got their moolah, the bookies got their due too - who is the biggest loser in all this?
Yes sir, you got it spot on! (pun intended) - of course, the foolish, tax-paying cricket fan - who invested his hard-earned money after saving for the IPL ticket, who fought with family to eke out time to attend or watch the match, who labored extra hours at work, just so that he could watch the 'thrilling' contests on display.
Well, all I can say is, next time a bowler concedes extra runs or a fielder spills a sitter, even a genuine case would raise eyebrows.

The joke is on us, who have been robbed of the joy of watching a sport.
The tragic part is that even a genuinely thrilling match would seem contrived.
Even an inadvertent no-ball/wide would seem full of conspiracy.
Even a small gesture towards the pavilion would seem ungainly.

I wish it had not come to this.
I wish the game - my very first love, would have remained a game of glorious uncertainties, and not fixed scripts.
It's just a spectacle now, and a scripted one at that.
I still love you cricket. Alas, it's the players you are up with, who have robbed you of your charm and innocence now.

15 years later...

15 years ago, the entire nation was in raptures, celebrating two back-to-back masterpieces, by the one and only Little Master.

15 years ago, the indomitable Aussies, comprising the likes of Steve Waugh, Michael Kasprowicz, and Shane Warne, had been tamed into submission.

Celebrating his 25th birthday that day in the course of his second knock, Sachin tore into the bowlers and mesmerized cricket lovers one more time - not for the first time, nor for the last time either (thankfully).

15 years later, we have news of him not really being in the zone these days, in the IPL, and even in the series against  England and Australia, in the last few months.

Yes, he has been dormant and not at his best.
Yes, he has been getting out too soon (considering the guy's sheer class and pedigree), too often.

However, if I may, allow me to say without any bias towards him, that it would be very very naive to jettison such a once-in-a-lifetime cricketer, at this juncture.
15 years later, as the chorus for Sachin not being the same batsman grows, we continue expecting him to simply ravish bowling attacks black and blue the same way he did, back then.

As an avid cricket follower, I would humbly like to state that it's time we just let him be.
It's time we let him enjoy and play the way he deems best.
He knows better than anyone else, what his game is, how best he can contribute (and he sure can guide and contribute to the team, in Tests, for at least a couple more years).
Let us just wish the batsman many years of health and happiness, as he has turned 40, and hope he bows out on a high, in a couple of years from now, if not later.
Happy Birthday Sachin!!

It's elementary, Watson!

One of the better examples of an inspiring and rousing speech in a Hindi movie is the one where Abhishek Bachchan (as Gurubhai) exhorts the audience at his company's Annual General Meeting with a now-famous 'Banna chahte ho duniya ki sabse badi company?!!' speech.

It is hard to resist a chuckle imagining Mickey Arthur exhibiting the same expressions, tone and tenor while issuing directives to the Aussie squad. However, what happened to the delinquent members of that meeting, has shown that Messrs Arthur and Clarke certainly meant business.
They might not have had the same intonation as a movie star, but the intent (and intensity) was pretty much the same.
While Watson (and any of the others) might or might not have found the Axe Effect to his liking, what is worth admiring is the seriousness and no-nonsense approach taken by the touring team.

It's a divided house when it comes to public perception about the decision, but full marks to the touring party for not brooking any high-handedness from the star cricketers. It's a lesson for us forever star-struck, star-worshipping people.

While it's a good time to celebrate our dominance over the Aussies (at least on home ground), it would also be nice if we can pick a thing or two in terms of taking a fair, dispassionate stand when required, even if it comes at the cost of having to be ruthless or unpopular.

And if we need to learn about accepting one's mistake gracefully and positively, sample this from James Pattinson:
"People talk about it as a harsh punishment but looking deeply into it you realise probably it's not. If you want to be part of the Australian cricket team you have to do everything right. It's not acceptable. I believe it's the right punishment."


A real lesson on not being diffident or reluctant when confronted with a mistake - as with any other mistake, the first step towards correcting it lies in first acknowledging it.

I know there will be enough conspiracy theorists reading too much into this axing.
However, I'd still like to believe that there is only sincerity and professionalism behind this.

So credit where due - well done, Aussie team management - for your professional attitude in creating an example where most would have shied away from it. As well as to players like James Pattinson, for understanding their mistake and taking it so positively and constructively.

It's a good stepping stone and an already-exhibited show of intent, for sure, for Mickey Arthur and Michael Clarke to now start their next team meeting with 'Banna chahte ho duniya ki best .team?!'