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Blaming Dhoni for India’s ODI debacle is the easy way out

Recently, there has been lots of criticism of Indian captain MS Dhoni. Whether it is Test, ODIs or T20, whenever India loses a match, he is the first and sometimes the only person who is blamed. Some of the complaints are fair but mostly it’s over the top.

As we know, being an Indian captain is one of the toughest jobs in the world. You are always under severe scrutiny, your every move will be judged. If it works, then all is ok (in Dhoni’s case, it’s luck) and if it doesn’t then only God can save you. I can understand when people want him to be replaced in Tests, because the Indian team is doing very badly there. That 0-8 drubbing and losing to England at home after 27 years is no joke, it’s a serious matter and even Dhoni’s performance with the bat is not up to the mark. Apart from that 99 in his last innings, I don’t remember any rescuing acts from him in the longer format.

But, as far as limited overs cricket and especially ODIs are concerned, he has been brilliant throughout his career. He is among the world’s best finishers in this format today, if not the best, and when you look at his batting stats since the 2011 World Cup, they are just amazing.

Yes, we are not winning as many ODI matches as we used to and we recently lost a series to our arch-rivals Pakistan, that too on our home turf and till the last hour of the last match, many people including some ex-cricketers wanted him to give up the captaincy in all formats. Call it miracle or luck (as they say), India won the match and Dhoni survived big criticism.

India’s poor performance in ODIs is not limited to one or two series’, if you look at our performance since the World Cup, you will find that we haven’t won any big series or tournaments. We lost the 5-match series in England, failed to qualify for Finals in Australia, lost to Bangladesh and that ended our campaign in Asia Cup.

But, today, I want to ask some questions, is blaming only MS Dhoni for India’s ODI debacle fair? Should we point our fingers to his commitment? Do we expect him to win us the matches all on his own? What about the other players? Isn’t cricket a team game?

To clarify my point further, I am throwing up some stats:-

Looking at the chart above, you will find that after the 2011 World Cup, only Virat Kohli has performed better than MS Dhoni. 1,062 runs at a staggering average of 88.50 and at a strike-rate of 90.69 becomes more valuable when you consider India’s performance during this period.

Yes, Suresh Raina is second in the most runs scored chart for India but he has played 13 more innings than Dhoni and scored just 16 runs more in this period. Now, look at our openers’ performance, Gambhir has runs but his average isn’t that great, same case with Sehwag. These stats are enough to tell you that we are not getting starts, a good platform from our openers in recent times. And when an inconsistent player like Rohit Sharma is among your top 5 run-scorers, you know how you are doing.

Selectors have taken some big decisions, like dropping Sehwag and bringing Pujara in. Hope it will send a message to players like Gambhir and Rohit. You can’t take your place for granted.

Indian cricket is going through a transition period and Dhoni’s role becomes even more crucial now. It doesn’t matter what his critics are saying at the moment , but in my opinion, MS Dhoni is still the best person to captain India as far as ODIs are concerned. Update: Good point by Mayank Jhaveri on twitter -

(This article was first published on Sportskeeda)

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MS Dhoni's Latest Facebook Wall

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BCCI sends Legal Notice to Bloggers for not including Indians in Test Team of the Year

After checking all the articles on the Test team of the year and finding no Indians there, a miffed BCCI has sent a legal notice to all the bloggers residing in India. According to them it is not fair and unethical.

When we contacted an Indian blogger on this, he said:

“How is that unethical? We just try to give our honest opinions by analyzing many facts and we even have the right to express. It’s sad but no Indian player qualified to be in the team. Sending legal notice is a joke.”

I tried to reach BCCI representatives on this issue but no one was ready to come out and talk. After trying several times and giving an assurance that I will keep his name secret, one BCCI representative agreed to talk with me.

“India is the new superpower in cricket and no one can deny the fact that we control many cricket boards today. Also, ICC can’t take any decision without our approval,” he claimed. “India is by far the biggest market in terms of cricket revenue, we provide 80% of world cricket revenues today. That’s why England and Australia are jealous of us,”  he stated.

I was bit confused that time and asked him the relation between these facts and that legal notice. He was silent for about a minute. Then after drinking a glass of water, he argued: “That’s simple. What is India’s contribution? 80% right? As you know every team is made of 11 players, so if you divide the revenue, each Indian player’s contribution will be more than 7%, this is 1/3rd of the collective total revenue of other 9 Test nations, don’t even talk about their players. So our players have every right to be included in every XI.”

I got his point. But then I asked one final question about the legal notice, because in my opinion it wasn't the right thing to do. 

He replied: “Look, Indian cricket is a big brand and we just can’t allow anyone to discourage our players. It will affect their performance, India will start to lose more matches and our brand value will fall eventually, which isn’t good for cricket. Bloggers must support our players because they are representing India, it is their (bloggers') duty. Hence, I appeal to all of them to kindly include at least 4 Indians in their Test team of the year, as even in an IPL XI we allow 4 foreigners.”

I thanked him for coming out and clearing things up.

Many Indian bloggers have told me that they will edit their articles and will include as many Indians as possible in their team and try to become responsible citizens.

(Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and is not meant to be taken seriously.)

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A Little Analysis of Test Cricket in 2012

It has been a very good cricketing year, lots of interesting ODIs and T20Is were played during 2012 but I have no doubt in saying that it was the Test cricket which provided us the most joy and entertainment. If someone still believes that Test cricket is dying, is either living under a rock or has lost all of his senses.  Though it wasn't a good year from India's point of view but if you look at the larger picture as a Test cricket fan, you will be satisfied with it. So, I have decided to do a little analysis (my first attempt) with the help of Statsguru and will try to pick a World Test Team of the Year in this post. Out of 42 Test matches played in the year, 32 ended with a positive result i.e. 76.19%, which is higher than last year's 69.23%. If you go by number of wins then Australia were the most successful team with 7 wins in the the year but most of it came at their home. But in my opinion, with 3 series wins overseas (New Zealand, England and Australia), South Africa were the Test team of the year and I know most of you will agree with it.  Even after winning a Test series in India after 28 years, England lost the most number (7) of Test matches in 2012. Some call it a curse of No.1 rankings, some simply accept it that they played bad cricket in major part of the year, just like India. If you go by Win/Loss ratio then New Zealand were the worst Test team of the year (not counting Zimbabwe and Bangladesh). Their Win/Loss ratio was 0.33, India and Sri Lanka not too far behind. South Africa were the only team to not lose a single Test match in the year. Now time to pick World Test Team of the Year. I will try to give reasons too. 1. Alastair Cook Cook had a very good year both as a captain and a player. He may bore you at times but he is effective. With 1249 runs at an average of 48.03 and with 4 hundreds, he was among top 2 run scorers of 2012, so he is an automatic choice for an openers' slot.  2. Graeme Smith (C) Alviro Peterson gave him a run for his money as a second opener, he has almost the same runs and average but I have decided to chose Smith for this slot. His performance in 2012 - 825 runs in 19 innings at an average of 48.52 including 3 hundreds and 2 fifties. Two reasons why I have picked him - 1. His 4th innings batting ability, 2. For his captaincy. As any other World Test XI. I need a captain for my side and currently who is better than Smith? He is my Test captain of the year. 3. Hashim Amla It has been another fine year for Hashim Amla and since Dravid and Ponting have retired, there is no doubt in my mind in saying that he is the best No.3 batsman in World Cricket today. There isn't any real contenders either. He scored 1064 runs in the year, at an average of 70.93 including 3 hundreds and a Triple hundred. 4. Shivnarine Chanderpaul Some people call him crab, some don't like his batting style but no one can deny his impact. After, retirement of Brian Lara, he played many crucial knocks for West Indies and he is undoubtedly a Legend. As far as 2012 is concerned, he had a great year and played good knocks against Australia, England and Bangladesh and that is why I have included him. Kevin Pietersen was his prime competitor but he played 10 more innings than Chanderpaul and scored just 66 more runs, also he averaged just 43.87 in comparison to Chanderpaul's  98.70. 5. Michael Clarke With 5 hundreds, including 3 Doubles and 1 Triple, Michael Clarke owned the 2012 and scored most runs i.e. 1595 at a mind boggling average of 106.33. Looks like captaincy is bringing out the best from him. He scored 346 more runs than Alastair Cook who is No.2 in the most runs chart. If you want to know his impact then look at Hashim Amla, who himself had a wonderful year. Amla played almost same number of the innings but he scored 531 less runs than Clarke. It was clearly Michael Clarke's year. He is my Test batsman of the year.              6. Jacques Kallis As every good team needs an all-rounder, Jacques Kallis is the automatic choice for No.6, there was a close contest between Kallis and Hussey for this slot though but even if you talk about only batting then still Kallis trumps Hussey, he scored 46 more runs than Hussey and played 3 innings less. He is my Test all-rounder of the year. 7 . Matt Prior (wk) Prior is a kind of wicketkeeper which every Test team will like to have, he has been consistent with bat and has the ability of scoring some crucial runs with tailenders. With 777 runs and 36 dismissals in 15 Tests, he is my Test wicketkeeper of the year. 8. Rangana Herath With 60 wickets in the year, Rangana Herath books the spinner's slot in my Test team of the year. Graeme Swann was his closest competitor but he has taken 1 wicket less than him in 6 more innings. As far as Saeed Ajmal is concerned, his bowling record in 2012 is very impressive, he has 39 wickets in 12 innings at an average of 20.56 and strike rate of 46.4. But still Rangana has taken 3.33 wickets per innings compared to Ajmal's 3.25. Also, not including the highest wicket-taker in the Test team of the year won't be fair. He is my Test spinner of the year. 9. Vernon Philander With 43 wickets in 17 Test innings at an average of 21.11 and at an strike rate of 45.8, Philander is my first choice fast bowler. Since his debut in Tests last year, he has been exceptional. Calling him Test fast bowler of the year won't be wrong. 10. James Anderson Wicket-wise he was the most successful fast bowler in 2012 and should make it in every Test XI of the year. �� There was a myth that he isn't that much successful in sub-continent and would struggle during India-England Test series but he bowled really well and shut his critics up (including me). In the last two Tests at Kolkata and Nagpur, he took 10 wickets in 3 innings. His overall tally of 2012 is 48 wickets at an average of 29.50. 11. Kemar Roach Peter Siddle and Stuart Broad were his closest competitor but looking at the innings, average and strike rate, Roach is the third fast bowler in my world Test team of the year. Kemar Roach has taken 39 wickets in 2012 and he averages 22.25, his strike-rate of 41.0 is the best among bowlers with more than 20 wickets in the year. In comparison, Siddle and Broad have taken 41 & 40 wickets at an average of 23.09 & 31.70 and at a strike-rate of 47.3 & 62.7 respectively. Now that almost everything is done, what's next? Test knock of the year? Though he didn't make it to the Test team of the year, Faf du Plessis' unbeaten 110 off 376 balls in his debut Test against Australia is the Test knock of the year, in my opinion. Thanks for reading. Hope you liked my analysis.

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A Legend Retires...

There comes a time in every professional sportsperson's life when he has to call it a day. Today, it is Sachin Tendulkar's turn, as he is separating himself from his favourite blue jersey.  Over the years, he has ruled the 50-over format like no one else, he has mastered the art of batting in this format of the game and that's why he earned the title of 'Master Blaster'. Though, this image of him faded a bit in the later part of his career, due to some big injuries and it forced him to compromise with his technique, to prolong his cricket career, and the way he has adjusted himself is really inspiring. Growing up in 90s, Sachin automatically became one of my favourite cricketers and I have some distant memories of Hero Cup semi-final and some memories of 1996 World Cup. But it was the Titan Cup when I started to follow cricket religiously and luckily India won it by beating South Africa. And guess what? It was Sachin's first series as Indian captain, so I started to admire him more. My elder brother used to read a Hindi cricket magazine 'Cricket Samrat'. It was one of our prime sources to know about what's happening in the world of cricket. I remember, there was a story published in it about Sachin getting the MRF contract. Since, I didn't understand this contract business much, I went crazy to buy a bat with these three letters written on it. This is just a little example of how much impact he had on me and the kids of my generation. There are many memories of him batting/celebrating in ODIs - those two back to back epic hundreds at Sharjah, that 241 game against Zimbabwe, those sixes off Caddick and Shoaib, those 673 runs in 2003 World Cup, that 175, that double hundred, those crucial 117 and 91 in CB series finals, that unbeaten 140 after his father's death and the way he looked up to dedicate it to him, and then finally that World Cup winning night - the emotions were flowing. If you want, you can write a book about Sachin's moments and still it won't be enough. Doing it for a longtime is one thing but doing it consistently is another and when you consider the fact that he has done it for more than 20 years, you know he is a special person, a legend. I have no doubt in saying that he is the greatest cricketer ever to play ODI cricket. Today, a part of my life is just a memory. Thank you Sachin.

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BCCI saves the World

All hail BCCI! In some unlikely circumstances they have successfully managed to save the World. As we all know, the World was going to end on 21.12.2012 as per Mayan prediction but it didn't  Here, I am telling you why:

BCCI, who represent the evil, who are infamous for flexing their muscles on various issues, have done something we lesser mortals could have never imagined. Actually, about a month or so ago, BCCI had sent their representatives to meet God to ask Him to delay the inevitable, so they can arrange an Indo-Pak series. But, the God refused to do so because it was already written and He didn't want to set a wrong precedent.

According to one of our reliable sources, India’s greatest all-rounder Mr. Rajiv Shukla got irritated after this because he didn't have the habit of listening no from anyone, no matter whoever he/she is. PM, President, Rahul ji, Sonia ji or even God, it just doesn't matter. He tried everything but didn't manage to convince God, he even tried to bribe Him by offering  an IPL contract of $10 million but got immediately slapped by the Almighty. He was forced to return empty handed.

After this unsuccessful attempt, the BCCI President Mr. Srinivasan wasn't feeling that well as he realized his limitations that day and then he decided to give his best to save the Earth – Our only home. He went to visit God, alone. Here is the full conversation between him and God :

Srini: Isn't humanity the greatest thing on the Earth? God: Yes. No doubt.

Srini: Doesn't it work as a bridge between two people, community or religion? God: Yes. Humanity is the common thing.

Srini: Doesn't it spread brotherhood and love beyond borders? God: Absolutely.

Srini: OK. So, if cricket can spread the message of peace & love beyond borders, if it can bring people closer then it is surely helping the cause of humanity. No? God: Right. So what do you want?

Srini: I believe, If a cricket series between India and Pakistan can connect people then it is doing a great service to humanity. So, dear God, please allow us to organize this much awaited series. God: I get your point. But then what will happen to the much awaited Doomsday?

Srini: Please, please, please delay it for another 100 years, for humanity. God: I am impressed. You are a great child of mine and more importantly a great human being. Done.

Srini: Thanks!

So, now you all know how the BCCI and Mr. Srinivasan played a crucial role in delaying the doomsday and this proves they aren't evil as the whole world especially English journalists think. Thanks for reading.

(Disclaimer: The characters in this story are fictitious and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.)

(This post was first published on myfakingnews)

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Goodbye VVS...

VVS Laxman - a true gentleman, a champion, a saviour and a legend. There are many words to describe this artist from Hyderabad. His ability to rescue his team from hopeless situation was what made him a special player and that's why even his opponents used to call him 'Very Very Special' Laxman.

If you look at his Test record or stats, you won't be impressed a lot. But as they say, sometime stats lie, it doesn't do justice to him and his talent. He played many useful knocks for India, mostly during a crisis situation and 70% of time with the tailenders. His calm and composed nature sealed many Test matches for India. Sometimes people only talk about big hundreds but tend to ignore those small match winning/saving knocks. Laxman's 73 in Mohali with bad back and 96 in Durban are his two little gems from recent times and are worth as much as any marathon knock. 

To be honest, if there was one Indian cricketer who made Test cricket look interesting to me, its VVS. Not that I didn't like or watch the longer format of the game but as a kid I was more attracted towards ODIs. His 281 against Australia at Eden Gardens was undoubtedly one of the greatest knocks ever in the history of Test cricket and that changed it all for me as a cricket fan and for many of my friends. 

Australia used to be invincible those days, beating them was a big achievement. India was the only team which challenged them both at home and away. I believe India's journey from an average Test team to a good one began from that Kolkata Test. It gave us a new self-belief that yes we can also beat good sides, no matter what the circumstances are and a big credit goes to VVS. 

Laxman played an important role in building a Team India in real means and helped in making it a No.1 Test side along with other members of that golden generation which is known as Fab 5.

Laxman is the 4th player (after Ganguly, Kumble and Dravid) from that Fab 5 to announce his retirement from International cricket, he has left a void that will be very hard to fill. I will miss his magical wrist work the most.

Goodbye VVS. Thanks for the memories.

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An Unforgettable Night

Today it’s the first anniversary of India’s World Cup victory. As they say time flies, a year has been passed so quickly. But memories of that night are still fresh in my mind, seems it all happened just yesterday. The scenes were amazing, the whole nation went crazy as soon as Dhoni hit that unforgettable Six, the fireworks, sound of crackers.. they were celebrating on streets, at home, at rooftop, on bikes, on cars with Indian flag in hand like it was the 2nd freedom for India, really it was an unforgettable night. They say there is always a hero in every story, a hero who fights against all odds, against his destiny to achieve something big for himself and for his people. Yuvraj Singh was that HERO for India and her billion people; he was the one man who made it possible for India. It’s not always about the destination, sometimes it’s about the journey. India’s journey to the World Cup finals was guided by Yuvi, he was like ‘Krishna the Saarthi’ to Dhoni the Arjuna. If it weren’t for a fighter like him, India would have never won the World Cup and it’s a fact. I’m still thankful to the every member and support staff of the Indian team for the joy they have provided me because without it surviving the last one year would have been very tough as a cricket fan, the loss after loss could have easily broken me but no, amidst losses there was always that feeling “so what we are still the World Champions”. It’s not that loss didn’t hurt me, but there was a sense of satisfaction in my heart which kept on giving me strength during the tough times. There is a lot to write but for now I will leave with some unforgettable moments from that special night and yes once again Thank You Team India!

  (Images via ESPN-Cricinfo)

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The Final Frontier

Just few hours to go for the India-Australia Test series to begin - one of the much awaited Test series of the year. First Test will be played on Boxing Day, a traditional event at MCG.

There is something special about a Test series in Australia, since time-zones are different the matches start early in the morning at 5:30 am in India and it makes watching the Test matches even more interesting. Fresh winter mornings, cup of tea in hand, Test cricket, the sound of bat hitting the ball and the noise and claps from the crowd - amazing atmosphere, pure bliss for a cricket lover. 

India and Australia have produced some interesting battles in the last decade, India were the only team which challenged them continuously both at home and away during their golden era. Kolkata 2001 and Adelaide 2003 stand out as two epic encounters. Despite of all the odds, India emerged victorious both the times. There was one thing common in both the matches - 300+ runs partnership between Dravid and Laxman. We, the Indian fans are expecting something similar from the duo this time too. 

I think Indian team has their best chance to register a series victory down under. The Australian team is going through a rebuilding phase, they are not as strong and consistent as they used to be. There is no doubt about the talent in the team but still the inexperience in the side might hurt Australia. 

Since Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the first 3 Tests, James Pattinson is the one Aussie bowler I am looking forward to. With the pace and talent Pattinson has, facing him would be a bit of a challenge for Indian batsmen. Nathan Lyon is also a good find. 

Though the Australian team has lots of youngsters and a new captain, they haven't lost a series so far under Michael Clarke and that should count as an achievement for a young team, maybe there were some poor performances here and there but underestimating them would be a big mistake. 

On the other hand India might see the trio of Sachin, Dravid and Laxman playing together for the last time. After years of struggle in Australia it might force them to win the series this time. Indian team will depend a lot on their bowling though especially Zaheer Khan, he with Ishant and Umesh can create a formidable pace attack given everyone stays fit. 

Some people are so obsessed with Sachin’s 100th Hundred that they are ignoring the primary thing; cricket is a team game and winning is the primary goal. If Sachin scores his 100th Hundred during the course of the series, I would be very happy but it doesn’t mean we should start talking about it every time he walks out there to bat. As he said 100 is just a number, I bet even Sachin would be more happy if his 70s or 80s helps India to win the series in Australia.

One man who is going to play a crucial role in this series is Virender Sehwag, still can’t forget his brilliant 195 at MCG during the 2003-04 Border-Gavskar series and since he is coming after scoring a record-breaking 219 in ODIs, there is a good chance he might better his score at MCG this time. 

I have no doubt that India will win the series if they play to their full potential. As an Indian Cricket fan, I wish them all the best for the tour down under. Hope India does well and give us a series win as New Year’s gift.

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Rahul Dravid - Champion on the field, Champion off the field

Rahul Dravid is not an unknown name in the cricketing world, his quality batting over the years has established him as one of the greatest cricketers the game has ever seen but despite of all the glories he is still humble - this is one quality you will see in almost every successful sportsperson and this is why he is one of the most respected personalities in sporting world today, a true gentleman. Till now most of the people knew him only for his batting ability but he has some hidden talents too - the talent from which many of us were unaware before today. Today, I'm not going to analyse about his batting skills or cricketing career, just want to share something outside the cricketing field.  Rahul Dravid delivered the Sir Donald Bradman Oration at the Australian War Memorial just few hours back, he shared some interesting stories and talked about almost all aspects of the game one could imagine and made some valid points, here are some excerpts from his speech which I liked :

"When I was told that I would be speaking at the National War Memorial, I thought of how often and how meaninglessly, the words 'war', 'battle', 'fight' are used to describe cricket matches."

 "My own link with Bradman was much like that of most other Indians – through history books, some old video footage and his wise words. About leaving the game better than you found it."

"I remember the excitement that went through Indian cricket when we heard the news that Bradman had seen Sachin Tendulkar bat on TV and thought he batted like him. It was more than mere approval, it was as if The great don had finally, passed on his torch. Not to an Aussie or an Englishman or a West Indian. But to one of our own."

"One of the things, Bradman said has stayed in my mind. That the finest of athletes had, along with skill, a few more essential qualities: to conduct their life with dignity, with integrity, with courage and modesty. All this he believed, were totally compatible with pride, ambition, determination and competitiveness. Maybe those words should be put up in cricket dressing rooms all over the world."

 "The Australian public will want to stand up to send Sachin off all over again this time. But I must warn you, given how he's been playing these days, there are no guarantees about final goodbyes."

 "Thanks to the IPL, Indians and Australians have even shared dressing rooms. Shane Watson's involvement in Rajasthan, Mike Hussey's role with Chennai to mention a few, are greatly appreciated back home."

 "At the moment, to much of the outside world, Indian cricket represents only two things - money and power. Yes, that aspect of Indian cricket is a part of the whole, but it is not the complete picture."

 "In this last decade, the Indian team represents more than ever before, the country we come from - of people from vastly different cultures, who speak different languages, follow different religions, belong to all classes of society. I went around our dressing room to work out how many languages could be spoken in there and the number I have arrived at is: 15, including Shona and Afrikaans."

 "Let me tell you one of my favourite stories from my Under-19 days, when the India Under-19 team played a match against the New Zealand junior team. We had two bowlers in the team, one from the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh - he spoke only Hindi, which is usually a link language for players from all over India, ahead even of English. It should have been all right, except the other bowler came from Kerala, in the deep south, and he spoke only the state's regional language, Malayalam. Now even that should have been okay as they were both bowlers and could bowl simultaneous spells. Yet in one game, they happened to come together at the crease. In the dressing room, we were in splits, wondering how they were going to manage the business of a partnership, calling for runs or sharing the strike. Neither man could understand a word of what the other was saying and they were batting together. This could only happen in Indian cricket. Except that these two guys came up with a 100-run partnership. Their common language was cricket and that worked out just fine."

 "The everyday richness of Indian cricket lies right there, not in the news you hear about million-dollar deals and television rights. When I look back over the 25 years I've spent in cricket, I realise two things. First, rather alarmingly, that I am the oldest man in the game, older to even Sachin by three months. More importantly, I realise that Indian cricket actually reflects our country's own growth story during this time. Cricket is so much a part of our national fabric that as India - its economy, society and popular culture - transformed itself, so did our most-loved sport. As players we are appreciative beneficiaries of the financial strength of Indian cricket, but we are more than just mascots of that economic power. The caricature often made of Indian cricket and its cricketers in the rest of the world is that we are pampered superstars. Overpaid, underworked, treated like a cross between royalty and rock stars. Yes, the Indian team has an enormous, emotional following and we do need security when we get around the country as a group. It is also why we make it a point to always try and conduct ourselves with composure and dignity. On tour, I must point out, we don't attack fans or do drugs or get into drunken theatrics. And at home, despite what some of you may have heard, we don't live in mansions with swimming pools. The news about the money may well overpower all else, but along with it, our cricket is full of stories the outside world does not see."

 "One day out of nowhere, a boy from a village in Gujarat turned up as India's fastest bowler. After Munaf Patel made his debut for India, the road from the nearest railway station to his village had to be improved because journalists and TV crews from the cities kept landing up there. We are delighted that Umesh Yadav didn't become a policeman like he was planning and turned to cricket instead. He is the first cricketer from the central Indian first-class team of Vidarbha to play Test cricket. Virender Sehwag, it shouldn't surprise you, belongs to the wild west just outside Delhi. He had to be enrolled in a college which had a good cricket programme and travelled 84kms every day by bus to get to practice and matches."

 "The Indian cricket team is in fact, India itself, in microcosm. A sport that was played first by princes, then their subordinates, then the urban elite, is now a sport played by all of India. Cricket, as my two under-19 team-mates proved, is India's most widely-spoken language. Even Indian cinema has its regional favourites; a movie star in the south may not be popular in the north. But a cricketer? Loved everywhere. It is also a very tough environment to grow up in - criticism can be severe, responses to victory and defeat extreme. There are invasions of privacy and stones have been thrown at our homes after some defeats. It takes time getting used to, extreme reactions can fill us with anger. But every cricketer realises at some stage of his career, that the Indian cricket fan is best understood by remembering the sentiment of the majority, not the actions of a minority."

 "After India won the World Cup this year, our players were not congratulated as much as they were thanked by people they ran into. "You have given us everything," they were told, "all of us have won." Cricket in India now stands not just for sport, but possibility, hope, opportunities."

"On our way to the Indian team, we know of so many of our team-mates, some of whom may have been equally or more talented than those sitting here, who missed out. When I started out, for a young Indian, cricket was the ultimate gamble - all or nothing, no safety nets. No second chances for those without an education or a college degree or second careers. Indian cricket's wealth now means a wider pool of well paid cricketers even at first-class level. For those of us who make it to the Indian team, cricket is not merely our livelihood, it is a gift we have been given. Without the game, we would just be average people leading average lives. As Indian cricketers, our sport has given us the chance do something worthwhile with our lives. How many people could say that?"

"The October series against England was the first one at home after India's World Cup win. It was called the 'revenge' series meant to wipe away the memory of a forgettable tour of England. India kept winning every game, and yet the stands did not fill up. Five days after a 5-0 victory 95,000 turned up to watch the India's first Formula One race. A few weeks later I played in a Test match against West Indies in Calcutta, in front of what was the lowest turn out in Eden Gardens' history. Yes we still wanted to win and our intensity did not dip. But at the end of the day, we are performers, entertainers and we love an audience. The audience amplifies everything you are doing, the bigger the crowd the bigger the occasion, its magnitude, its emotion. When I think about the Eden Gardens crowds this year, I wonder what the famous Calcutta Test of 2001 would have felt like with 50,000 people less watching us. Australia and South Africa played an exciting and thrilling Test series recently and two great Test matches produced some fantastic performances from players of both teams, but were sadly played in front of sparse crowds. It is not the numbers that Test players need, it is the atmosphere of a Test that every player wants to revel in and draw energy from. My first reaction to the lack of crowds for cricket was that there had been a lot of cricket and so perhaps, a certain amount of spectator-fatigue. That is too simplistic a view; it's the easy thing to say but might not be the only thing. The India v England ODI series had no context, because the two countries had played each other in four Tests and five ODIs just a few weeks before. When India and West Indies played ODIs a month after that the grounds were full, but this time the matches were played in smaller venues that didn't host too much international cricket. Maybe our clues are all there and we must remain vigilant. Unlike Australia or England, Indian cricket has never had to compete with other sports for a share of revenues, mind space or crowd attendance at international matches. The lack of crowds may not directly impact on revenues or how important the sport is to Indians, but we do need to accept that there has definitely been a change in temperature over, I think, the last two years. Whatever the reasons are - maybe it is too much cricket or too little by way of comfort for spectators - the fan has sent us a message and we must listen. This is not mere sentimentality. Empty stands do not make for good television. Bad television can lead to a fall in ratings, the fall in ratings will be felt by media planners and advertisers looking elsewhere. If that happens, it is hard to see television rights around cricket being as sought after as they have always been in the last 15 years. And where does that leave everyone? I'm not trying to be an economist or doomsday prophet - this is just how I see it."

 "Disrespecting fans is disrespecting the game. The fans have stood by our game through everything. When we play, we need to think of them. As players, the balance between competitiveness and fairness can be tough but it must be found."

 "If we stand up for the game's basic decencies, it will be far easier to tackle its bigger dangers - whether it is finding short cuts to easy money or being lured by the scourge of spot-fixing and contemplating any involvement with the betting industry. When the first anti-corruption measures were put into place, we did moan a little bit about being accredited and depositing our cell phones with the manager. But now we must treat it like we do airport security because we know it is for our own good and our own security. Players should be ready to give up a little personal space and personal comfort for this game, which has given us so much. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."

 "There is a place for all three formats, though, we are the only sport I can think of which has three versions. Cricket must treasure this originality. These three versions require different skills, skills that have evolved, grown, changed over the last four decades, one impacting on the other. Test cricket is the gold standard, it is the form the players want to play. The 50-over game is the one that has kept cricket's revenues alive for more than three decades now. Twenty20 has come upon us and it is the format people, the fans want to see."

 "I don't think day-night Tests or a Test championship should be dismissed. In March of last year I played a day-night first-class game in Abu Dhabi for the MCC and my experience from that was that day-night Tests is an idea seriously worth exploring. There may be some challenges in places where there is dew but the visibility and durability of the pink cricket ball was not an issue."

"What we have to do is find a way to ensure that Test matches fit into 21st century life, through timing, environments and the venues they are held in. I am still convinced it can be done, even in our fast-moving world with a short attention span. We will often get told that Test matches don't make financial sense, but no one ever fell in love with Test cricket because they wanted to be a businessman. Not everything of value comes at a price."

 "There is a proposal doing the rounds about scrapping the 50-over game completely. I am not sure I agree with that - I certainly know that the 50-over game helped us innovate strokes in our batting which we were then able to take into Test matches. We all know that the 50-over game has been responsible for improving fielding standards all over the world."

 "The Twenty20 game as we know has as many critics as it has supporters in the public. Given that an acceptable strike rate in T20 these days is about 120, I should probably complain about it the most. The crowd and revenue numbers, though, tell us that if we don't handle Twenty20 correctly, we may well have more and more private players stepping in to offer not just slices of pie, but maybe even bigger pies themselves."

 "Because the game is bigger than us all, we must think way ahead of how it stands today. Where do we want it to be in the year 2020? Or say in 2027, when it will be 150 years since the first Test match was played. If you think about it, cricket has been with us longer than the modern motor car, it existed before modern air travel took off."

 "Sachin told us that he had asked Sir Don how he had mentally prepared for big games, what his routines were. Sir Don said, that well, before a game he would go to work and after the game go back to work. Whenever a cricketer feels a whinge coming on, that would be good to remember."

 "I have often had over the course of my career. It is not to do with individuals or incidents, but one I believe is important to share. I have sometimes found myself in the middle of a big game, standing at slip or even at the non-strikers end and suddenly realised that everything else has vanished. At that moment, all that exists is the contest and the very real sense of the joy that comes from playing the game. It is an almost meditative experience, where you reconnect with the game just like you did years ago, when you first began, when you hit your first boundary, took the first catch, scored your first century, or were involved in a big victory. It lasts for a very fleeting passage of time, but it is a very precious instant and every cricketer should hang on to it. I know it is utterly fanciful to expect professional cricketers to play the game like amateurs; but the trick, I believe, is taking the spirit of the amateur - of discovery, of learning, of pure joy, of playing by the rules - into our profession."

 "In every cricketer there lies a competitor who hates losing, and yes, winning matters. But it is not the only thing that matters when you play cricket. How it is played is as important for every member of every team because every game we play leaves a footprint in cricket's history. We must never forget that. What we do as professionals is easily carried over into the amateur game, in every way - batting, bowling, fielding, appealing, celebration, dissent, argument. In the players of 2027, we will see a reflection of this time and of ourselves and it had better not annoy or anguish us 50-year-olds."

[krazzycricket-blog]

Virender Sehwag – The Modern Day Phenomenon

Virender Sehwag – the name is enough to terrify any bowler in the world, the destroyer who can tear apart any bowling attack in the world, the philosopher who sees the word Impossible as I m possible, the man who is slowly turning himself into a phenomenon.

Maybe he is not worshipped like Sachin Tendulkar, maybe he is not technically perfect like Rahul Dravid, maybe he is not a magician like VVS Laxman but still he is one of the most charismatic cricketers of our times, his genius is often ignored in a star-studded batting line-up.

4 days ago when he broke Sachin’s record of highest individual score in ODI’s in Indore, it didn’t come as surprise because everyone already knew about his abilities very well. In fact, Virender Sehwag was supposed to become the first person to score 200 runs in a single innings in ODI’s but Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar reached this feat before him and I bet even he (Sachin) knew if anyone could break his record it’s got to be one and only Virender Sehwag.

For me Virender Sehwag is not just a player, he is an attitude. He doesn’t believe in planning for future, he believes in living in the present and tries to enjoy every moment. This simple but effective formula has helped him in reaching where he is today. By his fearless attitude he lifts the morale of his team, his 30-40 minutes stay at the crease is enough to demoralize any opposition, sometimes his quick 25-30 runs goes unnoticed, no one notices the impact of his quick cameos and how it changes the course of a match.

Virender Sehwag is the first and only Indian cricketer to score a triple hundred in Tests and he has done it twice, one against Pakistan at Multan and one against South Africa at Chennai. He missed his 3rd triple hundred by only 7 runs against Sri Lanka. He currently holds the record of the highest (319), 2nd highest (309) and 3rd highest (293) individual scores by an Indian in Tests. These are just some examples of his impact over Indian and world cricket, he has a tendency of scoring big in Test cricket and unlike other explosive openers he is doing it quite consistently over the years.

Yes, there was a time when he was struggling with his form and got dropped from the Indian team but as they say Form is temporary but class is permanent, he returned in Indian team after some months and since then never looked back.

Virender Sehwag has established himself as one of the greatest opening batsmen cricket has ever seen. Mind you, Virender Sehwag is not a natural opener; he started his career as a middle-order batsman and scored a hundred in his debut Test against South Africa at their home. But the way he has converted himself into a full-time opener shows his greatness.

His fearless approach and simplicity separates him from the contemporary cricketers. As they say every single individual has to fulfill a special purpose here - Sehwag’s purpose is to bat continuously whole day every day without getting tired. 

Calling him Steve Jobs of cricket won’t be wrong in my opinion. Like Steve, he sees solutions where everyone else sees problems. He didn’t create the art of batting but he revolutionized it. We should consider ourselves lucky for living in the same era where a cricketer like Virender Sehwag is playing.

(Image via ESPN-Cricinfo)

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Predictions & Surprises

Last ball, India need 2 runs to win, Ravichandran Ashwin is on the strike, Fidel Edwards running in to bowl - length ball, Ashwin smashes it down to long-on, completes the single, turning back for the second and oh no he is Run Out, run out by a mile. Wait a second before you start thinking about the Super Over, it’s not a T20 game neither is it an ODI, it’s TEST cricket, yes you read it right. The match ended in a last ball Draw with scores level. No one would have imagined this even 8 hours ago, all the predictions failed and cricket surprised us again.

Actually, cricket is a game of great uncertainties and we have witnessed it many times but still we never leave any opportunity of predicting the outcome and passing the judgement. More often than not our predictions fail but still we never learn.

Cricket is very much similar to our daily life, like life it surprises us when we least expect it. They say 'Miracles happen, each day and every day' - Yes it does, we just need to keep the faith. Faith till the last day, last breathe, last ball.

This India vs West Indies 3rd Test at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai is the latest example of it. First 4-days wicket looked very good for batting, almost everyone scored runs, there was no support for the bowlers at all, even a lower order batsman like Ravichandran Ashwin scored his maiden Test ton here. The Test match was going to be a dull draw.

We were criticizing the pitch from the very first day and cursing the curator for making such a flat pitch just for a milestone i.e. Sachin’s 100th hundred in International cricket. With every passing day, there were more and more debates on why this kind of wicket is not good for the health of Test cricket and why it will kill it eventually.

West Indies were 81/2 with a lead of 189 runs in their 2nd innings at the end of day 4 and still India had to bat, 1153 runs were scored for the loss of only 22 wickets during these 4 days i.e. 52 runs per wicket. As usual, everyone (including me) passed the judgement quickly that it is a dead-rubber and it’s going to be a dull Draw.

26th November – last day of the 3rd Test, despite of the weekend, people looked less interested in watching the match, it was not in their priority list but the new day had something special in store. The dramatic day of Test cricket was about to begin.

The pitch started assisting the bowlers specially the spinners, no doubt West Indian batsmen played some loose shots but no one can deny the fact that both the Indian spinners showed some quality spin bowling in the morning session. Pragyan Ojha ended up with 6 wickets and Ravichandran Ashwin finished with 4 wickets, West Indian innings collapsed from 91/2 to 134/10. The uncertainties of cricket surprised the fans again, India needed 243 runs to win from 64 overs. Suddenly, the match was on. Every single soul was looking at Virendra Sehwag and people started predicting the match result again.

At 1:10 PM local time, Sehwag was looking good for a big knock, Dravid was there too and India needed just 150 runs with 9 wickets in hand in next 3 hours, at that moment 50 runs per hour was not a big task and everyone started to predict an Indian win.

Soon, Indian innings collapsed - Sehwag, Sachin and Dravid got out in quick succession and suddenly India found themselves 4 wickets down. A little ray of hope, a door was opened for a courageous West Indies team. Indians were looking at 2nd innings specialist VVS Laxman now, he tried to build a partnership with Virat Kohli and took India to 165 and when Indian fans were feeling bit relaxed, Laxman left them too. Now Kohli and Dhoni were the last hope for India. Dhoni never looked comfortable and got out to Rampaul after adding 24 runs with Kohli. West Indies were back in the game. First innings Hundred scorer Ashwin arrived to bat, he and Kohli tried to take India closer to the target and when India needed only 19 runs to win, Kohli gifted his wicket, failed to finish the job. 

Now, West Indies needed just 3 wickets to win. With every passing ball the pressure was mounting on Indian tailenders, somehow Ishant and Ashwin managed to bring down the required runs to single digit. India needed just 4 runs to win with 8 balls to go and Ishant left the field too. Epic last over was about to begin.

The match ended in a last ball Draw with scores level, the great uncertainties of cricket surprised us again, the last day saw lots of ups and downs during these 7 hours, suddenly everyone started praising the wicket and the curator and regretted dissing him.

This is why we should not pass judgements till the match is not over and this is why I love cricket, like life it shows us mirror sometimes, reminds us the value of being humble, helps us becoming a better human being.

[krazzycricket-blog]

A Tour from Hell

21st July 2011, the hype was amazing, it seemed that all roads leading towards only one destination, a place called Lord’s in the beautiful city of London, two top teams were getting ready to take on each other for a battle, battle on the cricketing field, the battle which was supposed to be bigger than the Ashes, bigger than India-Pakistan series. 2000th Test, Sachin's 100th Hundred etc. etc. The build-up to this high profile Test series was unprecedented, a larger than life kind of series was about to start.

What if their dynamic opener Virendra Sehwag was not in the team? What if Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar were not around for a while? The World No. 1 Test team was ready to take on the strongest English team ever.

Everyone was expecting a neck and neck battle, India started off well, Zaheer dismissed both the left-handed openers Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss cheaply. Everything was going along nicely but then something happened which none of us expected, Zaheer felt some pain and left the field, it was a hamstring strain, Indian team was left with only 3 bowlers. It was just a beginning of one horrendous tour. A tour full of injuries, a tour full of selection blunders, a tour full of controversies, a tour from hell.

With every passing match Indian injury list kept on increasing. Gambhir, Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Praveen, Ishant almost everyone got injured during the Test series. It affected their performance big time, Zaheer's and Gambhir's injuries proved most damaging for Team India. On one hand their most experienced bowler was out and on other hand their only regular opener was struggling.

Gambhir's injury forced team management to make Dravid a temporary opener though he didn't like this job in past but they had no other option. Pushing Rahul Dravid up meant a change in batting order, Laxman's place was now No.3. As we know an unsettled batting line-up is never good, it cost the team dearly. Soon, India were 2-0 down.  3rd August 2011, Virendra Sehwag joined team India, he was still recovering from a shoulder surgery and had some hearing problem, it was a big risk to play him but India needed a win badly. Like we look at God during crisis, we were looking at him. Every single Indian fan was waiting for a miracle.

Then came an anti-climax moment, Virendra Sehwag got King pair in his comeback Test at Birmingham. India found themselves 3-0 down, lost the series, lost No.1 ranking.

We the Indian fans were feeling humiliated but still we were waiting for a win in the last Test. Die-hard fans followed every ball, every over, every session in search of a win but story didn't change. Gambhir got concussion, blurred vision, India lost the series 4-0. First time in their recent history they failed to win a single Test in a series. The series also showed the ugly side of cricket, whether it was Ian Bell’s run out incident at Trent Bridge Test or ex-English cricketers’ continuous comments on Indian players, especially Michael Vaughan’s statement on Social Networking site Twitter sparked a big controversy where he accused VVS Laxman of using Vaseline on his bat when Hot-spot failed to find an edge. DRS/Hot-spot came under severe scrutiny and was the favourite topic of discussion during the series.

One man stood tall amidst all this annihilation, the man is none other than Rahul Dravid. With 3 Hundreds in the 4-match Test series, he was the only saving face for Indian team. It also earned him a place in the Limited overs format. Since he didn’t play in ODI’s for 2 years, he was as surprised as we were on his selection. Soon, he announced his retirement from ODI’s and T20’s after the England tour. As Rahul Dravid was getting ready for his Farewell series, we were expecting a better show from young Indian players, we were confident of a comeback in Limited-over format.

31st August 2011, despite of injuries, our team looked good on paper as openers were taking guard in the T20 game. As they say in Hindi "Keechad Mein Hi Kamal Khilta Hai" (Lotus rises in muddy water), a Lotus, a future star arrived, Ajinkya Rahane impressed everyone with his elegant stroke-play, his debut knock of  61 from 37 balls was more than enough to speak about his talent, his knock almost made us forget the Test series debacle for a while. India lost the game despite of his heroic, still the search for their first win didn’t end.

3rd September 2011, the World Champions were ready to take on the English team in ODI’s but the injuries didn’t leave Team India here too.  Sachin was ruled out of the series due to injury while Rohit got injured during batting in the 1st ODI. Rahane, Parthiv, Dhoni and some others batted well in the 5-match ODI series but despite of it, Indian team failed to win a single match courtesy some bad bowling, some rotten luck, some rain and crazy D/L method. 3 Loses, 1 Tie and 1 Draw, all the 5 matches were affected by the rain which kept on reducing India’s chances of a win as if Gods in Heaven fixed the rain with English cricket team, everything looked like a conspiracy. First time in recent memories Indian cricket team coming back home empty handed from a foreign tour.

Don’t know about others but I am still with my team, this team has given me many reasons to smile and made me feel proud on several occasions. This is just a bad time and will pass soon. Dear Team India, win or lose, I will always stand by you!

[krazzycricket-blog]

Battle For Test Supremacy!

So less than 20 hours to go for the much awaited India-England Test series, fans are eager to see some quality cricket after a long time and expecting a lot from both the teams. There is immense hype surrounding this series, lots of speculation going on over the series result, team composition and most importantly the English weather.

The first Test at Lord's which is starting from tomorrow is going to be 2000th Test match in the history of cricket since the first Test match played between England and Australia in 1877. Also it will be 100th Test between India and England, for the first time India will be playing 100 Tests against one cricketing Nation.

Both India and England are playing some quality cricket for quite a while now and are ranked 1st & 3rd in the ICC Tests rankings respectively. If England manages to beat India by the margin of 2 Tests then they will topple India as No.1 Team (personally I don't think its going to happen).

Fact is that England haven't won a series against India since 1996, neither in India nor in England. This time England has a better team compared to their previous teams (thanks to some South African born cricketers), bowling is their strength and with Cook, Strauss, Trott, Pietersen there, batting looks fine too. But the big question remains, do they have it in them what it requires to be No.1 Test team? Only time will tell. 

India will miss Sehwag for sure in first 2 Tests (considering he will be fit for the 3rd Test), his role is not just limited as a player but the attitude which he brings in the team. Filling his place will not be easy but as we know an injury to someone is an opportunity for other, hope Abhinav Mukund lives up to expectations and play some good knocks.

I am sure Team India is willing to prove its critics wrong by winning here but for that they have to play tough cricket. Apart from Trio of Sachin, Dravid and Laxman, Indian pacers will play an important role in the series. If Zaheer, Ishant and Praveen (add Sreesanth and Munaf too) stay fit and keep a good rhythm then it will be very tough for England batsmen to face them in seaming & swinging conditions.

India lost the series 0-1 in 1996 under Azhar, leveled the series 1-1 in 2002 under Ganguly, won the series 1-0 in 2007 under Dravid. Now its time for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to keep the improvement going and do better than the best!! (Image via ESPN-Cricinfo)

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Kirk Edwards - A star is born

After a long time a talent from West Indies has arrived who looks a great future prospect, little known Barbadian Kirk Edwards showed lots of promise during his debut Test hundred against India. The one thing which I liked most about him is his self-belief. He looks very calm & composure and has a very good temperament. He does not believes in showing off, even after his debut Test hundred he didn't over-react. Here is a guy who can revive West Indies cricket if given proper opportunity and backed by the selectors. 

Filling in big shoes is never easy but Kirk Edwards who was replacing Ramnaresh Sarwan did the job wonderfully well and became the 13th West Indian cricketer to score a century on Test debut.

Not only on the pitch but he looked confident in his post match conference too, the way he talked is quite remarkable, maybe he is new in International cricket but already very mature. The thing which makes him different from his other teammates is his attitude and views towards cricket, he speaks his mind which is very rare in West Indian cricket these days. Look at his this post match statement: “There is so much negativity in the Caribbean. When I go to the super-market people shout at me ‘You cannot win matches.' I want to change the can't into can.” It speaks a lot about him and what he wants to achieve. 

Kirk Edwards comes from a cricketing family and also holds a level 1 coaching certificate, may be this is the reason behind his maturity and understanding towards the game. He has a habit of scoring runs from beginning. He was considered as best overseas batsman when he played for England’s Twickenham Cricket Club in 2005. Kirk has also coached & played for Ireland’s Phoenix Cricket Club.

Don’t know about others but I am very impressed by this guy, looks a very good captaincy material. He has the ability of taking West Indian cricket to a new high, to its old days. Here is wishing him all the success and a great career ahead. Hope someday he gets the opportunity to captain this West Indian side.

(Image via ESPN-Cricinfo)

[krazzycricket-blog]

Lions Roaring Again!!!

Another year, another IPL and another title for Chennai Superkings, add Champions League T20 title to that and it becomes a perfect hat-trick for the most consistent team of the IPL.  After starting the tournament sluggishly they peaked as the tournament progressed. Actually its been a feature of Dhoni's captaincy, his led sides usually peak at the right time, they raise their standards when the big games arrive. There was a time in this IPL when Chennai Superkings were lying at No. 8 in the points table, though it was the early stage of the tournament but everyone was surprised (except their loyal fans) and were wondering what went wrong with the defending champions? But their fans believed in the ability of the team and were sure about their comeback, and Chennai Superkings didn't disappointed their fans, lifted their game and won the IPL trophy twice in a row.

Last 12 months has been sensational for the Superkings, they have beaten almost every team they faced during this period and it didn't happened in one day, its a result of continuous hard work, tremendous self-belief, planning and superb effort. They bought back almost every player in the fresh auctions this January who were part of the 2010 winning team. It meant they don't had to waste time in understanding each other and it helped them to play as an unit from the beginning. As they say a team well built is better than a team well bought, Chennai Superkings implemented it.

Credit should go to Mr. Cool MS Dhoni, he led the side brilliantly and proved it again there is no one even closer to him when it comes to leadership skills at the present time. The calmness which he shows during crunch situations is quite incredible, from a superboy in 2007 World T20 to a superman in IPL 2011, he has come a long way, he has all the major feathers in his cap now, arguably the best captain India has ever seen. Some may argue that he is a lucky guy but you can win once by luck, twice by luck but not everytime. He is brave and that is why luck favors him.

No doubt Chennai Superkings has the most loyal and happiest bunch of fans in all IPL teams and as Ashwin said he wants to make Chennai Superkings the Manchester United of IPL, here is hoping Chennai Superkings continues their good form and takes it to this year's Champions League!!!! (Images via ESPN-Cricinfo and CSK)

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Why IPL matters?

After India's victory in the World Cup, IPL is back again with its 4th edition. Its obvious that after a long World Cup it is hard for some people to digest it specially when they are still in the euphoria of the World Cup victory. Then there are many people who don't like IPL because in their opinion its waste of time, its not cricket, just entertainment, a sheer business. May be somewhere they are right but not fully. Here I will try to explain why IPL matters with whatever knowledge I have about this beautiful game.

In my opinion, IPL is a great stage for uncapped, unknown and young players to show their talent, show what they are capable of to the whole world. It provides a platform to the domestic players to play with some fine International players, they can learn a lot from the experiences of their seniors and the legends of the game whom they have idolized from the beginning, it allows youngsters to share same dressing room with them where they can discuss, share their problems and learn. It helps them to prepare themselves mentally for the bigger stage, the International arena.

The players who were unknown to the world, now they are getting recognized because of the IPL. For example, the other day no one even knew about Paul Valthaty but after his sensational hundred against defending Champions Chennai Superkings, he became a star over-night. 

There are many other players who got benefited from the IPL, not only Indian players but some foreign players as well, some of them ended up with playing for their National sides. Shaun Marsh, Pragyan Ojha, Saurabh Tiwary, Murali Vijay, Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja are some of the players in this long list. Atleast 20 players got chance to play for India because of IPL. It allowed struggling players like Suresh Raina and Shane Watson to re-discover themselves and establish themselves permanently in their National sides. When Australia was desperately looking for a good opener like Hayden and Gilchrist, Watson's success as an opener for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL provided them a decent opener.

Currently, India has a big pool of players who can replace any player in the National side in case of an injury or any other reason, where in the past when there were only Ranji matches and other domestic tournaments, very few players got the recognition because of less number of viewers, but because of IPL they can now show their talent infront of International players & audience.

I don't have any problem with the people who don't like IPL, but please don't say its doing no good to the cricket or cricketers, you can't even imagine how hard these youngsters work to get recognition. (Images via IPL and Cricketnext)