Mr.Gavaskar, Where were you....?

Read my other articles HERE!

I had blasted Mr.Greg Chappel as the culprit behind the destruction of Indian Cricket Team. You can read that article here, “Greg Chappel: The Trojan Horse!” published on 4th of April 2007 and "What Ails Indian Cricket?" on 6th of April 2007.

I am living in Shimoga, a small town in Karnataka. My perspective has come to me following the developments after Greg Chappel took over in 2005.

But what about Mr.Gavaskar?

As the authority on cricket and being in the hub of cricket, Mumbai, as a top commentator and a live witness to most of the international cricket matches, Gavaskar is a bit late to catch this important reason for Indian cricket annihilation. Was Gavaskar holding himself back or he got this enlightenment just yesterday night is to be answered by the great man himself.

Anybody who follows cricket could have understood Greg Chappel’s wicked ways, when he started the demolition job of Ganguly.

I would like to bring to your notice how Dravid, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Harbhajan, Yuvraj sing, Kumble etc conducted themselves when Ganguly witch-hunt was going on in 2005.

Greg Chappel stabbed Ganguly in the back and Ganguly was crying for help.

There was deathly silence. Nobody cared.

Honesty is defined as “not only the ability, not to pick your friend’s pocket, but the ability to Stand by an Idea.”

But what was the “IDEA” ?

Idea was integrity! you have to defend your friend, your partner, your teammate when he is victimized by somebody blatantly. When your team-mate and captain who was with you for so long, is being made the villain without any justification by your coach Greg Chappel you were watching that tragedy as a mere spectators.

Not even a single word of protest from all these so-called greats. I say, great on the field of play, not where it matters, in real life. All of them were behaving like cowards those days. It is the collective yellow color they were projecting.

Not any ex-cricketer like Gavaskar, Shastry came to Ganguly’s rescue. Ganguly was forced to fight his battle with Greg Chappel and the senile B.C.C.I., alone without anybody’s help. Imagine Ganguly’s frustration and pain because of his so-called friends’ treachery. His teammates were more culpable than Greg Chappel in that event.

There is a saying in my mother tongue Kannada, “ Thalege haakidha neeru kaalige barale beku(the water you pour on your head, has to come to your feet).”

That is what is happening to Tendulkar and company, now.

A bully is harassing a helpless person you know, on the street. You walk by without interfering or protesting. You think the bully will leave you alone. Wrong!

Another day, another time the bully will come after you, thinking you are a coward. If you were to stand up to your friend the other day, the bully would have steered clear of you.

You reap what you sow!

That is the rule in life, in cricket or anywhere else.

No escape from this.

In the garb of gentlemanly behavior and nicety our top cricketers were steering clear of any controversy. But controversy is on Tendulkar’s or Yuvaraj’s doorstep and they do not know how to react. And their silent scream is heard by everybody, but there is nobody to help them.

That is the price you pay for treachery! Strong word, but sadly, true!

Gavaskar was invited in the capacity of ex-captain during the B.C.C.I. face saving meeting after the 2007 Cricket World Cup defeat. He attends the meeting and makes the recommendations. Upon his recommendation Greg Chappel was offered the post of cricket consultant for Indian Cricket Academy.

Gavaskar takes almost one month and now he comes out lashing at Greg Chappel.

He could have done at the meeting itself.

Why this delay?

He wants both the egg and the omelets, that is!

Where were you Sir, when the shit hit the ceiling?

Mr.Gavaskar, sorry to say, your timing here is way, way off! You are swinging your bat when the ball is in wicket keepers glouse.

What can you do?

Old age is catching up!

Read Gavaskar's comments: Gavaskar blames Chappell for India's downfall

Previous Articles

10)Curse on Indian Cricket:
Read The Article
9)Indian Cricket : A Diagnosis!
Read The Article
8)Greg Chappel: The Trojan Horse!
Read The Article
7)What Ails Indian Cricket!
Read The Article
6)Should Sachin Tendulkar Retire?!
Read The Article
5)Mr.Gavaskar's Popular Cricket Team is Returning!
Read the Article

4)How to Kill Cricket Betting!
Read The Article

3)Shame on You Mr.Gavaskar!
Read The Article
2)Cricket Sex!
Read The Article
1)Dravid: Sidekick of Greg Chappel:
Read The Article

Curse on Indian Cricket Team: Lack of Leadership!

“For more information and special deals related to any of the issues on this page, place your cursor over the double-underlined links. All information supplied by Kontera.com”

In the history of international cricket we have seen great captains, good captains, mediocre captains and bad captains. What makes them so?
Here is an attempt to learn the secret of great captaincy.

Mike Brearley, Clive Lloyd, Imran Khan, Allan Boarder, Arjuna Ranatunga, Steve Waugh are some of the great cricket captains of our times.

So, “what” or “the lack of what” makes them so?

Mike Brearley:
He took over from Tony Greg. Brearley's batting average was 22.88 from 39 test matches and 24.28 in 25 one day matches are not anything to rave about. But it is English Cricket’s folklore how he brought the best of the best from Ian Botham. Brearley’s record of 18 wins, 4 losses out of 31 matches are great, but do not tell you the whole story. Out of 4 series against Australian cricket team he won 3.
One Ashes series here needs special mention. During the 1981 series, after losing the 1st Test, the then captain Ian Botham resigned. Brearley was asked to take over. He won 3 tests in a row to win the series 4-1. He motivated Ian Botham such that Botham almost single-handedly won these matches for him. This is a clear case of real captaincy. Most of the batsman captains, if their batting form sinks, their quality of leadership also sinks. Brearley was an exception and so he is an exceptional captain.

Clive Lloyd:
He was a blessed man. He had an almost invincible cricket team during most of his captaincy. They used to beat their archrivals Australia hands down most of the time. Clive at his disposal had the giants like Richards, Gordon Grinidge, Desmond Heynes, Alwyn Kalicharan, Faud Bacchus and himself for batting and had Andy Roberts, Late Molcom Marshal, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft for bowling. He had excellent wicket keeper alrounder in Jeff dujon. He was lucky to captain the strongest cricket team the Windies ever produced. I cannot judge him exactly. Because his captaincy was never stretched or really tested.
And the West Indian cricket team as a whole was very aggressive. Viv Richards running towards the umpire from slips and appealing was an awesome sight. Few umpires could withstand that sort of pressure from a man with such an aura around him. He wasn’t always nice (like the word “nice”, in Gavaskar’s book!), but the important thing was he was winning.

Imran Khan:
We can safely say, Imran Khan is the first cricket captain of our times who literally built a team of world beaters from scratch. His methods were dictatorial but he got results. He literally molded Wasim Akram, Waquar Yunis and Inzamam Ul Haq from raw clay. Imran Khan made the Pakis believe, for the first time, that they can beat any cricket team in the world. Players who did not toe his line were unceremoniously dumped from the team, take the case of Quasim Omar.
He and Sarfraz Nawaz were the pioneers of “reverse swing bowling”. Till recently “reverse swing” was an exclusive weapon of Pakistan. Imran Khan’s pupils Wasim Akram and Waquar Yunis perfected it to such an extent, that in their prime, they were almost unplayable during slog overs. The whole credit for this metamorphosis should go to Imran Khan.

Allan Border:
He took over when Kim Huges resigned amid tears over loss to the Windies. Border struggled initially, but brick by brick he built the team. Allan Border’s success as the captain of Australian Cricket Team was not over-night. But it reached its crescendo in 1987 World Cup in India where they beat England to lift the World Cup. Border’s batting was very effective but ugly. There was no finesse but he was there when the going got tough.

Steve Waugh:
He got the cricket captaincy from Taylor. He had a very good team to begin with. Quality players like Mcgrath, Mark Waugh, Blewett, Wicket Keeper Ian Healy were primed and ready to boom, when he took over. Steve Waugh was a mean, cunning, end justifies the means type of cricket captain, who was ready to go to any length to win. He was to Australia like Javed Miandad to Pakistan. He was in your face street fighter. I have seen clippings of him claiming catches where the ball had clearly touched the ground. There were no 3rd umpire referrals in his time. Australian sledging took a ugly tinge during Steve Waugh’s captaincy. You cannot get a tougher opponent than Steve Waugh.

Arujuna Ranatunga:
Then we had Arjuna! The smiling assassin from Sri Lanka! Our sub-continents answer to all these greats!
He took a mediocre team, sweated with them, cajoled them and turned them around and made them world beaters. The way he handled Aussie pressure in Australia is cricket captaincy at its best. The boos and heckling of Aussie crowd was taken on without a slight bit of flinching.
When an Aussie umpire no-balled Murali repeatedly for a perceived chucking, Arjuna was willing to pull out of the cricket tour than take Murali off the attack. He was on the verge of walking out with the team, when the umpire in question and the Aussie administration relented and let murali continue bowling.
1996 World Cup cricket was held jointly by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Australian team refused to travel to Sri Lanka to play giving terrorist threat as the reason. Arjuna Ranatunaga, captain of Sri Lankan team blasted that decision and proclaimed, "we want to meet Australia in the final."
Sri Lankan team proved their mettle by reaching the final. Before the final against Australia, Ranatunga the captain, called Shane Warne “an over-rated bowler”. Whiling batting in the finals in Karachi, he belted Warne around and proved his point. And Sri Lanka won the Cricket World Cup of 1996. Just imagine, what guts and courage is needed to do that.
He made Jayasuriya and Kalu to open and they instilled fear in the opposition during the first 15 overs.
And he had a very shrewd and non-assuming coach in Dave Whatmore.

So, being a great batsman or bowler or an allrounder helps. But they are not be all and end all. It takes much more than great batting or bowling skills, which makes for a great captain. If that were the case Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid should become great captains. But it is not that simple.
If I have to put my finger to the secrets of great captaincy, they are:
The Captain should:

1) Stand by his team-mate when the whole world is against you, like Ranatunga did to Muralidharan.
2) Should be able to lead from the front when the chips are down.
3) Instill fear in the opposition by his aura and audacity like Imran Khan and Vivian Richards.
4) Have the mantra, “Winning is everything.” like Steve Waugh.
5) Not worry about being popular or unpopular like Ricky Ponting.
6) Be able to instill courage and bravery in his team-mates.
7) Make his team believe, that he will protect the player and the team from any and every situation like Ranatunga.
8) Be able to get the best out of his players like Brearley did to Botham or Ranatunga to Murali,Jayasuriya and Kaluvitharana.
9) Able to do the unthinkable like Martin Crowe who opened his bowling with Deepak Patel in the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

But if you:

Want to be popular,
Don’t want to step on toes,
Want your image and cricket uniform clean and
Want to look good and sqeeky clean in the advertisements
Want to be a good boy
Are thinking of life after cricket and planning for it,

The job of Indian cricket captaincy is not for you.

We, Indians, unerringly chose and pick the 2nd category for Indian Captaincy and the results are there to see.
Undoubtedly, we have got a bunch of very talented cricketers.
But the Indian captain becomes the side-kick of the coach, who himself is mean and vindictive, it destroys a team and takes it back to stone-age.
It is such a pain to see all these great, immensely talented kids falling flat on their collective face more often than not.

Indian Cricket : A Diagnosis!

The dust from the collective fall of the Indian Cricket Team is dissipating. The post-mortem of 2007 Cricket World Cup debacle is coming to an end.

Greg Chappel is offered the post of consultant for the Cricket Academy. That is Indian tradition. When a not so successful politician is to be side lined without much chance of a rebellion, he is made the governor of a state. Greg Chappel was not a success as a coach and instead of showing him the door the B.C.C.I. has shut his mouth for the time being, by offering him this job.

Imaginge what would have happened to an Indian coach, if his performance were to be at per with Greg Chappel? He would have been sacked and made the scapegoat. But Greg Chappel is a foreigner!

That is why I said in my earlier article, that we have a fixation for any foreigner. Like we have forgiven the British or the Invaders from Afghanistan, we forgive any body from outside.

But, if we can get away with it, we will punish anybody of our own blood.

Take the example of Sachin Tendulkar. They are trying to bring Sachin to their level so that the aura is dimmed and the God like stature of him is destroyed. Just because of two bad matches.

How short is our memory or how cruel we can be is, beyond belief.

All these pot bellied easy chair experts are coming out of their woodwork with guns blazing, because they know, Sachin will not hit back. Even though they have never played cricket, they can dictate terms to our cricketers. That is cruel.

Agreed, Cricket is a team game played by 11 individuals. There should be team work, hormony and comradarie. But when all the 11 players strive individually to excel and all are successful in their endevour, then only the team can suceed.

Take the example of Australia. Their individual brilliance is happening in a collective way and they are, I think, one of the best teams, the world of cricket has ever seen.

What makes them so monotonously, outrageously successful? The man management by their coach John Buchanan. Australian are a bunch of extremely talented and very very hard working cricketers. But they are arrogant and intolerant lot. Imagine how much diplomacy the coach should have to manage and coach the Australian team.

Now imagine Greg Chappel being the Australian coach. It would have been bloodbath. That is why the Australian board should be commended for getting them a coach of that pedigree.

B.C.C.I. just went by the reputation of Greg Chappel as a former player and hired him and the damage can be seen. They did not look at the history of his playing days, his coaching capabilities. And as one Indian cricketer said, “ Greg Chappel has taken Indian Cricket 4 years backwards.”

Is there a future for Indian Cricket?

Yes there is. The B.C.C.I. has done the right thing in appointing Ravi Shastri as the manager.

Make the cricketers feel at home. Bring back the feeling of one family among cricketers. Bring back the smiles and the unadulterated life-force the Team had when they won the Natwest Trophy in England.

After the Bangla tour, make Sourabh Ganguly the captain.

During the 2007 World Cup, our team was looking like the walking dead.

Any half-wit can find out the reason for this.

I am tired of repeating myself!

Greg Chappel: The Trojan Horse!

For those who do not know what a Trojan Horse is :

“The term comes from the a Greek story of the Trojan War, in which the Greeks give a giant wooden horse to their foes, the Trojans, ostensibly as a peace offering. But after the Trojans dragged the horse inside their city walls, Greek soldiers sneak out of the horse's hollow belly and open the city gates, allowing their compatriots to pour in and capture Troy.”
The Greek Trojan Horse had soldiers inside its stomach. Our Trojan Horse had poison and viciousness which almost finished off Indian Cricket.

Mission accomplished, Mr.Greg Chappel. Pack your bags and go back.
But you could have saved us this B.S. about senior cricketers. Because we know our boys. A guy with your reputation and antecedents cannot change that opinion. The question is why the big boys were tolerating you for this long. Nobody had the guts to come out and blast you and your sickness sky high. But why? Were they so afraid of you?
What are you Greg? A monster in a man’s garb? Otherwise how can a lone man destroy such a strong team single handedly just in 2 years? I don’t have the answer. Remember, the day Grag Chappel took over, we were ranked 2nd and now were 6th or 7th.
-----------------------------------------------
Read my other articles:
Shame on you Mr.Gavaskar!
Gavaskar, Your Popular Team Is Coming Back!
Should Sachin Resign?
What Ails Indian Cricket?
------------------------------------------------
Dear readers, please go back in history and remember the the days of John Wright and Sourabh Ganguly. It seems ages ago.
But it was 2 years ago. We were among the best. We had won the Natwest Trophy, won a test match in Australian soil after some 20-22 years. Won series in Pakistan. We had unearthed a raw gem in Irfan Pathan. He was bowling those unplayable banana inswingers to clue less Pakis. Sehwag had hit a triple century in Pakistan. Yuvaraj was becoming the 2nd prince of Indian cricket team after Ganguly.

We know you Aussies hate New Zealand as much as we hate Pakistan. But go to the extent of destroying all the good work done by John Wright by your vicious ways, is taking that hatred too far, Mr.Chappel!
But that is okay. we have digested so many invaders since Mohammed Gazni and Mohammed Ghory. We will digest you also. But in this time and age you deserve a public bashing and a kick on the butt as a parting gift.
I hope the Board is man enough to do that!

I have a perfect name for you, Greg Crooked Chappel!
You are crooked and your ways are more so.
How dare you point a finger at Sachin? We are with him since 1989 and you tell us that he was behaving like mafia during 2007 World Cup Cricket!
Take your opinion and shove it, Mr.Greg C Chappel! Don’t you ever dare to walk around India without your body guards. There are crazier people than me in India.
But, the problem is, our madness is Satvik. That is why we have survived and tolerated the injustice and injury the history has bestowed on us.
I know Chappel will go back to Australia and write a book on Indian cricket full of lies and your perverted views. The strange thing is, India will be the top market for your book after all you have done to us collectively.
Because until and unless people like Rajsingh Dungarpur are there in power, you will be deitified no matter what! Mr.Dungarpur says, “ we do not have coaches in India.” Same mouth also farted the words, “ In 1983, India did not win the World Cup. But West Indies lost it.”
You two are the prime example that age does not necessarily make you wiser. When the inside is rotting, age makes it uglier by the day.
I don’t think Sachin will respond your insinuations. Because that is Sachin. He is Mount Everest and you, Mr.Chappel is yesterday’s news! (This article was written before Sachin’s rebuttals)
I think you and our Gavaskar are made from the same mould. I don’t know, I may be wrong. But there is a resemblance.
So the Trojans had their horse and we had Greg Chappel. The time has come to burn this Trojan Horse and disperse the ashes in Ganges so that he will have a helthier soul in his next life!

Celebrate early Diwali my friends, the dark chapter is over!

Greg Chappel:
Test: 87, Runs:7110, Highest score:247, Average:53.86, Centuries:24
ODIs:74, Runs: 2331, Highest Score:138, Average:40.19,Centuries: 3
-ve Consequence of his existence: Under arm bowling by his kid brother Trevor Chappel, Sourabh Ganguly 2005, Indian Cricket 2007.

Sachin Tendulkar:
Test:135, Runs: 10668, Highest score:248, Average:54.71, Centuries:35
ODI: 384, Runs:14847, Highest score:186, Average:44.06, Centuries:41
-Negative consequences: None
+ ve consequences :
Glory to Indian cricket innumerable times!
Remember "Form is temporary, class is permanent". He will come back and how!

What Ails Indian Cricket?

If we can diagnose this, we can find a cure, right?
Nobody is a culprit until proven guilty. So until one’s guilt is proven judiciary forbids you to call him anything but accused.
One method of proving the guilty guilty is the process of deduction. Prove one by one that the accused is not guilty. Ultimately you find a person who cannot be proven innocent and you collect credible evidence against him.
Let us do the same for the question: “What ails Indian Cricket.”
The accused from a variety of sources are
1) Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappel
2) Sachin Tendulkar, Sourabh Ganguly, Harbajhan Singh, Yuvaraj Singh etc.
3) The Cricket Administration
Let us take the less culpable first.
The first accused:
1) The Cricket Administration:

To a balanced cricket follower the selection of the cricket team was fair. You cannot name anybody who was picked wrongly or who was omitted in spite of good performance.
Cricketers were provided for more than sufficient ways. The Board treated them royally. The 15 who were selected were selected purely on merit. You can argue the case of Sehwag, but he redeemed himself in the world cup.
Suresh Raina, Mohammed Kaif were omitted because of non-performance. Balaji, Nehra were injured.
The only blot was Romesh Powar. He deserved a place. But that is an exception than rule. You cannot blame Vengsarkar and his team for poor team selection, whatever Greg Chappel suggests through the great Mr.Rajan Bala.
(By the way, I cannot understand why Chappel chose Rajan Bala and SMS to vent his feeling. Because as you and me know how irritating it is to write a long message in you SMS. He had email. My deduction is Rajan Bala doesn’t have an email address. So Greg takes all that pain to write that message after the Sri Lanka match, hard to believe, but true!)
So you can safely say, the selection committee and the Board cannot be held responsible for this debacle.

2) Sachin Tendulkar, Sourabh Ganguly, Harbajhan Singh, Yuvaraj Singh etc.

This is what is suggested by our Great Guru Greg Chappel (I will call him 3G from now onwards.)
3G says Sachin, Sourabh, Bajji and Yuvi were behaving like untouchables. They were hindering 3G. Spare a serious thought about this latest from 3G. We are witnesses to all the above accused persons behaviors on and off the field. Particularly Sachin Tendulkar. Every one of his former and present teammates will tell you that Sachin is one of the most genial personalities on and off the field. The people who were his friends in his school days, his mentors, his acquaintances all will agree Sachin never was a dual person. You cannot find a better gentleman than Sachin this side of the Himalayas.
In fact, 3G is only the second person to throw aspersion on Sachin, first was, the now infamous, Mike Denness who charged Sachin of ball tampering during India’s tour of South Africa in 2001.
Sachin came out of that false allegation with dignity and aplomb. Did Sachin ever make a wrong comment on Mike Denness, even after such blatant injustice? No. That is the height of character. Sachin is such a mature person at such a young age, it is amazing. That is why in my earlier articles I have called Sachin an Angel amongst us. Not for his cricket alone. For his cricket alone we can call him that, is a beside the point.
And 3G is trying to belittle such a person!
I have referred to this process in my earlier article “Should Sachin Tendulkar Retire!?” as C.Y.A.( Cover Your Ass) operation. I am vindicated by today's revelations of 3G’s grouse against Sachin amongst other things.
If Greg Chappel had any history of successful coaching like Dave Whatmore, John Buchanan, Late Bob Woolmer, I would take his leaks, SMSes, emails and ghost talking through his big brother Ian Chappel, seriously.
He will be shown the door is given. If he gets a coaching job for any other unfortunate teams, he will have a chance to redeem himself. Until that time he is guilty in my books.
We appointed him without looking at his previous history as person and cricketer. He told his brother Trevor Chappel to bowl under-arm so that New Zealand does not win and who was on the field at that time? His big brother Ian Chappel and now they are giving directives as to what to do for Indian cricket? How apt is the saying, “When you are pointing a finger towards somebody, don’t forget three of your fingers are pointing towards you”


Greg Chappel started the rot in Indian cricket by victimizing Sourabh Ganguly.
Other Indian players thought, “if Greg Chappel can do that to Sourabh Ganguly, what of us, if we rub his wrong side?” That is the genesis of fear in the Indian dressing room, which had the tacit support of Rahul Dravid.
You cannot but notice the omission of Rahul Dravid from the list Greg Chappel’s culprits.
Why?
Rahul Dravid was Greg Chappel’s crony from the beginning. These two hand in hand dethroned King Sourabh and banished him from their kingdom and usurped the powers and by their short sightedness or their blindness destroyed the kingdom.
And Greg Chappel with his brother are searching for scapegoats.
My argument is, if you cannot get along with Sachin Tendulkar, you must be devil himself. You have got the worst man-management skills.
What makes a coach?
It is knowledge about the game, the skill of imparting that knowledge, it is having a broad shoulder which is available to all members of the team when they are in grief (empathy), and most importantly, Man Management.
If Sachin and co, were behaving like that throughout the 2007 World Cup, Greg could have sit with them one on one and could have thrashed it out. All the accused were level headed people.
If a son makes a mistake, father’s duty it is to sit with him and talk about that and try to solve it without hurting son’s feeling or self-respect. As a coach Greg is supposed to be father figure to the Indian team.
But what does he do? He goes to the rooftop and announces that his sons are incorrigible, so the world cup loss is not his responsibility.
And he is crying like a baby who knows his candy is being snatched by the BCCI if he does not cry.
I feel like sorry for Rajan Bala when I visualize how much painful it is for Rajan Bala to wear his reading glasses, peer in to his mobile and read the small print, interpret it and publish it in his article. Rajan Bala, Rahul Dravid and Dinesh Karthik; I will have an enemy any day than having a friend called Greg Chappel!

I was professing this point that, it is Greg Chappel who is the culprit since three months, in my earlier article “Rahul Dravid is not a leader, but a follower.”
We Indians are late in catching something, let alone the cricket ball. The damage you can see.
Greg Chappel is poison for Indian cricket and it is high time he exits, earlier the better.
And don’t reward Rahul Dravid either, for his dumbness in following in Greg Chappel’s footsteps. Strip him of his captaincy and I strongly profess Sourabh Ganguly for captaincy.
The safe way out is once again John Wright as coach. He is available and the least we can expect from him is a clean heart and a love for Indian cricket.
This fellow Greg is a mercenary and the most you can expect from him after his exit will be a book on Indian cricket like a book by a Marxist writer on Indian history, full of lies and cover ups.
By the way the readers of this article who are Indians, please buy a book of S.L.Byrappa called “Aavarana” (if you are non-kannadigas, I think you can get a translation.) You will change 180 degree after you read that book.

So Greg Chappel and Rahul Dravid are the culprits.

I rest my case!

The Judgment in God’s court:

Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappel, Guilty
Sachin and co. Not guilty
Cricket Administration of India, Not guilty

The punishment will be announced on 5th or 6th of April in B.C.C.I’s special meeting.

I hope so!

I am a cricket crazy Indian, and proud of it! (and I have nothing else to do!)

Should Sachin Tendulkar retire!?

Read my other articles:
Shame on you Mr.Gavaskar!
Mr.Gavaskar, Your Popular Cricketers are returning to India!

Do I have the right to give my opinion on this?

Yes and No!
Yes, because, as an avid fan of Indian cricket in general and Sachin Tendulkar in particular, I can humbly put forth my view on this. I hope I have earned it.
No, because, Sachin Tendulkar is Mount Everest and I am a molehill!
But can an outsider without solicitation, in the garb of an Expert, make such a suggestion?
The answer is definitely NO!
So, Mr. Ian Chappel, keep your advice to yourself and continue doing what you are best at. That is cricket commentary. Who gave you the right to say, “Sachin Tendulkar should retire”?
If I read between the lines, I can deduce something sinister here.
I will tell you why!
After almost 3 years of coaching India, Greg Chappel has fallen flat on his face. His methods did not work. He is an utter failure as the coach of the Indian Cricket Team.
Under him Indian cricket team virtually disintegrated. He fanned the flame of rebellion when Ganguly was the captain. Succeeded in bringing down Ganguly from the captaincy and kicking him out unceremoniously from the team. Remember how he played the email politics to defame Sourabh Ganguly.
He got his man in Dravid to follow his commands to the letter. Got Zaheer Khan out. Confused Irfan Pathan and made him a zombie. Backed non-performers like Kaif and Suresh Raina at the cost of Venugopal Rao. If he had given Mr.Venugopal Rao half the chance he gave to Kaif, Raina, Sehwag, Mr.Rao would have established himself. Venu was and is a very talented cricketer.
He finished off Anil Kumble. Kumble was banished from One Day Cricket during most of Mr.Chappel Juniors tenure. Now Kumble has announced his retirement from one-day cricket. And Kumble is too nice a man to bring the skeletons from the closet. To put it mildly, Kumble was sidelined with tacit support from his so-called friend Dravid.
Chappel Junior almost finished Ganguly also. But the Bengali Tiger is more than what he anticipated. Only Ganguly had the guts and will power to overcome Chappel Juniors devious ways and come up trumps. Other lesser mortals succumbed and their souls are in grief because of their helplessness.
Dinesh Karthik is good. But saying he is captaincy material is atrocious. I think Chappel Junior has some grouse against Dhoni. On today's form of our team, Karthik should be selected as a batsman. But, like the saying, “some are greatness showered upon them (take the case of Rahul Gandhi)”, unearthing captaincy material in Dinesh Karthik is digging another grave for a hard working, honest cricketer like Dinesh Karthik.
Mr.Karthik, protect yourself from this friend! Or dig your own grave!
It is the divide and rule policy of the British, re-inventing in the form of the Mr.Greg Chappel.
And don’t get offended, my dear readers, our own Rahul Dravid is the accomplice, knowingly or unknowingly.
I think it is Unknowingly.
Dravid is a good man.
Dravid is a good man and a great batsman is beyond argument.
It is the colonial hangover. Whatever the white man says should be right. What ever he says is wisdom. English speaking skill is the sign that you are intelligent.
Dravid is a good man. But speaking his mother tongue Kannada is degrading to him. Siding with Kumble against Chappel’s wish is a sign of your idiocy. Showing rage, anger and humiliation when we lose a match is a sign of immaturity. You may say he was crying when we exited the 2007 World Cup. That was a tear of fear not of shame.
Compare to Ganguly, Rahul Dravid was a robot and Greg Chappel the master.
And now on to this SMS perversion!
Mr.Chappel Junior is supposed to have sent an SMS to a now extinct cricket writer called Rajan Bala about his dis-satisfaction about the team for the World Cup.
The e-mail method during Operation Ganguly has degenerated in to SMS method. I have an explanation for this. Mr.Rajan Bala, I suppose, does not have an email id. He is a dinosaur.
And what is Chappel’s grouse “should have included Suresh Raina.” What has Raina done to merit selection?
If I remember correctly, Raina has got around 17 as average in his last 10 international one-day matches.
“And Yuvaraj behaves like he is a star”.
But, Sir, he is a star. What do you expect? Yuvi should wash your underwear? Come on man, people like you should be institutionalized!
Then only the world is a safe!
The question is does he deliver or not? 9 out of 10 times he does. You say the selection of Yuvi was against your wish. But Yuvi was one of a very few who have redeemed themselves during our disastrous 2007 World Cup saga.
So it was an error in judgment, Mr.Chappel.
And the painful thing is you have made so many errors and the results are in front of us.

No matter what, you will be paid a kings ransom and will go back to Australia to write a book and make more money, with facts and fictions to make it tasty. But what about Indian Cricket? You give two hoots. Right, Sir?

And now the operation C.Y.A. (Cover Your Ass) is in full swing.
And who comes calling? Big brother Ian Chappel. Junior is in trouble and whom else can you expect than the senior. And it should be a ritual for Ian, because, Junior has fallen flat on his face so many times (remember, the infamous under arm bowling), in the past, Ian coming charging in to defend his kid brother is instinctive.
But Ian Chappel cannot directly involve himself in this C.Y.A. operation. It should be handled diplomatically. The first step is attack Sachin Tendulkar.
It is learnt that Tendulkar and Junior Chappel were not exactly on good terms. That explains!
Tendulkar is the most humble cricket genius in the history of World Cricket. He a great ambassador for international cricket. He is the most admired cricketer. He conducts himself and never ever you can find a fault with our beloved Sachin if you have a healthy mind! Only a sick and perverted mind can find fault with Sachin as a person and a cricketer. You, Mr.Chappel, succeeded in that endeavor also. Congratulations!
So as per Senior Chappel, Sachin Should retire.
Sachin is averaging around 40-50 in his last 10 innings, if I am not wrong.
If there are players who are making truckloads of runs in Indian domestic cricket and are deprived of international opportunity because of Sachin’s presence, there is justification for such an opinion. There are no such batsmen who are knocking on the door. And who you want to replace Sachin? Suresh Raina or Mohammed Kaif.
If Sachin bats left-handed (remember, he is ambidextrous), he makes more runs than the above two put together. And Mr. Ian Chappel you have the audacity to gost-talk on behalf of your brother about Sachin’s retirement.
Mark my word. After this cesspool created by your junior is cleaned and Indian Cricket is resurrected, Sachin will once again will play like Sachin. Then you will notice me for my prophetic words. You need not have to wait much.
BCCI should show the boot to Greggi and put somebody with the right credentials as coach.
A resounding no to Steve Waugh. He is meaner version of Greg. He thinks our players play for money and records. Now a days, you can say anything and get away with it, isn’t it?
My advice to Indian Cricket administration is do not change the team. The present team is okay. Change the captain. Because he was a party to all the foul play by Greg Chappel. And he is better at following than leading. The King should be somebody else and the commander in chief should be Dravid. Dravid is good man, but he does not know what he is doing, forgive him but strip his captaincy. You will see marvelous change in Indian cricket.
My solution. Make Sourabh Ganguly captain.
For One Day International:
Open with Sachin and either of Robin Uthappa or Sehwag.
Number 3, Yuvaraj Singh. No.4, Rahul Dravid. No.5 Sourabh Ganguly. Dhoni at No.6. Make a place for Dinesh Karthik somewhere there. Try Romesh Powar as a lone spinner for at least 5 matches without break. And the fast bowlers to follow.
I have no answers for Irfan Pathan. He, himself, has to find a way out. But my heart goes out to him. Poor bastard!
And at least for another 3 years, banish the thought of Sachin’s Retirement!
He is God! Please, please let us not drag him down!
Show the finger to these two brothers from down under!
I rest my case!

Mr.Gavaskar, Your Popular Team is Returning to India!

I am watching World Cup match between Australia Vs South Africa. Mathew Heyden just hit a six to bring up the fastest century of the World Cup Cricket in 66 balls. Ricky Ponting hit a six to become the batsman to hit the highest number of sixes in the World Cup of Cricket.

I am also remembering our own Sunil Gavaskar’s comments, “ Australians may be the number one team in the world but they not the most popular.”

Who Cares, Sunny?

Your most popular cricketers are coming home to India tail between their legs not being able to reach the Super Eights and beaten by the lowly Bangla Desh.

Even now is your choice the Losing Popular Team India to Winning Unpopular Australia?

Australians are ready to spill their blood and guts on the field to win the 2007 Cricket World Cup. If they think it is not enough, they are ready to spill the blood and guts of their opponents to win.

Do you want to know what is the root cause of the great Indian annihilation, Mr.Sunil Gavaskar?

Our Cricket stars are more worried about losing their cricket sex appeal (this phrase is patented!) and the consequent ad rakings than about winning and losing a cricket match.

In effect Sunny, they do not want to lose their popularity. And in chasing popularity, they have lost everything including their popularity.

Ever heard a popular quotation? “Happiness is like a butterfly. If you chase it, you may not catch it, but if you sit still it may descend upon you.”

Replace the happiness with popularity. Team India is chasing popularity not excellence in cricket.

Popularity should be the effect not the cause. The great Indian Cricket team, with tiger stripes painted on their faces, thinks popularity is the cause and hence this greatest of debacles. You want clearer definition of Cause and Effect.

You play excellent cricket (cause), and you become popular (effect). But Indian cricket stars think they are popular (cause) and hence they by, default, should play excellent cricket (effect). And people like you by making them demigods fuel this madness.

Why you make them demigods is to increase your salability is a known thing. But by creating this hype and hoopla about Indian Cricket, you are killing real cricket played by Australia. The batting of Heyden, Ponting, Clarke etc was real cricket Sir, and what the Indian Cricket Team played in the 2007 is a cheap imitation.

I define the quality of Australian Cricket today as Sublime. It is attained by hours and hours of practice and saint like discipline, sweat, pain, sacrifice and self-denial.

And you have the effrontery to make derogatory remarks to them? Mend your ways, Sir, before it is too late! You did it, to a certain extent, by apologizing to David Hooke's family. But that is not enough, a full scale apology is due.

You know what the opponents feel when our, once great, Sachin Tendulkar takes guard. HOPE!

But when Ricky Ponting takes guard. FEAR!

In India cricketers should not only be able to play cricket, but should be photogenic also, so that the Colas and Pepsis can promote their worse than human urine like soft drinks, using the beautiful faces of Sachin, Dravid etc. Remember, “Ooh, Aah, India....”

Ramesh Powar is a better one-day bowler than Harbhajan Singh in today’s form. He was not picked because he is not good looking. You were a better cricketer than me, so I need not have to tell you this. Observe closely how Ramesh Powars delivers moves in the air. You call it “drift” in cricketing language. Harbhajan of today does not have it. An off spinner without the “drift” is a toothless tiger.

All this is because of self serving servants of the Indian cricket who have established themselves in the garb of cricket experts, cricket commentators, cricket administrators, cricket advisors, cricket selectors.

Ricky Ponting ups his batting to the next niche when the opposition, the situation of the match is toughest.

And your so-called Popular Cricketers up their batting when the opposition is the hapless Bermuda and when there is nothing in the bowling.

My World Cup is not over, Mr.Gavaskar, yours is!

I will watch Australia every time they play, whatever the opposition, because cricket played by them now Is Cricket. Period. You go and find some excuse to blame them. But your game is over. Because your product which was on sale, has become stale and has zero demand! Good Luck!

P.S.: And I am a proud citizen of India! If I don’t mention it here you will think I am an Australian! that is why!

Please leave your comments and read more such artilces at

www.cricketrage.blogspot.com

Or write to me at

ganoganesh@gmail.com

Other Articles:
Shame on You Mr.Gavaskar
Cricket Sex

How to Kill Cricket Betting!!!

Cricket betting took its first victim on 18th March 2007 in the form of Cricket coach of Pakistan team Bob Woolmer. It is a sad and very shameful thing to all genuine cricket lovers.

Cricket betting and the underworld connection of it is an open secret for such a long time.
In a taluk headquarters in Malnad, Karnataka lakhs of rupees change hands due to cricket betting during a match. Some borrow money for this occasion and behave as if their life depends on the outcome of a cricket match. If it is that, think of some metros like Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta. It is a cancer, which was left to grow by some vested interests in the cricket administration home and internationally.

B.C.C.I. or Board of Control for Cricket in India or (Board of Corrupt Cricket Administrators in India!) has become Bihar like a political wrestling pit. One evil in the form of Dalmiya goes and another bigger one called Pawar takes its place. Cricket and cricket players welfare is the last thing on their minds. Take the case of Ganguly-Chappel-Dalmiya email fiasco. Only an extra ordinary willed person like Sourabh Ganguly could extricate himself from such a mess. Ordinary mortals would have perished without a trace.

Coming to the death of a good man called Bob Woolmer.

He was in the lion’s den of cricket betting which is Pakistan, since 3 years. He also put forth some ideas to the Pakistan cricket board as how to control match fixing which were not implemented. He knew about the Pakistan players and administrators involvement in match fixing. He wanted to encash that knowledge by writing about it in a book rather than come out with facts and figures. He wanted to encash his knowledge of cricket match fixing and that was his undoing. And he was killed.

But why he was killed in the Windies?

If it were the facts about match fixing in Cricket, which he wanted to publish in his book, then the murderers, could have waited till his return to Pakistan and killed him there where it was easy to cover it up. It could have been a so-called terrorists bullet or a cricket fans rage, which could have attributed to his death. Why did the killers choose the most risky place of all like the West Indies to kill him? Why did they choose such alien surrounding and such a heavily guarded hotel to kill him. As per reports you need a separate pass to enter the lobby or the floor where the Pakistani cricketers and coach were staying.

Then again why?

My theory is the killing is not because of his book or autobiography. It was because of and solely because of the fixed cricket match between Pakistan and Ireland the day before that is on 17th of March 2007. Hard core punters had bet heavily on Pakistan winning against Ireland. If Pakistan were to win the match, the bookies would have incurred great loss. So the match was fixed like the one fixed in 1999 in England where Pakistan was beaten by Bangladesh.

Bob Woolmer knew that it is fixed and instead of taking the blame for this impossible defeat, he must have blurted out that he will make the match fixing public the next day. And that alone caused his death. This is my hunch. And I am positive this must be the case. Don’t be surprised if some players are involved in this murder.

International cricketers know about this match-fixing top to bottom. Nobody wants to spill the beans. Fear of the underworld.

I have an absolute foolproof remedy for this. This is the genius in me working overtime. You may think I am joking! But no. I am absolutely serious and when you hear me out you will agree. You will agree that I am a genius!

I will ask you certain questions, which you answer, and then I will give you The Remedy.

1) Among these two matches, where is the probability high of match fixing:
a) Australia versus South Africa or b) Pakistan and Netherlands

Obviously the answer is B.

The reason:

· The betting between two teams of equal strength will evenly spread because on the given day either team can win. So the bookies’ profit or loss will not be substantial. It evens out in the end. It is like eating cabbage when you have a choice of eating chicken.

· People also will bet less on such a match because they cannot make any predictions because there is not much to choose between these two strong teams.


· The people who are addicted to betting want a clear winner to bet on. So they are not interested in such evenly balanced teams playing.

· But a top team playing a non-entity throws up more options. The odds against Netherlands beating Pakistan will be, say, 5:1. The paradox is majority will bet on the stronger team to win. All the punters, betters will bet on Pakistan. All the punters, betters who boast that they thrive treading danger wants a sure winner. Even a 5:1 odd will not lure people away from betting on Pakistan. So if Pakistan wins, the bookies lose a huge chunk of their evil earnings. What they do, they fix the match. Because when the 5:1 odd also cannot make people bet on Netherlands, the bookies dirty mind goes on overdrive and the unthinkable to me and you, happens.


You want to know how to destroy the whole cricket betting syndicate, which is making this Cricket World Cup 2007 a joke? Say yes and here it is:


I have a foolproof remedy. It is so very simple you will write to me afterwards congratulating me on my genius.

Before I give you the remedy, give me your feedback and whether you want to know what my extra ordinary mind has conjured.

Write to me at
ganoganesh@gmail.com

Visit my blog, which has got more such diamonds!

http://www.cricketrage.blogspot.com

Shame on you Mr.Gavaskar

MR. Sunil Manohar Gavaskar,

This is what you said to Ponting, "The reason the walk-off took place was simply because I was abused by the Australians. Someday, a more hot-headed guy might actually get down and whack the one who abuses him. If the Australians use this kind of language in a bar, would they get away with it? There's the example of the late David Hookes."

Was that necessary, Sir?

Shame on you!

Whatever is your opinion on the Aussie team and its sledging etc., it is not fair to bring a dead man's name, who cannot defend himself, to justify your argument.
Do you know the vilest thing is, making deregatory remark on a dead person? The minimum courtesy you could have shown to a dead man, Whatever he was, whoever was, is to leave him alone.

My memories of Mr.Hookes is, he was a good commentator and a very hyperactive person. He was to cricket commentary like Steve Irvin was to wild life photography.
Let us remember him for that, Mr.Gavaskar.

How low you can go to sell your wares?

God and late David Hookes only know the exact circumstance of Mr.Hooks death. Who are we to pass judgement on that, Mr.Gavaskar?

Because, like a proverb in Kannada, where there is a town, there is a cesspool. The people from the gutter don't change. Look at their cricket and leave them alone. They are there because of their cricket and nothing else.

Have all the niceties in the world and don't know how to face Bret Lee or Murali will not keep you in the team for long.

Cricket is supposedly a Gentleman's game. But cricket never was and is not a gentleman's game while players like Steve Waughs, Gavaskars, Javed Miandads, Andre Nels are around.

There were, are and will be gentlemen in cricket. Like Sachin Tendulkar, Gundappa Vishwanth, Kapil Dev, Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist, Wasim Akram, Sanath Jayasurya to name a few.

But generalising cricket as a gentleman's game is wrong.

What were you Mr.Gavaskar, in your playing days?

You were a great player of your time is a given thing.

Apart from that, what were you?

I remember you scoring 36 runs of 60 overs in a world cup game in 1979 to spite your captain, Venkataraghavan.

I remember you making the selectors drop Kapil Dev for the Chennai test without any reason, when Kapil was at his prime form, to satisfy your bloated ego.

I remember you almost dragging Chetan Chouhan from the field of play, just because some umpire gave you out wrongly. If every player who is given out wrongly follows your method we cannot have a full days match nowadays.

You were a great player, a good captain. But in your hey day you were playing the cricket politics on the gullible illiterates like Kapil Dev.

Ricky Ponting rightly said, "don't behave high and mighty"

Face it Mr.Gavaskar, you were never a role model like Sachin is, Dravid is, Kapil was or G.R.Vishwanth was.

Then who are you to judge the Australian team in general and Late David Hookes in particular?

Are you so desperate to be in the limelight and garner your share of the World Cup bootie?

In your days cricket was just a game. It is not now. Cricket now is life and death, for the players and the spectators.

And when the stakes are so high, you expect the Aussies to behave?
Be reasonable Mr.Gavaskar.

If they can get away with it,.Australian would kill to lift the Cricket World Cup.

Aggression is in their blood, because their country was built by convicts!

If Team India shows half of that attitude, aggression, passion and hunger, we will beat Australia hands down. You know why?

Man to man we have double the amount of talent they have.

So go for it India with fire in the belly and pride in your stride, because we are Indians.

Let the song "Suno gaur se duniya walo..." be on your lips and come back with the trophy.

Cricket is great leveller. Who knows, with such a pool of talent this time around we may surprise Aussies and other teams to lift the Cricket World Cup.

Kindly send your feed back to this article to
ganoganesh@gmail.com
And read for my vies on
www.cricketrage.blogspot.com

Cricket Sex ! ( The Rise of the Third Sex! )

Anywhere else, there are two sexes, Male sex and Female sex, right?

But in India, there is the third sex called Cricket sex!

And that too as the world cup is on all are attracted to this than male to female or vice versa.

We Indians forget everything whenTeam India takes the field.
Our sorrows, pains, troubles, headaches, job, family is forgotten in that 100 overs.

Why?

Because cricket is the greatest of all games without doubt.
You may differ, but it is true whether you like it or not.
Take cricket.
There are so many possibilites. Nobody is sure what happens next? It is like a Alfred Hitchcock movie.
There are widely 3 possible results, 1)victory, 2)defeat or a 3)tie.

But think for a minute. Within those 3, there are infinite possibilities.

One delivery can be

1) Hit for a six
2) Four
3) Three
4) Two
5) One
5) No run
6) It can get the bowler a
6) Wicket bowled
7) Stumped
8) Hit wicket
9) Handling the ball
10) Caught behind the wicket
11) Caught by 10 other fielders
12) Runout of a) Striker or b) Non striker
13) Stumping miss
14) Catch dropped
15) Runout missed
16) Overthrow 1+4 runs
17) Ball hits the helmet 1+4 runs

You can go on writing about the various, glorious, so very absorbing possibilities, it is incomparable.

Thanks to the British at least for that one!

Compare this to any other sports which are competing with cricket for the spotlight. Tennis, Hockey, athletics, Badminton, Football are all are at the most two dimensional.

But cricket, oh, my darling cricket!

It is such a multi-faceted game it is a game played by 11 angels sent from heaven for us to live in heaven for at least 100 over duration.

And it inspires us like nothing else.

We are on a high for the next 2-3 days
When Sachin hits a century,
When Dhony hits that straight six while his bat rotates like a Vishnu Chakra
When Yuvi dives in the air and picks up a brilliant catch mid air
When Bajji dupes Ponting with the Doosra
When Kumble bowls that looping yorker to a clueless Aussie tailender

Nobody who knows cricket dares to compare cricket to any other sport.

Only Chess can throw up this kind of infinite possibilities but it is not a spectator sport.

Don't you ever dare to say, "Cricket is a game played by 11 idiots and watched by 11 million idiots"
Somebody has said it and I call him the most unlucky person who died without knowing, with that impression in mind.

I still get goosebumps when I remember,

Sachin first innings as a opener in a ODI in New Zealand
Sachin's batting magic on a stormy day in Sharjah vs Austarlia
Chandra's bowling at the Oval
Kapil's Devils impossible victory at Lord's in 1983
Sehwag's triple ton in, of all the places, Pakistan
Srishant's Kathakali dance in South Africa
Gavaskar's one and only hundred in a World Cup of 86 balls
Ravi Shatstri winning the Audi Automobile in Australia

So many memories to forget the present if you are down or enhance the present if you are up.

Tell me now, shall I rest my case.

With all this when I hear some so called cricket expert India saying " Indian did not win the 1983 World Cup, West Indies lost it ", I get up and show my finger to him.
Add to it, he is not a ex-cricketer but was a mediocre radio commentator, presently a out and out power broker in our corrupt, cricket administaration.

I will come up with more

If you like this article, drop me a line at
sharvanig@gmail.com
Or visit:
cricket-glory.blogspot.com