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Showing posts with label Raja Baradwaj. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Raja Baradwaj. Show all posts
A Bored Meeting, in a long time...
I was thoroughly domesticated when the phone rang. So domesticated that it had to take a missed call and a friendly fire before I could call back.
It was a number I didn’t know, it could be another wealth manager who thought I’m one of those wealthy expats who could take care of his wealthy aspirations or it could be one of those Pathan sounding prophets who was going to deliver the message that would change my life, these Pathan’s are our friendly neighbourhood Nigerian attorney would who call us to say that we have won and how we claim !!
As another hungry executive who is after new business I decided to take a risk, call the number back.
Hey, Raja it is Gaurav… NC
That was how the other end sounded, familiar finally.
So where do we meet ? Krossroads in Bur Dubai, said the voice.
I’ve always been a pampered kid, I have been fortunate enough not to have seen crossroads till date. So, where is it, I asked ?
The answer puzzled me, this hotel was a well known pick-up place in town. It is match fixing I thought, this guy NC is trying to fix a match, either a Chinese or a Russian. I felt like I had just pressed the "I'm feeling lucky" button on google.
This dream and expectation was squashed with his next word, my wife, my cousin & his wife are joining us.
So I landed up in Krossroads, crossroads of a Chinese & Russian abundance. And I met Gaurav Sethi, his lovely & lively wife Vandana and his cousins. It wasn’t a purely cricket meeting, but for the Champions League semifinals there wouldn’t have been a common cricket thread.
But still, even before I knew Gaurav and his inner circle we managed to speak about the recently concluded Irani Trophy, the 2010 Ranji season (TN vs Delhi), the fast bowlers in India and their mind set, injuries to the players and the boards reaction to that, Gayle’s batting, draft beer, Stella’s, Kalyani's and much more.
It got better when I got to speak to the family. Crazy they are as our community is named. The wife is someone who was awake and watched full matches in ’83, the Prudential times. The cousin is a guy who finds fault with the way Gayle cocks-up and delivers his deadly blows and his wife, someone who grew-up loving Gavaskar.
Man, that is too Naked a Cricket family his is… And to top it all off, this ladies sister is a Kapil Dev fan and they had friendly fires in the family as to who’s great !!
Man, I got to know how Naked Cricket love or craziness can get… I never knew I can get so close to the flesh of cricket.
God Bless Naked Cricket and his lovely wife Vandu !!
It was a pleasure meeting them in home conditions. Now I await a return series !!
Agarkar to Tendulkar...
 |
| "God, please put your name on the Lord's Honour's Board instead of mine" |
By RajaB + NC
Can West Indies cricket rejoice ?
Is this is renaissance they were waiting for ?
Have their faith in Stanford, which failed them then provided dividends now ?
Is this young little bunch the answer to the collective prayers of a million rum sipping mouths ?
Can all the middle fingers of the islands collectively raise towards the direction of NBA, NFL and other sports including promiscuity, and say “up yours” we’re gonna go upwards ?
I would say it isn’t time yet…
Wait for the next game
You’ve seen the Mr Hyde’s this game
They have a mouth that is known for loose motion, their mind works slow motion
This loss would make them comeback with a vengeance, only till the next match
Yes, they might have a friendly fire in their camp the day after the next match
An invocation of “Mother” and “Sister” and then you see them down the abyss, for a couple of matches of course
And then they have these many jobless ex cricketers in line, waiting for the TV camera. They would either blame the establishment or the establishment on the other side of their fence.
They can’t ever think of scrubbing their back or mending fences, for they only know stroke play
This is one good team which doesn’t be itself, for it is never let to…
They want to be nice because the international media is watching them and play for the twitter trends, then hop fences and play for the fringe press and the popular elements
You don’t get on to the cricket field to make a statement, you get there to enjoy yourself, play your game
And of course return winners
Well played West Indies, you are on the right track
Winners have a responsibility
As they say, “With power comes responsibility”
The winners are looked up to as role models more than the ones who didn’t. In a cricket crazy country like us, it is not only the responsibility of the 15 cricketers, 7 support staff and a board of a few hundred to act as the spokespeople of the winners. We, the people of India have that responsibility too.
I’m sure it was the responsibility or what we famously called the collective prayers that made our team win. Of course it was a team of great players but our prayers added to the cause. We were happy we won, some went to places of worship, many took residence in bars & pubs celebrating. Some even patriotically puked maps when they couldn’t handle the juice of victory.
It is all fine and good till we don’t revert to the traditional Indian past time, the art of the rhetoric. Alas, we have lost our minds to victory and this is precisely what we have been doing for the last couple of days. We have seen some irresponsible mails that are being circulated, posted on the social media websites etc.
The mails where the finals has been branded the revenge match, India’s response to the abduction of Sita. As the mails famously call it “Hamne Sita ki choron ko haradiya” (we have beat the thieves who abducted Sita, the wife of Lord Ram). Guys get some sense of history, Rama had already done that. He defeated Ravana, the original and actual “Sita ki chor” (The thief who abducted Sita). What we are doing now is what exactly our politicians have been doing for ages, “Conquering or spoiling minds using some romantic rhetoric”.
How would anyone of us feel if someone calls us “Dhuryodhan ki aulat” (Son of Duryodhana, an evil character in Hindu mythology) or even in a contemporary sense “A Raja ki bachhe ne paisa khilake jeetliya” (son of A Raja, the telecom minister who famously cheated the Indian exchequer of millions, who used money to win the cup)? Hurts right ?
So why the hell are we spoiling a great win with some stupid morphed pictures and insane rhetoric ? What do we get doing this ? 24 likes on the social networking sites and 4 comments ? So what does that achieve for us ?
I’m sure at some point in time someone is going to say, “Go take lessons from Afridi, if he could be graceful in defeat why can’t we be in victory ?”. Well someone has already said it (It is me !!)…
Let’s enjoy our victory, savor the moment, tell the world we are the champions and the best in business … But let’s avoid these unsavory, naïve, stupid jokes and cheap photoshop tricks that makes us project an image of a moron to the world at large.
Bharat Mata Ki Jai !!
The winners are looked up to as role models more than the ones who didn’t. In a cricket crazy country like us, it is not only the responsibility of the 15 cricketers, 7 support staff and a board of a few hundred to act as the spokespeople of the winners. We, the people of India have that responsibility too.
I’m sure it was the responsibility or what we famously called the collective prayers that made our team win. Of course it was a team of great players but our prayers added to the cause. We were happy we won, some went to places of worship, many took residence in bars & pubs celebrating. Some even patriotically puked maps when they couldn’t handle the juice of victory.
It is all fine and good till we don’t revert to the traditional Indian past time, the art of the rhetoric. Alas, we have lost our minds to victory and this is precisely what we have been doing for the last couple of days. We have seen some irresponsible mails that are being circulated, posted on the social media websites etc.
The mails where the finals has been branded the revenge match, India’s response to the abduction of Sita. As the mails famously call it “Hamne Sita ki choron ko haradiya” (we have beat the thieves who abducted Sita, the wife of Lord Ram). Guys get some sense of history, Rama had already done that. He defeated Ravana, the original and actual “Sita ki chor” (The thief who abducted Sita). What we are doing now is what exactly our politicians have been doing for ages, “Conquering or spoiling minds using some romantic rhetoric”.
How would anyone of us feel if someone calls us “Dhuryodhan ki aulat” (Son of Duryodhana, an evil character in Hindu mythology) or even in a contemporary sense “A Raja ki bachhe ne paisa khilake jeetliya” (son of A Raja, the telecom minister who famously cheated the Indian exchequer of millions, who used money to win the cup)? Hurts right ?
So why the hell are we spoiling a great win with some stupid morphed pictures and insane rhetoric ? What do we get doing this ? 24 likes on the social networking sites and 4 comments ? So what does that achieve for us ?
I’m sure at some point in time someone is going to say, “Go take lessons from Afridi, if he could be graceful in defeat why can’t we be in victory ?”. Well someone has already said it (It is me !!)…
Let’s enjoy our victory, savor the moment, tell the world we are the champions and the best in business … But let’s avoid these unsavory, naïve, stupid jokes and cheap photoshop tricks that makes us project an image of a moron to the world at large.
Bharat Mata Ki Jai !!
Leave letter
From
A dazed fan
In Dubai
To
Whomsoever concerned
In the Middle East
Dear Sir / Madam,
As I am suffering from a victory, something we’ve been waiting for since 1983, And hence I am unwell and I wouldn't be able to attend office tomorrow.
In fact I am well, well enough that I shouted my way around Meena Baazar and a good half of Bur Dubai. All I remember was cars, jammed all over the place. People trying to get a good click of what was happening around.
Victory is sweet, but has a very distinct aftertaste. It is so personal that I can only describe it as a rum flavor, a very heady woody taste, one of those Australian rums. Normally I would want to go to sleep with that little too much of a aftertaste in the back of my tongue, this time around I can’t call this an aftertaste nor could I even get some time to recount.
It was a flash… I never wanted to go overboard, do something that would spoil my day tomorrow at office. But my friends wouldn’t let me do that, they made me go mad, in fact Gambhir helped them do that. So did Sachin, Kohli and even Dhoni. Of all people I never expected Dhoni to go crazy,
I mean do things right. The way they messed up things, I can’t even recollect what I did, and how things happened. All I know now is that I’m feeling heady, feel like many rounds down. God knows how many, may be my friend I don’t know who. But whoever was there with me yesterday knows.
I don’t think I would be able to justice to work tomorrow if I did manage to report. Like Ravi Shastri’s tracer bullet, I might be short sighted. Or it could be one of those lose motioned rectums like Sanjay Manjrekar, which would only see one side of the pot. And personally I wouldn’t want to be someone like Rameez Raja, not knowing the difference between betting and batting.
So I would want to sleep tomorrow off, dream that Sachin would win his final match and worldcup next time around also. I’m sure I have said too much, like always. I’m very tired so please give holiday, tomorrow only and I would only come and work double time day after.
I promise you I would make things work like I have been for the past years I have been working with you. In fact I will try more than that, to work things even better.
The parade in Meena Bazaar was spectacular today, I wish we don’t have things like this everyday. It takes time to reach my regular Malayalee food joint if it is this crowded and Unni doesn’t mind me when I reach the place.
I’m sure by now you have made your mind up to give me leave. Leave me sir please.
Yours faithfully,
A drunk lord
A dazed fan
In Dubai
To
Whomsoever concerned
In the Middle East
Dear Sir / Madam,
As I am suffering from a victory, something we’ve been waiting for since 1983, And hence I am unwell and I wouldn't be able to attend office tomorrow.
In fact I am well, well enough that I shouted my way around Meena Baazar and a good half of Bur Dubai. All I remember was cars, jammed all over the place. People trying to get a good click of what was happening around.
Victory is sweet, but has a very distinct aftertaste. It is so personal that I can only describe it as a rum flavor, a very heady woody taste, one of those Australian rums. Normally I would want to go to sleep with that little too much of a aftertaste in the back of my tongue, this time around I can’t call this an aftertaste nor could I even get some time to recount.
It was a flash… I never wanted to go overboard, do something that would spoil my day tomorrow at office. But my friends wouldn’t let me do that, they made me go mad, in fact Gambhir helped them do that. So did Sachin, Kohli and even Dhoni. Of all people I never expected Dhoni to go crazy,
I mean do things right. The way they messed up things, I can’t even recollect what I did, and how things happened. All I know now is that I’m feeling heady, feel like many rounds down. God knows how many, may be my friend I don’t know who. But whoever was there with me yesterday knows.
I don’t think I would be able to justice to work tomorrow if I did manage to report. Like Ravi Shastri’s tracer bullet, I might be short sighted. Or it could be one of those lose motioned rectums like Sanjay Manjrekar, which would only see one side of the pot. And personally I wouldn’t want to be someone like Rameez Raja, not knowing the difference between betting and batting.
So I would want to sleep tomorrow off, dream that Sachin would win his final match and worldcup next time around also. I’m sure I have said too much, like always. I’m very tired so please give holiday, tomorrow only and I would only come and work double time day after.
I promise you I would make things work like I have been for the past years I have been working with you. In fact I will try more than that, to work things even better.
The parade in Meena Bazaar was spectacular today, I wish we don’t have things like this everyday. It takes time to reach my regular Malayalee food joint if it is this crowded and Unni doesn’t mind me when I reach the place.
I’m sure by now you have made your mind up to give me leave. Leave me sir please.
Yours faithfully,
A drunk lord
5 reasons why we will see India playing the finals
1. Finally they have started to know their responsibilities and play well as a team (we saw that in the QF)… Now it is the added responsibility of the ICC and BCCI that it ends well too
2. Pakistan might play Akhtar... And a good part of the team wouldn’t want to win the match because that will mean Akhtar would leave on a high… Above all, Misbah wants him to play when Afridi doesn’t want to play him… So Afridi might just play him and not let him play his play… So they are a big mess
3. Dhoni has to get his opportunity to justify, “See I told you how good the team is, you guys didn’t believe us, but we believed in ourselves and the belief has paid off… And of course you now know how good captaincy was, how important it was for winning and how the bowlers, batsmen and fielders have to improve and play for the team rather than playing to the gallery… And, thank you Sachin for presenting us this opportunity”
4. You have the IPL coming and you don’t want the Indian public to shut themselves off… Stone the lovely properties of our cricketers, defecate in their backyards, avoid the lathi charging police in the stadium & spoil the fun and stop the big money flowing
5. BCCI wouldn’t want Modi tweeting, “See, those morons can’t even get their team play a final”
2. Pakistan might play Akhtar... And a good part of the team wouldn’t want to win the match because that will mean Akhtar would leave on a high… Above all, Misbah wants him to play when Afridi doesn’t want to play him… So Afridi might just play him and not let him play his play… So they are a big mess
3. Dhoni has to get his opportunity to justify, “See I told you how good the team is, you guys didn’t believe us, but we believed in ourselves and the belief has paid off… And of course you now know how good captaincy was, how important it was for winning and how the bowlers, batsmen and fielders have to improve and play for the team rather than playing to the gallery… And, thank you Sachin for presenting us this opportunity”
4. You have the IPL coming and you don’t want the Indian public to shut themselves off… Stone the lovely properties of our cricketers, defecate in their backyards, avoid the lathi charging police in the stadium & spoil the fun and stop the big money flowing
5. BCCI wouldn’t want Modi tweeting, “See, those morons can’t even get their team play a final”
Why Cricket is no more a gentleman’s game…
Suraj Randiv, the latest reason for all of us to dive deep into the Old Testament of Cricket which contains incorrigible words and phrases such as “Fair play” , “Spirit of Cricket”, “Cricket is a gentleman’s game” et all. Before we proceed further, let me say what the world is saying… What Randiv and Dilshan did was criminal, especially denying a century for a beloved Indian cricketer. They should ideally have tried these guys at The Hague, than these hogwash fines and match bans.
As we keep fanatically persecuting the Sri Lankan cricketers for this dastardly act, I asked myself, “Is cricket really a gentleman’s game?”
You might see an answer to that question in this post. If you don’t, let me know your point of view.
1993, was the year when this famous word “recusal” was added to my vocabulary thanks to one Prof. Rajagopalan. This man was a cricketer of some repute during his youth, at 50+ he was a decent bat yet. He could famously win 3-point basketball challenges against the best of the basketball players from the college. He was the chief selector of our college cricket team. The man stood down because his son was in the fray, an aspirant for a place in the college cricket team. He made sure the others didn’t know who his son was, he wasn’t selected in the team that year although he came back into the B team next year flaunting his connection (or was that talent ?) to the Prof’s annoyance. That for me was an introduction to the “Spirit of cricket” and “a gentleman’s game”. But unfortunately that also was the last time I heard about those words or phrases.
1994, it was an intramural tournament and I was batting on 47 (I was sure). I glided the ball down the fine leg and ran 2 to hear & see my teammates standing up and applauding. They were sure that I had made my 50 and I played to the gallery, celebrated and promptly got out the next ball. As I was walking out, I could hear my captain telling the guys around “Come on we did well, this guy wouldn’t stop talking for eons had he made it to 50”. I didn’t quite understand it till I saw the scoresheet “R Baradwaj, Runout 49”
1996, many of the guys I knew were abusing a particular parent, the father of the guy who captained a cricket team. The accusation was that he interfered in selection, the toss, the field placement and the batting order. Why should he do it ? He always wanted his son on top of things.
1997, we were playing an intramural cricket match. It was the semifinals, a closely fought one. Our opponents need 33 with their last recognized batsman shepherding the tail. We needed to get “Srinivasan” out. He was having a ball in the middle, but still he was tense. After every ball he was rushing out like a mad man to speak to his partner who was playing snooker on the cricket field. The wicketkeeper (one Mr RajaB) took advantage of this attitude of Srini and ran him out, he knew Srini wasn’t trying to steal a single but still he put him out of the game. And his team won.
1999, I lived in a lodge (what they call a mansion in Triplicane, Madras) near the famed MAC stadium in Madras. Every morning as I went for a jog I could see kids, as young as 4-5 buried between the kitbag and the stepney of a slow moving scooter as his father ferried him to his cricket coaching camp. For want of space the kid invariably had his helmet on. One day, the curious I went in to see what happens in the nets. I could see parents standing behind the net and barking orders “put your leg forward”, “Drive that one straight”, “In the back foot”, “Fool, don’t commit yourself there” etc. I also saw fathers arguing with the coach about the time their kid got to bat vis-à-vis another
2000, I befriended a dad, who was an officer with SBI. His 9 year old son was too small even for that age. His kid had a problem, he was what we call the “Rabbit on headlight”. Every time he was put in a match situation, he had a problem running between wickets. He would freeze the moment he saw the fielder throwing the ball, endangering himself and his partner. The dad was livid as we spoke about this particular shortcoming of his son, “That idiot doesn’t change. Have told him many times… At least you don’t get out, I have tried to reason… but he doesn’t understand the value of his wicket… It is a minimum 30 runs”. I didn’t quite understand the 30 run logic till one of my friends confirmed that 30 is the minimum on board in your name you require to see your name on the next day’s papers.
There are many parents today who think cricket brings them easy money and hence goading and prodding their kids to take the game up. At one point they come to a stage where they do anything for their kids to get selected, to be in the playing 11 and to score and get seen. We have heard stories of parents gifting the selectors with televisions, mobile phones, mopeds and cars. There is also this nauseating story of a mother sleeping with a selector to ensure her sons selection (the fact that the selector found that the dad had tricked him by pressing the services of a prostitute to proxy for his wife is another story)
The expectations of the parents, the pressure they put on their kids, their greed for seeing their kids name on the scorecard and in the newspapers & television, the lure of IPL and the monies it offers, the endorsement contracts it would bring in and most importantly the urge for being on top at any cost have made this game a business.
No one cares anything about being a gentleman or about spirits, all they care about is the scorecard & winning, how they or their wards and their teams fared.
So, let us not recite the Old Testament and fool ourselves. Cricket is no more a gentleman’s game. The only spirit cricket and the cricketers have is Ethyl Alcohol !!
PS: Heard NC is upset with me not writing my two lines to commemorate the two years of BCC!, “Sorry NC, I’ve never wish myself on my birthday”
There are only two men in Indian cricket
Bishen Singh Bedi might have a loose tongue, he might be a publicity monger, for all his acerbic he was, is and will be a great master of a dying trade. The art left arm slow bowling. Ask any one who’s savvy enough to speak cricket without having to refer to www, he would say “Bedi was the baap of all”.
In roughly 13 years, he played 67 tests. His returns with his left hand were 266 scalps at 28.71.
Muralitharan played for 18 years, 133 tests and returned with 800 scalps at 22.72
Let’s look at some statistics now…
What are we going to see now ?
a. Where Muralitharan was when he finished playing his 67th test
b. Removing all the home test matches, to avoid the “My favorite groundsman” factor for both bowlers
c. Remove the obvious minions, Zimbabwe is the only one in the list so we remove them
d. Because we are removing Zimbabwe whom Bedi never played and some might argue they had the Flower power when Muralitharan played. We make a compromise, in all matches Muralitharan took more than 2 wickets you discount 2 wickets (meaning you add it to his total tally, that of the Flower’s). Just to give him that advantage of hard earned wickets
Now, here’s how the board looks
Bishen “Loud mouth” Bedi
Tests played: 67
Tests played at home: 28
Wickets: 266
Wickets at home: 129
So we reset his tally to 266 - 129 = 137
So Bedi’s final figure is 137 test wickets at the end of his career
Muttiah “Protractor” Muralitharan
Total Tests played: 133
Wickets: 800
At the end of 67 tests…
Tests played at home: 35
Wickets: 340
Wickets at home: 195
Wickets against Zimbabwe (after deducting 2 from tally more than 2, the actual tally is 12): 9
So the rest tally is: 340 – 195 – 9 = 133
After 67 tests who is great ?
Who tested the batsmen the most ?
And who troubled the establishment more ?
Let us not let someone belittle one of our greats. We Indians have this habit of letting go of our culture, history & the greats, as told by our forefathers. Thanks to politics we can’t acknowledge the fact that we have let ourselves hijacked.
Let’s try and make Indian cricket politics free !! (outside the purview of BCCI of course)
As of now we know that there are only two real men in Indian cricket, one is Prasanna and the other is Maninder Singh. Let’s join them in telling the world “No Muralitharan, you are wrong… Singh Bedi is King Bedi”.
And hope he says “Sorry, I was misquoted” (as they all say !!)
Lalit Modi - Love him, hate him…
He didn’t allow a free regime in sports.
Any sport or game shouldn’t be the franchise of only the rich, famous and powerful. If you look at Golf (in India), which is supposedly a sport only the rich and famous indulge into there are many among the top 10-20 golfers in the country who started off as caddies. Don’t think these are the Steve William’s of India. These are kids from poor families who worked in a club fetching the bag and balls of the rich and famous. I am not sure if the golfing establishment in India did anything to throttle these caddie turned players, leave alone small bickering here and there. I am talking about organized throttle here.
That is precisely why I don’t like Lalit Modi, the way he throttled ICL. And in effect took away a valuable couple of years from some promising Indian talent, the way he did it was despicable. I am sure we remember the extent his regime stooped to those days. Denying use of facility for those who signed up to the ICL, cancelling the pension of the ex-cricketers who were part of ICL were some gems we would remember. If only the PCR (Prevention of Civil Rights) Act of 1955 could be used against the IPL, there might me more cases than all those pending cases in the Indian courts.
But as they say “Every dog has its day”. Modi had his day and also saw its end. And when it did end, it ended as a shock to him of course and to the cricketing world as a whole. While one could say he has been paid back by the same coin, it might be a little harsh to say that.
Whatever he is, this is the man who made the Indian cricketing establishment sit up, be respected and feared by the other boards and the ICC. The man whose marketing techniques ensured the world had to buy the arguments of Shashank Manohar’s father Mr. Manohar and let “The Obnoxious Weed” off (make no mistake, I am not justifying what the Aussies did). It is the Indian money that the other cricket boards envy and fear about.
And Modi got them the money and with it came the new muscle.
Although Modi hijacked the idea from ICL, he still applied his mind like every boss in the world does to give that idea a bit of tweak and make it his.
There wasn’t a concept of franchise in ICL, Modi got all his rich, famous & powerful friends to come in and buy a team. There were people who said he is copying the western model of club sports, that he was trying to replicate the Super Bowl. There were also a few who went a bit farther and said IPL would the Super bowel (aka Shit) of cricket. That it would fail, collapse etc. We have seen 3 editions till date, and one last year where Modi took on the Indian government and moved the IPL to South Africa. Still, it was successful.
IPL gave life, money and fame to almost everyone who talked, wrote or involved in it. Including those who wrote books about the IPL model, talked about the economics of the league and even to a guy who masqueraded as a Fake IPL Player during the last season. This guy is now promoting his book across platforms, thanks to IPL & more importantly to its creator, Lalit Modi.
A couple of years ago we only saw shirts & trousers (of players) that had a logo. Modi rewrote the rules, now we see many logos that make up the shirt & trouser. Advertisers thought T20 was too quick a game that doesn’t offer enough advertising time. Modi made sure there were enough advertisements (meaning many happy advertisers who feasted on the eyeballs that IPL created) by creating the concept of a “Timeout” in cricket. He even branded the hits, catches, misses and almost everything imaginable in the game and even more like the annoying blimp, commercials on the big screen in the ground between balls.
Now that the business model is established and is getting the returns BCCI wanted, they don’t want Modi. This is typical of the BCCI and the brand of politics we have seen there. Dalmiya, Rungta, Lele, Dungarpur are examples of those who fell prey to the same brand of politics they espoused.
In all these there are some interesting questions that might well have some very interesting answers. Will we have those interesting answers out in the public domain is a million dollar question. Sp here are the questions…
You had a IPL governing council with some full and part time politicians as members. Would you want to exonerate those governing council members and bring in charges only on Modi?
Shouldn’t a Rajeev Shukla or a Sunil Gavaskar or Ravi Shastri be equally held responsible for what has happened?
Is Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s “we should have… We didn’t ” interviews in media be considered an excuse to let the governing council off while Modi is vilified?
How justified is Shashank Manohar trying to put the blame squarely on the professionals who were part of the IPL set up for all that has happened ?
To top it all, this is probably the second time Sharad Pawar has been unusually quiet since the food grain shortage issue was discussed in the Indian parliament.
All this said… I think Modi is going to make a comeback soon as the IPL commissioner. What do you think?
It happens only in Indian cricket!!
With Afridi, Mind your language
Grapevine tells us that some smart arse Aussie reporter asked Afridi how he bit the bullet to take up the crown of thorns, the bed of nails – Pakistani captaincy, especially during a tough tour Down under.
Afridi didn’t want to be a Sohail Tanveer, trying to be cheeky down under (anatomically !!). He preferred the Sehwag route we are told.
“Sorry, we are sportsmen we have nothing to do with guns. In fact we are very friendly guys and we don’t have bullets either”
Afridi being Afridi, he had a point to prove. He wanted to teach some basics to that silly Aussie journo who spoke about those instruments of violence and the enablers.
Firstly, he wanted to tell the Aussie journo world that the Pakistani cricketers had a bite
But most importantly he wanted to prove that Pakistani cricketers are indeed non violent sports people (The Asif – Shoaib instance, with some assistance from him was just an aberration) and they don’t carry guns to have access to bullets.
All they have access to, are balls. And so he had a ball
The (birth)Mark Of A Raja
While he is passionate about a diverse range of interests from digital marketing to Iron Maiden,what this doctor of numbers also brings to the BCC! table is a penchant for reaching his analytical arm up the “miniskirt of statistics” and extracting such pleasurable gems as – to name but a few - indepth performance analyses of the various international teams,
The Kar That Drives Indian Cricket and The Mark Of A Man (named Ramprakash , by the way – remember him ?). It doesn’t stop at miniskirts though. In fact , he skirts absolutely no cricketing issues. Among other accomplishments and contributions , he has scooped so high as to manage the considerable feat of having the ICC speak to BCC! on WADA.
The list can go on but I need to stop at this point to make an announcement.
Bored ladies and gentlemen, I give you a pillar of the BCC! house : RajaB who celebrates a special day today
The list can go on but I need to stop at this point to make an announcement.
Bored ladies and gentlemen, I give you a pillar of the BCC! house : RajaB who celebrates a special day today
Happy Bored Day,RajaB – continue to reach it up and keep ‘em coming
The curious case of Yusuf Pathan
Despite his best efforts cooking up zeros, Yusuf remains in the Indian team. Getting all the colours right on a rubik's cube would be easier than trying to solve this puzzle of understanding why. It looked such till we got hold of a transcript of the selection committee meeting to finalize the teams for the home series against Srilanka.
Krish Srikanth: Now let us discuss allrounders…
Voice1: Sanjay Bangar, he has been doing well in Ranji recently
Voice2: Then what about Rajat Bhatia, he is younger compared to Bangar…
Voice3: And Bangar has had his chances, now we should encourage youngsters
Voice1: So what about Pathan ?
Voice2: Which one ?
Voice3: No… No what have they done of any note off late… Except appearing on TV and dancing with Fara Khan ?
Krish Srikanth: Yes… I agree. Why Pathan ?
Voice1: Cheeka you mean Y Pathan ?
Krish Srikanth: Yes, why Pathan ?
Voices (in chorus): So Cheeka you mean take him ?
Krish Srikanth: Yes take him off
Voices (in chorus): Ok we take him… Y Pathan, Y Pathan
Krish Srikanth: Now let us discuss allrounders…
Voice1: Sanjay Bangar, he has been doing well in Ranji recently
Voice2: Then what about Rajat Bhatia, he is younger compared to Bangar…
Voice3: And Bangar has had his chances, now we should encourage youngsters
Voice1: So what about Pathan ?
Voice2: Which one ?
Voice3: No… No what have they done of any note off late… Except appearing on TV and dancing with Fara Khan ?
Krish Srikanth: Yes… I agree. Why Pathan ?
Voice1: Cheeka you mean Y Pathan ?
Krish Srikanth: Yes, why Pathan ?
Voices (in chorus): So Cheeka you mean take him ?
Krish Srikanth: Yes take him off
Voices (in chorus): Ok we take him… Y Pathan, Y Pathan
The day it was…
A day when that loud TV news channel hostess won yet another award many of us don’t care or know about…
A day when Michael Vaughan’s* masterpieces went on display in Harrods in London…
A day when India remembered yet another group of dead, from Bhopal today. For, there were TV channels waiting to show you make expressions like you cared for them…
ULFA from Assam are done, everyone would surrender and we would talk. That is what the Indian government said today…
And the Indian politicians were discussing about Copenhagen and climate change in the parliament today…
But the climate doesn’t seem like changing…
At least in Sehwag’s kingdom it was of the same intensity…
Bigger & better in fact, brutal, murderous yet appealing….
Where will it go from here tomorrow ?
Brian Lara would be more interested to know. More than you and me
*He paints… Sehwag plasters !!
Bees Saal Baad : The Raja is alive, long live Raja Jnr
It was 20 years ago today, SRT taught the world to play.
It's been exactly 20 years since this king arrived in the test arena and he has ruled ever since.
What better way to celebrate than by announcing the arrival on planet earth , exactly 20 years later, of RajaB's new born son today !
Congrats, SRT and the B family ! :-)
The Persian connection
Not too many people know that Emmanuel B. Agassi, an Iranian Olympic pugilist is a champion (till day before) tennis players father.
Most of us would have guessed the person right, Andre Aggasi. Hairy, balding and balded champion… Brooke Sheilds, Barbara Streisand and Steffi Graf…
Truly multifaceted this man is.
So truly multifaceted that he also has a bout of crystal meth to his CV, this being the latest addition a couple of days ago.
But what hurts is the fact that this crystal meth usage happened a decade back in 1997, and he was caught by the ATP. It hurts more when you learn that he escaped any sentence by saying that his drink was spiked and therefore he couldn’t be held liable, ATP upheld his words, he was exonerated and he went on to win so many titles including the famous French Open against Andre Medvedev in 1999, He went on to register a creditable performance in the tournaments to come and retired as a champion.
We know the kind of crowd that converged to watch him and Steffi Graf play exhibition matches and the euphoria of seeing him and Graf in the stands of Grand Slams. Is that all justified ?
Think not, after 12 years he has confessed that he is a crystal meth abuser. But what is the tennis world doing today ?
They are saying that Aggasi is the epitome of truth, he has dared to spell an unpleasant truth out. But he is not, he is a shrewd business man.
Can anyone imagine a florist who would be selling flowers the day his mother dies ?
Aggasi has done something like this, yes.
Retired 12 years ago and the conscience that didn’t wake up all these years has woken up when his publisher fixed a tag on his bald head.
For all those who think Aggasi came clear of stuff I have some examples to think about…
Marion Jones, Olympic champion… An amazing sprinter, jumper. She was one of my favorite sports people those days.
BALCO ??
The drug masking drug controversy … Tim Mongomery and his Ex Marion Jones were the notables there.
Marion tried to be mother Mary by foregoing those Olympic medals when she was cornered. This trend is not specific to sports, we have had a Ramalinga Raju. Try thy luck to delay the undertaker, that has been the famous philosophy these days.
When Andre Aggasi wants to sell his book he would say he doped and wasn’t found.
But is that all about a book and sales ?
No, it is about the sanctity of a game. That is the reason why we need a WADA and the “Whereabouts” clause.
May be at ATP, they signed for a WADA thosedays, Aggasi would have been caught, shammed and probably I would still have fancied the chance of hitched to Ms Graf.
So it is just the difference between knowing that your favorite cricketer is a dope head while he is playing or after he has retired and has ensured that you buy his $12 autobiography or the coffee table book at $125.
You bought the book or not, he is a dope head.
Would you want it this way or an independent body like WADA exonerating him saying that he took drug X when he underwent that knee surgery and therefore he didn’t break any law.
So, we do need WADA.
Let’s welcome them…
His master’s voice: ICC speaks to BCCI on WADA
At Bored we have covered the WADA conundrum from day one. This is probably one place where you saw many perspectives on the issue, the people for it & against. There were the diplomats too. However, there was one vital cog missing in this coverage. What does the master have to say? Doubt the master, ICC commented on this issue. At Bored we wanted to hear the master’s voice, not only the voice but the master’s thoughts on the issue of doping and the anti-doping regime in cricket.
We sent them an elaborate questionnaire, which covered a variety of doping related issues. From WADA to Mohd Asif to starting their own anti-doping body. Many thanks to ICC and Mr James Fitzgerald for obliging our many requests and also to Mr Sami-Ul-Hasan, both from the Media & Communications department of the ICC.
What is ICC’s position on WADA? Are you still a signatory?
Yes.
What about the “Whereabouts” clause?
That particular element of the code is on hold while a resolution is sought.
While they say that the clause has been put on hold, their website still has the complete range of forms and information about the “Whereabouts” clause. So for someone who goes to the ICC website it may seem that the ICC are still compliant to the “Whereabouts” clause. This is actually not the case.
Is that mandatory that once you sign with WADA you need to comply with the “Whereabouts” clause?
We are attempting to find a workable solution that satisfies all parties.
One thought the ICC could have been a bit more elaborate answering this question. But I am sure the ICC wants a consensus among its stakeholders before they spell their position out.
We have read / heard enough that BCCI is not too happy with the “Whereabouts” clause. There also have been reports of other boards supporting BCCI’s position. Could you elaborate on what the consensus is right now?
There have been reservations expressed about the filing of “whereabouts” information. All the other elements of the ICC Anti-Doping Code remain in place including in and out-of-competition testing. The consensus right now is that all parties are committed to a zero-tolerance approach to drugs in sport and there is a desire to find a solution to the difficulties being experienced.
“Desire to find a solution”, it might mean that we shouldn’t expect any decision on the anti-doping code anytime soon. So we need to see how long it takes for the anti-doping code to jump out of the boardroom into practice.
BCCI is not governed by the Indian government, but there are other boards that are. What would be the implications of this standoff when it comes to them?
I don’t know. Perhaps the individual boards could help you there.
Bored would now try and reaching out to the individual boards and get their views.
Olympic sports comply to WADA in its full form, if a Michael Phelps, Roger Federer, Abhinav Bindra et al can tell their “Whereabouts” how different do you think the cricketers are?
That discussion will form part of the debate as we seek to resolve the issue.
What can we say ? Let us only hope that the debate happens anytime soon and the issue is resolved.
Bored and the cricket world can only wish goodluck to the ICC.
There are talks about the ICC starting its own anti-drug body, what is the latest on this?
I am not aware of talks about that.
It is clear from the answer that the ICC is not looking at starting its own anti-doping body. As we mentioned in Bored earlier, this is a paper tiger that BCCI unleashes every time there is any talk about WADA. So that brings us to a very vital question, is the BCCI serious about the anti-drug regime ?
Let us hope the BCCI does something credible to answer this question satisfactorily.
We saw Shane Warne, Shoaib Akhtar & Mohd. Asif. Then Mohd. Asif was caught in the UAE in a much more serious situation. We have also seen the cricket world’s reaction to those acts by these known names. They are back in action, they are playing now. Given this scenario, (a) we want to know how serious the ICC is dealing with this menace of drugs in sports. (b) What is the guarantee that the anti-drug body that ICC is planning to form wouldn’t by driven by vote politics amongst its member nations rather than preventing drugs in the great game of cricket?
a) the ICC has a zero-tolerance approach to drugs in cricket. We conduct in-competition testing at all our events and out-of-competition testing at other times. We work closely with WADA and our member boards to ensure that cricket remains clean.
b) I am not aware of any anti-doping body being set up by the ICC.
We got back to the ICC asking for some clarifications on 8a. We wanted to know about the ICC’s seriousness about the Mohd. Asif episode. What their position is about him being a repeat offender ? We were a bit disappointed by their response that Asif has never failed an ICC drug test and that he is eligible to play as he has served his sentence.
We fail to understand what they mean by an ICC drugs test. He failed a test at IPL, isn’t IPL an ICC sanctioned event ? if it is a sanctioned event then is not a test conducted during that event an ICC drug test ?
This one place where one doubts about the ICC’s intentions. What exactly is the ICC’s position about doping and the anti-doping regime?
We read reports that the PCB has asked ICC to assist for getting Mohd. Asif into the UAE to play cricket. Our understanding is that he is banned from entering this country for live because of his past records. What is ICC’s position on this? If ICC does help PCB then would it not send wrong signals in terms of ICC’s fight against drugs in the game?
I cannot comment on that because it is a UAE police/immigration matter.
We feel that the ICC has not responded to our query. The question we asked was straight forward, we asked them if they would help the PCB with respect to getting a UAE visa for Asif. We asked this question because there were many reports and the officials of PCB were quoted as to asking ICC’s assistance on this matter.
We fail to understand how this could be a UAE police / immigration matter at this point in time.
How did the ICC sign-up for the WADA regulations first place? Weren’t the member nations consulted? Didn’t the member nations see a draft of the regulations? What was the BCCI’s position at that point in time?
The ICC Anti-Doping Code was approved by all Full Members of the ICC last year and it came into effect on 1 January. There was a full consultation process that took place before and since then.
It is interesting to note that all the full members were aware of what WADA and its regime would mean. In fact it is clear that they approved the move by the ICC to comply the WADA regulations. So it is quite funny why they should make a U turn after almost an year.
With cricket becoming lucrative with IPL etc. the cricketer these days is always under pressure to be at the pink of both his fitness and form. Given this scenario of cricket becoming a money tree that bears fruit 365 days a year, the players might be driven to other means that could enhance their performance. What are your thoughts on this? What is ICC’s position on the taxing workload (or should it be playload) of the international cricketer of today?
As we have said many times before, it is necessary to find the right balance.
We hope the ICC find the right balance and resolve this WADA standoff. Let us hope the individual cricket boards take this menace of drugs in the game seriously and work earnestly towards a solution.
Imprints of a coach
Imprint (verb) im’print - Establish or impress firmly in the mind
If we were to go by etymology, then yes they did. This is in relation to Venkatesh Prasad and Rabindra Ramnarain Singh and the demons.
Let’s get a bit practical. If etymology drove our life, the driver would be Greg Chappell. For, he did establish or impress firmly in the mind of an Indian fan !!
My view is that a coach who leaves an imprint is a bad coach… The case point is Buchanan, he left his imprint not once but twice. Once in Australia and again in Kolkota . One seems a deceptively successful example if you leave the “Maa Ki” tour aside and the other the obvious. The other is Duncan Fletcher, luckily there came a cushion called Peter Moores and a cue called KP.
Greg Chappell is folklore in India, we definitely know what imprint means.
Believe me I don’t belong to the Shane Warne school of thought. I come from a family of teachers, I broke the line for the first time in 4 generations (in recent memory). There needs to be a teacher, but I belong to the contemporary school of teaching. Yes, the teacher needs to be someone the ward could relate to and reason with… Someone who course corrects, the man in charge of the rudder.
I, for one liked those days when Bishen Bedi was the manager (a coach was called so those days) of the Indian cricket team. Surprisingly he spoke less (or there were less many TV channels) but he did a very good job. Those who speak about Robin doing a change “imprint” on the fielding would have to remember and see the batting records of Bedi and his "imprint" in that department when he was the manager.
If only coaches had a magic wand, Mahrajkumar of Vijayanagaram would have eclipsed The Don. And Lalu Prasad would have hired the best of brains.
For us Indians bad is the culmination of good and vice versa. We don’t believe in the concept of a full stop unless it is an obituary. Otherwise it is always a comma.
Manifestations of the demon
Somerset were to play the Eagles (they did yesterday), it was a crucial encounter. They needed their top order to fire, help them post a good total on board. So that their bits and pieces bowlers would step in to give them a helping hand. Even before the ink dried on the strategy map there was ink on someone’s passport - The stamp of goodbye, the mark of departure or whatever you would want to call it. The passport belonged to one Marcus Edward Trescothick, the same man who had to leave half way from a party that toured India and again in the midst of an Ashes campaign.
Marcus was (rather is) fighting demons from within, demons that wouldn’t want to see him leave the shores of England to play. After a concerted fight Marcus seemed to have managed to cage the demons during a tour of UAE early this year. He landed in India on a positive note, though he didn’t make any notable contribution, his team banked on his experience. After all he was the top dog in the last county season.
But Marcus did well to fight them, in fact he nearly vanquished them before this reappearance. Demons, they have their way.
Manoj Prabhakar said he is a glorified luggage handler. One could understand Prabhakar’s frustrations. For, in a cricket team the luggage handler is the booker… Well err… I mean the one who takes care of the travel arrangement of the touring party. I am sure Prabhakar thought he was the master Booker, every bookie’s friend and a smart cookie who tries deflecting the blame. So why someone else? (BTW, did he aim his potshots at Russell Radhakrishnan or Venky ??)
Nonsense apart, Venkatesh Prasad is probably one of the qualified coaches in India, he did well while as the coach of Karnataka. Whatever said about his speed, he was an intelligent bowler and was successful too. If he was not, any of Ashish Winston Zaidi, Dodda Ganesh, David Johnson, Abhay Kuruvilla & Paras Mahbrey would have played more tests than him. Add their numbers together it would still be lesser than Venky’s. I am sure he contributed something atleast.
He was perched on top of the open bus savoring the T20 win, he was on top of the world when some commentators called India’s bowling attack the best in the world.
But that was before the demons had their way.
Robin Singh or Robbing Singh, call him whatever. He is one of the earnest figures in Indian cricket, again one of the few qualified figures. Hardworking and sincere, that is how most of his peers describe him. I am sure Sachin Tendulkar wouldn’t have recommended his name as Mumbai Indians coach for nothing.
Sachin called him just before the demons ejected him. And then, the demons had their way.
Rahul Dravid, whatever said he definitely is an all season’s player. He is one of the most successful ODI players India has ever had, someone who brought solidity into the middle order. He has more been a silent samurai than a cricket player. For, he’s had to slay the demons all through his career.
Does anyone remember Jaywant Lele ? Rahul Dravid is not fit for ODI’s he proclaimed and had him dropped from the team. Dravid fought his way back. And then it was the Colonel’s turn, he had to stand down as captain (I thought he was a rather successful captain) and saw himself dropped from the ODI team.
And then came the bouncers, those were the demons down Rohit Sharma & Suresh Raina’s alley. They saw the resurgence of Dravid, but it was shortlived. The next place where the Indians play ODI’s is at home where it doesn’t bounce that well.
So the demons had their way.
Demons have had their way either by themselves as the Trescothick story illustrates or through a demoniac as in the case of Venky, Robin & Rahul.
Many variants of demon but their objective is the same, elimination. Raina’s, Bhajji’s and even Dhoni’s run for that amulet, the day when the demons would chase you is not too far.
Who is your favourite Younis Khan?
I had huge respect for Younis Khan – the player, fighter, captain and more than anything someone who wanted to take the Pakistani cricket establishment head on. That has now become a story of the past, why ?
He has just proven that he is another average politician from the subcontinent. He has told the press that in spite of him not being fully fit in the finger. Younis justified this bravado by invoking Sachin Tendulkar and his cameo during the 2003 world cup against Pakistan.
So, what is wrong with his intentions ?
Why am I being so harsh on a brave Pathan ?
If his team wins and / or he scores some runs, then he would emerge a brave warrior who went to war without a finger and made a name for him. A la, Ekalavya of Mahabaratha fame.
If Pakistan indeed loses, like how the history points, then Younis becomes a martyr. A man who would soon be recommended for a Nishan-e-Haider, and retired.
Tell us who your favorite Younis Khan is ??
Ekalavya of Mahabaratha or a Nishan-e-Haider winning martyr
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