lets look at these bowling figures...
4 0 28 0 7.00
4 0 19 2 4.75
4 0 41 1 10.25
4 0 28 2 7.00
4 0 28 1 7.00
4 0 14 2 3.50
if batsmen like sehwag, gayle, watson, yuvraj, dhoni, hussey etc are already not nightmares for bowlers... just release them the fear of losing wickets and you would shudder to think what they can do to you if you are a bowler...
its like you are thrown in a cage full of tigers who are programmed to fear for nothing... there is just no place to hide... only hope is to summon all your skills to combat them for your survival...
it takes balls to come up with figures like above... specially if you are a wrist spinner bowling with boundaries resembling 30 yards circle...
you won't be wrong in assuming that pundits would be singing praises... falling over one another to record their own sound bites... and if not all that at least you would think that there would be some buzz about the bowler...
but you won't even get a passing mention if your name happens to be amit mishra...
what, instead, we are hearing pundits singing songs on the 'comebacks' of players like rohits, jadejas, valthatys in a format that encourages them to not care for their wickets...
well done mushy...
by the way... you didn't find your name mentioned even in the title of this post...
in praise of 'pundits' of game...
shared by straight point on Monday, April 25, 2011
my two cents on... is dedication dying...?
shared by straight point on Wednesday, December 01, 2010
once again the only comment from me on 'the asses' going on is that i can wait for the adelaide test to start... so if you came here looking for the asses... this is it...
thanks to mayank of freehit fame's hat-tip via tweet... i read latest aakash chopra's article... is dedication dying...?
he laments...
"The scales are heavily tilted in favour of the ones playing in the money-spinning IPL with regard to both money and recognition, and in some cases even selection. And if nothing is done soon enough to change that rather warped perception, at the risk of sounding cynical, this current set of players might be the last group who will see India at the top of Test rankings."
chopra of late is falling into the trap of populist themed articles where everybody comes knocking with customary wah! wah!... and this one is no different...
the article is written off the cuff that tries to sweep youngsters with one populist beaten to death stroke... "oh! look how ipl is corrupting the mindsets of our youngsters into easy money without putting much of an effort..."
first of all it just dismiss t20 cricket as if it does not require any skill set to be successful in it... if that was the case chopra would have been a star in indian premium league but that's obviously not the case...
the shorter form of any stream requires a different mindset and skill level which should not be dismissed disdainfully when compared to the longer format of same stream...
every 100 meter sprinter cannot be successful marathon runner... every ad film maker cannot be a good full length feature film maker... so while this is true its opposite is also equally true but that does not mean those who pursue careers in shorter forms should be simply dismissed in favor of those who pursue their careers in longer forms...
market gives equal opportunities for all talent to find their pastures... and so does ipl... i don't know if 100 meter sprinters or ad filmmakers are seen in lesser esteem... their work... their success dismissed with such disdain... just coz they happen to be successful in short form of stream that has longer form too...
in any case why would team india need players who would sell themselves short for lessor pastures...?
for every such players there are equal, if not more, players who want to grind it out in the middle dreaming of making it big at the highest level... yearn for that illusive opportunity and when it comes knocking... grab it with both hands...
our greats did not make a great team overnight and while when they won't be there and team india might slip a bit that would not necessarily be because of ipl... or comment on our youngsters ethics... it is too simplistic...
the cricketing world is filled with success stories like zaheer's who was what sree is today in terms of temperament, was rightly dropped from the team more on attitude rather than talent, spent quality time in wilderness of county cricket where you are on your own without many noticing it... and came back to become a spear head of team india's bowling attack...
he did not fell for lessor postures or sold himself short coz he wanted to be known as good cricketer at the highest level...
and he is not alone... for every so called 'ipl dreamer' we have che waiting impatiently to just break into the test team...
on why relieving dhoni from t20 captaincy is a good idea...
shared by straight point on Friday, May 21, 2010
being captain of team india is an enviable position which places you almost at par with the first citizen of india at least in the fans eyes...
though dhoni has handled himself as well as team india very well but always being under consistent scrutiny of intrusive, 'breaking-news' obsessive media and the expectations to win every time india plays... does has its own pressures and cracks have started to become visible...
dhoni is arguably the busiest international player... he plays non stop cricket and feature in almost every match india plays irrespective of the format... he is our best one-day batsman... he is our keeper and he is our captain... playing non stop cricket is not only physically draining but it can numb the thinking process of even the best in business...specially when the player in question dons so many hats...
so it is hardly surprising that he and his captaincy has started to appear stale and jaded... now he appears to be just going through the motions and seems to have left the captaincy to an auto-pilot mode... the midas touch has evaporated in thin air... the flexibility he was known for has been replaced by fixed almost stubborn decision making process irrespective of conditions and situations... the desire to win has been replaced by desire to not lose...
its high time dhoni is given break from the t20 captaincy and keeping... the move will not only give him much needed breathing space but it will also give him time to think a fresh to bring his mojo back...
dhoni is the most valuable asset of team india who brings so much to the plate... he is too precious to be left to lose to the fatigue factor... so under the circumstances relieving him from t20 captaincy and keeping will not be an earth shattering idea...
t20 worldcup is starting from today... so...
shared by straight point on Friday, April 30, 2010
t20 matches will suddenly become 'exciting'...
those who felt proud saying they were not bothered to watch ipl... will now get something to hooked on to...
the ugly shots that were played in ipl will now acquire a new meaning and greatness coz its t20 world cup...
india's matches being played on either saturdays or sundays that too at convenient time of 7pm IST during t20 world will not be seen as bcci or india's clout over world cricket now...
all those who kept mourning t20 is killing cricket during ipl will now go on caribbean vacation...
those who will defend t20 world cup will not be called "icc world twenty20 chastity protectors..."
...and finally...
if kallis goes on to score some good runs in caribbean... it will not be called slap... sorry stinging slap on icc world twenty20...
why yousuf and alam are right blaming t20 cricket...
shared by straight point on Saturday, January 09, 2010
actually they are wrong... but why little facts come in way of a good rant...
t20 will 'finish' pakistan cricket... yelled yousuf from the rooftop of mcg...
intikhab alam while agreeing with his captain went a step further after sydney loss... and demanded a separate team for t20 and tests... to save pakistan cricket...
and both echoed... in t20 cricket all you have to do is to hit the ball out of the park... but in test matches... it is all about staying on the wicket... it is hard work and needs a lot of character...
so presumably it won't be wrong if i say they are putting blame on batting aspect of paksitan test team... coz most certainly they cannot blame their bowlers for the pathetic display of rudderless batsmanship and its capitulation match after match... series after series...
out of top seven batsmen who played test matches in sri lanka... new zealand and now in australia... only umar gul and kamran akmal are the batsmen which feature in pakistan's t20 squad consistently...
and the irony is... it were the akmal brothers who kept pakistan stay competitive in tests beside bowlers... and if both akmals were not playing in their test teams the pakistan would have been slaughtered... castrated... inhaled without a trace of blood...
in fact its the seniors who are letting the team down... the ones who don't play t20 cricket...
talk about character...
though later kamran akmal dropped sitters but surely that cannot be attributed to t20 cricket coz he has always been like this and selecting him has always been like selecting a 'package' with its risks...
but the real questions yousuf should ask himself are...
was it coz of t20 cricket yousuf deployed 8 players on fence for siddle...?!
or was it coz of t20 cricket that he brought pakistan's best bowler of that game... danish kaneria... after about an hour's play as an after thought...?!
or was it in protest of t20 cricket pakistan plays... yousuf looked like a lamb about to be slaughtered while batting in fourth innings and played the lamest shot a captain can play just before tea at situation like that...?!
i have had read many excuses but surely this one takes the cake... goes to show that both mohammad yousuf and intikhab alam are living in a denial mode... and lest they are thrown out of the pakistan cricket system nothing will change coz they will corrupt many more minds with their stinking mindset and rotten approach... more than t20 cricket...
