newTON's laws of cricket...

first law... (specific)
cricket remains in a state of uniform motion until unless there is a lahore or act of fixing involved...

first law...(universal)
cricket remains in a state of immunity until unless there is case of IPL or BCCI involved...

second law...
action taken by ICC is directly proportional to the pressure exerted by BCCI...

third law...
for every gideon haigh there is an equal and opposite harsha bhogle...

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have voice... will preach...

in the world where harsha yells dlf maximums when a six is hit... states open secrets of mrf-blimp whenever the camera zooms on it... coz every other commentator is doing it... for money... he asks bcci to act statesmanlike...

And yet, I would love it if India was different, if it could indeed take the lead in governance and transparency, focus on making cricket a richer sport rather than dragging it through controversy.

one wonders... where the irony lies...

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shape up or ship out...

when you hear these words the message you get is the person who has said them means business and if you want to trade with him better be in shape than sorry...

but is shape of yuvraj or rohit sharma the real problem...?

i have seen many a waistlines which borders way out of conventional shape yet they were/are good on field and not only with their primary skills... and if shape is the issue then what one would say about players like nehra etc... who seems to be in perfect shape and yet are liabilities in the field...?

there will always be some players who will be ambitious enough only to the level of being in the team by putting just the amount of effort that will escape them axe... there will always be players who would be unwilling to challenge themselves... to either raise their game to next level... to develop the secondary skills to offer some value addition to the team...

but then why we have system in place for...?

although our 'bunch of jokers' often provide lip service to the fitness issue but when it comes to really walk the talk they either develop selective (or collective) amnesia... or just don't have balls to put the foot down... the result... even if the player in question is no way near the fitness level required at international level... they keep selecting him as if his place is reserved for life...

why would a player in question then put that extra yard when he knows he will be the automatic choice come the time for next selection...?

if our 'bunch of jokers' declare that they would put premium on fitness as much as they put on primary skill and stick to it... we will definitely see the change in mindsets of those who are spared or allowed to become lethargic...

the case in point is sehwag... after being dropped from team india after that fateful SA tour... the first thing he worked on was his fitness... all that while when he was in team and developing that tyre around his waist he never thought on working on it and the 'realisation' took no less than suffering the ignominy of being dropped from the team to work on his fitness... so it was not a coincidence that when he made a successful come back to team india... he was lighter by few kilos...

this brings me to question... india has had history of appointing captain series to series basis... why can't they do the same for the fitness too...?

so mister harsha... i think you are knocking the wrong door... the real culprits are not those players... but some 'bunch of jokers' who are letting them off the hook time and again... and getting paid for it...

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twenty years of being sachin tendular...

"He has competed against the best in the world across different eras; against grizzly pros when he was a kid and brash, irreverent young men now; he has played on feverishly seaming pitches and on raging turners, on cold, cloudy days and blazingly hot ones; at home surrounded by family and fans and away amidst loneliness; when the body is obeying all commands and when pain and fatigue bring you to your knees. And he hasn't just survived, he's left his imprint on every situation."

writes harsha the way only he can... on sachin ramesh tendulkar completing 20 years of intense cricket... when you see youngster struggling to carry their form from one season to another... which brings me to my recent post on bored 'suresh raina is on staple diet' in which i said...

"its not easy being great... for that you must have an insatiable hunger for runs... every time you step on to the field you must shoulder the weight of expectations... of not only the fans but more importantly your own... in short you need to do a sachin... over 20 years non stop... not necessarily of sachinesque level... not everyone can be... but at least there must be something burning inside you that keeps you going... challenging you to run that extra mile... so that when time comes knocking at your door... you have the presence of mind... skill and urge to grab it with both hands..."

isn't its irony that on one side sachin has inspired fans, players, hopefuls... yours and mine kids to play cricket they way he plays... "you play like sachin" is the ultimate compliment one can get today... but at the same time those who share the same dressing room with him are often left wanted...

although its almost a fashion to thank sachin at the drop of hat... but the true thank to sachin will be to take the legend forward... to learn from him how he converted his skills into monumental scores... in all conditions... against every opponent... without complaints... without ever offering excuses...





are we walking into times when the hero will be as good as his last innings...? when you will be judged by every friday like the cine stars are judged...? when term 'great' will be used only on the impression of couple of good outings...? is expecting some kind of consistency from today's youngsters is asking too much...? are we knocking at the wrong doors...?

or we don't want to ask uncomfortable questions fearing answers...

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Challanges before Kumble...

As ayaz memon puts it in his latest column :

"He is confronted with his first dilemma much before the first ball is bowled in the three-match series against Pakistan which begins next Thursday. Can he afford to keep the world’s best player in limited overs cricket out of the five-day game?"

modern cricket has changed so much that challenges before captains does not necessarily starts with game anymore and if you are 'newly' appointed to the job, knowing that you are warming the chair for another person to take over and that too almost at the fag end of career...the word 'challenge' acquired new meanings...

but if latest article of Harsha is to be believed, about the way kumble turned up for selection meeting, makes me feel that we are in for something special...

and first glimpse of this will be seen through his selection of final eleven....how he sees yuvi's recent exploits...what he makes of saurav poking at balls of akhtar's pace...how he interprets laxmans recent innings at domestic level (which are nothing much to write about)...the choice of second spinner and composition of team. will he go with the comfort of his tried and tested colleagues or will he choose to tread his own way at the cost of unpleasing some of them...

will he be the gentleman captain he is or will he be the fierce competitor and aggressive captain he is too...if he bowls less or more he will be attacked likely for under or over bowling himself...so how he will tackle always-on-your-face media...the (non)functioning of BCCI...and finally the big ego and mouth of DBV...

lots of questions...and the answers of these is with only one man...our own Kumble...so next few days curtailing to first test are going to be very interesting...

but something tells me that kumble having got the cap, which he desired so much throughout his career and was hurt for never treated as potential one, wont let this chance go away without stamping his class...the authority with which he bowls tirelessly...

one thing is for sure...we are in for some interesting time...

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