'uncap' players...?
what does that means...? if this is your question... read on...
the selection of west indies tour is upon us and in lieu of most of the senior players taking rest... there will be lots of places up for grabs in our odi outfit...
last time when team india traveled for west indies/zimbabwe series... selectors rewarded many players india cap based on ipl performances... so much so that many saw it virtually as an ipl xi squad...
now i am not against players making the natural progression from a t20 to an odi... but there is small matter that as soon as a player gets selected for team india (even if he will be nothing more than a tourist there) he becomes the capped player and his ipl base price just hits the roof top in a matter of mere an announcement...
ask manish pandey... he is the running symbol of 'capping' discrimination...
the guy suffered the most in ipl 4 auction while certain saurabh tiwari, for example, while doing much less than pandey in ipl as well as domestic circuit, walked laughing all the way to the bank...
i just hope we are not brewing another 'pandey' with the upcoming selection...
will they 'uncap' some players again...?
shared by straight point on Thursday, May 05, 2011
in praise of 'pundits' of game...
shared by straight point on Monday, April 25, 2011
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...
can we 'cap' the age instead...?
shared by straight point on Sunday, January 16, 2011
ganguly's so called 'unceremonious' exclusion from ipl-4 has once again initiated an age old debate...
when a player should hang his boots...?
the stakes in cricket has increased to such a level that of late, and not even at ipl only, there has been growing tendency to overstay the welcome... to stretch the sell-by date as much as possible... to squeeze every ounce of past laurels before being forced to say good bye and some don't even get that... they get 'rested' instead...
now i am of the opinion that a champion player should get the deserving send off respecting and befitting the services he rendered to his respective country...
but what if that champion player refuses to see the light...?
ideal situation is that selectors should keep the team's interest in mind more than anything else... that a player can never be bigger than team's cause or the game itself... but we don't live in perfect world...
so despite knowing the writing on wall... selector do hesitate to take that hard call... they don't want to be seen as villains... specially if that players in question has the potential to polarize fans and cricketing fraternity alike a la ganguly...
why not 'cap' the age then...?
lets say if 36 years is fixed for the retirement of a cricketer... everybody will know and reconcile to the fact that given date will be the last he will see his favorite player play... no over the top drama... no fuss...
selectors knowing the fateful date in advance cannot shrug their shoulders that they have been caught off guard by the mass exodus...
selectors knowing that the end-date is nearing can plan and groom players in advance without much bothering about the backlash of untimely 'rest' they will be forced to give some of the 'champion' players...
no deserving player will see his youth and prime form getting killed coz one 'great' player thought that he can still continue to milk his 'services'...
why not...?
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...
newTON's laws of cricket...
shared by straight point on Friday, September 10, 2010
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...
sans comment...
shared by straight point on Wednesday, May 12, 2010
"Your franchise pays so much money for you, you should at least make the semi-finals. After that you can say it is a lottery."
MS Dhoni, explains his charged-up reaction, and the unpredictability of the knock-out phase, after taking Chennai Super Kings into the IPL semi-finals.
umesh yadav...
shared by straight point on Friday, May 07, 2010
this is what i tweeted after watching his performances in ipl... even before the powers that be started talking about him...
umesh yadav... we will soon see this lad donning blue...
3:27 PM Mar 30th via TweetDeck
and here he is... catching a flight to caribbean... in place of an injured praveen kumar... to realise his dream to play for india... and once again ipl - the dream merchant is the reason...
umesh yadav impressed with his raw pace but came across as the one who is prone to spray the ball in excitement... but as ipl progressed he showed that he has the ability to learn quickly... he not only started varying his pace but length too to good results for delhi daredevils, the team he plays for in ipl... yadav has it in him to bowl as good a toe crushing yorker as one can see and has the pace to surprise with a sharp short pitch ball... a good weapon to unleash on opponent... it's time some one from india gives back the 'chin music' with due interest...
to those who don't know much about him... here's this wonderful story about him... the son of a coalmine worker answers india's need for speed in caribbean...
“I have just collected my tickets from the Vidarbha cricket office, it still hasn’t sunk in. My parents are very excited but nervous as well. They are village people and have very little idea of the world outside. All my father asked was ‘When will you return home?’,” Yadav told The Indian Express after getting the most important call of his short cricketing career.
the dream of one more dreamer is about to realise...
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...
ipl controversy vs stanford fiasco...
shared by straight point on Thursday, April 29, 2010
since the inception... ipl is consistently accused for brazen display of wealth... even the fines that were slapped on captains for slow over rates were seen as nothing but another attempt to display its wealth and how cash rich is ipl by so called experts...
so by that token... what you would say about $20m on display like this...? charity...?
lalit modi has been accused of having and talking to two phones simultaneously... poor guy... if only he knew the art of keeping his hands free and invited wife of a cricketer to sit on his lap...
ED and IT department are after the murky dealings... source of finances... and money laundering in ipl... even after the witch hunt to find something fishy... the best govt has come up so far is to declare the balance sheets of franchisees are in order and that no company has given sweat equity to anyone...
but what about this...?
even after the source of finances, in this case allen stanford, who had the murkier past even before going in dealing with ecb... was arrested for the fraud and money laundering... no head rolled in ecb... infact giles clarke, the chairman of ecb, refused to resign after the standford fiasco... and still continues as the one...
oh! i got it now... with the arrest of stanford... everything in the ecb and its dealings of '$20m a match t20 tournament' with stanford got automatically cleaned up...so why should have giles clarke resigned... right...?
The ECB might not have needed much encouragement to jump into the arms of Allen Stanford but it was Modi who pushed them there. The Sri Lankan board has largely lost control of its players, whom it cannot play anything like as well as the IPL. West Indies cricket continues to fragment as some of its best players seem to barely want to bother turning up for “national” duty.
aha... now i know why giles clarke not resigned... now i know why these poor ecb chaps made their cricketer's wives sit on saint stanford's lap... what else but the mother-of-all-cricketing-problems ipl... thanks for enlightening me friends...
IPL4 – why 94 mathces are not that bad...
shared by straight point on Wednesday, April 28, 2010
from players point of view...
following on from my last post about the existing format of ipl in which i argued why it is okay... i wanted to look at ipl4 which will feature even more matches than the current one...
if we presume, for a moment, that ipl4 will be played with same format like the third season... 94 matches will be played then...
we can already hear hue and cry about the longevity of the tournament and more importantly how the players will cope with this long format... with the pressure of already compact international schedule...
correct me if i am wrong but i happen to read somewhere that they will bar player to play at the most 14 matches out of 18 matches at the league stage... even if this info is not correct... i think this should make foreign players and franchisees, who cringe about only four of them allowed, happy... it will also make the domestic players happy coz they will get more chances to feature in the final xi than earlier...
much the same way... when daily soap operas were introduced people were skeptic about it... they thought who will watch them on daily basis... but they have managed to keep their target audience hooked... and at the same time it has given a fresh lease of life to many actors, directors, writers etc. and made their careers who would not have seen the light had the medium was not there...
with 18 matches to be played instead of 14 the team management will have to plan the tournament accordingly in advance for the long drawn battles ahead... they will not be able afford to keep playing the same set of players and will be forced to rotate them as per the opposition... match conditions... to keep the intensity going... to keep every player in the squad match fit... which in turn means more opportunities to local as well as foreign players...
in short some smart cricket will be played by teams and players in which they will look to preserve energy without compromising on team goals much like a marathon runner...
why ipl format, in its current form, is okay...
shared by straight point on Tuesday, April 27, 2010
even before mumbai indians lost the final of ipl season three... there were talks that ipl should change the format and there should be best of three finals to judge who was the better side...
i never liked this idea...
going by same logic... what about the other two semifinalists who gets knocked out of tournament on the basis of just one bad outing...? do they play thrice with each other to decide who the finalist will be...?
if we revise the format to say the two top teams of the league stage will play three finals to decide which one is better... then it will also mean that most of the team will not fight till end knowing their fate well in advance that they can not be the top two teams... turning many matches into glorified exhibition matches...
the beauty about the existing format is that it warms up as the matches goes by and in the end it becomes really intense coz not many teams can say for sure that they will be the top four teams of the league... so the race is always on to find a place in top four somehow and then wait for other results...
this also keeps the interest of fans going who not only follow the matches their teams playing but also the results of other teams with equal interest if not more... making almost every match meaningful at later stage of the tournament...
it is also not rocket science that probability, hence intensity, will be much more to find a place in top four than say top two teams...
another argument is it is not fair on team who wins almost everything at league stage and then gets knocked out for one bad outing... but when sports (or life) is about being fair...?
just one tweet and two of the most promising people's reputation gets slaughtered by media trials sighting 'sources' though its another matter that these 'sources' goes on vacation as soon as the 'deed' is done... to sight you most recent example...
besides... the promise of unknown is good for any competition... the probability of sudden death keeps the buzz going... knowing you are not going to get second chance... it makes the semifinals and final a breath taking spectacle coz it is a do or die...
finally... if it gives a chance to team like chennai, who were on the verge of packing their bags to home at more than one occasion during league stage of the tournament, to become champion or dream to become champion... then why not...?
breaking news: shashank manohar suffers from selective amnesia...
shared by straight point on Monday, April 26, 2010
or for that matter bcci...
we all know that lalit modi is suspended and is served notice for which he has been given 15 days time to answer it... though i wonder they would even bother to take a glance at the reply...
coming back to the point... the charges have been framed... elaborated by bcci president... shashank manohar... explaining the 'irregularity' in initial bids for rajasthan royals and kings xi punjab... the part which catches the eye...
"There is a clause in the agreement, which is entered into with all the franchises, that in case you transfer your shares, the transfer has to be made with the permission of the IPL and the board is entitled to have 5% of the amount of the transaction as their fees. Now nothing of this [sort] has happened. So we are asking an explanation, if A gives the bid, how do you sign agreement with B? How does (sic) all these people get into this? None of us are aware and we don't know who these companies are."
even after trying hard... i could not make the sense out of it... both franchise documents were signed three years ago... so all these three years you were in deep slumber... and now you suddenly woke up and say we did not know... and punish the one who kept awake all this while...?
if this was not enough to prove your selective amnesia... i chanced upon another gem of yours...
The BCCI chief said Modi would informed about contracts after he had signed them on behalf of IPL and the other parties and the GC will have to pass them as there were no other alternatives.
"And they are brought before the Governing Council after the contracts are signed. So the Governing Council has no other option and are presented with a fait accompli," Manohar said while explaining about the murky deals that have come under the scanner of the Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate departments.
err... wait a minute... did you just said all contracts used to come to you pre-signed and you (and GC) had no alternative but to sign them...? even if we believe it for a moment for the sake of argument... then how you would explain it with your your charges on modi that you (and gc) were not aware of any contracts or dealings done by him...?
do you really want us to take this bullshit as lollipop which will not only keep us busy but also keep our mouth shut sucking it...?
team india's performance appraisal at ipl...
shared by straight point on Tuesday, April 20, 2010
now that every team has played 14 games and semifinal spots are sealed... like last time... its time to see how team india performed in ipl this season...here's the appraisal...
virender sehwar and gautam gambhir... poor...
strictly going by t20 form they should feel lucky that the team for t20 world cup was announced a month before... if one threw his wicket for reckless... random shots... another threw it for his reckless running which is threatening to become his hallmark... still gambhir managed to play some crucial knocks despite him not being in great form and but for his running would have played more... i would suggest, like last time, rohit sharma should open along with gambhir for team india there... leaving sehwag to either warm benches or play a finisher role in middle order... on current form...
suresh raina... good...
it should be attributed to his immense potential that even after being the highest scorer in ipl history... we look at him as still-in-finishing-stage batsman... though he seems to have listened to my advice... and now have started playing shots on off side too which makes him double dangerous now... the only question remains... will he be able to carry his ipl form to t20 world cup...? i think he will...
rohit sharma... good...
when he could not do with bat did it with his fielding and bowling in this ipl... developing into an all-round player... and a good finisher... seems to have taken his batting more seriously and also seems aware of the competition he is facing from his peers... i have this feeling that he will come out from this world cup with credit to his reputation...
yuvraj singh... poor...
from being the most agile fielder, his knee injury notwithstanding, he is fast becoming another player who needed to be hidden in the field... showing glimpses of his destructive powers here and there without looking threatening... the biggest challenge for team management will be to keep him motivated and focused as 'ghar ka khana' will not be available there...
dhoni... average...
despite him taking csk to semifinals with his sensational hitting... he has been average at best... he seems to have taken the burden of self-imposed responsibilities upon himself... i wish he just unleash himself and play with gay abandon he used to play... we might be in for a surprise...
yusuf pathan... hopeless...
its time he should be left alone and allowed to do what he does best... play nice cameos for rajashtan royals and when ipl is not happening... for baroda...
dinesh karthik... pass...
selectors are knocking the wrong door... its time they should move on and look at other budding good wicket keeping batsman talent... the guy just cannot see beyond his nose...
harbhajan singh... good...
apart from his ugly send off to some of india's upcoming talent... i must say... his bowling has been good... seems to have struck nice balance between wicket taking and run containing as per the demand of situation and when stars align perfectly in sky... can play blinder of an innings... explosive package i would say... will keep his team as well as opponent on its guard...
piyush chawla... lucky...
he has neither kept runs in check nor taken enough crucial wickets... he managed to have kept batting skills, on which he seems to edge out ojha and mishra, hidden to a place where even he can't fetch it when he wants... perhaps his selection can be best explained by the statement of dhoni when he said... "rather than best side the challenge is to select best balanced side..."
zaheer khan... good...
with experience he has understood his body dynamics... knows when to go full throttle and when to bowl within himself... but as i have been saying... will be under tremendous pressure as he is not given adequate support in seam bowling department... this will keep dhoni and team management praying for his fitness...
praveen kumar... average...
though he started well but fizzled out as the tournament progressed... could not make his presence count... praveen comes across as very impatient bowler... if he let go his experimentation itch with line and length can be a difficult bowler coz he can swing ball both ways from the same spot... there was one over to ganguly that explains (my stance)... after bowling three good dot deliveries that beat ganguly fair and square... he decided to come round the wicket and went for runs...
ashish nehra... good...
could not play most of ipl coz if his injury and when he looked fit and raring to go... his team ensured that his outing curtailed to few matches... but whenever nehra played he made his presence felt... looks in good rhythm and bowling with good pace... his fitness will be crucial too... coz he along with zaheer will be key bowlers who will share each other's load...
vinay lumar... average...
despite pitches suiting his bowling in the ipl... he failed to justify his selection for the caribbean party... i don't think that he will be playing in final xi anyways... barring injuries...
ravindra jadeja...
unfortunately we could not see him in ipl this season... but of what i saw before that he was bowling in good rhythm and in right areas... seems to have improved his batting... the pitches in caribbean will suit his kind of bowling and if he bowls the way he was bowling lately will turn out to be an attacking option for team india... jadeja should be the preferred all rounder...
to conclude... my preferred eleven will be in following order...
rohit, gambhir, raina, yuvraj, sehwag, dhoni, jadeja, harbhajan, praveen, zaheer, nehra...
update:
sehwag is out of t20 worldcup and murali vijay is going instead... though i adore viru... but i think this is blessing in disguise...
Super confident Dhoni !
shared by Anil Singh on Monday, April 19, 2010
After seeing Dhoni perform and perform in tight situations has made " Calling Dhoni confident" a useless activity. India knows he's confident, the opposition teams know he's confident so why say the same thing again and again.
But after seeing Dhoni hit two massive (mile long long) sixes in yesterday's crucial match against King's Eleven Punjab: I want to say Dhoni is "Super confident".
Why I want to call him so and on what basis?
i think it's the nature of the shots which justifies the "Super confident tag".
As one sees, Dhoni chose to hit the two shots in a manner as if he was going for an assault towards the ball. The shots were not some trickery or any "in t20 any runs would matter; no matter how"; but were sheer resolve and hence pure brute force.
What do you say: Does Dhoni justify the "Super confident" tag? And does Dhoni's yesterday's performance point to something more important?
its time gambhir make some tough calls...
shared by straight point on Friday, April 16, 2010
it came as no surprise when gambhir came down heavily on top order after yesterday's match against chennai super kings...
"Chasing 113 was not an easy job and you can't just bat irresponsibly," he said at the post-match presentation. "The top order needed to bat with some responsibility. You can't bat just like that and leave the job for the lower order"
top order is consistently letting the team down with zero commitment towards team cause... everybody seems to shrug his responsibility by saying "that's the way i play..." and it is nothing short of a minor miracle that delhi is still in the hunt of semi final place...
from now on... gambhir should read the situation as the question of how he can win three matches on trot (to win ipl3) and he should channelise his energy... his resources towards this goal...
the time has come when merely issuing statement in disgust will not do... gambhir will have to take some tough calls and if it means he will have some sore egos in dug-out then so be it...
my team from now on, barring injuries, will be in following order...
karthik, warner, gambhir, dilshan, sehwag, collingwood, manhas, mishra, nehara, nannes, ladda/yadav
sehwag's role should be of a finisher in the team which should be conveyed to him in no uncertain terms... though both can take the game away on their own but gambhir and collingwood should look to tie the one end down and let players like karthik, warner, dilshan, sehwag dominate from another...
i still believe that delhi is the strongest team and if some of our players can bend their back for team cause... we can not only take the best of other teams in ipl... but even beyond...
take it easy sachin redux...
shared by straight point on Wednesday, April 07, 2010
i know you take it to the level of obsession when you are captain...
so rather than i coming hard at you at times... the truth is... it is not as hard as you are on yourself...
mumbai indians are more or less in the semifinals... and so are delhi daredevils...
you won the battle last time but the war is far from over...
however much i would cherish delhi defeating mumbai in your own den... it will not be same without you...
so till then... take care... take it easy...
will ipl4 affect the polarization of fans...?
shared by straight point on Monday, April 05, 2010
to make the base of this post... i would like to draw your attention to this comment of mine (with minor corrections) on the last post by A Bisht... it is their cities fans cheer for... which started a good debate...
when ipl started people doubted whether club culture can be replicated to cricket and more importantly how fans supporting their 'local' team respond to the sachin getting out to say nannes... or dilshan hitting ishant out of park...
but by and large it will not be an exaggeration to say that by ipl3 polarization of fans to the concept of teams rather than individuals has taken place... they root for their local teams more... they follow their local teams more...
having said that... i also believe the biggest challenge will come after the auction will take place at ipl4... coz it will kind of break this polarization as presumably a lot is going to change...
the franchise will have to work a fresh to create the team fans following... and its going to be even harder than the earlier IPLs...
although there is no official announcement on the modalities about how players will be retained / traded in next ipl auction... but the unconfirmed bits filtering out (thanks to mahek) are...
franchisees will be able to retain four indian and three overseas players provided the franchise and the player agrees to a contract, and that the salary would count towards the seven million cap...
will the franchisee be able to retain 'icons' who have become the face of their teams... like dhoni for csk to give you an example... and if not... how will fans react to csk being lead by someone else they were looking as a rival till now...?will it not affect the base of fans following and their loyalty... franchisees have managed to create in three seasons of ipl...?
though one thing which is certain about these uncertain prospects is that ipl will make lot of news either way...
It is their cities fans cheer for
shared by Anil Singh on Friday, April 02, 2010
The last post here took Sehwag’s 'take it easy' attitude in this IPL.
The post asserts Sehwag’s casual attitude to his elevated status in his IPL team.
And if some casualness has indeed seeped in some established players; then they should mend their ways before it's too late.
So not only Sehwag but none should take their positions too casually. And instead, try their best. If they perform below their potentials then contemplate on the deficiencies; so that next time no one points a finger at them.
Why I can say so, and how this extends the debate SP started in the last article?
My notion behind the assertion is simple: It is their cities fans cheer for
And any shouting support for individual player emanates from the same.
But on the opposite the criticism for a bad shot or a directionless ball goes to the individual player.
Players should keep in mind that in IPL, basically it's their cities that people love, and players come second. Fans affiliation for players emanates from their affiliation for their cities. So if a player changes the team the next season, people will stop cheering for him.
On a casual glance this seems very small observation, as most spectators are aware of this, but unfortunately players with weight either don't know or don't want to know. Keep aside Sehwag, even Yuvraj doesn't seem to acknowledge or is ignorant of this simple fact. And a rumour in this context proves this. Renowned blogger Soulberry recently said that if sources more informed are to believed then Yuvraj may be contemplating to move on to Kochi, the new IPL team for IPL’s next season.
If the rumour proves out to be true, then I think Yuvraj unfortunately is taking his position too casually or; mistaking the roaring support of the fans to his individual popularity.
So rather than sulk non-performing players should start contributing to their teams’ win, in whatever way they can; and should always remember, if they sulk and make it a reason for their departure from their current teams; then fans will pray for their bad form to continue and cheer for someone who either lives 1000 kms away or has to cross seven seas to play for their cities.
do not take it easy sehwag...
shared by straight point on Thursday, April 01, 2010
when ipl begins every delhite wears a delhi daredevils' cap and that is what matter to delhi fans like me...
i make fun of yuvi's plight... i whistle podu at dhoni's dismissals... i ask for more when ishant gets whacked around the park... i cheer sixes scored off kumble... and what otherwise would be called a blasphemy... i pray for sachin's early dismissal... without feeling guilty about it...
so, when ipl starts, i do not care what you have done for india in tests and sometimes in one days... what only matter to me is what you do (or do not) for delhi daredevils...
do not hide behind the strike rate of 200... it comes with 'blink and miss' stay at crease... do not pull your weight around... make it count for yourself and for my team... and though you could be the cause of sabotaging english cricket... i see your daft batting as a sabotage of DD's chances...
its a war and we have to win it... so do not take it easy sehwag... even for a second...
take it easy sachin...
shared by straight point on Wednesday, March 31, 2010
sachin's captaincy in ipl for mumbai indians reminds me of his captaincy stints in 90s...
even yesterday he was over the top... animated... expressive... and so volatile... that he was putting his colleagues under undue pressure... goes to show even if the time changes... some things never change...
often his stifling method of captaincy is mistaken for passion... coz i have seen captains leading teams with equal passion but less histrionics in the middle...
its good that mumbai indians are winning so nobody is talking about his captaincy otherwise there would have been many questions raised by now about the way he handles team in the middle...
take it easy sachin... let the boys relax a bit... that does not mean they will do job with less zest and focus... in fact they would do it better if given space to enjoy the challenge at hand...
