After witnessing a lot of cricket on the International arena in the last few months, I have found some interesting facts. In the present day Test cricket teams’ lineups, there are some departments that really are going useless. Here, I made an attempt to present a list of the top five useless jobs in present day Test cricket. And interestingly, three of the nominees are from present day Indian Test cricket team line-up.

Indian seamers

It is pretty obvious that this job would definitely top the list. A small dig in the recent past – like the India versus England series or the Test that ended yesterday, revealed not a single session where the Indian seamers were effective. They miserably failed to create any impact on the opposition’s batting line-up, be it the experienced Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, or the new faces, Vinay Kumar and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Considering the level of opposition, the series wins over New Zealand and West Indies were quite obvious. In the Test match that ended yesterday, James Pattinson, who is not half as experienced as our spearhead Ishant Sharma, for four times, broke through the Indian batsmen’s defense and shattered their stumps. Ishant Sharma was nowhere near him. He was found chilling, cooling his heels at third man. The Indian pacers should, as soon as possible, realize that seam bowling is not only about the pace, but also the line and length as well as consistency. One should not get surprised if a day comes in Indian Test cricket when the bowling line up consists of four specialist spinners and Dhoni and Kohli as the only seamers (because I can’t call them as spinners).

Australian spinners

The team that once upon a time had the likes of greats like Shane Warne and Stuart McGill in the spin department has slipped down the ladder in recent times in the spin category. And this was once again proved in the first Test in Chennai between India and Australia. A close look at the previous encounters in Tests between the two teams would reveal that Indian spinners have had an upper hand against their Aussie counterparts. But, still, there are times in the past when the Aussie spinners competed and performed on par with Indian spinners and sometimes, they out played them too. But, the present Aussie spin department, with the likes of Jason Krejza and Nathan Lyon, does not present an optimistic picture for the future of Cricket Australia. In the first Test between India and Australia too, where all the twenty wickets of Australian batsmen were bagged by Indian spinners, Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon (who replaced Jason Krejza as he gave away 200 runs in an innings) failed to make any impact on the Indian batting line up (with the exceptional beauty that bowled Sachin Tendulkar out), and gave away a flood of runs (215) in the first innings. Dhoni was just toying around with Lyon throughout his innings. Dhoni made Lyon’s bowling look like he could bat blindfolded and still hit the ball out of the ground. Maybe, in Australian cricket too, there may come a day, when the bowling line up consists of all pacers and the specialist spinners being Michael Clarke and David Warner.

Indian openers

For a long time in Indian cricket, Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan were considered India’s best opening pair to have played Test cricket, till the arrival of Virendra Sehwag – Gautam Gambhir in 2005. These were considered as a perfect opening pair, with Sehwag shattering the opposition’s bowling attack with his aggressive and dynamic style of batting, while Gauti, with a cool and calm attitude, rotated the strike with ease. And the contribution of this pair in India, once reaching the number one Test spot, was too good to be overlooked. But in the recent past, things have started going extremely wrong. While Sehwag’s stumps were getting shattered owing to his lack of technique and footwork, Gambhir still could not leave his habit of fishing for balls going outside the off stump. A team is as strong as its weakest link. And in the present situation for India, there is no point weaker than the opening pair. The team has already slipped down to fifth position in Tests due to the poor starts given by the openers. In recent days, it is satirically said that, “what did an Indian fan miss when he went to bathroom? Indian openers!” Though the selectors made a good decision picking up Murali Vijay and Shikar Dhawan ahead of Gambhir for the series against Australia, though the team registered an easy win in the first Test, the opening pair problem is still haunting the Indian team. I think the time has come for the Indian selectors to stop considering reputation over form. Players like Wasim Jaffer, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane should be given ample chances to prove themselves.

Pakistan middle order

Though the issue of lack of good quality batting in the Pakistan team is not a new one, the present situation is really alarming. They were defeated, thrashed, demoralized and demolished by South Africa in the ongoing Test series due to their inept batting skills. They did have some legends like Mohammed Haneef, Javed Miandad, Inzamam, Mohammed Yousuf, Saeed Anwar, Younis Khan, etc in their batting lineup, but never had any of them together for a longer duration of time. The last time they had a really good middle order was when Inzamam, Yousuf, Malik and Younis played together, and that was a long time ago! And the present Pakistani team’s middle order is nowhere compared to these greats. Younus Khan, the senior most player in the present Pakistani team, should use his experience and show intense determination and guts to be a role model to the upcoming youngsters. Scoring 400+ in an innings all the time may be a difficult task for any team, but posting 250+ is totally feasible. I think it is time for the Pakistan Cricket Board to start a long term strategy to search for technically sound young talent, groom them well and present them on the international arena.

Indian coach

The present coach of team India, Duncan Fletcher, who took over as Gary Kirsten’s successor after India won the ICC World Cup 2011, has maintained strict silence throughout his tenure. Generally, it is the responsibility of either the captain or coach to talk to the media before and after a match. But there are only a small number of occasions where one could find Fletcher having a conversation with media representatives. There is no exaggeration in saying that he does not know even the names of some Indian cricketers and there is something called Ranji cricket played in India. Putting Ranji cricket apart, he was found absent for some of the games in the recently concluded India-England series. A fan of Indian cricket sometimes gets the doubt if a coach really exists for Team India. The situation seems like he completely failed to develop any personal communication with the Indian cricketers. I agree to the fact that, whether it is a Test or a World Cup final match, it is the players who win or lose it, not the coach. He is, at best, a medium that can ease the things required for keeping the team on a winning track. But it is his responsibility to bring the best out of the talent and maintain a healthy rapport with the team, the board and the media. Looks like Duncan Fletcher has never done these things on a perfect note. Finally, I think the time has come for BCCI to go for an Indian coach, maybe Saurav Ganguly or Anil Kumble, to bring back the former grandeur to Team India.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are solely that of the author and do not necessarily reflect that of Sportskeeda.

India versus Australia, how interesting the contest is going to be! The same is going to be the intensity of pressure on both captains. The trophy to be given away to the series winner is also on the names of two legendary captains, Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar. These two captains had never been in a face to face contest, but from the time this trophy emerged, fans have started witnessing high octane Test cricket whomsoever the opposing captains may be, like Saurav Ganguly-Steve Waugh or Anil Kumble-Ricky Ponting.

By the time a Test series between these two countries comes to an end, the captain either becomes a hero or undergoes serious criticism. And the present scenario seems to be no different from the past. For Michael Clarke, who has proved himself as the incontrovertible leader on his home soil, this series is really going to be a mettle tester. And, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who generally does not speak out  about his strategies, is no doubt, going to be under intense scrutiny of former cricketers, critics and fans. After India lost the Test series on home soil to England, Dhoni had to face serious criticism. And some former cricketers even raised their eye brows on Dhoni retaining his spot in the Test side, despite his poor run in Test cricket. In this situation, the upcoming Test series has become a critical challenge to him.

When Australia won the Test series in India in 2004, Clarke had scored a magnificent knock of 151 on his debut. That is the only occasion in the last 43 years that Australia won a Test series on Indian soil. But Clarke didn’t perform on such a high note on Indian soil in his later visits to India. Lastly, when Australia toured India in 2010, Clarke managed to score only 35 runs in his four innings. Till the moment he was made the captain of Australian side, Clarke was regarded as only a show-man by the Aussie fans, and the things he was majorly related to were girl friends, tattoos and million dollar endorsements. But the responsibility of captaincy has brought up a tremendous change in Clarke’s behaviour. His statistics as a captain have been phenomenal. Strictly speaking, he was made the captain as the selectors had no other alternative on that time. But after that, he has earned the respect of his critics too. To stand as one among the successful Aussie captains is Clarke’s desire. And to fulfill his desire, he will definitely have to win this series. So, this series would be a tough challenge for him. He has shown his self confidence by announcing his team for the first Test, two days before its start. Though the former cricketers was advised to go with two specialist spinners, he kept faith in his pacers. But his decision of playing three pacers seems to be a lottery. If the lady luck smiles on him, Clarke will become a hero, but if his strategy back fires, he has to face serious consequences.

On the other side, Dhoni is under immense pressure. There can be found no series after 2011 World Cup in which Team India performed in a pleasing way. The team achieved number one Test spot under Dhoni’s captaincy, but unable to retain its spot the team has slipped down the ladder in the past two years. Additionally, the team now is in its interim period. The team is very much effected by the absence of Dravid and Laxman. Improper field settings, negative bowling, unnecessary mess related to pitches have provided a way for the critics to question Dhoni’s abilities. So, in this series, the main focus of critics, media and fans will undoubtedly be Dhoni.

And after this series, Team India has no Tests to play till the end of this year. So the expectations on Team India are higher even in these hard times. On the whole, one should witness exciting contests between two immensely motivated sides in the upcoming four match Test series.

In the recent past, while Sachin was consistently failing to deliver good knocks and giving away his wickets to similar type of deliveries all the time, former cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar had said something while analysing Sachin’s game.

“Sachin never considers his failures in an easy manner. He works laboriously to surmount his dearths. He even considers to make some changes in his natural game and unfurls himself in a completely new manner. We definitely will get a chance to see former Sachin in a very near future,” Manjarekar had said.

Those who have watched Sachin bat against Rest of India in the ongoing Irani Cup must surely have felt that Manjrekar’s words have finally come true. Sachin’s excitement, self-confidence and the way he batted reminded the fans of the former Sachin. This innings shows that Sachin is completely ready for one of the most crucial series of his career against Austarlia.

Unable to move briskly in the crease, lack of self confidence, getting bowled repeatedly, incorrect timing and faltering in shot selection have been the major reasons behind Sachin’s failures in the recent past. But after watching his innings yesterday, it seems like finally he has found out a solution to these problems. Sachin was more confident and fresh than he had been in the recent past. He was never found faltering and didn’t face any inconvenience on the crease in his innings. He built his innings in a planned manner, moulding himself according to the situations. He played all the shots like cover drive, straight drive, sweep, paddle sweep, cut shot and lofted drives. He did not have any problem with his foot work too and played with a slightly different stance. Getting bowled many times in the recent past, mainly against New Zealand where Sachin got bowled in all his innings, was the reason behind the change in his stance.

The thing that has to be mentioned about Sachin’s innings yesterday, is his timing. The way he has sent the offside full length balls to the boundary, just giving them a minute touch with the bat, left the audience spellbound. All the shots he played, like the off-drive on Pandey’s bowling, the front foot six he hit over mid-off on Ojha’s bowling, the paddle sweep off Harbhajan’s bowling and the drive he played against Sreesanth to reach 99, were total pleasure for his fans. Even the commentators were left speechless after his shots. Some may not regard this innings as highly since the opponent was Rest of India, but all the bowlers Sachin had to face yesterday, like Sreesanth, Mithun, Harbhajan and Ojha have played international cricket are no pushovers from domestic cricket. Facing Sreesanth skilfully, Sachin indirectly proclaimed that he is ready to face the Aussie speedsters. On the whole, Sachin’s innings not only sent down encouraging signs for Team India, it also has gave a clear warning to Australia of what to expect.

Flamboyant style of batting, impeccable technique, excellent timing, ever-committed towards cricket, and above all,Very Very Special in his game. By these adjectives, one would easily understand that the person I am talking about is VVS Laxman. I write this article as a tribute to my favorite master in the art of creating an innings, Laxman, who is celebrating his 39th birthday today.Wish you a very happy and prosperous life  ahead, Laxman.

After Rahul Dravid‘s retirement from the international cricket, it was pretty obvious then that the next name on the list would be Laxman. Some thought that he would hang his boots after the Test series against New Zealand and some thought that he would bid goodbye to cricket after playing the Test match against New Zealand at his home ground – Hyderabad. But to everyone’s dismay, he has announced his retirement without playing even Hyderabad’s Test match. His decision was like a death blow to the selectors who did not support him despite his good performances under any circumstances.

VVS does not only mean Very Very Special, but it also means Very Very Silent. In 16 years of his career, there were no complaints about his behavior. Even the incidents like excluding his name from the Indian ODI squad for the 2003 ODI World Cup could not break his silence. Though he played more than 100 Test matches and though he had the highest number of centuries against the world champions of cricket – Australia – there  found no traces of pride in this terrific Test cricketer. In this game of gentlemen, there are only a few cricketers who brought fame to the game not only by their talent, but also by their deeds. There is no exaggeration in saying that Laxman stands first among them.

He could not play as dashing as Sachin Tendulkar.

He could not be explosive as Virender Sehwag.

He could not hit back-to-back sixes like Yuvraj Singh.

He could not play helicopters like M.S.Dhoni

Still the opponents fear him, and the bowlers get confused about where to pitch the ball. Irrespective of whether the bowler is spin legend Shane Warne or speedster Shoaib Akhtar, his bat was like a magic wand. The way he moved across his stumps and flicked the ball towards  mid-wicket with his bat was a feast to the eyes. His right foot would almost move magically to conveniently allow him room to play his special shots. The coordination among his footwork, timing, eyes and wrists was a real miracle. In the future, world cricket may witness a cricketer who can score runs like Laxman, but that grace can never be seen again. The very first name that comes into the minds of  cricket fans when talked about the word style in the game of cricket would surely be Laxman. Indian cricket has witnessed many match winners but the tag match savior cannot be given to anyone other than Laxman.

Laxman enters the crease not like a batsman, but like a savior entering his battle field. He looks more like an artist about to sketch a beautiful scenery than a batsman who dies for centuries. He does his work in a very calm way. Throughout his career, he was known for his professionalism, fighting spirit and temperament. Whatever may the shot be, if Laxman plays it, that surely would look different. Sometimes, there lies a beauty in the way Laxman gives away his wicket. He does not hurt others by his deeds and the same could be seen in his game too. The ball reaches the boundary line even before  the fielder takes a step to stop it. If a cricketer’s greatness was to be measured based on his performances against superior teams, then doubtlessly, Laxman would get full marks.Today, he may have left the Indian cricket team, but he has left so much behind for his fans like me  to cherish. Here is a list of  some of  the magnificent innings played by Laxman:

1) Debut match: Laxman, in his debut match, played a key role in the team’s victory. In the 1996 Test series against South Africa, when the team was struggling at 82/4 in its second innings, he had  helped the score reach to a respectable total of  190 with his knock of 51. The Proteas, chasing down a target of 170, were all out for 105 due to their inept batting skills.

2) Team’s score was 261 and Laxman’s score was 167: Laxman, in his first Test series on Australian soil was the opener then. With Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly sitting in the pavilion after getting out for low scores, he had helped the team to score a total of 261 with his contribution of 167 that included 27 boundaries.

3) Historical 281: Indian cricket fans can easily remember the conditions under which Laxman scored a magnificent knock of 281. With the team following-on in the second innings, he, along with Dravid, helped the team in registering a miraculous victory against Australia. And that innings now ranks sixth in Wisden’s top 100 Test innings.

4) Amazing innings at Adelaide: In 2003′s Adelaide Test, Laxman, who stepped into the crease at 85/4, had helped the team in posting a mammoth total of 523 with his amazing knock of 148. And India won this match too.

6) Unforgettable innings at Mohali: In the first Test of the series against Australia in 2010, at Mohali, the target was 216 and the team was precariously placed  at 124/8. And he led the team to victory with his grueling unbeaten knock of 73.

Now after winning the Test series 2-0 against New Zealand, Dhoni and his team may be celebrating as they are back on a winning track again. And some news channels, famous for their sensationalism, shot their guns again and stated that the replacements were found for Dravid and Laxman after the excellent performances of Pujara and Kohli against Kiwis. But, the question is, had it been Australia or South Africa in the place of New Zealand, how would the situation have been? Can these youngsters be relied upon when playing outside the subcontinent? In the future, if there comes a situation,where the innings like 281 at Eden gardens,148 at Adelaide, match-winning knock at Mohali, have to be done again, can these young guns come handy?

Thank you for the memories,Laxman. Indian cricket shall miss you a lot in the future.

Kudos VVS Laxman!

Hi Gauti, I have a doubt!

Yes, carry on.

What is the duration of India’s national anthem?

I cannot say it exactly, but it surely lasts longer than your batting innings!

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/10/05/comic-gone-in-sixty-seconds/feed/ 10 101959101 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/28/satire-the-top-10-icc-awards-bagged-by-indian-cricketers/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/28/satire-the-top-10-icc-awards-bagged-by-indian-cricketers/#comments Fri, 28 Sep 2012 10:35:43 +0000 mahivamshi http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=771387 In the recently concluded ICC annual awards function, a very  aggressive David Richardson, the CEO of ICC  blamed the BCCI for not assuring team India’s presence at the venue. He also added that it is a shame on the part of team India for not attending the awards function. But who could explain to Richardson the fact that team India has already been missing the ICC awards function for two years as Mahendra Singh Dhoni has started leading the team India? Maybe Richardson was expecting full attendance from the Indian side. But, as the crowd and the media realized the fact that team India was not attending the awards function, they started leaving the hall which left Kumar Sangakkara in complete dismay, the sources said. The function hall looked like a cinema theater where a movie like Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar was running, the sources added. But the whole mistake lies with ICC as they very clearly forgot the things that happened in the 2007 ODI world cup after team India was knocked out in early stages of tournament. So, as an Indian cricket fan, here are a few suggestions from my side, to the ICC about the new  categories of awards that should be added in the next ICC annual awards function, if they want team India to attend.

The ICC award for the player warming the highest number of benches:

Who else can this award go to other than our our own Manoj Tiwary? Having been in the Indian ODI squad (prominently Commonwealth Bank tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka, 2012 Asia cup) for about an year, this man got a chance in the playing XI for  not more than five  times. Even after scoring his maiden ODI century against West Indies, he was made to sit in the reserve bench for 14 matches in a row.

The ICC award for the bowler to be hit out of the park highest number of times:

And the winner of this award is obviously our turbonator Harbhajan Singh. After having lost his Doosra and catching Basra (Bhajji’s “just good friend”), this man has really been in a very pathetic form. In the recently concluded series against England, the English batsmen really looked confused whether to hit him out of the ground or out of the park. And some sources added that Piyush Chawla, in his hometown, was seen kicking himself for missing the award.

The ICC award for the highest number of pokes:

The word poke here does not mean the random pokes made by a user of Facebook to attract the attention of another user. This award goes to our batting opener Gautam Gambhir (after  a tough fight from Rahul Dravid) for poking the balls going outside the off stump, for maximum number of times. Here you may get a doubt, what about Dravid and fishing outside the off stump? But all the great men in the history too made some mistakes, like Sreesanth taking the catch of Misbah  in the 2007 T20 world cup finals. Gambhir has been in  very poor form for about an year and most of the times he was caught behind the wickets for nicking the balls going outside the off stump and he completely deserves this award.

The ICC  award for the bowler who would always be welcomed by the opposition teams:

How could anyone forget the figures of Ashish Nehra in the match between India and South Africa in the 2011 ODI world cup? 8-0-65-0! With South Africa requiring 13 runs in the last over, Nehra was given the ball by his skipper Dhoni. And on strike was Peterson (no, that was not Kevin Peterson, that was Robin Peterson), who was not a very matured cricketer, hit him  for 4,6,2,6  in the first four deliveries of the ultimate over.And,that’s it,the winning side of the game was South Africa.This match also added strength to the words that India loses when Sachin scores a century.Congrats Nehra!!

The ICC award for the costliest player in the history of cricket:

No, this award goes to neither Sachin Tendulkar nor Virendra Sehwag. The winner here is Rohit Sharma. In the recent past, has any one seen Rohit Sharma spending more than five minutes at the crease during his batting? This guy disappears from the crease faster than Tushar Kapoor’s movies disappear from the theaters. But still, Rohit receives the same amount of pay from BCCI that is received by Virat Kohli or Suresh Raina.

The ICC award for the consistency of high amount of  pace in the bowling:

Wonder how there could be any nominees for this award from Indian cricket team! This award is shared by the Indian fast bowling attack’s (I really dared to put two set of distinct terms “Indian’ and “fast bowling attack” in one sentence, of course, only for the sake of article) deadly duo Munaf Patel and Praveen Kumar for consistently bowling the deliveries with an aggregate speed of 160 kmph in the field.

The ICC award for the player to get injured most number of times:

Given the fact that Yuvraj Singh was out of the  team for about an year,Virendra Sehwag tops the list of players to get injured. Starting from India’s tour of England and Australia, he still has an injury even in the ongoing T20 world cup. In the recent past, he was referred to as a “slow fielder” by the skipper MS Dhoni. Sehwag could get injured even if he lifts a bottle of wine or if he bends down to tie his shoe laces. Amidst these injuries, Sehwag could still manage to play in the latest edition of IPL.

The ICC award for the best finisher:

No, the winner for this award is not MS Dhoni or Umar Akmal, it is Rohit Sharma (Yes, Rohit Sharma bagged two ICC awards!) for finishing the careers of cricketers like Manoj Tiwary and Ajinkya Rahane, by getting a chance in the playing XI on most of the occasions despite his poor batting performances, because of his captain Dhoni,who says that Rohit is a star material.

The ICC fair play award:

And this award is bagged by team India as the ICC recognized the team’s hard work in reviving the careers of two legends of  cricket. Confused? How can an Indian cricket fan forget the recent test series against Australia in which the team helped Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey in regaining their forms.

The Special Jury award:

And here is a special jury award for Zaheer Khan for getting out for a duck more number of times in consecutive tests, in the series against Australia. Maybe, Zaheer’s thoughts were to start the bowling attack against the opponents before the pitch has some swing with it.

Now here are the categories of awards which missed the top list:

The award for the player to spend maximum hours in ‘nets’:

The nets here does not mean the ones present at the practice sessions but they mean the mosquito nets and undoubtedly this award goes to the lazy man of the present team India Virendra Sehwag.

The award for the player who works hard to promote the game:

And the game I am referring here is not cricket but tennis. Sachin Tendulkar who opted himself out of the team for the series against Sri Lanka spent his time in enjoying the grand slams of tennis.

The award for the most boring face of cricket:

Can the winner  be any one other than Munaf Patel? This man seriously has a body language problem.

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/28/satire-the-top-10-icc-awards-bagged-by-indian-cricketers/feed/ 8 8282837 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/21/satire-the-inner-voices-of-indian-cricketers/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/21/satire-the-inner-voices-of-indian-cricketers/#comments Fri, 21 Sep 2012 07:04:25 +0000 mahivamshi http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=749097 Generally, it is said that women do not actually mean what they say and that their words have an inner meaning. But there are some incidents in Indian cricket that have an inner meaning too! Some of them are here:

1) The words generally that Mahendra Singh  Dhoni says when he and Dinesh Karthik  both would be playing in the same match:

I would be keeping the wickets as Dinesh is a better fielder than me.

The inner meaning: Dude Karthik, you really suck at wicket keeping. I really do not  know how Indian cricket survived before my debut, keeping you as the specialist wicket keeper in the squad.

2) The words said by Yuvraj Singh in a post match press conference when asked about his feelings as he proved himself in the bowling department in the match against Afghanisthan:

I am relly feeling good as my bowling in the middle overs helped the team to register a very important win  in the world cup. I am really looking forward for the match against England.

The inner meaning: Thank God Kevin Peitersen was ruled out of the England squad for the World Cup. I can now bowl fearlessly in the match against England. I am safe.

3) The words said by Gautam Gambhir regarding Dhoni after a match against Australia, in which team India could manage a win because of the massive six hit by Dhoni in the ultimate over of the match:

Dhoni should not have taken the match till the final over, he could have finished it a bit earlier.

The inner meaning: This fellow always tries to steal the fame at the end of the day. Such a cheap guy who always waits for a chance to show off.

4) The words said by Dhoni in reply to Gambhir’s words:

It really does not matter to me if the team won the match in 25 overs or 50 overs. I just want the team to be on a winning track.

The inner meaning: Dude, you are teaching me how to wrap up a match! Forgot the World Cup final? The way I grabbed the man of the match award, putting your innings to a side.

5) The words said by Rahul Dravid ahead of the Perth Test this year:

We really are looking for some inspiration.

The inner meaning: We really got bored of looking at our stumps getting shattered very frequently during our batting.

6) The words said by Ganguly in a recent press conference regarding Sachin’s retirement from international cricket:

Sachin has been a great asset for Indian cricket. Let him decide when to retire from cricket.

The inner meaning: Come an Sach, quit the game when you are in a respectable position. Dont let your wife’s age dominate your batting average.

7) The words said by Harbhajan Singh after he was selected for the T20 World Cup:

I  have been improving myself a lot during the days I was out of the team. I really felt bad when I was kept out for the Australian tour.

The inner meaning: Who knows, had I been in the team the Test series against Australia, I would have allowed Ricky Ponting to regain his form very easily.

8) The words said by VVS Laxman to the media during his retirement:

I am listening to my inner voice.

The actual meaning: I really do not know if that voice was mine or one of the members of the selection committee.

9) The words said by Sachin Tendulkar after Sehwag broke his record of  a double hundred in ODIs:

I am happy about the fact that someone who has broken my record is an Indian.

The inner meaning: You stupid Viru, I thought that I could be awarded Bharat Ratna for my double hundred as I was the only one to achieve that feat till yesterday.You really spoiled my party man.

10) Dhoni adopted the rotation policy in the recently concluded triangular series against Australia and Srilanka, saying that  three seniors (Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir) in the side would cause the team concede 10-15 more runs when compared to one of them being replaced by a youngster. And ,after Dhoni said these words, Sehwag took a magnificent catch in a match against Sri Lanka. And Sehwag said these words to the media after the match:

Did you see my catch?

The inner meaning: But,how did Dhoni come to know about my laziness to run in the field, which no one could find out through out my career. Oh God, I have to be attentive from now. If not, some youngster may replace my spot in the team forever.

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/21/satire-the-inner-voices-of-indian-cricketers/feed/ 3 3243858 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/18/a-jonty-in-the-field-makes-a-big-difference/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/18/a-jonty-in-the-field-makes-a-big-difference/#comments Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:24:29 +0000 mahivamshi http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=740063 If ODI cricket is a sumptuous meal, T20 cricket is like fast food. Maybe this is the reason behind many cricket fans of present day getting attracted towards T20 cricket. And with the much awaited ICC T20 World Cup to commence in a very few days from now, the upcoming twenty days are like a food festival for the T20 cricket fans. In this format of game, fielding is as prominent as batting and bowling. Mainly in the events like World Cup, fielding plays a key role in deciding the champion of the game.

In the finals of the  1983 ODI  World Cup that was won by India, Kapil Dev took a magnificent catch to dismiss Viv Richards. And it is believed even today that the catch taken by Kapil Dev that day had helped India to emerge as World Champions in cricket. The present day cricket fans may not find that catch very exciting, but in those days, that was considered an excellent piece of fielding. In the olden days, cricketers never tried to stop the ball hit by a  batsman by diving. In addition, they used to appreciate the good shots played by  batsmen by applauding.

But after the entry of South Africa into the international cricket, the definition of fielding in cricket changed forever.The teams discovered that fielding too plays a key role along with batting and bowling. The magical fielding of  the former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes in the 1992 ODI World Cup made the teams realise the importance of fielding. Rhodes emerged as a superman after the match between Pakistan and South Africa at Brisbane in the 1992 ODI World Cup. He ran out Inzamam in a fraction of second by jumping over the wickets running from the backward point. In those days, nobody even thought such a run out was possible. That is the reason why people talk about that incident even in today’s cricket.

After learning the importance of fielding from South Africa, many teams brought it into their training schedules.Teams like England, Australia, New Zealand started improving their fielding department. Sub-continental teams were still unable to achieve those standards. But after the debut of cricketers like Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif in the Indian Cricket team, the team really looked like a good fielding side.

In general, the word fielding mainly talks about the positions gully and point. It is very important for every team to have good fielders in these positions. Two better fielders in a side can reduce the runs conceded by the team by about 20 to 30. The present day cricketers have been performing many experiments in the field like taking a catch near  the boundary line and if they could not balance themselves,throw it in the air and catch it again. Two fielders chasing the ball, one stops the ball diving and then gives it to the other to throw it to the wickets. This has been a very common sight these days. Ten years ago, no one would have thought about this type of fielding. Two quick fielders inside the circle can stop the batsmen from stealing singles and doubles.

In the upcoming World Cup, Yuvraj, Kohli and Raina are the players to keep an eye on. The Hussey brothers from Australia, Paul Collingwood and Tim Bresnan from England, Ross Taylor and Williamson from New Zealand can influence the result of the game by their quick throws and catches. The way bowling and batting departments  have some specialist players, there are specialists in fielding positions too. Players like Kallis, Dravid, Ponting are specialist slip fielders. Yuvraj and Collingwood are experts at point. On a whole, a team with good fielding abilities has an advantage over others in this World Cup.

Let us wait and see who is  going to the Jonty of this World Cup.

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/18/a-jonty-in-the-field-makes-a-big-difference/feed/ 0 014729 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/16/virat-kohli-a-role-model-for-the-youngsters/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/16/virat-kohli-a-role-model-for-the-youngsters/#comments Sun, 16 Sep 2012 13:05:36 +0000 mahivamshi http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=734033 Cricketer Virat Kohli – an idol for the present day youth of India. An icon for the youngsters and a rising star in Indian cricket. Kohli, who behaves in a dynamic way on the field, is following the same style in his International cricket career. Performing consistently in all the three formats of the game, he has been recognized as the future star of Indian cricket by many of  the former cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Wasim Akram. He is the one who proved his worth in a very short span in International cricket. After getting India the ODI World Cup at Under-19 level, Kohli was selected for the ODI team of India in 2008. From then onwards, he has been performing very consistently and on par with senior cricketers of the team. In the past 12 months, Kohli has played many valuable innings that helped the team prosper a lot at the international level. And finally, he got the recognition for his hard work. He was rewarded the ODI cricketer of the year by ICC.

Kohli won this award after tough competition from the skipper of the  Indian Cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In the recent times, he has been tagged as the future captain of Indian cricket by the critics. He already has been the vice captain of team India for about 6 months. He did not get the post of vice captain that easily. He has shown tremendous skills at a very young age. He was awarded the ODI cricketer of the year after his magnificent run in International cricket in the past 12 months. During the period under consideration, he played 31 ODIs and scored 1733 runs at a flamboyant average of 66.65, that included eight centuries and 6 half centuries. In the recently concluded Asia cup, he scored his personal highest score of 183 against Pakistan, facing the bowlers like Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal. He has scored 3886 runs including 13 centuries and 21 half centuries in the 87 ODI innings that he  has played till today. He has compiled 703 runs in 10 tests including 2 centuries and 5 half centuries.

“I think I have tried to keep the things as simple as possible and it has worked for me on the field”, words said by Kohli after receiving the award. These words perfectly resemble the way of thinking of the present day youth. Indeed, the youth today knows what exactly they want. And no one needs to push them to achieve their goals. They are ever ready to work hard to fulfill their dreams. Their vibrant, energetic culture, if used in a right way, can take them to highs in their lives. They never like to hide their emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, excitement or impatience, whatever the situation may be. Kohli also behaves the same way on the field. He expresses his feelings in front of thousands of people without any hesitation.

After having achieved a permanent spot in all the formats, among many tough competitors, there is no doubt in saying that Kohli, in the future, will be the captain of team India. If he maintains the present form and nature in future, facing the  adverse conditions  of his life, then undoubtedly, one day he will make it to the ICC hall of fame of cricketers.

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/16/virat-kohli-a-role-model-for-the-youngsters/feed/ 3 359510 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/14/ms-dhoni-a-true-leader/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/14/ms-dhoni-a-true-leader/#comments Fri, 14 Sep 2012 17:00:12 +0000 mahivamshi http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=725894

After India’s narrow defeat in the recently concluded T20 series against New Zealand, many Indian cricket fans are upset with Dhoni. He was considered the main reason behind the defeat by the  media. Though I have grown up watching the likes of  Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, VVS  Laxman in the Indian cricket team, my favorite player in the present squad is our captain cool MS Dhoni. Before the much awaited T20 world cup to begins, I just want to recall the qualities of Dhoni as a leader and how he has been successful throughout his career in international cricket.

The story of our captain cool is nothing short of a fairy tale. After a quick first round exit from the 2007 ODI world cup, Indian cricket was in a state of complete turmoil. After the introduction of the T20 World cup, the Indian cricket seniors like Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid voluntarily opted themselves out of this format. And since then, that decision by the seniors has been a boon for team India. A great leader like Dhoni was introduced to the world. Dhoni wanted the selectors to blood youngsters for the T20 World Cup. And it is known to every one that Dhoni created a sensation by getting India the world cup after 24 long years with a team that nobody had any expectations from. And then IPL entered Indian cricket. In this course of time, Indian cricket has experienced a lot of sweet memories like number one spot in tests and ODIs, defeating the then champion Australia on their own soil and in subcontinent, winning Asia cup and finally the mighty 50 over World Cup in 2011. After having proved himself as a lucky charm for Indian cricket in T20 format, he was assigned the responsibility of the  team in ODIs and test cricket and he has been successful in these formats too.

Dhoni has moulded himself into a cool and calm person from a naturally dashing guy after he was made the captain in all the three formats. In fact, it is the captain-ship responsibilities that has made him change himself. He was  successful in reducing the pressure on the minds of young cricketers like Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravi Ashwin during their early days of international cricket. He started facing the media if any player of the team was unwilling to do that. He brought the seniors and juniors of the team on a correct path, and from then onward, the team started performing well and won many series in tests and ODIs against bigger teams like England, Australia  and South Africa.

He showed the world that the team could perform better even when the odds were against them. Eventually, the seniors have also started backing him up. He started promoting himself up in the batting order when the pressure was really on the team (Remember the 2011 world cup final?). That decision of him could have gone either way but Dhoni knew what he was doing and why. He is brave enough to take spontaneous decisions on the field and he is ever ready to admit his mistakes.

In general in any sport and particularly cricket, there is a lot of pressure on the captain. And this pressure would be even higher in case of a wicket keeper captain. He definitely has to face the media before and after the match. He has to face the opponents in the ground and simultaneously, has to maintain the good form as a batsman. Dhoni has been successfully managing these things with ease throughout these 5 years.

Though he has achieved a lot of things in his career, he is humble and always down to earth. The way he treated Saurav Ganguly and Anil Kumble in their last games in the international cricket won the praise from the critics too. In 1983, Kapil Dev brought India the first world cup ever by managing the seniors and bringing out the best from youngsters. Though the present squad for the world cup has no new faces, hope Dhoni would help them bring out their best in the T20 World Cup and repeat the heroics of 2007.