Humour: New Year's Resolutions in the World of Cricket

Note - The below article is a work of fiction and the contents are imaginations of the writer. Any resemblance to real life incidents is purely coincidental.As soon as one recovers from the hangover of New Year's eve party, the first task that many people perform is to take a New Year's resolution. While some may think that taking New Year's resolution is a new thing but interestingly origin of this custom goes back to the times of Babylonians who are believed to be the pioneers of this tradition. Initially, people used to make a resolution as a promise to god for their betterment and since someone should be there to check the resolution one used to share it with others. With passage of time, everyone started to keep a resolution and today most people do take a resolution. It is another matter if they actually keep that promise. And like many other walks of life, the world of cricket also witnessed many resolutions. Here’s a look at few resolutions made by cricketers, umpires & cricket administrators from across the globe.

#11 AB de Villiers

AB has vowed to win an ICC tournament for the Proteas

AB is without a doubt, one of the finest batsmen of the modern era. His record both in all formats of the game proves that. But if there is one thing that continues to elude him despite all his individual success is glory in international competitions with his country.

So when he was asked about his New Year’s resolution, it was no surprise to see him say that “winning an ICC tournament with South Africa” as his resolution. With the World T20 in India just a few months away, AB is hoping to use all of his IPL experience to guide his country to glory, thereby cementing his cult status.

#10 N Srinivasan

Srini has decided to start ‘Chennai Super League’

When one would have thought that the times of ex-board president N Srinivasan were over, he has sprung a huge surprise. Speaking at a New Year's Eve party hosted by a “cricket enthusiast”, Srinivasan told that his New Year’s resolution is to start a rebel cricket league in Chennai called the Chennai Super League.

This would take on the IPL and he knows that there are many players who would be ready to play for Chennai for the sheer love of the city and of course for the love of cricket. It would be interesting to see if his one-time companion Lalit Modi who is also at loggerheads with the BCCI will also support him in this endeavour.

#9 Sanjay Manjrekar

Manjrekar has vowed to memorise nursery rhymes

In his heydays, Sanjay Manjrekar was considered the most technically sound batsman. Sadly his cricketing career did not go in the direction that he would have hoped for. Currently, Manjrekar does cricket commentary and is trying hard to become one of the best commentators ever. But recently Manjrekar was caught off guard when R Ashwin corrected him in a post-match presentation after the India-South Africa test series.

Manjrekar had by mistake decreased the number of man of the series award that Ashwin had won. In a bid to avoid such mistakes going forward, Manjrekar has taken a New Year’s resolution to memorise nursery rhymes. He says that this will help him sharpen his memory. We can say that he is indeed a perfectionist even in the field of commentary.

#8 Aleem Dar

Dar was heavily criticised for giving Rohit Sharma not out on what was supposedly a legal delivery

Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar has been one of the most consistent umpires in the recent past. He has won the ICC Umpire of the year award three times continuously from 2009 to 2011. However, during the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals between India and Bangladesh; his decision to declare a delivery which seemed legal as no-ball came under heavy criticism.

India's batsman Rohit Sharma was caught off that ball but survived as it was declared as an illegal delivery. In a bid to absolve him from that wrong decision, Aleem Dar has taken a resolution that he will not call any delivery as a no-ball in 2016. Now the Bangladeshis would be hoping that they get lucky with him this time.

#7 Hashim Amla

Caption

Among the current players, Hashim Amla is arguably one of the best test batsmen. In an era when run rate of over 4 runs per over is a common feature, Amla believes in the traditional form of batting where defence comes first. Recently he became the 3rd batsman to bat for more than 11 hours twice in tests (the other two being Brian Lara and Alistair Cook).

In a bid to change his image, Amla has made a resolution that he will not bat for more than 6 hours per innings. He told that this would give him more time to spend with his family. Now we know that he is indeed a family man.

#6 Suresh Raina

Raina had a torrid 2015

2015 was probably one of the worst years for Suresh Raina. It started with MS Dhoni’s retirement from test cricket, next was the ban on his IPL team Chennai Super Kings and to top it all Dhoni & he ended up in different IPL teams. While Dhoni was bought by the team from Pune, Raina was taken by the team from Rajkot.

In order to overcome such big setbacks, Raina has made a resolution to announce his retirement from test cricket in 2016 once the BCCI organises a farewell series for him against the West Indies. Speaking to reporters, Raina said that his body can no longer take toll of the short-pitched bowling which bowlers use against him in test matches. He would rather like to concentrate on T20 matches where bouncers are sparingly bowled. Given that this year India would be hosting the T20 World Cup, the timing from Raina could not have been better.

#5 Ravi Shastri

Shastri has finally decided to not use cliches in commentary

Former Indian all-rounder and current Team Director Ravi Shastri who is famous for his one-liners has made a resolution to stop using his cliches in the commentary. This will bring curtains to a glorious phase in cricket commentary. While his fans were in tears after hearing this news, his critics were heard rejoicing at this resolution.

Ridiculing Shastri they said, “This is just what the doctor had ordered” to save cricket commentary. The BCCI plans to release an album containing his famous cliches to commemorate Shastri's contribution to cricket commentary. If reports are to be believed the album would be titled "He flashed and he flashed hard".

#4 Shahid Afridi

Afridi has decided to retire?!

The motto of 2016 seems to be “Stay 20 and look 16”. And who can be a better proponent of this motto than former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi. While Revital was planning to rope in Afridi for a commercial with the tag line, “Stay 20 and look 16”, the cricketer has made a shocking resolution.

Famous for making comebacks from retirement, Afridi who is in his 30s (although mark sheet from his school in Pakistan claims that he is still in his early 20s) has made a resolution to finally retire from all forms of cricket. If reports are to be believed, he has got offers from Indian real time television shows. Now we will have to wait and watch if he comes back from retirement this time around.

#3 Rohit Sharma

Rohit has been time and again criticised for not fulfilling his talents

Since the time Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma made his debut for India, there never was any doubt on his talent. Till recently he was touted as the next Sachin Tendulkar. Although occasionally Rohit has shown a trailer of the talent that he possesses but consistency has never been his strength. And that's the reason that people have now started doubting the talent of the only man who has scored two double centuries in ODIs.

Fed up of this criticism, Rohit has vowed that he will discover the talent within him this year. Speculation is rife that he is taking the help of ACP Pradyuman from CID in order to find his talent. Rohit is confident that once ACP Pardyuman is successful in his operation “Find Talent” it will bring an end to the talent debate once and for all.

#2 Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja returned to Indian side for the test series against South Africa

Ravindra Jadeja who made a remarkable comeback in tests against the South Africans in 2015 has made a controversial New Year’s resolution. Sir Jadeja has decided that he will play tests only in India in 2016 as he does not want to spoil his batting or bowling average by playing abroad.

As per Jadeja, this decision was taken after analysing his performances over the last few years. He noticed that his form takes a beating when he plays outside India and this has a very negative impact on his moral. Although the Indian team will miss his services when the team plays outside India, the silver lining in this resolution is that youngsters in Ranji trophy will get more opportunity to play with Sir Jadeja when the Indian team travels abroad.

#1 Virat Kohli

Kohli has decided to play only on 'even' days

The BCCI has often been criticised for the hectic schedule that it prepares for the Indian cricket team. Former cricketers have time and again said that this causes player burn out and is a major cause of injuries among modern day players. With the board failing to take any action in this regard, India's test captain Virat Kohli has decided to take things in his own hand. Kohli has made a new year resolution to play matches only on even days in 2016.

It is a no brainier that Kohli would have got inspiration for this resolution from his home state Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal has implemented a similar thing on the basis of odd-even car registration numbers to carb down the pollution in India’s capital Delhi. Kohli thinks that this resolution will help him prolong his career. This idea seems valid for ODIs and T20s but Kohli is still trying to figure out how he can implement his resolution in test matches as well.