Forty Years of Cricket World Cup : A Trip Down the Memory Lane

Eleventh Cricket World Cup is interestingly poised after three weeks. Only a few teams are decisively out of contention for knock out stage. I have almost religiously followed each World Cup. On Radio to begin with, then in front of TV. Now of course internet and mobile don’t let you miss a single action. My childhood friends who used to be equally passionate, have slowly stopped ‘wasting’ (as per them) time. But I continue to be glued to Cricket action. Even after Forty years, close encounters, like the one between Zimbabwe and Ireland today, still creates an air of excitement in me.

Has Cricket changed since the first World Cup in 1975? Yes to an extent - the clothing, the equipment, the grounds, the stands. But, core of Cricket is still the same. Same Leather balls of the same weight, same bat, and pitch of same length. So not much of a change really.

What has definitely changed, and changed for the good, is the manner in which people follow Cricket. For somebody like me, who has spent his entire life in a small town in interiors of Marathwada region in Maharashtra, the venues of international Cricket are not nearby. I must have watched live international Cricket in Stadium for not more than Ten days. But I have spent Hundreds of hours listening to Radio commentary in early years and later watching on TV. The Cricket broadcast has changed drastically over the years, primarily due to modern technology.

Cricket bug had bitten me very early in my life. Even though I was just Fourteen at the time of first World cup, I had already become a fan of BBC Test match special because I had experienced the excitement of India beating England at Oval in 1971. It was a tough time defying elders in house as well as understanding heavy accent of the likes of Brian Johnston and Henry Blofeld. Neither All India Radio nor Indian players had taken this one day format of Cricket seriously.

Second edition of Prudential World Cup in 1979 was more or less the similar story. Indian attitude had hardly changed. But ardent Cricket fans like me were being sumptuously treated by Windies Cricketers and BBC’s commentary team.

India won the 1983 cup and things started to change dramatically. Suddenly Indian TV audience emerged as a huge market. Hence Cricket’s TV coverage started being controlled by marketing professionals. Amateur commentators like Suresh Saraiya slowly made way for hardcore marketing professionals like Harsha Bhogle.

India won the 1983 cup and things started to change dramatically. suddenly Indian TV audience emerged as a huge market. Hence Cricket'sTV coverage started being controlled by marketing professionals. Amateur commentators like Suresh Saraiyya slowly made way for media savvy professionals like Harsha Bhogle.

Kerry Packer's  Channel 9 decisively altered the course of Cricket broadcasting. India got its first taste during Bensen Hedges championship in 1985 and then again during 1992 world cup. A great bunch of insightful and knowledgeable ex-Cricketers turned commentators meant listening to them was more entertaining than the action on ground! 

Now that the action on the ground was visible to the viewer, TV commentator had to tell something beyond what is seen. Hence various tools started becoming part of broadcaster’s armoury. Multiple cameras, , introduction of third umpire adjucating with the help of Slow motion replays, hot spot technologies etc. The legend has it that Bobby Talyarkhan, well known Cricket commentator in Sixties (I remember him listening to him during 1972 series against England) used to tap his desk by pencil to simulate stroke played by batsman. Now we have stump mic and snickometers ready not only to catch bat sound but also the players’ indulgence in sledging!  

In the olden days, commentators like Suresh Saraiya, Anant Setalwad etc used to be accompanied by scorers in the AIR commentary box. All India Radio used to announce their names at the beginning of broadcast. Anand Dosa and Sudhir Vaidya are some names that I still remember. Their painstaking record keeping is now replaced by powerful computer systems which are an important companion of today’s TV commentator. Every conceivable data analysis is now available at fingertips.

Entry of former Cricketers into commentary has certainly made watching Cricket (and particularly listening to them) more educative. Youngsters from even remote areas are now able to understand the nuances of the sport directly from those who have been there and done it all!

Match coverage has become very glamorous now. During the telecast, spectator is now given a glimpse of exotic tourist locations and cuisines. Various pre and post match shows have now become more or less promotional events.

  

Technology is all pervading. It has entered in Cricket broadcasting too. It has certainly made watching Cricket a great fun. But has it made it memorable? Yesteryear’s commentators, with their sheer ability of narration used to create such a powerful visualization of happenings on Cricket ground, that those impressions are still vivid in memory. Can you say it about the match you might have watched live a week ago?

सचिन तेण्डुलकरच्या अखेरच्या कसोटी निमित्त माझा लेख. आपल्या प्रतिक्रियांचे स्वागत.

Bopanna-Qureshi Partnership and Indo-Pak Relations



Tennis Diplomacy?



The Indo-Pak doubles team of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Qureshi went down fighting in the final of recently concluded US Open Grand slam Tennis Championship. But the duo won hearts of millions of viewers worldwide. Emotionally charged appeal made by Qureshi at the prize distribution ceremony, not to treat every Pakistani as terrorist and to help generously to the flood affected people of Pakistan, was well received by everybody, including their opponents, the Bryan brothers, who donated from their prize money.

Bopanna and Qureshi have been playing together for a while now. It is only their recent successes that their unusual partnership has attracted media attention. All along, the players, especially Bopanna, have maintained that this was a purely professional alliance. However, now the duo seeks to use their popularity to bridge the cross-border divide and promote peace between their respective nuclear power enabled home countries who are arch rivals for more than six decades now. They plan to play Tennis on the Wagha Border, that separates India and Pakistan by wearing T-Shirts with slogans like 'Stop War, Start Tennis, Love India / Love Pakistan'

Tenniswise, both of them have done immense service to their respective countries as much as (if not more) they have done together for being so called peace ambassadors. Pakistan sports is in the news for all the wrong reasons of late. Cricket and Hockey are two of most popular sports in Pakistan. While four time world champions Pakistan had to undergo ignominy of finishing last in the world cup held a few months ago, Pakistani Cricketers are facing flak from everybody for their repeated involvement in corruption. Qureshi's twin success at US Open (Qureshi is also runner-up in Mixed doubles this year) has certainly given the Pakistani sports fraternity something to cheer about.

No Pakistan had ever reached the finals of any Grand slam event. India, on the other hand, has a better track record in international Tennis. However, Indian Tennis seems to have stagnated and there's nothing to look beyond Paes and Bhupati who are approaching twilight of their careers. In Bopanna, India have certainly found somebody to keep country's flag afloat.

Reading the excerpts of interview of the Indo-Pak express, as the Bopanna-Qureshi pair is being nicknamed, is quite interesting. Bopanna seems to be looking at the partnership more objectively when he says that we are not here to make any political statement. Qureshi, on the other hand doesn't hesitate to make his views clear about the involvement of politics in sports etc.

There's no doubt that Bopanna and Qureshi form a formidable doubles team. Earlier this month, they had defeated Brayan brothers, world's top ranked combination. On the Arthur Ashe stadium the other night, they displayed great skills, only to be pipped at the post by the awesome Bryans. They look set to achieve more success in years to come. It remains to be seen if their bond remains intact in the face of strained relations between India and Pakistan.

Aisam Qureshi has habit of attracting controversies. Earlier in his career, he was banned from Pakistan's Davis cup team for partnering with an Israeli player Amir Hadad. Muslim-Jew animosity is bitter as Hindu-Muslim hatred. So, it is surprising that the extremist elements in Pakistan haven't so far raised objection to Rohan-Aisam partnership.

In India too, there's no dearth of anti-Islamic elements. Sooner rather than later, right wing parties like shiv Sena or BJP may raise this issue. We might even see protests against Bopanna just as we witness calls of boycott on Pakistani artistes and players.

In the past India and Pakistan has seen many piece initiatives like Cricket Diplomacy, Bus diplomacy etc. In addition, melodramatic TV serials like Chhote Ustaad try to promote BhaiChara by featuring Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Sonu Nigam on one stage. But they have failed to bring normalcy in the relations between the two countries. This duo, and especially Qureshi, aims to use Tennis diplomacy as the vehicle to promote peace. One cannot help becoming skeptical about the response the people of both countries might give to their slogan 'Stop War, Start Tennis, Love India / Love Pakistan'!

Gill calls Time Out on Kalmadi

In what might turn out to be the most radical decision ever taken by sports ministry of India, headed by Mr. M.S.Gill, the government has cracked its whip on the politicians turned sports administrators like Suresh Kalmadi and V.K.Malhotra, who have monopolized the various sports federations for many years. If the order gets through the imminent legal wrangles, it could well be a major turnaround for the future of sports in India.

The government has issued orders to limit the tenures of sports administrators to not more than 12 years, with or without break. This effectively means that Suresh Kalmadi’s reign on Indian Olympics Association will be over in 2012. Mr. Kalmadi has been IOA president for last 16 years. Like IOA, many sports federations have seen extended rule of politicians. Indian Archery Association is headed by V.K. Malhotra for more than 30 years. SukhdeoSingh Dhindsa heads Indian cycling Federation for fourteen years. K.P.singh Deo (Rowing Federation) and Capt. Satish Sharma (aero club) are also set to get their prolonged tenures cut short by this order.

Mr. Kalmadi and his comrades in arms, fellow NSF chiefs, not surprisingly, are furious at the government’s decision. For long the likes of Kalmadi have been exploiting the autonomous nature of Olympics movement to their advantage. Now also, they are daring the government to take to court. It remains to be seen whether the courts of India uphold the popular sentiment of common Indian sports fan that the politicians have been the undoing of state of sports in India.

This ruling of the government has been widely welcome by many former sportspersons like Milkha Singh. Now that the monopoly of the Kalmadis and Randhir Singh etc is set to be abolished, what is needed is more men of integrity, like Milkha Singh to enter into sports administration. Former sportsmen have by and large kept away from the politics of sports administration.

Don't Expect Much from a Tired Team!

T-20 form of Cricket may have attracted Bollywood stars, corporates may have invested millions in it, and a lot of hype may be surrounding it, the romance of Cricket lies in the contest between teams representing nations. ICC’s T-20 Cricket world Cup starting from April 30, is a timely reminder to this fact, just in case the avid Cricket followers might have forgotten amidst the IPL tamasha.

In fact, this shortest format of the sport was introduced to attract new class of spectators. But the success of inaugural T-20 world cup, that too won by India, aroused tremendous response for it. Today, T-20 is being seen as the future of Cricket. But its overdose could well turn out to be its ruinator.

It was in June 2009, that the previous T-20 world cup was organized. ICC decided to advance third edition this year in order to avoid clashing with the ICC world cup – 50 over format to be held in 2011, in the sub-continent.

Sachin Tendulkar had opted out of T-20 right from its inception. This time Ricky Ponting has followed suit. Michel Clarke leads Australian team that is keen to make amends to its lackluster performances in earlier editions. Australians had taken this format rather lightly, but are now one of the strong contenders for the title.

Defending champions Pakistan team is full of problems. Only shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq have survived the en-mass disciplinary action by PCB. It remains to be seen how Afridi carries a relatively inexperienced team in its bid to defend the title.

The likes of Sachin and Ponting may have kept themselves away, but even after taking thousand international victims, Murlidharan can not resist the temptation of playing in world cup. In this format of the game meant for young and the fit, Murli and Jayasurya are in the Sri Lankan team. Another veteran, chaminada Vaas, however, could not find place in it. Sri Lanka face a formidable New Zealand team, led by Daniel Vettori, in the inaugural match .

Bangla Desh had sprung a couple of surprises in the 2007 world cup. (That too was held in West Indies). The team has done very little noteworthy since then. Zimbabwe team is also keen to impress in order to regain its lost test status. One of the most remarkable aspects of this world cup is the entry of war-torn Afghanistan through qualifying rounds.

MS Dhoni is leading a team of battered and bruised players who have been moving around the country relentlessly for IPL matches. Tired because of hectic schedule of matches and the late night parties after the matches. Indian fans will be better off not to expect much from the team.

For the first time, men’s and women’s world cup is being held simultaneously. Indian women’s Cricket team has always fared consistently. Unfortunately, the team has never received the same attention as the men’s team gets. Zulan Goswami is leading a strong Indian team into the competition. The team needs as much of good wishes as the Dhoni brigade.

TOP TEN : India's Best Test Victories

Indian team's comprehensive win over Sri Lanka at Green Park a couple of days ago was its 100th in Test Cricket. It took 20 years for India to register its first win. But in last 20 years, Indian team has been fairly consistent ( being ranked at top of ICC rankings is the testimony). Here is an attempt to enlist top ten victories registered by Indian team. Havin been an avid follower of Indian Cricket for over 35 years, most of these wins (barring first two) are itched in the memory. So, in a way, this is a trip down the memory lane. Readers can choose to differ with my selection. They are welcome to express their choice here. Here's my pick:

1. Vs England at Chepauk, Madras 6-11 Feb 1952
India’s first test victory. Spearheaded by vinoo Mankad’s 12 wickets in the match and centuries by Pankaj Roy and Polly Umrigar. Vijay Hazare was India’s first winning captain.
England 266 (Robertson 77, V.mankad 8/55) and 183 ( Robertson 56, V Mankad 4/53) lost to India 457 (P.Roy 111, P.Umrigar 130*) by Innings and 8 runs.

2. Vs new Zealand at Dunedin 15-21 Feb 1968
India’s first victory on foreign soil. Marked the beginning of era of spin quartet. Superb batting by Ajit Wadekar in both innings and Erapalli Prasanna’s 6/94 were the highlights of the match. Captain MAK Pataudi
NZ 350 ( Dowling 143, Abid ali 4/26) and 204 (Murray 54, Prasanna 6/94) lost to India 359 (Wadekar 80, Motz 5/80) and 5/200 (Wadekar 71, alabaster 6/48) by 5 wickets.

3. Vs West Indies at Port Of Spain Trinidad March 1971
An upset victory by underdogs India over mighty West Indian team led by Gary Sobers. India’s emerging hero Sunil Gavaskar guided the team to emphatic 7 wicket victory aided by veteran Dilip Sardesai’s century in first innings and Off Spin duo of Prasanna and Venkatraghavan. Captain Ajit Wadekar
WI 214 ( David 71, Prasanna 4/54) and 261 (R.Fredrics 80, S.Venkat 5/95) lost to India 352 (D.Sardesai 112, s.Gavaskar 65, J Noreiga 9/95) and 125/3 (S.Gavaskar 67*) by 7 wickets

4. Vs West Indies at Eden Gardens Calcutta 27-31 Jan 1975
India, down 0-2 in the series staged a dramatic comeback with the help of heroics by G.R.Vishvanath who scored a match winning hundred in the second Inninings. S.Madan Lal made an impressive debut as all rounder. Bedi and Chandra were stars with the ball in demolition of WI. Captain MAK PAtaudi
India 233 (G Vishvanath 52, Andy Roberts 5/50) and 316 (G.Vishvanath 139, Roberts 3/88) beat WI 240 (r.Fredricks 100, Madanlal 4/22) and 224 (Kalicharan 57,B.S.Bedi 4/52) by 85 runs.

5 Vs West Indies at Port of Spain 7-12 Apr 1975
This is one of the golden moments in the history of Indian test cricket. Chasing a mammoth total of 404 in the fourth innings, was achieved only once before. But a soild beginning by Sunil Gavaskar followed by scintillating century by another little master Vishvanath helped India achieve the world record. Captain BS Bedi
WI 359 (Richards 177, Chandra 6/120) and 271/6 (Kallicharan 103*, Venkat 3/65) lost to India 228 (Vishvanath 41, M.Holding 6/65) and 406/4 (S.Gavaskar 102, G.Vishvanath 112) by 6 wickets.

6. Vs Pakistan at Chennai 16-20 Jan 1980
Captain Sunil Gavaskar’s masterly century and Kapil Dev’s superb all round show helped India register a decisive win over the arch rivals Pakistan which was a strong side under Asif Iqbal. Kapil Dev’s incisive bowling (4/90 and7/56) and boisterous 84 in the first innings was the highlight of this match.
Pakistan 272 (Majid Khan 56, Kapil Dev 4/90) and 233 (Wasim Raja 57, Kapil Dev 7/56) lost to India 430 (S.Gavaskar 166, Imran khan 5/114) and 78/0 (C.chauhan 46*) by 10 wickets.

7. Vs Aus at Eden Gardens Calcutta 11-15 Jan 2001
In one of the most extraordinary turnarounds in the history of test Cricket, India, following on after a first inning deficit of 274 runs, staged a remarkable recovery through VVS Laxman (281) and Rahul Dravid (180). Off spinner Harbhajan Singh’s performance of 13 wickets in the match (including first ever hat-trick by an Indian) was instrumental in breaking Australia’s world record winning streak. Captain S.Ganguly
Australia 445 (s.Waugh 110, Harbhajan singh 7/123) and 212 (M.Hayden 67, Harbhajan singh 6/73) lost to India 171 (VVS Laxman 59, g.McGrath 4/18) and 657/7 (VVS Laxman 281, R.Dravid 180) by 171 runs.

8. Vs Pakistan at Multan 28-31 March 2004
This win has a special place in every Indian’s heart. It was India’s first win in Pakistan. Virender Sehwag scored first triple hundred for India. A minor controversy following acting captain Dravid’s declaration in spite of Tendulkar batting at 194 was quickly forgotten as Anil Kumble wrapped Pakistan’s second innings well short of Innigs defeat. Captain R.Dravid
India 675/6 (v.Sehwag, S.Tendulkar 194*) beat Pakistan 407 (Y.Hameed 91, I.Pathan 4/100) and 216 ( Y.Youhana 112, a.Kumble 6/72)

9. Vs. South Africa at Johannesburg 15-18 Dec 2006
One of the best away victories of Indian team. On a seamer friendly pitch, India beat the South Africans at their own game. S.Shreesanth, the eccentric medium pacer from Kerala took 8 wickets in the low scoring match in which the hosts were bundled out on a platry 84. Captain R.Dravid
India 249 (VVS Laxman 51, SM Pollock 4/39) and 236 (VVS Laxman 73, SM Pollock 3/33) beat South Africa 84 ( A.Prince 24, S.ShreeSanth 5/40) and 278 (A.Prince 97, A. Kumble 3/54) by 123 runs.

10. Vs. Australia at Perth 16-19 Jan 2008
This victory was remarkable for more than one reasons. Firstly, an unprecedented controversy that erupted during the previous match at Sydney where Harbhajan was accused of racial abuse and un-sportsmanlike behaviour by Ponting’s men. Secondly, Australia had never lost at Perth since 1996.And India once again broke Aussie winning streak. Captain Anil Kumble.
India 330 (R.Dravid 93, M.Johnson 4/86) and 294 (VVS Laxman 79, S.Clark 4/61) beat Australia 212 (A.Symonds 66, RP Singh 4/68) and 340 (M.Clarke 81, I.Pathan 3/54)

Cricket and Congress!

Cricket in India enjoys tremendous popularity. Cricket and Cricket administrators are often accused of thwarting the growth of other sports in India. While this is far from the truth, I find popularity of Cricket in India is strikingly similar to support Congress party gets in India. Both are thriving in this country primarily because there competitors aren’t faring any better. Let us analyse the situation in little more depth.

Congress of course is the first political party formed in India. With the stalwarts like Tilak, Gandhi and Nehru as its leaders, it naturally enjoyed huge support from the citizen which led to independence. After independence though, many national and regional parties came into existence. But, barring few years, Congress has been the party which has been in power for most of the period. So, even after nearly 60 years, Congress has a nation wide appeal.

Cricket too, has been immensely popular right from the days of Pentangular tournaments. Other sports did have patches have dominance. Like Hockey enjoyed its golden age in Fifties and Sixties. Tennis too had reached its peak in late Sixties when India reached Davis Cup final twice. Indian football was in its prime in 1962 Asiad and 1960 Olympics. But leave apart these aberrations and you find Cricket ruling the hearts of Indian fans continuously.

So what is it in Cricket as also Congress that keeps people interested? Does the Congress have better leaders than opposition? Are the policies of Congress more pro-people than the opposition? Are Cricketers more talented than other sportspersons? Is BCCI more transparent than other sporting bodies?

The fact is that both are thriving by default. The people of India every now and then throw the mandate towards Congress more out of disgust towards opposition than as an endorsement of policies and programs of Congress. Similarly, Cricket catches people’s imagination primarily because of anarchy that prevails in conduct of other sports.

Congress too is a divided house like the opposition. Similarly BCCI also has a long history of bitter power struggle. But it all boils down to choosing a lesser evil. It is not that the chances didn’t come to the counterpart. In politics, people of India gave chance to non-congress formations for at least three times only to be disillusioned. Similarly, in sports too, glory in non-cricketing sports did come a couple of times. India won Hockey World Cup in 1975. But rather than captalising on it the Indian Hockey Federation killed itself by the infighting. Indian football team reached semi finals of Olympics in 1956, but then the interests of club owners overpowered the national interests. So the people of India had to put their faith and backing to Indian Cricketers who won the world cup in 1983. The shrewd marketers like Dalmiya and now Lalit Modi have since seen to it that Cricket become an enterprise and the global nerve centre of Cricket.

In politics, they say that there are no permanent enemies. Politicians are known to protect mutual interests of friends even in opposition. Same here in BCCI where we find an Arun Jaitley of BJP siding with NCP supreme Sharad Pawar and Congress spokesman Rajeev Shukla and National Conference leader Farooq Abdulla all belonging to different parties. So what is the real truth? Is the politics like a game of Cricket OR Is Cricket is the political Akhada?

This article also appeared on Indiastudychannel.com

Are Medals More Important Than Morals?

The demon of doping is omnipresent all over the sporting world. Cheating the competitors and spectators is so prevalent, even today, WADA monitoring notwithstanding. But the revelation of the large scale 'state administered doping' by the former East Germany (GDR) and the sordid tale of Heidi Kreiger is shocking to say the least.

Heidi was one of the superstar athletes from former GDR. She was crowned European Shot Put champion in 1986. But soon she started feeling the after effects of testosterone hormone abuse, which had left all the traits of a man. She started feeling 'increasingly foreign' within her on body and ultimately had to go for sex change operation. Heidi died and Andreas was born in 1997.

From 1968 to 1988, East Germany , a tiny communist country, participated in 11 Olympics, Summer and Winter, and won a whopping 519 medals including 192 Gold medals. All these years, the athletes were subjected to state organized doping program - known as State Plan 14.25 - that made GDR to second spot in medals tally of Olympics (Seoul 1988). But the glory that nation achieved was on the unethical and inhuman torture of citizens of own country.

The chilling after effects of the drug abuse are now increasingly coming to the fore in athletes of that time as they are now nearing age of 50 and can no more withstand the drug induced anomalies in their bodies. It is estimated that nearly 10,000 athletes were the part of the 'state plan' and stories of sufferings will come up more and more. Andreas, who now runs a clothes shop, alleges that the unified Germany is still using the knowledge of former GDR coaches to manufacture champions although the practice can not be as blatant with stricter anti-doping policies now in place.

The virus of doping has penetrated Indian sports too. Indian weightlifters, especially women have been notorious in this regard and recently served out ban for Indian women weightlifters being found guilty at Athens Olympics, Indians obviously fare poorly in sports at international level. But to use such unethical means for fame is not acceptable by people with clear conscience. Obviously morals are more important than medals.

This article first appeared on ezinearticles.com

Is it Worth Spending Rs 3000 Cr. on Commonwealth Games?

The Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in New Dehi next year in October are embroiled in one dispute after another. After the environment related issues regarding construction of Games village, then comes the stand off between the Organising committee and the Federation itself. Mr Suresh Kalmadi, the IOA president who is also the chief of the Organising committee, is having a running feud with Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) CEO Mike Hooper.

Amidst all this a question comes to mind whether it is worth to spend such a huge money for the conduct of CG? The budget of commonwealth Games 2010 is more than 3000 Cr. Of course, renovated and modern sports facillities will be erected in New Delhi. But like in 1982, these faillities are only likely to be underutilized. Secondly how important are the commonwealth Games in the world context? With the US and China not being a part of commonwealth, the standard of the Games is far too inferior. In a way these games are no different than the SAF Games or Afro-Asian Games which are of no significance. India routinely bags heaps of medals in in these Games. But where does India stand in olympics?

In fact, holding Commonwealth Games is redundent now as the Commonwealth doesn't exist. the days of world wide British empire are long gone. Most of the participating countries are independent and only a few countries have the British King as the constitutional Head. India for instance is a soverign country trying to emerge as a superpower. Is that the reason for the stand off between the Organising committe and CGF that the CGF is unable to tolerate India's emergence as strong nation?

T-20 bubble busted : No Indian Team in Semifinals of Champions League

The on-going Champions League T-20 has put the popularity of shortest version of Cricket in India in right perspective. The competition was slotted so as to encash the Diwali festive season. But the tournament has truned into a damp squib both in terms of stadium audeience and TV viewership. In the preliminaries, the matches involving Non-Indian teams, the response was poor, whereas for even for matches involving Indian clubs - Challengers, Chargers and DareDevils, the frenzy that all of us witnessed at the time of IPL-I was missing. Lalit Modi must have realised that you can't sell anything to Indian public in the name of Cricket.

What the Champions League is missing from earlier IPLs is the filmi flavour. With their teams not in the fray, the scenes of the filmi team owners SRK, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty charming the audience are no more there. The teams that were the part of champions League - and none of them has progressed to semifinals - Challengers, chargers and Devils - don't have that glamour content.

Chargers, IPL-II winners were knocked out in preliminary round itself while neither Challengers nor Delhi Daredevils could go through from League A. The phase of lacklustre performances by members of current Indian team continued as they could not take their respective teams further. How will the semifinals and final be received by the spectators and TV audience - is anybody's guess.

The tournament has busted another myth created by IPL success - that India has rich talemt of up-coming Cricketers. The so-called emerging talent of Indian teams failed miserably. In contrast, teams from south Africa and Australia have shown tremandous depth. The surprise package really has been Trinidad and Tobaggo. Inspite of tremandous turbulence in domestic Cricket of West Indies, the T & T outfit has displayed impressive talent in the form of Simmins, Pollard, Bravo brothers and Ganga brothers with captaincy of Darren Ganga being a revelation. The victory of T&T versus NSW was stunning. don't be surprised if Calypso dance is performed after the finals!

Obama Gets IOC Snub : 2016 Olympics in Land of Samba - Rio de Janeiro

Neither the charishma of Obamas nor Winfery could win Chicago the honour to host 2016 Olympics. Instead, an emtionally charged appeal by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva resulted in a historical decision by IOC delegates : Olympics going to a Latin American country for the first time!

So last year it was humiliation at the hands of China at Beijing Olympics and now comes another embarrassment for US - losing Olympics bid to a third world country. Other contenders, Tokyo and Madrid too could not muster enough support as the delegates voted overwhelmingly in favour of Samba Land.

Even before the event started, success of last year's Beijing Olympics was never i doubt. It remains to be seen if Brazil, whose economy is not as strong as China's, also is able to stage the Games as successfully. But developing countries have in past done this fairly satisfactorily. South Korea made 1988 Seul Games a grand success even in pre-globalisation era.

Brazil has had a moderate success in Olympics over the years. Last year it had won 15 medals. It is a force to recon with in volletball, Basketball and sailimg. Ironically, multiple world champions have failed to win Olympics gold in Football. May be the Football crazy country's first gold will come in front of its own people!

BRIC : This term is being recently used to denote a group of fast growing economies in the world - comprising of Brazil, Russia, India and China. While Russia (formerly part of USSR) and China have hosted Olympics and Brazil due to host one in 2016, can we Indians ever hope to expereince the greatest sporting carnival being conducted in our country? Well, the way IOA (Indian olympics Association) is huffing and puffing its way to ensuing CommonWealth Games, it seems highly unlikely in near future!

Without Leander and Mahesh - India Reach World Group of Davis Cup

Most successful Indian Davis Cupper - Leander Paes - representing the country for two decades opts out of the team because of injury. Paes-Bhupati, one of the world's top doubles teams is not appearing. Bhupati unable to complete his match because of injury. But still Indian team makes it to the world group after a gap of eleven years. That's thanks to the new star rising on Indian Tennis horizon - Somdev Devwarman!

The scene was very bleak exactly a year ago when Indian team lost badly to Romania in the play-off tie and it looked as if India's re-entry in World Group may not be possible in near future. Things went from bad to worse. Advancing age of Paes and Bhupati added to their advancing rift, which led to player revolt resulting in none too impressive performances of the team in preliminary rounds. Suddenly things started to change. Somdev's improved performance on ATP curcuit, Yuki Bhambri's consistency in Junior tournaments gave the Indian fans a ray of hope. Then came a stroke of luck. Australia decided to boycott the zonal semifinal against India which enabled India the right to contest the play-off.

India's convincing 4-1 win over South Africa is significant in many ways. First of course is the arrival of Somdev. India always had players who relished Davis Cup environment. Dramatic fightback by Somdev in the return singles is surely going to be talked of in the years to come. His performance was on the backdrop of his spirited fight in second round of US open earlier this month against a top-twenty player.

India also seems to have found the answer to the haunting question : Who after Leander? Leander's contribution to India's Davis cup campaign is that he was a successful singles players too. In Rohan Bopanna, we now have a good singles player who is good enough in doubles. Plus ther's a promising Yuki Bhambri.

India's journey in the World group is definitely going to be very tough. But this outfit is definitely capable of throwing another surprise. The responsibility is on young shoulders of Somdev. India till now knew of two Devwarmans from Tripura - the legendery father - son duo of Sachin and Rahul Devwarman. Hailing from the same Royal Family, Somdev has certainly done his home state proud.

Truimph of Paes in Proper Perspective

No Indian has ever gone beyond semifinals of Singles competition of any Grand Slam Tennis tournament. No Indian has ever been ranked in top 10 in Singles rankings. Currently, there is no Indian player in top 100 too. Lender Paes and Mahesh Bhupati, on the other hand have won 21 grand slam doubles titles between them. Paes just recently collected his 10th title at US Open when he won in an emotinally charged encounter against Bhupati-Knowles combination.

How can one explain the Indian Success in doubles vis-a-vis lacklustre show in singles? India always had good doubles combinations. Premjit Lal - Jaydeep Mukharjee was among the best in the sixties. Amritraj brothers too excelled in Davis Cup matches. In the last thirty years India could produce just two world class singles players - Vijay Amritraj and Ramesh Krishnan, both of whom promised much but rarely delivered. Leander too, started off his singles career with a lot of promise, even winning Olympic Bronze medal. But, probably realising that his chances in singles are limited, Paes and Bhupati turned to doubles for better financial prospects. In early part of this decade, they formed a potent combination, and even now, advancing age notwithstanding, both are in top teams with their respective partners.

Top international Singles players rarely indulge in doubles play. With exception of McEnroe and Edberg, none of the top ten players in last two decades ventured in doubles. That leaves the field open for lesser players to thrive. If you look at the successful doubles players, the Woodies, the Blacks, Brians, Sanchez brothers, none of them were top-notch singles players. Success of McEnroe with Peter Fleming in Eighties shows that exceptional Singles player can excel at doubles too. Recently Roger Federer too also underlined this by winning Olympics doubles title. Even in the ladies the Williams sisters, both brilliant Singles players, are combining effortlessly in doubles too.

Indian media is going ga-ga over the Grand slam achievements of Paes, Bhupati (even Sania who won mixed doubles with Mahesh at Australian Open). But how significant are these achievements -Tennis wise? How do the ten titles of Paes compare with fifteen of Roger Federer? The answer is for everybody to find out!

Is Daniel Vettori an Allrounder?

Earlier this month, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori earned the distinction of achieving a unique double of 3000 test runs and 300 wickets in tests. He thus joined an elite group comprising of Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, fellow countryman Sir Richard Hadlee, Shaun Pollock, Shane Warne and Chaminda Vaas.

Apparently, these runs scored and wickets taken are enough for him to qualify as a leading all rounder. But this glamorous tag is not only about runs and wickets. The first four members of this elite group, Botham, Kapil , Imran and Hadlee would have walked into any side even if they were god at any one of the disciplines, batting or bowling. Shaun Pollock too was equally competitive in both. But the latest three entrants, Warne, Vass and now Vettori have been able to join this group purely because of their longevity.

Warne for example, dearly wanted to score a test century but could not manage to. Barring a few doughty innings in Ashes campaigns, his batting can hardly be said to have contributed to Aussie Juggernaut's journey. Batting prowess of Vaas had no more than a nuisance value. Both were, of course extraordinary bowlers. Warne was till recently world record holder with more than 750 wickets. Vass, on the other hand, although lived in the shadow of Murli, his contribution to Sri Lanka's resurgence can not be denied.

A closer look at Vettori's stats reveals that his contribution to Kiwi success has been very little. On seamer friendly New Zealand pitches his bowling has been largely containing in nature. On the spinner friendly sub continent conditions, he has been successful only against Bangla Desh. His dour batting down the order has often allowed his team to delay the inevitable rather than set up or chase a win.

Eighties was the golden period for all rounders. Kapil, Imran, Hadlee and Botham had a pivotal role in their respective teams. Each one of these had uncanny knack of turning the game on its head within no time with their attacking bowling, explosive bowling, or brilliant fielding. Kapil and Imran also had inspirational leadership qualities.

Retirement of this quartet of mercurial all rounders in early Nineties left a big void. World Cricket has not seen even one Cricketer of such all round capability in last twenty years. Andrew Flintoff is the closest one can think of. Until such exceptional talent emerges, the Cricket lovers across the world will have to make do with Vettoris, Broads and Johnsons.

One Year after Beijing Olympics

Bejing Olympics 2008 witnessed spectacular performances. There were some disappointments too. Are the Heroes of Beijing living upto their billing? Here's the scenario One year after :

Ussain Bolt, the Jamaica lightening, continues to strike. Having won 100 and 200 meter sprints with world record timings in Beijing, Bolt has now bewildered the entire world by chopping a whopping 0.11 seconds off his own world record. His incredible timing of 9.58 sec at World Championship, Berlin, has left everybody wondering where he will stop!

Another Beijing Hero, Michel Phelps, is still on top of swimmimg world, smoking and swimwear controversies notwithstanding. Earlier this month, Phelps emerged as the best player with five golds. In the next Olympics though, his stupendous feats in the pool might take beating as the World Aquatics body has decided to ban the new technology swim suites.

For Yelena Isinbayeva though, the year has been worst culminating in humiliating show at Belin, as the world record holder Pole Vaulter could not win a medal. In contrast Kenenisa Bekele goes closer to become all time great distance runner by claiming his 4th gold in 10000 m race.

For Roger Federer, 2008 was a nightmare. At Beijing, he lost in quarterfinals as also his top ranking. His stars have dramatically changed since the French Open. By winning french and wimbledon grand slams, federer has won back the top position, albeit helped by his bete noire Rafeal Nadal's injury forced absence.

Last year's Olympics threw four sporing heroes for India. how are they doing this year?

India's lone Olympics gold medalist, Abhinav Bhindra seems to have lost motivation having reached the pinnacle. After spending the entire year, basking in the glory, Bindra is reported to have gone back to shooting range, not quite sure which discipline to pursue for London games.

Indian Boxers are on course for a good show at London in 2012. Impressive performance at recently concluded world championship is certainly a positive sign. With Vijender rising to no. 2 spot in world ranking and with Ladies boxing being included in Olympics fold, India can hope for a gold through Mary Kome , the reigning world champion.

A quietly confident Saina Nehwal has been incredible this year. Although she lost in Quarterfinals of World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad, her rise to world no. 6 has been a stupendous achievement. She is truly a champion in the making.

One year after the Olympics, Indian Hockey is still languishing in doldrums. Indian team faced the ignominy of failing to qualify for Beijing. London 2012 promises to be no different unless some miracle happens.

What is common between Chak De Girls and KKR Boys?

No prizes for guessing! SRK, who played the role of coach of India women’s Hockey team in the Bollywood movie Chak De India, is the franchisee owner of Kolkatta Knight Riders team in IPL Cricket league. While Chak De.. became a superhit film a couple of years ago, KKR, SRK's sports cum business venture is fast heading towards failure.

The chak De team had at least three players with strong egos. Two brilliant forwards trying to hog the limelight and therefore at loggerheads with each other, and a senior pro deeply hurt because of being sidelined by the coach. SRK repeated the act with KKR by preferring MuCCullum to Dada for the captaincy. (Incidentally, in the film, the goalkeeper was made the captain whereas for IPL SRK has chosen wicketkeeper as the captain!) The Knight riders are a bunch of extremely talented international and local players. But the lack of common purpose is quite evident.

Shah Rukh Khan won lot of accolades for his portrayal of Kabir Khan, the Chak De coach. Why has SRK bought IPL franchise? Has the Kabir Khan role inspired him? Does he treat it as a pure business proposition or is it his passion for the game? I think he is pretending to be passionate in order to further his business interests. Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya have made it clear in no uncertain terms that they are into IPL purely for the sake of business. What irritates most people is SRK’s pretension of being a great thinker of the game and thereby ridiculing some of Cricketing icons of India.

The film depicts how a former player becomes coach to erase personal ignominy of having been held responsible for team’s loss. His maverick ways don’t go down well with most of the members of the team and a rebellion irrupts. The coach is on the verge of resigning but a dramatic non-sporting incident unites the team together. The KKR team is similarly placed. Atrocious decisions of the owner and coach (Buchanan) have divided the team vertically. The captain has offered to resign. The owner is contemplating selling away the franchise. To add to the woes, a mysterious blogger, the fake IPL player, claiming to be a part of KKR squad, is washing the dirty linen in full public view. Unless something dramatic (as dramatic as attack on Chak De girls in the Hotel) happens Riders are sure to be thrown off their Knights.

SRK Plays Villain - Stabs Dada in Back

An overhyped 'star' and an overrated coach have combined well to finally get rid of an equally overvalued captain. When the news of multiple captain theory first broke, one wondered if it was SRK's move to eliminate Ganguly from the scheme of things at KKR. The fears of many of Dada's supporters came true just a day before Knight Riders' opening match in IPL-SA.

I have always maintained that Shahrukh Khan has given respectability to mediocrity. It is a pity that Indian film watchers have to grant him superstardom in absence of any worthy superb actor. But, nothing succeeds like success, and the success he has got, seems to have made him believe that he can take dig at anybody, contemporaries, seniors or some of the most respected personalities too.

John Buchanan too likes to make everybody believe that he is a genius when it comes to Cricket coaching. He likes to claim credit for Australia's dominance over the Cricketing world in the past decade. But everybody realises that a phenomenal bunch of players - the likes of McGrath and Warne among others - were equally, if not less, responsible for the golden Age of Aussie Cricket. Was he trying to grab perverse attention by propagating his 'rotating captain theory'?

But now it is amply clear that the 'theory' was an attractive gimmick to overthrow Ganguly. There were a host of Cricketing Pundits talking vehemently for and against BuchananTheory that was never going to be put in practice. In one of the most shrewdly executed plans, SRK has managed to knock out the Dada. The point to be noted is that this talk of multiple captains was muted as soon as it was clear that the IPL might be played outside India. What a classical case of opportunism that might put the likes of LaluPrasad or Mulayam Yadav to shame!

I am not a big fan of Ganguly too. Like SRK and Buchanan, he too is overrated by many. True, he is the most successful Indian captain. But his success was built around personal exploits of Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar, Kumble and Harbhajan. But I do admire him for the graceful exit from international Cricket he chose for himself. Going by the press reports, Ganguly was keen to do well in this IPL. But this unceremonious boot from captaincy, I wont be surprised if he repeats his graceful act once again!

Siddhu to Campaign Against Azhar!

Indian Cricketers and film personalities enjoy tumultuous following. Many film stars have successfully encashed their popularity to make foray into politics. But very few Cricketers, and sportspersons in general, have ventured into the trouble waters of electoral politics. Only three former Cricketers and one former Olympian Hockey player have reached Indian Parliament so far. This time a few more are trying their hand.

Although, former skipper MAK Pataudi, the Nawab, who became first to win a series overseas, twice tried is luck at the elections, he could not become the first Cricketer to win an election. The credit goes to Chetan Chauhan, opening partner of Sunny Gavaskar in the Seventies. Chauhan has won Loksabha elections from Amroha in UP, twice – in 1991 and 1998 – and losing thrice. This time too, he is in the fray from East Delhi Constituency representing BJP. Also representing BJP is Kirti Azad, who is trying to regain Darbhanga seat to return to parliament for the second term. Kirti, member of World Cup winning team of 1983, has politics in his genes, as his father was the Chief Minister of Bihar in the Eighties.

The third Cricketer turned MP, Navjot singh Siddhu is a colourful personality. A flamboyant batsman of his time is also known as firebrand commentator and a popular TV show judge on reality laughter programs. Due to his inimitable Siddhuisms, he is a star campaigner for his party, and is eyeing for third term from Amritsar seat for the parliament. Avid Cricket followers will remember how Siddhu angrily abandoned the England tour when Azhar was the captain. Siddhu is all set to take on his former captain in the election rally in Moradabad from where Azhar is contesting.

Azharuddin’s entry into politics is very surprising. But even more surprising is the decision of congress party to field him, considering his tainted image because of his alleged involvement in match-fixing scandal. Madan Lal, another member of Kapil’s Devils seems to have taken his candidature for elections too seriously. Soon after being nominated, he suffered a heart attack. Hopefully he has recovered well enough to jump head on into the political arena. Chetan Sharma is also in the fray. May be he is trying to wipe off the ignominy of getting hit for six on the last ball of the match by Miandad at Sharjah in 1986.

Aslam sher Khan, member of India’s world cup winning hockey team of 1975, became MP as early as in 1984, and again 1991. After losing a couple of elections, he is again contesting this time from Sagar in Madhya Pradesh. He is also a member of Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) ad-hoc committee for hockey.

Ace shooter Jaspal Rana, son of former minister in Uttarakhand, and Ranjib Biswal, former Orissa Cricketer who represented India at U19 level, currently OCA president, also having family background in politics are also contesting this year’s elections.

The number of sportsmen, vying for a seat in parliament is very small compared to film stars. But never mind. There is whole lot of politicians who are ready to interfere in sports. The list is topped by Suresh Kalmadi, the present IOA president, followed by Sharad Pawar, the ICC president elect, and many more. Is there any hope for better days for Indian sports?

'Outsourcing' of IPL creates Problems for Other Sporting Events in India

Indian IT industry thrives on the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) by the Western world. Like everybody, Indian IT industry is badly hit by the global recession. But Cricket in India is not at all affected by recession. On the other hand, the super-rich BCCI is out to help the cash strapped Cricket Boards across the world. This year’s IPL has been outsourced to South Africa. Who knows this trend will continue in subsequent years. Lalit Modi, the high profile IPL Chief might even invite bids from other Cricket Boards!

Shifting of IPL has been welcome by many and criticized by as many. Aussie, Kiwi, British Cricketers are happy. But players like Sachin and Pollock know that IPL wouldn’t be same without the Indian supporters in the Stadium. The team owners are not complaining but don’t seem to be overly upbeat either. Politicians have a reason to worry as they fear the focus on Election campaigns might be shifted to Television.

Lalit Modi and the IPL must be having its own reasons to get this year’s IPL edition through as per the scheduled dates that are clashing with general election. Modi, the IPL, and the Team Owners may or may not earn profits out of IPL’s sojourn to Africa. But it has created problems to other Sporting events to be held in India.

Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president has clearly blamed the Government for failing to assure security during IPL matches. This has prompted the authorities of Australian Tennis Federation to express their reservations about sending their team for Davis Cup tie to be held in May this year. Commonwealth Games, scheduled to take place in 2010 are already under the cloud as the preparations are way behind the schedule. Now, the participating countries, interestingly most of them are Cricket playing nations, have started clamoring about the security situation in the sub-continent. Recently concluded Indian Open Badminton GP in Hyderabad too was hit by he same issue as the Eglish players chose to skip it because of security concerns. India is also scheduled to host the Hockey World Cup in 2010. But the FIH president Leandro Negre while admitting that terror attacks can take place anywhere, has expressed reservations about security preparations.

All these apprehensions have gained voice because of IPL’s outsourcing. The BCCI, who successfully persuaded Peterson’s England team to continue its India tour after terrorist attack on Mumbai in November last year, is now sending wrong signals about India’s ability to fight terrorism. Sharad Pawar is ICC’s President designate and de-facto boss of BCCI. He is also a minister in central Government and aspirant for PM post after Elections. But his tacit approval for IPL outsourcing certainly raises questions about his ability to protect Indian interests.

Captaincy In Rotational Motion!

Another Aussie coach has crossed swords with Sourav Ganguly. Four years ago, Greg chappell, the then coach of Indian Cricket team, had it his way to get Ganguly removed from captaincy. Now it is John Buchanan who doesn't want Sourav as the sole captain of Kolkatta Knight Riders outfit for the second version of IPL scheduled to start a few weeks later. Buchanan has floated the idea of rotating the role of captaincy amongst Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge and Sourav Ganguly. Thanks God, Ricky Ponting has sought to give IPL a skip. Otherwise he would have been the fifth KKR Captain!

Ironically, both Chapell and Buchanan were Ganguly's preferred choices. Ganguly was at the height of his powers when he backed Chappell's nomination for the post of coach of Indian team. But their relationship turned sour and eventually first Sourav and then Greg had to leave the scene. Last year SRK bought the KKR team of which Ganguly was the icon player. He was also main advisor to ShahRukh in team selection and drafting in Buchanan as side's coach. Buchnaan too, like Chappell, has now sought to undermine Dada's authority.

John Buchanan has been a successful coach of all conquering Australian side. But it remains to be seen what his contribution was to the team's success. The Australian team, consisting of Waugh brothers, world's top bowlers in McGrath and Warne, all time batting greats like Ponting and Hayden would have swept aside most teams any way, even if Javed Miandad was team's Coach! On the contrary, Warne's displeasure about his coaching techniques are well known. His coachng skills deserted him when the team faced spirited challenges, from India in 2001 and from England in Ashes series in 2005.

Buchanan cites the example of Ric Charlesworth, who is said to have used the principle of multiple leaders while coaching Australian Hockey team. It must be noted that role of Captain in sports like Football or Hockey is limited and the role of the coach is prominent. In Cricket it is exactly opposite. Other successful Cricket Coaches like Bob Woolmer , John Wright and Gary Kirsten have quietly worked in the background and let the respective captains, Hansie Cronje Ganguly and MS Dhoni to hog the limelight. Buchanan here is trying to steal the limelight from an equally dominant personality, Dada. The clash of personalities might prove costly to KKR team owners.

Dada or Buchanan - it remains to be seen who relents. Ganguly is clearly in no mood to do so, as his recent remarks reveal. If john goes ahead with his experiment, thankfully the tournament is in South Africa. Otherwise he would have had a torrid time facing the ire of Cricket Crazy Kolkattan public.

Related Article:

The Buck Stops Here