The Golden Generation – We Love You!

The year 1989 was a significant one; it was the year when a certain Sachin Tendulkar made his debut and was identified as the man to carry Indian cricket to the next level. The Kapil Devs, Ravi Shastris and Amarnaths were at the brink of their careers. After 22 years we can say, Sachin has not disappointed. He certainly has taken Indian cricket to the next level, he did it, not on his own but with the ‘Class of 1996’.

Yes, 1996 is probably going to be the most significant year for Indian cricket. Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman entered the Test arena to join forces with Sachin Tendulkar. Often referred to as the ‘Fab Four’, they gave us hope; hope to compete away from home. Despite winning the 1983 World Cup and despite Sunil Gavaskar, India did not necessarily compete away from home. We were considered to be ‘Lions at home and lambs away’. However, this new generation of Indian batsmen were intent on changing the way opponents looked at us. They were willing to fight and India were not pushovers anymore.

Like in the education system, where the first few years you are a nervous young child in primary school and then move on to become a more confident senior, the start of the 21^st century marked this transition for the ‘Fab Four’. Sourav Ganguly was handed over the captaincy and we also saw our first foreign coach, John Wright. We instantly saw a change in attitude. One name which often doesn’t get enough mention is that of Anil Kumble. He defied cricketing logic to become one of the best spinners in world cricket. This ‘new and improved’ attitude of the Indian Team got them more die-hard fans than they ever had. People believed in the team and took pride in being an Indian cricket fan.

Apart from Anil Kumble, we also had the likes of Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. Virender Sehwag at the top of the order put pressure on the opposition straight away and played a match winning knock every now and then. We beat Australia in our own backyard in 2001 which is considered to be one of the best Test series ever. India also started winning Test matches away from home. We won Tests in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England, West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa. We even beat Australia in Adelaide in 2003 and Perth in 2008. The one constant in all these wins would have to be the contribution of the ‘Fab Four’. It is hard to imagine a single Test match which India has won, without some kind of a contribution from this wonderfully gifted set of batsmen. Indians all over the cricketing world were ‘respected’; yes respected for being from the same country as these ‘Greats’. I say it again, this special lot made us proud to be Indians.

Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble retired with a series win against Australia and probably left at the right time. Sachin, Dravid and Laxman continued to pile on the runs but were closer to the end of their careers. India reached the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket but talks were now centred on what happens after the retirements of these three. Neither of Sachin, Dravid nor Laxman were considering retirement, but speculations were on, not just in India but around the world. Experts said that its time for the selectors to start looking at the future, but these legends let their bats do the talking and kept silencing the critics.

The recent humiliation in England and now in Australia does hurt, it is most probably going to hasten the retirements of atleast 2 of the 3. Virat Kohli has shown us that India’s next generation of batsmen is ready to take on the world. Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are waiting for an opportunity. As much as we hate to admit, it is probably time for the ‘Class of 1996’ and Sachin to graduate from the school of Indian cricket and make way for a fresh batch. We can only hope that the ‘Class of 2012’ will be able to fill in the boots of their predecessors, they are huge boots to fill, but do not make the mistake of not hoping.

My only request to the Indian Board is to allow each of these 3 greats to retire. They deserve to have a special farewell in front of a jam packed stadium at home, our tears – the least we can offer for their service to Indian cricket.

Do not remember them for these last 2 tours, remember them for what they have given us over the last two decades. Sachin, Laxman, Dravid and the rest of the Indian team – we love you and will always do so.

Dear BCCI, Please Wake Up

For the first time after a long time, if not ever, tickets were not sold out for ODIs in India during the India v England ODI series. It did raise eyebrows but people weren’t really losing sleep. Then the West Indies Test series and after the second Test match, people are beginning to get worried. It is probably the lowest crowd recorded at Eden Gardens for atleast 20 years. Sachin was on 99 hundreds and even that did not fill up the stadium, VVS and Rahul Dravid were continuing their love affair with the Eden but there were very few people to watch it. This is worrying people across the cricketing world as everyone realises the importance of Indian fans to international cricket. Everyone except the BCCI...

It has always been taken for granted that fans would throng to the stadium for any fixture featuring India. Officials were more prone to facing problems of fans overcrowding at ticket counters, waiting in queues overnight, managing crowds trying to rush into the stadium and it may be said that the officials had not really mastered the art of such management and had often cursed this ‘fanaticism’. Now they are facing a completely new problem, a problem which does not make their phone go tring tring every two minutes with people asking for passes for a cricket match, but the fact that there are probably more security guards at ticket counters than fans seeking tickets. This has probably made their job more hassle-free but only for the short term. Falling attendances at stadiums will lead to reduced revenue through sponsorship and broadcast, for starters. There are more far reaching consequences and consequences that could hurt the international cricket community.

So what can the BCCI do? Firstly, stop relying on cricket to sell itself. It used to happen all these years but the times have changed. The men in power must start formulating strategies to bring people into the stadium. It is time the BCCI themselves invest in advertising. In the current scenario, they could have used Sachin’s 100^th hundred as a major driver to increase footfalls. Hire advertising boards at prominent places, put up attractive taglines like “Don’t you want to be there when God hits the 100^th 100?” or more creative ones. Yes people already know that Sachin is on 99 but when you have a huge ad-board with Sachin staring into your eyes and asking you to be there, it will get people thinking. What after Sachin’s hundred? Well we are never short of milestones in cricket and watching players like Sachin, Dravid and Laxman in the twilight of their careers should be motivation enough. We’re at the stage when these motivations need to be communicated to the fans, and communicated again and again. I am sure we will pass this stage and get back to the ‘tickets sold-out’ stage but this is like a passing shower and the BCCI need to pull the covers out, or else, the match could be abandoned.

On a more long term basis, the BCCI should have its own ‘Fans Relationship management’ division like a number of teams in different parts of the world. The Indian fan is known to be the most passionate and it is important to make him feel valued, make him feel that his passion is noticed; make him proud to be an Indian team supporter. The BCCI would do well to revamp its website, make it more interactive and get the fans involved. It is a hard thing in a passion-charged country like ours but allow registered users to have occasional online chat sessions with officials, selectors, team management and maybe the players too. Make the fans feel like their views are heard. Yes you may have a million people giving advice on selection issues which may not always be correct and considered even, but you may have a few thousand give you vital inputs on areas that can be improved like stadium facilities, ticketing and the overall desires and complaints. For that part of the population who do not access the internet, and its a majority in India, the BCCI could reach out through social activities, distribute India team jerseys and other merchandise, put up a big screen in remote areas, distribute free tickets and so on. With the enormous revenue that the BCCI has made, this concept should be a feasible one or atleast make an attempt.

Another method that can be adopted by the BCCI is to follow preferential allotment of games among venues. At present, there is a rotational policy in place to ensure that all venues get an equal share of games which provides no motivation to the Heads of State Associations to work on getting people into the stadium. Instead the BCCI could initiate a policy where a stadium which ensures maximum footfalls gets more games. This will certainly push state associations to increase ticket sales and also people from that state may want to go to the matches either with the hope of getting to watch another more exciting match in the future or with the fear that their stadium may not get to host another match anytime soon. I do realise that it is not as easy as it sounds as there are a lot of stakeholders involved who could lose if this policy came into effect. It may be complicated, but BCCI should draw up a transparent policy and get this into effect.

And a really simple suggestion would be to not start Test matches on a Monday! Please use the weekend for either the start or the finish of a match. Cricket fans too have jobs and schools to attend.

Also, make the experience of watching a match at the stadium a comfortable and an enjoying one. This will get cricket fans, who prefer the comfort of their arm-chairs and couches at home, to come to the stadium and watch a long day of Test cricket. Offer good quality food and beverages, clean stands and toilets and basically make the customers ‘feel at home’.

Let us hope, for the good of International Cricket that people in India become ‘crazy’ over cricket, just like before.  

RULE CHANGES - NECESSARY?

A Spanish friend in my course who is quite keen to learn and understand the game of cricket, after listening to me for a while on the rules and stuff said, “The game is quite complicated.”  Another French friend of mine said, “Why do only such few countries play cricket?”

Well the answer is probably because it is a game which requires a very special set of skills and also because it is a little complicated and being further complicated by the ICC. I have just read about the new playing conditions and I am quite bemused and wonder what the ICC want to achieve by making such changes?

Firstly, the idea of using a new ball at each end in ODI cricket. This move could probably be the final nail in the coffin of all bowlers (except in England, maybe).  For starters, it completely kills the art of reverse swing in one day cricket. And even at the 40^th over, a bowler will be bowling with a hard, 20 over new ball. With the quality of bats improving constantly, these hard balls will probably travel further and more often at that. What about the spinners? Yes, there are some spinners who prefer a hard and slightly newish ball, but in one day cricket? I’m not too sure. Add to that the fact that 10 of the ‘middle’ overs where spinners weaved their magic and aimed to control the game will be Powerplays. So an off spinner bowling in the 30^th over, will have a 15 over ‘new’ ball and may be allowed only 3 fielders in the deep. After bringing the boundaries in across different grounds in limited overs cricket, is this the next step to killing the art of spin?

Next we come to the fact that the non-striker can be run out if he takes a start. This can work both ways. Yes it is unfair that a non-striker is, or rather was, allowed to be halfway down the pitch before the batsman even hit or missed the ball but this new rule could just lead to a lot more controversies. Just imagine, an India v Pakistan match, say the final of the World Cup, and with 2 runs to win off the last ball, the bowler decides to run out the non-striker who has advanced a couple of steps. It could lead to a war between the nations. This rule will again raise the importance of the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ and we could have more captains like Dhoni, recalling batsmen. Are we further complicating the game?

And then the most ridiculous one – changes to the ‘obstructing the field’ clause. We have been taught, probably since the day we were taught how to play the forward defence, that ‘you must value your wicket and while running make sure you come in the line of the ball, even if you get hit it is ok but do not get run out’. And now, a batsman can be run-out if he changes his running path and the fielding team appeals. This will again come down to ‘Spirit of cricket’ and raise the job description of the umpires. It will come down to the perception of the umpires and the third umpire. How do I explain this kind of dismissal to my French friend? We’re complicating it......

What are the ICC thinking to change next? Some ideas – use only 2 stumps for ODIs, that’s it I don’t want to think of more...

Dear ICC,

Please do not complicate our game further.

Your Sincerely,

Fans of Cricket

INDIAN CRICKET - THE WAY FORWARD

On April 2^nd 2011, every Indian in every part of the world was overjoyed, jubiliant and proud to be an Indian. Just over 5 months later, all of us Indians were relieved that a tumultuous English tour had come to an end. A tour on which Team India did not win a single international encounter spread over the 3 formats of the game.

Going into the tour, we were the number one ranked Test side and the 4 match Test series was the most awaited Test series in recent times. We looked forward to it as much as we look forward to the World Cup and as much as the BCCI look forward to a successful IPL. But alas! We lost 4-0. It had been a while since we lost a series; we had forgotten that we too had a set of humans who turned out to play for the country. Yes, the way we lost, without a fight, was heartbreaking but then it is ok to lose a series. Take into account the number of injuries, and I dare say that any team would have struggled.

However, we must not just brush this aside completely. We are now entering that phase where one generation, a generation of greats, will slowly leave us and pass on the baton to a younger lot. Are they ready to take up the mantle? We will never know till they actually take to the battlefield but we must ensure that they are fully prepared. It has been a couple of years since Anil Kumble retired, and where is his successor? First, Piyush Chawla and then Amit Mishra were tipped to take over from the leading Indian wicket taker, but both have not risen to the next level. While Piyush Chawla has declined quite considerably, Amit Mishra still hangs onto his place in the squad and plays a Test now and then. We have Pragyan Ojha, but I do not think the skipper believes he can be a match winner in Test cricket. So, from the land of spinners, why are we not able to produce any quality spinners? And then we laugh at Australia, saying that they haven’t found a successor for Warne. It is here that the BCCI will have to pull up its socks. We have all the money we need, why cannot the BCCI have a specialised spin bowling centre where the top ten spin bowlers of the country ply their wares and learn the tricks of the trade from an Anil Kumble, an EAS Prasanna or a Bishan Singh Bedi? It is time we look at this seriously as the time has come to find a world class spinner. Unfortunately Harbhajan Singh seems to be fading away quicker than we thought.

And now coming to our next biggest concern – the fast bowling department. The MRF Pace Academy has been in existence for quite a while now, yet, our hopes of competing in a series are dashed as soon as Zaheer Khan pulls up with an injury. How long will Zaheer play? He is at the twilight of his career and even in his years before retirement, he will probably miss more matches than play.  If our pacers could not make an impact in English conditions then they will not in any known cricket playing nation. We have 26 teams in the Ranji Trophy, can we not pick the best pacer in each of these teams and work with them throughout the year? Have someone like Venkatesh Prasad appointed full time and have atleast ten bowlers ready to wear India colours at any given point of time.

And now the batting. Sachin, Dravid and Laxman will not be there forever. They might leave very close together and these are really big shoes to fill. But I do feel that we are a little better equipped on this front compared to our bowling. In Kohli, Yuvraj and Raina we have established one day performers. Cheteshwar Pujara looked impressive in the couple of Test innings he played. Rahane, Parthiv, Badrinath, Mukund, Tiwary and there appears to be a good reserve. Again, all these, let’s say, top 20 batsmen in the country must be constantly monitored and trained by the likes of Gavaskar, Ganguly and Sachin and Dravid once they retire.

Yes the former greats that I mentioned, all have media and other commitments but I am sure they will be willing to do this for the country, atleast on a rotational basis. The BCCI is in a position to compensate them sufficiently and should not hold back. Another important aspect is county cricket in England. This golden generation all played county cricket and honed their skills and technique there. The younger lot do not have that much of an opportunity now to play in the English summer because of the IPL. The BCCI must work out an arrangement where the top youngsters get to play atleast a season of county cricket.

Will the BCCI wake-up now? We might already be a bit too late but its better late than never. The new BCCI President has taken office and has straight away focussed on the IPL by terminating the Kochi Franchise. Right now, Indian cricket and its future, and not the IPL, needs more of the Board’s attention!

Royal Challengers BanGAYLEore!!!!

It was after a disappointing loss to CSK, our third on the trot after having won the first game against KTK, that reality sunk in. A few of us friends were at a bar and having a drink and we were dejected and angry that the top management had not retained top performers like Ross Taylor, Steyn, Dravid, Robin ..... We had gloom written over all our faces! But still, we did not lose faith and sat there discussing what could turn the fortunes for RCB and hoping that we won the 8 games required to seal a semifinal spot. A friend mocked at me and said, “You still have hopes on RCB this season?” I replied in the affirmative and said, “We have bounced back before and will do it again.”

Enter CHRIS GAYLE!! It was at the same bar and on the same gloomy evening that a friend of mine messaged me saying that he got reliable inside information that RCB were signing up Chris Gayle. That brought a smile on my face and another drink went down.  But there was no news about it, not on cricinfo, not on the RCB website and not on any newspaper or channel.  A few days passed and finally we got official confirmation that Gayle had indeed signed up. From the moment he stepped onto the field against the Knight Riders in the Eden Gardens, RCB was a different team. ‘INTERGAYLEACTIC’, ‘GAYLEVANISED’, ‘GAYLE MORNING’ were now everyday language. GAYLE was now being used as the superlative of every word. A girl would understand if a guy came upto her and said, “I GAYLE you, GAYLEHEART”.  The DLF IPL and India was hit by the GAYLESTORM.  He came in with the bat, smashed the ball around and embarrassed many a bowler. He came in with the ball, bowled economically, got crucial wickets and put in a dance step bringing smiles on all our faces. He was surely enjoying his cricket. Thank you West Indies Cricket Board.

It is difficult but we must remember that it was not just Gayle. There were crucial performances from all our players at various stages in the tournament. Virat Kohli seemed to be in sublime form and is probably ready to adopt Bangayleore as his home.  Vettori proved to be the ideal replacement for Anil Kumble and on a bad day, only on a bad day would he go above 7 runs per over. Arvind showed us that with a big heart, you can do wonders on the field. Zaheer Khan was a bit rusty at the beginning but came into his own gradually. AB was a livewire and his energy rubbed off on the rest.  Driven by Gayle, this RCB unit rolled on, beating team after team, quite easily and finished the league stage at the top of the table.

Gayle failed and CSK did beat us in that first play-off.  We next had Mumbai Indians on our platter, a team which had got the better of us more often than not. But it was to be different this time – Malinga, Harbhajan, Pollard and whoever dared to bowl that day were put to the sword by namma Chris Gayle. Young Mayank Agarwal too played a very mature knock and in no time RCB had crushed Mumbai Indians and qualified for our 2^nd Final. What happened in the Finals is unfortunate but it has to be said that we must be thrilled to be RCBians.

Let’s take a pledge that we will be ‘Royal Challengers for Life’ and let me hear you all say “JAI RCB!”

INDIAN CRICKET – RELIGION TO SOME, LIFE-BLOOD FOR OTHERS

We’ve heard it over and over again that cricket is a religion in India. It is the one thing that unites people from all walks of life, people of different castes and creeds. It basically unites the entire nation. But is cricket limited to only that? I think the time has now come to say that cricket is ‘blood’ for many of us, something without which we cannot live.  Some said that after the World Cup, we Indians would be saturated and have no interest in the IPL. Yes, the ratings have shown a dip, but we lovers of the game had the same passion and intensity as in IPL 1,2 and 3. It just shows that we can never have too much of cricket.

What is it that makes the game so much of an addiction for us? Well there is no definite reason, but we do enjoy being a part of the emotional rollercoaster that is associated with every cricket game. Not many of us sit back in a lounge chair and watch a game of cricket and say, “Oh! That was relaxing.” We probably are more emotionally drained than the players themselves. The players atleast have some control over the match and to an extent hold their destiny in their own hands. We fans are helpless and cannot make a contribution, but there are some of us who like to believe that we can. Yes it is foolhardy but that is the sort of involvement we like to show, we like to believe that by sitting in a particular position for 6 hours will win India the game. We like to believe that by giving up rice for 6 months India will win the World Cup. We have lucky t-shirts for match days, compulsory phone calls to make and so on. Thanks to all these little superstitions we believe that we have made a contribution to our team and are able to share the same feelings as the team. A loss will hurt us deeply and if by chance we have not followed one of our routines that day, we will take a long time to forgive ourselves and take blame for the defeat. A victory will delight us and will make us believe that we have made a contribution and encourage us to follow more such superstitions in the future.  Yes, you can call these fans crazy and I am proud to be a ‘crazy fan’.

This World Cup win has only raised the passion for the game.  April 2^nd, 2011 will be remembered as one of the best days of our lives. The image of Kapil Dev holding aloft the World Cup on the Lords Balcony in 1983 made us proud but also, especially for those of us who weren’t born then, created an urge, a desire and the hope to win another World Cup. The nation waited for 28 long years to experience the same euphoria again. The moment that ball left Dhoni’s bat we were elated. It was beyond joy and the scenes that followed are what make us so happy to be “crazy fans”.  It felt like we, 1 billion of us played the World Cup and it would be hard to say that we were any less happy than the players themselves.

The other day, a TV channel was telecasting India’s road to the World Cup victory and it brought tears to my eyes. We will never get tired of seeing Dhoni hit that ball over long on for six and then embracing Yuvraj Singh. That was the moment when an entire nation went crazy and some of us went beyond….

The World Champions

This is not a feeling that will sink in anytime soon. We really are World Champions, we have just won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. This is not something that happens day-in and day-out, not even yearly. It is only after 4 years will we get an opportunity to defend our crown and it is not the easiest thing to do.

India certainly went into this tournament as favourites, but halfway through, the critics said we were not good enough, our bowling lacked the bite, our fielding was horrible and Dhoni had lost his Midas touch. Team India, though, peaked at the right time. The fielding in the quarter finals itself showed us that there was a sense of purpose, something motivating them to raise the bar. What was it? The fact that they were 3 games away from winning the cup?  That they were playing Australia? Or Sachin stating that it was the most important tournament of his life? I think its Sachin’s statement that got them going.

What is it with this team and winning big games? Dhoni, the captain, has been phenomenal. He is straight forward with the media and is never shy of accepting his mistakes. He is calm and composed in the worse of situations and this has rubbed off on his team.  This team enjoys the success of each other, they play for each other. It was evident in the way they all said they won it for Sachin.

I believe that this spirit of togetherness developed in that famous Test at Sydney and that tour really got the team together. Anil Kumble played a huge role in getting his lads to stand by each other and that is paying rich dividends now. The fighting spirit that the team embodies now, initiated under Dada’s captaincy – he would never back out from a scuffle and went hard at the opposition. Much has been said about the guys giving their everything for the team, about being team players. No prizes for guessing who instilled this quality in Indian players – Rahul Dravid.  He had no business keeping wickets in that 2003 World Cup but did it for the good of the team. What about the come-from-behind victories? Laxman has drilled it into the minds of us Indians that no situation is horrible and there is always an escape route, a route which will take you to glory. This is why I feel, that though this win was achieved in Dhoni’s captaincy and with Sachin at the helm of everyone’s mind and heart, we must not forget the contributions of Sourav, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman.

It is an amazing feeling, this feeling of being World Champions. Australia won their second World Cup in 1999 and did not look back for over a decade. I hope that we do not rest on our laurels and now continue to get better as a team. Could this World Cup win be the kick-start to an era of Indian dominance in World Cricket? Will an Indian fan be able to look forward to planning a trip to Australia for the 2015 World Cup with the confidence that India will go into it as overwhelming favourites?

Let us wait and watch. We can afford to bask in the glory of this win till the next season begins. Oh no! I forgot that the IPL is starting in a couple of days. It’s time to bleed Red and Gold (I’m an RCB fan)!! A pity cos I’d rather be ‘Bleeding Blue’ till this feeling of being World Champions completely sinks in….