The money spinner mother of all - the IPL is here. Sad start to my team - getting thrashed in the opening match :( The fact that it was on home soil made it worse.
But today defeating Mumbai away seems to indicate the team coming into the groove of things. But, some questions will have to raised on Dravid's capabilities as a T20 batsman/opener.
EOD - A win is a win !!! Party Bangalore. Go RCB
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Dhoni - a curse ?
How many of you actually watched the presentation ceremony of the 2nd ODI at Mohali. It was known that India had already been beaten by Pakistan.
But, what was more disturbing - was to see a sheepishly grinning M S Dhoni (Indian National Team Captain) walking to the dias to speak to Ramiz Raja.
He accepted the fact that bowlers did a bad job(like he had a choice), but then when he was leaving - he talks about great hitting expected in a Ind-Pak series. WTF ? His job is to make sure that the opposition does not have a gala time on the 22yard strip.
His attitude seems to be worse than a School team Captain. He should feel responsible for the defeat - because of his uninspiring, non thought provoked field placings. He should have shown some guilt, instead of showing off a million-dollar grin as if he had just won a Filmfare award. He is Team India's captain - what he does and tells affects Indian cricket. Millions of budding cricketers and fans get influenced by the King of Indian Cricket(I mean the Captain - no reference whatsoever to MS).
What disturbs is not Dhoni's charisma - but an image of a sportsman not feeling responsible for his team's performance. Even more, when you are placed in charge of the team. I know how this feels, as I myself keep goals for my Office team - and we recently lost a tight final. I know what it felt to be guilty of letting my team down. With the weight of the country's expectations going down, the guilt of a bad performance should be more (well in the case of MS - non-existant)
At this point, only one question pops up - Do you want such a Captain to lead India's Test team ?
But, what was more disturbing - was to see a sheepishly grinning M S Dhoni (Indian National Team Captain) walking to the dias to speak to Ramiz Raja.
He accepted the fact that bowlers did a bad job(like he had a choice), but then when he was leaving - he talks about great hitting expected in a Ind-Pak series. WTF ? His job is to make sure that the opposition does not have a gala time on the 22yard strip.
His attitude seems to be worse than a School team Captain. He should feel responsible for the defeat - because of his uninspiring, non thought provoked field placings. He should have shown some guilt, instead of showing off a million-dollar grin as if he had just won a Filmfare award. He is Team India's captain - what he does and tells affects Indian cricket. Millions of budding cricketers and fans get influenced by the King of Indian Cricket(I mean the Captain - no reference whatsoever to MS).
What disturbs is not Dhoni's charisma - but an image of a sportsman not feeling responsible for his team's performance. Even more, when you are placed in charge of the team. I know how this feels, as I myself keep goals for my Office team - and we recently lost a tight final. I know what it felt to be guilty of letting my team down. With the weight of the country's expectations going down, the guilt of a bad performance should be more (well in the case of MS - non-existant)
At this point, only one question pops up - Do you want such a Captain to lead India's Test team ?
Indian Cricket - Bad or worse ???
Today indeed must be a sad day for Indian Cricket. They way India played hurt even more than the way Pakistan chased.
It's hard to understand the kind of selection policy being employed by the Indian Board. As far as I can see, the regional politics is playing a really dirty game in the already rotten cricket scene. How else can one justify dropping a team player like Dravid, and keeping a record-hungry player like Sachin ? Or keeping a high-run conceding bowler like Zaheer Khan? Or recalling an already out of form Virendar Sehwag ?
If power-seeking selectors like Vengsarkar play this game, it will only lead Indian cricket toward the path of doom. The second-one dayer at Mohali emphasized the need of a cool headed middle order batsman like Dravid to stay, when the likes of Yuvraj and Dhoni went for glory. Dhoni's callous attitude may have paid of in the T20 cup, but he needs to be a lot more strategic in the longer ODI version.
As ardent supporters of Team Blue, one can only hope that the end of selfish cricketers, region-savvy selectors/Board can only start looking at the bigger picture - the future of Indian Cricket !
It's hard to understand the kind of selection policy being employed by the Indian Board. As far as I can see, the regional politics is playing a really dirty game in the already rotten cricket scene. How else can one justify dropping a team player like Dravid, and keeping a record-hungry player like Sachin ? Or keeping a high-run conceding bowler like Zaheer Khan? Or recalling an already out of form Virendar Sehwag ?
If power-seeking selectors like Vengsarkar play this game, it will only lead Indian cricket toward the path of doom. The second-one dayer at Mohali emphasized the need of a cool headed middle order batsman like Dravid to stay, when the likes of Yuvraj and Dhoni went for glory. Dhoni's callous attitude may have paid of in the T20 cup, but he needs to be a lot more strategic in the longer ODI version.
As ardent supporters of Team Blue, one can only hope that the end of selfish cricketers, region-savvy selectors/Board can only start looking at the bigger picture - the future of Indian Cricket !
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