The Retrospective.

If October 2nd was a dry day for liquor lovers, it certainly was a dry day of sorts for me. Not that i was exasperated for not having laid my hands on liquor (am not a booze freak anyways) but it was a day when i was totally sapped and probably let myself and a team of 14 individuals down. That day when i felt distraught with my own actions.

The finals of the corporate cricket tournament between AOL & Wipro was scheduled for October 2nd at 9 a.m. The team had to be on the field an hour early. We had to win the match as there was quite a lot at stake. Another task i had in mind was to go for dandiya the previous night with a few friends. The plan was simple - I'd spend time at the dandiya party till 1 a.m, get some sleep and go for the match fresh the next morning. Little did i know what was in store the next day. Sometimes its the retrospective that helps you judge better - for better decisions in future, hopefully.

I must admit i had a blast at the dandiya party. But for some reason i was able to leave the venue only at 2 a.m. Saw my friends off and was home at 3 a.m. Two hours of sleep is by no means satisfactory considering the fact that i had to spend 4 hours on the field. Corporate events may not be as competitive as the regular league matches. But once on the field you don't want to be giving anything less than 100% for that is a great lesson sport can teach any individual. I was like an insomaniac clearly not feeling comfortable. One of my teammate asked me about my red-eyed eyes. For once i wished it had rained like crazy and the match got shelved. Anyways once on the field the everything else becomes immaterial.

Wipro batted first with former India batsman Sujith Somsundar in their ranks, was dismissed early. Despite the plethora of extras conceeded we kept the opponents under control who were 4 wickets down for 60 runs. For me the nightmare was just about to begin. A wicket-keeper's feel good factor is pretty much like a batsman hitting the first few balls he faces right in the middle of the bat. The sweet sound from the willow charges you up. Similarly, a keeper feels good when the ball lands with a thud straight into the center of the gloves. When that doesn't happen then something is certainly wrong.

It was terribly hot, I felt weak, feeling drowsy and was unable to squat well. But i couldn't show it out as the keeper forms the backbone of a team. It showed in my body language when i wasn't at my vocal best. Just when we thought we were cruising along well the new batsman edged an outswinging delivery. It went low to my right, hit the tip of my glove and was past me even before i could realise. When the ball is low, going away from you the best possible way is to stay low (knee bent) that enables the keeper to enable a smooth finish. Clearly I was late without the intended focus on the ball, a catch i would have snatched up on any other day.

The batsman eventually went on to score more than 50 runs that enabled Wipro to defend a formidable 180 in 20 overs. In the break i was down and out physically although few of my teammate's tried to cheer me up. I'd paid for my mistake overnight. The only way out now was to compensate with the bat and try to win the match for my team. I did my best batting reasonably well scoring at close to 10 runs per over and in the process managed to reach 100 in the 11th over as expected. At times i couldn't run those singles which i could have at relative ease, had cramps and felt like vomiting. My first thoughts were about the Dravid's and Tendulkar's playing a 5-day test match at Cochin or Vizag where the temperature can be unforgiving. And here i was, a non-entity who was passionate about the game playing a 20 over game in relatively better conditions.

We needed 80 runs from 8 overs with 8 wickets in hand. From now on it was a matter of sticking at the crease as long as possible and keep the score ticking. A realistic target for sure and a gettable one. By then i was watching the ball really well until the first ball of the 13th over when i top edged a short ball to a fielder at deep square leg.The bowler yelled as i walked back making it evident that he'd broken a partnership that would have seen AOL through for i was determined to finish the game at any cost. There was a great sense of resentment morseo since the drop catch played on my mind throughout. Eventually we lost the match and the finals by 10 runs. Ironically the batsman received the man of the match award while my teammates teased me saying i should have got the award instead.

As i mentioned earlier the level of competence isn't quite as comparable to the highest level. But for an individual such experiences, emotions are similar irrespective of the league one represents. The drop catch reminded me of Herschelle Gibbs who dropped Steve Waugh's catch in the 1999 world cup that helped Australia go through the finals. Incidentally Steve Waugh was famously quoted as saying "Son you've just dropped the world cup". My inability to finish the game later reminded me of the famous innings by Tendulkar against Pakistan in 1999-2000 in Chennai when he battled all odds with a severe back spasm scoring 136 before holding out to Saqlain Mushtaq. That loss in particular still continues to haunt Sachin.

I am no Gibbs or a Tendulkar but the fact is that i could relate to what these legends must have gone through. And to play under such pressure physically and emotionally at the highest level takes tremendous effort. As for the common man it is rather easy to be a couch critic and lament at these players when they have had a bad day on field. The underlying fact is that every athlete tries to give his 100 percent or more when he performs. Over a period of time they become champions who in the process toil hard relentlessly. It doesn't take much effort to comment on a drop catch of a Brett Lee delivery bowling at 150kmph, ridicule a 7-time Tour de France winner in Lance Armstrong with dope charges or a 8-time Grand Prix winner in Valentino Rossi. But to emerge victorious after every possible adversity like these champions do requires great effort and courage. Criticism is fair when it is constructive.

Michael Jordan in one of his quotes said - "I've always believed that if you put in work results will come. I don't do things half-heartedly. Because i know if i do, then i can expect half-hearted result". As for me it was a day that taught me a great deal. It was a lesson well learnt and that would be not to do things half-heartedly and to get one's priorities right.

IPL Fan Loyalty and Mumbai's partial crowd

It was one of the most thrilling matches so far in the IPL and the Mumbai crowd certainly had their moneys worth.A last ball,last wicket runout and a game perfectly scripted for T20 that went down till the wire, ending up with the Kings Punjab eventually winning, who looked defeated until Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal.For Mumbai Indians it wasn't a game they deserved to lose considering the stiff competition on the top of the league table sans the Rajasthan Royals.

While the over 20,000 Wankhede crowd had reasons to feel let down, throughout the match the support for the hometeam was unconditional not to mention that it was thoroughly onesided, booing the Punjab players.At the post match presentation Yuvraj Singh made his displesure evident indicating the "crowd was partial" and that the guests had a host of players like himself, Sreesanth and others who represent the country and deserved to be appreciated.This wasn't the first of its kind though.The IPL has already been witness to similar instances when Rahul Dravid was surprised on not being lauded after scoring a boundary in Mumbai and Sehwag literally begging for an applause in Hyderabad.

While Yuvraj might have made his intentions clear like Sehwag and Dravid did earlier, these were clearly signs of what the IPL had in the offing to which the Mumbai fans would testify to.The Punjab captain's complaint for once defies logic, certainly the IPL logic.Wasn't this expected when IPL started on similar lines as the EPL(English Premier League) - Growing city based loyalties? As for the debates surrounding the IPL in terms of the fans apprehenson towards supporting their favourite stars or the city based franchise, the match against Punjab and Mumbai was testimonial to what the future holds for IPL in terms of the fan's loyalty.

Scenes like these are a new experience to the cricketers who otherwise witness great support when representing the country.But soon they would also need to realise that the league has a flavour of its own or one which is expected to build over the coming years and that the players not being appreciated playing away from home should not be a cause for concern.On the contrary the franchise owners would be smiling all the way for it has provided them with better opportunities to reach out to its niche audience and reap greater returns on their huge investments.

Afterall how often do we see a Steven Gerrard or a Lampard booed by the "English fans" at the Theatre of Dreams in the English premier league who otherwise get exceptional fan support playing at the Euro2008 or a Christiano Ronaldo welcomed back at Manchester United after a verbal dual with Wayne Rooney at the 2006Worldcup.The IPL fan loyalty will take its time to be as definitive as the EPL or a champions league.With such a dream start to its maiden venture the IPL slowly and steadily has all the makings to catch up with the best in the world.

Cheers,
Karthik.

INDIA SMILES YOUNG

It was close to midnight yesterday when almost an entire nation was glued to the TV sets eager to see through the INDIAN team to a win.While it indeed was a momentous occasion witnessing that nail biting finish at the Oval guided by young Robin Uthappa,on the other hand there was this bit of news in one of the news channel about two young doctors in a remote village of kashipur in Orissa who were saviours' in their own right saving hundred's of lives in the cholera hit region.

Contrasting indeed,the first instance there were millions of countrymen cheering and swaying through the night whilst on the other hand an entire village was getting back to life where the death toll had increaed to 800.In either case it was a story of an young INDIA making a difference to people's lives in different ways which makes it more appreciative.

While i was bursting away crackers in the middle of the night , little did i realise there were reasons other than the emphatic win in the form of these doctors making a huge impact on a poor persons life who had to be carried to hospitals on their relative's shoulders walking barefoot that was appealing.

It was quite a daunting task with India needing almost 8 runs per over and with not many recognised batsmen around ,21 year old Robin uthappa showed great signs of courage and mettle taking ownership in steering the team to a magnificient win.Personally i thought the celebration and the camaradrie after the win when Yuvraj singh went around dancing with Uthappa was enthralling as a viewer ,where even doordarshan would have found it hard to sneak through an advertisement!

In fact whilst the victory was sweet it was the grit and determination with which the two government doctors in Orrisa,Rajendra Mandal & Surendrarath went about doing their jobs treating hundred's of cholera patients that was special.

At a time when doctors and engineers prefer to work in Australia or UK ,it is amazing how these doctors deputed in a remote corner of the country had made a difference to people's lives.It had been 3 weeks since these doctors had a wink of sleep,having sacrificed their personal lives in the common man's welfare,working day and night on patients ,it isn't surprisng though when the villager's refer to them as "missionary" or "bhagwan". As for the villagers there was "hope amidst despair" and their dedicated efforts meant that the death toll in the village had reduced drastically.

While a win may reap bonus and perks for our cricketers,benefits such as these may be a far cry for these modest doctors who ought to be happy with the petty government income and yet working there hearts out in adverse conditions is heart breaking.In a nation like ours where real sacrifices are rather easily forgotten like the good sporting wins indicative of a lack of sporting culture,it wouldn't come as a shocker if the efforts of such doctors doesn't even get a word of appreciation in the government.

Sans the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats,even with inspiring acts such as these and many more we as an average INDIAN still are in an apprehensive state of mind unmindful of the fact that we owe something to this wonderful nation in any capacity which is at the least one can do.

For me personally it was one instance where YOUNG INDIA had stood up and emerged victorious in its own way.

Cheers,
Kutlu..

Bye Bye BCCI

Remember the phrase "Fire in the mountain run, run run" when you were a kid !! This is what the BCCI(Board of Control for Cricket in India) is upto hypocritically , unable to accept the fact that it has been given a shot in the arm by the new league started on similar lines to the BCCI which intends to add a new dimesion to cricket in INDIA called the "Indian Cricket League ", famously called the ICL.

While there is a definitive peril involved in starting a parallel venture as against the BCCI,one must admit it indeed is a bold move by the originators of the ICL. But the fact remains to be seen if the ICL can survive and its performance can be guaged over the next 3 or 4 years.To say it would be the future of Indian cricket as some would imagine would be too premature in comparison to the BCCI having governed cricket for more than 60 years.

With an handful of domestic players with the likes of Ambati Rayadu,L.R.Shukla along with Indian discards S.Sriram,Dinesh Mongia,Rohan Gavaskar and a few more signing up for the ICL, the BCCI in its inner conscience would be aware of what it has already lost in the process and the challenges that would need to be factored.While these are wake up calls for the BCCI ,losing key players is an sad indication for any sports organisation.

While its a win-win situation for a few stars like Brian Lara,Inzamam ,for some of the domestic recruits it comes as a blessing in disguise who even after a series of brilliant performances were overlooked by the selectors owing to favourism,Quota system and votes which would help them stick to their positions long enough.Though not part of the ICL ,a key example could well be S.Sharath of the Tamil Nadu,considered one of the better middle order batting prospect for INDIA in the mid 90's, even after key performances for over a decade doesn't get a look in because of the board's politics.

While not many are ready to vent out their frustration over the board there are a few like Bengal bowler Saurashish Lahri, 26 yrs of age who was quoted saying in one of the newspapers wherein he was referred to as a "veteran" by one of the East zone selectors. If this is kind of motivation that a zonal selector can offer, then the BCCI better not be surprised.

With paltry match fees and job insecurities at the domestic level it doesn come as surprise if more and more domestic players move into the ICL.After all what benefits do these players get slogging for 20 years,be it in the board or in terms of monetary gain. A state selectors job ? Pension from the BCCI?

With the ICL offering a lucrative sum of 90 lakhs for a period of 3 years for the domestic players and a massive 10 crore for an international player there's hardly any doubt one would be tempeted to jump the ICL bandwagon along with getting to play some cricket!

While the ICL is not the only league of its own, a similar venture was started by Allen Stanford in the West Indies to improve the standards of their countries cricket called the "Stanford 20-20 cup". Although some cricket pundits regard these leagues as a step in improving the standard of cricket, only with time can one know how beneficial they prove to be.

In the wake of such a turnaround what would be BCCI's next step? Wait and watch the mass exodus of the players signing with ICL and stating "We are not worried by the ICL, no beneifits for the players in future" or will the administration pull up its socks now finally, which predominantly is run by a bunch of people who have no or very little knowledge about the game?

While its certainly not the end of the road ,the board needs to realise that its exitstence is largely because of the players and there is not much the board can ponder about.The fact remains to be seen if it can bring out a revolution of sorts in the way the game has been run and the BCCI is all but itself to blame.

At the moment though its ICL which is having the last laugh.