Sachinnnn Sachinnn !.. Sachinnnn Sachinnnn !.. Sachinnnn Sachinnnn !..

"Sachinnnn  Sachinnnn” “Sachinnnn  Sachinnnn” “Sachinnnn  Sachinnnn” !!! This is the most iterated rhyme of a 90s Indian kid which includes myself. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

   For a kid born in early 90s like me, cricket was nothing but SACHIN TENDULKAR. We grew up along with Sachin's career, watching him becoming the best in the business, becoming the GOD of the game we loved. We watched cricket just to watch him bat. Every time he went out to bat, we wanted him to score a century and win it all by himself for the country. That mattered to us the most, than anything else. He made our childhood to be precise.

But as I grew up, I started understanding the game more. I understood Sachin more. But one thing never changed. Sachin’s batting gave us joy. Throughout those 24 years, in all those 664 international appearances he made, we wanted him to bat for as long as possible.

When we look back at Sachin’s journey, there are a lot of untold stories. What everyone knows is that Sachin was a childhood prodigy who took the world by storm and scripted an unimaginable story in the history of the game. But what most people didn’t know is that Sachin was the most blessed child of his generation. Like Rahul Dravid mentioned recently in the MAK Pataudi lecture, Sachin got the best support system possible, for a kid who possessed unimaginable talent and immense hard work.

Sachin was so blessed to get a brother like Ajit, a mentor like Ramakant Acherekar. It’s so interesting that the career of Sachin coincides with the most important phase of Indian economy. In 1991 Sachin had just started to take the centre stage of the sport. It was in the same year Economic liberalisation was brought into act by then Indian Government. Sponsors flew in towards the wonder kid of the second most populated country. Cable TVs, Colour televisions entered the lives of the middle-class people. Sachin was now visually available at almost every single home in India.

Every single house/family owned him, as if he was their own. To be honest, that’s a curse as much as it’s a blessing. 1997-2003 was the span in which Sachin was at his peak. It’s amazing that he was in form for almost six long years. He was the nightmare for every single opposition. Most teams believed that if they got Sachin, they’ve won the match. Irony is that, almost every Indian thought so. Most of them switched off the TV as soon as Sachin got out.

Luckily my home wasn’t in that list. The love for the game I had is in my gene. At least I believe so. The interest towards cricket at home goes long back into the days of radio commentary, when there were no televisions in the native village were my Dad grew up. It was he, who made me realise that cricket is not just about Sachin. It’s a team game. And more importantly, anything is possible in cricket.

It’s not that people at home didn’t like Sachin. We adored him as much as anybody else in the country. But they just know that the game is bigger than any individual. This is something that even Sachin has said himself.

On field Sachin as an individual, was a Genius. He worked hard as much as a person could at his game. Technique wise he‘s a freak. Every time he went out to bat, he wanted to dominate the bowler, whoever he may be. His hunger and appetite for runs is unimaginable.

The way he handled himself on the field made everyone love him. There were a billion people who wanted to make his dream of winning a world cup come true. When he finally lifted it after 22 long years, most people cried in joy for him winning the world cup than the country winning it.  

Once he retired, the book of Sachin got released. The title of the book “Playing it my way” suited him the most. True, Sachin played the game in his own way, which was unimaginable for anybody else. That is the reason why the whole world is in awe of him even now. But in the book, more than joy which he gave on the field, a fine line of rage was clearly visible at many places. I would have preferred the dressing room things remain within, than exposing it to the world. I wouldn’t complain though, as he was honest.

Even now whilst writing this, two years after his retirement there is only one thing I remember when I think about him. Thinking about Sachin’s batting gives me only Happiness. I am always grateful to him for making my childhood with awesome memories. Don’t think me as if I didn’t love him as much as the country did. I am one of those billion fans who cried on 16-Nov-2013. Believe me, I did. Happy birthday Sachin !

The story will not be the same without a genuine story teller !...

            People play sport for different reasons. Some play it for their physical fitness, some as hobby and some for the joy it gives. But none will take it as a profession if there are no spectators. The sponsors come in and players get paid only because of the spectators. People may disagree that they play for pride. Yes, players indeed should take pride in representing their country. But none will do it for free. And I don't ask them to do as well. What I am trying to say is that sport will not flourish as a profession if there are no spectators.

           Cricket comes under this as well. We watch the game for the joy it gives us. The joy can be increased or decreased by the story teller, i.e. commentators.They narrate the untold stories of the game to a common fan. They even help a lot of people improve their language and communication skills unknowingly. I honestly believe that the very little amount of English I know, is learnt purely by listening to commentators like Mark Nicholas, Alan Wilkins, Michael Slater, Mike Atherton, Harsha Bhogle and a few others. Being an Indian, Harsha Bhogle has been an inspiration to me. His perspective towards the game has always amazed me.

           If we look at the past twenty five years, there isn't a better commentator from India. A lot of cricketing legends has taken commentating as their second profession. But only a very few are genuinely good at commentating, like they were at playing. It is always great to hear from the legends and knowing their point of view about the game. But, to be a professional commentator certain skills are required and I believe only a few have it. Rahul Dravid could have become a commentator as good as Harsha. But there are bigger things he is capable of doing. And very rightly, he went to do that.
       
           Now that Harsha Bhogle's term as commentator in IPL has been terminated without any notice, I would like to look at the possible reasons for it. Either it might have been the argument with organizer in Nagpur or the comment on the pitches during India -South Africa test series or that tweet and explanation regarding Ind-Ban match. Or all these might just have piled up. If there is a genuine reason, then that could have been explained.

            Either he was so wrong that it wasn't explainable or it may be the fact that he was so good at telling the actual story which couldn't be bared. But I just hope like he himself has said, it's not because of the comments from the players. Because I believe he isn't one of those commentators who praises like god on a good day and ditches like the reverse of it on a bad one. Being a professional commentator he has always stuck to the story and told it as it is. He do praise on a good day but mentioning the past as well. Which means he clearly knows that one good or one bad day is not going to define a player. And there isn't a better commentator who criticizes in a gentler manner. In other words a very professional manner. And being professional is the only thing that he has always loved to be referred with.
           
          But this is not just about him. When these petty politics happen to affect the sport it is definitely not good. More than on field which everyone knows, when it is affecting the small off field external things like these, it will not have a good impact on the spectators. It is really heart warming to see the spectators speak up in favor of a commentator in common, irrespective of the their favorite player/team.

     
         It is for those spectators these tournaments are being held. Without spectators the game isn't going to flourish. I just hope the  cricketing board thinks about it and I believe it is only for the IPL and not for the internationals. Like Harsha famously quoted regarding Sachin's name not in the Lord's Honours board, it's the loss for the tournament and the spectators for they cannot hear from a genuinely good story teller. And hopefully it doesn't last long.

It all comes down to this!

       It all comes down to this at the Eden Gardens. One is a team which looks as if they own the format and the other one is a team which has completely transformed their perspective towards the format.

    As far as T20 is concerned, WI have always looked like a champion side. When all their stars come to their own aiming for a single trophy, they'll be nearly unstoppable.

   They have stuck to their game plan. Their dot ball percent is too high. But so is their boundary percent. That's the reason why they struggled on a slow turning track against Afghanistan. But with the inclusion of Simmons and the innings he played against India they should be able to play much better than the other night. He is one of those who can rotate the strike really well.

   Though they have won four games so far, West indies are yet to set a target for the opposition in the tournament. They have chased in all five matches. We will have to wait and watch whether they can ignore the big occasion and chase again.

   England on the other hand has played some really good cricket. They are bowling well. Their batsmen are attacking from the word go. They are playing similar to the way they played in 2010. Root is doing the job that Pietersen did in 2010. With a lot of match winners like butler, stokes in the side, they should be backing themselves to cross the line for the second time.
  Recently I read Michael Atherton saying that England has benefited alot because of it's association with BCCI in this tournament as for as pitches and travel schedules are concerned. But I don't buy that thought too much because, unlike England, Australia who is one among the BIG THREE have played on tough conditions.

    The reason for England's redemption in shorter format is their world cup exit last year and their decision to persist with Morgan. That exit made them rethink their approach and the pitches used for the format. I have always wondered since 2012 why Alex hales then no. 1 T20 batsman was not picked for the ODIs. The series after the world cup against NZ saw some flat pitches and really high scoring games. Ever since England have played similar kind of cricket. They have got the perfect team balance.

 England also have rided so far on chasing. That is why I believe there's a lot riding on the way the pitch is gonna behave. If the ball turns square like it did in IND - PAK game, it's going to be a difficult game to predict. That's when the toss matters alot. But if it is similar to those these two teams have played so far, both the teams would prefer chasing because the PAR SCORE is becoming difficult to predict these days.
   Purely for their attitude and the joy they bring on, heart goes with the Windies. But somewhere deep inside I feel that England have a better chance for a second time glory. We just have to wait and watch.

Time to make the miracle happen

Cricket is such a crazy game that anything is possible and the shortest format of the game has always been full of surprises. This world cup was just an example to prove it.
     India who started as favourites, have scratched their way into the semis. New Zealand as a team have played the best cricket so far. West indies as expected made sure all their T20 stars are at their best. England being unpredictable as I said before the tournament have made their way into the semis in a much convincing fashion.
     In a high pressure tournament of this calibre, there were moments of joy, frustration, sorrow, panic. It was a great pleasure to watch Afghanistan play at this level and giving some tough time to the top teams. Bangladesh played some good cricket. But they just have to learn how to hold their nerves. With the crop of players they have, they will be a good team in the coming decade.
  
Pakistan and Sri lanka are yet to find their batting stars. They really need to look at the players whom they have to bank on and whom not to. South Africa have been a great team which always misses out on these kind of tournaments. Before the start of world cup, De Velliers was opening the batting and I thought that was a great move because if he stays for six overs, he is definitely going to take the game away from the opposition. Then I really couldn't understand what happened. It felt as if there wasn't a clarity about his role in the team. The small errors they made, cost them the tournament.



      Like I hoped for at the start, Kane Williamson has scripted the storyline perfectly until now. The way he has handled the conditions with the resources he have was admirable. It's not a team with superstars. But it looked as if there is clarity on the role assigned to each player and they were doing it to perfection. They are yet to have a high scoring game. Being an unknown entity, Mitch Santner has bowled really well on the spinning tracks which he is not much used to. He'll be the key against England at the Kotla. Hopefully Kane continues the script like he has so far.


England literally lost to Chris Gayle  in their first match. But the match against south africa must have lifted their morale. The starts they get and the way Root and butler are playing, it shouldn't surprise us that they are in the semifinal after that incredible chase against South Africa. They are playing the same brand of cricket like they did back in 2010. And Root is doing a KP of 2010 here. Though they managed to win, they struggled on a turning track against Afghanistan. They are again going to Delhi to face the kiwis who have won everything with their spinners so far. It's going to be a good battle to watch.



West indies started off on the back of a Gayle special against England. Sammy has made sure that all their individual stars have come to the party. Every team has their own way to go about the game. They play to their strengths. West indies strength have always been the fire power they have in their batting line up. They have played to their strengths do far. They rely on  those big Sixes and boundaries to score runs. If you look at the scorecard against England, Gayle scored 86 runs of 16 balls in boundaries and 14 singles with 18 dot balls. Similarly Samuels scored 32 in 8 balls and 5 singles and 13 dot balls. They tend to struggle when those boundaries doesn't come, like they did against Afghanistan.




India unlike west indies, have played on pitches that were tough to bat on. They was demolished against New Zealand by the spinners. The match against Bangladesh was a great team effort with the genius of MSD. It was the Kohli special against Pakistan and Australia. Indian bowlers have done really well. All five bowlers have stuck to their roles and are doing it to near perfection. It's just the batting which really didn't fire so far except for that one man, Virat Kohli. Every game he keeps improving and raising the bar for others. His work ethic is unbelievably good. But it's high time the openers and the finishers fired. Unless they do well, it is definitely going to be difficult to cross the line from here.


 The game plan of India is exactly opposite to that of the West Indies. They relish on getting those singles and twos and the odd boundary in every over. It has been the game of Virat and it has worked wonders for him and the team. Even in the match against Australia, it's the running between Dhoni and Kohli that put Aussies on the back foot. The key for India against Windies will be not to give easy boundaries and make them run for their runs. That's when they struggle. But for the same reason I believe, the pitch is going to play a huge role. It has been very flat so far. If it remains the same, I am afraid that the bowlers have to play out of their skins to restrict WI.




The tournament so far has been great fun. Of course there were heart breaks as it always tends to happen. It has given us a few moments to cherish. And now it's just the final showdown of the carnival between four different kind of teams. Like the pre tournament ad says, it's time to make the miracle happen. And it'll be interesting to see who's gonna make it happen.

The Carnival is here to Celebrate

Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game. There’s no better scene in cricket than watching an interesting session of a test match. There isn’t an enthralling moment than Mitchell Johnson running in to bowl at the Gabba and the 20,000 spectators beating the advertising boards in the rhythm of the bowler’s run-up. As a fan it gives me goose bumps. But I also wonder what the batsmen will be thinking when a fast bowler who is capable of bowling at 150kmph is running in with the backing of sound made by the crowd. But like Virat kohli said when one can ignore everything else and concentrate only on the ball bowled that’s when the player believes he belong at that level.

Much to the contrary of test cricket, there’s another version of the game. It is the version in which the entire match is just a little longer than a single session of a day in test. This is a format which was introduced more than a decade ago in England to fill the calendar after Benson Hedges cup. It also helped ECB to drive people to the ground in the evening for entertainment much like watching a movie.

T20s had a sedate start in world cricket. During the early days of it, many including me thought this isn’t proper cricket at all. But cricket proved us wrong as it has always evolved and re-evolved into its best possible form. It’s kind of weird that it was India who is the only nation to vote against the inaugural t20 world cup, won it. MS Dhoni said “One thing is for sure. This format is going to be an instant hit in our country” after winning it.    

The Indian Premier League which was inaugurated in 2008 has evolved as the biggest franchise T20 tournament in the world. It looks as if T20 is all about entertainment, which is not the case actually. This format has entirely changed the dynamics of the game. The fielding standards have been raised all over the world. It has had a greater impact in the way the other two formats, especially ODIs are played now.   

Initially everybody thought this is going to be a batsman’s format. But over a period of time the game by itself proved that bowlers have an equal share or even more contribution to a team’s win in a T20. Because the more batsmen are trying to dominate, the more bowlers have a chance of getting them out. So there is a balance between bat and ball provided the boundaries are not brought in too much.

Five world cups have given us five different champions. It clearly sends out a message that no matter how good a team is, a small error in a crunch game could make their campaign a disastrous one. This time the world cup is hosted by India. Most of the Australian, South African and West Indian players have a great experience playing in the IPL.

India will clearly start the tournament as favorites. On paper the squad looks the most balanced one. Ashwin is going to be the key bowler. But like I said earlier if in a crunch game India’s top three batsmen fail then the team will definitely be in deep trouble. That is why I believe Yuvraj Singh is going to be the key for India. If he can come to his own like he did recently in Asia cup then India is the team to beat in the tournament.

With AB Devilliers opening the batting and if he bats for ten overs with Faf, Duminy and Miller to follow, South Africa is capable of taking the game away from the opposition. Imran Tahir and Steyn will be the key for them. If they deliver and if they can avoid the smallest forms of errors like they did in the Eden Park against New Zealand, they could possibly write a fairy tale script this time around.  

Australian batsmen have a great experience in IPL. But it’s their inexperienced bowling lineup and the lack of quality spinner that might hurt them. They will miss Mitchell Starc who has been phenomenal in the IPL. The onus is definitely on the batsmen who are capable of doing wonders. It is going to be tough for them in India. But with Australia, the kind of team they are, you never know. They definitely will be tough competitors.

West Indies have picked their best T20 squad. This is more or less the same team that won the tournament in 2012 except for the fact that they will have to play without their best spinner. Considering the balance and experience they have playing in these conditions, if they play up to their potential they definitely will end up in the semi finals at least.

New Zealand will start as dark horses this time unlike the 2015 world cup because of the conditions here. They will miss Brendon badly. But much to most people’s negligence, Kane Williamson averages around 45 in T20Is in the past one year or so. But the key role has to be played in the middle order by Anderson and Elliot. With Trent, Mitch, Ross and Martin around hopefully Kane can do something magical for their country.

England and Pakistan are going to be the un-predictables. Sri Lanka is still searching for a batsman to fill in the void of Sanga and Mahela. Bangladesh may give us some surprise wins. For me India, South Africa and West Indies have the best possible chance to be in the semi finals. The one other team to be in the top four is difficult to pick.

I may end up being totally wrong. It’s a funny game that anything is possible in cricket. There’s going to be a lot of happiness, some sadness and frustration from the losses. But one thing is for sure. So much of good cricket is going to be played which is going to give us great joy and pleasure. It’s going to be a great carnival with a lot of fun and I am definitely looking forward to it.

Greater personalities for the Greater Good !

The U19 worldcup have almost come to an end. India have marched their way to the final, dominating every single opposition. Though the best competitors in the world i.e. Australia, skipped the tournament for security reasons, both Westindies and India have played really good cricket. If not they definitely wouldn't have reached the final.

            Irrespective of the result of the final, Rahul Dravid definitely will be proud of his boys. It’s heartwarming to see him going to the dressing room of the associate teams and instilling faith in them after they have been demolished on the cricket field. It’s a nature that we don’t see very often. But with Rahul Dravid, it shouldn’t surprise us.

Read: Australia pull out of under 19 world cup            

Read: A Dravid memory for the Canada boys to take back home

The term of current Indian team director ends with the T20 worldcup. Considering this in mind, there can’t be a better situation to appoint Rahul as coach of the Indian team. With a long home season of tests to come, there can’t be a better foil to the Indian test captain Virat Kohli. If Rahul accepts the offer, then it would be the best thing to happen for Indian cricket in the next decade. The calmness of Rahul will definitely do a greater good to the aggressive, in your face- Virat!

If at all Rahul believes he is not ready yet, then there is one other guy who can do similar good. Anil Kumble is the man for the job. These two people go unnoticed on most occasions. But the glorious moments of Indian cricket in the past decade belong to them. Anil captained the Indian team for a brief period of time which was filled with controversies, like the one in Sydney 2008. I can’t think of any other person who could have handled those situations better. Much like the saying “Horses for courses”, he was the perfect man for the situation. He doesn’t back off from sledges. But his replies were never found offensive. His attitude on and off the field is unmatchable.

Read: Anil Kumble interview after sydney test

Watch: Anil kumble interview after perth victory

India always had their bowlers performing well overseas in patches. But they faded away even more quickly than they arrived. The fact that Anil is the most successful Indian bowler over a consistent period of time in overseas conditions will definitely help. As they say, “a stronger bowling team always have a better chance of winning the test match than a stronger batting team”, I strongly believe "The Engineer" has a great deal up his sleeve to contribute to the team provided the offer was given and he accepts it.   

                           

      

Ravi Shastri and his team of support staff including Sanjay and Arun has done a great job so far. But I believe some credit must be given to Duncan Fletcher. He is definitely not as bad as the statistics show. At times you will have to look beyond the statistics and understand the context of the situation. He took over as the coach of the No. 1 team in the world. But it was a team that consisted of legends who were at the fag end of their careers. They failed and the team lost consistently overseas.

                         

          

But it was during the same period when the likes of Virat, Pujara, Rahane, Rohit came up to the stage. The rise of Virat over the years is staggering. But I firmly believe there is a greater contribution of Duncan in his rise. Even Virat has said that Duncan silently observes and comes to you only if you had something to be corrected.  During the New Zealand tour there is one such thing that he told virat after his struggle in first innings and he said that it immediately worked and he scored a century in the very next innings. There must be more of such untold stories about him.

You can ask Kevin Pietersen who turned to Duncan when he felt like things didn’t work.  He was the one who coached England to victory in arguably the greatest ashes test series of all time in 2005-06.

Read: Kevin Pietersen turns to Duncan Fletcher

                                               

Both captaincy and coaching is much like a relay race. If the baton is not passed perfectly, there will be initial struggle for the next person running. But Indian cricket is extremely blessed over the past fifteen years as the baton has been passed perfectly every single time. Now the time has come for the baton to be passed for the coach. You can ask about the captaincy baton which is yet to be passed in shorter formats. I believe MS Dhoni will do that perfectly, like he had done in the longest format. So let’s leave that aside for now.

Once the world T20 gets over, I will be keenly looking forward towards the selection of coach. There can’t be two better personalities for the job than Anil and Rahul. Hopefully if BCCI offers the job to either one of them and they accept it, then there can’t be better thing to happen for the Indian cricket team and its captain. Glory times are definitely ahead.  

The Dominance of Serenity

I believe every batsman in the world is rated on how he performs outside his comfort zone. And very rightly, that’s the way to do it. There’s a league of batsmen lighting up the stage at this moment of time. Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson along with David Warner are those in the top of the league.

Many would argue about the absence of Abraham Benjamin deVilliers in that list. Considering his age and the fact that he is already a modern day legend, I would like to keep him out of this. FAB FIVE as most people say about them now-a-days, they really are fabulous to watch.

But every one of them is yet to conquer a territory outside their comfort zone. Virat is yet to dominate on seaming tracks. For Warner it’s the rank turners and for Root it’s the bounce that is troubling them. I wouldn’t say Smith has conquered it all yet. At this moment of time he is in his own league, but there are still a lot of loopholes in his technique. The advantage for steve smith is that he can play proper cricketing shots. But he also has this tail-ender slogs to put the good balls away and that makes it difficult for a bowler. The other three mentioned above is more likely to conquer their weakness sooner or later.

Among these young players, it’s Kane Williamson who stands out. He can play swing, spin and bounce as well. I wouldn’t say there’s nothing left for him to conquer, but he barely struggles anywhere in the world. He made his debut in India and made a century when his team struggled. He has dominated in England, New Zealand and Australia as well. He is not like a Warner to score at a strike rate excess of 130 or to score 150 more scores in ODIs like Virat or Rohit Sharma in ODIs. But he’ll score those 70s and run a ball hundreds consistently.

The most admiring thing about him is that he scores without any fuss. He silently does the job for the team. His calmness has made a huge impact on his team as well. Last year, Brendon McCullum in an interview when asked about the kids of New Zealand wanting to become like him, he said he would want them to grow up and become like Kane Williamson.

I seriously believe there’s a similar player who’s not considered in this top five more often than not. Ajinkya Rahane is very much similar kind of player to Williamson. He has already excelled in test cricket all over the world. But to perform as good as Kane does in limited overs cricket, the team management has to give him a settled batting slot and a long run like the Black Caps did.

He had to warm the bench for 16 consecutive test matches before making debut. But once he got his chance, he has capitalized on it after his nightmarish debut. As far as ODIs are concerned, he has reached 2000 runs in the same number of innings as Dravid did. Rahul Dravid went on to score 10,000 ODI runs. If Rahane continues to bat at No. 4 for India in ODIs, I strongly believe he’s silently going to pile up a lot of runs for the country.

Image Courtesy (http://www.dnaindia.com)

 With all due respect, Rahul Dravid cannot be compared to anybody in the cricketing world. But purely based on the nature of personality on the field and kind of cricket they play, I would be more than happy to say that both Kane Williamson and Ajinkya Rahane could well possibly become the Rahul Dravid of this generation.

 

 

Their serene nature is something that make all the three go unnoticed. May be that’s their gifted talent or maybe they might have worked hard for it. In either way, it is that nature which is going to make these two youngsters unique, like it did in the case of Rahul Dravid.

There’s always going to be a lot of fuss around Kohli, Root, Smith and Warner. But for me, Kane Williamson and Ajinkya Rahane are the two players who are going to achieve a lot than what is expected from them. They are the ones to watch out for in the coming decade!