Author: Bobji

My tribute to the one and only Mr 360

Posted on by Bobji

Yes, it is official now. The batsman who can hit any bowler to any part of the ground he so desires has officially retired. We are talking about the one and only Mr. 360. Not for nothing is he called that. Some of the shots that he played which includes the scoop over the keeper or the shot over fine leg from well outside off, are shots that regular batsmen can only dream about. He was a special player. South Africa found it very difficult to replace him after so many years and Royal Challengers Bangalore might face the same. This is my tribute to the one and only Mr 360. A B de Villiers.

In the words of the man himself

“It has been an incredible journey, but I have decided to retire from all cricket,” de Villiers announced on Twitter. “Ever since the back yard matches with my older brothers, I have played the game with pure enjoyment and unbridled enthusiasm. Now, at the age of 37, that flame no longer burns so brightly.”

“I have had a long and fruitful time playing for RCB,” he said in a statement. “Eleven years have just whizzed by and leaving the boys is extremely bittersweet. Of course, arriving at this decision took a lot of time, but after a lot of contemplation, I’ve decided to hang up my boots and spend quality time with my family.

These were the words of de Villiers. The flame no longer burns. Every sportsperson goes through this phase which will eventually signal to them to stop. De Villers is no different. He may have been a batsman whom the bowlers feared. He may have been the batsman whom South Africa repeatedly turned to either to arrest a slide or increase the tempo exponentially. Even he cannot escape father-time and will have to stop at some point in his career. It was on the 21st of November 2021.

De Villiers had a cavalier approach to batting

The cricketing world will miss a player of his class. He retired from South African cricket sometime ago but atleast the fans were able to watch him bat in various leagues around the world. That is no longer possible. It has been a pleasure to watch de Villiers tear bowling attacks apart. After Vivian Richards, it was de Villiers who never really was bothered by any bowler. He played pace the same nonchalant way he played spin. Big bustling fast bowlers to the guile of spinners, no one had an answer to AB when he was in the mood.

De Villiers played the game unselfishly. He relinquished the South African captaincy when he saw Faf proved himself quite competent in that capacity and never captained South Africa again. The last 3 years were punctuated with questions over de Villiers will make himself available to play for South Africa again. Just before the 2019 ODI World Cup, de Villiers contacted Faf Plessis for a possible recall but the selectors decided against the recall and decided to go with the players who were already part of the system. Suffice to say South Africa were not able to prevail in that tournament.

Tributes from around the world

As expected, current and former players have paid tribute to one of the legends of the game.

“Not many people have had the impact on the game like AB did. It was indeed a pleasure to watch him play from the other side. Happy retirement AB, best wishes to and your family @ABdeVilliers17,” said Rohit in his tweet.

Virat Kohli tweeted, “To the best player of our times and the most inspirational person I’ve met, you can be very proud of what you’ve done and what you’ve given to RCB my brother. Our bond is beyond the game and will always be.”

Jos Buttler, “What a player! I was one of so many who would turn on the tv just to watch you bat. Enjoy retirement, what a career..”

Great entertainer for the crowd

Wherever de Villiers plays, the crowd is abuzz with anticipation. The admiration and respect that he commanded from even the home supporters was something to be seen to be believed. The walk to the wicket and the stadium resonates with “AB…Ab…AB…”. It will leave goosebumps. Some years ago, the Indian crowd at Mumbai were rooting for de Villiers over the home team because he absolutely traumatised the Indian bowlers. He scored at a massive strike rate of 195 in one of the ODI. The Indian crowd cheering for AB was something that amused opener Rohit Sharma that day.

Virat Kohli, in one of his interviews, admitted that Rohit Sharma being a Mumbaikar himself, was stunned by the crowd’s support for an opposition batsman. Batting is only one part of what de Villiers can accomplish on the field. His fielding be it at slips or in the outfield is a treat to watch. Some of the catches that he took will leave even Jonty Rhodes smiling.

Unfulfilled potential earlier on

For a very long time, de Villiers never really played to his potential. He had an excellent second season in international cricket but he again regressed for the subsequent years. A pep talk with Graeme Smith, the then South African captain rejuvenated de Villiers. He gave up wicket keeping and became a pure batsman. From then on, the world was his oyster. He did not look back at all and blossomed into the complete batsman the rest of the world have seen. From 2008 onwards for another 8 years he had such a stellar run with the bat that it was always de Villiers first and the rest of the batsmen when it comes to who is best batsman in the world.

How will de Villiers reflect upon himself?

De Villiers himself will not consider his career to be complete. The fact that he was never part of a World Cup, be it T20 or ODI or Test winning team will rankle for the rest of his life. Nevertheless, he can console himself bey reminding that he was part of a South African team that was the absolute best for about 7 years. He will be proud that he was part of a South African team that won 3 consecutive series in Australia. A feat that no other team have come close to repeating. He will also feel proud that he was part of a South African team that won 2 consecutive series in England. A world trophy would have glittered his stellar career but it wasn’t to be.

Other blogs related to South African cricket can be read here, here and here.

ICC is out of their minds and Tim Paine

Posted on by Bobji

Cricket fans all over the world, get ready for a rollercoaster ride over the next decade. Do not worry if your team failed to win a world championship. There is always the next year. Yes, now teams do not have to feel sad that they failed to win a ODI World Cup or T20 World Cup. There is always one around the corner. Really, ICC is out of their minds. Also Paine has resigned his captaincy. Let me offer my two cents in ICC is out of their minds and Tim Paine.

ICC schedule

According to ICC’s release, if the World T20 2021 is included, there will be one ICC event, it could be ODI World Cup or T20 World Cup or Champions Trophy every year till 2031. India will host 3 of these events with England and Australia being the other beneficiaries. Pakistan will host the 2025 Champions Trophy. This does not take into account the Test Championship that will be held once every 2 years.

Already, the fans are reeling under excessive cricket. Just 3 days after the completion of World T20, India against New Zealand has started. Sooner or later, cricket fatigue will set in and the game will start to lose fans. ICC seems to be helping that to happen sooner rather than later.

Rameez Raja, the PCB chairman has expressed happiness

“By allocating a major global event to Pakistan, the ICC has expressed complete confidence and faith in our management, and operational capabilities and skills,” PCB chairman Ramiz Raja said soon after the announcement. He added that the 2025 event will be a “boon for millions of home fans” who will watch their “favourite international players from close quarters.”

ICC is short-sighted

ICC wants to boost its coffers quickly. That seems to be their only intention. Otherwise, what is the point in scheduling so many tournaments so soon? ICC may claim that they need the money to spread the game globally. It is hightime ICC realises that cricket can never become a global sport. It will never be understood by a majority of the nations. Already, attendance in most of the grounds within the cricket playing nations have dwindled down for test cricket.

Spectators just do not turnup in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa and in some grounds in India. It is not like the olden days when fans especially Indians went to watch cricket at the ground for want of entertainment. The environment has changed. Now, there are lot of distractions. At lot of fans would not mind to sit through 30 minutes of soap rather than spend almost a day at the stadium. Anyway, the stadiums in India aren’t good to watch the game from. None of the stadium in India is decent. Leave alone Corona, other viruses will linger longer in the Indian stadiums. It is better to watch the game from the comfort of the home rather than from the stadium.

Twist of events before the Ashes

Tim Paine the Australian captain has resigned his captaincy just ahead of the Ashes. This is a jolt just before the Ashes. Paine has resigned because of some lewd messages that he had exchanged with a colleague some years ago.

“Today, I’m announcing my decision to stand down as the captain of the Australian men’s test team. It’s an incredibly difficult decision, but the right one for me, my family, and cricket,” Paine said as he read out a statement.

“As a background on my decision, nearly four years ago, I was involved in a text exchange with a then-colleague. At the time, the exchange was the subject of a thorough CA Integrity Unit investigation, throughout which I fully participated in and openly participated in.

With Paine’s resignation, the image of Australian cricket has gone down even further. Remember, Paine became the captain after the Newlands fiasco where Steve Smith, Bancroft and David Warner were caught for ball tampering. All of them were banned for about a year. Paine who was thought to be a clean took over the captaincy. It is a different story that he did not conduct himself in a dignified manner during his time. The words battle with Ashwin and a few other episodes certainly brought the image of Paine drastically down. Especially in the light of the fact that he did not match that with performance. Neither with the bat nor with his captaincy skills. Now, his tryst with sexism. The Australian board will need to introspect seriously. They will want to appoint a captain who will not drag the image of the Australia down. Will that be Pat Cummins?

Will Pat Cummins be able to handle?

After this fiasco, It is likely that Pat Cummins will take over the captaincy. It will certainly be a huge load on the shoulders of Cummins. Not only is he the main strike bowler but someone who keeps the opposition in check. It is extremely tough to get Cummins away. Not for nothing is he ranked number one for a long time. However, will captaincy affect his bowling? Will it affect his thinking? If it does, Australia will have a tough time during the Ashes because Cummins is Australia’s premier bowler. Australia usually plays only with 4 bowlers. If Cummins is affected by captaincy, they will be left with just 3 bowlers. Starc’s and Hazlewood’s performance deteriorates gradually throughout the series whereas Cummins’s does not.

Usually, Cummins will only have to think about his plans to dismiss the opposition batsmen. Now, if he becomes the captain, he will have to wear lot of hats. He will have to think about the playing 11, strategy to defeat the opposition, field placing, batting order and so many other things. These are bound to take a toll on him. If Cummins loses his potency because of captaincy pressures, Australian defence of The Ashes will be seriously compromised. On the otherhand, if Cummins does not want to become the captain or if Cricket Australia does not want to burden him during an important series, will Smith return as the captain? If that happens, Australian cricket would have come a full circle.

Other blogs related to ICC can be read here.

ICC playing rules

ICC rankings can be read here, here and here.

Rohit Sharma has finally spoken

Posted on by Bobji

It is a well known secret that the Indian team is the most overworked players amongst all the cricket playing nations. They are constantly involved in an away series or a home series or in the IPL. I have said this before but I will say it again that this sort of madness, a schedule that treats the players like a log of woods to the fire will break the players down at some point and that they need constant rest to rehabilitate and to work of their game. BCCI never cared about the players. Even with a former Indian captain and a successful one that at the helm. Now, Rohit Sharma has finally spoken.

Poor scheduling for the New Zealand series

India and New Zealand have started a new series. This is barely 3 days after the World T20 finished. The Indian players as we all know were involved in an intensely competitive series in England that was followed by the IPL and the World T20. They were in the bubble throughout and were in the bubble during most of the time before the England series. The players are tired and jaded. They were not treated well. Mad scheduling, constant travel, bio-bubble, hotel rooms, untimely food etc will take their toll. As a result some of the Indian players have taken a break from the New Zealand series. Kohli, Bumrah, Shami to name a few.

The players pretty well knew that the board does not care for them and they have to care for themselves and have rightly taken a break though I wish they had skipped IPL instead of playing for the country.

A start nevertheless a start has been made

Rohit Sharma, the new Indian T20 captain has finally spoken.

“Workload management is very important to us. Players are not machines. Taking time off is necessary,” Sharma said at a virtual press conference, with India’s new coach Rahul Dravid at his side.

“Some players who have been playing for long need to be rested to remain fresh. We want all our boys to be mentally fresh for the challenges ahead,” he added.

Will the former players have the backbone to speak against the board?

Yes, Rohit responded to a question about the need for breaks. He may not have blamed the board for scheduling excessive cricket but he may well have had a hint. Perhaps, in his mind he was thinking about the board. This was least expected but it is a good start. I hope more and more players will start to air the opinion about unrestrained cricket. The former players like Gavaskar, Sachin, Dhoni must talk. They must voice their views. They must bat for the present cricketers. Afterall, they have earned enough and do not need the board to support them in any way. Things must change in this country. The board cannot be left to run things on their own. They will one day end up destroying the very thing that they built.

The Ashes

On the other end of the spectrum, The Ashes will be underway in about a month. England will tour with their best available team and Australia have just announced their team for the first and second tests. Australia will most probably play their best attack in the series. They would not want to surrender the urn that they fought so gallantly in England a couple of years ago, that easily.

The best attack comprises of Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon. If England aren’t that positive, this attack will wallop them quickly. However, the trouble is what if England batsmen bat exceptionally well? What if Root who is in supreme form, continues from where he left off against India and scores tons of runs in the series? That is when the limitation of this attack will be exposed. Starc generally starts well in every series and his strike rate drastically tapers off towards the end of the series. Cummins is an asset and Australia just cannot afford to burn him and will want him to play for another 7-8 years.

Struggle against India

Australia really felt the pain of having the same attack last year against India. During the 4th test, especially after Vihari and Ashwin’s heroics at Sydney, the same attack lost all the energy and surrendered the fortress at Gabba. Root has learned from that and he infact has said that England will look to follow the Indian template. In a longer series, rotating the bowlers will prove vital in the end. Ofcourse that depends on how long does the English batsmen bat. If they score anywhere near 450 in every test, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon will be extremely tired even before the 4th test.

Rohit and test cricket.

2021 T20 World Cup my view

Posted on by Bobji

The 2021 T20 World Cup has thrown a surprising winner at the end. Australia. Who would have expected that at the start of the tournament? I certainly did not. The Australians themselves would not have expected. It showed in their reaction after winning the final. The tournament had other surprises too. Let me offer my two cents about the World Cup on 2021 T20 World Cup my view.

India’s exit

India’s exit at the group stages wasn’t really a surprise. The players were all quite tired and jaded. After a gruelling and evenly contested test series in England, they followed it up with another edition of the ever happening IPL. It was only natural that something somewhere must give and it happened at the World Cup. Tough luck but time to move on.

England wasn’t expected to exit

The bigger surprise was the exit of England. They are the team to beat when it comes to limited overs. The benchmark that they have established will be hard to beat albeit when it comes to batting. The power hitters right from the top till Adil Rashid at number 11 will make any opponent shiver at the thought of playing them. For the same reason they lost in the semi-final. The pitch wasn’t really conducive to their brand of batting and they fell more than 30 runs short. New Zealand took full advantage of chasing when the pitch quickens and England had no answer.

Having said that, England always had problems with their bowlers. The fact that the batters had to score those extra 60-70 runs to cover up for the bowlers shortcoming is something Morgan and the ECB must get into. Perhaps they may want to sacrifice some of the hitting towards bowlers who can pick up wickets. Chris Jordan, I have never seen him go for less than 6 an over and the same with Woakes. The services of Archer and Stokes was missed but they were still the favourites and must have gone onto with the title.

Pakistan

Pakistan as expected bowed out in the semi-finals. More than Shaheen Afridi, it was Harris Rauf who was the outstanding bowler for Pakistan. The difference in his pace from 147 to 122 KMPH proved problematic for most the teams. None of them were able to score freely of Rauf and that proved to be the difference between a competitive total and a below par one. India’s effort was a prime example. If only they had managed to score of Rauf, India could have ended up with a score in excess of 165. It could have been match winning. Alas, it wasn’t to be.

Rauf determined Pakistan’s fortune

This is where Australia showed how good they are against fast bowlers. They took care of Rauf and scored at 10 an over of him and that meant that even though Shadab Khan was devastating in the middle, Australia were still in the game. Shaheen Afridi perhaps felt that pressure of trying to contain when Rauf wasn’t able to at the other end. He may have felt that with Rauf expected to bowl the last over and with him being taken for runs already, everything fell on him, Shaheen to ensure a tight over. That pressure revealed itself and he wasn’t able to control it. Matthew Wade will not forget this innings in a very long time. He played an innings of his lifetime.

Have Australia achieved a turnaround?

After the 2015 World Cup, this was Australia’s best performance in any ICC event and their 6th World Cup title. Incredible performance. The Australian team clearly showed what sufficient rest and adequate play can achieve. This is a lesson the BCCI will do well to learn and understand. Australia hardly played any during the year and with not that great an outfit, outperformed every other team and that too on the slow Asian pitches. They did it with test match bowlers rather than any specialist T20 cricketers. Whether this will prove to be a renaissance for Australia is difficult to tell because they just do not have the personnel any longer. In about 12 months they will start as the favourites in the 2023 WC in Australia but will they be able to defend their title? I do not think so.

Mitchell Marsh, the man of the moment, played his best innings after the 181 against England. Now a big debate in Australia will be started whether Marsh must be included in the Ashes squad. Afterall, the test team is not brimming with confidence and they are in much need of energy. Whether this innings will prove to be second coming for Marsh, it is difficult to tell. He has all the strokes in the book though slight weaker against spin, he certainly possess class. Injuries have laid him low all these years. If he forgets bowling and concentrates on batting alone, he may still make a career as a pure batsman.

New Zealand’s tentativeness towards Australia

What about New Zealand? Why do they always find it so hard against Australia? I remember. Just before the Indian series in Australia, New Zealand were walloped 0-3. They just did not have any way to counter the Aussies. The nervousness of NZ clearly showed in the finals. The first 10 overs put paid to any hopes of they might have had of adding one more world title. 57 runs in 10 overs in a T20 game is unacceptable. Martin Guptill batted like he was batting in test cricket. Too slow by T20 standards. It left the middle order to do lot of work and post a competitive total. Despite Williamson’s heroics, New Zealand still fell short by 30 runs. New Zealand lost the game right there. In Dubai, the team that chases usually wins because of the dew and therefore the pitch quickens.

ICC must act

The ICC must seriously think about the reason why most teams prefer to chase in T20. In Dubai, the score stands at 16-1 in favour of teams chasing. Most of the T20 games are won by teams chasing. The ICC will do well to bring this lop-sidedness down.

Other world cup related blogs can be read here and here.

Indian team for the New Zealand series

Posted on by Bobji

So, the T20 World Cup is done and dusted and the start of another series. From an Indian player’s perspective, there isn’t much change. Over the last several years, most of the players move lethargically from one series to another. These tired and jaded bunch are now set to cross swords with their recent nemesis, New Zealand. I can only pity the players. Let me analyse the Indian team for the New Zealand series.

For some reason or the other, New Zealand have become India’s nemesis in recent years. Both while playing in New Zealand and in ICC tournaments. The 2019 World Cup semi-final loss is still fresh in memory as was the defeat in the WTC final. Added to that the 2021 T20 WC group game loss too. It is a different story that New Zealand does not have a good record against India in India but the gap atleast in ODIs is narrowing. Hardly 6-7 games now differentiates between the teams. I meant the win/loss record with India leading slightly.

New Zealand have certainly improved under Williamson. There is no doubt about that but India too have improved. However, it is unfathomable that the recent exchanges between the teams have been lop-sided in NZ’s favour. India for some reason suffers from lack of confidence when playing against New Zealand. It is in this backdrop that the next series will be played. India have rested some of the main players from the T20 squad and the test squad. Some of them make sense but the rest does not.

Some of the players rested from tests

Pant, Rohit, Bumrah and Shami will not be part of the test series whereas Kohli will not play the first test. There is absolutely no question as to whether these players deserve a break. They absolutely do. They have been playing for more than 10 months and that too within a bubble. It is tough for any player.

However, the question remains whether these players and a whole lot of others could have been given a break from the 2nd leg of IPL and thereby remain fresh for the T20 WC and the New Zealand series. Why is that club games are given priority and not international games? Isn’t playing for the country much more precious than playing for some franchise? Shouldn’t the franchises themselves informed the board that they do not want the overworked players to be playing in the IPL? These are pertinent questions and we all know what the answer will be.

Hopefully, Dravid has thought through

Anyway, these guys have been given rest now and let us hope that they are fit and full of energy for the all-important South African series later in December. I can only hope that Dravid has thought through the decision to rest important players considering the fact that this will be his first series as coach of the Indian team and that he will want to start on a winning note. That he will not repeat the mistake that he made in Sri Lanka by giving chance to far too many cricketers in the same game.

Some questions that needs answer

Shreyas Iyer may finally make his test debut in Kohli’s absence for the first test. It remains to be seen whether he is good enough at this level. I expect the playing eleven to be Mayank, Rahul, Pujara, Rahane, Shreyas, Jadeja, Ashwin, Saha, Axar, Ishant, Siraj/Umesh with Kohli replacing Shreyas for the second test. What is however puzzling is handing over the captaincy to Rahane and the dropping of Hanuma Vihari.

Rahane and his test credential

Rahane has been struggling for more than 5 years. It really is a miracle that he is in the team itself. Even in the recent series in England, he didn’t not cover himself with glory. There were calls to drop him and include Surya Yadav after the 2nd test. Such has been his pathetic display with the bat. Yes, he won the series in Australia with players who were hardly experienced at any level but that does not mean that he can be promoted to captaincy despite his struggle. The obvious question is who will lead in Kohli’s absence?

I would have had Ashwin the lead the team. He has excellent cricketing brain and this would have been the ideal situation to assess his leadership capabilities. You cannot have someone who is struggling to keep his place in the eleven lead someone who is certain to play a major role in the series.

The BCCI and the selectors is loath to take hard decisions. It is time the selectors earn their living. It is not like olden days when the selectors were honorary positions. Now they are paid professionals with the chief selector earning more than 1CR every year. They must be prepared to take bold decisions. If not, what is the reason for them to be in that panel? Questions must be asked about their selection and they are answerable. If you cannot drop Rahane it is alright. Have him in the team but just do not make him the captain.

The absence of Vihari

The non-inclusion of Vihari is even more baffling. The reason behind his omission is that he will be in the India A squad to South Africa where India will play the next series. He has been sent there to adjust to the conditions. His last test innings was a heroic effort at Sydney to save the game which ultimately helped in India winning the series. After that he went early to England but wasn’t included in any of the tests despite the struggles of Rahane and Pujara. There is no guarantee that he will be included in the squad after the A tour is finished. If Vihari can be treated so shabbily why can’t Rahane who is afterall past his sell-by date?

The T20 squad

The T20 squad has seen more changes than the test squad. IPL 2021 performers are included. Dravid wants to create a team for the next world cup in Australia in 2022. Venkatesh, Rituraj & Harshal who were by-far the standout performers Indian performers are part of the squad and are likely to play all the 3 games. The selectors seems to have lost confidence, finally, on Hardik Pandya and have Venkatesh as his replacement. The only problem is that he is an opener. Whether he will be able to adjust to the middle order position is open to question.

On the whole, test T20 team needed a bit of tweak with T20 specialists which was done but Rahane should not have been the captain in the first test.

New Zealand related blog

A joke called BCCI volume four – Various other

Posted on by Bobji

Before proceeding with this, please read volume 1, volume 2 and volume 3 and then you can continue with a joke called volume.

Lack of accountability towards other boards

The BCCI always has this tendency of treating other cricket boards as their lackeys. They do not seem to adhere to the tendency that when you are in a position of power, you must be humble. It took more than 7 years for India to play the first test against Bangladesh in India. By that time, they had played against every other opposition. It sort of created a sense of anger in Bangladesh which can be clearly seen in the cricket field through Bangladesh’s animosity towards the Indian team.

The height of lack of accountability towards other boards manifested in the form of India, Australia and England taking over the entire ICC and formed the Big 3.

Under N. Srinivasan, the BCCI sought more than lion’s share of the ICC’s revenue. It stemmed from the fact that it is India that generates 75% of the revenue. It perhaps is true but that money is to help other boards who are struggling for money. Alas, it is a shame the Big 3 never really understood that.

Women Cricket

Yes, the women are punching above their weight but the road is long. They have to accomplish a lot more before being considered as among the best. The BCCI must help in organising a proper first class competition for the women along the lines of Ranji Trophy. BCCI must also invest in the game and expand the game into rural areas. Organise regular tours. BCCI must have a plan similar to that of the men. Yearly domestic season and international season. Will they BCCI listen?

The women on their part must continue to outperform expectations and try to win as many as they can despite the meagre resources. They will have to force the BCCI and the Indian community to start watching more of their games.

Too many meaningless games

The fat lady has sung but will the BCCI listen? The answer is clear. They will not. The board will still go ahead and schedule meaningless games that the players will have to endure. Indian players will be playing the IPL which will be followed by the T20 WC, New Zealand series at home followed by the South African series. If you think that the players will get much needed rest after that series, you are wrong because it will be followed by games against Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand and will seamlessly land in 2022 IPL. One can easily imagine that the Covid protocols still remain. The mental toll on the players is really mindboggling.

Former players and commentators must speak up against this inhumane treatment. This is getting ridiculous. If this continues, the careers of most of the players will be shorter than usual. Will the former players of the calibre of Gavaskar, Manjrekar, Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar or Laxman speak up against the board? Especially Gavaskar whose views are respected? Afterall he is above 70 and has earned enough and must be in a position to not be afraid of the BCCI. Tendulkar who is loved and admired in this country must voice his views against the board. Same with Rahul Dravid even if that means he will not be part of the NCA or the Under 19 teams.

I am afraid we may not see these come to fruition. No one would want to take on the BCCI if it means financial lose for him or her. That is the sad state of affairs for this game in this country.

BCCI hasn’t contributed to the covid fund

Last year, the BCCI contribution a mere 51 crores towards the PM Cares fund. This is actually a pittance. It is a tight slap on the faces of all the fans who are suffering now. Shame on the BCCI.  For the sheer amount of money the board gets, only because of the fans, they must contribute upwards of 1000 crores of rupees. They have the wealth. BCCI is like a secret society. They keep the money to themselves. I sincerely wish that the BCCI is brought down to its knees for lack of contribution during these testing times.

The BCCI, over the last 2-3 days, through the commentators have appealed to the public to follow the Covid norms. This is too little and too late. I wonder why they didn’t do this from the start? BCCI needs to do more. They can aid in the procurement of oxygen. Distributing free masks, sanitisers, assist the frontline workers, police and lot more.

Stupid Ganguly on mental stress

The players are ofcourse under lot of mental stress. They will always be on the lookout for that one situation when they will also come under the scanner for Covid. The players will be nervous when every morning they will be subjected to Covid tests. Others like the Indian cricket board’s president, Saurav Ganguly will do well to keep their mouth shut.

“I feel we Indians are a bit more tolerant than overseas (cricketers). I’ve played with a lot of Englishmen, Australians, West Indians, they just give up on mental health,” the former India captain said at a virtual press conference ahead of the IPL starting this week.

“In the last six-seven months, with so much cricket being going on in the bio-bubble it’s so tough. Just going from the hotel room to the ground, handle the pressure and come back to the room and then get back to the ground again, it’s an absolutely different life.”

Ganguly has never in his career had to play under such enormous mental pressure. All he had to do was to cope with the pressure of the situation and the number of games were less during his playing career. The current players have the double pressure of playing the situation on the field and not being able to move around freely. It is better if officials like him concentrate on running the game rather than commenting on something that they do not understand. I do not think any of the former cricketers have the right to comment on mental pressure that they themselves have never experienced.

Mental health

Just how important physical health of a player is, so is his mental health. This is something which is growing among the cricketers. There are lot of instances when a player was withdrawn from the tour because of mental health. The Indian players who are in the bubble for 5 months is bound to suffer from mental fatigue. Small concession like moving with the hotel corridor, speaking with team members will do much to alleviate that mental fatigue. This will only help the Indian team to perform at their optimum level. Alas, maybe the Australian board does not want the Indian team to be peaceful mentally now that they are under tremendous pressure to win the last game. Especially, after the way the Indians have performed from Melbourne, there is a feeling that India with depleted resources might pull off the impossible and win the series.

India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup my view

Posted on by Bobji

It has happened. Unbelievable, yes but it has happened. Indian team have lost a world cup game to Pakistan. I am still rubbing my eyes. Is it really true? Could India have lost a world cup game to Pakistan? The same Pakistan who for over 30 years found it impossible to defeat India in a world cup game? Well, it has to happen someday and it happened yesterday on 24 October 2021. This is India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup my view.

Here, I am going to stick with the Indian team and I am not going to dwell too much into Pakistan. The social media in India is completely angry. Lot of mean things have been called and it looks as though the Indian team lost the game on purpose. It is far from the truth. Pakistan played better on that day. It is plain and simple. I wonder why the social media warriors and the fans who are criticising the team does not have the guts to criticise the real elephant in the room? The BCCI?

BCCI and their greed

The Indian team lost the game not because of their performance but because of the greed of BCCI and its office bearers. That is the fact. The sooner media and other commentators realise this the better it will be for the team itself. Before someone criticise the team for losing the game, one must understand the stress and pressure that the team has undergone over the last 18 months. 2020 IPL, Australian tour, England series, one more IPL, WTC final and England tour, another IPL and now with 6 days of completing the IPL, the world cup. To make matters worse, the first game itself was a high pressure game.

Any game against Pakistan is stressful for not only the players but even for the spectators. Most of the Indian team members were and still are in a bio-bubble. The mental pressure from such situation is unfathomable. It is so tough to be under such a pressure that players of the calibre of Ben Stokes have temporarily left the game to recharge themselves. English board ensures that their players get adequate rest and are able to spend time with their families and away from all the spotlight.

Way too much workload before Covid

What has the BCCI done to help the players? Even before the Covid situation, the itinerary of the Indian team was unbelievable. They were constantly on the move. Hotel, practice, game day and back to hotel and practice and get ready for the next game in a day or two. Such was the schedule. It was insane. The attention of the entire country was always on the team. They were expected to win all the games. Ofcourse, it is not wrong but it only multiplies the pressure on the players. Their every move and every delivery is dissected. It is analysed and comment passed by people who would not have even lifted a bat in their lifetime.

Every fan in this country want the team to win against any opposition and in any situation. However, were the players given the means to succeed by the board? The answer is a big fat NO.

Instances of players learning the game at the international level is quite a lot. It was because when they are always involved in a series, they hardly get any time to rectify their faults. Most of the time, the players are left to fend for themselves. With the advent of the IPL the Indian players have never had a proper off-season for 15 years. All of these is because of an inefficient board whose only aim has always been to increase their revenue to astronomical proportions.

Too long inside the bubble

Now, Covid has added to that sorry state of affairs. Bio-secure bubble is added to the list of must haves. Having been under the bubble for more than 8 months straight, a month of high intensity IPL and coming into a high intensity and high pressure game against arch-rivals, the players simply did not have the energy and they were all very tired. It will not be a surprise if India goes out in the first round itself. On the otherhand, Pakistan were well rested. They were all fresh and with lots of energy. All of them had fresh legs and were able to hit the ground running.

Is there anything to be critical about?

If at all something must be criticised, there were 2 things. One, the inability of the bowlers to take a single wicket and two, the decision of the players to bend the knee. I really do not know what relevance Indian cricketers have on the lives of blacks.

One loss does not matter. India are by far in the easiest of the two groups. Win against New Zealand and we are through. Other teams are unlikely to challenge the Indian team. Once they reach the semi-finals, it can be anybody’s tournament. Afterall, it is a matter of good consecutive good evenings. Whatever happens in the tournament, I will not criticise the players. They are all too tired and too jaded. They have made the fans proud by winning in Australia and England. One good thing that arises out of this loss is that India are no longer under another unnecessary pressure to maintain the unbeaten record in world cups. Now they are free to play as they see fit.

T20 World Cup View

Benny is back in business

Posted on by Bobji

Ashes is just around the corner and England are not that hopeful that they can prevail. The unavailability of Archer and Stone to bowl at high pace will be missed. Wood is injury prone. It is under such circumstances Ben Stokes, the talisman of English cricket has announced his availability for the Ashes. Benny is back in business.

Stokes said. “I am looking forward to seeing my mates and being on the field with them. I’m ready for Australia.”

These words must have been music to the ears of Joe Root. Root is under tremendous pressure. Not only does he have to score the bulk of the runs, he will have to captain the team to success. England have not tasted success in Australia over the last couple of tours. Infact, they have been disasters. Stokes was initially unavailable but has now made him available for the tour. Root and the rest of the England team required this much needed boost to their chances. At the sametime, I don’t think these words will strike any fear into the minds of the Aussies. Yes, there was that Headingley game where Stokes won the test singlehandedly but the Ashes will be held in Australia. That itself must dissipate any lingering memories that they have of Stokes.

Nonetheless, Australia will relish the prospect of seeing Stokes in the opposition. Afterall, he is the premier allrounder in the world.

Australia are not that worried about Stokes

Steve Smith says,

‘Anytime someone comes back from (mental health issues) it’s a great thing and we love coming up against the best players, so it’s great to see him going to be on the plane.

‘I think any team’s more dangerous when you’ve got someone like Ben Stokes playing.

‘It certainly adds a lot to their depth, but we’re excited and I’m glad personally that he’s able to be back playing some cricket. It makes for a really good series.’

“This is great news for the Ashes and will give Root and his England team a huge boost as Stokes has the rare ability to inspire his teammates on the pitch in the heat of battle,” Shane Warne tweeted. “Let’s hope every ground is packed and enjoy the Ashes contest.”

Stokes is absolutely essential for England. With his inclusion, suddenly, a series that was thought will be one-sided with Australia stomping England, has now been given a huge life and scales have tilted and now is in the balance. Not only because of the wickets, runs and at the field, Stokes brings in a whole set of emotion into the game. He lifts the entire team with his mere presence. He is selfless and will be willing to bowl all-day if the captain wants. Stokes provides the much needed balance to the English side and now they can play a spinner. Leach will be invaluable in Adelaide and Sydney. Buttler says,

“He’s one of the best players in the world and he makes you feel a foot taller when he’s in the team with you, so great news. As a friend and teammate everyone’s just delighted that he’s happy and healthy and ready to get back on the park.”

Lack of match practice the only worry

Stokes must be completely refreshed and is ready for Australia. Will he be able to perform miracles during the tour? We just have to wait for a little over a month. The only problem will be by the time he lands in Australia, Stokes would not have played competitive cricket for more than 6 months. That is a very long time before an important series. It is a given that he will play all the warm-up games. How will he be able to get into form remains to be seen. The Australians know that alongwith Root, Stokes is the priced member. They will leave no stone unturned to unsettle Stokes. Verbally as well.

Winning in Australia

Stokes will dearly want to win a series in Australia. He missed the last one because of the Bristol incident. He will not want to retire without winning a series in Australia. To achieve that, not only Stokes the entire team will have to raise their game.

Two new IPL teams and the massive revenue for the board

RPSG Ventures Ltd and Irelia Company Pte Ltd have successfully bid for the new teams from the 2022 season onwards. Rs. 7090 CR and Rs. 5625 CR respectively. It was really a shock to most of the fans. Infact, the board themselves would not have expected such a high bid. It is a windfall for them. It is confirmed that the IPL is the biggest event of the game. Surely, it far supersedes even the ODI world cup. More games and more players are inevitable by-products now. Ahmedabad and Lucknow will be new teams. Gujarat had representation before in the form of Gujarat Lions whereas this is the first representation for Lucknow. Most likely Suresh Raina, who hails from UP, will be the captain.

Ganguly said, “The BCCI is happy to welcome two new teams from the next season of the Indian Premier League. I would like to congratulate RPSG Ventures Ltd. & Irelia Company Pte Ltd for being the successful bidders. The IPL will now go to two new cities in India viz in Lucknow and Ahmedabad. It is heartening to see the inclusion of two new teams at such a high valuation.”

I am afraid the BCCI is growing too big for their own comfort.

About Ben Stokes

A case for Hardik Pandya to open the innings

Posted on by Bobji

Hardik Pandya is in serious trouble. He looks like a player who is more content on playing in the IPL rather than playing for India. He no doubt is preciously talented. If only he could focus on his game, he really has the game to achieve wonders. Unfortunately, ever since the England limited overs series, all Pandya has been trying to do is swing at the delivery and if the ball was in his arc, it will scurry to the boundary or go over the boundary. The fact that he hardly gets to play 3-4 overs in T20s and 10 overs in ODIs does not allow him to get his eye in and build an innings. I however feel that he is under-utilised. This is a case for Hardik Pandya to open the innings.

Rahul’s IPL success must not be considered

In the ongoing T20 World Cup, India have only a couple of openers in Rohit and Rahul with an option of moving Kohli up the order if the need arises. The selectors did not really feel the need to have a backup opener because Ishan Kishan can also open the innings as he has repeatedly done in IPL. This was short-sighted. I have said this before and I will say this again. Rahul is not an opener. Especially in ODIs and T20s. Whenever he opens, he is unsure whether to attack the bowlers or bat at a reasonable pace. As a result, he ends up playing a sedate innings. Most of the time, he does not really gets away with it and gets out quickly.

Yes, I do realise that he has had phenomenal success as an opener in IPL. His wicket is the most sought after by all the opposition teams in the IPL whenever they play Punjab Kings. Opening for an IPL franchise and opening for the country is a different ball game. In the IPL there is hardly one or two top class bowler per team. Whereas at the international level, especially in a World Cup, there are several top quality bowlers. All Rahul has to do is play the good bowlers safely and cash in on the weaker bowlers. This will not happen at the world cup. Hence, he remains at the crease strokeless.

However, the same Rahul will be destructive down the order. His position is number 5 in ODIs and T20 and certainly not as opener. He must not open in the ongoing world cup. Which brings us to the question. Who will open if Rahul is to bat in the middle order?

Hardik must open in T20

Kohli and Ishan Kishan are the candidates who have been chosen specifically for this role. I however feel that Hardik Pandya will be much more destructive at the top of the order. Hardik has all the strokes. He can play fast bowling and spinners with relish. He just needs to spend time in the middle. Once he does that, he will be able to unleash his brutal strokes and will give the team a flying start. He needs time and confidence both of which he can easily gain if he is allowed to open.

Hardik still has the shoulder problem that restricts him from bowling. A Hardik who can bowl 4 overs and bat in the lower middle order will be alright even if he is unable to strike as required but a Hardik who cannot bowl is a liability down the order. The problematic shoulder seems to hamper his hitting ability too. Perhaps he feels that on a subconscious level. Opening the innings will allow him to time the ball rather than use brute force which may or may not succeed.

Nothing special is expected from him. Just help the team to get to 50odd during the powerplay. He would have done his job. We know Rohit takes his time to get going. India cannot afford the same type of player at the other end in Rahul. A free scoring Hardik will take a lot of pressure off Rohit who can play the typical massive innings he is known for.

Concluding a case for Hardik Pandya to open the innings

The game has changed. India needs top order aggression. The likes of Jason Roy comes to mind. Hardik can be India’s Jason Roy. Who knows, opening the innings may even kindle the inner passion of Hardik and he perhaps may once again would like to showcase his wares for the country. If he is unable to bowl, he certainly cannot be in the playing 11 as a batsman at number 7. Shardul is a much better option at that position than Hardik. The team management must seriously think of sending Hardik to open in the next game against New Zealand. New Zealand does not possess express pace bowlers. Hardik will be able to learn and adapt at the top. With games against Afghanistan, Scotland & Namibia, he can gain massive confidence just before the knockout games assuming ofcourse India will qualify.

T20 World Cup preview

Quinton de Kock refused to bend the knee

Posted on by Bobji

Quinton de Kock refused to bend the knee and it has created a storm around the cricketing world. Universally, Quinton has been condemned. He has been termed a racist. Someone who does not care for the fellow blacks. All sorts of accusations have been hurled against Quinton. Is Quinton really a racist? Does he treat his black teammates any different than he treats the white and coloured teammates? Certainly not. So why the fuss?

Cricket South Africa issues a directive to all the players just 5 hours before the start of their game against the West Indies to bend the knee or show some form of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Quinton probably did not like the directive and opted out of the game itself. He did not give any explanation for opting out.

Temba Bavuma, the captain must have had a terrible afternoon because he not only lost the wicket keeper but he had also lost an opener and the team’s best batsman. He had to choose a couple of players to balance the side.

Temba in a difficult spot

“As a team, we are surprised and taken aback by the news. Quinton is a big player for the team, not just with the bat, but from a senior point of view, so not having this at my disposal, as a captain, is obviously something I wasn’t looking forward to,” Bavuma said 

That is beside the point. This is not new from Quinton. He has refused previously too to bend the knee. All he said at that time was for personal reasons. He may well have a valid personal reason. I am not here to dispute that. Onething is for sure. Quinton is not a racist. I have seen him celebrate the achievements of all the black and coloured team members just the same as he had celebrated the achievements of the white players. There was and will never be any sort of prejudice.

CSA must be questioned too

Cricket South Africa cannot escape blame. If at all they wanted their team members to bend the knee before every game, they must have told the players when they boarded the flight. Not 5 hours before an important must-win game. If the CSA themselves are not clear on what the team must do, how will Quinton know? To make matters worse, they threatened with “or else”.

There is always the issue of being in solidarity with the rest of the team. Every member of that touring party bent their knees. It is only natural to expect Quinton to follow the same or the official diktat. He refused to do so. Quinton is not against gestures. He has supported the preservation of rhinos. He has supported the Pink ODI to raise awareness about cancer. Yet, he refused to bend for BLM.

I am certainly not going to pass my judgement on Quinton because I am in no position to know whether he was correct or wrong. I am an Indian and I have never been to South Africa before. The country where the blacks were treated as third class citizens. I have only heard from news reports and the documentaries that I have seen on Google and YouTube. It will not be correct for me to judge someone who was in the thick of things.

What is the point in bending the knee?

Having said that I certainly think that this farce must stop. Bending the knee is not going to eradicate racism. Bending the knee is not going to change someone’s attitude towards a disenfranchised, though it must. This is a political movement. Various sports around the world over the last one year and a half have expressed their solidarity in support of BLM. These are just sportspeople who does not have the power to change anything rather than a symbolic gesture. They are good in what they do and have no qualms in playing with whites, blacks and coloured. The various leagues around the world stands as testimony to that fact.

If the BLM movement is allowed to continue so must all other political activities on the cricket field. Let us remember that a few years ago Dhoni was asked to remove the army insignia on his gloves because it was against the regulations.  

I for one do not understand the reason the Asian teams are doing this. They are not relevant to the case at all. None of us have had any tryst with the blacks.

Quinton has since apologised

Quinton has now apologised for his action. He has released a statement. I have given only the highlights from that statement.

Quinton continues, “I would like to start by saying sorry to my teammates, and the fans back home,” the statement began.

“I never ever wanted to make this a Quinton issue. I understand the importance of standing against racism and I also understand the responsibility of us as players to set an example.

“If me taking a knee helps educate other, and makes the lives of others better, I am more than happy to do so.

Enough of this symbolic gesture now and let the players continue with what they do best. Knees have been bent before, knees have been bent now and that must be that. It is not important to make the gesture before every game. Every team have done this once in the ongoing T20 world cup and it is enough. This must not be allowed to continue.

I will part with these beautiful words from Quinton

“For those who don’t know, I come from a mixed race family. My half-sisters are Coloured and my step mom is Black. For me, Black lives have mattered since I was born. Not just because there was an international movement. I felt like my rights were taken away when I was told what we had to do in the way that we were told.”

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