Introduction
Hello Everyone, welcome to the broadcast of my very first blog. Now, before I begin, I would like to inform the viewers who am I and what is the reason have I started this blog? My name is Bobji and I am an Indian from the southern part of the country. I am someone who likes sports and especially, as with most of the Indians, Cricket. Whenever I see an Indian team in any sport, I will watch that game and hope we win. Such is my passion for sports in general and Indian sports in particular. I am a die-hard fan of Indian cricket. More than a fan, I must say that I am a fanatic.
Almost all of the children, back in the 80s and 90s, were Cricket fans so much so that other sports were non-existent for us. I was not an exception. Only difference was that I did follow few other games as well. Off late, however, I see a big change in the performance of the Indians in various sports over the last few years. This is true when compared to the period before the economic liberalisation. With the advent of satellite television, it is possible to watch most of the games played anywhere in the world. It wasn’t always the case while I was growing up. This gives me an added motivation to watch Indians perform throughout the world.
Well I think that should give you a fair idea about me.
What went inside my head?
For now, I will stick to the game I know a little bit about. Cricket. More precisely, Indian Cricket. I am certain that there are a lot of stories that are not yet told about Indian cricket. Over the last 35 years of following the game, I have been frustrated multiple times while watching the Indian team play the game. It ranges from why a specific player was in the eleven till field placing, bowling change etc. Most recently, I was extremely angry after our disastrous tour of New Zealand. It was horrifying to see Kohli abuse a mild mannered Williamson despite the team about to lose 2-0.
What was and is my frustration?
Whenever I see a wrong decision was made or a wrong player was selected or something else that I felt was not correct. I used to whine within myself for hours on end but unfortunately, all I can do was to keep to myself these rush of feelings. The persons to whom I talk about these feelings were either because they were blinded by their liking for a particular player or for a particular captain turned oblivious to these things. This is not new but has been happening with me since the day I started to follow the game.
The reason for the blog
Basically, I just felt that the game was drifting along without the team or the captain making any sort of move to prevent the drift. I, just like the millions of die-hard fans have often criticised the team of not playing to their potential or not caring enough about winning. It is then I thought about this blog. I thought let me pour all my feelings, ideas, suggestions & complaints in a blog and let me see if someone will be able to empathise with me.
I am frustrated that it is the players who are always blamed for non-performance? Why is that no one seems to fault the real elephant in the room. THAT IS THE BCCI. It is a fact, especially over the last 25 years, the BCCI, with the resources available must have had at it’s disposal 2-3 strong teams in every format that can defeat anyone anywhere. Unfortunately, it is the players who bear the brunt of the fan’s wrath because they are the face of the game. The board who are actual powers behind the game escapes without any blame. I intend to change that. I will throw as much light as possible on the non-functioning of the board wherever it is warranted. Having said that, I will also give credit where it is due.
Disclaimer, ofcourse
Let me make one thing clear. I am not a fan of any particular Indian player. I like the Indian team on the whole and I will praise anyone who performed well and I will criticise anyone who failed to perform. When I say perform, I meant playing for the team’s cause and not for the individual’s cause. This blog will be a constructive criticism of Indian cricket. I will ensure that the texts do not extend more than 15 minutes of reading time. I am certain that beyond 15 minutes, most of us will not have the inclination to continue to read.
The sports website I follow
https://www.espncricinfo.com, https://www.cricbuzz.com