Cricket and an Olympian Dream

As yet another Olympics draws to an end, India is yet again left high and dry gasping for increasing the medals tally. The previous edition at Beijing gave us one Gold in the name of Abhinav Bindra. This time London Olympics saw India ending up with 2 Silver medals and four Bronze. Despite being a meagre tally this is still a better performance compared to our previous conquests.

Every time a sport debate especially pertaining to individual sports rake up, one constant argument has been India’s inability to win Medals in the competitive games. While lot of reasons have been put forth it is usual to see a few coming up with the blame that Cricket as a sport is killing the development of other sporting events in India.

Before going on to the Cricketing aspects, let us remember the basic fact that in the major event in these Games namely the Athletics and the marquee track events is never our cup of tea. The developmental makeup of Indians is not suited for track events as much as the Africo Americans who are ruling the sprint events. Our best choice is to compete in longer runs for which the stamina is a big factor. It is here our athletes lack in a big way compared to the Africans or Americans.

Indian athletes face lost of hurdles before they can compete in their events. Before facing the 110 metre Hurdle an Indian athlete would have faced a lot tougher situations in life.  Right from proper practise facilities available to the selection and qualifications, an athlete has to go through lot of fights. The life of an athlete in general and a sportsman in particular is never easy apart from few elite sports like Cricket or Tennis or Chess in India.

The authorities are culpable for this situation. The selfish motives and murky politics involved in the organization of Indian sports was evident to the World in the way we conducted the Common Wealth Games in our capital Delhi, couple of years back. While it should have been a great spectacle to show cause our organizational skill to the world, our men in power made sure that they filled their pockets making India a laughing stock in the process. Was n’t the head of Indian Olympic Committee jailed for the scams involved? What bigger shame can a nation beget than this?

The Government run Sporting bodies in India are perfect examples of how a sporting body must not function. Right, from the top most position to the lower hierarchy,  corruption prevails. Politics, factionalism, regional bias, favouritism and what not do we miss in these processes? The authorities concerned have been totally negligent of their duties to the players, sports and nation in general. They have been solely aimed at making their purse grow at the expense of the sports. A sportsman to get a job or an admission through the Sports quota must have considerable backup, money and his talent is least required for display. While not generalizing, this has been the situation prevailing in India predominantly.

Our national game of Hockey is perfect example of attrition in the organization. While we ruled the world in Hockey few decades ago, we are nowhere a force to reckon with now. The consistent blame games and hatred has led to the downfall of the National Sport. No wonder Hockey has very few takers today.

Coming to the female sportswomen, lesser said the better. It might not be much reported but there is no denying the fact that they are treated more shabbily. The advantage of their being weaker sex is well exploited. Sania Mirza was not wrong when she alleged the male chauvinistic attitude recently. The personal egos of established stars paved way for the losses in Tennis this time. The authorities instead of mending the situation played their part in deterioration.

At this juncture it has been a common habit to blame the one sport that thrives in India i.e Cricket as the reason for all the ills. The Indian Cricketing body is the strongest in the game right now and more often than not acts as a “Big Brother” and bully. BCCI holds the key of International Cricket and has its own share of controversies and scams. Neither are its Heads a saint nor is its functioning transparent.

Yet the Cricket board has achieved in its role of developing the game in India. From the time Kapil’s Devils piped the mighty West Indies in 1983, the game has been in an ascent. The advent of gentlemen legends like Tendulkar, Kumble and Dravid played a major role too. The team was built around the committed stars and the performance gained heights.

Meanwhile Dalmiya and his slew of successors hit the right spots in marketing the game. The game became a part of the national schedule with perfect marketing strategy. The commercialization of Cricket might have dented the soul of the game but the sport has evolved and reached the masses like anything.

If today a mediocre performer like Ravindra Jadeja or a Rahul Sharma enjoys a wealthier life than a proven star of other sport like a Vijay Kumar or a Sushil Kumar, the credit goes to the authorities at BCCI who marketed the game. The media has always been about sensations and hits; Cricket provides them a wonderful one.

Blaming the fans for being partial towards cricket is not always right. A common man will always go towards the best product and Cricket is the one sport in that bracket in India. Whose mistake is it that Mary Kom’s Bronze is highlighted lesser than India’s T20 selection? Can a fan be questioned on his sidelining? Frankly how many of us know the basics of boxing when compared to the batting average of Rohit Sharma?

The social condition in India is also not so conducive for the development of sports. We are still a nation known for our academic excellence. High proportion of Indian professionals in Multi National Corporate across the globe is a simple indication. A common parent will always love to see his ward being an academician rather than a sportsman, thanks to the socioeconomic conditions prevailing in India.

A sport like Chess has always been a game of elites and is still being one. Just recently is it expanding its horizons to involve the middle classes? Tennis also falls under this category. Whereas an athlete usually comes from the lower socioeconomic conditions predominantly faces much hurdles to even develop his own game, let alone make a living.

Here Cricketers had been nurtured by the public and media following the heels of proper marketing by the Board. An average cricketer today is assured of a decent living once he breaks through a First Division or First Class Level. The attitude of the Board has been left a lot to be desired in many fronts but BCCI had made sure that their game hogs the limelight and treated special.

One this very reason alone, we need to salute the BCCI. They have made sure there is alteast one sport where India holds the ace, where India dominates. Cricket is one sport where we can say with pride “We are World Champions” (Right now, are n’t we?). Our team may go through tumultuous period now, but India is the favoured destination for the professionals today. We have broken the barriers and have come atop. BCCI have won where most other Sporting bodies in India failed. Olympics may be a dream but let us feel happy for being World Champions in one game atleast. For this reason alone, Long Live the BCCI!!!

Social Media and Cricket

The advent of internet and web media has revolutionized every field, every aspect of life. The knowledge process and outlook of the present generation has been much advanced than the predecessors. With the world at the finger tips through the internet, one is provided a lot of avenues to explore in every walk of life he chooses. Earlier generation which gathered its knowledge through books, is now fast forwarded by the present one who have everything at their doorstep through the boom of internet.

Cricket, our game of interest and passion is no exception too. In the good olden days of pre 1970s, radios and newspapers formed the basic source of knowledge regarding the day to day happenings. With the newer media in name of televisions and live telecasting of cricket matches, the fans awareness of the game increased leaps and bounds. The days before internet and websites made their entry, cricket knowledge was based on the televisions and visual communication along with the newspapers and sports magazines. Towards the end of the millennium, with the advent of internet, the cricketing websites made their debut and started live coverage of matches. Fans no more had to depend on television for updating of the cricket events. In such scenarios, the interaction on cricket was restricted to the discussions among the friends and known.

Following the heat of internet into the media and advent of cricket websites, the social media which was introduced for the socialization of people made its appearance into the life of fans. The websites like Yahoo and MSN messengers earlier were however more specific among the known contacts and discussions were mostly limited to a handful of people. Later developments like Orkut, Facebook and Twitter has been a revelation with respect to the cricketing interactions.

While Orkut provided a simple version of discussions, Facebook and its forums became the hub of the fans. Here the interaction grew beyond imagination with people pouring in from every part of the globe. The earlier generation were restricted to discussion among themselves, present generation is able to widen its knowledge by the discussions with a larger circle. One also gets to know about the opinion of people in different cultures and with various traditions.

Those days the knowledge of a fan on Gary Sobers or Vivan Richards is much lesser compared to what the present set of active fans know on a Ricky Ponting or a Sachin Tendulkar. It has a lot of advantages where a fan gets to respect the opinion on other people. Newer opinions are formed and the outlook of the game widens considerably. Wisden used to be the almanac on cricketing matters and still continues to be so. But today the websites provide data on cricketing achievements at the click of the key unlike the browising of pages through a book. 

Discussions in online forums have also helped fans to have a wider perspective of knowledge on the domestic and unknown players. Earlier, unless one happens to be an avid follower and takes his time to read on the domestic matches of other countries, he will not be certainly equipped with the adequate knowledge. 

Another aspect of these online discussions has been the multitude of views a fan is able to get. With a newspaper article, the opinion is basically restricted to the author’s view on the particular match or player. But now with these forums, one gets to know the widened views among the fans from different cricketing countries. The analysis and dissemination of the finer nuances of the game by the highly knowledgeable persons, the basic opinions on a player tends to get altered. 

Another interesting aspect of these online forums is the friendship that evolves with the like minded people. From a personal point of view, I can say with assurance that few of my online friends have helped me a lot in changing my outlook of the game. Respected senior and promising youngsters have a scope of interaction which is likely to benefit both the parties. The current trend of sharing the knowledge and data has taken the fans to the next level in cricket watching without doubt. Gone are those days when pen pals alone formed a way of having international friendship. Now an Indian, Australian, Pakistani and English fans get to share their views not just on cricket but in other aspects too. The online friendship can help a person to widen his sphere of activity and incorporate a better ability into his activities.

However as every dog has its tail, one major disadvantage of these discussions are the banters which can sometime lead to unwanted fights with people whom you do not even know in real. This has led to some uncomfortable environments in the forums through those arguments. Another aspect is the display of too much of jingoism by people which can be irritating. Here again a fan (normal fan rather than the true lover of the game) is forced to form opinion against a player or a team, developing a sense of hatred. In days without those discussions such things are less likely to happen. Too much of jingoism and display of hatred can lead to people avoiding the fan who may have been knowledgeable otherwise.

Twitters have been a different kind of environment from Facebook wherein a fan is able to discuss with the players too. The updates by players in their twitter pages provide us, the fans a peek into their life which was earlier impossible. The trending by those in hot seat also provides us the information much earlier than we can get through websites or newspapers. Also are the possibilities of discussing the game with reputed personalities like David Lloyd or Harsha Bhogle has been made possible by this fabulous trending. This is something that can be unthought-of before social media entered.

Concluding, one cannot deny the fact that social media has improved the knowledge of the game in the fans. It has helped us to get a wider angle look into the picture which was earlier left to the authors. It has helped people to get good friendships and increased the awareness not just on cricket but in other aspects too. If the good sense can prevail among the people and better environments can be there than what we have today, it is going to help us in a long way to enjoy the game. So let us thanks people such as Orkut Buyukkokten, Mark Zuckerburg and Evan Williams, Biz Stone, Jack Dorsey their likes for providing us this space. Personally I would like to thank every great mind that helped me in understanding the game better.

Five Faces To Fancy

“Men may come and Men may go; But I go on forever” – It is not just River Thames in Wordsworth’s poem. Our game of Cricket runs despite all the controversies and muggings over it in the recent times, in the past and will continue to be so in future. Every now and then a new glory emerges in the game. Quite a lot of such newer entrants fade out. Few of them continue to dazzle us.

This article is about five such newbies who have made a positive kick start to their career. Whether they end up with a career fulfilling their initial promise is better known to time. However let us celebrate their brilliant start and potential they display.

First such debut of the year to promise is that of a man who appears to revive the art of leg spin. Since the days of Warne and Kumble, no leg spinner has been able to make news in test cricket. Devendra Bishoo from Guyana entered the West Indies team, plagued by poor form and administrative mismanagement and immediately made name producing a match winning spell against Pakistan. What followed was more astounding. He made the Indian line up, supposed to be the best players of spin guessing with his leg breaks and wrong ‘uns. That Dravid and Laxman found him hard to play in West Indies speaks the volume of his ability. In Bangladesh he made short work of the young batsmen unsure of their feet in cricket still. The present tour of India has not been a big success but then even the best like Warne and Murali suffered in India to its marauding batsmen. In limited overs too, Bishoo has been promising few useful hauls. He was the deserving winner of ICC's "Emerging player of the Year award" and offers a lot to the West Indies side that is down and out right now.

Junaid Khan was the next to make the grade. He continues the legacy of Pakistani left arm pacers. Aameer messed his career to greed and misguidance and his successor Junaid Khan was a part of the World Cup squad but did not play. He made his debut with ordinary performance at Bulawayo against Zimbabwe. However in the dustbowls of the Gulf, Junaid showed his ability with an excellent five for against Srilanka which managed to bowl out the Lankan line up filled with stroke makers of excellence for a partly 197. Junaid in all took 11 wickets in the series in conditions extremely unconducive for the bowlers. With his left arm medium pace, he offers a ray of hope to the Pakistani side that has been hit by one controversy after another.

Third debutant to make the mark is someone who had been a star performer and well known by the time he was handed the test cap. Ravichandran Ashwin first hit the headlines in IPL as M.S.Dhoni’s trump card for Chennai Super Kings. He craftily bowled in the power plays and managed to keep some of the gustiest hitters in cricket like Gayle and Gilchrist guessing. His ODI career with Indian team was smooth with useful spells studded with fair economy rate and key wickets. Harbhajan’s loss of form handed Ashwin his test cap. In the second innings of his first test, Ashwin held forte. Some conventional finger spin with disguised weapon – the carom ball got him six wickets. Nine wickets and Man of the Match award on debut shows a highly promising start. More than anything he shows the glimpses of Indian spin’s legacy with his smart bowling. He should end up with a long successful career if things go right.

Ashwins’s debut coincided with that of another promising youngster from South Africa namely Vernon Philander. South Africa has never been short of pacers but they lacked a third seamer to consistently back up their fearsome new ball attack of Steyn and Morkel. Enter Philander, he made a decent spell of three wickets in the first innings. But it was the second innings when, he along with Morkel reduced the Australian line up with Watson, Ponting, Clarke and Hussey look paupers for a poor 21/9. Had not been there a fighting 26 partnership by the tail, they might have had the lowest total in test history. Philander was unplayable with his variations, taking a five for haul. No wonder he too got his Man of the Match award on debut. Above all, Philander is a useful bat in the middle or lower middle order, giving more depth to the strong South African batting line up. With Steyn and Morkel, if he can sustain, Philander may form a highly potent attack in years to come. 

Latest debutant to hog the lime light was Patrick Cummins. He became the youngest Australian to earn their central contract and second youngest Australian to play test cricket. And what a sensational debut it was. He is already making names for his raw pace. After being impressive but without success in the first innings, Cummins at 18 is sensational with his outswingers and angulations in the second innings. He managed to break the stubborn partnership of Amla and De villers and brought up the six wicket haul and with it the Australia’s chances to win the match. Australia is presently having a weak attack with Johnson in awful form, Bollinger and Hilfenhaus indisposed, Siddle is nonthreatening and here Cummins is a fresh positive for the struggling side. Like the other four, he must make big in cricket if he plays to his promise.

The year of 2011, after a lull for the bowlers appears promising with new faces making a right start. There had been some majestic innings constructed this year but compared to the previous years, the debutants who have made big are mostly bowlers.  And of this five, two right arm fast bowlers - one who swings and one who bowls extremely fast, one left arm fast bowler, one leg spinner and one off spinner completing a perfect attack. This gives a ray of hope in the days of uneven contest between the bat and the ball. Let these debutants enjoy a long and successful career and continue to provide us joy.