Sreesanth - Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde in the making?

Noted psychologist Dr Samir Dalwai when asked to describe Sreesanth's Jekyll and Hyde mannerisms, said, "Sreesanth with a ball in his hand is in a state of disinhibition. He is least bothered about the decorum."

 

"He is someone who believes in externalizing his emotions unlike a Rahul Dravid who is known to internalize his feelings. The right behavioral pattern lies between these two extremes."

 

Dalwai seems to have fallen for Sreesanth's own description of himself as Gopu and Sreesanth.

 

It rankles, eh!

Australia has not yet reconciled to their defeat to India in the semifinals of the Twenty20. The defeat is doubly difficult to swallow as India eventually went on to win the Twenty20 World Cup. To add to their irritation the Australian team was just in time to see the rousing reception given to the Indian cricketers.

 

This has not gone down well and in a typical fashion Australians have taken it personally.

 

Just check out what Gilchrist has to say about it: 

 

"Let's get serious, says Gilly

 

ENOUGH already! Adam Gilchrist has pleaded with India to shelve an annoying obsession with their Twenty20 championship win, saying life is a lottery in the hit-and-giggle format."

 

There is nothing wrong in taking defeat personally, it spurs better efforts, but to disparage a format of the game where you have been shown your place reminds us of 'sour grapes'.

 

Instead of telling India to get on with it, it is high time Australia stops moaning and get on with reestablishing their dominance, for if Australia is unable to adapt to all formats of cricket it could be the beginning of the end.

 

 

 

 

Do Indian (Cricket) selectors have the courage to drop Tendulkar?

Another voice questions whether Tendulkar is the force he was for the last two decades.

 

Craig Hackney remarks

 

It is unlikely that the Indian selectors will make the necessary changes. For nearly two decades, the fate of their side has been wedded tightly to the form of the little maestro Tendulkar, but he seems ever more unlikely to come to the rescue. To outsiders, the solution is obvious. Make the short-term sacrifice to bring through younger players. They have proven themselves in South Africa and will do so again if given the chance.

 

The depth of talent is there in the cricket-mad nation, it just needs to be let loose. Whether the selectors have the courage to do it and whether the fans have the tolerance to accept losses in the short term in order to develop a successful side in the longer term remains to be seen. I wouldn't put money on either happening any time soon.

 

Personally, I am reassured when I know that the Master Blaster is in the team. However, my opinion is biased as I have seen Tendulkar play right from his debut. It is difficult to stop emotion from taking over when one thinks of him.

 

Nevertheless some hard decisions have to be taken soon. The question is who is to bell the cat?

 

 

 

Ganguly named 'Best Captain'

Finally, a very public acceptance of my private opinion. The 10 th Castrol Award for Cricketing Excellence has crowned 'Dada' as the 'Best Captain' in 75 years of Test cricket (India).

 

Now it is only a matter of time to name Ganguly, Captain for the Test Matches.

Yuvraj wants a full-time coach or does he want a class-teacher?

India's Yuvraj Singh has asked the country's cricket board (BCCI) not to delay the appointment of a full-time coach any longer.

Asked why India needs a full- time coach Yuvraj answered "You need somebody to control the boys and talk to them."

Is he implying that his team mates are immature?

If we are to take his reason at face value, Team India and its cricketers need a teacher and not a coach.

Women take to cricket- They have my unconditional support

My mother taught me my basic cricket. Things like where mid off stood were taught to me by her. It went a great way in spicing up the commentary I was hearing.

I was 5 or 6 at the time and I remember being bemused by off-side, leg side and fine-leg. She took the pain to draw an oval outline and define which is offside and leg side and the other fielding positions.

Add a couple of Aunts who used to bet on how much Farookh Engineer would score, you can say that I was always aware of the universal appeal of the game.

Somehow the last 5 years had dulled me into thinking the women did not like cricket. What with a wife, who in an unholy alliance with my daughter always seem to have a monopoly on the remote you cant blame me for thinking so. ( No, a second TV has not helped matters, now the alliance has split and a truce has resulted in each monopolising different TV sets.)

So it came as a pleasant surprise to me to learn that woman above 15 years have been glued to cricket during the Twenty20 semi finals. In fact the TVR ratings for the Twenty20 semifinal registered 12.8 among woman above 15 years, making it the highest rated TV programme in that segment of the audience.

I am all for them taking to cricket. The future looks promising, in another 10 years,I may get to watch a cricket match in full. My daughter will turn 15 then.

Australia eats humble ‘pie’

The Twenty20 semi-final defeat has really got to the Australians. The loss has affected them so badly that they have become introspective and started talking about ‘humility’, a four letter word to the English challenged Australians.

“A BROODING Andrew Symonds has set up a feisty series against India by accusing the Twenty20 world champions of lacking humility in their raucous victory celebrations.”

It is obvious that India has made Australia eat humble pie and like any medicine, it has an after taste, which lingers.

Can a movie inspire a nation?

Karteek wonders whether a movie can bring Good Luck to a nation, and answers his own question with an emphatic NO!

However take a look at the timeline and judge for yourself.

August 10, 2007 - Chak De India starring SRK is
released
August 29, 2007 - Football, India won Nehru Cup
[1]
September 9, 2007 - Hockey, India won Asia Cup
[2]
September 24, 2007 - Cricket, India won T20 World Cup
[3]

Don’t you think there could be something in it?

Will Twenty20 eclipse Bollywood?

In an article, If It’s Hip, Fast and Furious, Is It Cricket? in the New York Times Ayaz Memon, editor of DNA has this to say:

“Sponsors will drool,” he said, “The game has found favor across age groups, and more significantly across genders. It could even emerge as a potent challenge to Bollywood, because it lasts just about three and half hours, provides wholesome entertainment and is a reality show.”

My first thought was that Ayaz Memon was talking through his hat. However on reflection he makes sense but odds are it may not happen in the scale he envisages.

It may happen, provided India plays in all of the matches and consistently whip their opponents, which is highly unlikely.

What do you think; will it be curtains for Bollywood?