Pappu can’t coach saala!

RJD MP Pappu Yadav may lose his job as the cricket coach of Tihar Jail Number 3 because his team lost the semi-finals of a  T20 tourney of inmates. Senior jail officials say he may not get the opportunity of being a coach again because he failed to lead his team to victory despite having the best team in Tihar. The trophy was shared jointly by jail 1 and jail 2 on Monday after the match ended in a draw.
Officials of jail number 3 allege that Pappu couldn’t get the team combination right and didn’t give the captain a free hand. “We had the best batsmen and bowlers but they were not used properly by the coach. Moreover, the captain was not given a free hand in taking any decision regarding the team selection and was not allowed to take important decisions on the field,” a senior jail officer told Metro Now.
Jail number 3 was one of the strongest teams in the tournament and crashing out in the semi-final has hurt not only the players but also the inmates and officials of that jail.
“We will soon start preparing for next year’s event and will re-think on his position as the coach. Most probably he might not be the coach for the next season. But even if he stays, we will ensure the captain is given a free hand in decision-making”, the officer said.
The annual Tihar Olympiad is played with great enthusiasm. Inmates as well as jail officers are deeply involved in the tournament and the competition is so fierce that every decision of the umpire is closely watched and debated. Sometimes it even leads to arguments so much so that the administration has to step in to settle the issue.
Each jail has its own team and a coach for every event but the one that is most popular is cricket and passions run high during a match. The one who draws maximum attention at these games is Pappu.
Jail Number 3 has an excellent track record in cricket and also in other sports. Jail sources, however, acknowledge that Pappu has taken a keen interest in shaping and developing the team right from his early days in Tihar and give him due credit for that. But just one loss, and he is charged of interference.

Should Pappu continue as the cricket coach or not?

Favourites no more

Some said 4-0, while others bellowed for a 3-1 result in India’s favour in the four-Test series against the Australians — statements that look good on paper but cricket is not played on paper. With the first Test in Bangalore ending in a tame draw, Team India did nothing to portray itself as the overwhelming favourites for the series.
In fact, from the moment skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bat first, only one team was in with a chance of winning the match — Australia. The world champions might be one of the weakest bowling units in the recent decades with legends like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne hanging up their boots, but tactically there are no two ways about the fact that Australia is the superior team in this series.
Man-of-the-match Zaheer Khan launched a foolish attack on the Australian in the post-match press conference calling the world champions the most ‘defensive’ side he has played against in his career. “They know they can’t take 20 wickets and they are on the back foot,” Khan said. “They couldn’t get me or Bhajji out. So we are in with a big chance. They are under pressure — we know that. So we are looking ahead at the second game.”
Clearly these are nothing but psychological tactics on the part of India to gain an upper-hand going into the crucial second Test match in Mohali. What Zaheer fails to realise is that Australians stuck to a plan and it was India that was always chasing the ball from the beginning.
Aussies quickly analysed the surface and understood the fact that occupation of the crease was the primary objective to gain an advantage in the first innings. After losing Matthew Hayden in the first over of the match, Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich dug in to deny India any more success in the first session.
It was the aggressive intent of the Aussies that shone through on the final day as they decided to declare giving India a target of 299 in about 75 overs. It was a chance for both teams to make a match out of it.
India never really took the bait after the early dismissal of Virender Sehwag. Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly put up a poor advertisement for Test cricket on the final day pushing and prodding all day to earn a dull draw.
What surprises everyone is the cockiness in the Indian team and they still believe that they can win the Test series after the abysmal display in the first Test. Our verdict says that a positive result is highly unlikely till Team India start getting aggressive on the field instead of shooting it’s mouth off field.

Was India more defensive in the Test than the visiting Australian team?

Ready to fire

That Virat Kohli was talented was never in doubt, but not all talented players fulfill the promise that the highest level of the game. Fortunately for Indian cricket this is not the case for 19-year-old Delhi batsman Kohli, who is gradually maturing into the batsman who can one day fill in the shoes off the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid (when the finally decide to call it quits of course!).
His potential was evident from his Under-17 and 19 days with the Delhi and India team, where he scored tons and double-tons galore to catch the eye of the selectors. Now after a stint with the senior India team, where he opened the batting in place of his Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag, Kohli has taken his game to a new level.
Do you think Virat Kohli is ready to make the transition to Test side?

Security concerns

There were twin reasons for the Twin Cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad to beef up security on the eve of the triangular series between the ‘A’ teams of India, Australia and New Zealand.
For one, the bomb blasts in New Delhi on Saturday evening has awoken the ghosts for the citizens of the Twin City and security personnel had to be pulled out of their homes in the name of duty. The second and more pressing issue, which happens year over year, is the Ganesha nimajjan which, to say the least, leaves everyone with unabated breath dreading the rearing of the ugly head of communal violence.
Communality, it seems is what Indians are being forced to wear as second skin, leaving us sticking out as sore sights in the eyes of the international community.
The twin reasons have also left the Hyderabad Cricket Association, hosts of the first leg of the tri-series, in a dilemma. Ensuring top security for the teams and players meant having to cancel the practice sessions on a warm and sunny Sunday, after days of dark, cloudy, rainy days. It could also mean worse things to come depending on Cricket Australia’s decision.
With the players and officials confined to their respective hotels, sports scribes were left clueless to the teams’ designs for the morrow. The threat of rains too loomed large after the better part of the day witnessed bright sunshine, something that has become associated with Hyderabad and cricket.

Are teams like Australia justified with security concerns in Asian countries?

Fortress Kotla

Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) hosting the encounter between India & Pakistan domestic cricket in New Delhi cannot afford any laxity in safety especially after the serial bomb blasts that shook the Capital on Saturday evening. However, DDCA claims that everything is in order and additional measures are being taken to ensure complete safety for their guests from across the border.
“DDCA is aware of the security concerns after the incidents on Saturday. We are leaving no stone unturned and the private security personnels are being hired by DDCA for the first time to provide security during a domestic match at the Ferozeshah Kotla,” DDCA Secretary Sneh Bansal told MetroNow.
“We have also discussed the matter with the Delhi Police officials. They will be accompanying the Sui Northern Gas team during their stay in New Delhi and the team from Pakistan are satisfied with the security measures,” Bansal said.
Delhi Police will also be screening the crowd as well as the media coming into watch the match from Monday morning. “Only the left and right hills at Kotla will be open to the public. Even the dressing room has been shifted to provide additional cover to the players during the match,” Bansal said.
“However, we assure the public that they will be able to enjoy the match without any troubles. Kotla will surely witness heightened level of security come Monday,” he added.

Do you think strict security measures will keep cricket fans away from Kotla?

No Dadagiri in Irani

The selectors on Monday put a huge question mark over the future of Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh by leaving the left-handed duo out of the Rest of India squad for the September 24-28 Irani Cup tie against Ranji Trophy champions Delhi at Vadodara.

Ganguly had a poor Test series in Sri Lanka along with the other three senior batsmen — Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman — while Yuvraj has been in indifferent form in the ODIs.

Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman were, however, included in the 14-man team to be led by Anil Kumble. The outgoing Dilip Vengsarkar-led five-member committee provided a fresh lease of life to the stuttering career of Mohammed Kaif by including him for the season-opening clash touted as a virtual selection trial for the upcoming Test series against Australia.

Are selectors fair in leaving out Ganguly and Yuvraj from the Irani Cup squad?

A chanceless knock

Virender Sehwag has been one of Indian cricket’s biggest dilemmas. The proverbial ‘joker’ in the pack, Sehwag has the potential to turn the fortunes of a match in a matter of minutes with the ferocity of his blade.

On Friday at the picturesque stadium of Galle, Sehwag displayed often unknown aspect of his game by becoming the only second Indian opener to carry his bat through the innings with a brilliant unbeaten knock of 201 in the Indian total of 329. After spending a while outside the team cooling his heels, the butcher from Najafgarh has made a sensational comeback into Team with 897 runs in his last seven Tests at an average of 81.54 with three big hundreds including the one at Galle on Friday.

No one could be more pleased by Sehwag’s comeback than his long-time coach AN Sharma who has vociferously gone on record in the past to call for his comeback into the side. “It was a fantastic innings by Sehwag. The footwork was immaculate especially against the spinners. What stood out in his innings was the way in which he dominated all the Lankan bowlers,” Sharma told MetroNow after watching his pupil bat with clinical efficiency.

“Viru played very intelligently in this innings especially this morning where he farmed most of the strike after blazing past his 150. The difference between him and other batsman was the fact that he was able to read the spin well,” Sharma added.

Indian selectors kept Sehwag out for majority of 2007 season trying numerous options at the top of the order including Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik and even Rahul Dravid. However, when there was no long-term solution in sight India were forced to fall back on Sehwag’s experience on India’s tour of Australia. The man’s class is evident from an average of 53 in 59 Tests with 15 hundreds in his career so far.

“What this knock will do is shut the critics up for once. It was a chanceless knock and will give him immense confidence,” Sehwag’s coach said.

What do you think — Is Virender Sehwag indispensable from Indian Test Team?

Asif does it again

Pakistan speedster Mohammed Asif’s arrest with Narcotics substance at Dubai airport exposed darker side of the cricket once again. There were reports about players taking stimulating drugs and several sports stars faced serious charges of doping from Pakistan before. Former Indian cricketer Maninder Singh was arrested in possession of drugs in Delhi last year. During the investigations, the cops had reportedly found out about the drug cartel hovering around cricketers.

NCB says it is surprised with the arrest. Especially considering the close watch they claimed to be keeping on all team members during IPL matches. And now they say that they suspect Dubai authorities are trying to save Pakistan by downplaying the drug seizure. While in the beginning they said that the drug found was opium, a day later it changed to a local herb Shilajit.

Is it possible that the BCCI and PCB are using their clout to save Asif?

Moral policing?

The Pakistan Cricket Board is in a fix after allowing Misbah-ul-Haq to play for liquor baron Vijay Mallya-owned Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL as it is in conflict with its policy of discouraging players from associating themselves with alcohol brands.

Mallya owns the United Breweries group, manufacturers of leading alcohol brands in India, and Royal Challenge happens to be the name of a leading spirit brand of the UB group.

PCB says it does not encourage its players to promote or endorse alcohol and tobacco products as consumption of the same is against the tenets of Islam. To complicate the matters, the Indian health minister Ramadoss recently said that the Bangalore team’s name amounted to surrogate advertising and promoted alcohol.

If we really look at it in the cricketing spirit: Is there anything wrong in Misbah playing for Royal Challengers? Just because Mallya owns it and has named it after his brand, does not mean that the players are endorsing the product. Or is it? Have your say.

Is IPL’s aggressive cricket ruining the spirit of the game?

Forget boys like Sree, even men like Ganguly are playing mindgames.

Shane Warne, they say, was absolutely fuming when he entered the media briefing centre after Rajasthan Royal’s match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Jaipur on Thursday. The reason for his ire was Sourav Ganguly, and had the forlorn Prince of Kolkata been anywhere in the vicinity, Warne was looking for a serious scrap. He was seriously upset with the “deliberate delay” on part of the Ganguly. “The man has no respect for time,” Warne wanted to scream out. Ganguly’s attitude, Warne thundered, was in gross “violation of the spirit of the game”.  

Now, let’s look at it this way, if Ganguly was trying to get under Warne’s skin by doing what he did to Steve Waugh in 2001, the tactic has surely worked, although the result went in favour of Warne. Making him wait was not the only thing that got Warne’s goat. The controversial catch that Graeme Smith took off Ganguly’s blade and which was negated by the third umpire had Warne hopping mad.

What is happening to the game? Is IPL getting too aggressive, and developing into a combat game? What ever will happen of the “Gentleman’s Spirit”, a title that it had earned so hard for itself. Is that image getting shaky? Let’s assume for a minute that the game gets accepted along with its aggression, what happens once these matches get over? Will they players be able to shed the aggressive image and revert to the gentleman spirit? Discuss.