Let Cricket be Cricket - The Game That It Is...

What’s happening in the cricket arena is a sad episode. The IPL has created such a hullabaloo that this noise pollution will take some time to drown. The game of cricket was lost in all the mess and the dirt, to be more precise, was just popping its head from the dirty mud tank to make its presence be felt as the final of the IPL 3 brought down the curtains for this season.

The IPL blame game was all because of the huge amount of money that was associated with it. So many Bigwigs who are a part of it are now washing their dirty linen clean in the water of the "Political Ganga”. Some are the guardians of power which makes it all the more easy to clean themselves in this tank.

What has so much Glamour to do with Cricket when the game in itself is so glamorous. Cheer girls had been brought in the earlier IPL tournament for whom??? - is something to ponder about. Women in the stadium in short dresses and colourful pom-pom’s in their hands, is not in the interest of the game. The late night parties after an IPL game was all for the interest of the organisers. Happenings at such party-sharty is for a handful of Kha-aas People and more of a fairy tale and distant dream of the Aam Aadmi.

Money, glamour, women, glitz and much more that only the organisers can tell about, which will remain locked in cupboards, is all because of the money that came unaccounted and is tax-free for them. I say tax-free because the top brass in the government never bothered that this could bring in so much “tax-money” to the country’s coffer. After all the common man is always there to pay his/her income tax religiously every year.

This whole IPL controversy can never be a one-man show. But now the partners are trying to save their skin and come out clean as "dhood ka dhoola". It’s become a "Pitch of Ditch". These people will bat and bowl for such time till the whole issue cools down and then foes will become friends again for all are hand in glove in this whole dirty affair.

Cricket is the game that people love to see, why bring politics into it. Let the players be sincere in the field with the bat and the ball and let people clap to their hearts content when their favourite cricket stars perform well in the game. Leave cricket to survive as the Game That It Is.

Sania-Shoaib-Ayesha Story and The Broken Triangle

It was more of media reporting that kept the Sania, Shoaib and Ayesha story making round for the last few days. The electronic media found more food in reporting this love triangle with people getting more and more interested in knowing about the happenings. The print media was not lagging behind either.

People’s thoughts began to weave a story in their mind, a Bollywood masala in the making. Shoiab, the hero of this whole happening pretended to be so innocent that he came up before the television reporters by fumbling with the name of Ayesha, reflecting his anonymity of not even knowing the name of this girl with whom he was married. Whoever saw him taking the name of Ayesha, saw the fumble in spelling out Ayesha’s name in public, but one could very well read his wary thoughts.

Sania braved the situation cleverly without even a single question being put to her about her recent engagement break-up and soon linking her name with the Pakistani cricketing star. What is in her mind about her future career only Sania knows.

Ayesha was more looked upon as building up a story like one from the fairy tale. Some believed her while others ignored her and thought her coming out in front of the world to speak out about her marriage to Shoaib, more of a cock and bull story.

Having read the news about betting on the Sania-Shoaib marriage, money was in the making for many betters.

As all these talks began to brew in a pot, it took some time for the fire to cool down. At last Shoaib, had to pour a vessel full of cold water on the burning fire. He signed the divorce papers thus breaking up his first marriage with Ayesha. Ayesha’s family was happy at letting the world know that theirs was not a tell-tale story. And in all this Sania’s family has gone behind closed doors not speaking out in public.

Such marriage stories of very popular personalities add more glamour to their life and career. They become more popular maybe at times for wrong reasons. But they do like to be in the news so that people don’t forget them.

Who has won and who has lost only time will tell. Who has earned money and whose pocket has been looted only the concerned persons know.

The triangle has been broken and left with two parallel lines...of marriage between the two who will now live their lives together and run parallel in their different sporting fields.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) – Combo of Cricket and Entertainment

The IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket matches kick-started just after the conclusion of the Hockey World Cup Tournament. Indian Hockey team broke the hearts of the hockey lovers of this country. With India hosting the World Cup (Hockey), many people got a chance to watch the matches live in Delhi. The number of hockey fans increased wishing India at least to be in the top 4. Anyway there is hope of doing better the next time. “Don’t let down your fans Indian Hockey Team”.

Cricket has always been a game close to the hearts of most of the Indians. People clap when the ball is hit for a 4 or a 6. Many people are well aware of this...bowling, batting, bowled out, run-out...some common terms people follow while watching the match live on TV. So you need not understand the details of the game of cricket to be a religious follower. Starting from the common man on the street to the housewife they enjoy the game. Is it "Time Pass" for many?
...scratches head...

Now IPL has come up with the combination of entertainment with this game. Indian Premier League is in the look out of the IPL singer of the year...a singing competition with the IPL tag.

Newspaper report said the Indian premier league has added fashion, food and celebrities to the stadium experience. So what do we draw out of this experience? Is cricket changing its face and colour to some extent.

For me I’m not cheering any particular team. I adore the great cricketers of my country and when they are scattered here and there, who will I cheer for?

Now the sad news is, there are a lot of injuries in many teams. Dhoni, Gambhir, Graeme Smith, Zaheer Khan, are some names among many more. Sooooo...
...and be strong and fit to play for your country.

Lalit Modi is finding ways to make the IPL more alluring to the people. For how long is to be seen.

Cricket Cricket Once Again

Cricket cricket once again,
Sending message not in vain,
Players keep up country’s fame,
India on Number 1 spot again.

Cricket lovers are happy. Indian players have made them proud by winning the Test Match at Eden Garden. This win makes the Indian Team keep their No. 1 place in tact.

The cricketers have done the country proud.

In the upcoming Hockey World Cup tournament we want our players to make us proud. With the coming Commonwealth Games it is to be seen how many gold, silver and bronze medals India can clinch.

Cricket and the Afridi Ball- Bite Episode

As I watched Afridi in action on the field on the TV, at first I could not make out anything about his Ball-Bite Game. As the news was played over and over again on different television channels, I sat back to laugh at the happening on the field.

A player biting a ball in the cricket field, was for sure, not to suck any juice from it. Whatever is the ball…the red or the white… can never feed the hunger of anyone. But a ball for a bowler can feed his hunger of Taking Wickets.

Strange happening just enough for the cameras to capture…The Ball-Bite Episode…that’s what I can name it. For me I can fit this episode under the Genre of Humour, but if considered with a serious thought, this has been an absolute mockery of the Gentleman’s Game…what more to say tells of the character of the concerned person, more of his ill intensions of a game that brings him money for every game he plays.

Such happenings have brought more shame to the Game, which is losing its sheen. Too much of anything is not good, that’s been my feeling about Cricket which is happening with far too many games being played.

So much has been written and said about the Afridi episode that gives little space to add anything more to it.

To add fuel to fire Afridi has come out saying that ball tampering is done by others too and this is nothing new.
Dear Mr. Afridi, please keep quiet for the prestige of the game. After all you have been caught on camera and don’t play a blame game on others.

If cricket has to live long such happenings have to be stopped by the players themselves.

Let Cricket Live Long, as for the ball, It Is Not a Juicy Fruit so Don’t Bite It.

Cricket Fiasco at Kotla

Yesterday I was happy relaxing in front of the TV watching the match played between India and Sri Lanka…han han the cricket match…and happy with the start. It seemed India was doing very good from the first ball itself.

Only a couple of days back there was such a mess about getting tickets for this match that was being played in Delhi’s Kotla ground. Those people who did not get their tickets must be such a happy lot now.

Why is it cricket has to have such a horrible closing at the end of this year. The crowd must have waited in the queue for long hours, frisked by security personals before entering the stadium, sit for sometime watch few overs being bowled and later see the two teams walk out with the last announcement coming the match has been suspended.

Those watching the match in the comfort of their homes at least could get the signal from the pictures and the commentators the pitch was not suitable for play. With a grassy top the ball was rising high enough to hurt the batsman which of course was happening just before our eyes…the camera is very clever to catch every movement with the handiwork of the person behind the lens.

The match could not be played, blame games shooting up but after all who takes the blame…BCCI, the curator of the pitch, the Delhi Cricket Board, go on naming and ultimately no one wants to shoulder the blame. Why should one want to get the blame? There is so much of money in this game…cricket has made BCCI rich…and being a part of it is an honour. So people would love to be involved in cricket from close quarter, to be facilitated and privileged in getting complimentary passes to watch the matches in the different venues.

The other day when the match was being played in Eden Gardens, the flood lights went off. Can we say with too much cricket this game is losing its sheen and, the needs and wants of this classy game is not looked into properly - be it the laying of a pitch or giving a thorough check to see the floodlights are working properly.

Why has so much of callousness come in? Is it too much of anything ends up with little interest for it? Unanswered question…

Time to see our faces don’t drop in shame if we cannot hold the 2010 Commonwealth Games as expected by all the participating countries who will come here to be a part of it.

‘Learn from mistakes’…the calling…

Cricket Continued (4)

My Writing Chart (WC) today says, “Write about cricket yaar. The India/Australia one day series has not come to an end. There is still time to write about this game. You had said earlier cricket has been curried. I can top up your curry with another thought, believe me, it is very genuine. I add Worry to your curry...another ingredient that may add flavour to your curry”.

Now I feel my Writing Chart is doing a lot of chatting. So, “Dear WC please elaborate your thought.”

“The Worry topping is all about Injury. Did you not find some of the Aussies packing their bags and heading home? Yaar same with our home team, that’s the Effect of too much cricket. Agree or not?”

“WC, agreed. Yesterday India lost the game and what a nail biting finish it was. For Sachin Tendulkar it was a lucky day, another record and a big score to his credit. The Aussies are leading the series as of now. Hyderabad was not a lucky venue for India yesterday, let’s hope they do better in the next two games at Guwahati and Mumbai and lift the trophy. Let’s wait for the next match. No more cricket for today.”

Cricket Continued (3)

Yesterday Australia won to level at 2/2. When India won the last match in Delhi, there was much expectation from the people that India would also win the match played in Mohali…expected continuous third win. But the end said it all.

Talking about umpiring errors, there has been and will be. The topic of umpires making errors took the front seat when Tendulkar was given out LBW. After losing the match, Dhoni said Tendukar’s out was one cause of losing. If he would have been bowled out, then what would be the thought? The others in line have to play well to win. There have been times when batsmen coming much lower down the order have helped to win a match.

With too much cricket there has also been concern about the fitness of players. Cricket is the game which brings quick fame and money. Players too want to be selected and play all the matches, and Fitness and Form can only give them a place in the national squad.

Cricket Continued (2)

India beat Australia in the 2nd ODI in Nagpur. Having lost the first match to the visiting team India made up their loss in the second game. Having made a good score of 354 for 7 in 50 overs, they set a strong challenge before the kangaroos. Dhoni made 124 runs, his fifth ODI century which helped India to mass up this huge score.

The Aussies were all out for 255 playing 48.3 overs, paving way for India’s win by 99 runs.

After the two matches the Series is leveled 1-1 in this 7 match series.

Dhoni named the Man of the Match. Now its time to wait for the third ODI that’ll be played in Delhi.

Till then, “Good Luck Indian Team”.

Cricket Continued

With the ongoing cricket India-Australia series, talking about sports at this time will be more about cricket and less about the 2010 Commonwealth Games that will happen next year.

India having lost their opening One Day match has to give a thought of winning the next one. As an expert comment, Sourav Ganguly former Indian captain, thinks it will be better for team India if Dhoni bats at the third position. And agreeing to his thoughts is Adam Gilchrist, adding a Yes to Ganguly’s thought. But Dhoni has his own disposition and does not want to come up in the batting order.

Whatever the experts or the captain of the Indian team says, it is a matter of prestige for the Indian team to beat the great Aussies and win the series. After all playing in India in their home grounds is an advantage for the Indian side. Now it’s a wait and watch time to see how good are boys, at winning, to make every Indian cricket lover proud.

Cricket Curried

There has been too much cricket for the Indian cricket players and also for the huge population of this country. With so much of cricket, the game is losing some of its taste…among the lakhs and crores who used to follow this game.

Earlier there used to be few cricket tournaments, and now cricket matches are played throughout the year. Nowadays with 20 over matches there is more cricket to play…less time for a result oriented match. On the other hand people also have less time to spend watching these matches. Some great cricket heroes have failed to get a place in the teams hence their fans have also lost interest in watching the game.

With so many changes coming in this game, it is moreover getting curried. With less cricket and lesser changes in the game cricket will again be followed religiously in India. After all there is so much Wanting in Waiting.

Isn’t it?

IPL Season 2 Fever: What Next?

When this whole cricket thingy Indian Premier League (IPL) started, Indians associated within the cricketing circle felt proud of holding a huge money making tournament in India.

God, god, god that was IPL Season 1.

Fate had a different story to tell. IPL Season 2 did not get a place in the cricket grounds in India and so had to move their grounds and land up on the beautiful shores of South Africa.

The story begins here as far as I am concerned. IPL, the full form will read, INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE. Eight teams play against each other. All the teams have Indian names and Indian owners. Most of the players are Indians while there are well known players from other cricketing nations as part of one team or another.

If I’m to speak a little more on IPL, all that I can say it is all about the big B’s involved in it. Players getting a place in the team through BIDDING. If I’m not wrong, there is a huge market for BETTING in the game of cricket. And the whole game rests on BATTING and BOWLING for loss or win.

Baap re baap, players bought by the team management at such huge prices. Are they worth the price? Once the tournament is over, financial mathematics of each team will let the bosses know their profit and loss.

IPL (Indian Premier League) got the shunt out of this country because of IPL (Indian Political League), more specifically the General elections. Just imagine the fate of the players…they cannot cast their votes.

I cam see cricket sliding with time. The Test Matches are outnumbered by the One Dayers. Soon One Dayers will lose their place to Twenty Over matches.

And who knows one day India’s Gali Cricket will be the most watched cricket matches from the balconies of the houses at the high cost of the Gali Pitches.
Who knows…?