Monday, May 24, 2010

T20

I am not much of a follower of the capsular form of cricket. But I rejoiced in the hours of midnight when England won the third edition of T20 World Cup.

England is the birth place of three major sporting events of the world. But due to sheer misfortune they haven’t been lucky to dominate in any.

Thankfully the victory in WC provided some kind of contradiction to their fortune in previous outings. Except in a very few countries, cricket is no longer a thriving sport. I believe England hasn’t been able to find an exceptionally talented player or match winner for the past 10 years.
The very few who promised, ended up as casuality. Steve Harmison was a man who promised a lot only to end up as a big failure. Flintoff would have been the match winner England needed for long. His infamous injuries cut off his career. There were many more than these two. It could have been due to the incompetent medical staff.

England’s struggle to find a wicket keeper was as famous as its World Cup victory. There hasn’t been anyone coming since Alec Stewart. When Monty took over as the main spinner for the England team, it highlighted the poverty in spin department. I still remember the sarcasm with which he was met with by Indian commentators. One couldn’t disagree with them. He was not even fit for a local game.

T20 format game is just in the phase of evolution. Everyone are on the path of learning and the rest of the world has learnt more than what India did.
T20 doesn’t require an exceptionally skilled player. It’s a brainless game and you just need a bunch of guys with great physique and die-hard attitude. May be you will need a captain with a bit of brains.

So there is no point in selecting semi-fit players based on their past performance. Players have to be selected only if they are fit- physically and mentally.
You need the raw strength and energy. T20 is not for the timid. Bowlers are the least respected and has to be punished invariably. No matter what, not a single ball should be allowed to pass through and has to be chased all the way to ropes. And we desperately need good divers.
No matter how big or small the team is battle lasts till the last over. So you need the hard attitude to change the momentum at the last minute.

And almost all the eleven players get a chance to bat. So what we need is some 8 batsmen who can bowl decently well. And a few bowlers who can haul the ball to 6.
When we have the only competitive T20 league in the world, why don’t we select players based on the performance in the league? Years ago I used to read Srikanth’s fiery column in ‘The Hindu’. He used to bash the selectors helter and skelter. He had the image of rebel from his playing days. Now I believe the only guy who needs to be sacked is Srikanth, who filled up the team with semi-fit, out-of-form favorites.

When it comes to sports, when will India learn?

7 comments:

Shady West Side said...

well the selectors got it right in the first t20 and made us indians think that we might dominate the game for a few years...a fluke has lead to so many things for t20, and cricket.....I remember my dad saying "this win is not good for india or the players, its going to be gr8 for cricket"
How true!!

Shahid

rohini said...

IPL has alws been my fav since its birth....but yes it confuses me when it comes to cheering one team or the player i like, but of another team...
T20 WC- i was very happy the way Eng won the Cup and the way they celbrated it...u r rite the bonsai of cricket ie T20 needs more strengthful player rather than the strategist....nut no Khali's PLZ

Jon said...

Shahid,
Lemme assure you...as soon as T20 starts in the Olympics. India will stand no chance against the other countries in 10-20 years if things go on in this way.
Your father is far-sighted

Rohini,
T20 was started in the format of other popular sporting leagues. But sadly Modi has only bothered about raking in money. No long term plans has been chalked.
I doubt if IPL will survive 10-20 years!

rohini said...

enjoy till the time,.....

Jon said...

Hey... i am not seeing ur posts

award time is over ma'am get bak to blogging!!!

Er. said...

IPL is NOT cricket. And people should understand that. IPL, from its initial stage, has always been about money. More money. And more and more money!

Jon said...

Well said man.. in our office there are ppl who bets on the team...They have no loyalty for any team but for money.

Thank You Modi!!

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Shakespeare,Da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin and Lincoln never saw a movie,heard a radio or looked at TV. They had loneliness and knew what to do with it. Thay were not afraid of being lonely because they knew that was when the creative mood in them would work.