Australia Gains the High Ground

The condemnation from the Australian media, past cricketers, commentators and the Prime Minister himself was swift and furious. The ink had barely dried on Steve Smith's arrogant acknowledgement of cheating and self absolution, claiming that he was "still the best man to lead" the Australian team. This is a player who has been on a Bradmanesque run making streak. Almost single-handedly holding the team's weak batting together to give their bowlers enough to win matches.

Now we hear of a possible life ban. His deputy, Warner, often in the cross-hairs of the behavior police, and Australia's second best run-maker in the team is also being potentially benched. An unheard of fierce response to an offense that is not the highest offense in the ICC's list of things that can get you in trouble.

There's glee, schadenfreude and a merry goulash of emotions emanating from all over the cricketing world. Past players, current players, commentators, bloggers have all been piling on. The reaction from many thinking people has been one of confusion. Unclear as to why Cricket Australia and the public would be willing to dump their best and second best player for a seemingly trivial offense. That too when the perpetrator has acknowledged, apologized, received the due punishment from ICC and is ready to move on.

The tendency of most boards is to "back their players" when charged with offenses. Most recently, South Africa mounted a furious six hour defense of Kagiso Rabada to dumb down a serious charge. India has routinely thrown tantrums when their players were caught on camera messing with the ball or charged with offenses that would lead to bans. Pakistan has deemed it worthy to forfeit a match and work "posthumously" to get their captain acquitted.

Australia taking the opposite route. Not only are they not backing their players, they are throwing the kitchen sink at them. They are putting the spirit of cricket above a book of ICC rules. Australia have always been proud of playing hard, but "fair". The people had been supportive of the players as long as they felt they were not cheating. But that thin string of trust has been broken by evidence and followed up with a banal apology.

No Australian till now had ever been sanctioned for cheating (ball tampering). Siddle came close but was found not guilty by the referee. Australia has never appealed against a match referee's decision for any offense. They have lived up to the commitment to the process. Contrast that with the responses from other nations.

Australia is willing to let go of their best players to maintain the sanctity of their country's hard won image of fair play. There is no better way to demonstrate commitment to fair sport. Those who see shallowness, opportunism or hypocrisy in this are well-served to look into their own country's responses. The best way out of darkness is sunshine and the Australian PM, public and board are willing to lose the cricket games to ensure that their integrity and sanctity is not put in doubt.

Australia has refrained from spinning a yarn around this, not played the victim and is copping it on their chin. Past players have spoken with one voice. Not one player past or present has come out in support of the players or coach seeking a more lenient view.

Other countries have defined patriotism to mean that any "smear" on their reputation is to be dealt with fierce outrage and potential retribution. This approach serves to embolden perpetrators to bend rules in the name of national honor (winning games). Australia, refreshingly I may add, has taken the approach that no one is allowed to compromise the honor of the nation by cheating in the name of the nation. Australia have attained the moral high ground and the hypocrites stand exposed. India, South Africa and others would do well to follow the Australian example instead of doubling down.

The World Cup

The last people to let go of their old gods are the loyal priests. And Srinivasan is the latest example where the cabal most benefiting from his occupation of BCCI and ICC's chair is the one that's most quiet and protective of him. There is no doubt that its self-preservation at work because without these old gods, the priest would have to re-think their lives.

As painful as the saga of Srinivasan has been, it's been more painful to hear the deafening silence of the cricketing gods. India has perhaps survived for many centuries of conquests due to its ability to "shake it off" and continue as if nothing happened. And so we continue to indulge in navel gazing and waiting for the next puppet to emerge from the shadows. The heroes for many of these loyal priests seem to be the Putin-Medvedev combine and not the high standards set by Mandela or Washington. But it's dumb to even think that a man more or less accused of re-writing the constitution to suit his personal agenda would display any different behavior nor that his cabal would condemn it.

Its painful to hear Shastri, Gavaskar, Dhoni and others talk about BCCI and Srinivasan as being the same and pointing to high player salaries and perks as the justification for their enduring admiration. Is this what sport is all about now? Are our sporting gods all about this now? Do they believe that getting a fair deal is a blessing and that it's due to one individual? And that if Srinivasan were to be criticized or held accountable for over-reach, they would lose their pay? And so it's ok to cower in blackmail? What about the cricket? Is cricket in India beholden to one or two persons' largesse? Really?

And the Indian team is a clear reflection of what can be despite our administrators' best efforts to hog the limelight. I think Dhoni is a super player and a great captain. And I think Kohli is playing the brand of cricket that I hoped Tendulkar would always play. Kohli doesn't have Tendulkar's aura yet and he will likely never have that mystique due to the privacy that was dear to Tendulkar. However, Kohli with his public engagement and willingness to live life on his terms without any apologies is refreshing. I sincerely hope that people who don't like his brashness and are worshipers of humility don't trash him the moment he starts failing. He deserves as long a rope if not longer than what Tendulkar was given when his form slumped.

India has no bowling worth the name and it's batting is struggling to come to grips with Australia. While Rohit Sharma's form is a welcome sign, Dhawan hasn't produced a single meaningful innings in all his time in Australia. And without both openers being in form, India have no chance. Turning to Kohli or Dhoni or magic in every game isn't a formula for success. Rahane and Raina can add bulk but cannot turn games on their head. At best they are valuable supporting cast. The players that can take the game away from the opposition are Rohit, Kohli and Dhoni. These are the men that no one has answers for.

Pakistan is inspired and yet I don't see how they can topple this Indian team. But if Pakistan has had a better chance I don't know of one. India usually don't start well in such tournaments but this would be a home world cup for India given the amount of time they've spent in Australia.

This Pakistan team under Misbah is a team that I can like. Misbah, Afridi and Younis represent the three types of Pakistan teams that we've all come to see. Misbah is about the steel and pride that Zaheer Abbas and Asif Iqbal reflected, Afridi is the mercurial ability Inzy, Akram and Waqar played with and Younis is about the passion that we saw from Imran, Sarfraz, Miandad and Saeed Anwar. There is a certain beauty to Pakistan cricket that few teams can match.

I put India a nose ahead in this game simply because Indians have played a lot of cricket and don't usually need miracles to win games. They are experienced and know when to turn it on.

Opinions On...VVS Laxman

Ultimately the change that should have been engineered out of plan following the surrender of the #1 Test ranking has been brought about any way by the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.

India attaining the #1 ranking changed a few things. Expectations among one. A #1 team is expected to draw, win and even lose Test Matches differently than a middle of the rung team. When the very batsmen that made us the best were found so breathless away from home, used bad 'luck' and injury to a key bowler as legitimate analytic tools, they had; in my books; run out of time, ideas and respect as far as their careers were concerned.

With the announcement of VVS Laxman to retire, the last of the men who lent mystique and an old fashioned charm to this Indian team, despite the gross commercialization associated with is cricket, is gone.

His 8000 odd career runs in 134 Tests, seems positively paltry in comparison to the mountain of runs scored by Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid and yet without his contributions both Sachin's and Rahul's careers would have been less illustrious than they eventually were.

His contributions were never about how much more they could have been, rather how pedestrian India's record would have been without them. That two most prolific batsmen of all time would have yet ended up being part of an average team, had it not been for VVS Laxman. In that lies Laxman's true value. It is easy to miss the forest for the trees and only see the numerous times he produced duds; but his career was about producing those rare gems that lay beyond the combined capacities of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

"Apan tere ko doich mara....lekin solid mara ke nahi..." One of my favorite dialogues from one of the best comedies I have watched; Amar Akbar Anthony....If VVS had a bit of Anthony in him, this was a line for him and his career.

The premiere rivalry cricket enjoyed between India and Australia; without VVS Laxman; would have been non existent. An entire rivalry for over a decade had its foundations in that innings, that partnership. It changed the equation for India and the world. A lead of 200+ is no longer an automatic follow-on. Every time a team ends up with a lead of 200, a captain will account for the possibility of that innings at the Eden Gardens before he asks the opposition to follow-on. 

In theory it is quite possible to find his replacement to score the amount of runs he made at the average he made them at. 17 Test 100s is not a great many 100s. Suresh Raina can easily notch up the kind of numbers VVS Laxman did but can anyone produce a marathon innings following on, can anyone will the tail-enders to hang on for an improbable chase? 

Its unlikely.

Opinions On...Michael Clarke

Exactly a year ago India's pusillanimous cricket team, refused to chase a measly 90 odd in 16 overs on the last day of a Test match in Dominica.

Today Michael Clarke showed them the way with a declaration full of intent.

That Australia won only makes the decision to declare in arrears, famous. But even if they had lost it should have been celebrated for the tactical advantage, even if short term, it gave the Australians.

From 329/9 recovering to 406/9 and 43 runs behind on first innings most sides and their captains would be relieved to have a chance to escape with a draw. Most sides would have done just that and harped about it.

Michael Clarke thought of winning the game from there. He read the game differently than most. 

I have to admit, Michael Clarke has been an unexpected but very welcome revelation. For a long time I believed that Australia saw something non existent in him to name him their future captain so early.

I was wrong...

No captain today has half his courage even while possessing twice his arsenal. Not Andrew Strauss, not Greame Smith and certainly not Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Opinions on... Rahul Dravid

Every once in a while there comes a movie which everyone wants to watch. You do too. You make plans. Everything is in place except there are no tickets to be found. Not wanting to stay at home like a loser, you settle for another decent movie.

Not as popular. Not tweeted about much. But good enough to make the evening memorable.

Rahul Dravid is that other movie, that no one really goes out to watch but ends up watching as a compromise. He is the universal second choice.

Anyone who says Rahul Dravid is his/her favorite cricketer is either lying or is his wife. I did meet someone at Grenada during the 2007 World Cup who said, she "hoped" Rahul does well. She later revealed she was his cousin. 

Rahul Dravid...he was the very best at being being 2nd best. It is said (now I read this somewhere) that Abraham Lincoln's strategy during the Presidential nomination process was to make sure he was every delegate's second or third choice.

It sure worked for Abraham Lincoln and through out Rahul Dravid's career it was his destiny. He was every one's after thought.

Out of his 13,288 Test runs, 13,284 were scored when people were cheering for Sachin, VVS, Sehwag or Ganguly. I don't know about others but I can say that 4 of those runs had at least one person rooting for Dravid. That was me. When he creamed that boundary to give India a win at Adelaide in 2003.

That was the innings when the greatness of Rahul Dravid sunk into me. For the first 7 years of his career, he was just someone to respect and say nice things about.

Even as speculation about his retirement was doing the rounds it was Sachin Tendulkar who confirmed it first by saying, "I will miss him (Dravid) in the dressing room". With that statement Sachin inadvertently announced his own non-retirement.

His debut 95 was Saurav Ganguly's show. One of his finest innings that showcased his fierce will to fight was overshadowed by another Very Very Special innings.

Nobody, I know of, would go out of their way to watch a Rahul Dravid innings. Rahul Dravid was always someone whom you settled for when the Sachins and the Laxmans did not deliver or needed someone to support their causes.

It is not often that I have ventured to watch a Test Match at the ground. In a stadium. Most times it has been to watch Sachin Tendulkar do something special. And on all those occasions I have come away with watching Rahul Dravid do something I would have preferred Sachin Tendulkar to have done.

Even in retirement I would have preferred that we would be confronted with Sachin Tendulkar's retirement and not Rahul Dravid's. That's just me. 

Anil Kumble, Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid collectively fronted a side of maniac talent with a structure. A method. Collectively they were able to channel India's talent to substantial wins with a bit of intelligence. They brought passion, fearlessness and a will to fight. With Sachin Tendulkar for company they gave us the #1 Test ranking. 

With the 3 of them gone, day time soap opera like dramas, with Sachin reduced to being a mere spectator will be common place. 

Without Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Saurav Ganguly for a while now India will be like a less illustrious offspring of a marriage between Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Opinions On...Virat Kohli

Saying that Virat Kohli is special is like saying Aishwarya Rai is beautiful.


Through the eighties and nineties, Indian batsmen were prone to panic and collapse in tight chase situations. Miandad had put a lasting wound on India with his last ball six.  India took a long slow road to completely exorcise that ghost. It started with Ganguly, Kaif, Yuvraj and Laxman and has now reached it's pinacle with Dhoni and Kohli. 


Kohli is special because rather than huff and puff his way in typical 80s, 90s Indian style, he just seems take the bull by the horns. Failure doesn't even seem to occur to him. To him more runs seems to be more opportunity to score runs and enjoys being the man. 


He is the culmination of India's efforts to find people that will not wilt till the last ball.

Opinions On...Samit Patel

Totally, absolutely, vehemently profusely, and uncontrollablly inspired by Samit Patel, today I read the following statement to my wife. I had thought of calling a "press conference" but better sense prevailed.

"My biggest ambition is to be a good husband and a good father" I said. "I need to spend high volumes of time in our marriage to push my case for an occasional night out with friends. If I was selected for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus then I would miss several dinners and lunches at home and that won't help me at a time when I need to do everything I can to impress you"

"I have listened to the advice from people that I trust and it is clear that this decision is the right one to have made for domestic reasons. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus is an exciting enterprise and I would like to be involved in it in the future, but not to the detriment of my marital ambitions"

Opinions On...Sachin

After more than a quarter century of following Sachin Tendulkar, I am announcing my retirement from all forms of the game. I have arrived at this decision after careful thought but without consulting my friends and family. If I had consulted them, they would have thought I am nuts; which I probably am.

I know my time is up. My mind is not with Sachin's game any longer. I no longer switch on the Television even when I know that Sachin is batting and while I still switch off the television when Sachin gets out; I have to admit it more habit than instinct. There was a time when Sachin's batting helped soothe the pain of India's defeat. Today I crave for India to win without Sachin.

I am ready to move on to a newer India. An India which learns to win without Sachin; even if it loses a few in the process.

Opinions On...Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi

The one-eyed Prince

India's youngest captain

But even with one good eye, he is bigger than Tiger Woods; at least in India

Ask Google..

Click to Enlarge

Opinions On... Praveen Kumar

Praveen Kumar is Madan Lal's Second Coming

For us children of the eighties, nothing is humbling and funnier than Maddi-pa running full speed and delivering a military medium pie. Humbling because he got many vital wickets and never ever gave it away. He never dropped any catches and never threw his wicket away playing ungainly shots. Here was a man that valued every second he spent on the cricket field and gave it his all. His utmost was military medium pies. If God had given him natural speed, he would have devastated the world.

Praveen Kumar reminds me of Madan Lal. He is all heart and a lot of guile. But his methods are old-fashioned and simple. Grunt work, effort and more effort. His bowling reminds me of Javed Miandad. Perhaps because I'm constantly subjected to the phrase "street-smart" in his context. But watching the first two days of this match and his bowling in his debut series in the West Indies, I have felt a strange sense of anticipation on every ball he bowls. This from a military medium bowler that doesn't even try to bowl any faster. Not since Kapil Dev, have I felt that way when an Indian bowler has bowled.

Opinions On...Darren Sammy

It does not matter when the appointment actually took place or when the announcement was made. It was heard only today.

Today Darren Sammy became the captain of the West Indies cricket team.

Today, Darren Sammy became the first West Indian captain to take 5 wickets in the 4th innings and win a Test match...

...since...

how shall I say this....

Gary Sobers.

Quite surprisingly, Courtney Walsh never did it. So, next time you bump into him at St. Lucia and he says "I am Darren Sammy, captain of the West Indies cricket Team"... stand up and tip your hat.

Opinions On... Saurav Ganguly

His debut Test innings at Lords, where he scored a century was a comeback...sort of. He was clearly out of depth in that one ODI he played for India in Australia 4 years earlier. It was said that he refused to carry drinks and from what people could see on TV, could not bat nor run between the wickets.

He just didn't seem to belong.

If he would have been discarded for good, we wouldn't even have noticed it. But he persisted and 19 years later playing in his 4th IPL season he played an innings for Pune Warriors that had all the buzz of a debut.

That is Saurav Ganguly for you....

Opinions on... Chetan Sharma

Chetan Sharma did not have a particularly bad debut in Tests. It was against Pakistan in Pakistan and he bowled quite admirably. However it was Azeem Hafeez who stole the show for Pakistan in that Test. Yes, he was the bowler with the missing middle fingers.

Chetan Sharma's debut series had to be abandoned due to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Perhaps that was a bad omen. Its wasn't an auspicious start to Chetan Sharma's career.

Opinions on... Gautam Gambhir

I am excited at the prospect of how Gautam Gambhir will evolve as a batsman in the next few years.

He has provided consistency and stability to India's all-star batting line up since 2008. The way he started his career in 2004 there weren't too many reasons to believe in Gautam Gambhir. Since 2008 Gautam Gambhir has been amongst the best batsmen in the world and has secured a place in India's rich history of batsmen as one of the most successful openers. His success while very welcome, was unexpected in many ways.

Opinions on... Shahid Khan Afridi

Shahid Afridi is a joy to watch. Like Virendra Sehwag his game is untouched by modern coaching techniques. Both offer such tremendous value to their teams that often strategies are formed around the pure skills they offer. Both have evolved their skills, keeping a strong connection to their roots and culture.

Born, a Pathan, in a tribal areas near Afghanistan, where the word of the Afridis was the law, Shahid Afridi considers gun toting 12 year olds as "part of the culture". Shooting a gun is a "normal thing" to him and he often goes to a shooting range near the Afghanistan border to fire M16s.

Opinions on... Taj Malik

It is mind boggling to think that today's World cup game between New Zealand and Canada could have easily been between New Zealand and Afghanistan or It could well have been Australia v Afghanistan instead of Kenya.

I am not much of a fan of too many associate nations in the World Cup, but I just finished watching a wonderful movie with the most endearing of cricket coaches and I am no longer sure that I agree with myself.

Opinions on... Kamran Akmal

We have seen spinners bowling with the new ball. Wicketkeepers doubling up as opening batsmen. Spinners bowling in the power play is also not new. In fact this World Cup it self has seen many of these innovations in play; including Munaf Patel holding a catch while sitting on his butt; allegedly because there was no other way to avoid getting hit by the ball.

Opinions on... Billy Bowden

Billy Bowden secretly wishes he were a baseball umpire. He sees the "freedom of expression" they are allowed in American Major League Baseball and he lusts for job as a home plate umpire. He grew up with pin ups of great American baseball umpires.

And as an adult...

Opinions on... Shakib Al-Hasan

An evening that started with a chance encounter at a bar had turned deliciously promising, when a very willing Katrina Kaif  accompanied Shakib Al-Hasan to his room. It was then that Shakib remembered reading an article that had appeared in the "Amercian Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases". Unprotected intercourse is 68% more likely to result in genital warts.

Opinions on... Suresh Raina

It doesn't matter how good a batsman you are. To be a great Indian batsman, or viewed as a long term prospect in India, your name counts. I mean the way it sounds.

Suresh Raina isn't going to cut it.

Its a name good enough to make a successful actor; may be. A respected poet; perhaps. A singer too.