Aila - Alvida ?

I have always been a great fan of Ian Chappell. He gives candid opinions, on cricket. On why the game should be kept simple. Pre-World Cup in an interview he mentioned, that batting is a very simple thing. When one tries to analyse the nitty gritties, of the batsman falling over, playing across the line, opening the face of the bat, it dilutes the essence of batting. The best way to bat in a cricket match is - To defend the good ball, and punish the bad ones. As long as the bat is used to strike the ball, the batsman will continue to be successful.

His views on the game, with respect to the fact that coaches cannot be of major influence has been proved again. Dravid was given the team he wanted. Though apparently Greg Chappell, the almost outgoing Indian Coach (If I may put it that way) wanted Suresh Raina in the team. Now, why Greg even thought of roping in a below par performing Raina, only he knows. Infusing young blood is always good. But it should be taken in a sensible way after assessing performances. Now that we do know that a coach has only as much say as giving suggestions, how can he make a difference to a team on ehe cricket field ?

Cricket is probably the only game where the captain has to be intelligent, brilliant and tactful in his moves. No other sport demands such skills of tactfulness and strategy than cricket. As a result, any decision taken by the captain on the field gets scrutinised and comes under the microscope. Dissection of these views is more prominent these days with the vast influx of the television and media. So, unless a Hansie Cronje Earpiece help is given to a captain by a Bob Woolmerish coach, the game will remain as one which the captain has huge responsibility of. No coach can ever help a captain on the field. And in this context, maybe the Indian team maybe well off without even having a coach !

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Indian Cricketers' Ads - Post World Cup

Mein Kaun Hoon Mein Kahaan Hoon, is what Sachin would feel soon, or has already been made to feel. For the first time, maybe in 18 years of a supposedly illustrious career, he is facing the wrath of the entire nation. People calling for his head, and demanding that he be dropped. And once he is dropped, Sachin, in his own unique style will say -"Main Kaun Hoon, Main Kahaan Hoon", "Aila, Mujhe Drop Kar Diya". He will probably hate buying his own Sunfeast biscuits.

Dravid (though not to be blamed for the World Cup fiasco) will not find anchor on the cricketing field, and would have to search for that elusive anchor switch at his own home. Surely, the wall has hit a wall, and darkness owing to electricity loss hasn't helped matters.

Dhoni, probably would have to cut his hair, or even tonsure his head, since it is doubtful whether he would be given a long rope. Since in Dhoni's case his hair is as long as one can imagine a rope to be, he shouldn't expect too much of sympathy. Maybe, shaving his hair would give a positive signal, that he is ready to start things afresh. From the ROOTs so to speak.

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No Say In Stray

Sometimes, knee jerk reactions work wonders. With the stray dog issue now getting more prominence (courtesy, a responsible media, sarcasm intended) due to the debacle of the Indian Cricket Team at the Cricket World Cup, the animal right activists have woken up. Woken up, from the deep slumber should we say? How many Bangaloreans knew there were the following Animal Right Activists' Groups - Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA), Animal Rights Fund? Well, if you didn’t, they do exist. If not, they do now. Suddenly, they have started raising a hue and cry over the culling of Stray Dogs, especially in Bangalore.

I love animals, and there is no doubt that I love dogs too! But does that mean, I would follow Gandhigiri and try and love a Dog when it is attacking me? Dogs gone astray are quite an unfortunate thing. Firstly, if the Animal Rights Activists need to have any say at all in their objection to the culling, they should have pre-empted this backlash. They should have been proactive and started doing something to avoid the dogs going astray. Instead, when the menace of the stray dogs has taken alarming proportions, any sort of measure by the Civic Authorities is termed as knee jerk reaction?

Pray, where do these Animal Activists take root from? I would like to know how many of them have vegetarian food? How many of them boycott having food from Non-Vegetarian restaurants. How many of them volunteer to adopt all the strays as their own pets? Can they handle that? Would things have come to this extent, had they done something about it? I hate to stereotype while airing my views, but the media has a hand in this aspect too.

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