Open Letter to Sourav Ganguly

Dear Dada,

Kemon Ache?

Let me introduce myself as your staunch supporter and an ardent cricket fan. This letter in in response to your interview, which was published in the leading newspapers and online media yesterday. You looked distraught and visibly sad by the recent IPL snub. So I’m making my little small attempt to instill some confidence in you by saying don’t worry, we are all there with you.

Image Courtesy- Wittysparks.com

It is really sad that the IPL owners decided not to pick you up for the tournament. Without meaning any disrespect to VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, both on my favorites list, I thought if they could invite bids, so could you. Given your record in the IPL and first class cricket, any body would have been a fool to ignore you. This proves IPL teams are run by a bunch of fools. I’m sure the Mallya camp was drunk, Shilpa was having a cozy conversation with her husband, Priety Zinta was as clueless as a goat in the jungle and Nita Ambani was thinking about what new gold plated fitting to install in her bathroom when your name was announced. So why worry about fools?

Having said that, I guess it was good to see you retire from all forms of the game. You were wise to retire from international cricket at the right time. Probably this was the time to say good bye to IPL as well. We’d surely love to see you as a coach. Have you considered that? May be you should start with a small team and then go on to make big. I look forward to it.

With that, I’d like to conclude and say good bye! And thank you for providing us entertainment all these years. You were without doubt one of the greatest batsmen in the Indian Cricketing world. I will always remember you as a tactical captain, wonderful off side player and a menace for spinners. Good bye and best of luck!

Auctions Drama at IPL Now Over!

Sourav Ganguly was snubbed out of the IPL auctions, deemed to old for age and too big for reputation to fit in any team. That was a sad SAD SAD!!! end to some one who has proved himself in the game so much. It completely disheartened me and put me off the auctions, though I followed it on the last weekend.

Having said that, the IPL obviously has a charisma of its own. Despite sad stories about Lalit Modi infested scandal and god knows how many other controversies, the money spinning league has managed to glue viewers to the screens. I like it for the cricket and the ecstasy. And I deem both words similar. Cricket is nothing without the excitement and ecstasy, in any form. Some find it in the BIG sixes hit by the players while others found them in the SIX ‘objects of visual pleasantry’ (un)clad in mini skirts dancing to the tune of whatever. I never paid attention to the music.

Behind India’s Debacle at the World T20

Before I begin, let me tell you that I was not expecting the team India to win the T20 world cup. But I didn’t expect them to go down so badly either. I thought they would reach the semi finals at least. Any way…

The analysis is simple. One, the team composition was not right and two, the players were worn out, tired and far too arrogant to win the cup. We had players in the team whose form in IPL was average to pathetic. Barring Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma among the batsmen, no other player had displayed any glimpse of remarkable form. May it be Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik or Dhoni himself. But they all made it to the team instead of the ones who hammered the bowlers in the IPL. The loss shows how unlucky Robin Utthappa, Sourabh Tiwari and Naman Ojha must have felt… all of them who were brilliant with the bat.

And the bowlers? well they do not deserve to be discussed at all. Zaheer Khan is an aggressive guy.

IPL is poised for an exciting finish

While I’m writing this post, the Deccan Chargers and the Rajasthan Royals must be preparing for a hard battle in the searing heat of Nagpur. Yes, today’s IPL match is in Nagpur. And I’m sure the city is all geared up for a hot hot battle between the teams desperate to push for a semi final birth.  :-)

I think this year’s IPL has been a very closely fought contest. Baring Mumbai Indians, all other teams have shown both glimpses of brilliance and farce. Mumbai, after two mediocre seasons looks all set to finally show the world what their old war horses are capable of. The quartet of Sachi-Sanath-Zaheer-Harbhajan along with the young guns Sourabh Tiwari, Lasith Malinga and Dwayne Bravo have peaked at the right time for Mumbai Indians. Their closest competitors this season, the Delhi Dare Devils and the Royal Challengers have also done well. Though even they wilted under pressure of the big games. The performance of the heavy weights of the first two seasons, Chennai Super Kings has been surprisingly drab. Yes they showed the brilliance in the matches they won. But unfortunately, they have won just 3 out of 9 and are now struggling in the bottom 3.

Winners of the last IPL, the deccan chargers have also been on and off. They have made a habit of winning alternate matches I guess. Same is true for Dada and Shahrukh’s team the Kolkata Night Riders. The Kings XI Punjab have been the laggards this season, like KKR in the last one. However nothing can be said. If they end up winning all the remaining matches and if others do badly, who knows? Punjab might be in the semis. All said and done, I think Mumbai, the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Delhi Dare Devils will surely make it to the semis. And you will see a BIG cat fight for the final birth. Boy, the contests are getting interesting.

Now lets come back to the original question. Who do you think will win the IPL 3? My money is still on Mumbai. Lets vote.