The unsportive scenario of Indian sports

It was an amazing day for cricket lovers - a day of pride for every Indian cricket fan - a youthful inexperienced Indian cricket team under the leadership of a new captain, in the absence of a formal coach won the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship. A feat many of the experienced and talented Indian teams from the past couldnt accompolish - winning a world championship. Dhoni and his men deserve all the praise they are getting and we only hope that the momentum gained in the past matches is not lost, but converted into a sustained performance on the pitch.

A nation rejoiced and welcomed its heroes in a fitting manner. BCCI showered the players cash awards. Agreed the players deserve the lavish gifts and presents, but if we pause for a moment and ask a question whose money is being spent. The BCCI has offered cash incentives from its coffers and we dont question them. But what about the money being spent from the state exchequer and used as a publicity stunt by the ministers, who by riding on the good will of the people are presenting these awards to their players.I dont question if the players deserve this money or not, but why are the ministers not spending from their pockets and instead using the public money.

Agreed India is a cricket frenzied nation and the hype its cricket players are recieving can be reasoned to a certain extent. But what about its other sport heroes? The Indian hockey team recently won the Asian Cup. This news didnt generate the kind of hype the cricket win recieved. Hockey is the national game of the country and yet its players are given a second rate treatment. Just because there is no corporate money involved, the media also doesnt seem to show any interest in the game or its players. After the Chak de India movie, there was some initial hooplah for the flagging support for hockey in India, but now it has become a bygone issue. Watching the cricket players basking in the glory, the hockey federation has every right to question this prejudice towards them or any other sport. The fault not only lies with the governments attitude towards other sports besides cricket, but also with the people of India. The amount of interest shown in cricket eclipses the interest shown in any other sport. Not getting the due glory for their talent can drive the players to not pursue other sports. Football, Volleyball, etc are all in a sad state of affairs in India. We all agree that sports other than cricket need to be encouraged, their talents nurtured and channalized properly, but what are we doing towards it. If the change has to happen, it has to happen in the minds of the people who watch, follow and play sports. Only then can we hope to see India perform better at sports other than cricket.

The Mahabharat between BCCI and ICL

The ICL kicked up a strom yesterday by releasing its list of players who have currently signed contracts with them. The list popped up some surprises - names like Dinesh Mongia, who recently played for India and some promising newcomers like Ambati Rayudu showed some growing unrest among Indian cricketers against the hegemony of BCCI. In my opinion the players have taken a bold but correct decision to join the ICL. Cricket in India is followed like a religon. You go to any city gymkhana, you would find budding cricketers toiling it hard to make an impression on the selecters and breaking into the team - be it at the club level, zonal level, state level or Ranjhi level. The path to the Indian national team is the toughest one - working hard, performing in each of the matches at each of those levels, then waiting to win some favor from the regional selectors. Without a god-father who can market you to the national level, its a very tough dream to come true for thousands of budding cricketers across the length and breadth of India. There have been numerous cricketers who spent their entire career playing Ranjhi games and other national leagues, without getting a single game for the country. The match fees of a game in any of these leagues is like peanuts as compared to the match fees the 11 players representing the national colors get paid. Imagine the plight of these players when they see their counterparts taking home all the money, limelight and publicity, just because they were not fortunate enough to get that single break into the national squad. And when an opportunity like ICL comes along, its natural for these players to grab it with both hands. BCCI has long maintained its monopoly on the game and has toyed with the careers of so many cricketers who could have had international careers were they born in other countries where the waiting queue is not so high. With this mass exodus of the players to the new league, the domestic cricket in India has recieved a major setback. Teams like Hyderabad, Bengal and Punjab have been severely effected. As a knee-jerk reaction BCCI has raised the match fees for the domestic leagues in a hope to retain the remaining players. But the ball has been set rolling by the ICL and we can surely expect to hear more news on this front about player defections.

Apart from the domestic players, each of the teams in the ICL are planned to have some international stars in their line-up. Some big names were doing the rounds for a while now. Brian Lara is a confirmed to play the league, while some big guns from the Aussies are still pondering the thought of taking the plunge or not. Big hitters from South Africa like Lance Klusener have already signed, while the erstwhile stars from the Kiwi-land, Chris Harris, Chirs Cairns, and Nathan Astle are showing some interest in the league. Players from across the border added some more excitement to the list. Inzamam joining the ICL was predictable owing to the rough path his career was heading after the listless and forgettable 2007 he has had. After retiring from the ODIs his Test career also looks almost over, with the PCB giving him a cold shoulder. Joining the ICL could have been the best option for him to derive benefit of the 1 or 2 years of cricket left in him - as they say make as much hay as possible while the sun shines! But the jolt out of blue which Pakistan cricket recieved was losing their most dependable player, their spine of the batting line up - Mohammed Yousuf. Yousuf recently had the best patch of form in batting, accumulating runs like a kid collecting pebbles on a sandy beach. After the World Cup fiasco, the PCB was sure to make changes to their team composition. But in the process of a giving a new look to their team, the PCB has lost out on its golden-egg-laying-hen. With Yousuf joining the ICL and if PCB sticks to its guns of not selecting him for the national team, then Pakistan will recieve a great setback. With its bowlers already struggling to remain fit or clear of any drug scandals, their batting line up sans the big Inzy, the inform-run-machine Yousuf and the maverick Younis Khan, Pakistan team would need to depend on prayers than ever before to give any kind of fight to the opponents!

Sporting heroes bow out of fame

Well as the year 2006 draws to a close, lets have a glance at the sporting action in the bygone year. We had the all-anticipated FIFA world cup in the summer which was the best organanised tournament in its history. Germany had opened up its warm arms to welcome football fans from world over and the event was an outstanding success for all the tourists who took many great memories home. Though there were some surprise defeats and non-performances, but it all ended in an eventful finale with a stand-off between traditional rivalling neighbours - France and Italy, with the Azzuris taking the honors in the 11-metre (penalty shootouts). Some of the legends were in action for the last time in this tournament. Luis Figo could not do much for his home country and all their dreams were stalled by a last minute-rejuvenated France side. Le Blues were courting all their experienced legs for one last shot at the golden trophy. Zidane, Lizarazu, Vieira all teamed up for one final tourney together. Though Zidane did not have a respectful exit from the world football stage, but at the end of his career he still proved that he was a magician in the mid-field, with all other big names looking a tad novice against his skills with the ball. This year we bid adieu to many football greats along with Zizou like Lizarazu, Figo, Pavel Nedved etc.

Infact the trend of sportsmen retiring was very ominous throughout 2006. Schumacher called it a day from the racing circuit afte having reigned it for several years. Aussie swimmer Thorpe retired from the game, citing that he wanted to leave when on the top. By the year end, with the Aussies regaining the Ashes urn, most of the prolific players started announcing
retirements plans - Damien Martyn, Shane Warne, McGrath (and probably Langer if rumours are to be relied upon) called it a day and decided to relinquish the baggy green colors. With Warne and McGrath ended a golden era of Aussie bowling, both of them genius in their own kind had tormented the batsmen world over in all conditions. Warne couldnt have scripted his game any better, and having played the gentleman's game in a very hollywood-ish manner, he also left the stage on his own terms, giving a superlative performance in his last game at his homeground in Merlbourne.

With so many greats having left the centerstage, we now look upto the new heroes to fill in the large void left by their predecessors. Hussey, Clarke et al look very much capable for doing it for Cricket Austrailia and so does Frank Ribery is capable enough to fill in the void of the famed French midfield.

On extended Cricketing careers

There was a buzz generated when Damien Martyn stepped down from the International Cricket scene by announcing his retirement abruptly. The talk of - how long a cricketing career should be and when and how should it end, has gained a lot of steam. A very interesting article summing up the prevelant mood has been compiled by Tim de Lisle on Cricinfo. I would recommend it for a good insight into the whole issue