Jumbo – The Unsung Hero!

“Recognizing talent is a talent which I think we are good at” – One of my American classmates said here. Needless to say we are not good at that. In an otherwise batsmen chauvinistic crowd in India, only very few bowlers like Kumble have created some impact in our minds. But, somehow I still feel he hasn’t got the recognition he truly deserved. May be he was way too humble not to expect anything but victory for his team, but, as a fan of cricket, I would say he deserved much more.

If someone searches for the word commitment in cricket dictionary, Kumble would be the synonym. Can anyone forget the risk he has taken in Antigua with a broken jaw and an impending operation the very next day (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/specials/west_indies_v_india/1983970.stm). Will anyone feel like bowling with 11 stitches on  a finger?

And you can never forget the 10-wicket magic spell by him in Delhi.

His commitment never stopped with indefatigable bowling spells. I could remember, the tailender Kumble saving several important matches. Though he somewhat lost his magic along with his moustache, undoubtedly he is the best technical bowler India has ever produced. Obviously, the only spinner for whom the wicket-keeper had to wear helmet

Blame it on the media, fans’ mindset or Kumble himself, he is certainly underrated. Of late, he was constantly irked by media questioning his ability and retirement. That might have been one of the reasons for his retirement. Nevertheless, after seeing retirements like Warne and McGrath, I felt Kumble deserved a better farewell…

Jumbo – a real gentleman, your absence will be felt (at least in test cricket)….

Can’t we have true sportiveness?

Indians are emotional…sometimes over-emotional, at least when it comes to sports…not for all the sports, but only for Cricket…when Indian hockey team fail to qualify for Olympics, nobody seemed to have cared about that…when Indian football team won Nehru cup, it got a tepid response…but when it comes to Cricket, we are not ready to compromise…if Indian team wins, the players become Gods…if it loses, their effigies are burnt…when are we going to change ourselves?

The same old bad Indian sporting spirit is now under spot lights again because of ‘Red Hot’ IPL…though IPL is bringing out some of the budding talents, it has also created unintended (or may be intended) hitches…the city spirit has gone beyond the national spirit…if you are a regular watcher of IPL, you must have experienced this…now its not an entertainment anymore…it is prestige…whether your city wins a match or not is a question of pride…is it achieved by Indians or not is out of discussion…people are going mad with their city spirit and it is blatantly visible when they fail to support our own players…

the worst affected are Indian players who are playing ‘away’ matches…in a Mumbai VS Punjab game nobody was ready to cheer up Yuvi’s team’s heroics…but they roared when Jayasurya thrashed Indian bowlers like Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth…when everyone else kept silence about this, Yuvi had the guts to expose this bad attitude publicly…if you are a true sports person, you must appreciate good sports irrespective of whether it is by your city or by the opponent…

Kolkata audience are known for their bad sports attitude (remember 1996 semi-final and the day they supported SA when India played against SA without Ganguly) and it is once again evident in IPL…but because of this IPL, this attitude seems to have propagated to almost all the cities…but BCCI and Lalit Modi must be very happy…they have done their marketing properly to achieve what they have intended to keep IPL a success story for years from now…but what IPL is going to contribute for Indian cricket is still a question…

In an interview to CNN-IBN, Jeffrey Archer said ‘IPL is not cricket…its mere entertainment…real cricket is a test match between India and England at Lords where every single Brit will expect Sachin to score a century’…when are we going to develop such a kind of sportiveness and support real talent rather than blindly supporting our cities for the sake of doing it?

Can’t we have true sportiveness?

Indians are emotional…sometimes over-emotional, at least when it comes to sports…not for all the sports, but only for Cricket…when Indian hockey team fail to qualify for Olympics, nobody seemed to have cared about that…when Indian football team won Nehru cup, it got a tepid response…but when it comes to Cricket, we are not ready to compromise…if Indian team wins, the players become Gods…if it loses, their effigies are burnt…when are we going to change ourselves?

The same old bad Indian sporting spirit is now under spot lights again because of ‘Red Hot’ IPL…though IPL is bringing out some of the budding talents, it has also created unintended (or may be intended) hitches…the city spirit has gone beyond the national spirit…if you are a regular watcher of IPL, you must have experienced this…now its not an entertainment anymore…it is prestige…whether your city wins a match or not is a question of pride…is it achieved by Indians or not is out of discussion…people are going mad with their city spirit and it is blatantly visible when they fail to support our own players…

the worst affected are Indian players who are playing ‘away’ matches…in a Mumbai VS Punjab game nobody was ready to cheer up Yuvi’s team’s heroics…but they roared when Jayasurya thrashed Indian bowlers like Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth…when everyone else kept silence about this, Yuvi had the guts to expose this bad attitude publicly…if you are a true sports person, you must appreciate good sports irrespective of whether it is by your city or by the opponent…

Kolkata audience are known for their bad sports attitude (remember 1996 semi-final and the day they supported SA when India played against SA without Ganguly) and it is once again evident in IPL…but because of this IPL, this attitude seems to have propagated to almost all the cities…but BCCI and Lalit Modi must be very happy…they have done their marketing properly to achieve what they have intended to keep IPL a success story for years from now…but what IPL is going to contribute for Indian cricket is still a question…

In an interview to CNN-IBN, Jeffrey Archer said ‘IPL is not cricket…its mere entertainment…real cricket is a test match between India and England at Lords where every single Brit will expect Sachin to score a century’…when are we going to develop such a kind of sportiveness and support real talent rather than blindly supporting our cities for the sake of doing it?

A Golden day in Indian Cricket

Today is one of the most important day in Indian cricket and if you are following Indian cricket, you are bound to know the reasons. Not one, but three.

1) India has won the Under 19 world cup. Future looks +ve. Already the young blooded Indian team is having a blast in Australia. After so long time, there are so many backups for each position which odes well.

2) India demolished Australia in their own soil in the 1st Final. Good requite to make Aussies quite. Hope they win the 2nd final as well and sweep the series.

3) In his 18 years of cricket career, the Little Master has scored his first ODI ton in OZ. Sachin once again proved that he can stand and deliver under pressure. It was a treat to watch his innovative shots.

Definitely a day to be celebrated for all Indian cricket fans.