As usual, our media is asking questions like " Has Dhoni lost his Midas Touch?", "Is this the beginning of the end" .. etc etc.
I don't think anybody lost any touch. The problem is there for all of us to see. Most of the players we have are moody! We don't know when they will click and when they will not. We don't know when they will get injured, and how long they will take to recover from them. Getting injured so many times is never part of the game. Once or twice is acceptable, but why doesn't anyone question why Zaheer Khan misses so many tournaments because of injury? This is not the first time Yuvraj is out because of injury. If too much cricket is the cause of injury, then why not reduce it by a bit. Ohh no, but then Lalit Modi cannot be the Czar of cricket, so that option is ruled out. So play year long, yet play safe and play consistently. Isn't it asking for too much? Isn't it time to phase out the schedule properly so that we actually produce more Sachins, Dravids, Kumbles, Kapil Devs, Dadas? They played for long with far less injuries and much better consistency.
Here comes the consistency part. Within an year of being touted as "the future of Indian bowling/batting/cricket", many players like Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, R.P.Singh, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan etc etc have all hit a disgusting low in their short international careers. Is the hype getting onto them? If so, why don't we also help them in making them aloof from such a hype. Sachin, Dravid, Kumble, Dada, Laxman have all held their game together for however long they have played. What is their secret, and what is missing from the present generation? Why cannot such help be provided to these cricketers?
Luck may have played a little hard on us in this champion's trophy, but then to bow out from the initial rounds of World Cup, T-20 second world cup and champions trophy is reason enough to shake up things by a bit. It is a fact that we are amongst the top 3 teams in ODI's, why lose that status because of reasons that are in our control? It is time we put a full stop to players getting injured and then retired hurt.
I don't think anybody lost any touch. The problem is there for all of us to see. Most of the players we have are moody! We don't know when they will click and when they will not. We don't know when they will get injured, and how long they will take to recover from them. Getting injured so many times is never part of the game. Once or twice is acceptable, but why doesn't anyone question why Zaheer Khan misses so many tournaments because of injury? This is not the first time Yuvraj is out because of injury. If too much cricket is the cause of injury, then why not reduce it by a bit. Ohh no, but then Lalit Modi cannot be the Czar of cricket, so that option is ruled out. So play year long, yet play safe and play consistently. Isn't it asking for too much? Isn't it time to phase out the schedule properly so that we actually produce more Sachins, Dravids, Kumbles, Kapil Devs, Dadas? They played for long with far less injuries and much better consistency.
Here comes the consistency part. Within an year of being touted as "the future of Indian bowling/batting/cricket", many players like Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, R.P.Singh, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan etc etc have all hit a disgusting low in their short international careers. Is the hype getting onto them? If so, why don't we also help them in making them aloof from such a hype. Sachin, Dravid, Kumble, Dada, Laxman have all held their game together for however long they have played. What is their secret, and what is missing from the present generation? Why cannot such help be provided to these cricketers?
Luck may have played a little hard on us in this champion's trophy, but then to bow out from the initial rounds of World Cup, T-20 second world cup and champions trophy is reason enough to shake up things by a bit. It is a fact that we are amongst the top 3 teams in ODI's, why lose that status because of reasons that are in our control? It is time we put a full stop to players getting injured and then retired hurt.
2 comments:
England has only 5 months conducive for outdoor sports. Yet, they play only for 4 months from May to August. September is Back-to-school season when new academic year starts. Such importance for education! We in India worship Saraswati but it remains symbolic.
Cricket in April is a bad idea, considering a lot of students have to cope with exams, apart from power cuts and oppressive heat. I think a shorter version of IPL will help everyone.
Another example - in the US, NFL games (American football) are not played on Saturdays. Why? Because Saturdays are allotted for College Football, which has almost as much following as professional football. A sports crazy capitalist nation chooses to lose revenue for the sake of College sports! A "socialist" India has no such restraints.
Nice points :). Unfortunately for Lalit Modi and BCCI, what matters is revunue and not sport.
Also, your comment brings into forefront the importance of encouraging sports at college level, but then again, what matters is revenue. Everything else can wait.
- Sudhir
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