My very first blog posting has been brougth about in a fit of ire at the performance of the Indian cricket team in the third and final test in Bangalore. I wanted to see some admission of guilt or accountability from the players. There was none. No serious reprimands from the administrators or harsh critiques from the 'pundits' either. They are all scared of losing their access to the all powerful 'greats' in the Indian team.
But then when you think about it why should cricket be any different from the way the rest of our country is? Lalu ruled Bihar for 15 years and looks good for another 5 despite runnning the state into the ground. Kargil we are told was not an intelligence failure. Or at least no heads rolled. Whoever concieved Op Parakram is not suffering any serious after affects . How many of our politicians are in jail for corruption that we know exists. This is our interpretation and rendition of democracy. We are all equal. So equal that no one can be pulled up for anything.
So coming back to Ganguly. I feel sorry for him. That he is out of touch is as clear as day. In any other sport he could have taken a break. Recharged his batteries. Not in cricket . He knows that selectors are notorious in forgetting about dropped players. He knows that Kaif and Yuvraj and whole host of others are sniping at his heels. So all he can do is suck it up. Try to present a modicum of a respectability(and confidence) to the media, and hope that his place saving century is a single knock away.
The selectors wont drop him cos you would have a situation where ganguly would be in the one day XI playing along side Dravid who would presumably become test captain.
Lets look at remedy no 1 . Get Rid of Ganguly. Will we become world beaters? I wish. The malaise lies deeper still. After Sehwag lost his wicket. In came Rahul Dravid . India's hero and collosus. The man who had set up so many Famous test victories. How he played would set the tone for the Indian response. He did not become the force he is today by defending for his life. He got here by adding another dimension to his batting ie attacking the bowling.
What followed from over no 23 to lunch ie 33 or 34 was totally inexplicable. India pottered on at close to 1 rpo. This set the stage for the mayhem later in the second session. No one can escape the blame. Thats whats the most troubling aspect. Kaif and Yuvraj might not have half the talent of Tendulkar or Ganguy(take this with a pinch of salt) but they have loads of heart. Heart that was sorely missed in India's second innings performance. I know just as surgeons get used to losing the occasional patient so do players get used to losing, since losing is a part of playing. But surely there must be some shred of decency in our stars thats gnawing them and asking uncomfortable questions. My heros stand in front of me disgraced. Dismiss my criticism if u may. But what is pertinent is something more than a mere game has been lost today. Donno wether I should call it honor. I don't much care that we lost to Pakistan. We really lost to ourselves.
