To retire or not to retire - Leave it to Sachin.

I thought I should move on from India and Sachin and write about Cricket in general but one article which I read today put me off so much. This is an article by Ian Chappell, considered to be amongst the best of thinkers of the game. The article had been about Sachin to review his future. Sachin for one is revered by many as God and by others as a great batsman and anyone who is on that pedestal would not want to demean their name just for a couple more extra centuries.
He has had it all. The name, the fame, the money, the cricketing records, his share of great knocks and his share of a dent in the moral s bowlers. I dont think he would be so naive to throw it all after 17 years of building it up. What more records does he need. He has seen it all. After almost 15K One day runs and 12 K test runs, I dont think he is playing just to increase them by another thousand or so. I feel he ll know better and earlier than most as to how and when would he retire. During the 2003 world cup, when he was asked to play down the order, he expressed his displeasure and stated his preference to open the innings. But four years older and definitely wiser, this time around, he didnt mention any preference and was most happy to play down the order. Had he been playing for himself and the statistics, he would most definitely have preferred to open the innings and no one could have been against it. But Team India had a plan and for the plan to be successful(atleast on paper), it required Sachin to play at No 4 and he did that against his wishes. He has changed his style of play to suit the team. True, he has not met the standards , a very high one - mind you, that he had set for himself and he too would know that.
This may indeed be the time that he has to quit or there could still be some time left for him to do some things which he has not done in the past 17 years. But that is not for others to decide. Till this point, he has decided the course he has taken. He decided at 17 that he had it in him to make it to the top. He decided the shots he played and the deliveries he bowled. He decided to take the captaincy and then relinquish it. Just like all the things he has decided over the past 17 years, I think he would decide the time best for him to call it a day. After all, he has been our best batsman through the 90's and the lack of form in the last four years has not displaced him much from his place as the very best.
Again, this could be the time to retire or to come back strongly with vengeance against the detractors but whatever it is , it is for him to think and decide and not for others to pour their thoughts in. Whatever the decision is, we can be sure that it will be taken keeping Team India s well being in mind. Afterall, he has done the same over the past 17 years. He has been there, seen it all.

Revelations.

Wondering where we are going with the new culture of revealing emails and SMSes. Just saw a news item in a news papers website about a text message from Greg Chappell about the team composition and how he was not fine with the team.

I fear we are entering the age of revelations particularly with the Indian cricket bureacracy. Things which are to be kept as private emails and SMS es are being put out in the open for everyone to see.

There was the case of Greg Chappel s private email being leaked. Then we had the official report from the tour manager in South Africa being published. . Now the SMS from Greg Chappell telling about his unhappiness with the team composition has come out to the open.
I dont think the revelations are necessary and this spreading culture will not take Indian cricket anywhere.

Aftermath of the Indian World cup '07 campaign.

Same old scenario. Same old Climax and the things that followed them. Not much difference. It has all happened before.

Remember the time when India was shot out for 54 chasing Srilanka s massive 280 odd score. Remember the time when India lost the Independence cup held in India.
Remember the times when India was blanked out time and again in the overseas test series.

It has all happened before.

We have always ditched the team when it lost and went back to the team after they started being successful and winning games. It keeps me wondering. As an average fan,when WE feel great when team wins and feel terribly low when the team loses, what would be going through the minds of the likes of Sachin , Sourav and Rahul when India loses. Will they be happy at the amount of money that they have got through the contracts and at the restaurants that they have built?I doubt it. I seriously doubt it. At least for the time that we, the Fans, are in agony, the players also be in a similar kind of agony. To pick them out for harsh treatments like stoning their houses, burning their effigies and other senseless things is putting them under more agony.

True, they are earning hell a lot of money compared to the average fan. But then, they also play under enormous pressure. Imagine a situation when we have to do our job knowing that a failure would not only result in mental agony but possible physical agony as well. That is what the Indian team is going through . Spare a thought for those fellows. We danced in the stands and our houses when Sachin gave us those wonderful moments. We rejoiced when Rahul won those test matches for India. We were jumping in joy when Saurav danced down the wicket to hoist the ball out of the ground for those huge sixes. We were happy when India made it to the finals of the World cup 03 and when India won those amazing tests at Kolkata, Adelaide, Headingley, Multan and Pindi. We were happy then and enjoyed with TEAM India. Now the team is in agony, Why dont we give them back something, not by means of sponsorships for their wonderful performance, but by means of support in times of agony. We can do it or Can we?

My first blog.

It s been a long time since I realised the need for writing (or scribbling) but never found the time to sit down and do it. But then , at some point, things should start. Here I am starting my journey of blogging through the intrinsic network of web. Hope it proves to be a wonderful one for me!

I am looking for some place where I can pour my thoughts about things that are happening elsewhere in the world rather than burdening the people around with me with the thoughts.

Hoping for a wonderful blogging journey.