two bits about TT

Every Indian blogger in the world will be writing about TT world cup.

So here are my two bits of wisdom.

It is now that i realize what was wrong with Indian cricket. It was the captain being free to chew his nails. This was the primary flaw of Sachin, Sourav and Dravid.

With a wicket keeper as Captain it is impossible to chew one's nails as it is hard to get the wicketkeeping gloves into one's mouth. Futhermore, even if one succeeds in doing so, there are the finger protection caps in the glove that would prevent any damage to the nails.

The following are my concerns about the future of Indian cricket:

1. The role of the seniors

A lot of people will say that the seniors, especially the holy triumvirate , suck and should be dumped. Scarily i hear some people whisper that Greg Chappell was right all along. If anyone thinks that the team could play fearless cricket with that surly old man around in the dressing room please get your head examined. (what's with the Chappells? Why are they so grumpy all the time?)

The firm of Sehwag-Gambir are never going to be in the league of Ganguly-Tendulkar as an opening pair. They are the greatest ODI opening batsmen pair ever. Their record is better than Hayden-Gilchrist. India is also struggling for a number three which i agree with Vengsarkar should belong to Dravid. So save your tripe.

Agarkar should have been told to fuck off a long time ago. Zaheer Khan is still India's best bowler. In fact i believe this was the only contribution of Greg Chapell to Indian cricket, i.e., he concentrated on building a pool of good fast bowlers. this has really helped india in the long term.
But Greg fucked Irfan Pathan up in the head. It's good to have him back. What a waste of talent.

I believe the seniors should be able to make a smooth transition into the new team and the team will benefit from their wisdom.

2. Aur main ban gaya Dhoni

Kapil Dev took Indian cricket to a new level as did Sourav Ganguly to some extent. While Dravid didn't take the team backward like Azharuddin.. he didn't take it much forward either. Dhoni is the next level, the real deal.

What really strikes me is that everyone on the team is talking about how they have the best dressing room atmosphere ever.. guys who have been on other tours under other captains.

What i really hope is that the administrators and the public don't get to him.

this a situation where his long hair will stand him in good stead.

Guys with long hair have to cop so much shit from roadside romeos as well as relatives that Dhoni has had good preparation for being Indian captain. I think he should do what he has to do without being affected by winning or losing in true Rudyard Kipling style.

3. The role of the BCCI and administration

A lot of people say that India doesn't have a coach forgetting that we have two - Robin Singh and V. Prasad. And if anyone scoffs at that, please notice that it was more than evident that India had practiced bowl-outs while Pakistan under Geoff Lawson hadn't. So much for the foreign coach theory.

What scares me is that this run of victories is going to make people overlook how cricket is badly administered in India and how our administrators play petty politics with cricketers.

The pay dispute is still not settled. God knows what is going to happen when Dhoni asks for his team in selection matters.

Reaching the finals is a spectacular achievement and a fact that the new India is better at partying and handling pressure than anyone thought.