Let me get this straight. Every time a ball crashed into Rahul Dravid's stumps this Australian summer, it was because stints with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals had corrupted an otherwise flawless technique. And when those edges flew from VVS Laxman's bat into the slips, it was safe to assume that his static feet were a curse from the Deccan Chargers and the Kochi Tuskers. Gautam Gambhir has become so accustomed to dabbing the ball for a single to third man in his Kolkata Knight Riders uniform....

I know a man who was once ravaged by a vicious depression. His doctors tried it all. Tweaked the dosage of his medication. Attempted various combinations of mood stabilizers and anti-depressants. Sent him off for therapy. Offered counseling. But to no avail. Left with no alternative, they advised a radical step: Electroconvulsive therapy. In common parlance we know this as ECTs. To the uninitiated, that is just a fancy medical term for 'shock treatment'. The idea is to pass electric currents through the brain, deliberately triggering a brief seizure.....

Television news is the whipping boy of choice these days. It gets accused of every possible digression. Of playing judge, jury and executioner. Of stoking unrest. Of reducing public discourse to a farce. Of ignoring issues of substance for frills and celebrity. Of reducing news to theater. Some of this of-course is true and this is meant to be no defense of the chaotic world this writer is very much part of! For the past few months venom has been spewed on our ilk for the obsessive wait for Sachin....

Chew on these numbers for a minute. Just re-read them. Rub those eyes and do your own searches for confirmation if you are still in disbelief. When the last wicket fell on Day Four of the Melbourne Test, here's how they stacked up. India's top seven batsmen between them had played 685 Test matches and scored 52,328 runs. So we are clear, that is fifty two thousand, three hundred and twenty eight runs. They had scored 140 centuries and 256 half-centuries. Go on, munch on those figures again. ....

The supercilious among us heap scorn upon numbers. Admittedly, cricket is more than mere statistical achievement. But runs, wickets and averages are an acceptable gauge to measure greatness. Bradman's 99.94, Gavaskar's 10,122, Murali's 800, Lara's 400, Tendulkar's 99, Kumble's perfect 10 are figures entrenched deeply in the psyche of the follower. His repository of memories might draw from a cover drive or a googly, but a debate on favourites relies heavily on the crutch of their numbers. You can dismiss them as dots on scorecards and the pursuit of nerds....

Aakash Chopra likes to call himself the '245th Indian to represent India in Test cricket'. It is a statement of fact. But it is also a medal, a badge of honour. The aspiration to wear an India cap is spawned every second somewhere in this country. That dream is pursued with vigour and purity. So merely accomplishing it is an Everest. Fail or succeed, the cap is yours. For keeps. Forever. Vinod Kambli is Test cap number 198. And he has been spitting on it. The cap attracts a....

As the spot-fixing trial was ending, I was starting to waver in my loathing for Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. So they had bowled a few intentional no-balls. Cricket had forsaken if not forgiven them. Perhaps jail terms were extreme. Perhaps Butt should be allowed to hold his newborn son. Amir should be allowed by the side of his wailing mother. And then I read Peter Roebuck: "Sport itself is sincere or it is nothing. Seeing and believing must be bedfellows. Cricket can no longer make any such....

First, an admission. I have never really enjoyed pornography. Contrived situations all leading to a familiar climax (pardon the expression!). There is never doubt about how it would end. While you pretend to enjoy the voyeurism, I am quite convinced there is relief (pardon that expression too!) when the inevitable closure arrives. Cricket is hurtling down the same road. A billion-dollar industry replete with contrived scenarios and pointless climaxes. The practitioners of a sport aren't professional entertainers in the strictest sense. While their art form requires toil and passion to....

I have often wondered why I wept at the birth of my child. Tears are usually logical. When my favourite uncle passed, his body ravaged by a vicious cancer, I wept in regret and pain. When my sister said goodbye on getting married, I wept in trepidation, in fear of the new life that awaited her. But why was I weeping now? Why did this miniscule lump of meat have such an impact? A stranger who didn't as much as wonder who I was. A little human being I hadn't....

For those of us who have been vehement supporters of the Decision Review System, the last few days have been illuminating. Incidents at Durham and Galle have highlighted flaws in the technology being used to operate DRS. Worse, in the case of Phil Hughes it contributed to a glaring error rather than correcting it, defeating in the process the very reason for cricket's subscription.  At Durham, DRS contributed towards exaggerating the confusion. If Dravid had indeed edged it, then why didn't Hot Spot show a mark? If he hadn't then....

"Frivolous and trivial" and that was it. The BCCI's self-appointed spokesman and now a honourable minister Rajiv Shukla had done what he does best. Waved off another stink emerging from the stable of his board with disdain. "There is no conflict of interest. BCCI does not dictate them on what they should speak. They are independent commentators and what they speak is purely their opinion. BCCI pays them for their professional qualities. They are outstanding commentators and respected at the international level. What they have achieved is because of....

For every leader that inspires there is one who derails. Power can enrich but also cripple. A demagogue can benefit his constituents but chooses instead to stifle them. He snarls and intimidates. And bulldozes reason with grotesque brutality. Sometimes the powerful are unreasonable for no reason other than to display that power. Nobility is sanguine and soft. Ferociously protecting an unjust cause is often the injection to reaffirm superiority. Watching Harbhajan Singh given out LBW at Trent Bridge was a reminder of how the BCCI has succeeded in reducing....

The leg before decision is a unique cricketing animal. Unlike any other mode of dismissal it relies as much on 'opinion' as fact. An umpire is called upon to adjudicate if in his view the ball had pitched outside leg-stump. Or was making its way over the top of the stumps. Or perhaps the ball had so much spin or swing imparted on it that while it appeared to be crashing into the stumps, at its very last second it would have whisked past them. The LBW empowers the umpire....

While the Indian Cricket board's rejection of the Decision Review System for the series in England isn't really a surprise, its timing is rather intriguing. The series doesn't start till the third week of July. And at the end of June, an ICC chief executives meeting in Hong Kong will consider the recommendations of its cricket committee that asked for Umpire referrals to be made mandatory for all Test cricket. The cricket committee is no ordinary body. On it sit some of the game's most iconic figures and....

In journalism fancy headline writing is a much admired skill. But in the aftermath of India's World Cup victory, the phraseology to describe Indian skipper M S Dhoni has been borderline ridiculous.'Destiny's child', 'Captain fantastic' and the reliable go to phrase when the mind shuts shop- 'Man with the Midas touch'! Ironically, it's only when you remind yourself of the fable that you realise that Midas' touch was actually a curse! But the swarm of cliches to describe Dhoni can be forgiven because here is a man impossible to....

Masquerading so called noble causes is a popular occupation these days. One such noble cause is the dictum of spreading the game far and wide, to corners of the world where people are oblivious to its charm. And of course what better than that sport's marquee event as the perfect stage to invite newer audiences in and ask them to make an initial investment. How dare then the cynic asks if it damages the notion of a world cup to have contests of such low intensity and value. Must....

In a cosy club, squabbles too are comfortably cosy. My millions up against your millions and a bit might cause the occasional scuffle but it remains largely uncombative. Resolved quickly enough in time to blow the fake kisses and get along with the merry business of celebrating wealth. The IPL is one such cosy club. Its owners are essentially frenemies. Their boys compete for a trophy yes, but really once the balance sheet works out and a bit of fun has been had life gets a move on. There are....

A blind man's love for a woman is a flight of imagination. The fullness of her lips, the glint of her eye, the contour of her breast are all flawless in his head. When sight is restored though, the horror is stark. Her face he discovers is covered in warts. Her hair chewed by lice. Her teeth gnashed by vermins. A return to blindness is no comfort because the myth is shattered and the ugliness of her being has permeated his mind. I suspect for us believers, that moment has....

Flogging a dead horse is fraught with danger. After all, the line between opinion and missionary zeal can be a tricky one. Keen as I am to avoid the trap, none of the arguments against sending a side to the Asian Games have cut much ice with me. First the ones the BCCI have branded about. 'Our calendar is set, we can't change that'. If the BCCI can't change its calendar, why did they attempt to bully the English Board (who have a published one as opposed to the BCCI!)....

In the Gavaskar household, the bragging rights on cricketing matters rest with Sunil Manohar. How do you retort an argument that goes along these lines; "10,000 Test runs, 34 Test centuries, Captain of India, World Cup winner, living legend etc etc". But what if I told you that Rohan does have a googly that even sneaks through the impenetrable defence of his dad. "I have done what you never have. "I played for India in Kuala Lumpur at the 1998 Commonwealth games, Did you dad, do anything similar in your....

So we know now don't we that the IPL parties weren't really to blame for India's premature exit from the T20 World Cup. Anyone with half a mind found the suggestion laughable. It is only when the dust settles that we can sift puerile theorising from actual fact. And let's be honest, that wasn't the excuse Dhoni made in any case. Context is often the sacrificial lamb in the hunt for a headline. But while we can't lay the blame for the defeat at the doorstep of the IPL,....

In an inquest the first victim is often sanity. And since rabble rousing is a blood sport these days, the borderline between today's Kasab and tomorrow's Dhoni has thinned so much it can barely be spotted. Losing a cricket match is a crime punishable by abuse, accusation and if we could so have it, a public lynching. And heaven forbid, if you happen to concede a tournament tamely, even the gods above dare not come to your rescue. TV studios are the perfect setting for mob justice. And the executioner....

It is when all is crumbling around us that we seek shelter in solidity. Integrity is reassuring when scoundrels who previously masqueraded as pioneers are exposed. Like an onion peel, as layer after layer of muck is uncovered and we learn how our great game has been pillaged by craven monsters, where do we turn? Not in the immoral righteousness of the men in Parliament, embroiled in multiple scandals themselves, demanding a 'clean-up'. Not in the shallow populism of a sports minister who is currently overseeing an impeding disaster that....

The fan is cricket's cotton wool. It is the wide eyed admiration of a 12-year-old standing in line for his hero's autograph that ambition is spawned. It is the devotion with which the corporate executive funnels secret savings away for a trip to follow the team around that the game draws strength. It is in the patience of millions to endure the cacophony of grotesque advertising and shrill commentary to stay glued to the action that cricket draws its commercial vibrancy from. The fan is the protective shield that....

The allure of the great game in this age are well known. Big bucks, adulation, women, fame; all available at the snap of a finger just because you can cover drive with grace or swat a cricket ball over the fence with disdain. For the outsider it all seems just too perfect. A life in the arc lights, where the rewards exceed effort. Where talent has a measure in staggering bank balances, where the girlfriend is akin to a man of the match trophy; won with the toil of a....

Multi-tasking, as the wife always reminds me, is the sole preserve of women. Give men more than one task to do at a time and they are more than likely to flounder. Unsure of what to prioritise, us lot are given to the yips. It is why, I have to admit to a sneaking admiration for Lalit Modi. In his world it seems one trouble at time is barely a blip on the radar. Problem solving is Modi's favourite pastime. To his mind defeat in a confrontation is impossible--Modi is....

How often have you heard the phrase, "I told you so!" in a cricket conversation. Over a beer after the defeat in Nagpur, several grown men would have ranted to each other, "These buggers can't handle the pace of Steyn, I told you so". And after the win in Kolkata, the same lot, in back-slapping mode now, would have opined; "I told you man, these South Africans are chokers"! Theory is cricket's mistress, by its bedside at all times. Perhaps Sachin Tendulkar's greatest accomplishment is to have murdered....

Wealthy people amuse me. Usually hired hands do the spin doctoring for them. But left to their own the very rich and the famous are quite capable of being struck down with a serious case foot in the mouth. Plenty of that was in evidence at what was otherwise an entertaining IPL auction on Tuesday. In one voice they pleaded ignorance to the well-orchestrated and pre-planned move to keep the Pakistanis out. "This talk that we decided together not to bid for Pakistani players is plain rubbish", claimed Mr....

"Mr Gavaskar", I asked out of genuine curiosity on Sunny Side Up; "If you had your time again, would you prefer to be a batsman in this era or in the 80s". "In the 80s", the great man said, "It was definitely more challenging." Sometimes a few words tell a weighty tale. Sport at its purest pits man against man. Talent against talent. Skill against skill. On his day, the better man wins. Till they return as combatants, to enthrall again. It does not shackle one man as he....

Deja vu - (Def.) The experience of feeling sure that one has witnessed or experienced a new situation previously January,1999: India are chasing 271 in the fourth innings against Pakistan at Chennai. Sachin Tendulkar and Nayan Mongia have rescued the innings from 82 for 5. But with just 53 left to get Mongia plays a shocking shot, attempting to deposit the great Wasim Akram in the stands. He perishes. And 26 runs later, Tendulkar does too. India lose by 17 runs. November, 2009: India are chasing 351 at....

It is only when his patient is on death-bed that a doctor formulates a strategy for revival. Perhaps an injection to kickstart the heart? Maybe risk opening the lungs or arteries up? Or taking the surgical knife to unusual depths? Desperation sometimes succeeds and gets branded as a miracle. But more often than not it fails. And the consequence is death. That I suspect is the battle for one-day cricket now. Doctor Tendulkar is the latest to float an idea for one-day cricket to be rescued from the ICU:....

I am sure many of you like me have followed our cricketers throwing toys out of the cot on the anti-doping debate with a level of mild amusement. At least the impression now is that the inconvenience of a few (the chosen ones) has become the reason to argue against a measure that sport around the world accepts. Grudgingly yes, but does accept... So where did it all go pear shaped for India's cricketers? Was there another way of perhaps handling the issue? Knowing that voices around the world....