Jhakas | Sanjay Jha
As Sachin Tendulkar, India’s iconic cricket player and a national hero makes an unprecedented attack on Greg Chappell, we at CricketNext will take you down through memory lane. We had forewarned the massive tsunami to hit Indian cricket, but several readers, players, selectors, media and the BCCI chose to ignore our forecasted warnings. As Indian cricket struggles to recover from one of it’s most abysmal lows, we will reproduce for you on a daily basis on this blog, the symptoms we diagnosed, the apprehensions we perceived, and the likely consequences of India’s dangerous flirtations.
We may stand vindicated today, but we are saddened by the turn of events. One thing is for sure, we cannot let this happen to Indian cricket again. A billion good people deserve better. Continue reading below
Sincerely,
Sanjay Jha
LITERAL THINKING BY GREG CHAPPELL
Published on Monday, May 23, 2005
He gave the insatiable Australian appetite for victory-at-any-cost a completely new dimension when he got his lesser known, lesser talented brother Trevor Chappell a dubious full page in the history books with supercilious comfort by instructing him to literally do an under-arm. Clearly, Greg Chappell is a staunch believer of the age-old axiom that the ends do justify the means, even if his surname has, ironically speaking, a sacrosanct and serene pronunciation, perhaps contravening his celebrated modus operandi of being a ruthless executioner.
Chappell's obviously a cocky Aussie, with a penchant for generous doses of outrageousness, much like his pant-dropping elder brother Ian. I am actually referring to his rather hasty, and altogether presumptuous observations on Indian maestro, and batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, wherein he has apparently stated that Sachin will perhaps never upscale those dizzy heights again which once made all Indian households celebrate mini-Diwalis throughout the year, peppered with liberal installments of unparalleled mirth. Considering the fact that Chappell has barely taken guard in his new role as India's coach, his prognostications on Sachin's future capabilities are at best, a reflection of the fact that perhaps the man is a judgemental sort, pontificating on subjects he may not necessarily (at least as yet) be having the locus standi to speak on.
For one, Sachin must be hopping mad that Mr. Chappell believes his best is behind him. Sachin has frequently faced media criticism with cool aplomb; I guess he is aware of the pedestal he has been collectively dumped on and his commercial earnings per annum and the Ferrari car do exasperate and fatally injure very many. Yet, to hear your own future coach make your career forecasts in an Australian newspaper must be a trifle infuriating; I am sure some Pepsi bottles must have been far flung into the high seas off Bandra (West) by now. If Chappell wanted to really charge-up the sensitive little bloke, he is clearly got a secret patented strategic game-plan not yet evolved since Abraham Maslow founded his theories of motivation.
Whether Tendulkar has peaked or not, is as confounding and debatable a subject as whether George Bush would have benefited the world by being on a saddleback on his favorite black stallion in his Texas ranch or Laloo Yadav would have had us prodigiously gleeful, launching a milk revolution in Bihar's rural hinterland. The truth is that only the future can tell -- and ladies and gentlemen, that's a mysterious maze notwithstanding our personal predilections.
There are those who believe that Sachin has played since those beard-less years of 16, and so has already peaked Everest while Rahul Dravid is now trekking up to those towering pinnacles. A fair enough assessment, perhaps. Dravid has been India's savior with such monotonous regularity and casual consistency, he is clearly a man possessed with a gargantuan self-belief. Maybe that's what Sachin needs -- an inner conviction that he should just march majestically and mercilessly on, without worrying about temporary aberrations, and those ludicrous statistical media analysts who are continuously entertaining us with their pathological obsession for Sachin. It is almost getting to be an amusing experience.
In fact, there are several who believe that Sachin's best is yet to come. After all, hasn't he scored his highest ever Test score just a few months ago? Isn't Brian Lara scoring the big hundreds and a record 400 runs at 35? And despite having several senior players in their squad, aren't the Aussies themselves getting increasingly better? At 35, doesn't Andre Agassi remain a potent hurdle for any serious aspirant, while still being a firm favorite for the French Open himself?
It is recommended that Greg Chappell read one of Sachin's latest interviews, where he explicitly states that his career ambition is to be part of an Indian team that wins the World Cup 2007. The diminutive, unassuming chap is thinking long-term, and his personal ferocious intent to succeed will not be a particularly disturbing deterrent.
We wish Chappell good luck! It may be a great idea if the former Aussie captain, however, undergoes a short stint with the much-lionized Sandy Gordon himself. And he should remember that Edward De Bono's lateral thinking is not a license for making flimsy predictions.
