Jhakas | Sanjay Jha
I was wondering why no one from the Indian media has yet had a confabulation with the self-appointed emperor of cricket riches, Mr Lalit Modi and taken his expert views on India's disastrous T20 WC campaign. Who are we inviting to welcome the Indian team home? A-Kon? Or Abhijeet? Mr Modi's IPL which was an opportunistic cash-in on India's triumph in the inaugural South African experiment has now met its logical Waterloo. What will happen to future valuations of IPL-3, Mr Modi? Because this time the Indian players participating in the floodlit circus won't be the "World Cup champions" no more, but early casualties, ranked 8th perhaps? Will the crowds flock in 2010 to see flop-show stars in colorful clothing? Or is the shiny sheen finally likely to go off? Will now the aam aadmi see IPL as is "cricket's ATM". Period!
1) A newspaper report mentioned that multiplex owners are delighted that Indians are out of T20 World Cup so that they can now have higher footfalls in their empty halls. They are wrong. The happiest (secretly, of course) is the Indian cricket media, because now they can go back to cricketer-bashing, hanging MSD, starting conspiracy theories, lambasting anyone they please. The "sources" will return like the Jedi. Content will be king again. Continue reading below
2) Expectedly, there is a "hang MSD" campaign on; it is understandable given the paucity of intellect and the abundant time at the hands of dimwitted correspondents. The truth is that a few tactical errors does not make MSD any less a skipper. In my opinion, unless politics does him a pre-mature obsolescence, MSD will end up being a far superior captain than even Sourav Ganguly. Although I will maintain that I think he was downright stupid and wholly supercilious in not picking up his Padama Shri award. For that alone, Dhoni will have to spend a life time in quiet repentance for divine redemption. It was a blasphemous lapse, not expected from a usually humble guy.
3) Thank you, Gary Kirsten, for speaking the humble truth without flinching with fear; the IPL (mostly played by the entire squad in a compressed time-frame) has been singularly responsible for the lackadaisical show. The players have been treated as cows, herded from hillock to plain-fields to another terrain for grazing. Injured, fatigued, mentally drained, the Indians looked like they had rather watch Roger Federer practise for his Wimbledon than look kinetic on the field.
4) I read Rajiv Shukla's atrocious comment that Kirsten was talking through his bald plate in blaming excessive IPL cricket, and wondered, about the future of Indian cricket under such incompetent administrators. Just because you have a published calendar does not mean that it will prevent injuries and stop debilitation, if the schedule is choc-a-bloc. That was such irrational nonsense, it should feature in the worst jokes category of all-time.
5) Poor Javagal Srinath. The cannibalistic brigade of the media consumed him with remorseless ease; he was made to write a column expressing his angst and anguish, but the damage has been done. Srinath should be thankful that they did not quote him as saying that it was the fault of MSD's grandmother which was responsible for our T20 loss.
6) The Indian media must be also very upset that thanks to the untimely exit, many may have to return early and rely on Reuters, AP and AFP reports for the semi-finals and finals. In a recession-affected economy, savings matter. But since gossip-reporting does not require press-passes that should not make much of a difference, as it is location-neutral.
7) As for the cricketers, they need to stand up and speak out against the high-handedness of the BCCI. Sure, they are making quick cash, but at what cost? Several careers will soon be at cross-roads, as the game itself threatens to nose-dive given it's chaotic mismanagement. And if indeed they were really so sure that they would fly directly to the West Indies from London, then it is obvious that they have been done in by hubris as well.
8) It is a shame the amount of valuable media space that was wasted on Virendra Sehwag's shoulder injury. A normally unflappable MSD was hassled and heckled by some media folks with a clear foul agenda. MS will learn, but the Indian media should hang its head in disgust. There were other teams out there, but no one cared to really research them enough. And we may have ended up dispiriting our own captain; but the truth is that is exactly what was the principal objective, may be.
9) Lastly, the myopic public of India, who thought the World Cup was just an extension of IPL, a cake-walk party where the cherries were there for the pickings. T20 is inherently a flawed formula, which rubbishes every rational element in a conventional contest; preparation, practice, strategy, toss, composition, match conditions, game-plan etc. The high-profile commentators put up a fraudulent façade to create energy and drama where none exist to please sponsors and con gullible junta. In reality, everything is susceptible to luck and lottery. Just think, the difference between a "dismal and demoralizing defeat" (against England) and what could have been "match-winners playing with fire and guts under pressure, do or die blah blah" was finally perhaps just one shot.
T20, whether it is IPL or the World Cup, is like the internet jokes that some busy-bodies keep downloading and sending to some unsuspecting victims. You may be occasionally laughing out aloud, but I usually delete the trash without even reading them.
As for the Indian media, these days when I wake up in the morning, I even check the date on the newspaper to my diary to ensure that they are not pulling a fast one. Good bye and good luck, MSD.
