Jhakas | Sanjay Jha
After months of incongruous inanities, serenity returns. Just think about it; we had a mad scramble to transfer an entire tournament of IPL to South Africa, where matches were held day in and day out, packed like sardine sandwiches with barely any breathing room. Once Akon finished his dance, everyone trooped to the land of the once mighty British empire. Before one returned with the popcorn, the " World Cup" masala matches had commenced once again.
Following a mortifying loss, the Men in Blue traveled to West Indies for a totally inconsequential ODI tour. Then following a truncated series, we were hailed as comeback kids for being ahead 2-1 when rain intervened to drastically cut out the forced contest . If you read this morning's newspapers, MS Dhoni is back to being the media's blue-eyed boy-man as eulogies pour in. Just a few weeks ago, they were collectively hounding him like a pack of rapacious wolves chasing a sacrificial rabbit. All it took was one win , no matter how superficial. Welcome home, MSD. Continue reading below
Yesterday, I rolled in laughter till someone gave me a hanky as big as the Wimbledon towels as one read about ICCs high-pitched announcement that Australia is " not seeded" for the next T20 World Cup. That is such balderdash. Lets face it, there are only 8 countries effectively playing serious cricket, and better still in T20 cricket , there is no such thing as " favorites" anyways, so what is ICC really trying to " seed"?
We saw what happened to the apparent title-owners India, didn't we? It is a monumental misfortune that the global cricket media (and our desi ones take the blueberry cake) sucks up to every stupid press release being dished out ; why does someone not question the sheer irrational and bizarre logic behind wasting precious space on T20 " seeding"?
I have hardly been surprised that no one (not even those who sound like pompous proprietors of the game) has said a single word on the forthcoming ridiculousness of another T20 World Cup in April next year, exactly 10 months after Pakistan's triumph? It is downright obtuse; but since they will all have some "more" to do, no one cares. I have not heard a soul express their " expert views" on the pitiable farce being enforced by half-blind, dim-witted administrators of the game.
The once great sport of cricket is being mercilessly robbed of it's pristine stateliness by marauding mercenaries hell-bent on stripping it of it's distinction and grace for the sake of quick profiteering. What a shame! Everyone--- past cricketers, current ones, sponsors, media, cricket boards, franchise owners, IPL-BCCI and the ICC, they are all hand-in-glove in this ballooning commercial manipulation.
And when I last heard even the former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who is now a Union cabinet minister has jumped into the fray for some collateral damage to his arch-foe Sharad Pawar. The plot thickens. Intrigue returns. Daggers are drawn. Serenity departs. I apologise for my earlier over-stated optimism.
For all of you out there who are reading this , there is a lesson to be learnt from that classic Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick on Sunday last. It was a match for the gods literally, breathlessly suspenseful, dramatically battled, exquisite craftsmanship on display and emotionally testing.
After four hours, there were still two winners. Two men in white who challenged destiny, and defied defeat till the very end. Roddick was a winner despite losing his serve for the first time in that titanic last set.
The match was played in the ultimate traditions of the Championships; in white clothes over a regular grand-slam in five sets. It was a classic. And the classic triumphed.
(Watch CNN-IBN live on your iPad. IBN7 and IBN Lokmat too. Download the IBNLive for iPad app. It's free. Click here to download now)
