Cricket and basketball: The Iffy Debate (Humour)

If the Indian cricket team had selected Baba Ramdev as the team physio, then the men in blue could have been as flexible on the field as the sadhu himself. However, his insidious influence would rub off on them and at the first signs of terror from pace bowlers, bruised batsmen would migrate to women’s cricket.

If Barack Obama were to lose the 2012 Presidential elections, he could always consider coaching the Los Angeles Lakers. “Yes, we can” would resonate with Lakers fans, too. “It’s not the economy, stupid” could do just as well.

Another (possible) high-profile candidate for the Lakers post is former state governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. A basketball motion picture featuring Michael “Air” Jordan, Kobe Bryant  and Arnie? That would be nirvana.

If Sanath Jayasuriya can be accommodated in the Sri Lankan cricket team for ODIs and T20s, surely Mumbai Indians missed a trick leaving him out? His performance in the previous three editions was better than all the make-shift openers the franchise tried out this season. The Matara Mauler decided to use the opportunity provided by Sri Lankan selectors to bid farewell to his international career, but not before  playing a ODI and a T20 against England. Expect fireworks when Jayasuriya takes his last bow.

If cricket becomes an Olympic sport in 2020, is it possible that at some point in the future, it will be another game—like hockey— where the nation had a glorious past but now just make up the numbers? Not raising the bogeyman, am I?

If the Indian cricket team in the West Indies performs more than adequately which equates to clinching a series despite the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, will it hasten  retirements of the great man and his illustrious team-mates, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman?

If the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had not revoked Shahid Afridi’s No-Objection Certificates (NOCs), would the former Pakistani skipper have taken the board to court? The monetary loss associated with not being able to play either county cricket for Hampshire or the Sri Lankan T20 tournament were primary drivers behind the decision to ‘dock’ the PCB. Ijaz Butt is more than a mere pain in the butt—to Afridi.

If Chris Gayle had played the first two ODIs against India, what are the odds that the series score-line would have read 2-0 in the hosts’ favour instead?

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. Winston Churchill