India

Abhinav Bindra: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Abhinav Bindra Differs On Gold

What he said:

I once got yak milk from China because I was told it enhances concentration. It didn’t. I attached electrodes to my head to view the activity in my brain when I shot well. I lasered off my love handles. Let’s be clear: We’re not you. We’re not better than you, or other athletes, just caught in lives mostly weirder than most.

Abhinav Bindra, India’s first ever gold medallist—at the 2008 Beijing Olympics—in an individual Olympic event recounts the myriad attempts at  securing that little bit extra, that edge, that would separate him from his competitors—make him a better shooter.

Bindra’s autobiography, “A Shot At History”, is to be released on October 28, 2011.

The 260-page book, co-written with journalist and sports writer, Rohit Brijnath, is published by HarperCollins.

Bindra writes:

We have to be a little insane to do this, a trifle obsessive, almost as single-minded as shaven monks who sit for years meditating under trees in search of distant nirvana.

Of the fateful evening the day before he clinched his historic medal, Bindra says:

The mission, whose worth would be evaluated tomorrow…butterflies tango in the stomach.

The answer was a McDonalds meal and a long walk. I am too wired to sleep, but then I have already practiced going without sleep. I stand in my balcony at 3 am and look out into the dark nothingness, another athlete swallowing his fear in this dormitory of the strange and the gifted.

I felt the pressure of the Olympics, as if a nervous breakdown was imminent, and I carried it (a miniature bottle of Jack Daniels) with me. Now, on this sleepless night, I retrieve it from my toilet kit, I twist it open, empty it into my nervous stomach. As if it is an antidote to everything that assails me.

Bindra slept just an hour that night.

  What he really meant:

“Obsession—-thy name is gold.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“The book’s merely yakkety-yakkety-yak.”

David Gower: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

David Gower Pricks Shoaib Akhtar’s Hot Air Balloon

What he said:

"Its all talk, hot air. Wouldn’t want to get stuck in the argument.”

Former England skipper and commentator David Gower is dismissive of Shoaib Akhtar’s remarks concerning Sachin Tendulkar in his autobiography, “Controversially Yours”.

Gower said:

Shoaib had the talent. He was one of the quicks in his generation. He had the pace to trouble the best. Even (Vivian) Richards was troubled by pace. There was nothing new about that. But look at Sachin’s record, his thousands of runs in Test and one-day cricket…Its all hot air, irrelevant!

The left-hander with the sublime skills at the crease was equally critical of Akhtar’s suggestion that ball-tampering be sanctioned:

I understand what they are saying but there has to be a line somewhere. Its like legalising good ivory. It will increase poaching anyway. If you say its okay to do tampering, you will get a lot of tamperers. It will encourage cheating.

What he really meant:

“Shoaib’s  blowing hot and then cold on Tendulkar makes this a non-starter. Do we really need to take this topic further?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’m a batsman. Do you seriously expect me to take a bowler’s side—on this? I can still recall quaking in my boots when we had the West Indian quartet of fast bowlers at our throats in the 80s. It’s the stuff of nightmares.”

Rajeev Shukla: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Rajeev Shukla Is Not Fatigued For Excuses

What he said:

We have three formats. There are very few common players. There is no fatigue in common players.

To avoid fatigue, we said there should be proper coordination between physio and trainer. We will talk to the franchises to reduce the participation of players in parties that are held on the eve of matches.

So that the players get rest. But, if you say that there is fatigue due to IPL, I don’t agree with that.

IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla refutes the ‘absurd’ notion that cricketers are tired because of the IPL. The ICC virtually cleared the Future Tours Programme (FTP) schedule to accommodate the IPL.

The BCCI was severely criticized following the abject surrender of the national side in the away series in England. The tourists lost 0-4—a complete whitewash.

The IPL was seen as the largest contributory factor for this defeat.

Injuries to key players on the tour only exacerbated the perception.

What he really meant:

“Cricketers are superheroes, robots or demi-Gods. Have it whichever way you like. Fatigue is for mere mortals.“

“Just wave a little IPL moolah and the word ‘fatigue’ disappears from the players’ dictionary.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“It’s a no-brainer. Let’s drop Tests altogether.”

Yuvraj Singh: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Yuvraj Singh Lays Down The Law

What he said:

“The problem in India is if some one says a rooster has given an egg it will become news!! Whether it’s true or not it doesn’t matter."

Yuvraj Singh is livid that bookie Mazhar Majeed named Harbhajan Singh and him among the cricketers he had ‘access’ to.

Majeed and Pakistani fast bowler, Mohammad Asif, are on trial in a London court facing spot-fixing charges in a betting scam.

The News Of The World broke the sensational expose with footage of meetings between intrepid reporter Mazhar Mehmood and the crooked bookie.

Yuvraj tweeted:

"And who is Majid!! Absolute rubbish! Don’t no (sic), never met!”

The next tweet compared Majeed to a rooster practically terming his ‘lie’ a cock-and-bull story.

Harbhajan Singh was equally furious speaking to reporters in Nagpur:

I don’t know who this person is, I have never met him. We will definitely take some action against him. I don’t know whether it will be legal action or whatever.

But I will definitely bring it to the BCCI’s notice and I’m sure they’ll take the right kind of action against these kind people who are trying to spoil the game.

What he really meant:

“Sensationalism first, fact-finding later. That’s the name of the game.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“This rooster (Mazhar Majeed) laid some golden eggs for us (Harbhajan Singh and me).”

Ravi Bopara: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

"It’s a cut-throat business.”

Ravi Bopara believes that the competition for spots in the English cricket team is ruthless.

Bopara claimed:

"You’ve just got to keep playing well whenever things are in your favour, and make sure you nail it."

The English all-rounder of Indian origin has been in and out of the English squad failing to carve a niche for himself.

What he really meant:

“Tell me about it. I play county cricket—a bloody sacrifice—and yet Eoin Morgan is selected ahead of me despite waltzing off to the IPL.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“That’s why they term the willow—a blade.”

Blackburn Rovers Gorge On Venky’s Chicken

Anil Kumble: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Anil Kumble is no ‘Gandhian’

What he said:

"I don’t see any conflict of interest here. The positions with the KSCA and NCA are honorary jobs, and I have to look after myself. At this stage of my career, I have to do that. Otherwise, you’d have to become like Gandhi and give up everything."

Anil Kumble is the third Indian ex-cricketer—after Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri—targeted by current affairs magazine, Outlook India,in their latest issue for an alleged conflict of interest.

Kumble is  director and owner of  player management firm, Tenvic. He is additionally president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) , chairman of the National Cricket Academy and mentor to IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore. In the latter three capacities, the former leg-spinner could favorably influence the fortunes of his Tenvic wards.

What he really meant:

“I’m not well-versed in perception management. Besides, Gandhi was no cricketer. No real comparison there. N Srinivasan’s my guru.”

What he definitely didn’t:

 “Money, Money, Money. It’s a rich man’s world.”

Kapil Dev: What He Said, Really Meant and Definitely Did Not

Kapil Dev Is In A Funk

What he said:

“Spin bowling is an art and so is fast bowling. All artists are crazy and similarly whoever wrote the book for Shoaib is also crazy between his ears.”

Former Indian skipper, Kapil Dev, is “artistic” in his denouncement of Shoaib Akhtar’s remarks concerning Sachin Tendulkar in his autobiography, “Controversially Yours.”

The all-rounder was delivering the 3rd Dilip Sardesai Memorial Lecture at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai on September 29, 2011.

What he really meant:

“The co-author (Anshu Dogra) of Shoaib’s biography is simply nuts—by association.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“What a load of spin on a fast bowler’s life story.”

Shahid Afridi: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Shahid Afridi Has The Shivers For Sachin Tendulkar

What he said:

“I saw Tendulkar’s legs shivering while facing his bowling.”

Shahid Afridi backs up Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar’s claims in his autobiography, “Controversially Yours”, that Sachin Tendulkar was intimidated by Akhtar’s raw pace.

Afridi added that this was normal for most batsmen. Every batsman feared one bowler or another.

“There are times when every batsman feels the pressure, it happens against [Pakistani off-spinner] Saeed Ajmal even,” said Afridi.

What he really meant:

“My teeth were chattering so much standing so close to Tendulkar’s blade that everything else appeared to shimmer.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“More ice-cream for us in the lunch break. That’s the solution.”

Ashish Nehra: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Ashish Nehra Prefers History To Geography

What he said:

“Aapne Kerala se Srinagar tak sabko chance diya hai. Sirf Ashish Nehra hi nahin hain (You have given opportunities to all and sundry from Kerala to Srinagar—just not me).”

Medium pacer, Ashish Nehra, caustically bemoans the fickleness of Indian selectors. The veteran bowler was left out for the English tour and finds himself sitting out the return ODI series against England at home.

Nehra said:

"Please check the records, which India bowler has bowled maximum number of overs at the death in last two years. You want me to prove my fitness but then I am not even good enough to be in any of the Challenger Trophy teams.”

The left-arm seamer said that he would consider participating in foreign leagues “if the Board allows.”

“I can go and play in Big Bash or Pro-40. Or else, I will play with my little son." averred Nehra.

What he really meant:

“The selectors are truly farsighted; they failed to notice me—right under their noses.”

“Now, if the selectors had considered history instead of geography, I’d be sitting pretty."

What he definitely didn’t:

“Arre baba, if RP Singh could be yanked back into the side (evidently unfit), why not me? So unfair.”