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Ten reasons why IPL IV failed to capture hearts, minds and wallets
It was to be bigger,better, grander.
However, it has not worked out that way—for IPL 2011.
Television viewer’s interest plummeted, ticket sales tapered off and there was a jaded, sleazy feeling to the largest sporting extravaganza on the Indian sub-continent.
Diego Maradona: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
What he said:
"This is not a family if no one plays soccer. No one is asking what can be done to improve soccer. There are motorcyclists, swimmers, race car drivers, but there is not one soccer player that can give advice."
Diego Maradona refuses to be part of the FIFA family.
What he really meant:
"At least, I played the game. These guys treat players like we do footballs."
What he definitely didn’t:
"FIFA, live and learn from the BCCI."
(Assuming, of course,that Maradona follows cricket—Indian cricket.)
Randomly setting off cricketing (and non-cricketing) fires
A few random thoughts:
We are into the second day of the Lords’s Test between Sri Lanka and England. The home side leads 1-0 following a devastating collapse by the Lankans on the last day of a boring first Test. We don’t need T20 if we can have wickets falling like nine-pins in less than an hour.
Now, if only we had a way of figuring out which session of a Test match will have all the excitement. I’d buy season tickets.
The evening of the final days’s play in the first Test was also an occasion to trot out over-used clichés about the game:
Rahul Dravid: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
What he said:
"From being a master blaster, he is now a mistake-proof batsman."
Rahul Dravid describes the changes in Sachin Tendulkar’s approach to batting over the years.
What he really meant:
“Sachin is impossible to get out until he gets out.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Mistake-proof—that’s a fantastic new term. Is it patented?”
Bolting Indian Hockey players (Satire)
CHANDIGARH—
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Hockey India (HI) have received urgent faxes from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and Athletics Federation of India (AFI) requesting access to their training methods.
The appeal follows a report in the Hindustan Times that Indian hockey players are masters of the short sprint, able to cover 10 metres in a minimum time of 1.57 seconds. This beats Usain Bolt’s existing record of 1.89 by a whopping margin.
Players whine about BCCI power (Humour)
Who’s afraid of Barrack Obama?
Certainly not international cricketers.
Why should they care about the most powerful man in the world, when they have to deal with the BCCI? Proximity bites.
The Indian cricket board is not popular with current players cutting across national borders.
You would think otherwise. Without the IPL, foreign players are at the mercy of their respective cricketing boards.
The lousy ingrates.
Cricketers believe that the BCCI has an undue influence on the ICC’s decision-making.
Grow up, chaps. Money makes the world go round—clockwise and counter-clockwise.
They whinge yet 32% promise to retire prematurely from national commitments to take part in the IPL and sundry T20 tournaments.
Aren’t you chewing off the hand that feeds?
Red wine for the whiners, please!
Note: You didn’t get this from the grapevine.
Quote of the day:
You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. – Henry Ford
Harbhajan Singh: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
What he said:
“Not everyone gets to be raja [king], some have to be mantri [minister].”
Harbhajan Singh is not too worried on being overlooked for the Indian ODI captaincy.
What he really meant:
“You’ve never heard of Birbal, have you? I think I’m Birbal to Raina.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Jodhaa Akbar.”
Sanjay Manjrekar: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
What he said:
“Fans scream ‘Dilscoop’, and I think, ‘Thank god for the helmet’.”
Sanjay Manjrekar makes it clear that cricketers had it harder in his day, without the protection of a helmet.
What he really meant:
“Dilscoop—without protective gear—is akin to suicide.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Ice-cream, anyone?”
Bishan Singh Bedi: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
What he said:
“When the players have been bought like slaves at an auction, they just can’t have rights.”
Bishan Singh Bedi minces no words in taking the BCCI to task for its hypocritical stance on the ‘club versus country’ debate.
What he really meant:
“The IPL is no EPL.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“The BCCI functions democratically and IPL franchisees are democracies.”
Club Over Country:Insular Indians wake up to dangers of IPL
Let’s go ahead and admit it.
India, as a cricketing nation, is insular.
In the great ‘club versus country’ debate, Indian fans did not blink an eye when Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard figuratively gave the West Indian Cricket Board (WICB) the finger and plonked themselves at the IPL in the furnace-like heat of an Indian summer.
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Make Time For Sports. 