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Ravi Shastri: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Ravi Shastri has cricket on his mind.
What he said:
“I’ve watched more cricket than I’ve played. So there’s enough in this upper-storey here (pointing to his forehead) that can be used before I forget it.”
Ravi Shastri eases into his new role as Team Director. The cricketer-turned-commentator believes that he can contribute not just from his playing experience but from observing as well.
He said:
“I have already started talking to them [the selection committee] and we have no issues on that. My job is not to select an Indian cricket team, it is their job, but my job is to at least communicate with them and see on what lines they are [thinking] so that we both are on the same page. Probably discuss talent, discuss what would be the kind of team you need in Australia.
See, combinations are very important. You have got to identify your strengths and see who are the right people to manage those roles and areas of your strengths. That importantly comes up with the team. Prime importance, I believe, will always be given to current form. I think form is very important.
My job is to communicate with whoever is there and I will not take a step back. At the moment, I have been communicating with all the five.”
He added:
“My job [as director] is to ensure that everything is in order. It’s not just about communicating with the players. It’s also about giving your views, your inputs as a former player, and as a broadcaster. I’ve watched more cricket than I’ve played. So there’s enough in this upper-storey here (pointing to his forehead) that can be used before I forget it. That’s what I tell the players. Don’t be afraid to ask me questions, because there’s enough there for me to be able to contribute. Yes, obviously you’ll have to have a dialogue with the selectors as to where they’re coming from and what their train of thought is. What we feel as part of the Indian cricket team, so that there’s healthy communication and you get something that’s best for the Indian cricket team.”
On working with Duncan Fletcher and MS Dhoni:
“Absolutely, he is brilliant. He is a seasoned campaigner. He has over 100 Test matches as a coach for various teams. The good thing is Fletch and me go a long way back. We know each other. I captained the U-25 team against Zimbabwe in 1984 when he was the captain of Zimbabwe. He has got a fabulous track record. It is how we use the knowledge that he has in the best possible way and communicate with the players.
The boss is the captain on the cricket field. I am in charge of the coaching staff. That’s put into place. My job is to oversee things and see things go all right. Who cares who’s the boss? At the end of the day, you win and to hell with it, yaar. Jisko boss banna hai bano. [Whoever wants to be the boss, let him do so].”
What Shastri really meant:
“Now that I’m director I’ll be able to force the players to work on my freely provided suggestions from the commentary box. Theory becomes practice, eh?”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Now this is what I call life coming full circle: From player to commentator to super-super coach!”
Kapil Dev Nikhanj: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Kapil Dev Nikhanj
What he said:
“I used to hate England because they ruled my country but I am happy they gave us the game of cricket, which they can’t play very well, and the English language, which I can’t speak very well.”
Kapil Dev Nikhanj cannot resist taking a dig at the English in his acceptance speech. The former Indian skipper was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Indo-European Business Forum (IEBF) at a ceremony in the House of Lords in London.
The presentation was for his contribution to cricket and his work in upliftment of poor and destitute communities through the Khushii society.
What he really meant:
“I’m happy we’re free of the British and that we now Lord it over them at the ICC even though we still can’t speak the Queen’s English equally well. I, of course, suffer from short-term memory loss and have forgotten that Team India surrendered the last three Test series.”
What he definitely didn’t but could have:
“It’s time the English relinquished sovereignty over the language as well. There are more English speakers in India than in the whole of UK.”
Sanjay Patel: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Sanjay Patel
What he said:
“They can go on holiday, or go back home. They can even come to India if they want.”
BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel minces no words about Team India’s bowling coach Joe Dawes’ and fielding coach Trevor Penney’s options on being relieved of their duties post the disastrous result in the Big Test series against England.
What he really meant:
“What they do now on their own time is none of the BCCI’s business. It’ s a purely professional transaction. They’re hired based on past results and recommendations and fired based on results and feedback. Can they have it any other way? Besides, they deserve a holiday—a well-earned one—and I can recommend no better place to vacation than India.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“How about Tourism India roping in Dawes and Penney as brand ambassadors?”
Cartoon: Ravi Shastri is the ‘director’
Ravi Shastri has been appointed ‘director’ of the Indian cricket team for the ODI series.
Should Sachin follow Ponting into retirement? Kumble has the last word
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Kapil Dev: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
Kapil Dev Has No Time For Records—Sachin’s
What he said:
“We have to change our mindset. If we lose the match, what’s the use of statistics? To hell with that!”
Former Indian captain, Kapil Dev Nikhanj, is crystal clear that the Indian cricket team must come before individual achievements. The 1983 World Cup winning skipper was delivering the Dilip Sardesai lecture at the Cricket Club of India (CCI).
He said:
You seem more keen about Sachin’s 99 hundreds and not about how we are going to win the next series.
I am not saying don’t give credit to individual performances, but the country should come first.
Everyone knows Sachin has 99 centuries, but how many know which of those have ended in victories? Out of Sachin’s 99 hundreds, 60 have ended in wins. If anyone reports that I’ll be happy.
What he really meant:
“Surely, you folks don’t remember my 434 wickets and the inexorably slow overhaul of Sir Richard Hadlee‘s record. Now, that’s a statistic!”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Sorry, Sreenath, for keeping you out of the Indian side while I was pursuing my world record. Tendulkar’s merely emulating me—on a larger scale.”
England whitewash India 4-0: Dénouement complete
The rout is complete.
The English Lions, in their own den, knocked the Indians from their perch of the No.1 Test team in the world.
The mighty have fallen—hard.
Team India nestle at No.3 behind South Africa.
For one brief session on the fifth day of the last Test, Sachin Tendulkar and Amit Mishra showed what could have been. Had the Indian batsmen applied themselves similarly in the first three matches, the series result could have been quite different.This was the only batting session—in the entire series—that the Indians did not lose a wicket.
The English bowlers, for the first time in the series, showed signs of frustration. Graeme Swann kicked the turf, repeatedly.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni going the Kapil way?
Kapil Dev Nikhanj. Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Two charismatic skippers with winning ways.
The former led Team India to an epochal triumph in the 1983 World Cup, a victory which led to a radical power shift within the ICC. The Reliance World Cup followed in 1987. The circle was complete. The colonised were now king-makers.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was fortunate to be selected skipper for the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup. He thrust a young, inexperienced team to the pinnacle in a format ignored by the bigger guns—Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Saurav Ganguly.
MS Dhoni wins hearts: Team India fail second Test
Of the two sides fighting for the No.1 Test spot, only one stepped up to the plate; that side was not India.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni won hearts with his sporting act on the third day of the second nPower Test series.
His team’s performance, however, raised a lot more questions.
Royal Stag versus United Breweries: Harbhajan Singh versus MS Dhoni?
Can Harbhajan Singh not take a joke?
This is the question raised by Vijay Mallya of United Breweries(UB).
The liquor magnate was slapped with a legal notice by Avtar Kaul, the Singh family matriarch.
The distressed mother has gone on to charge the UB Group with offending the Sikh community and fostering disunity within the Indian cricket team.
The cause for offense is a UB commercial parodying Bhajji’s appearance for the Royal Stag brand from the Pernod Ricard stable.
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