munaf patel

Surprises in Indian Test team for WI tour in notable absentees, not selections

The Indian Test team for the West Indies tour has been announced.

In a surprise move, Indian selectors rested Sachin Tendulkar. The master batsman  will not feature on the entire West Indies tour. West Indian cricket fans are denied an opportunity to catch one last glimpse of Tendulkar before he bids farewell to the game.

The controversial shoulder injury to Gautam Gambhir and the sudden illness of Yuvraj Singh mean that this is one of the weakest batting sides to tour abroad in recent times.

Continue reading →

Team India for West Indies ODIs announced: Gambhir leads

A point of similarity between Gabriela Pasqualotto and Mahendra Singh Dhoni:

Until today, the two were content playing the game “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t”.

Pasquallotto, of course, was referring to whether she’d make her story public to the tabloids.

She will—if she’s paid and if she’s allowed to write it herself. Fair enough.

Continue reading →

ICC World Cup 2011: Real World Cup begins for India

Image via Wikipedia

The Indian cricket team laboured its way to a facile victory over the Netherlands at the Ferozeshah Kotla on the 9th of March, 2011. It was Ash Wednesday; the men in blue seemed to be aware of this.Indian fans had little to celebrate.

Though a quarter-final spot is now virtually assured, question-marks about India’s bowling attack persist.

It was expected that the pitches in this World Cup, especially the ones at home, would be batsman-friendly. That the very same dead pitches would draw the fangs of the Indian bowlers and render them venomless, even toothless, was probably not factored in by the Indian think-tank.

Continue reading →

The Indian cricket team: Pace bowling riches?

Dhoni’s troubles

On Saturday, the 14th of August, 2010 , Dhoni walked out of a practice session when Dinesh Karthik was struck on the thumb by a nastily bouncing ball. The excuse given was that the practice facilities were inadequate; the pitch was underprepared and dangerous to use.

On Sunday, the 15th of August, Dhoni sought to underline his independence from the BCCI requesting that the Indian bowlers be rotated more often to allow them more rest and time to recover from their many niggles.

So what gives? Is the pressure of arguably the hottest seat in the country getting too much for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to handle?

The weight of a billion expectations is overwhelming. Is Dhoni finding the captain’s kitchen too warm for comfort?

Or is Dhoni trying to cut manic expectations of his young, troubled side?

Is he beseeching the Indian cricket fan to be more understanding, more kind, more real?

Continue reading →