Of Muppets and Jokers

Selectors are indeed a bunch of 'muppets'. And most often, the guy who tops the list, is a joker. Marvan Atapattu's jibe about the state of cricket in Sri Lanka, holds true not only for that country but elsewhere too. In a country, where cricket is in the hands of the Government, through interim committee and who-nots, the swamps will always be on the greasier side.

Atapattu's statement must be taken in the holistic aspect and not by the words or the adjectives used in them. The way cricket is administered in all sub-continental countries provides an ideal breeding ground for these clowns to emerge higher than they ever would. If Sri Lanka has an Asantha de Mel, India's answer to the clown would be Dilip Vengsarkar or even Pakistan has a Salahuddin. But, the situation in Sri Lanka is even more crass, because the Minister pokes his dirty hands in selection, not that, this never happens in either of the two countries mentioned above.

Atapattu's inclusion for the tour of Australia is itself an interesting case. A man who was practicing hard with the 'A' team before leaving for England to play a handful of games for Lashings against Village teams, was somewhere a stark contradiction to what top cricketing nations look for in terms of form. Sri Lankan cricket is somewhere a reflection of a stagnant system, not willing to take risks at apt times. Has there ever been a transition period in Sri Lanka's cricketing history ? Not that one is aware of. But, in those terms, Sri Lanka have been blessed with talented incumbents to replace the old guards. But today, there is a massive crack in the system, where a minister is more concerned about calling the shots than create a healthy infrastructure for sport in Sri Lanka. And here is the same man, who extended de Mel's duties for one more year. A filthy confrontation that is taking Sri Lankan cricket, 5 years backwards.

So, is Rahul Dravid's omission from the Indian squad against Pakistan. Call it a personal propaganda, or a public fallout or even some damp politics, one might never come up with a satisfactory answer. And, where has Indian cricket seen a man, willing to put his career on the mat, come out in the open and rant about the gross activities that happens at the top ? What prevails in India is a post-independence hangover of embracing the system, than expose it. Dilip Vengsarkar is a great example of a man who smells of arrogance and an agenda. Everything he does comes with a larger manifesto than logic. How would one justify Sehwag's in the ODI squad else wise ? Phasing out, rotations or resting, terms that sound convincing, come with a darker underlying metaphor. Or even the fact that Mohammad Kaif has been relegated to permanent captaincy of the India A team. As much as we accuse Sri Lanka of not being risk-worthy, Indian cricket is still lying in the same mosquito pond ! Quite unfortunate, indeed.

Call them goofuses or buffoons or anything else...selectors won't change. They are here to destroy the system, and till they achieve that or come close to doing it, the strings wont be chopped.

Racism, Jingoism and Beyond

Yes, its been a while since I last hit up a blog. Just thought I'd say Hi again ! Taking some time off work to come up with a piece might seem difficult, but blogging is something I do not intend to give up all at once.

Racism is something that I want to be slightly tightlipped about. What has race to do with a batsman who just knows to tonk bowlers all over the park ? I think sport is one place where only performances and results ultimately and eternally matter, not the origins, the color of the skin or for that matter your appearances. The Indian crowd certainly did not give this a thought, when they repeatedly abused Andrew Symonds for God-knows-what ? The crowd at Wankhede has always been a bit of a let-down, let alone the monkey-chants. Is Mumbai a racist city ? Maybe yes. Something in the 'Hitler' mode of Aryan-pride ? A South Indian wearing his "lungi" around the streets of Matunga and Chembur was denounced in the late 60s, and if that wasn't enough, the whole wave of anti-North Indian agitation in the last decade just compounds this theory. I mean, Mumbai, we aint racist bastards ! Oh, also imagine playing cricket behind closed doors, as what happened in Kolkata, after Shoaib Akhtar ripped India apart ! Do we want this, I hope not. Yes, Mumbai comes in with a tinge of rotten apples, but bringing it on a sporting platform, is a crime, maayte ! All said, Andrew Symonds might just be thanking India to give him the sort of treatment, and knowing the Ozzies, such experiences make them tougher than ever before. So, all Indians, expect a heavy summer with "Curry"-filled verbal diarrhea, as soon as India land in Austraaaya.

Jingoism is again something that I can let myself loose on. What exactly is jingoism, the term sounds funny, but when practiced it is, to put it plain - patriotism taken to an extreme i.e. chanting India about 500 times during the match. Does one lose perspective if he/she is jingoistic ? Yes, they do. I don't know if this was a post-twenty20 phenomenon, but it is certainly uncalled for, especially when emotions are flying as hard as Roy Keane's tackles. But, thats what Indians are known for ! Yes, be a good fan of Indian cricket, wear that expensive piece of blue clothing, take your kids to the game, etc etc, but to live 24x7 on this whole thing, might just be dangerous to say the least. Cricket is a sport, where nothing is to be practiced in the extreme, thats where we differentiate ourselves from other rowdy sports like football and rugby. With Pakistan having arrived already, these 45 days will perhaps give jingoism a new name, or even a new-wave. What I dream of one day, is when Indian cricket fans would turn more knowledgeable than emotional, more welcoming than rude and indeed more enterprising than ever before. No one wants to see their country lose, but it isn't wrong to put two hands together and applaud the better ?

The beyond part is a bit vague, considering my Sri Lankan loyalties. Alas, we lose our frontline wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara for the first test against the Aussies at the Gabba. There will be certainly an air of expectancy when Murali does everything - be it breathe, bowl, bat, field. Twelve years and the man is back on Australian soil. He need not worry much these days, because PM Howard's election chances are diminishing by the day. He's got other things, including Mr. Kevin Rudd to worry about. Unfortunately, he might have to put up with some stiff chants like "You never bowl with a straight arm" or "The Chucka", or the Aussies might have come up with something even more lethal. The earlier he takes the 9 wickets, things might just settle down for the offie.

I will be back next week, hopefully (fingers crossed) and bring out some more interesting tit-bits on things related to the game, or rather going beyond the races and jingoism !