My stance is that the senior players (Chendulkar, Dravid, etc) very well know that they're gonna be in the team, be it hell or high waters. They don't need to worry about anything and are hence complacent and less committed. The remaining batsmen are just accumulating runs to improve their statistics so that they have a place in the team. Dravid is so nervous as a captain as if captainship is rocket science. Modeling/Advertising assignments, Permanent place in the team, frigging amount of money. Who needs to play? I'm sure you get my point. PS: I won't be surprised if Sachin plays 2 more world cups even if he performs ordinarily.
i am going a bit off-topic here, but isn't this world cup just a damp squib? i try to catch highlights every night and yesterday at the super8 srilanka vs england there was a crowd of hardly 500 locals .. and i am sure commentators were going on about an early 'easter gift' from the authorities ... free tickets 'guaranteed' for some match that is to be ... for 'all' ... :S how much has poor nations like west indies lost in this world cup? i cant see how the sponsors are still sticking to the event ... when there is no audience! reminds me of the world cup we had in 95(?) ... man that was something!
countries from the caribbean are certainly going to face a huge financial loss due to this illmanaged world cup .Old stadiums in west indies were small but had a typical west indian atmosphere which is missing in these new stadiums. on topic:dravid has to go from captains position.
oh i forgot what the topic was. on topic:chappel was not good either indian team is better without him.
It is indeed convenient to put it this way. Of course, if you've played a sport, you'll know that it's not just about the money. ever. Calling me idealistic? I'll call you the exact opposite of idealistic. The blueprint as to why seniors in the team are not performing is plain stupid. You talk about measuring complacency with reasons? bwahaha. Batsmen are accumulating runs because the processes are in place and the results do not matter. Dravid is nervous as a captain because he is careeristic and knows he's not a good one. This is easy.
Yes. I, personally, wasn't terribly bothered about the world cup somehow even before it began and once India left, it took even that little bit out of me. The world cup has been nothing short of boring. The schedule is such and the teams are so hot and cold that there really is no build up where you might watch 4 great matches in a row. With the commercial flop, the focus is more at the political agenda back home and the 24 hour news channels are really hitting the breaking news banners with everything but the stump mic. Then everyone becomes a cricketing Guru who says that they knew all along how the team was going to flop and then they submit their long list of reasons and performance of the players seems to be the least of all the errors. hurray.
^Its good to be optimistic .. but your reactions are governed by the typical Indian mentality of not accepting that we suck. I think its my bad. Indian players kick ass(remember bermuda). They're the best. No one's to be blamed but Chappel. PS: Are you a part of the selection committee?
and your reactions are typical of the "cool" new fad that is to not jump on a bandwagon even if it is in synch with your thinking and end up forming a bandwagon of your own. It's like emo-bashing or anti-pop elitists. As for my not accepting we suck, at least I have good reason which is more than can be said for you from the posts you've made. Considering that the nucleus of the side has not changed dramatically from the team under Ganguly which did reasonably well, I wager that this team does not suck. The near-zero bench strength does not speak well of the status of our "religion" though. I should add that the nucleus was young then and 4 years should have taken them forward....as did happen with Yuvraj and Zaheer. If your reaction post was in response to what I said, nowhere did I say I thought the team kicks ass or Chappel is the only person to be blamed. Anyway, after a post like that, I doubt you're going to try and be serious about this discussion so I won't even try. This kind of post is usually a last minute attempt at a save of face. PS: Are you usually this lame? Oh wait...
@jamhead.. no spectators no audience .. no audience no incentives .. no incentives no sponsors .. no sponsors no money .. the sponsors who have already signed contracts would be blaming their luck but saying thanks to the one who murdered woolmer .. others will be doing long phewwws ... fans are no longered bothered and australia will have to hire kangaroos dressed as humans for their after victory celebrations ..
The cricket body has probably (note that Im assuming a lot) already made most of its money. It's the sponsors who are in a fix. The tourism dept. has also been hit hard because a lot of MNC's had packaged tours for employees for the later stages of the World Cup. All the ad slots had been sold for the 15th april indo-pak fixture.
Bjr.. You know dood .. I doubt if you're even a sportsman. Coz if you were at a professional level ever .. it wouldn't have been hard for you to realise the lack of commitment and efforts of our players on the field. Have you seen their fielding? Their fitness level? Their overall approach towards the game? I'm surprised Bangladeshis who've had so li'l exposure comparatively showed efforts that would put India to shame. You're one of the Atul wasan types who just give their "expert views" to everyone.
Yup .. Not a cricketer though .. I'm a national chess player 2 times, state level 3 times and a Club football player. I play in Division B and sometimes A of Pune District Football Association for my club. Most recent performance elsewhere was our football team 1st runner up in Inter-IT tournament Pune. Anyway ..
hey, i got a chnc 2 play in the national chess level onc too (in a weird way).. but thn later couldnt make it coz of exams.. playd in an intercollege (district wise competition) football tourney too. but its gr8 2 know tht u r a national level chess player & play footballl in district level. talkin of chess.. u might hav heard of worldchessnetwork.com if u havnt, thn register thr, its a very professional chess site. cheers!
Chess isnt really a sport. It's wonderful that you're a club player in football and therefore somehow fit into the "professional" category of things. But since you dont professionally play cricket and neither does Bjr, i'm assuming, explain to me how you're more qualified than he is to make judgements about cricket. Why is your argument more valid than his?
What matters is that the base class is a sportsman. Be it footballer or cricketer. I've also played cricket but only upto the Inter-college level but anyway it doesn't matter. I'm not saying I'm more qualified than him to make judgements. Its just that its possible to hide a teams Incapability with smart use of words and showing an optimistic perspective. I guess that's what bjr's doing. Think of this. South Africa was in dire straits at one point of time. Graeme Smith was made the captain after he had played what like 17 matches? With a lot of new lads, hard work and determination see where they are. India on the other hand having "world class" players are still stuck at the same place.
