PRG's Thoughts

'How many deaths will it take till we know that too many people have died.'                                                                                                      - Bob Dylan India is scheduled to play Pakistan on 16th June 2019 in the Cricket World Cup. Should India still take the field? Should we play a sport with a country that supports the kind of terrorism that has killed our citizens for decades?  How much is enough? Historically, the sporting world has taken stands against countries that are sponsoring or committing acts of hatred and terror. The best known example of this is South Africa during apartheid. The world came together and took a stand that they no longer believe a country that pr...

It's the end of the year, that was twenty-eighteen, So what happened in sports, with your favourite team? There was the World Cup, and then regular seasons, 'Twas a great year for fans, here are my reasons. Lets start with the Cup, that comes every four years, As usual it ended, with England in tears. Croatia played well, and was the runner up, But in the end, the French won the cup. Neymar won an Oscar, Messi won nothing, Poor England prepared too early for homecoming. We've watched this next flick, since 2003, I'm talking about tennis, and the same old big three. Roger won Aus, Novak Wimb & New York, Rafa won the French, oh, what a shock! The time for new blood, is long overdue, Zverev, Thiem or anyone please come through. Four different winners, in four different slams, Women's tennis, is capturing the fans. Of course, the greatest had the greatest melt down, Oh Serena, you behaved like a clown. The Return of the Kings, is not a movi...

If the IPL were played during the time of the Mahabharat the Indian Media would have blamed it for influencing Duryodhan’s behavior. It would have happened and you know it. Duryodhan, being a prince and all, would have definitely owned a team or maybe even been a cricketer in the league. Then when he attempted to strip Draupadi in front of the whole court there would be debates on news channels connecting his IPL team to what he was doing. It’s like the two players who went to a rave in Juhu that got busted. Must be the IPL that sent them to the rave right? Because I am sure the owners of their team told them that they should attend a rave where there will be drugs. Or the owner who got in to a scuffle with security, it must be the IPL. Because lets be honest, we have never heard of Bollywood stars that have had similar problems. Am I right Saif and Salman? Why didn’t they go after Bollywood? But here- it must be the IPL. Finally, there is the player who allegedly mis...

The college football (American Football) season kicks off in full swing this Saturday. For most of you that means nothing at all. But for those of you who went to one of the big sports schools in the US, it is the beginning of the best four months of the year. The excitement of the season for us college football fans is as much as what we feel for the world cup or any big sporting event. I love my Texas Longhorns as much as the Indian Cricket team or Roger Federer or Tiger Woods. Now, if you are wondering why am I writing about a sport that only three people in India really care about, it is because India can learn a lot from the American system of talent and sports development. After the recent series in England the lack of depth in our sports teams is pretty evident. The system in American Sports is very clear. It is applicable for all American sports but to make it easier I will use football as an example. Right from the 10 th and 11 th grade in high school a talented fo...

Somewhere in a hotel room in England, 11 Indian cricketers and a Zimbabwean coach gather around in a dark room. The mood is serious. Player 1: “I’ve called this meeting today in urgent circumstances. So far we have blamed our horrific performance on the BCCI and their planning. While they’re usually an easy target I think we may be passed the expiration date on this particular blame game.” Player 2: “Why? Just blame it on them. Always works and right now the media is supporting us.” Player 1: “Look, we’ve played two tests and two side games. The public realizes that we should have gotten used to the conditions by now. It just won’t fly. Plus we had this stupid number one ranking on our heads. Thank god that’s over.” Player 3: “Chill out, ya. Just blame it on injuries. Can’t argue with that.” Player 4: “Player 3, you’re a Moron, only ONE player is injured. You can’t count the two boys from Punjab. One hasn’t taken a wicket since before Chayageet aired on DD and the other is not even ...

Ian Bell was out and MS Dhoni should not have withdrawn his appeal. The law of the game is clear, as was established by the umpire’s decision to give him out. There is no argument there. So now the debate goes to the spirit of the game. I see nothing against the spirit of the game in letting the umpire’s decision stand. There are questions to be asked, though. Was Bell attempting a run? Or was he just careless in the way he handled himself? Like most of you, I watched that replay over a dozen times. It was clear to me that Ian Bell was not jogging off the field but rather was trying to get a fourth run in. As he jogged half way down the pitch he noticed Eion Morgan well grounded in his crease. Instead of running back and grounding his bat, Bell stopped jogging and continued to walk toward the bowlers end. There are two possible things that went through Bell’s mind. If he thought it was a four (I don’t think he did) then he violated cricket 101 by assuming it was a boundary. If on the...

While selecting my dream eleven, I took the approach of having the best side rather than just listing the best players. Thus the focus became the balance of the side. A decision to take Steve Waugh over Brian Lara was one such call.With the 2000 th Test almost upon us, there are dream Test teams being created by cricket fans and experts. I also felt it was also important to see how players would fare in a particular position in the lineup. The elimination of Sir Viv Richards from the starting 11 was because of this reason. There obviously is no correct combination, as it is all based on personal opinion, but here is my dream 11: in order of batting position. Let the debating begin. Sunil Gavaskar: Probably the greatest opening Test batsman of all time. His technique was flawless and his patience unmatched. Consistently dominating the greatest bowling attack of all time in hostile conditions differentiates him from everyone else. He was the best. Virender Sehwag: This was a tough ca...

Zaheer Khan’s turning point Congratulations on the World Cup win. For most Indians it was one of the best days of our lives. Have you recovered? It was the best day for us too. More than anything else it was the journey that was special. Playing in India there was the added pressure but at the same time we knew that it was going to be equally special if we were able to pull it off. The belief was always in the team, we always talked about gaining momentum at the right time and kept thinking that we can do it. Everyone wanted it badly and that kind of showed in the whole approach. You bowled in the World Cup final in 2003 and then suffered some setbacks with injuries. Then came the season at Worcestershire where you bowled incredibly. Was that the turning point of your career? Yeah, in many ways it was. It was really important for me to play at the highest level, and to get back in to the Indian side. I always knew I had the potential to perform but somehow I was not able to deliver. Th...

The ball is tossed from right hand to left by a flick of the wrist as he waits to start his run up. The eyes focused, the mind thinking faster than most. You knowa plan is in progress. He begins his walk to the crease in his patented style and the ball is released with a grunt. Twenty-two yards away a confused batsman is standing nervously not knowing what to expect. But then again who could? It might be a zooter, the wrong’un, a slider, a drifter, a classic leggie or my personal favorite, the flipper. The ball pitches and does exactly what he wants it to. The result was either the sound of timber or a catch. The legend had just pulled of another one. Shane Warne will be remembered for a number of things, but he will be remembered most for being the greatest. Warne has always been my favorite cricketer, more than even Sachin Tendulkar. No bowler has captured the imagination of the cricketing world more than him. His presence on the field and his ability to do things with a cricket ball...

Winston Churchill said "The Price of Greatness is Responsibility." Never were these words more true than last evening in Mumbai. With the ultimate prize on the line the leader of eleven men walked out in to the middle to take on a challenge that most people believed he could not handle. With his customary swagger he rose to the occasion and embraced the God's of destiny like he was born to do. MS Dhoni joined the party late in this tournament, but once he arrived, he stole the show. The tournament has not been easy for the captain. Being second guessed at every step is never easy for any leader let alone someone who has 1.2 billion people voicing their opinions. Yet this man was supposed to deliver with a team where only two bowlers were definite choices in the eleven. The other two being coin flips. That is hardly the make up of world cup champs. Yet, they had to win. After every match, win or lose, he was analyzed by every one of us. Why did he bowl Nehra in the last ov...

It is an old debate and its back- Should a batsman walk if he knows he is out versus waiting for the umpire to give him out? The debate is so old and boring that it pains me to write about it. But since Tendulkar’s walk and Ponting’s wait the topic has heated up again. Here are my thoughts, and they are unlikely to change. I know a few of you out there are going to rip in to me. But I guess that is the point :-) I don't think a batsman should walk. If I was a cricketer, I wouldn't. Umpire decisions can go either way. Forget the review system for a moment, we have all realized that it hasn't been perfected yet. Assume there is no review. An umpire sometimes gives you out when you are not and sometimes give you not out when you are in fact gone. How often have we seen batsmen stare down the umpire or look completely shocked when they are given out? It happens. We have seen replays in slow motion that clearly show bat before pad or the ball hitting the thigh pad and making a...

The year in sports is pretty much done- Here is what to look forward to in 2011 Roger- Rafa- The Final Year It may just be my gut feeling but I think this will be the final year of the Roger-Rafa rivalry. I don’t think either will retire after 2011 but after this year the two-man show will slowly die out. Having said that, this could be a year filled with tension and stress for tennis fans. As a Roger fan the season ending win gave me a lot to look forward to. Rafa fans probably looked at it as an anomaly in an all round great year. On January 17 th the battle begins in Melbourne. My Take - Rafa wins 2 slams, Roger wins one, and someone else wins one. Year-end 2011 Rafa #1, Roger # 2. Cricket World Cup Don’t let the recent drop in viewership of ODI’s fool you. The world cup is different. It is still the tournament where legends are made and destroyed. Kapil’s catch, Tendulkar’s innings after his father passed, Klusener’s heroics followed by a moment of anguish, Waugh’s sle...

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d pick him. He is such a random choice simply because he has been around for so long. When I thought about this post I went through every Indian sportsperson who had achieved something this past year his name was impossible to ignore. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an odd choice for Indian Sportsperson of the Year. His career is so storied and the bar he sets himself is so high that he would really have to do something spectacular to even be considered. For Sachin to ‘wow’ us at this stage in his career, or set new marks and personal bests is unlikely right? Think again. Most runs in test cricket in 2010: Sachin Tendulkar (1396 runs) Most centuries in test cricket in 2010: Sachin Tendulkar (6) Both these records are personal bests. He has scored five 50s and six 100s in 19 innings. When a sportsman who is already considered one of the greatest of all time has a personal best year, can anyone else have a shot at Sportsperson of the year? If ...

When the lead story in the Economic Times is about the IPL spat and not about the RBI's credit policy it is safe to say that things have become a little bit cuckoo. But that is what cricket does to us and the truth is, this entire fiasco has a lot more to with economics than with cricket. After waiting a few days to let things unravel. Here is my take on the latest controversy to hit the IPL. If you don't know what is happening in this saga then either you have been away on an island or haven't picked up a newspaper in the past week. This has been nothing short of chaos. I could have written on a number of things related to this mela, but I chose these three. Lets get right in to it. Bye Bye Shashi Tharoor This man didn't know what hit him. He took on the king and got clobbered. Here is my issue with him. Fine, he did what he did. But why is he still talking about how his conscience is clear and claiming innocence? I mean seriously, give me a break. His girlfriend was ...

With over a quarter of the games of this seasons IPL done, here is my update. Bowlers dominating, best players, new teams worth 1700 crore. Here are the top 5 things so far (in no particular order) 1) Who said it is a batsman's game? I mean we all know that this format is tailor made for the batsmen but what is interesting this year is that the teams that are topping the points table are the ones with good all round bowling attacks. Bangalore with Steyn, Kallis, Kumble, and Praveen Kumar. Mumbai with Malinga, Zaheer and Bhajji. Deccan with Vaas , Symonds (who has bowled well), and RP Singh. On the other side of the table you have Punjab who has Sreesanth (struggling and inconsistent) and Irfaan Pathan who is suffering from a major crisis of confidence. Sure, the top teams have batsmen that are in great nick, but if you have bowlers who can pick up good wickets or bowl some really tight overs at crucial points, then the entire unit becomes that much stronger. 2) New Teams - When La...

IPL is back baby!!! And I love it!! You know, test cricket is the best form of the game and one day cricket has its moments, but IPL T20 has a different charm altogether. Season 1, Rajasthan Royals are the cheapest team with a bunch of no names and they win it all. Season 2, the Deccan Chargers who were the worst team in season 1 come back to win it all. The best part about this tournament so far has been that no one knows who is going to win. Could the Knight Riders pull off a Deccan Chargers? Will the Mumbai Indians finally make it to the semis? Will Delhi play well through the season and then crash again before the big game? Will Gilly be Gilly again? Will Bangalore go as far this year? The frenzy has caught on so much that a buddy of mine who takes any opportunity he gets to "bitch out" T20 called me this morning to find out if I will be at the match tomorrow. You can't escape it, IPL is back baby!!! And I love it!! Here are 10 things I want to see this year (in no ...

"Kotla pitch shames BCCI, nation" says the Times of India. One week from now the Times of India will not be covering this story. Or if they are, there will be a small snippet hidden somewhere in the sports section. However, you will still find articles on how India is the # 1 Test Cricket team in the world. At the end of the day, no one really cares for sports in this country. That concept does not exist. We care about a victory, a great innings, a world record and a number one ranking. But we don't care about sports. There is a difference. What happened in Kotla was in line with expectations so don't get angry. As a country, we will never be a sports nation. India has never been a sports nation and in my life time I don't think we ever will be. We have memorable victories, we have super stars, we have small inconsistent successes but we are not a sports nation. To be a sports nation we need a full proof plan for talent and facilities development. We need a vision...