PRG's Thoughts

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 ...

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...

It’s the worst moment for any sports fan. It feels like a stab in the heart. You know that eventually you will have to experience it but when it actually hits you your eyes fill up. It is the day you realize that the player you love the most in the entire sport has lost his ability to win at his former level. Roger Federer, I’ve dreaded this day for a while, but it is upon us. As a fan you go through a number of stages with a player. The Fun Stages The Spotting - This is the stage where you first spot your guy. For me it was 2004. I was living in New York and when Wimbledon started I was reading an article by John McEnroe where he said that Roger could be come the greatest of all time. I knew who Roger Federer was of course but had never really watched him seriously because I had been a bit off tennis for a year or so. The Sunday of the final I woke up early to watch him beat Roddick. I was hooked. The Winning/Losing- As a fan nothing gives you more joy when your team or pla...

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 ...