New flowers-new buds

The Indian colts have proved their mettle to announce vociferously that they are in their way of their seniors by lifting the world under 19 title 2012 at Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville, Queensland, on Sunday. The Indians defeated the formidable hosts and defending champions Australia with six wickets and 14 balls left to lift its third World Cup in the final here on Sunday.

The chase was steered around by the captain, Unmukt Chand leading from the front with a magnificent hundred as the India under-19 team steered past the hosts target of 226 on a bouncy strip with 14 balls to spare.He scored 111 not out off 130 balls. With his unbroken partnership of 130 runs with wicketkeeper Smit Patel,the game was wounded up.

After Prashant Chopra was out ,the skipper and the in-form batsman Aparajith (33) took the attack to the opposition camp. The duo added 73 for the second wicket playing the Aussie pace trio of Steketee, Joel Paris and Gurinder Sandhu with ease.Earlier, India frittered away the early advantage as defending champion Australia recovered from a shaky start to post a competitive 225 for eight.

Electing to field after winning the toss, Indians had the Aussies on the mat at 38 for four before skipper William Bosisto (87 not out) rebuilt the innings with the help of some notable contributions down the order from Tavis Head (37) and Turner.

Colts ‘veteran’ Sandeep Sharma who got four for 54 was the most successful bowler.

It was in april last the Indian team under the stewardshp of Dhoni has brought the cup home after a long wait of of 20 years. The truimph of both the modes have proclaimed that the future of cricket is safe in the hands of these youngsters.

"This victory has added another feather in the crown of Indian cricket," Ansari said noting that India now holds both the senior a nd junior world titles. Complimenting the Indian team for winning the Under-19 cricket World Cup in Australia, former captain Sourav Ganguly said the victory was special since it came on Australian soil.

The present victory is even sweeter because it has been possible in the home-of the lion under heavy odds just when the match seemed to be slipping away from India's grasp affixing the Indian signature for the 3rd time.

This was the India under-19 team’s third triumph after Mohammed Kaif and Virat Kohli led their respective teams to victory in the 2000 and 2008 editions respectively. India Under-19 skipper Unmukt Chand hit an unbeaten 111 in seamer-friendly conditions to lead India to a six-wicket win over Australia in the final .he displayed exemplary class and returned with an unbeaten 111 to guide India home. In doing that he followed his illustrious Delhi counterpart Virat Kohli, who also led India to victory in the 2008 edition in Kuala Lumpur.

His attacking style of play has also earned him a contract with the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. He found an able ally in wicket keeper Smit Patel, whose winning hit to the boundary saw him remaining unbeaten on 62.It was a dream come true for the Indian colts.

In the semifinals Chopra struck a patient 52 while aparajith scored 44 in Indias 209 for nine.A disciplined bowling effort restricted NewZealand for 200 for nine in the 2nd semifinal at the Tony Ireland stadium.India made the run chase extremely tough for the Kewis with their superiority in the spin department. They chalked out a nine run victory against New Zealand to enter in to the finals for the fourth time.

In the finals luck, too, went India's way. Smit capitalized on Aussie wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson letting go off a regulation chance and didn't look back, and Unmukt himself was dropped by the rival captain Bosisto on 84 with 49 required off 42 balls.The result was reaped after the 2 years of torrid training under the coaching of Bharuth Arun .

India Under-19 coach Bharat Arun said: “I had reminded Unmukt about his knack of playing big knocks in the final stages and he really saved his best for the last. He played a very mature innings. The boys truly deserve this win.”

It was none too easy to chase a mammoth total in a pitch which gave all support for the bowlers where the life of batsmen was at peril. Although Mukth didnot fair well in the debut premier league last season ,he has exhibited the glimps of his talent with which he sailed the team from the staring defeat.The splendid innings in the final testifies that the trust shown by ICC by anointing him as the captain has not been squandered .Padding as the opener he returned back unconquired with the cup exquisitely completing his errant in style.

Though the star of the final was Unmuktha it was more or less a team work.After the early defeat at the hands of WI,the team neve looked back and clinched the final with out any further loss.Apart with him the colective efforts from inform opener Prashanth Chopra,Vijay Soal,Wicket keeper batsman Smith patel, All rounder Baba Aparaajith,Bowlers Sandheep Sharma,Ravikanth Singh,Kamal Passi,Harmeet singh paid rich dividends.Their effors in one or the other game has helped the team to win.

It can be assured that many amongst these young stars will get in to the team in future.Consistant bowling and batting has enabled the team to emerge as the truimphant.Australians had been able to put up a decent target only because of the discoloured bowling department and the mediocre fielding.

The BCCI on Sunday announced a cash prize of Rs 20 lakh each for members of the Indian team which lifted its third Under-19 World Cup title.

Parliament today congratulated the under-19 Indian cricket team for winning the World Cup in Australia.

"The Indian Cricket Team achieved this incredible feat during the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup beating Australia in Townsville, Austr alia," Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said amid thumping of desks by members.

The 2nd chapter of the cup took 10 years since the first show of junior world cup in 1988 .Now the cup will be staged once in every 2 years. This was India's under-19 team’s third triumph after Mohammed Kaif and Virat Kohli led their teams to victory in the 2000 and 2008 editions respectively. Indians share the glory of winning the cup for the maximum number of times(3 times) with Australia .In 2000 the cup was brought home under the captaincy of Kaif and in 2008 under Kohli. There are emerging players who could fill the vacum left by Saurav,dravid and VVS.The draught in pace bowling will be filled up by the playeres from this team.Some of them will essentially come to the surface in the years to come.

Ganguly expressed confidence that the pool of young players would provide the base for the Indian cricket in the years to come."It is still early days. Indian cricket is always strong. But Under-19 is the base from which future generation players are developed. You see Virat Kohli, three or four years ago, he was the Under-19 captain who won the World Cup also.

"It is the base from which future players come in," he said, when asked how he saw the road ahead for the players who won the World Cup.

To get Lakshman out is a miracle.....

                    Lachu Bhai has retired from active Indian Cricket.Not waiting for the not-too-hard 2 test serious at home ,the man with the 'very very special' prefixed to his name , has hung his boot from the international cricket.The retirement has come out of blue ,from the man who has altered many a script on the crease due to his stubborn thirst for the win and a dogged perseverance to get lodged on the pitch when India needed it most.

                    Laxman stood tall on the ground. The spunky innings with elegant glances,soft -touch artistry laced with the clinical approach to each delivery shall be a nostalgic object of beauty and a joy for ever for those redolent of the glorious days of the ebullient quartet of Indian cricket. Many an innings went ,a one man show against ,be it England or the mighty Aussies.Enthralling as they were ,each unique in its way,as the austere Ricky Ponting has to lament “I hope his back is pretty sore for the next week as well and he can’t play” in October 2010. The fiendishly fast Brett Lee remembers Steve Waugh , “If you get Dravid, great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it’s a miracle.”

                     VVS Lakshman has carved out a space in the world cricket by himself.

                 Speculations are rife in Cricketing India that the maverick righthander has walked into sun set being anguished with the fulsome snubs of the BCCI and the selection committee in India. The governing committees of cricket in India has failed to let him know well in time that his induction in the team for the incoming series with the Kiwis was to pave way for his exit from the team. The message was served to him only after including him in the test series.Lakshman was pained by the slight and the injustice which prompted him to declare the innings even with out waiting to play in the home ground.

                    The written note in the valedictory press conference brimmed with emotions ,read out by the cricketer did not carry any inkling of a controversy. Although the backdrop of the events that led to his bow out is not fully made public ,speculations are rife that the seemingly obliterating fusillades from the ex-players ,in the couple of weeks proceeded , dented deep in his morale and doused his thirst to pad further. It was a known fact that senior players in the world famed quartet was under scanner ever since they came a cropper from the Australia and England tour.

The vitriol spewed relentlessly on the veteran players were sufficient to extinguish the fire in any player. Many of his fans believe that Laxman loved to retire on the apt time his inner voice dictated and that the compulsory retirement order would have hurt him deep.

                     "Maybe some negative comments in columns by former cricketers hurt him and it could be that the BCCI did not defend him which could have added to his hurt," said Board Secretary Sanjay Jagdale.

                  Kapil Devan in a syndicated column was abrasive and iniquitous in the commend that the veteran should have announced his retirement when Ganguly did. The former captain and the legend in himself must perhaps have forgotten that he also bluntly stuck on for two years despite being out-of-form simply because he wanted to surpass the record of 431 test wickets set by Sir Richard Hadley. It is a pity that such devastating polemics should have come from people like Kapil and Srikanth.

                      Chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who will lay down office in September also has thrown his hat in the ring.Ganguly says: “Srikkanth has a big problem in communicating. A player like Laxman would not train so hard just to keep himself fit for two Tests.”

                      Laxman sweated hard in the nets during the past 3 months for the big games ahead . When it rained at Hyderbad ,he flew to Bangalore for the practice. He was very arduous and engaged in tiring calisthenics to stay fit for a few more years. The harsh equipage for a couple of matches and that too against a depleted and low keyed opponent at home grounds would not explain itself.

                  ” If they (selectors) conveyed their opinion to Laxman earlier, this situation would not have surfaced. Why they stretched till August? Probably, the selectors' judgement has hurt him (Laxman) the most," Ganguly was quoted as saying.

                        Ganguly believes not with out sufficient grounds that the ,selectors have informed Lakshman that this could be his valedictory series after his inclusion in the team ,would have hurt him leading into a hasty announcement.

                        The BCCI, on its part, plays a poor-soul-role and wants to absolve itself."The BCCI President was aware of Laxman's decision to quit before the two-Test series. He took the decision after talking to the BCCI President," said Board Secretary Sanjay Jagdale.

                        This has not been the first time the selection committee is brushing shoulders with the senior players.Earlier the in-form Dravid was called back to play in ODI (at the time when he was an outcast in one day version of the game )when he was playing well against England in the tests. He was recalled only to be d served with the clue that they plan to extend a ceremonious opportunity to retire .VVS Lakshman was even not served with that poetic justice.

                        Lakshman steps down when retirement was not in his remotest dreams raising the philosophical question that should leaders quit for the youngsters. Or it raises a doubt that a berth in games is to be waited up till others retire or to be snatched by sweating it out.

                     The thoroughbred and pleasant-tongued man does not want to drop a brick and said that he listened to his metaphoric "inner voice" to come to the decision that it was time to bow out.

                          Dravid testifies that his performance on the field and personality off it were always of a high standard and has played many crucial knocks that helped India. Dhoni though was in incommunicado in the final hours before the announcement to the world of the retirement , paid rich tributes to the veteran batsman, saying that his absence would be felt by the entire team. “Will miss him whenever the team cuts cake, personally I will really miss u LACHU BHAI,” Dhoni tweeted.

                 VVS ,the legendary cricketer  leaves the crease visibly hurt.

A Very Very Special Salute....

O

One more stalwarts on the bow out.The classy VVS Lakshman ,the largely unsung mega star amidst contemporary superstars has called it a day.

The 37-year-old veteran batsman, the mainstay of India's most famed batting quartet that had the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in the roll ,has hung up his boots after a sprawling 16 years of international presence for the country.He was a champion batsman and one of the all-time- greatests of the game with abundant elegance and prowess.

"we were expecting him to play till Australia series. It was quite a surprise," a teary-eyed Sailaja his wife said at the press conference ."Definitely. Like other well wishers, we were expecting him to play till the Australian series. His aim was to beat Australia and England in the home series. " She added.

I announce my retirement from international cricket with immediate effect,” the champion batsman declared at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday. He bid adieu when he already had his berth secure in the squad for the Test series against low profiled and depleted New Zealand starting on August 23.

The hasty decision though he claims otherwise ,has come on close heels of the nasty fusillades from ex-players and some school marm newspaper reporters,that he is a stumbling block before youngsters wanting to make an entry in the game.

He is the second to be lined up in the same year to retire after Rahul Dravid."It was a tough decision to take, I have always listened to my inner conscience. The inner voice is a divine voice, I have always done that right through my career", the sober man announced before the crowd.

VVS Lakshman always kept away from controversies and the one-up

manship congenital in the game.In fact he kept himself ahead of it and his bat made all the talking .He played,enthused and rejoiced in the game as a manifestation of his love for the country and took pride in being part of the game ."I have always kept my country's success and needs ahead of my personal aspirations".He told the audience.

His test debut as International test cricketer was against South Africa at Ahmedabad in 1996 scoring 51 in the second innings as India won by 64 runs. He wore Indian cap in 134 Tests, garnered 8,781 runs at an average of 45.97,hammering 17 hundreds and 56 half-tons. He had his debut in ODI against Zimbabwe at Cuttack, in 1998 and though a truant has played 81 matches with a total of 2,338 runs with an average of 30.76 .He made six 100s with top s core at 131.He played 265 First-Class matches amassing 19,520 runs with an average of 51.5 which included 54 centuries top scoring at 353 runs.

His fielding prowess were mediocre and quiet often came under the radar of cricket pundits.Though not acrobatic and an acclaimed fielder he had a squeaky clean pair of safe hands that pouched on everything that came in ts way.He has 135 Test catches to his credit.

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BCCI president N. Srinivasan rightly says"If a cricketer’s greatness is to be measured in terms of his performances against the best opposition of his time, then Laxman stands right at the top. His record against Australia,the world’s no. 1 team for the better part of his career, speaks for itself."A batsman's mettle is seen when playing against formidable challenges under heavy odds.Against Australia ,he made 2434 runs at an average of 49.67. His indomitable form against the No1 Test teams like Australia ,put India on top in the world ranking of the test playing countries.He made his first test in 2000, when he made 167 against Australia in Sydney. Laxman also scored four of his six ODI tons against the Aussies, although he was casual in the shorter versions of the game. He took out best talents against the Aussies in 2000s, also scoring two hundreds in the 2003-04 series.

VVS excelled in his resilience to strike back under heavy duress to snatch away unforeseen victory from the opponents .At times he acted both as a crisis manager and a match winner. In March 2001, he made a stupendous 281 at Ethen Gardens,in Kolkota amidst the cry for the blood and put on 376 with Rahul Dravid to force an unexpected win against Australia, India having followed on. The Hindu writes "His 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens is a stuff of legends and that majestic knock has now become a part of cricketing folklore."

This fete was adjudged by Wisden as the sixth greatest Test match innings of all time.
Laxman’s 148 at Adelaide in 2003-04 series came at a crucial juncture and his partnership with Rahul Dravid kept India’s chances alive and the team finally won the Test series.

He glided India to an unimaginable triumph alone, on the wings of his unbeaten 73, sailing home with the No 10 and 11 batsmen at Mohali against Australia in October 2010. in an exemplary show of fortitude and sheer grit,he together with the tail ends showcased a remarkable innings to be indelibly imprinted in the annals of the cricketing history.Chasing 216, when India were 124 for eight, Laxman added 81 runs with Ishant Sharma and then battled for good 20 hearty-wrenching minutes with No.11 Pragyan Ojha to carry home the coveted Test match.

As with all geniuses ,he too was not without his shadowy times. Along with the great contemporaries he also had to take the brunt of the debacles in England and Australia which came in quick succession.

He was a' maverick in the mission 'and won accolades for his on drives with 'supple wrists' endowed and is renowned as a 'touch-artist' of the game.

The hasty decision though not aired aloud so reflects the relationship between the team and its captain .VVS feared that Dhoni was difficult to reach. As Ganguli has remarked;"A skipper should be available for all his players 24 Hours." Yes: we don 't Know "why Dhoni does that".

Perhaps a cricketing irony is that this man has not played the world cup in his long and arduous carrier spanned 16 years.To quote Hindu:"Probably, Laxman was destined to be the ‘George Best of world cricket’ — the finest cricketer of his generation never to have played a World Cup."

The artistic glance of the ball and the innocuous flick of the wrist may not be executed in such ease and elegance.The illustrious player has left back a void which might take long to be filled up.Sachin Tendulkar tweeted: 'When I walk out to play in Hyderabad I will feel a deep void. A void that can never be fulfilled."

The Goliath walks back to the pavilion to unpad ,unhurt, with great degree of satisfaction of having played for his country ,his full youth and potential placed at its alter ,in a very very special way.

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Cricket-the game of ones up on a time------

             The disciplinary committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headed by its president Narayanswamy Srinivasan, at its meeting  on Saturday came hard on to the heads of five domestic cricketers . Madhya Pradesh fast bowler T.P.S. Sudhindra was banned for life from playing in any form of domestic and international cricket.He was found guilty of receiving a consideration to spot-fix in a local domestic cricket match conferring on him the ignominy of being the third cricketer from India, after Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma in 2000, to suffer a life ban for bringing the game into disrepute .Uttar Pradesh fast bowler Salabh Srivastavais to face a ban for five years for agreeing to spot fix and negotiate terms for the same, even though no actual match-fixing or spot fixing took place. The duo will now be berefted of the monthly gratis, benevolent fund, benefit match or any other facility offered to the players by the BCCI.Three others Madhya Pradesh batsman Mohnish Mishra, Goa all-rounder Amit Yadav and Himachal Pradesh batsman Abhinav Bali were penalised for one year for "loose talk and unsubstantiated bragging” .

Sudhindra was caught by India TV during a sting operation conducted before IPL 2012, and the footage showed Sudhindra bowling a no-ball during a local league game in Indore as agreed ,while Srivastava was caught on tape claiming “ franchises lure players promising through underhand deals to pay more than the the stipulated cap of Rs.30 lakhs for an uncapped IPL player”. The fixing is designed by luring the second layer of players in the IPL.The IPL playars who have not represented India in international games are given 30 Lakh rupees .But by the end of the IPL they get as much as 1.5 crores through the spot fixing.The betting ,money laundering and the late night parties have made the in Indian cricket digging its own grave.

The flow of illegal gratifications and match fixing are nothing new to Indian cricket.Transparency is the word that the gods of the cricket management in India loathe to chew."Betting on cricket in the legal and illegal markets continues to grow rapidly and, with many, many millions of dollars being bet on every match, the threat of corrupters seeking to influence the game has not gone away," so goes an ICC spokesperson quoted as saying.

The clamour for bringing the accounting of assets of BCCI under the purview of RTI has not been recognised as yet.

Cricket in India got a spank on its face as the Sunday Times, London carried out a sting operation on a Delhi-based bookie identified as Vicky Seth who claimed the ICC World Cup 2011 semifinal between India and Pakistan at Mohali was rigged. The News paper had run Nupur's picture along with the report, stating that a Bollywood starlet had been used by bookies as a honeytrap to lure certain cricketers who played at Mohali.

Mr Vicky Seth was stated to be telling “county cricket "is a good market" as it involves "low-profile matches and nobody monitors them. That's why good money can be made there without any hassle." The newspaper's investigation has suggested that the bookmakers offer thousands of pounds to the players. About 44,000 pounds to batsmen for slow scoring, 50,000 pounds for bowlers who concede runs and 750,000 pounds for a player or official who can guarantee a match outcome.

--------- India had won the semifinal match in which the “number of catches dropped by the Pakistan team had become a talking point”.

Recently another controversy was broiling in the center stage that a central minister was getting himself engaged directly in the star auctions.

Cricket is not a religion now.It has now metamorphosed in to a corporate business venture.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer -- Three Pakistan players –faced the music for 'spot-fixing' in a 2010 Test match against England and  were imprisoned in Britain.The Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt was behind the bars for 30 months for his part in the conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls in the last year's Test match against England.Former world number two Test bowler Mohammad Asif, 28, was jailed for one year and bowler Mohammad Amir, 19, has been sentenced to six months.The judge, Mr Justice Cooke, said cricket matches would forever be tainted by the scandal.

"The image and integrity of what was once a game but is now a business is damaged in the eyes of all, including the many youngsters who regarded you as as heroes and would have given their eye teeth to play at the levels and with the skills that you had."

When IPL was ceremoniously brought in to the cricket firmament ,cricket has formed in to a gallery of profligate show of money by a slew of addons like TV rating,Advertisements,sponsorships and team auctions. The element of pastime has been completely awashed and in its place the economical concerns took the main theme.

IPL is run by mesmerizers in politics and business.Can cricket be resurrected by the BCCI? BCCI knew that there are bigger sharks involved in the shaddy match fixings . BCCI should equip itself to redeem the game,a game held so spiritedly by millions of Indians to their heart.The process should start by the BCCI by revamping the structure of the administration. Cricket should be taken away from the bastion of business .

God of Big Things

          Cricket,the mega sports of the time, lives in its plethora of records.Every turf where the event is staged ,by its unique gentility brings forth an action, which finds a birth in the stat-book.The protagonists and the spectators alike nurse the sublime romance with the record.
March 16 was such a day on which the subtle debates of all cricket lovers converged to one point- the great fete of mankind-the 100th ton of 'Ton'dulkar, the Indian maestro.The immortal tour- de- force shall repose on the petals of history unperturbed and unsurpassed.

The excruciating yet immensely stubborn wait for the elusive and the most arduous ton at hold for more than an year or so had a logic denouement.The glorious and majestic jog at the innocuous delivery behind the squire leg for a single of Al Hassan at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium has made him the God of great things in Cricket.

Sachin was greatly relieved- having surpassed a moment that was treacherously tantalising .He did not cover up his sigh and minced no words to declare"I have to admit that I was relieved.This is now out of the way,and I can start a new chapter." Sachin is a free man now.
Suchin raised to the vertiginous heights was not playing.In fact he was outstretching himself against the scrutiny and the auditing exercise of his country men on his runs.He could not be enjoying but star-crossed as he was going extra miles to propitiate the intimidating expectations of the nation.He was laboring strenuously under great duress.Although he would be quick to respond in the negative.So what lies ahead? He quips with a blatent rejection of any thought of retirement."It is about enjoyment, about feeling motivated, about the desire to deliver and how passionate I feel about the game. I am madly in love with cricket. At this stage, I enjoy every moment.”
Indian psyche is like that.The 99 hundreds that danced in their heart seemed no more tobe a thing of joy but insignificant and nugatory.The struggle and stretch in the making were a nickel and dime job for the millions.This is the paradigm of the subcontinental psyche wherein we ignore the obvious.After a vociferous celebration of the century made in the last evening by a class batsman in the middle ,they rise up in the next morning with a scoreboard zero ,rapacious and clamouring for another ton from him,visibly unsatiated like an account keeper who straightens his accounts in the grocery shop.
Cricket is the glorious game of individual statistics.None cares whether India won the game or not.Every eye is fixed in the individual score.Whether India is thrown out of Asia cup after getting slighted and drubbed at the hands of a poor shot like Bangladesh ,is not a thing of great concern.But when Sachin tendulkar made it 100,Indians breathed the sigh of relief.
For the cricket bigots cricket is not a game but is the narcissistic indulgence in the ecstasy of statistics of their demi-Gods. Kanhai's falling speed shots,Viswanadh's enchanting squire drives,Kalicharan's half-cocked defense,VVS Laxmans unorthodox yet heart boggling obduracy to stay on the middle are not a thing of beauty.This sport is perhaps the only discipline in which a lay spectator's view sounds reliable far better than a skewed expert opinion.
Why do that happen?
“As modern sport has become global in scope it has largely lost its playful character and its professional practice has become both a global media spectacle and a serious and financially significant global business,” concludes sociologist Barry Stuart.
Sport’s tenets are no longer confined to the contours of entertainment, but vastly encompass trade, business and politics. Talent, speed and innovation are trans nationally accepted in sports as in business too. The cultural heritages whether books, food or sports – are stealthily appropriated from the real owners and effectively trans-marketed over television or the Internet. Barry Stuart writes “low common denominators, a cheap entrance ticket and immediate gratification are factors facilitating global dissemination.
The globalization of cricket though admittedly remains a chimera ,yet to consummately conquer the developed countries, has followed a non - familiar pattern of dispersion in its global coarse.The non-Western countries especially the former British colonies have begun to dominate and have taken control of the economics and politics of the game by the concentrations of the trinity -wealth, media, and marketing.Cricket has been so blatantly “Indianized”.The 20-Twenty TV friendly format of the game carved out by IPL has accentuated the popularity and added to it a sobriquet "the mass TV sport" ,completely renovating the way how it is organized, played, and watched all over the world.
The growth of The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has been phenomenal.In 1983 when Kapils Devils snatched the World Cup , BCCI could not afford to host a good feast for the victorious warriors because it was really stifled with cash and had only Rs 2,00,000 in its coffers.BCCI is a club,originally registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act,is now patronaged and run by industrialists and politicians. India's agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar, is the present president. BCCI, flush and froth with money,dominates the world cricket and calls the shots in international cricket. As per Forbes magazine the BCCI was worth $1.5 billion, Wales Cricket Board $270 million and Cricket Australia $225 million. The ICC was pegged much lower at $200 million. The others were Pakistan ($100 million), South Africa ($65 million), Sri Lanka ($14 million) and Bangladesh ($5 million). "
There are 10 full members of ICC, but in terms of revenue India contributes more than 70% to the game.The magazine wrote: "Most sponsorships and broadcast rights come from India, and Indian tours make foreign boards rich."
The BCCI has made dazzling money in the process. It collected $612 million from Nimbus Communications for the global media rights to all international and domestic cricket owned or controlled by BCCI to be played in India from 1 March 2006 to 31 March 2010. Later it sold its global media rights for one-day internationals (ODIs) at neutral venues (places like Abu Dhabi, Holland, the U.S. and Malaysia, where cricket is not very popular) to Zee Telefilms for $220 million. This contract runs up to March 31, 2010. The BCCI has also sold the kit sponsorship to Nike for $45 million for five years through December 31, 2010. The team sponsorship has gone to Air Sahara for $72 million. The board's income has crossed $1 billion. New Delhi-headquartered financial daily Business Standard estimates that it will get another $450 million from the sale of other rights, including hotel, travel and ground sponsorship.

          Yet one more hype to the Indian neo-liberal policies started in the 90's.According to reports, New South Wales and Victoria in Australia have already sold shares to Indian corporations for around 60 million dollars.
How did this dramatic transformation come about?
Cricket is largely an obsession of the sanctimonious middle-class and for the corporates,the middle-class is the thriving market. It is only a logical extension that cricketers should eventually transform in to the brand ambassadors of their products.The Indians are television addicts and the Indian corporates revel in spending a lot of money on advertising and are shrued enough to understand that Cricket is the best PR option for them.The visual Media has always been self assured about its prowess to opiate the Indian masses. Now separate TV channels are being dedicated to Cricket. It is said that 85% of the sponsorship dollars for the 2003 World Cup came from Indian businesses.
Reddiff.com quotes cricket journalist Robert Craddock "India is the home not just of the sacred cow, but the cash cow as well.The secret for other nations is to learn how to milk the cow, not to run scared into the next paddock when they hear a stray 'moo',"
Private money was ushered in to cricket through IPL and there had been a flood of money into the coffers of BCCI while other countries simply forwarded their players.
"It's a moment as big, if not bigger, than the Kerry Packer moment when his role resulted in one-day international cricket taking off and basically funding the development of Australian and world cricket for 25 or so years," Fox Sports quoted Peter Young, CA spokesman, as saying.
Money flowed into Indian cricketin a big way. For instance, ESPN Star Sports has won the audiovisual rights for ICC events from late 2007 to 2015 for $1.1 billion. This includes two World Cups -- Asia (2011) and Australasia (2015). There is more money coming ICC's way. Sale of sponsorship rights could fetch another $500 million. Companies like LG Electronics, Pepsi and Hero Honda, which have been sponsors for the past few years, may, however, take a second look after India's poor performance at this year's World Cup.
The Indian parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance has asked the Indian tax department and the Reserve Bank of India to investigate the finances of the Board for Cricket Control in India, the game’s governing body, and the IPL.A report by the committee submitted to parliament laments,the game is “embroiled in transgressions off the field”.
The Mumbai-based Board of Control for Cricket in India as alleged has been running the team highly paid like a "Bollywood production house."The pay checkIndia" calculation says that Sachin Tendulkar, India's veteran cricket player, earns some $30 a minute. India's highest-paid CEO, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, gets $10, and  superstar Amitabh Bachchan, $8. Ordinary people like Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh get 3 cents and 1 cent respectively. These figures claimed to base on an Internet-based labor market research tool.Even if it sounds hypothetical, it goes without saying that India's cricket stars are dearly paid which makes one safely assume that Cricket in India is a booming business.
Neither cricket nor the players are the mischiefs.It is all in the dramatic shift that happened in the last two decades to the game.Cricket is a product driven by the dynamics of the rules and tantrums of the market.Globalisation has its spectre on this game too. Market forces dictate the rules and the game meekly submit to its pressure.
When the sport is shifted to the level of modern merchandise and the people in the game becoming the commodities ,more and more professionalism should rule the roost.When a star is branded for Rupees 100 crores for 10 years,he is not playing but exerting himself day and night to remain as a stake holder.The exuberance and the playful charrector,the central theme of the art, in the sport is denuded from the legatee and he remains a bunch of crap of the machinations of the outer world,however manfully he strives to defend.He distances from the finer things in that art.The players destiny is tuned in to the whims of the spectators.
Of course the nationalistic tint to the game is the prelude to this foray of finance in to the game which deserves to be examined sepearately and exclusively.The result the basic tenant of the sports-tobe playful- is driven out to the dark corridors of oblivion.
There is no room in a house for kisses with slammed doors and deplummed dreams.
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....saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. I know I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...his compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel! .......Sir Bradman on Thendulkar.

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The one and only one Rahul

Rahul Dravid who fortified the frontiers of Indian Cricket for the last 16 years has finally called it a day.The cricket legend ,the most successful No. 3 willow announced his retirement from his international career on Thursday .

A gentleman to the core-a consummate gentility in the gentle mans game-a savant in all the editions of the game-one who vowed the game before self -the embodiment of patience ,perseverance and determination-a soft-spoken and passionate towards team mates - a man who wielded respect even in the opposition camps -the epithets are unending. The vacuum his absence creates is not facile to fill.

“His biggest assets,”Rahul's father reminded, “were concentration and commitment. Till today, his commitment has been the same. That’s why he has come so far.”

Sadly his retirement from international and first-class cricket on Friday comes on the backdrop of a disenchanting and a dratted Australian tour in which he was straight bowled six times in eight innings of the four Tests, with just one half-century in Melbourne, an irony of fate when contrasted to the five centuries in 10 Tests in the second half of 2011.

Times Of India wrote "In cricket, it is said a player is only as good as his last innings, and so much the pity that Dravid couldn't finish his career on a high, though the tour of Australia in no way diminishes his stature as one of the modern greats."

Rahul took success and failure with courage and equanimity.He saw glimpses of success in every failure.

"I didn't make this decision based on one series (in Australia). It's a combination of a lot of other things. I needed to be sure I was playing the game for the right reasons. "Dravid proclaims in his farewell speech.

He together with Sachin and Laxman collectively called as the triumvirate has scripted many a unparalleled triumphs to Indian cricket at home and at oversees. Dravid was the embodiment of romantic cricket in India and one of the insatiable and most prolific run getter on all verities of the turf-fast and bouncy pitches, slow and turning tracks and against spin as well.

"The world's most respected cricketer over the last 20 yrs," Vaughan wrote.

"Rahul Dravid-legend!! Plain & simple," said Pietersen. "India will miss The Wall."

Cricket is the test target on partnerships.The maverick has put on record 88 century partnerships.He amassed 8920 runs spanning through 219 innings along with Sachin Thendulkar.

Dravid quit one day cricket last year to concentrate more on his more-friendly test edition.

Truly he was a legend.

Dravid rose above his constraints with sheer toil and perfected the batting techniques and remained central to the espirit-de-corps in the team which alone has shored it from disasters.The man fondly christened as" the wall" has more than 10,000 runs each in both the classic formats of the game.

A natural choice and the toast of test cricket he finishes as the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket- his first love , next only to his compatriot Sachin.

His one-day tally stood at 10,889 runs from 344 matches at an average of 39.16 with 12 centuries while he was chaffed with incompetence to the one day patterns.

He captained India to winning streaks in the West Indies and England to end the years of long droughts, and played decisive role in some of Indian cricket's most famous overseas victories.

Rahul Dravid made his debut century in a foreign soil-Johanasburg in South Africa with 148 runs.There after 35 more centuries flowed from his bat.In the recent English tour when the Indian players went in droves to the pavilion with drooped heads in quick succession ,Dravid stood in the middle unfazed with head raised majestically to make 3 centuries in 4 tests -a feet which is hard to forget.

Dravid's runs were indispensable in many Indian victories abroad.He made 1577 victory runs in his 5131 made at overseas. He was man of the match 11 times in foreign soil ,5 of them contributed in the winning spree.

The carrier graph of Dravid saw crusts and troughs.He scored at an average of 40 runs in the first 7 of the 10 test series. It contained 9 centuries and 24 half centuries.Of the 16 tests series played between 2002-2006 he made an average of 49 runs in 13 series.It includes 9 series in which the average was more than 75 runs.He made 14 centuries and 22 half centuries during the period.This was the period when India showed to the world that the Indians can win outside the peninsula.Dravids batting strength was critical in these tests.

In cricket getting runs is every thing.It is the only sign that you are there. 2006 to 2008 were the years when skids were put under his wheels. Clamours were raised for the blood of this monolith.Bile's and brickbats came in as pandemic from past big-shots in the game.When the smear campaign peaked ,In a rare show of resilience ,without bothering to detraction he lumped together 10 centuries and 10 half centuries in the year that followed to shut the mouths of the critiques.

"When you play international sport, you have to learn to deal with praise and criticism which are two sides of the same coin. For me, it was about doing my best at all times," Dravid said on Friday.

Dravid was the first batsman to score a century in all test-playing countries, the first batsman to score 10,000 runs at No. 3, the batsman to face the most deliveries in Test cricket. He batted 173 consecutive innings in international cricket (Tests and ODIs) without a duck between 2000 and 2004 .

"I believe Rahul should have retired after the England series and not wait for the Australian tour. In any case this is a right decision and I saw it coming," Ganguly told reporters at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium on Friday. Asked to pick a favourite Dravid inning, Ganguly said, "180 at Calcutta against Australia tops my list. 148 at Headingly was also good but the situation in Calcutta was far more difficult."

As for Dravids father,his prodigies debut at Lord’s in 1996 was his proudest moment.He said “He might have played many great knocks but that was the most memorable moment. Though he missed a century by just five runs, his Lord’s debut was the best thing to have happened…”

The vacuum he leaves is up for somebody to fill and we have no dearth of talents of his pedigree.

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He brings a serenity to the crease that is so good for the nerves in the dressing-room. He also helps ease the tension away by the way he plays. He then proceeds to make the fastest of bowlers look easy to bat against. His economy of movement and the preciseness of his footwork gets him into position quickly, and so, the bowlers look quite clueless. The fastest of deliveries is played as if it's done every day and with minimum fuss.
Sunil Gavaskar

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India pray for the speedy recovery of the Cricketing Genius

           Cricket fans in India are yet to come out from the trauma of the ignominious treatment they received at the hands of Australians.A shocking message awaits them.It is disheartening. Yuvaraj Singh a young genius and an ebullient warrior of the willows is diagnosed for a rare cancer.Yuvaraj has been hospitalised in Brisbane ,USA and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

           Yuvi as he is fondly called has been diagnosed with extragonadal seminoma,in medicalspeach a rare tumor in the region (mediastinum)between the pleural sac,containing the heart and all of the thoracic viscera except the lungs.Organ located in the mediastinum include the heart,the aorta,the thymus gland,the chest portion of the trachea,the esophagus,lymph nodes and other nerves.Seminoma is a malignant tumor of the testis arising from sperms-forming tissues as the medical dictionary says.But in Yuvis case it is Extragonadal which would mean a location other than reproductive organs.

Dr Nikesh Rohthagi an oncologist with Max health care Saket who is heading the Indian team of Doctors attending Yuvaraj has been cited, to the great sigh of Indian cricket, as claiming that it is curable.Chemotherapy is the best treatment in such cancers.

It is a great consolation that YuvarajSingh was hospitalised at the early stage(stage1). Patients with that kind of disease are quiet often brought to the hospital at the final stage (stage 1v)and do walk out totally cured.
Times Now quotes Yuvraj's father Yograj Singh:" doctors in Boston have assured the cricketer of a full recovery that will leave him stronger."

          People from all walks of life were shuddered by the news and are praying for his speedy recovery.

"Shocked to learn of Yuvraj Singh down with cancer..Yuvraj if you read this, know that we all pray for you..All shall and will be well," Amitabh wrote on his Twitter page.

Amidst the deep concerns of the Indians on the health of their dear Yuvi , war of words is getting waged in the dressing room. India TV lets out that The Delhi Medical Council PRO Anil Bansal has claimed that the physio of Yuvi had obtained a fake degree and his credibility is questionable.The physio promptly straight batted that he has all the certificates with him.

At Pathways School ,the young cricketing buds at the Yuvaraj center of Excellence ,a cricketing academy raised by Yuvaraj have missed their mentor and wished him a speedy recovery.Though Yuvraj could train the boys only for a week since the academy opened in November,they missed their guide and the motivator.

          “I am missing those days when he was here to guide us. We are praying for his quick recovery as he has to prepare many more Yuvrajs,” Aryan Gupta, a member of the academy has been quoted as saying.

Yuvraj Singh is considered one of the best Indian youngster batsman to face the fast and tricky balls from the classes of Brettly,Macgrath and the like.Yuvraj singh a southpaw batsman and a ripping left-arm spinner is far more aggressive and demolishing against pace battery .He is also greatly athletic in the outfields . His excellent fielding skills and rapacity for the runs and exuberant catches are showcased in the Australian tours.

He has got all the shots in the book for cine girls too.

His physiotherapist Jatin Choudhary told a television news channel: "Once he is done with chemo in March, his rehabilitation would be complete by April end and he would be perfectly fit to play in May,"

Half of the battle against cancer is fought in the patients' mind. Avers Harmala of the 'CanSupport': "One has to believe in the possibility of recovery." And much to her dismay' she found patients were totally unaware of basic facts about the disease - many thought it was totally incurable and contagious. "I realised that a patient' more than anything else' needs support'" she says.

Yuvraj, known as a penchant hard cricketer wrote on Twitter.

"Reading Lance Armstrong's book it's not about the bike! I'm sure it will motivate me and pull me throu this time! Livestrong yuvstrong!"

He is inspired from Lance Armstrong, the cyclist who had manfully fought with the testicular cancer and had won numerous Tour de France titles.

He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 (ODIs) and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice-captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008. At the 2007 World Twenty20 he hit six sixes in an over against England's Stuart Broad,a marvellous feat performed only three times previously in any form of senior cricket, and previously never in an international match between two Test cricket nations. He was named the Man of the Tournament in the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

He has not played competitive cricket since November and missed India's current tour of Australia. Yuvraj is not playing in the triangular one-day series in Australia and also will not be available for the Twenty20 Indian Premier League ( IPL) scheduled in April.

Yuvraj, who is a prolific Indian run getter has so far scored 8,051 runs in 274 matches with 13 centuries.
He has also made 1,775 runs in 37 Tests since making his international debut in 2000.

As with Bachen ,the country rise to invoke you:
Yuvraj, get up in the morning and say it out loud - " Everyday in every way I am getting better and better !! " You will !! The nation prays for your speedy recovery and wants you back in the battle field of cricket.

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Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer and physician at Columbia University Medical Center, New York.Spoke to Sheela Reddy for outlookIndia.Read the link.

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