India’s loss to Sri Lanka-The right perspective

After all the hype ..at last things have come back to normal( if I can use the word because no Indian defeat can be termed normal..!).. but sooner we start viewing things in the right perspective .. the better..

1. First and foremost ,let us stop blaming the coach entirely for the defeat because one must remember,cricket is played by 11 players on the field and not the coach… we have players with more than 10000 runs,over 300 wickets.. and can a coach be blamed if they dont perform?? Is it not sheer foolishness that we expect a coach to take the blame if they cant force runs of straight deliveries(ganguly),attempt a steer to point of a world class spinner when he has a slip in place(sehwag), getting dismissed by a routine inswinger on target(sachin),attempting to stem the flow of runs instead of going for the kill when you have the opposition at 94/3 in 25 overs( harbajan)

2. Let us first realise that the WORLD CUP is not the end of it all. It is but another event in the cricketing calendar..!

3.Let us stop stupid acts such as vandalising player’s homes,holding demonstrations against them..For those who are not aware .. The Indian Cricketers are not public servants but are contracted by the BCCI which is a PRIVATE BODY and hence the players can not be held accountable..Pray SIR/MADAM.. did any of the players ask us to shun our activites and sit glued in front of the television and watch them..?? and of course RAHUL’s wife will not give her dinner preparations a skip if TEAM INDIA is playing nor will SACHIN’S kids ignore their homework.. then why should we..???

4.Cricket is a glorious unifying factor in India and there in lies its greatest strength and weakness..The biggest problem is that in countries like Australia and South Africa, the country men have a host of sporting events to look forward to but sadly in India,we have nothing but cricket…!

5.Dont single out players as targets because we have to keep in mind that BCCI is a private organisation that “selects” its players.. We did not go for public voting to choose our cricket team..! and even when we vote as in general election.. do we hold the elected representative by the scruff of his neck when things are going wrong?? If that is the case, what reason have we got to be ANGRY with a DHONI or a SEHWAG if India loses??

6. Commercialisation of the game has spoilt it..In case of those who want to blame the players for appearing in adverstisements,direct your accusations at the BCCI for being money minded..A CRIKETER’S career is unpredictable and could be cruelly short..there are a lot of factors-loss of form ,bad luck,injury concerns.. so is it not logical to make hay while the sun shines?? And how many of us are regular in paying out taxes?? Dont we always look for shortcuts??!!!

7.So what do we do now?? Simple.. Stop blaming and start working..!

8.We need to keep sentiments aside and be prepared to say good bye to some of the old legs in the team..The one glaring thing about this team is that it lacks freshness that all other teams pocess…We looked jaded..Either we need to have exuberant youth (as in Sri Lanka and the Windies) or seasoned professionals who are supremely fit(as in Australia),we have neither

9.In all probabilities,Greg Chappell would go..And it is time we had an Indian who could talk the “players language” at the helm..Greg’s services could still be utilised at the academy level( for his professionalism).. because the “process” has just not worked..look at Sri lanka in 2005( we thrashed them ) and how well they have come back now..that is real progress.!Better to have someone who played cricket in recent times and can be one among the players instead of being a preacher.. Even if we have another foreign coach.. he will still be abused by the seniors.. because not many would like to be told to play straight and stop bowling wides after 10000 runs and 300 wickets.. Imagine this, even after the end of professional engineering course, how would it be if someone keeps repeating basics like asking us to shut down a system properly after use .. day in and day out?Not many would take it the same way.. ( but we stil wont follow the instructions..! do we??!

10.Rahul has been an exceptional player and a selfless cricketer..He has been an astute thinker but sadly he has not been a motivating leader..The passion is missing..

11.So who next ?? I am sure my next few lines would raise a few eyebrows.. I think it is time to pass on the mantle to SACHIN TENDULKAR..I say this not for the single reason that I am his ardent fan.. A few might argue that he has already been a failure once but the team that was handed to him in previous years would struggle to beat even a county side.. We need a leader who can hold his own in both the test matches and one dayers ( That leaves us with very few choices) , leader who can give the team a feeling of stability(That rules out Saurav), A leader whom the youngsters can look up to as their role model..He should be handed over the team and then the seamless process of gradual transition must begin..We need to groom a team under him and a leader under him( Yuvraj or Dhoni( even Kaif if he can find back his touch)..After a year or so, it would be time for him to hang up his boots and for the next generation to take over..

12. Finally no need to feel aweful about the loss to Sri Lanka because we definitely lost to a better performing team..It was a joy watching them in action..

13.For those rational ones who have had enough, switch off the television sets and get back to normal life..For those eternal hopefuls who cant bear a world cup second stage without India ,cross your fingers and pray that bermuda should defeat bangladesh..Finally for the genuine cricket lovers(Yours Truly included) come along and cheer for either the West indies( for their charisma) or the SRI LANKANS( for their flair) …We have had enough efficient abusive cricket from the hot-headed Australians,one dimensional South Africans and cocky New Zealanders and it is high time an asian team like SRI LANKA handed them a defeat.. Cheers WINDIES and SRI LANKA..!! (COME ON.. Even Sri Lanka wears blue.. so we can still be THE BLUE BILLION..!)