Crazy Cuttack kiya Re
The man who is credited with the historic byline of calling the Indian cricket selectors (very rightfully, in my opinion) a "bunch of jokers" yesterday accredited himself with another famous distinction. Mohinder Amarnath, former Indian batting hero, became the first intrepid ex-cricketer to publicly demand the Little Master Sachin Tendulkar’s curly-haired head if the faltering icon failed to deliver. Besides questioning Tendulkar’s credentials to be in the team itself, Amarnath made a scathing, sardonic dig at Tendulkar’s new found propensity to perpetually pretend that some extraneous extraordinary factor....
Posted by Sanjay Jha at | 83 comments
The silent Prince
As Nagpur steamrolled itself into frenzied merry-making and India went into jubilant celebrations yesterday after a sensational 14 runs victory against the West Indies , I was reminded of a post-lunch session of a cricket match being played at the CCI, Bombay just over a year ago. The initial hullabaloo over his dramatic sacking had died down, and Sourav Ganguly was completely aware that his acid test for survival was just beginning. India under it’s new dispensation could do no wrong, as they remorselessly thrashed all opposition into....
Posted by Sanjay Jha at | 144 comments
The Tendulkar mystery
“I offered him the vice-captaincy,” Chairman of Selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar has been quoted as saying. So was it a unilateral decision taken by the Big Boss to offer the coveted deputy’s position to India’s ageing veteran, who is currently confronting both dwindling form and declining physical health, or were the other noble-men consulted or even informed about the far-reaching, weighty decision? Given the usually bizarre, frequently confounded and rarely transparent way the BCCI works, your guess is as good as mine. Frankly, Sachin Tendulkar’s sudden turnaround decision to....
Posted by Sanjay Jha at | 219 comments
Of Rahul and Sourav
One thing is apparent (I am sure by now all avid regular followers of cricket have guessed as well) that just by being an ex-cricketer, or possessing rapid-speaking skills coupled with bland humor and writing pretentious columns, or traveling 24x7x365 days with the cricket team and being branded as the wise men in the TV commentators’ box does not make them any more blessed with either cricketing intelligence , insightful analysis or dispassionate , neutral observers of the game, above petty politics and puerile dressing room intrigue. Sad indeed! ....
Posted by Sanjay Jha at | 229 comments
