Imagine this...you are standing and doing a live link outside the team hotel and at that very moment a reporter of some other channel manages to convince an Indian cricketer to do an interview. No option but to wear earplugs...there will be calls from office as soon as that interview airs.
All this happened at the team hotel ahead of the team's departure for Pakistan (it wasn't me that got yelled at though). The day started with Rahul Dravid's press conference...all the usual sound bytes...plus a few realistic comments from Greg Chappell. And then the parting shot from the Wall. "I can't motivate people at this level...if 2 or 3 players are not motivated then they can bring down the energy levels in the team".Hmm.. A bouncer at the rib cage there from an occasional off break bowler. And it takes no points for guessing that the comments were aimed at a certain gentleman from Behala in Kolkata who Dravid once said was next to God. God one day..batting allrounder some day...pls give me a break. If you want to dump him go ahead...but do it gracefully. Selector's..Ever heard of Steve Waugh?
I loved the sight on Kiran More's face when he had to announce Ganguly's name in the team for Pak. Must have been More difficult than facing a fired up Craig McDermott in Australia in 1991-92.Ganguly has since then hit a smashing 88 vs Tamil Nadu ..drop me if you can !
Its been hard on Sourav; picked for the team after a national protest...then ticked off by More for not turning up in a Ranji game..its been difficult times...and to be fair to him he has kept a dignified silence...one wonders what would have happened if he had kept quiet in Zimbabwe. Then there would have been no emails...no drama...what the hell...what would all the cricket journalists have done then.
But this is the charm of Indian cricket.Something will be there to keep the adrenaline pumping...if there was drama off the field,it was dhamaka on the field. And a certain
Mr Dhoni will be the person to watch out for in Pakistan. All those who called him a slogger without brains will be eating their words after his sensible batting versus
Sri Lanka.He idolizes Adam Gilchrist and on this tour if he even gets to 50 percent of Gilchrist at his peak...boy as Rajdeep says..I'm not moving from in front of the tv set..ill have to think of some excuses to bunk office from now on . And for all who say its Sachin vs Shoiab..I say Dhoni vs Shoiab will be better...think of it..Shoiab running in full steam and hurling the ball...and Dhoni plonking his front foot outside off stump and smashing him over extra cover.I still remember Sachin's outrageous six off Shoiab in that 2003 World cup match.
And then the other new battle.. Yuvraj vs Danish Kaneria. Danish was Pakistan's stock bowler when they toured India in 2005 but Yuvraj has shown that on his day he too can handle the spinners.He got his first ton in Pakistan in 2004..on a green top at Lahore against a rampaging Umar Gul ..so he can handle the pressure.
And then the usual suspects...Sachin ,Laxman,Kumble...all proven customers and led by Mr Cool Dravid.....it looks good.And when you think that Harbhajan Singh is licking his lips waiting for a first time bowl in Pakistan..you will term the Indians the favourites.But then the weakest links..quite a few actually..the openers..Sehwag..Jaffer..Gambhir..two out of form and one who hasn't played for India in the last 2 years. Shaky..but you can't say with Sehwag..one big knock...and ..........
Irfan Pathan is the only trump card among the pace bowlers..his first test century too seems inevitable. RP Singh is raw and Ajit Agarkar is still India's most promising veteran; brilliant one day..pathetic the other.A fit and mean Zaheer Khan is the underdog. Some say he's on Chappell's hit list ..after spending time out of the team..Zak has a point to prove.And finally somewhere in this list Parthiv Patel..first keeper last time around..reserve keeper this time...any bets if he will get to play a game...
But despite this big team...Pakistan hold the aces.They used to be mercurial..but now Bob Woolmer has instilled some discipline in them. Thankfully Inzamam has been at the helm for more than 2 years now and he's in great formDon't forget the support cast; Mohammed Yousuf or Yousuf Youhana..a class act .And the under rated Younis Khan..he smashed the Indian bowlers all over the park in 2005. Plus Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Shoib Malik, Asim Kamal and Hasan Raza.One has to take Kamran Akmal's name separately ..the short guy is dynamite.And then the cavalry..a disciplined and mean Shoiab Akhtar...the accurate Rana Naved , the steady Mohammed Sami..and finally the support cast..Umar Gul and Yasir Arafat.
What a lineup... the thrashing of England makes Pakistan the favourites in my book. Now don't get me wrong..both teams are evenly matched..but Pakistan are hot at the moment. Chappell says his top order hasn't performed up to expectations and that's the clincher...Pathan and Yuvraj cant bail out India every time.
Don't ged mad..send your responses ..The results can wait..so here's a tip..think of the best excuses..pay your cable bill and sit in front of the TV sets from the 13th of Jan.There's not much hype..so one can sit back and focus only on the cricket.
About the AuthorDigvijay Singh Deo Digvijay Singh Deo is Associate Editor, Sports, CNN-IBN. A Liverpool fan to the core, Digvijay is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communica...Read Morefirst published:January 06, 2006, 20:56 ISTlast updated:January 06, 2006, 20:56 IST
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Yalgaar...not the forgettable Feroze Khan movie of the 90's but a phrase made popular by a reality TV show on air these days. And Yalgaar it definitely will be as the Indian cricket team gears up to take on Pakistan in their third series in 2 years. PCB Chief Shahyryar Khan says there should be a Indo Pak series every 2 years...I definitely agree with him...As a reporter its one hell of a job to cover the Indian cricket team...it is high profile but the risks of missing a story and getting a yelling from assignment are huge.
Imagine this...you are standing and doing a live link outside the team hotel and at that very moment a reporter of some other channel manages to convince an Indian cricketer to do an interview. No option but to wear earplugs...there will be calls from office as soon as that interview airs.
All this happened at the team hotel ahead of the team's departure for Pakistan (it wasn't me that got yelled at though). The day started with Rahul Dravid's press conference...all the usual sound bytes...plus a few realistic comments from Greg Chappell. And then the parting shot from the Wall. "I can't motivate people at this level...if 2 or 3 players are not motivated then they can bring down the energy levels in the team".Hmm.. A bouncer at the rib cage there from an occasional off break bowler. And it takes no points for guessing that the comments were aimed at a certain gentleman from Behala in Kolkata who Dravid once said was next to God. God one day..batting allrounder some day...pls give me a break. If you want to dump him go ahead...but do it gracefully. Selector's..Ever heard of Steve Waugh?
I loved the sight on Kiran More's face when he had to announce Ganguly's name in the team for Pak. Must have been More difficult than facing a fired up Craig McDermott in Australia in 1991-92.Ganguly has since then hit a smashing 88 vs Tamil Nadu ..drop me if you can !
Its been hard on Sourav; picked for the team after a national protest...then ticked off by More for not turning up in a Ranji game..its been difficult times...and to be fair to him he has kept a dignified silence...one wonders what would have happened if he had kept quiet in Zimbabwe. Then there would have been no emails...no drama...what the hell...what would all the cricket journalists have done then.
But this is the charm of Indian cricket.Something will be there to keep the adrenaline pumping...if there was drama off the field,it was dhamaka on the field. And a certain
Mr Dhoni will be the person to watch out for in Pakistan. All those who called him a slogger without brains will be eating their words after his sensible batting versus
Sri Lanka.He idolizes Adam Gilchrist and on this tour if he even gets to 50 percent of Gilchrist at his peak...boy as Rajdeep says..I'm not moving from in front of the tv set..ill have to think of some excuses to bunk office from now on . And for all who say its Sachin vs Shoiab..I say Dhoni vs Shoiab will be better...think of it..Shoiab running in full steam and hurling the ball...and Dhoni plonking his front foot outside off stump and smashing him over extra cover.I still remember Sachin's outrageous six off Shoiab in that 2003 World cup match.
And then the other new battle.. Yuvraj vs Danish Kaneria. Danish was Pakistan's stock bowler when they toured India in 2005 but Yuvraj has shown that on his day he too can handle the spinners.He got his first ton in Pakistan in 2004..on a green top at Lahore against a rampaging Umar Gul ..so he can handle the pressure.
And then the usual suspects...Sachin ,Laxman,Kumble...all proven customers and led by Mr Cool Dravid.....it looks good.And when you think that Harbhajan Singh is licking his lips waiting for a first time bowl in Pakistan..you will term the Indians the favourites.But then the weakest links..quite a few actually..the openers..Sehwag..Jaffer..Gambhir..two out of form and one who hasn't played for India in the last 2 years. Shaky..but you can't say with Sehwag..one big knock...and ..........
Irfan Pathan is the only trump card among the pace bowlers..his first test century too seems inevitable. RP Singh is raw and Ajit Agarkar is still India's most promising veteran; brilliant one day..pathetic the other.A fit and mean Zaheer Khan is the underdog. Some say he's on Chappell's hit list ..after spending time out of the team..Zak has a point to prove.And finally somewhere in this list Parthiv Patel..first keeper last time around..reserve keeper this time...any bets if he will get to play a game...
But despite this big team...Pakistan hold the aces.They used to be mercurial..but now Bob Woolmer has instilled some discipline in them. Thankfully Inzamam has been at the helm for more than 2 years now and he's in great formDon't forget the support cast; Mohammed Yousuf or Yousuf Youhana..a class act .And the under rated Younis Khan..he smashed the Indian bowlers all over the park in 2005. Plus Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Shoib Malik, Asim Kamal and Hasan Raza.One has to take Kamran Akmal's name separately ..the short guy is dynamite.And then the cavalry..a disciplined and mean Shoiab Akhtar...the accurate Rana Naved , the steady Mohammed Sami..and finally the support cast..Umar Gul and Yasir Arafat.
What a lineup... the thrashing of England makes Pakistan the favourites in my book. Now don't get me wrong..both teams are evenly matched..but Pakistan are hot at the moment. Chappell says his top order hasn't performed up to expectations and that's the clincher...Pathan and Yuvraj cant bail out India every time.
Don't ged mad..send your responses ..The results can wait..so here's a tip..think of the best excuses..pay your cable bill and sit in front of the TV sets from the 13th of Jan.There's not much hype..so one can sit back and focus only on the cricket.
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