Transition of Gentleman’s game to  the Crick[ex] (The X-Factor) level.

There are many cricketers(read sportspersons) who deserve a space in this post but this one is solely for Anil Kumble aka Jumbo. He has been with the Indian cricket team for more than 16 years, without actually getting the due recognition. So many times he has been kept out, bashed by the commentators, selectors, followers but he is still going strong. He has been criticized by being termed as a spinner who could not turn the ball. Furthermore, there are talks about his poor foreign record.But to me Kumble will always be ahead of his peers not just because I feel he has taken more wickets or he is in some way better than them but simply because even with this limited capability, he has extracted the maximum out of it. It does not matter if he spins the ball or not…trust me when conditions are favorable; he is even more deadly than the legendary Warne or the freakish Murali. Kumble has played a major part in
India’s clean home winning record. We just cannot undermine his performance by saying that the tracks were tailor-made for spinners. Why then, on those very tracks, other world class spinners could not even remotely measure up to Kumble’s productivity levels?  I sometimes wonder if he could spin the ball as much as Murali or add some more variations to his bowling, how deadly he could have been considering the fierce determination that goes with it.   

Sania Mirza was conferred with the Padma Shri last week. Check out this link “Rediff.com”. This has intrigued a series of controversies. Interesting thing in the above link are the user comments. Most of them feels that her contribution in the Sport’s World doesn’t tantamount to the Prestigious Award. Some even feels that the Award was given to appease the Muslim Minority, she is just a hype created by the media and she will be soon joining Films or Acting in Saas/Bahu Serials.
First of all, the official definition of Award goes something like this— Padma Shri is an award given by the Government of India generally to Indian citizens to recognize their distinguished contribution in any sphere of activity including Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Games, Sports etc. These people (who have expressed their ideas in the above Article) are comparing Sports with other fields. They question the idea of a person of some other field say Science spending his entire life researching for the welfare of the society and getting the same award as some Sportsperson who may still be naïve at the international level. The point that most of us are missing is that India isn’t a country known for their excellence in the field of Sports. Even in the Past, if we analyze the people who got Padma Shri for their contribution in the field of Sports, it is evident that most of them were not great achievers in the international Stage. So, the person who is the recipient of the Award in the category of Sports may not be a well-known person in the international circuit but sometimes the reasoning goes beyond our insight.
I also agree that it was little early for her to get the Award but still she being nominated for this year’s Padma Shri is somewhat justified. However, it is true that if she were in some other country say a developing country like China, she would not have got the same recognition and felicitation as she got being in India. But in a Country like India which is devoid of Stars in the field of Sports(except Cricket of course), the Award sends across a signal of incentive, stimulation, promotion etc. I read somewhere that some of Muslim women are going to gym after Sania became star. Further, her Success at the Highest Level is encouraging more and more girls to join the field of sports and make a Career in it. Even the Parents will be pleased to let their daughter enter the field of sports after seeing the exemplar career of Sania. Some people feels that Sania has achieved nothing but brought Glamour in the field of Tennis. What they can’t see is that this has resulted in making the game more popular in India. Finally in a country like India, for a women to reach the highest level in the individual category in sports at such an early age itself deserves an Award.
In short, there is some thinking behind her nomination for the Padma Sri. I can see her winning the Padma Bhushan later on may be at the end of her career.
P.S.–This Article also appears in Ezine Articles

I must say I was very fortunate enough to witness the last few overs of the overpowering historic match that might go into the history-book as one of the best match ever played. It was the match between dominant Australia and known to be chokers The Proteas, South Africa. I can’t say for sure whether it was the greatest match ever played but I certainly believe that such a closely fought match is very rarely played. Australia created a world- record by making 434/4. Such kind of score you cannot get by simply planning in the dressing room, it’s something very impromptu that can only be achieved by exemplary batting and grit. However to everyone’s awe, South Africa successfully chased it with 1 ball and 1 wicket to spare. Some analyst say that it was a sweet revenge for South Africa and they have untagged themselves from the image of chokers. Others feel that it was predestined to be the greatest match ever to which i add that it’s good that destiny chose South Africa on the winning side and Australia on the receiving end. I am not against anyone but South Africa is one team who has always been following “So Close Yet So far” Protocol. There has been numerous occasions when they have crumbled to pressure even though they were in pretty good condition.
Before this match, a score of 300 in One-day game was considered gettable and anything above 300 was considered a formidable total under normal circumstances. However, after this match, I predict that it’s going to change the manner the One-Day cricket is approached. The match will have the same effect as done by SL during 1996 World-Cup or thereabout where they completely changed the manner game was played. I must say in the future we are going to see many matches where teams will be chasing 350 or above successfully. This goes in the spirit of the game as One-Day Cricket is purely meant for entertainment means and is essentially a batsmen’s game and Bowler’s nightmare.
Teams are peaking, old records being broken and new records set, teams employing new strategies towards the Game–all this is happening before the World Cup. Above all the Everest Australia is looking like as if they are horizon away and teams like Pakistan, England, India, SA are all on their way towards scaling the Everest. This all will make the upcoming World-Cup simply a Cracker. Finally, our India amidst all politics, controversies, isn’t left behind. The current lot of talented youngsters like Dhoni, Pathan, Srisanth, Yuvraj and many others are making sure that India is one of the top contenders for the upcoming World-Cup.

This is about Sania Mirza, who is believed to be the next popular person after Amitabh Bachan and Sachin Tendulkar. The 19-Year old Youth icon became the first Indian sportswoman to feature on the cover of Time magazine. They included her among the 50 Asians who could influence the world’s future. After making it to the cover of Time magazine, she finds herself listed as one of the ten people capable of changing the world by London’s intellectual weekly New Statesman. At the recently concluded US-Open, she was dubbed as the most Popular player. I believe the rise in the popularity is due to her determination, Attitude, excellent on-court behavior and most importantly her looks which includes the Diamond Studded Nose-Ring and the Messages that she sends across through her T-Shirts(“Well-behaved women rarely make history”, “You can either agree with me, or be wrong” etc).You can find some of her Career Highlights and her Biography on this Link –“Biography” These are no mean achievements by any means.
I came to know about her from one of my Friend during the US Open’05 where she reached the 4th Round. Since then I have been keeping track of her illustrious career. Currently ranked 31, she wants to push her Ranking to the top 10. If she keeps improving her game like she is doing right now, I have no doubt in my mind that one day she will find herself among the top Tennis Players of the world.
Sania is also believed to be the second biggest Brand among sportsperson next to the Legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Her Fans are growing exponentially not only in in India but all around the world. Just check the number of Web-sites, blogs that she has under her name, you’ll get an idea what I am talking about.
Yesterday she defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the ongoing Australian Open and reached the 2nd Round of the Grand-Slam. Her 2nd Round entry news must have hidden behind the current India –Pakistan Cricket Series. But I honestly feel that she is one of those sportsperson of India who has in her to take the Crowd away from Cricket.
I just hope that she brings greater glory to India and to herself in the Future.