Come on India, let's bring a sporting culture!

India received its Tokyo 2020 Olympics heroes with much fanfare. Many felicitation functions were organized across the country and the medal winners were either given or promised perks in return for their performances in the quadrennial sports extravaganza. While some were given ‘returns’ in cash, others got it in kind. But the most important gift they received was the smile on the faces of every Indian apart from countless wishes.

For us, winning the medal mattered the most than its colour. There is an old saying ‘All that glitters is not gold.’ I may be allowed to change the same a bit by saying ‘All that glitters is gold’ (Hope Shakespeare will pardon me). Every Indian was praying and hoping for the best performance from the Indian contingent. They even threw a winning punch to boost the morale of the participating athletes.  

But, are we doing enough for that winning punch? Are we providing them with the best sporting infrastructure so that they excel in the discipline they choose? The answer probably might be in the negative. Is it not our duty to change the answer into affirmative? Some will say that I am being very emotional and not practical since ours is not a ‘sporting country’ as many call it. Here, survival of the being comes first while his/her sporting glory comes later.

In my view, the one who turns the tide in his or her favour is a real winner. It is imperative from the fact that most of the athletes that represented India at the Olympic Games come from a humble background and had no facilities to reach wherever they are today. Some even have to spend hours to reach their ‘training facility’ since they stay in the interiors.

And this situation has been the same for ages. Every time any question of sporting glory comes up, the player or the participant talks about the lack of proper training infrastructure. We have seen many ‘sporting icons’ donning the hat of sports ministers in the past. If not sportsmen themselves, they have been managing some of the other sporting bodies. Have they done their best to bring the advanced training techniques to the country? Did they provide ‘funds’ for a better sporting infrastructure? Have any administrators done their best for the betterment of the sportsmen in the country?

India seeks answers to these questions. Instead of providing the best facilities to train, we are cursing our sportsmen for not performing to their best. Stop bemoaning and work towards their upliftment so that they bring a rich haul of medals in Paris 2024 or Los Angeles 2028. This will be a real ‘tribute’ to the heroes whom we are celebrating today. This way we can change the general perception that ‘India lacks sporting culture.’

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Cricket bat or hockey stick, only shape differs!

Finally, it took 41 years for the Indian hockey team to ‘break the shackles’ of being ‘not up to the mark’ and performing ‘below their potential ' in the Olympics or any other international tournament. The team displayed a perfect blend of teamwork in defeating the powerhouse Germany to claim the Bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics, 2020. Will this victory help the game to regain its lost glory among the minds of Indian sports lovers? Today, a hockey player does not get the same amount of respect and attention as being given to those taking to the Gentleman’s Game.

How many people know about Ashok Kumar, Zafar Iqbal, Mervyn Fernandes, Pargat Singh, Dhanraj Pillai or Dilip Tirkey? (Pardon me for naming just a few since only these names came to my mind while penning down my thoughts). Barring the legendary Major Dhyanchand, how much do we know the legends who moved the hockey stick with exemplary dribbling skills to cut through the defence of their opponents and reach the target?

When our boys bagged the Gold medal at Moscow Olympics in 1980 under V Bhaskaran, they would have thought that their win will inspire many medals in the years to come. They didn’t have any idea that the country, where the game originated, will have to wait for 41 years for the Olympic glory. The current team that bagged the bronze, must have been going through the same feeling in a hope that their victory will prove to be a trendsetter for the years to come and that the country will bag another medal in Paris, 2024.

We, the people of this country, can also realize this dream by supporting and promoting our heroes in the best possible way. Just having confidence in them and believing in their abilities will be enough. It is the same as we have belief in our cricketers who go on foreign tours. We should look at our hockey players with pride and shelve the notion that they play just for government jobs. Remember, the colour of the medal doesn’t matter but winning does! They have the same passion to win laurels for their country as that of cricketers.

Our confidence and support in them will surely do wonders. We need more people like Naveen Patnaik who have been always looking after the backs of hockey players. The day is not far when India will regain its lost glory and be a hockey powerhouse again. Jai Hind!

What's in a nickname? Really!

‘Tiger’, ‘Polly’, ‘Colonel’, ‘The Wall’, ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’, ‘Little Master’, ‘Master Blaster’ or ‘Prince of Kolkata’ are some of the nicknames or pet names that every cricket lover in India is familiar with. They are also aware about nicknames of some foreign players such as ‘Sultan of Swing’, ‘Rawalpindi Express’, ‘Pigeon’, ‘The Pup’, ‘Gilly’, ‘Punter’, ‘Super Cat’, ‘Matara Mauler’ so on and so forth.

The saying ‘Words have meaning, and names have Power’ seems perfect for the above cricketers who played the Gentleman’s Game with true grit and determination. These players were ‘bestowed upon’ with the new identity for the way they ruled the game.

Some of them got the nicknames due to their ‘cricketing character’ such as Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi who was referred to as ‘Tiger’ due to his outstanding fielding skills. Similarly, Sunil Gavaskar was called as ‘Little Master’ because of his batting prowess despite not being so ‘tall’ while Dilip Vengsarkar was referred to as ‘Colonel’ because of his batting style that replicated the great Col. C. K. Nayudu.

Another example of a player getting a nickname due to his cricketing skills is Wasim Akram fondly called as the ‘Sultan of Swing’ due to his sheer authority over the leather and swinging the ball in any direction. Our own Rahul Dravid’s capability to defend any delivery, slow or fast, with technical prowess, made the cricketing world respectfully refer him as ‘The Wall’.

Going by the definition, a name is a word or set of words by which a person or thing is known, addressed or referred to, while a nickname used instead of someone's usual first name to express fondness or familiarity. The above players and many more went on make their nicknames more famous than the names they were born with.

Not only cricket, but the sportsmen giving their nicknames a place in the history by carving a niche for themselves, are prevalent in other sports too. Who will forget ‘Air Jordon’ or ‘The Flying Sikh’ or ‘The Mercurial Wizard’ or ‘Payyoli Express’ or ‘Lightning Kid’. They not only gave a ‘name’ to their nickname but also turned out to be true ambassadors of the sport they were associated with.

Now that I have noted down the reason behind some of the biggest nicknames in the sporting arena, it’s our duty to remember them along with their names. Don’t get confused with a ‘Flying Sikh’ with a ‘Flying Jat’ or ‘Payyoli Express’ with ‘Chennai Express’. After all, they are just names, but the weight they give to their ‘holders’ is incomparable.

Saluting the phenomenon called MSD

It was exactly on 19:29 hours on August 15 that Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket. The clock showed same timing when he lifted ICC World Cup for India on April 2, 2011.

What an achievement, what a commitment, what discipline and what leadership skills? The man from Ranchi showed India how a player can contribute to the country’s sporting success by letting his performance talk. For me, Mahi was not only a sportsman but a phenomenon who came, saw and conquered the Gentleman’s Game with sheer brilliance, astute captaincy and never-say-die attitude.

As we are talking about his deeds on and of the field, did we give him enough credit for him to bow out with dignity? He was ‘bullied’ and ‘tortured’ by the Fourth Estate and the ‘experts’ for his ‘non-performance’ in the last few years, particularly during the 2019 World Cup. Having said that, have we ever allowed our past ‘legends’ to hang their boots without putting mud on them?

We didn’t spare the likes of Kapil, Dilip and Anil of their ‘unfavourable-to-us’ performances and waited till they bow to our pressure and bid goodbye. Some people even left no stone unturned in commenting on the performance of SRT, albeit in a lower voice and tone, before he announced his retirement on that ‘memorable’ of November 16, 2013.

Mahi faced the same heat from all quarters. This despite being the only captain who gave India two World Cups, many finishes and leading from the front on various occasions. Even SRT thanked Mahi for enabling the Master to fulfil his ‘only wish’ to lift the ICC World Cup. The captain par excellence was a perfect role model for many up and coming cricketers and would remain so.

He always believed in his team and never questioned its abilities. He was accused of making some hard decisions, but as he said “he always took those decisions in the interest of his team.” The great leader he was, he has been an epitome of hard work, discipline and brilliance. He never allowed success go into his head and never paid any heed to the criticism he went through.

Good luck with your future Mahi! You have been an exceptional sportsman. Thank you for giving the last over to Joginder in 2007 World T20 and hitting that lovely six at Wankhede four years later. Enjoy your freedom, your bikes and your success! 

Scripting a success story, Vidarbha cricketers’ way!

Team Vidarbha’s successful bid to defend the Ranji Trophy title will surely go into record books as to how a small and less fancied team from central part of India rose to prominence with sheer dedication and self belief. There was a time when Vidarbha boys’ winning match in the Ranji Trophy was considered as a ‘miracle’ and the team was a regular at the bottom of the points table.

The team was losing matches on a trot and the management as well as administrators were continuously facing flak from the followers of the game. Deliberations over the bad state of the team, its depleting performance and the actions initiated to improve the same bore no result. Every year the story was repeated and the administrators, that included the current chairman of the ICC, were annoyed at the team’s poor show.   

However, some ‘imports’ from other parts of the nation, particularly from the cities known for producing Little Master, Master Blaster and The Wall, the cricketing ‘state’ gradually developed into one of the most revered teams on the domestic circuits. This was all under the supervision of a man who was ‘humiliated’ in his home state and took the baton of raising a team that can match the likes of Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and other big wigs.

The coach with his discipline and no-nonsense attitude transformed the fortune of Vidarbha to being a side to reckon with. Even the new crop of players responded to his call and gave their 100% on the field. The captain, the senior players and the administrators came together to achieve the goal that was considered to be unachievable till a couple of years ago.

After closely following Vidarbha cricket for the past 20 years, it was unimaginable for me to think that one-day the coveted trophy would land in the arms of Vidarbhaites. The boys and the support staff not only achieved the ‘target’, but kept the spirits high and repeated the feat for the second consecutive year.

Today, the team can proudly hold its head high and move like champions, unlike earlier years when the team had to put its head down. The coach, the captain and the administrators have now started talking about some players of the victorious team being capable of donning India colours. The ‘state’ has seen very few players going on to represent India, prominent ones being Prashant Vaidya and Umesh Yadav. Though some players in the past were part of zonal teams that played inter-zonal matches, but they failed to ‘impress the selectors’ and be in contention of getting into the Team India.

Riding high on their performance in the national tournament for the last couple of years, the Vidarbha cricketers hope that they have now ‘impressed’ the selectors and won a national call for themselves. Whether they get into national team or not, only time will tell. But the boys have certainly given a reason to the selectors to ponder over their names when they sit for team selection next time.

Of discussing a cricket match even before the start!

Another India-Pakistan cricket match, another win for India, another celebration! Every time the two teams lock horns on the cricket field, followers of the game from across the border hold their breath until the match gets over. A lot of discussions (at public places, news studios, media platforms) have become routine before and after the match between neighbors.

Joining these discussions are the cricket experts, irrespective of the number of matches they have played for the country. They see to it that the match is made a ‘virtual battleground’ between the two nations. The ‘experts’ from both the countries, who think they are the most intelligent brains in the game, leave no stone unturned to express as to how a particular player of their respective country is better as compared to his counterpart.

And this is not happening only today, we are witnessing this ‘rivalry’ for ages. Take for instance the comparison between Kapil-Imran, Miandad-Gavaskar- Inzamam-Sachin, Wasim/Waqar-Srinath/Prasad, Saqlain-Kumble/Harbhajan to recent players such as Saeed Ajmal-Ashwin, Ahmed Shahzad/Babar Azam-Virat Kohli/Rohit Sharma etc, the experts have been trying to overpower each other by raising some ‘interesting’ points and counter-points.

Not only India-Pakistan, but similar ‘rivalry’ is seen between England-Australia, West Indies-South Africa or Australia-New Zealand.

The question that comes to my mind is—Do we really need to compare the players? Why can’t we leave them and let them play their natural game? After all, someone has to win. So what’s the point in discussing the match even before the first ball is bowled. Analysing the match after can be understood, but why discuss the possibilities before.

The most ridiculous part lies when the experts create pairs of rival bowler-batsmen and discuss how they can bat or bowl to their rival in an attempt to gain an advantage over each other. The players themselves do not think on these lines and concentrate on the match, but these experts put an unnecessary burden on them by creating ‘virtual rivalry’ irrespective of the friendly equation these players share among each other.

And remember, these experts were players themselves at one time and had been subjects of similar discussions. They also must have faced the similar pressure as is being faced by the current lot. Are we taking any sort of revenge? We need to get over this habit and discuss pure cricket, particularly during pre and post-match shows.

My humble request to these experts is please spare the players to perform on the field. Why are you deliberating over his performance over the mike? This is a Gentleman’s Game and should remain like that. Infuse the spirit of patriotism among players if you can. This will help them play with killer instinct and bring rich laurels for their respective nation.

That’s the way, Mahi way!

Lot is being said and written about the way Mahendra Singh Dhoni is batting in the past few months. People are not stopping from criticising Dhoni and his ‘approach’ towards using his willow.

These are the same people who used to go bonkers over the man’s batting skills and approach earlier. They seem to have made an agenda to ‘pressurise’ Mahi take the eventual call (of quitting). Considered as one of the best finishers in the game, this Gentleman has given India some of the memorable victories which we cricket lovers will cherish for life.

From inaugural T20 World Cup title to 2011 World Cup after a gap of 28 years to Champions Trophy to many series wins, he has given us all with his brilliant captaincy and never-say-die attitude. Now since he is approaching the fag end of his career, why this hullabaloo about this batting style and approach?

He has been a true leader and always put team’s interest ahead of his personal goals. He always took some bold decisions which paid rich dividends. Some people have started a ‘campaign’ to malign his reputation. This is not new to Indian cricket. We have seen such malicious tactics in the past when people used their ‘freedom of expression’ to lodge verbal attacks on those who gave their blood and sweat for the Indian cricket.

Even the legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Mohd Azharuddin and others had to phase similar criticism at the end of their illustrious careers. And the best part is these critics use the language that ‘hurts’ a lot and completely ruins the reputation of the greats. Mahi seems to be going the similar way. The outspoken critics are leaving no stone unturned to pressurise MS take the eventual call of hanging his boots and putting his bat down. He has already ‘obliged’ them by quitting the longest form of the game. And now these people want his head in other formats too. This besides the man proving his fitness again and again by completing the yo yo test with high points. This test seems to be the highest fitness criteria for any cricketer to be eligible to represent the country.

The point here is why are we indulging in such antics? Let the man enjoy his game as long as he wants. His contributions have been exemplary and difficult for future players or captains to match. Known for taking some bold and surprising decisions, Mahi will himself say goodbye when he feels its time. Till then, let the guy play his favourite shots that made him famous. That’s the way Mahi, go on. We want you to continue entertaining and amusing us with your helicopter shot.