Playing Ball

TELIt has been more than three years now but an eyewitness swears that it was the most emotional bear hug in sporting history. Kapil Dev and Wasim Akram embraced one another in a room in a Chennai hotel. Tears welled up in Akram’s eyes as his wife, Huma, had been admitted in a critical condition in a city hospital after the air ambulance flying them to Singapore had to make an emergency landing since her condition had worsened.

As the former all-rounders spoke emotionally, in chaste Punjabi, the onlookers were convinced they were watching a human drama without borders. They were two Punjabis, divided only by a barbed border, opening their hearts out. Indeed, the larger picture of our sport and sportspersons living in a paradoxical coexistence of brotherhood and rivalry was captured in that one tender moment.

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An incomplete Blue-print

A facsimile of the article as it appeared in DNA, Mumbai

A facsimile of the article as it appeared in DNA, Mumbai

Simply destructive. Try hard as you might sum up Virender Sehwag’s international cricket career in any other manner, this phrase keep springing back. The two words that make up the phrase are the most suitable to describe his approach to batsmanship, striking a strange combination of fear and hope at the same time in the hearts of the opposition. Of course, the free spirit that he brought to the crease came along with a proneness to self-destruction.

He has been one of Indian cricket’s supreme entertainers for years now, not letting either time or location change his mindset. I am among those who believe that Sehwag has not yet gone past his sell-by date in limited-over cricket. Yet, given that the selectors may be looking ahead at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and at building a side that can compete, it is possible that he may not play too many more one-day internationals.

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The best and worst of Indian sport in 2012

PK_Dec_31From the comfort of one’s drawing room, one could sense that all of India came to a standstill for six enthralling minutes on August 12 as it tracked wrestler Sushil Kumar’s 66kg class gold medal bout against Japan’s Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu in the Olympic Games. You could feel the collective energy of a whole nation willing Sushil Kumar on. There was no more exhilarating moment for Indian sport in all of 2012.

For just around a fortnight, as India ran most successful campaign – two silver and four bronze medals – in the quadrennial event, India was sold on Olympic sport. Be it the bronze medals won by Gagan Narang in 10m air rifle, Saina Nehwal in women’s singles badminton, boxer MC Mary Kom in women’s 51kg class and Yogeshwar Dutt in 60kg freestyle wrestling or the silver medals claimed by shooter Vijay Kumar in 25m rapid fire pistol and Sushil Kumar, India erupted in joyous celebration.

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Thank you for the entertainment, Sachin

A facsimile of the article as it appeared in DNA on December 24, 2012

Sachin Tendulkar’s place in the galaxy of cricketers – and I must stress that it is not just the limited-over galaxy that we are talking about here – is above everyone else. Let me quickly recall a few of my own favourites. There were the left-handed Sanath Jayasuriya and Adam Gilchrist who used their bats like a sledge-hammer; There was a Brian Lara used the willow as a scimitar; There was the workmanlike Michael Bevan who set a high standard as a finisher. There have been other like Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis – the best all-rounder to have ever graced the limited-over game – who have played many stunning innings. And, of course, there was the nonchalantly explosive Viv Richards.

Yet, there has been only one man who has always walked in with the burden of expectation of a whole nation on his shoulders. No one batsman has caused as many television and radio sets to be switched off when he has been dismissed in one-day internationals as Tendulkar has. No one cricketer – not even Richards or Kallis, I dare say – has had such an effect on an entire population as the proud Indian has. Definitely not for as long as he has. Read more »

Let Tendulkar make his decisions but ball is in selectors’ court

A facsimile of the article as it appears in Prabhat Khabar

For years, he has made us watch his interpretation of cricket with some fabulous knocks, giving us immense joy and happiness with his exploits. We followed his journey from being a teenager to a senior statesman with delight, basking in reflected glory and letting our hearts swell with pride as he made cricket fans around the world envy our possession of the crown jewel.

For years, he made us extend our hands and feel the electricity in the air each time he walked in to bat but his failures now makes his fans wonder if he will play that one innings to remind them of his greatness all over again. He has set such high benchmarks for himself that it is hard for his fans to come to terms with a run of poor scores – and the manner of dismissals. Read more »

Impetus for sports in India

Here’s a recording from All India Radio’s Spotlight programme that was broadcast on August 29, 2012 — National Sports Day. 

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My tweets

  • Has been an absolute pleasure watching Sir Vivian Richards the past month. What a human being! Always ready to share his knowledge. #respect: 3 days ago
  • A delightful view of the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, as seen from my balcony window last night. :) http://t.co/Dmj4uKpIpB: 6 days ago

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