Twenty 20 World Cup

Miracles do not happen too often! Once again it's proved. India is out of contention of the World T20 Cup officially now. Quite expectantly India lost its way midway through the tournament when it was trounced upon by the mighty looking Aussies. A typical case of peaking too early in the tournament. The last nail in the coffin was hit by the match against the West Indies. It was a case of being outplayed in all the departments of bowling, batting and fielding. The match against Sri Lanka was only of academic importance.

No regrets really! Was it a case of overkill of cricket, particularly the T20 format one? The services of the likes of Sehwag not being available to turn the fortunes in favour of the team? What motivates the team the most? Is the timezone difference made so much less of viewership? So many questions crop up in my mind. It is a classic case of the IPL taking the cake of cricketing fun and eating it too. The natural charm of the sport is lost in making it a mockery. Atleast the World T20 should have preceded the IPL tourney. I feel so. Players would have been fresh in their approach then.

If the IPL has hurt any team so badly it is the Indian Cricket team. What an irony it is! IPL was supposed to be the otherwise. The planners of the tournament suggested that sharing the dug outs and dressing rooms with the mighty overseas players would prove to be of great help for the budding youngster cricketers who otherwise would not get . The results are there for everyone to see. Whoever has performed in the IPL could do repeat their feats in the WorldT20 tournament. Was it incidental? It doesn't seem to be so. The very concept of team has gone awry with the IPL. There was no natural bonding with the teammates. Till the other day they were sharing the dressing room with the ones against whom they are playing these matches within such a short gap. It really should have been confusing. Where would the bon homie be in such a case. Before any tournament, there would be a training camp conducted. The basic idea behind such a camp would be to rake up and inculcate the feeling of being together. That is how a group transforms into a team, a successful one at that. To my understanding this is a good case study for a management student. How successful teams are spoilt. Seeing the Indian cricketers play the tournament appeared to me like a bunch of individuals doing their routines, albeit with lack of enthusiasm. Teamwork has been a lost cause so is the tournament. One tournament of the sorts of IPL is enough to take away the sheen of the wonderful sport India is so passionate about!

Comments

  1. Kavuri SrinivasFriday, May 14, 2010 11:03:00 AM

    Kavuri Srinivas has commented on this blog:

    I have a few things to say -

    - "too much of cricket" is something I have been bickering about since last several years. No body cared since the moolah was pouring in. Plus the eagerness of media and the public at large in getting clicked with their heros resulted in too many "parties". We have to remember that these players are not wisened men - these are kids in their 20s and a few in 30s. They are easy to be tempted by the many attractions on offer. This is where professionalism comes in which is never nurtured in indian in general. That professionalism is what helps "foreign" players from getting trapped by the attractions. All this resulted in the abuse of the game and players by a few. This wil not stop. Very soon there will many varieties of cricket.

    - Cricket is manmade. At a very basic level it is somebody throwing a ball and another trying to protect three sticks with a paddle. To make it compettive, points have to be given and so the "runs" system were added. Now to attribute any "natural charm" to this sport of balls, sticks and paddles is bit far fatched. It is conservatism to an extent that we would like to stick to what we knew in our growing years. It is human nature and is the reason for the generation gap as we know it. A 10 year old boy who watches a lot of 20-20 will like only 20-20 and would crib about a new format which will be developed when he is 40. This is life. Better is stop cribbing once you realise it.

    - Dressing room companion ship works both ways; just as Indian players are expected to learn from the "foreign" players [as if they know something more than indians - this eternal inferiority complex!] the foreign players also learn the way Indian players think and strategise while playing in the same team. That precisely is what has happened, according to me.

    Srinivas

    ReplyDelete
  2. MurthyFriday, May 14, 2010 11:19:00 AM

    Srinivas,

    I can't agree with you any less on this subject. One thing I want to add here. The debate is not 20-20, on which I have my own reservations on the first count. My stress is on how IPL has negatively impacted the World Cup t20 specifically and Indian cricket in general. Cheer girls, after match parties, flirting with high, mighty and notorious people around - all these have hijacked the game of cricket. As you rightly pointed out these are the temptations for players to get spoilt, what with no so maturity in age and exposure and media/public glare so much on them. Thanks to BCCI and its commercial vested interests, we are in this state of mind - Murthy

    ReplyDelete

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