Posted in March 2010 …

Mar 29 2010
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Bowlers, Cricket, Harbhajan Singh, Indian Players, IPL

Harbhajan Singh’s Wicked Innings

Harbhajan Singh just scored 49 runs off 18 balls for the Mumbai Indians. If he had hit that last ball, he would have scored the fastest half-century for the IPL (if I’m to believe the breathless commentary). It was an absolute fluke, and something to behold on the computer screen, but I can’t stand it.

There are two main reasons not to like Harbhajan Singh: the first, he seems like a jerk. I defended him against racism charges during the Sydney affair with Andrew Symonds, but I thought he was obscene then and impolite now.

He’s a classic Indian bully, acting all tough by slapping Sreesanth, or glaring at a bowler who accidentally tossed a beamer (which he, um, ducked), or yelling like a mad man after a fielder threw the ball to the wrong end (watch the highlights of the match against Deccan Chargers. Once they’re at 70/4, you see the incident I’m talking about — there was no chance for a run-out, but Singh just felt the need to yell anyway). Or even running across the ground after dismissing a South African tail-ender in Kolkota.

The second reason? He’s really not that great a bowler. Yes, he has his moments; he always does. He’s a star-performer when he wants to be, but he hands out those performances stingily. You’ll go a whole stretch of Test matches waiting for the Turbanator to show up; when he finally does, we’re supposed to act as if Moses just delivered us to the Promised Land.

Sigh. But enjoy the innings anyway. There’s really no justice.

Mar 28 2010
3 Comments
BCCI, Cricket, IPL

The IPL-BCCI Conflict Of Interest

I’m glad someone has the courage to criticize the increasingly worrying link between the IPL and the BCCI, and I’m even more cheered to see that someone is M.S. Gill, one of India’s greatest bureaucrats:

“Those who control the game, that is BCCI, they have a direct interest as owners of teams, as people who have a direct benefit from it and this is something very dangerous,” Mr. Gill was quoted as saying. “Major office bearers are on both sides. Those who are to make rules for everyone, for all aspects of the game and keeping in view the interest of the game and the country and the long term, have to be totally apart from being involved in IPL in any way.”

Actually, the problem isn’t just that the BCCI runs the IPL (or vice versa). It’s that Indian politicians frequently find themselves in charge of the BCCI (as well as local cricket associations; think Arun Jaitley, former Indian law minister, who heads the Delhi Cricket Association — the same body that both Virender Sehwag and Gautham Gambhir have exposed as a patronage pit of incompetence and corruption).

Sharad Pawar, a Maharasthra bigwig (and central agriculture minister) also heads the BCCI (and for a time, the ICC itself), posing huge conflicts of interest since the IPL has plans to become the biggest money-making venture in global sports.So much money around so many politicians should make all of us nervous (especially since the taxpayers have to fork up so much to host these IPL franchises).

Mar 28 2010
2 Comments
Assimilation, Cricket, IPL, Post-Colonialism, Racial Boundaries

The IPL Cheerleader Question (2)

Kanishk Kapoor makes some very good points about IPL’s dubious sexual politics:

But I can’t just grit my teeth or laugh it off. Regular viewers of the IPL are now familiar with the sight of leering spectators separated from the cheerleaders in some stadiums by cage-like fences, an image that brings the cricket arena uncomfortably close to a zoo. It is the larger dichotomy suggested by this unfortunate image that I find troubling, that of Indian men ogling mostly white, non-Indian women. All too common in India is the belief in the licentiousness of foreign women. In recent years, stories of sexual violence against tourists in India have proliferated, a tragic byproduct in some cases of the impression that foreign women are naturally promiscuous. While I wouldn’t draw a direct line between IPL cheerleaders and such incidences, the very nature of IPL cheerleading as a spectacle feeds deeper, insidious notions about race and sexuality in India.

The paucity of Indian cheerleaders tells its own story. In a country where an entire film industry is sustained by beautiful women dancing, it is hard to believe that the appropriate “talent” is missing. The choice made by IPL organisers in this regard suggests, first, the unsettling marketing conclusion that Indians really just want to see white skin. Second, and perhaps more troubling still, it suggests a quiet acquiescence to the view of the conservative elements of society that Indian women are somehow more sacred and less carnal than their western counterparts. Not for them the tight tops and bared thighs of IPL cheerleading. Just like the licentious foreign woman, the idea of the modest Indian woman is closer to fiction than truth. It is the kind of fantasy that animates attacks on girls who had the “audacity” to have a drink at a pub (as happened in Mangalore last year). It is an ideal that masks the sexual violence perpetrated against Indian women on a daily basis (an issue about which I have written in these web pages before).

Mar 27 2010
1 Comment
Cricket, IPL

Preity Zinta Ready To Sell Kings XI Punjab Stake?

Via The Financial Express, Preity Zinta may sell her 23 percent stake in the Kings XI Punjab to Videocon:

“We have made the offer to the team owners and talks are still on. In case they agree to sell the stake for between $200 and $225 million, we will buy. Whatever happens will happen after this season of the IPL,” Videocon Group chairman Venugopal Dhoot told FE.

It may not be just because Kings XI are doing atrociously at the moment. If that figure — $200 million — comes to pass, that would make for an amazing takeaway given that Zinta’s consortium bought the franchise for only $76 million just three years ago. I don’t see how this team could have zoomed in value that high that fast, especially given its low stature in the points table, but I’m not a businessman.

Mar 27 2010
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Andrew Symonds, Cricket, Indian Players, IPL, Sledging, Twenty20

Yusuf Pathan Rides The Anger

After another blazingly fast innings in the IPL (this one against the Deccan Chargers), Yusuf Pathan explained his inspiration:

“When somebody from the opposition involves in sledging you are more pumped up to do well. When I went in to bat, Symonds said a few words and after that I was determined to perform with the bat,” Pathan said after Rajasthan registered a convincing eight-wicket victory to register their straight victory in the tournament.

This relates to one of my earliest posts about the use of anger and emotion in cricket. We often hear commentators plead for cricketers with a good “cricketing brain,” one that pursues shots with minimal risks and plays “smart cricket” (usually, hit a boundary and then sneak a quick single). Sometimes, you don’t need to stay calm in “pressure situations.” You need to let loose, hit out and make everyone — namely, Symonds — pay.

Mar 26 2010
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Assimilation, Cricket, IPL, Post-Colonialism, Racial Boundaries, Racism, Twenty20

The IPL Cheerleaders Question

I don’t know who Tanya Aldred is, but she makes a good point about the IPL cheerleaders on Cricinfo:

2 Why are the cheerleaders all white? Aren’t there any Indian dancers? Surely they could dress in a culturally acceptable way if crop tops are not considered de rigeur. Or wouldn’t they be Caucasian enough to attract the American market? Am I missing something obvious here?

I’ve addressed my own concerns with the cheerleaders here. There are two ways to be bothered about them: the first is the sexism question (cheerleading turns women into objects, especially in the context of cricket, which has absolutely no role for women, not even as umpires). The second is the post-colonial question, which Aldred touches on: why adopt an American tradition in India, and that too in an all-white reincarnation? (You have to be careful about this line of attack, lest you find yourself next to some parochial Shiv Sainik going on about the dangers of Valentine’s Day. I think there’s a difference, of course, between a couple voluntarily choosing to do something on a particular day, and a mass audience being exposed to images on television while trying to watch a cricket game.)

Mar 24 2010
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Cricket, IPL

IPL Business Model Deciphered (2)

Urbanomics takes a look at what the new franchises (in Poona and Cochin) mean for the new cities. He concludes that the biggest winners may be the other, existing franchises, who may now realize they have an IPL bubble on their hands, blown into existence by Lalit Modi hype:

Further, the IPL matches clearly places strains on the local administration in many other ways. The shifting of IPL to South Africa last year on grounds of security and the controversies and debates surrounding security of players in the lead-up to this year’s IPL underlines the critical role of security in the organization of such events. The district administration of the host city is therefore clearly stretched out to ensure the successful completion of a purely commercial event, often to the exclusion of other more important public issues. Since state governments regularly charge the organizers of private entertainment events for providing security for the event, the IPL too should be levied an appropriate user charge.

Tailpiece: I am convinced that the Pune and Kochi auctions will turn out to be classic examples of “winner’s curse”. The real winners from this auction are the existing eight franchises, who can now leverage the latest price discovery to exit when the IPL bubble is peaking. Let us re-visit the balance sheets three years down the line and I will be really surpised if it turned out any different!

Mar 21 2010
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Bangladesh, Cricket, Test Match

Duncan Fletcher Diagnoses Bangladesh

I don’t know if Duncan Fletcher, England’s former coach, has a ghostwriter or not, but he writes some excellent columns for The Guardian. His latest one about Bangladesh is also one not to be missed (H/T Old Batsman). He makes some good points: first, Bangaldesh has fared comparably to other emerging Test nations (like Sri Lanka and New Zealand) back in the day. Second, they need a genuinely fast bowler (but so does India) and third, they need to get accustomed to facing pace:

In Zimbabwe we actually recruited two South African baseball pitchers to come into the nets and throw at us as fast as they could from 19 yards, to help us adapt to the pace of top-level cricket. At first we could hardly get the bat on the ball, but over time we became accustomed to the increased speed. Until Bangladesh can find some quicks of their own for their batsmen to practise against, they may need to resort to more unnatural methods like that one.

I say this again and again, but I think Bangladesh’s gradual success is the most interesting story in cricket right now. I say that because while most people now prefer spreading Americanzied Twenty20s to Tests, we have a nation that’s trying to answer an age-old question: how do we nurture old-fashioned cricket talent (and culture) where little existed before?

We could also use another team or two in the international line-up. Not just so we can say cricket’s played by more people than it actually is — that’s not the point. Think about what Sri Lanka has brought to this game (and my Australian readers can hold their tongues here). Different countries produce variations in the game, which makes for much more rewarding time. At this point, I don’t know what Bangladesh will turn out — a spin-crazy nation like India in the 1970s, or full of pacemen like Pakistan…? Can’t wait to find out, though.

Mar 21 2010
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Cricket, Indian Players, IPL, Twenty20

Suresh Raina, Chennai Captain

The Chennai Super Kings have turned to Suresh Raina to lead them, now that M.S. Dhoni has injured himself. This is another one of those “this will make IPL more interesting than it is” moments (akin to my rooting for the Pathan brothers).

I say that because it’s been a curious thing to watch Raina mature since he made his ODI debut under Greg Chappell. At the time, I preferred Rohit Sharma over him, because the former seemed so elegant, so ready. As it turns out, it’s Raina who has batted with the saner head, and who is making more headway in the team. It’ll be interesting to see what effect captaincy has on this man, given that he hasn’t even cracked 24 years. (God, I can’t believe I’m older than Suresh Raina. What have I done with my life?)

Mar 21 2010
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Anil Kumble, Cricket, Indian Players, IPL, Rahul Dravid, Twenty20

Anil Kumble And Rahul Dravid Make It Work For The IPL

Have a look at these highlights from Match 14 between the Bangalore and Mumbai. Watch for Anil Kumble bowling a hapless batsman with a slower ball (and a modified delivery action), as well as Rahul Dravid’s unbelievable one-handed catch. Like I said: retirement is obsolete.

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