Tougher times ahead

The one shining beacon on the KKR ship - Chris Gayle - will depart from the IPL this week. It's going to be really tough times. Brendon Macullum has said that he will quit captaincy if KKR do not make it to the semis while owner SRK has said that he will go back to South Africa only if KKR start winning again. So, Mac will quit captaincy and SRK will not even be there in SA when Mac does it. May be, like how it happens in football, sacking the coach might bring things back on track. KKR were horrible yesterday against RCB. They made RCB look so strong. Looks like these two teams will fight it out for the wooden spoon.
Staying with RCB, they finally won a game - largely attributed to the absence of Robin Uthappa and presence of a new keeper in the line up. Skipper KP will be leaving this week but I don't think that is going to weaken RCB - one thing it might do it make RCB a better team.
There was also another match - a match that continues to prove that Sachin Tendulkar as captain will continue to be a failure. After all, this was one match in which the chasing team required 120 runs off 120 balls and still fell short!! Change of captaincy might just make it work for the Indians.
And no day is complete without the regular commentator goof ups. Firstly, SET pulled off a coup by bringing in Akash Chopra (yeah he played a game for KKR) to review games along with Arun Lal. Now we have one more reason to turn off the TV when it goes back to the studio. Secondly, what is wrong with Sunil Gavaskar? May be his favorite team lost the match? He looked like he was almost crying in the presentation ceremony.
Sree"Slapgate"santh was there at the end of the match to confront the opponents in the post match hand shake. This time he was prepared - he was seen hugging Bhajji tight and thus escaping a repeat of last year's episode. And then that famous "Changy" - a jealous pervert - one could feel the smoke coming out of his ears when he mentioned that "jappis" and "pappis" the Kings XI would get because they won the match. Poor Piyush Chawla did not even understand what he meant ;-)
BTW - the BCCI gave the ICL players amnesty - is this good or bad for cricket? One thing is sure though. The only India captain (and that will continue to remain so for some time to come) who has won a Cricket World Cup will go further down into isolation (unless he also decides to ditch Subash Chandra).

Nail the fake IPL player

I have a wonderful advice for the KKR team owners to nail the fake IPL player who is now almost creating a ruckus. Why not send 2 players back to India next week and get in Akash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar now that we know those two are not the FIPLP. By doing this every week or day or two days or three days they can surely find out the fake IPL player before the tournament ends.

Cool as cucumber

What is it that brings the best out of Yusuf Pathan on T20 games? When he walked in the Royals were in a slightly precarious position. Shane Warne's experiment of playing himself ahead of Pathan had just been proved ineffective. Over the next 8 overs he was simply ruthless. Nothing seemed to scare him. Even as Shane bit off every nail and Graeme Smith huffed and puffed Pathan never flinched. He kept putting the ball out of the park at will. Every time Graeme Smith came up to ask him to "watch the ball" and "play safe" he would respond by taking an almighty crack at the ball. Just what is making him do this? That would be a Royal secret...
Speaking of secrets it was Deccan's Glichrist dodging Pommie Mbwangwa at the presentation interview on Monday. Having acknowledged that he made a mistake in not bowling Praghyan Ojha through his quota of 4 overs against Chennai, Gilly attributed it to a "theory" he had in mind. The curious Mbwangwa then asked Gilly about the "theory" to which there was a diplomatic reply that meant "no way I am gonna disclose that". Way to go Gilly - a lesson to the others to speak in interviews. But then, the "theory" was just an open secret wasn't it? Ojha is a leftie and his spin doesn't work against left handers. Isn't that the theory Adam?
And finally, speaking of the crowd at the stadiums, it was another embarassing moment for IPL yesterday. During the "strategy break", Ravi Shastri the commentator asked the roving reporter Simon Doull about the crowd. Even as Simon started speaking (it always looks like the commentators speak out from a pre-written script when talking of crowds) the camera went round showing am empty stand behind Doull. Not knowing what was on TV, Simon went ahead and completed his "dialogue" about the packed stadium and the enthusiasm.
And btw.. did you notice Lalit Modi signing autographs and tapping arms of spectators as he walked up the stairs? The WWE effect.

Are they really full?

Are the grounds really full for all IPL games. Even during yesterday's interview Lalit Modi mentioned that some other venues were sold out. But when we see the games on TV all we see are empty stands and all we hear are a few raptures that echo around the grounds. So are the grounds really full?
Staying with yesterday, isn't that "Chang" guy getting on your nerves. He is so stupid with his questions. Yesterday he asked Danny Morrison whom he supported. When Danny mentioned that he was Kiwi and supported Macullum prompt came the next question, "Are you looking forward to seeing Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya bat?" It was like Austin Powers saying "Zip it" to his son.
And what's with the two stone statues in the studio - Sameer Kochar and Arun Lal? Whenever they come on screen and discuss what happens (I don't think Arun Lal must even be allowed to say a word about a format of cricket in which he would make a total of 15 runs over 2 seasons if he plays 28 games) I tend to switch channels. Even the reviews on the news channels are a lot better - take for example Boria Majumdar shouting in the company of Charu Sharma on Times Now.
And yeah.. Mandira - you'd be better off sitting in the studio and asking questions to Tony Greig and Ravi Shastri rather than be on the field and come a huge cropper. Come on SET - throw that "Stone Cold" Sameer out and get "Giggly buggly" Mandira on.

On behalf of...

There have been too many things said by fake and real IPL players out on this forum. So I thought there should be one that represents the spectator. After all, it's the spectator who is putting up with these people as they come at them. And by people I mean everyone involved - from Lalit Modi to the players on the field to the TV presenters to the cheering squads and the clowns who call themselves fake players on blogspot. So here we go...

There will be nothing sensational here. No nick names. No fake news. No gossip. Just plain views of the previous day's action.