Monday, December 28, 2009

'CAPITAL' BLUNDER

As a ten year Indian Cricket follower it was only natural that I just about sided with my sister when she shouted that Sri Lanka were cowards and didn't want to lose the game so they walked off. But I hadn't seen the 23.3 overs that India had bowled till then (One of those rare occasions I missed the start of an India match). When I did see those overs I had no choice but to agree with Sangakkara and Lanka. For one thing, Sudeep Tyagi looked like Joel Garner. What other testimony do we need than this to come to the conclusion that it is indeed a dangerous pitch.

Apart from all these allegations about ignominious playing conditions and evident injury threats to batsmen what was most dangerous about the pitch was the fact that it gave false hopes to the military medium paced Tyagi. When his good length dollies lifted viciously off the surface, the batsmen were not the only ones surprised. The bowler himself was dumbstruck. You could gauge it from the look on his face. 'Man!! Am I a great bowler or what?' he must have thought before Sangakkara gatecrashed his party. Such false hopes are dangerous for bowlers like Tyagi. His career was at stake and it was a blessing that the match was called off.

Coming to the pitch curator debates, I think the curator must not be sacked. Why? because he was not a curator after all. The original curator, one Mr. Radheshyam, was sacked due to DDCA politics and replaced by a cricket kit manufacturer. Yes you did read that right! Cricket kit manufacturer. What more will a Cricket kit manufacturer know than stitching and sewing? He did exactly that. He sewed up the cracks and patches in the pitch with tufts of grass. He did the job given to him according to his ability. What more do you want?

Coming to what can be done to avoid such fiascos in the future, I, for one, feel that it is high time people with technical knowledge be made curators; not some one-match wonders who played once upon a time for India. Just because you were a cricketer once doesn't make you an expert on pitches. This is the second time such a shame has fallen upon India and BCCI. What answers do they have for this one? Who will be held responsible? What actions will be taken?

Questions are many...where are the answers?

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