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17 comments

1. http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/03/stories/2010020359781500.htm

   Please read Nagaraj’s description of what went into the Mysore pitch.

   Interesting to note that he was given a free hand to make this kind of a pitch. I think it is only a matter of time before the BCCI wakes up and reins this man in. 😉

2. Raising one of your old posts… I just can’t see any point to hosting the test at Eden Gardens when hardly anybody’s going to be at the stadium, which itself is going to look awful with all the reconstruction going on. And then there is this Duleep Trophy match where no fans are going to be allowed into the stadium. With so many stadiums available in the country, must we really keep presenting the worst possible outlook? I know organizers are preoccupied with the number eyeballs they get via television, but surely they also realize that there are fewer eyesores than an empty stadium?

   1. Surely they don’t — as is clear from recent examples. It is symptomatic of the short sightedness of the board — they figure the money comes in from TV so they don’t need to bother with the paying spectators. Short sighted for two reasons — the TV spectacle is enhanced by visuals of an on-ground crowd enjoying itself, and crowd revenue, if properly utilized, can actually become sizeable — for instance, think merchandizing, think on-ground sales, etc.

3. What is it with Dinesh Karthik? Every time he is dropped he makes the selectors look stupid and everytime is selected he does the same too!

   We have had India-Pak test series without any hassles but no crowd for a Duleep trophy final? coz of Telengana? What next? audience-less movies?

   1. DK is at best a good utility player — but he does not have the skill sets to command a permanent place in the national side. Like a lot of others, he is however too good for the domestic level — so back home, he makes runs like it’s going out of style, then at the highest level, he embarrasses himself.

      1. DK did very well in IPL for Delhi,while he is expected to do better with the opportunitie he has got,he hasnt done justice,could also be the fact that he has been in and out of team and played at all positions.

4. Wot about Laxman’s worry with slow bowlers in India?

   The real options even now are:
   1) Harbhajan (offspin)
   2) Manoj Tiwari, Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla (leg spin)
   3) Ojha, Murali Kartik and Ravindra Jadeja (left arm) (i put MK on purpose)

   The ball spin for Bhajji, Ohja, MK, and RJadeja is necessarily same, into the right hander. So if there were to be two spinners should the real competition be between Bhajji and Ojha ,assuming, he is the best slow LA bowler, we have and not between Mishra and Ojha.

   1. Fair point. I like Bajji, Amit and Ojha as the frontline spinners, but I’d also want to keep an eye on some of the young kids who have been making waves in recent times. Tiwari and Jadeja fall more into the category of competent spinners who can weigh in with the bat.

   2. Wait a minute, Bhajji, Ojha, MK and RJ all spin the ball into the right hander? Except for Bhajji, all the other three are orthodox left arm, i.e., their natural spin will turn the ball away from the right-hander and not ‘into’ as you claim. If you are looking for a common characteristic in all the four bowlers you mention, they are all finger spinners.

      1. Ignore my last comment, I see what you mean. I mistook Ball spin for turn off the pitch.

5. Prem,
   Are you one of those who insist that Bhajji is our No.1 spinner? I have never understood why he is indispensible.

   1. Neither have I. And since you’ve been on here long enough, mate, surely you recall instances where I’ve questioned his selection? What brought this on?

      1. I was not actually accusing you of having said that. But, you take any team briefing or any media report, nobody seriously talks about dropping/resting Bhajji. I wanted your opinion on that.

         1. My opinion is that any player needs to be picked on form and performance, and it has been a while since Bajji has been an automatic selection on either or both criteria.

            1. Agree totally with you. I strongly feel that he should be given a kick in the butt. We know it worked wonders with Sehwag & Zaheer.

6. A Non cricketing topic:Was watching Rahul gandhi comment on the Mumbai issue,he said India belongs to all Indians and every Indian has right to every part of India(A statement which is true and should be true).Why is then Kashmir not for all Indians?Why has the party which has ruled(mis) India for such a long time not been able to repeal the laws governing that state? Why couldn’t they provide development for states like Bihar so that migration does not happen?Migration has happened from Kashmir to different parts due to the extremists,from Bihar and UP to Mumbai,Punjab and other parts for livelihood.
   Sena is doing a dis-service .the migrants help in keeping costs low and are indicators of jobs being availble

7. Nice one here from Terry Jenner: “I watched Harbhajan Singh help India win the 2007 World Cup in South Africa and he was bowling 100kph yorkers wide off the crease. You wonder about the development of the spinner then. I don’t think he has been the same bowler since.”

   http://www.cricinfo.com/page2/content/story/446418.html

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