What a sorry performance by the Indian cricket team. Suck they indeed.
Before the team left for Sri Lanka the main story was that Tendulkar needed 172 runs to surpass Brian Lara’s record in Test cricket (which probably was obtained in lot fewer tests). At the run rate Tendulkar is managing these days it will take a few years to do that. In Tendulkar’s defense he has broken so many records that any new ones will just be icing on the cake. But as far as the rest of the team is concerned, it is a sad story. The good news was that Bindra got the first individual Olympic goal medal and that diverted attention and TV channels could once again play “Chakde India” every few minutes.
Dhoni received Khel Ratna award. He was not even playing in the Test series. Don’t you need to prove yourself for several years before you get a Khel Ratna?
India spends too much time and energy on cricket while not much attention and money is spent on other sports. BCCI is one the richest sporting boards with billions of dollars in its kitty.
30 years ago, most cricketers ‘worked’ in a bank in between cricket matches. Failure meant more hours in a bank and that was a strong incentive to perform! These days cricket is a full-time sport and in addition to the money BCCI provides, lot more can be made in endorsements. So, it is puzzling that a nation of over a billion people in a cricket-crazy country perform below par especially when compared to a small country like Sri Lanka which has lot fewer resources at its disposal. What can be done?
Make IPL (Indian Premier League) the norm. Have 4 players from abroad in the team to improve the chances of winning matches.
When Yuvraj hit 6 sixers in an over, the Punjab Govt. promptly offered a reward of 1 crore. This is your government at work — providing money to the needy. Now, if Yuvraj or Sehwag or Dravid underperform 3 times in a row, take back the money. This will provide a dis-incentive and prod aging cricketers to retire and bring in new blood.
Spend more time and money on other sports with the aim to get 15 medals in London Olympics of which at least 3 are gold. Bindra has inspired the nation and more youngsters will now believe that they too can win gold medals. Thanks to Bindra, Archery will get lot of attention and many will join the sport. This may result in a short-supply of targets for practice: if so, I can think of 16 targets that can be used for target practice 😎