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Sri Lanka finally beat India in the third and final test to clinch the series 2-1. It was a historic test match, since it was the first time the ICC experimented with the umpire review system. It is widely spoken that Sri Lanka were on the right side of the review experiment while India ended up on the wrong side with majority of the reviews going against India.

The question is whether the review system will continue. After what we have seen in this series, the review system seems to be here to stay. It has really given the players and umpires something to think about. While the players will try to be as honest as possible, the umpires will try their best to be as close to being 100% accurate.

However that does not mean that the review system is perfect. In majority of the cases where the review system has failed, it is during a LBW appeal. Of course there was the instance where Tillekeratne Dilshan had edged the ball to the keeper but the TV camera failed to capture it. But except for such cases the majority of the controversies were during LBW referrals. The review system is going to end up in more batsmen being given out LBW rathen than not out because as was seen in the series, the third umpire never gave the benefit of any doubt to the batsman.

Former ICC panel umpire K Hariharan feels that the review system is good for cricket but will end up boosting a bowler’s strike rate and bring down a batsman’s average. Of course, getting the correct result is more important than wondering whose averages will be affected. But the basic fundamental of cricket that the batsman should get the benefit of any doubt should be maintained.

A possible solution should be that in LBW cases the review system should be only used to rectify obvious mistakes….. such as a batsman being given out when the ball had pitched clearly outside leg stump or when the batsman had got an inside edge. In other LBW cases, the decision of the on-field umpire should be maintained. In cases other than LBW, the review system should be able to give us 99% accurate results.

And finally. The review system can only be as good as the third umpire. If even after looking at replays the third umpire makes a blatantly wrong decision, then there is absolutely nothing technology can do!

Indian cricket and BCCI is living through times that probably indicate a change in outlook and expectations. Post the super success of the IPL, BCCI is laden with public expectations of improving the state of cricket at the domestic and absolute grass root levels, which off course everyone believes is its core responsibility. There are fresh hopes for better stadiums, better talent search and development programmes for budding players and there is no doubt about BCCI’s ability to plan and deliver post the IPL, but its core responsibility needs someone like Lalit Modi to take charge and execute.

As far as the team is concerned, post the highly successful Australian tour & exemplary perfomances in the IPL by star players, fresh hopes are being harboured by all with regards to domination in both one day format. The team is silently witnessing the break from the Ganguly-Dravid era and its likely that these stalwarts may not play for India again in ODIs & Twenty20. The team is bubbling with fresh and young talent who are being complemented by reborn players like Sehwag, Gambhir, Irfan and modern day stars like Dhoni and Yuvraj.

Its only in the Indian Test team that time seems to stand still. The Fab Four will continue to be at the helm of things in the middle order & Kumble and Zaheer will continue to be the bowling spearheads.

All this means we are in midst of a major change in Indian Cricket …… while ironically we seem to resent change !! 

During a recent interview to CNN TalkAsia, Mr. Lalit Modi, Chairman of the Indian Premier League commented that the real success of the IPL lies in the fact that the crowd had really adopted their own home teams resulting in incidents such as Rahul Dravid, ex-captain of the Indian Cricket team being booed in Mumbai, and Sachin Tendulkar being booed in parts of India other than Mumbai.

However, the current vice-captain of the Indian team does not seem to understand this. After his Kings XI Punjab team defeated the Mumbai Indians in their home at the Wankhede Stadium by a solitary run, Yuvraj commented at the post-match presentation that the crowd only supported the home team and forgot that Yuvraj & few of his team mates are part of the Indian National side.

Yuvraj seems to have forgotten that he was representing the Punjab side at that moment & was playing in Mumbai, so how did he expect the crowd to cheer for him? Was he sleeping to not take note that his own Punjab crowd did not support (and cannot be expected to support) the India National team players in the Mumbai Indians team, when they played at Mohali?

As Mr. Modi rightly says, this was the real success factor of the IPL. Who would have imagined that a packed Eden Gardens crowd at Kolkata would actually support Shoaib Akhtar against Virendra Sehwag & celebrate when Shoaib Akhtar would dismiss Sehwag ? Similarly the Delhi crowd also cheered Dinesh Karthik against the Mumbai Indians’ pacer Ashish Nehra, who otherwise plays for Delhi.

The sooner Yuvraj understands this, the better it is for him. One certainly didn’t expect the Indian Vice-Captain to make such statements. He would have all the support of the Mumbai crowd when he wears the India Blues, but as long as he is donning the Punjab colours, he will be appropriately booed by the Mumbai crowd.

Star cricketers are used to having a large fan following nowadays, but its time they understand that they are supported only because of the team they represent !

When the Indian team for the Twenty20 World Cup was selected last year, it was a shock to see the axeing of India’s Big 4 : Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid & VVS Laxman. India went on to win the Twenty 20 World Cup !!

When the Indian team for the Tri-series in Australia was announced, it was again a shock to see the omission of 3 of India’s Big 4. Sachin Tendulkar was not only considered lucky to survive but he also proved his critics wrong on becoming the Man of the Finals to lead India to a spectacular win down under ! This win was without the remaining 3 of the Big 4 !

So as the IPL matches are unfolding, it is not a surprise to see that the 4 teams at the bottom of the league are Kolkata, Mumbai, Deccan & Bangalore ! And no prizes for guessing the Captains of these 4 teams at the bottom of the Indian Premier League…. its the Big 4 !!

Is it the beginning of the end of the Big 4 ? Again to be fair to Sachin, he hasn’t played a single match till now but that by itself shows that due to his fitness concerns, he is no longer valuable to the team he is in.

The teams which are leading at the top of the table are lead by those perceived as India’s future. Barring Shane Warne who leads Rajasthan, the other 3 teams are lead by MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh & Virender Sehwag !!

Is it time to officially call these 3 as the new Big 3 of Indian Cricket ??

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has turned out to be a runaway success. But while everyone is congratulating Lalit Modi for his success, let us not forget Subhash Chandra for initiating the Indian Cricket League (ICL) which forced BCCI to start the IPL.

The only reasons why the ICL could not succeed to the same level as the IPL is only due to the monopolistic policies of the BCCI and its blackmailing.

BCCI denied the ICL use of its grounds to host the tournament and also blackmailed the players to not join the ICL threatening them with dire consequences. In spite of this, one must say the ICL managed to do quite well, though it has now been completely overwhelmed by the success & popularity of the IPL.

So while we appreciate the copiers (IPL), let us not forget the original creators (ICL) !

Harbhajan Singh has been handed an 11-match ban from the Indian Premier League (IPL) after being found guilty of slapping Sreesanth.

While Harbhajan’s reaction to Sreesanth’s sledging cannot be justified in any manner, Sreesanth also needs to be pulled up for needless sledging of the opposition. Sreesanth falls in the same category as South Africa’s Andre Nel who does not need a reason to sledge and abuse the batsman.

While Harbhajan has been rightly banned to set a precedent for others, it must be said that a certain level of aggression is necessary in players. Harbhajan’s aggression, except for a couple of incidents in his career including the latest one in the IPL, is generally beneficial for the team. But the aggression of Sreesanth and Nel is totally undesired.

One can only hope that the BCCI pulls up Sreesanth for his “action” which seems to have induced the “reaction” from Harbhajan. 

India defeated South Africa at Kanpur to level the series 1-1. The matter of dispute during the Kanpur Test was the turning Green Park pitch which helped the hosts to clinch the series levelling victory.

The Green Park curator Shiv Kumar has now received a personal note of thanks and a cash reward from the stand-in Test skipper, MS Dhoni. Kumar said regular Test skipper Anil Kumble, who missed the match due to a groin injury, also came down to meet and thank him for preparing the “spinner-friendly” pitch after the match. Off spinner Harbhajan Singh, who won the man of the series award for scalping 19 wickets, also met Kumar to praise and thank him.

While there should be no objections to prepare a pitch to suit the home team, it is not a good sign for the home team’s captain to congratulate and reward the curator for “helping” them to win a match. I reiterate that it is absolutely fair to prepare a pitch to suit the home team as long as it is not sub-standard. There is a difference between a turning wicket and a sub-standard wicket which turns.

When the Indian team plays at Perth, they cannot expect to get a turning pitch. Similarly, it is fair that visiting teams will not get bouncy pitches when they play in the Indian sub-continent.

But for a home team captain to reward a curator for “helping” him to win the match is like admitting that they could not have won the match without his help. Dhoni should have better left this job of rewarding the curator to the Green Park authorities and to the BCCI.

Quite a few times, sportsmen and teams  surprise everyone with their upset or giant killing performances. Generally they are abberations in the script or flukes of highest order. But on very few occasions, such surprises refresh sportslovers . The Indian team’s performance in the tri series down under is one such performance. The youngsters surprised everyone including this writer by putting up a good show in the league games and capping it with a win in the finals.

Their win has not only challengd Aussie supremacy in One dayers, but have also proved that Aussies are not Invincibles at home.The ‘young rookies’ and ‘ever on trial’ players  in the team have had the maximum impact in the series. If Ishant Sharma showed what  geniune and consistent pace bowling is all about with his efforts, then Rohit Sharma brought innovativeness and solidity to the Indian middle order. If Gautam Gambhir sealed his place in the lineup with some splendid strokeplay then Irfan Pathan showed that he is still the one, who can be the next Kapil Dev. And finally Dhoni proved that when evident talent and conviction combine, then no barrier can stall a teams progress.

There have been disappontments like Sehwag, but nevertheless this super win will go a long way in establishing the confidence and courage that the youngsters need to succeed at the highest level. This win has brought fresh wind into Indian cricket and proved that the future of Indian cricket is chugging on the right path.     

Before India played Australia in a one-off Twenty20 match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, India had lost just one International Twenty20 match… against New Zealand in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup last year. By the time the match ended, India had not only lost for a second time but also achieved the dubious record of scoring just one more run that the lowest Twenty20 international score ever.

The big crowd at the picturesque MCG felt let down that a Twenty20 match did not last for even 30 overs. Not surprising as on the previous day the Indian captain Dhoni had shockingly called the match a “practice match”. The Indian fans can only hope that the Indian team has finished their “practice” and will pull up their socks for the ODIs.

Justice John Hadsen has cleared Indian Offie Harbhajan Singh of racial abuse but the matter does not end there. Why has Andrew Symonds been allowed to go scotfree without a fine? It was a friendly gesture by Harbhajan Singh towards Brett Lee that caused the altercation between him and Andrew Symonds leading to allegations of racial abuse against the Indian off-spinner. 

According to Hansen, Lee had bowled a yorker to Harbhajan which the off-spinner played to fine leg. He then patted Lee on the back while taking a single as a gesture of appreciation. The incident prompted Symonds to approach Harbhajan and tell him he had no friends among the Australians in foul and abusive language. ”A Test match is no place to be friendly with an opposition player” Symonds said. Justice Hansen rightfully says “If that is his view, I hope it is not one shared by all international cricketers. It would be a sad day for cricket if it is.”

So why has Symonds not been slapped with a fine? And why is the ICC silent on why no action is been taken against Mike Proctor. His action against Harbhajan on the sole basis of the Aussies’ word is rascist to say the least.

Indian Selection Committee chief Dilip Vengsarkar has rightly called for Symonds & Proctor to be punished. But will the ICC take any action? If not, one can see why the Indian team is having the dubious record of maximum cases of breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct and not Australia !!