World XI - part II

The remaining part of the world XI goes here :

7. Adam Gilchrist.

8. Malcomm Marshall

9. Wasim Akram

10. Shane Warne

11. Glenn McGrath.

Chaminda Vaas and Rumesh Rathnayake are in the probables list and so is Murali. That cracks me up.

Why did Warne and McGrath retire in 2007 ?

Want to know why Warne and Pidge retired in 2007 ?

If you want to believe Javed Miandad, then here is the reason :

Due to the IPL, superstars like Shane Warne [ Images ] and Glenn McGrath [ Images ] retired from the Australian cricket team.

"They could easily play for another couple of years, but rushed to the IPL, as the amount was very attractive; so when the Indian team visited Australia [ Images ], who were without senior players like Warne and McGrath, it was easy for the Indians to control the opposing team."

Now somebody need to explain the jumping jack that IPL was announced in Sep 2007 and both superstars retired in Jan 2007, even ICL was not born then.

Being the "samdhi" of a mafia don himself he calls IPL a mafia :

The Indian Premier League is becoming a big mafia that wants to control world cricket; it is not only endangering the existence of the International Cricket Council [ Images ], but also the rest of the cricketing nations.

If IPL is threat to India, he answers : "Not at all; the IPL will help Indians only, but it will weaken the rest of the teams. India will get the best players of the world and weaken other teams".

He should be told that only Indian citizens can play for India and we've got no system we know of where foreign nationals can play for India.

"Twenty20 cricket is no cricket, but money-cricket; everybody knows that it is commercial cricket; the main cricket is moving towards destruction"

Destruction in Pak for cricket? Yes. Not elsewhere.

Clearly the guy has lost his mind and is suffering from diarohea from mouth rather than back. 

Devils get in to Super Eights

Indian batting coupled with Australian - Dutch bowling makes it an unbeatable combo. Finger spinners, mysteries demystified and the legend of the Pidge is established. What the world is missing.

He didnt bowl or train in 8 months. Didnt bowl in a game for close to 17 months, yet when he picks a bowl he is back to his self, we all know.

Pidge has just been a fantastic bowler over the ages. What do I say about him. He is just awesome.

And Sehwag has now cleared the fear about his injury. His absence was the prime reason India bowed out in the first rounds of back to back ICC tournaments.

Dinesh Karthik, the dancing babe, today slog sweeped Mendis to 3 sixes in 3 before evoking Yuvraj comparisons and putting Sangakara on mute who had just praised tough character of Mendis.

Oodi baba. Sangakara mention. And mention of character. Japanese would be pissed off.

Good to see Pidge playing and Veeru demolishing bowlers after 6 months. And yes Delhi Daredevils were 2nd team to be in the Super Eights. Ding dong :)

Prologue...

Welcome to the IPL coverage and blogging at Arm Ball. A separate section for T20 glitz and glmorous tamasha on my blog. For next 38 days, i shall try and present my reviews and my take on the cricketing part of the IPL -2 and a digg at the Bollywood chaff that has crept in the game of the cricket.

I am rooting this time for:

• Mumbai Indians for the sole presence of Sachin Tendulkar
• Delhi DareDevils for the presence of India's dynamite duo in addition with Pidge.

I want Kolkata Knight Riders to lose all their games for the humiliation the coach and the spineless owner of the franchisee handed over to Saurav Ganguly.

Welcome to the IPL @ Arm Ball. My 2nd blog and main one for next 38 days.

Déjà-vu on IPL

With the intense 7 or 8 last months in Indian cricket, it’s a bit of let down to see the team playing against each other in the IPL. Somehow I am not able to digest the pills of IPL this time. I watched IPL – 1 with full excitement and enthu. But this time I find it bit tough to gather the same enthusiasm and support. I was off the blog last year when IPL – 1 happened. More so to do with the 1-2 loss in Australia especially in the Sydney test. That was wrecking. But somehow I did manage to recollect my enthu in 2008 later half and this blog was born. However due to the tight situations in the project in the workplace given the global recession and followed by crappy Dish TV when I had no access to Neo Sports for Aus and Eng home series, I lost the chance to watch LIVE the high Indians had in 2008. Besides retirements of Saurav Ganguly and Anil Kumble were further dampeners.

I am not able to swallow the glitz and glamour of IPL. Moreso with the entry of chaff in the ring with the likes of dumb headed boozoes like Ms Shetty, Ms Zinta and Mr SRK who have no idea of what cricket is. They have mixed the business and ROI with the dynamics of the game. And armed with that power, this elements don’t bother with whom they are dealing. As a result you have Sunny Gavaskar being ridiculed by a man who has never stepped on to a cricket field with a bat or ball in his hand, the likes of Dravid and Laxman were replaced by men who don’t know what concentration and power of silken touch means. There have been elements in the blog world who have mocked the concept of IPL and are against it. I am no big fan of IPL too, but I am more keen to watch few players play, otherwise it would be impossible to see them play. The love for the game is such that you always want to go and watch :

· Shane Warne

· Mathew Hayden

· Glenn McGrath and of course

· Saurav Ganguly.

In IPL.

I would never get a chance to see this players again in traditional form of game in whites or colored clothings of national teams. IPL gives me a chance to watch them with limited pleasure for a limited time. So I am pitching myself to watch the tamasha of the game which doesn’t stand a chance before the purity of a Test match or a tension of a ODI. I also don’t understand the logic of replacing RD with KP as skipper for Royal Challengers. And then when KP is far away for WI series Jacques Kallis replacing him. Kallis isn’t considered worthy enough to lead his own team for long, then how can he lead a IPL franchisee ? Not to forget amidst other failures in RC, Dravid was their highest scorer in the tournament. 347 @ 118 runs per 100 balls. Not bad for somebody who is considered to be a Test specialist. The problem with Dravid has been the intensity and the crave for perfection. He had a horrible team with his disposition. Jaffer was opening in T20 whereas he was never suited to open even in Tests. Mark Boucher has had a good record as a lower order hitter in ODIs, but he didn’t come good. And moreover he had to oversee the cynics of Vijay Malaya.

This year Dada has already been cut to size by his coach cum manager. Dada was a flash in manager’s eye when he coached Aussies. Out of 3 series at the helm, the Dada team got better of the coach’s team 2 times though won just 1 series. So all kinds of hoodlum politics is already in place in the franchisees…..

I just wish that the game of cricket wins over the chaffers and the dust particles trying to intrude the game we all love very much in the 2^nd season of IPL. Meanwhile the glaring contest to watch will be:

· Sachin and Jayasuriya opening the batting for Mumbai Indians.

· Old iconic contest between Sachin and Warne, McGrath though only for few overs or not at all. Not that this would matter though. Being a purist, I crave for the contests between greatest icons.

· Though he is no more hype now than he was in last year, Mendis would be a cult figure to watch. It would be interesting to see how Sachin and Jaya play against him. No doubt Jayasuriya would hit him if in form, but also Tendulkar would try to get better of him for the misery he suffered in SL test series last year.

Déjà-vu just can’t get better than this.