Jump to content

The biggest flops at the IPL


tnameh

Recommended Posts

Overpaid cricketers: Kallis, Dravid, Ganguly, Tendulkar, Kaif, Symonds(not worth 1.3 mil), Kaif, Tiwary, Sreesanth, RP Singh Underpaid: Grame Smith, Shane Warne, Watson, Sangakarra, Praveen Kumar, Maharoof, i could think of more but heres a few.
Misbah is also paid around $80-100K from what I hear - that's definitely underpaid (even though he hasn't proven himself yet) RP has done decently and hasn't been thrashed around the field - why is he overpaid??
Link to comment
Share on other sites

:haha: Sure man. I was in the dressing room filming the incident when it happened. :haha: I could turn around and ask: any empirical evidence that Tendulkar is "god"? I don't wish to be believed. Take everything I say with a pinch of salt. In fact, do not believe me at all. It doesn't bother me. But I know where I am coming from and I have seen Mumbai cricket from close quarters. Let me ask you something. You're captaining this team, that was on the verge of relegation in the Ranji Trophy. Three games down, you had won nothing. You're a side with 36 Ranji titles, and the whole country is looking in your direction. But you are playing crap and are about to be knocked out of the league. Yet, somehow, miracles happen. You win the next few games, you win the semis, and incredibly, you're in the final. There's just one bowler who's bowled you to that stage. He leads your wicket charts. He's your best guy and he has delivered each time you threw the ball to him. Would you drop him for the final when he's played for you throughout the season? Would you? And yet, if you do drop him, how would you justify it as a cricketing decision? Take your time before you answer that.
No offense, but a random internet poster being a complete nutjob is highly likely than Sachin being a egoistical *******.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Misbah is also paid around $80-100K from what I hear - that's definitely underpaid (even though he hasn't proven himself yet) RP has done decently and hasn't been thrashed around the field - why is he overpaid??
because hes worth 800,000 and doesnt bowl consistenly think about lads like Praveen Kumar hes a bargain for 300k
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, what a blatant case of nit-picking this thread has been. Its almost as though the author is searching, desperately, to lay some blame on Sachin. Having understood that much, I suppose its pointless to even try to reply to it, but even leaving it without responding will be construed as an admission of Sachin's so called failings. So here we go then.

Sachin did flop. And his team has been a massive disappointment so far - especially to me since I've followed Mumbai cricket quite a bit. Read my lines above carefully. I'm not saying getting injured is his fault. But it's disappointing to see a player of his standard sit out of such a high profile tournament, especially when he could be out there competing with some of his old foes. I'm hoping he's fit before Mumbai play Delhi and Rajasthan. I want to see him bat against McGrath and Warne. For the amount paid to him by Ambani, Sachin has been a flop show - at least to Ambani. Correct? And do you think all these people paid for their IPL tickets to watch Shaun Pollock bat?
No offence meant, but you gotto check up on your linguistic skills dude. If a high-profile player misses out on a high-profile tournament due to entirely natural reasons like fitness issues, at the worst you term it a 'disappointment', not a 'flop'. Thats just gross mis-representation of the situation. Sachin cant be held responsible for his fitness. And you gotto understand, Sachin's body is tremendously fragile now. Thats not a surprise, considering how old he is now and the workload he had to shoulder, for the last 17 years of his life. Really, the biggest joke is your initial list, which is this,
Sachin Tendulkar
,
The Spirit of Cricket
,
The Deccan ChargersSony's coverage
When we have 'Icon' players like Dravid and Ganguly visually and evidently hurting their team's chances, you leave out all of 'em and focus on one particular player alone, who didnt even play a match. So much for your fair-mindedness and objectivity. At the least, if you had included some other names, your list would have sounded a bit more credible.
It's not just that. There are all kinds of theories doing the round about Sachin. He's known to be fastidious about his own image' date=' about the kind of people he is seen with.[/quote'] Sachin? Fastidious bout his image?... what a ridiculous assessment! BTW, what are the 'kind of peoples' he is generally seen with? I am curious, can you give me the list.
Example, there were talks about how he had an in-form Mumbai player dropped from the final of the 2007 Ranji Trophy. Mumbai were playing Bengal at the Wankhede and Sachin was gonna play. But this player, who had played his heart out throughout the season, was dropped. Why? It came down to "he goes or I go" and the poor guy had to make way for Sachin. Bet you did not know this.
First tell us who was this inform player, the exact match and the circumstances that surrounded it. Then we shall take it from there.
Mumbai Indians is a damn expensive franchise. (The most expensive, if I read the papers right). And there have been some questionable and nonsensical hirings. Instead of banking on the rich local talent, Sachin has persisted with old chum Harbhajan who has now become an embarassment for all those who supported him in Australia. In turn, Harbhajan brought in Dominic Thornley, who is his county cricket buddy. Now Thornley is nursing the blow to his face. Besides, here's his record. Are you telling me that Mumbai didn't have any better local players than this? They bought Ashwell Prince who was axed from South Africa's ODI squad and doesn't even have T20 experience. Then, there's Ashish Nehra. Weren't there any better options than a fast bowler who wasn't even fit for his state side till recently? That the state side with 37 Ranji titles should pass this as their team is disappointing. And DO NOT tell me that Sachin was not responsible for these hirings. I rest my case. He needn't play a game to be a flop here. He's got the most expensive franchise to manage and captain too. And so far, his handling has been utter nonsense.
Dont even know how to respond to this BS, to be honest.
The man has been an absolute no-show (and that answers Marir's Question No. 2) especially because he seems to have washed off his hands off the mess his team is in right now. I'd love to be proved wrong, and I'd love to see Mumbai reach the knockouts from here. But I doubt it if that would happen. Reactions please.
He has washed off his hands? Did he actually call up and tell you that he has done that?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good list but did anyone actually expect anything different from them. Gangs' date=' Dravid and laxman are there to put asses in the seats and thats about it. The rest, noone here could explain their huge price.[/quote'] This is true but in the long-term it will end up being a very poor business decision because if those players continue playing poorly, no one will pay to see them. In the end, fans care about performance and they'll be drawn to the Nayars and Watsons, who despite being unknowns are quickly building up big reputations. Luckily for Ganguly no one is paying attention to him because KKR is riding high. Unluckily for Dravid, the opposite is true. As for Sachin, he's not a flop because he's injured. I might actually say that his injury is a blessing to Mumbai in a twisted way because there's a potential for a great sports storyline here. "Mumbai, last in the league with its star bowler and secondary captain banned, were looking like a lost cause until The Master himself singlehandedly saves their season." At the very least, his presence will bring warm bodies to the seats.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Flops by value I didn't include Laxman on the list because he is getting paid less than $400,000. His batting hasn't been great but his team's losses aren't necessarily his fault either. I didn't include Ponting because although he is a big name, he is getting paid relatively little and thus doesn't deserve the same criticism as the other players. He's also a leader on a successful team.
-Very true and because of this, the chargers were able to grab hold of big names unfortunately initially they didnt gel but i see a rejuvenated charger line up.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

:haha: Sure man. I was in the dressing room filming the incident when it happened. :haha: I could turn around and ask: any empirical evidence that Tendulkar is "god"? I don't wish to be believed. Take everything I say with a pinch of salt. In fact, do not believe me at all. It doesn't bother me. But I know where I am coming from and I have seen Mumbai cricket from close quarters. Let me ask you something. You're captaining this team, that was on the verge of relegation in the Ranji Trophy. Three games down, you had won nothing. You're a side with 36 Ranji titles, and the whole country is looking in your direction. But you are playing crap and are about to be knocked out of the league. Yet, somehow, miracles happen. You win the next few games, you win the semis, and incredibly, you're in the final. There's just one bowler who's bowled you to that stage. He leads your wicket charts. He's your best guy and he has delivered each time you threw the ball to him. Would you drop him for the final when he's played for you throughout the season? Would you? And yet, if you do drop him, how would you justify it as a cricketing decision? Take your time before you answer that.
Buddy I reckon I am the one sought some explanation from you in the first place. You implied that sachin wanted that one particular bowler out of the team, and I simply asked you substantiate your claims with some credible evidences. Besides if you insist on not to be taken seriously that pretty much kills the whole argument. So please back up your claims.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You understand that Sachin's 35 years old and has been playing longer than anyone else in the international circuit and is 415+ ODIs and 145+ Tests old. This is NOT a high-profile tournament. It is a domestic tournament. You're criticizing him for involuntarily sitting out of a domestic tournament? He doesn't get paid his money if he doesn't play. About his team selection, who would've thought that Jayasuriya wouldn't fire and the rest of the team also doesn't fire? Jayasuriya is one of the greatest openers in the shorter format and Sachin asking for him is NOT a mistake. Uthappa has been a success in T20 because of his fielding and batting. So stop making nonsensical claims that Sachin's selections have been horrible and despite knowing that, he chose them. You provided a CI article about why they left out N Kulkarni. Praveen Amre has provided the answers as to why they left him out. Did Sachin fail? No he made a century. I just skimmed over the article and it says that they brought in W. Mota for Kulkarni, who did not fare very well. Where does it say that to accommodate Sachin, Kulkarni was left out? Isn't he in the Mumbai squad right now? He's been doing pretty well (fielding & bowling). To say that Sachin is selfish is arrogance and ignorance. Sachin is a close friend of Harbhajan and he brought in a player that Harbhajan suggested. Sachin did not play in the county but Bhajji did so he trusted him. How is Sachin supposed to be a great captain if he is not even playing? How is that not an illogical claim to make? Same goes to "handling the team." Ashwell Prince has only played one T20I. How can you judge him off of that. He's played terrifically in Test Matches. Why is that a bad choice? What is he supposed to come in and say for the Bhajji/Sree dilemma? Throughout his career he has made it a point to not get sucked into controversies that he is NOT involved in. He helped Harbhajan in Australia because he felt he was not guilty. Here, it has been proved he's guilty. Thats it. When Sachin was not part of the team, not part of the incident, why would he come forward to make a statement? IT is completely against his character. I am sorry if I misunderstood you somewhere but I think what you wrote is completely illogical and until I see proof, completely FALSE.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

tnameh, It is absolutely outragious when you say that Kulkarni was left because Sachin wanted him out of the team. Sachin didn't even have time to think about Ranji that year because after returning from SA, India had to play 8 ODIs with WI and SL and after playing all that, Sachin joined for the Ranji final just on the eve of the match. Why? Because Bombay him in the squad and not only him but Zaheer too. Obviously some player was going to be dropped and it was team management decision , who to drop and who to choose! Sachin was not involved anywhere in this. And because of injury, if you want to see Sachin as a flop then I tell you that you must brush up your IPL informations. A player has to play at least 4 matches to even receive 25% of the payment. Besides, these contracts are given for three years, not just this year. If a player fails to take part even in a single match, he won't be paid. As Bhajji stands to lose nearly all the money from IPL. Akhtar won't be paid a penny if he fails to play the game and such things!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest HariSampath

This IPL means different things to different people ( and players). First of all , there are at least 3-4 teams who have been bought and are in the tournament just as "glorified self advertising". Shah Rukh Khan's KKR, mallaya's RC, Ambani's Mumbai are certainly meant for this purpose. These folks have plenty of black money, and are spending some of it to legitimise accounts in a big way, and gaining media/mass image mileage for that efforts. Its not about cricket, just about being "seen in a cricket context" by the masses, and naturally they will go with players like Ganguly, Dravid, Sachin etc. The key is these old and ageing players know it, and the franchise owners too would have told them to take it easy. Thats why you find teams like BRC, KKR and others having cricketers who are certainly unfit for t20 cricket, but are in fact being given "benefit purses" for being the chamchas of the other seniors. Sunil Joshi, Kumble et al have been "selected" for this benefit program by Dravid. SRK bought Akthar whose value in any game is questionable...just adds spice to the team. Similarily Bhajji is always Sachin's buddy and adds color. Kallis always used to praise Dravid, is a similar player and gets rewarded. In short , this is just a fancy outing for these teams and their owners, the onus being on team partys, film shoots, promos, music, bollywood branding and all that jazz. The promoters and "icons" gain much more than money...if you notice , all these Dravids, gangulys etc are out of the ODI scene and hence out of tv viewership and so dropped as advt brands. The IPL came as a huge blessing for these old foggies to play in color on tv, be seen often and remain in public memory along with flashy businessmen/actors etc. Doesnt hurt their public image with those masses to whom cricket is irrelevant. Their target is those millions of ppl who dont really follow the game, but just soem spicy news on the game/players and for this it doesnt matter if they have a string of failures, if once in a bluemoon they get a 50 which will be hyped by their bootlicking buddies in the media. I have excluded the Kings 11 from the above, because although the Zinta girl is a movie star, she at least selecetd a team competitive in limited overs, and even with her limited knowledge of cricket, she and her team havent done too badly. I also cannot classify Sachin as completely unfit for t20, although I do feel he has to prove himself , which he can as he has the basic attacking ability as a batter. But in other respects of "image-branding" excercise, he is very much part of the whole theme. I am surprised that a groin injury can keep out a player for so long...and if you include the fact he had absolutely no presence in the 3 test series, having scored his last run in Australia during his magnificent performances in the CB finals. He is also wise and probably wary of failure in this format and may not want to rush to play as there is nothing in it for his cricket/persona image. On another note, I too know plenty of folks who are centrally involved with Mumbai cricket and Sachin is not all that goody or pure when it comes to promoting his own cheerleaders in the team/rroting for their selections, dropping others and in general playing politics. I know many cricketers from the U-22 stage who specifically quit Mumabi cricket as the big man had no time for their performances and instead was promoting his own blue eyed boys. The joke in Mumbai circles used to be that if you wanna come up in cricket, you better have a Dad who is literary/poetry famous, you better be Marathi enough, and learn to say "sachin this...sachin that" at every turn and opportunity whether or not it is relevant to the context. But Sachin being one of the truly all time greats of Indian cricket can get away with all this...kets not forget that this is perhaps the only huge mega star booed in his own backyard in Mumbai...those with eyes to see and ears to hear will know more than what merely appears on the surface and biscuit advts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On another note, I too know plenty of folks who are centrally involved with Mumbai cricket and Sachin is not all that goody or pure when it comes to promoting his own cheerleaders in the team/rroting for their selections, dropping others and in general playing politics. I know many cricketers from the U-22 stage who specifically quit Mumabi cricket as the big man had no time for their performances and instead was promoting his own blue eyed boys. The joke in Mumbai circles used to be that if you wanna come up in cricket, you better have a Dad who is literary/poetry famous, you better be Marathi enough, and learn to say "sachin this...sachin that" at every turn and opportunity whether or not it is relevant to the context. But Sachin being one of the truly all time greats of Indian cricket can get away with all this...kets not forget that this is perhaps the only huge mega star booed in his own backyard in Mumbai...those with eyes to see and ears to hear will know more than what merely appears on the surface and biscuit advts.
I have played some cricket at the U-16 level. I have visted various arenas, saw many teams, interacted with players. And what I have always found out is that with any team, with any tournament at any stage, their are always a number of players who feel they are over-looked or hard done by. Politics happen of course, but not as much in cricket as in many other sports. Every upcoming player thinks of himself as the next big thing. Given that opportunities are provided to only a few, most are expected to feel hard done by. (this scenario is true in corportae world too. How many youg guys quit a job because they think that the one who got promoted deserved it less than them?). So yes, players do quit a team becuase they think there is favouritism and that someone less able is being promoted. Most of the time however, its just their 'feeling' that they are more deserving. People who know how to spot talent might not agree. Also the fact that they might not always look at the averages while selecting might miff them more. For them their is no obvious reason why a certain player was chosen over them because at their age, its easier to praise oneself than others. So they bandy their favourite term "favouritism. This can be explolated to any field of life, starting from school, to the corporate world, to sports. The losers always accuse of favouritism and if the loser just happens to be someone you know, you take it as the gospel and spread it around till the rumour spreads to such an extant that it is reported as a fact. Most probably, you have been speaking to those who have 'lost' out.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest HariSampath

I agree that many players "miss out"...but when someone does so for entirely non cricketing reasons, he will feel bad, especially as the one who "made it" over him did so purely because he had a brother in a big star's club, some social connection, or just plain caught the fancy of the star from that city by echoing known sentiments about non cricketing matters. This happens in every city...in Mumbai as lots of cricket is played and stakes are higher, it happens much more

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree that many players "miss out"...but when someone does so for entirely non cricketing reasons, he will feel bad, especially as the one who "made it" over him did so purely because he had a brother in a big star's club, some social connection, or just plain caught the fancy of the star from that city by echoing known sentiments about non cricketing matters. This happens in every city...in Mumbai as lots of cricket is played and stakes are higher, it happens much more
It happens yes, but not to an extent people claim it does. (Like the line about having a poet dad :haha:). And maybe, just maybe, the guys who got selected were more capable too.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest HariSampath

Hey..I have played at U-15, U-19 levels and watched junior cricket for 25+ years in Chennai...I know that even here it happens a LOT more than what is known publicly. It happens way too much in Mumbai, Chandigarh and Delhi. Bangalore is actually a little better, with the likes of Brijesh patel , GR Vishwanath and others running the game there. Hyderabad is the worst in the whole world. ANY age group team will have a set of 11 players who wont find a place even in the 6th 11 based on merit....the magic word is "Yadav"....and 4 of his family have played cricket when they shouldnt have even been allowed to SEE cricket matches.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest HariSampath

Two examples from Chennai...just off the top of my head....and the common joke about them in Chennai circles... L Sivaramakrishnan ( after he was finally dropped from Indian team at age 22, having debuted at 17) : He played cricket when he should have been watching, and now is watching cricket when he should be playing :D Bharat Arun : He should not even play for India Pistons ( a local club), but is playing for India

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey..I have played at U-15, U-19 levels and watched junior cricket for 25+ years in Chennai...I know that even here it happens a LOT more than what is known publicly. It happens way too much in Mumbai, Chandigarh and Delhi. Bangalore is actually a little better, with the likes of Brijesh patel , GR Vishwanath and others running the game there. Hyderabad is the worst in the whole world. ANY age group team will have a set of 11 players who wont find a place even in the 6th 11 based on merit....the magic word is "Yadav"....and 4 of his family have played cricket when they shouldnt have even been allowed to SEE cricket matches.
Yep, India is a corrupt country
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...