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Salil at His Best


Dhondy

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Our Salil, aka Thal. After reading my recent posts on this forum, he emailed me with his thoughts, and here they are, for your eyes. Such a passionate and gifted writer, Thal. I did this without so much as by-your-leave, and apologies to him for that, but I just had to share this with you, because he mirrors my thoughts. Only, I couldn't have been half as eloquent. Read on. Just saw your posts on ICF....and you're very right - it's hard to appreciate the Indian team when they perform like this. People like Raina are gutless, scared of failure and scared to take the risks needed to really succeed. Ganguly's one exception - while he may be a FTB, he at least does have enough character to show some real fight from time to time. I was reading John Wright's Indian Summers some time ago, and one segment stood out there - he wrote in one chapter about considering, during player selection, whether you'd want certain players on your side in a bar fight. With this Indian side, they'd probably run straight out of the door or hide behind the counter until things cooled down. Or head to the restroom to fix their hair. A while ago (frequently in the 90s, around 02, and then again in 2005), I kept getting the vibe that the side was often all style, no substance. You had the odd guy like a Sidhu, a person with a fighter's heart - the rest were silk and style and when the pressure came on, they'd fall to pieces. So I started following cricket elsewhere. Perhaps that's why I'm such a big Australian fan now, for reasons beyond the personal Australian connection/family/friendships/etc. Started keeping up with the likes of the NSW Blues (and now most domestic cricket there). Some of those blokes have real toughness, and those with the most often come through to the national side. Remember Langer at Jo'burg, after his concussion? Ponting has said he would declare before Langer batted, yet when Lee and Kasper struck the winning runs, they cut to JL on the balcony, and in spite of a head injury, concussion and such, he was padded up and all ready to run out if a wicket fell. Guys like Jaques, MacGill, Kasper, Bichel and co. are amazing to watch, simply because of the intensity they bring to the middle. I saw highlights of a recent domestic one dayer between NSW and Queensland some time ago - most dangerous bowler on view was Bic, with the way he kept running in hard, banging the middle of the pitch, roughing up the batsmen and giving them verbals to boot. You wouldn't get that in a Ranji game. Silky, elegant strokeplay, lots of style, flash and sizzle. Nobody there with the heart for a fight though - no 37 year old guys with their international careers in a grave, but still pounding batsmen at 138 kmh. No major pay, no ads or major pay cheques - these guys play with pure heart and no cash in their eyes, and it shows. And it refreshes. There's a lot to be said for watching that sort of cricket, or even something like the Kanga League in Bombay, or a few of the county players; guys like Jon Lewis, Martin Bicknell and company. They play for the game, and don't worry about politics, their averages and their next advertisement role. It's hard to remain a devoted fan of the Indian cricket team and still really enjoy the game in the way it's meant to be played, and I sympathise with you (particularly after what all I remember back in the 90s with the big cash rush, the masala ODI wagon and the constant, constant hype) over the heartbreak and disappointment.

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Guest dada_rocks

Re: Salil at His Best :wtg: Hard to disagree with the sentiment ; we in india have arrogant epitaph ready for anyone who dares to indulge in such play. Despite the fact that very idea of entering a cricket field or for that matter any sport field with an intention to win ; well if u revel in mere participation where sport is more about othert things than winning then you are sxucsed; has arrogance written all over it but still we must pretend otherwise. Such is the upbringing, can't fault our players they behave the way they have been taught to since the early days.

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Re: Salil at His Best True. The feeling is same for any sensible, mature person following Indian cricket since at least 90's. Modern day sports are just like war. When you are on attack you must leave no punches unturned to succeed.Snatching initiatives, counter attacks should be a seriously constant process independent of players' 'comfort level' and 'convenience'. Sometomes I feel Greg's 'process' pitch makes real sense, since you cannot expect Ind to be anywhere near top without wholesome mental makeover no matter how much' talent' and/or 'class' they possess.

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Re: Salil at His Best Joke of an OP. Case in point India-WI test series. That was heart, fight, guts. We fought umpiring, weather and still won the series with a captain's knock to take us home. We do have our lows, but who doesn't other than the aussies? We have our ups too and some of us would like to enjoy those as well. Wonder what you guys would have done if you were an English fan? Committed suicide?

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Re: Salil at His Best Dhondy, Salil might be cussing you for making this public :tired: :tired: The thought about Indian cricket players not being "strong" enough(be it mental or physical strength) has its share of merits and demerits. True, there are not many Indian players who I would have wanted to be on my side during a bar fight, but then again isnt that true for most Indians? Indians, in general, are hardly the company you would like during bar fights. Plus if bar fights were the criteria then surely Shahid Afridi would be the greatest player and not Don Bradman right? What disappoints me, and I hope its not a personal attack, is that the people who accuse Indian players of lacking a backbone lose their own when it comes to supporting country. Dismayed as I may be with Indian cricket, and it has been like that for the better part of my life, I for one would never dream of supporting other country. To sum up here's a couplet. Usne to khair apnon se moda tha muhn Majaz Maine yeh kya kiya ke main gairon se jaa mila... (moda - turned away. Majaz - writer of this couplet) One thing that is worth learning from Aussies though is their devotion for baggy green, wish Indian players had it. xxx

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Re: Salil at His Best

You wouldn't get that in a Ranji game. Silky, elegant strokeplay, lots of style, flash and sizzle. Nobody there with the heart for a fight though - no 37 year old guys with their international careers in a grave, but still pounding batsmen at 138 kmh. No major pay, no ads or major pay cheques - these guys play with pure heart and no cash in their eyes, and it shows. And it refreshes.
On the domestic games scene, first of all we have to understand that we are talking about 2 different cultures, and I for one would like Indian cricket to have it's own culture than go the Aussie way with verbals, fights or whatever they do. Secondly just because the things above are not 'seen' in domestic games in India doesn't mean there is any lack of emotions, guts, fight or what we can sum up as 'character' in Indian cricket. It will be worthwhile to read the stories of Railways cricket team and their Ranji triumphs and yes those guys also didn't enjoy any of 'major pay, ads or major pay cheques', not just that they didn't have the basics like decent accomodations or comfortable travel arrangements, heck those guys didn't even have a stadium of their own!
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Re: Salil at His Best

Secondly just because the things above are not 'seen' in domestic games in India doesn't mean there is any lack of emotions' date=' guts, fight or what we can sum up as 'character' in Indian cricket. [b']It will be worthwhile to read the stories of Railways cricket team and their Ranji triumphs and yes those guys also didn't enjoy any of 'major pay, ads or major pay cheques', not just that they didn't have the basics like decent accomodations or comfortable travel arrangements, heck those guys didn't even have a stadium of their own!
Great point! I remember reading Railway players interview where they mentioned how they slept on Railway platforms, wore the same set of sporting tracks for many a games cos they could not afford any better. That they went on to win Ranji trophy surely should rank much ahead than a 37 year old who has the economic and all the other kind of security. No I am in no way dissing the effort of a Darren Lehmann but I am saying we have similar, if not better heroes, back home. And thats only in cricket. If you check any other sports(excluding tennis and chess perhaps) a large number of our heroes come from backwaters with no facilities at all. xxx
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Re: Salil at His Best

What is this? Jus curious.
Imprisonments : 1
Haha, i just noticed. Dhondy imprisoned himself ? audio, there are two options for banning an user. He can either be banned permanently, or he can be thrown into Jail for a specific period of time. Back to the OP, hard to disagree on the lack of aggression in Indian cricketers. But to use that as an excuse to desert Indian cricket & be glued to Aussie cricket, is not something i would be proud of. Besides, just plain aggro is useless unless its accompanied with copious amount of talent. Barring very few, am not sure our players are really as talented as they are made out to be. Most of them are overhyped based on one or two performances and quickly fade away after one or two seasons.
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Re: Salil at His Best

we have similar, if not better heroes, back home. And thats only in cricket. If you check any other sports(excluding tennis and chess perhaps) a large number of our heroes come from backwaters with no facilities at all.
we certainly do, what we may be lacking is turning it into a story to sell. our international players like Veeru, Pathan, Zak, Raina, Kaif or from sometime back Bangar, Das etc., they all made it coming from a very modest background and putting in plenty of hard work and sacrifices. in some cases the stories get obscured with people throwing it away with their attitudes once they make it into big time or there is no glamour associated with others. Wright mentions an interesting bit on Bangar in his book on how Bangar used to go from his hotel and stay with his Railways team mates if they happend to be in the same town for a match. There must be plenty of such examples of character.. :wtg:
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Re: Salil at His Best Well, it's your prerogative to disagree. But Thal has summarized my feelings beautifully. Anybody following Indian cricket over the years would know that we lack spine, guts, courage, the ability to seize the bull by the horns, call it what you will. These are basic requirements in sports, and it's impossible to identify with a person who makes a living out of being a sportsman, but lacks these traits. Australian sportsmen have these in plenty, so Thal likes them. I see nothing wrong with that. I have a lot more respect for Glenn McGrath or Steve Waugh than I have for Sachin Tendulkar. Stone me to death if you will. Over the last 2 Tests, I have seen a singular lack of courage from the Indian players, as indeed I have for most of my adult life as an Indian cricket fan. Sachin, Dravid, Sehwag, Laxman, Kumble...all of them were culpable, because when the opportunity presented itself, they went missing. As a result, I don't respect these players any longer, and I don't identify with the team they play in. It doesn't matter to me if India win or lose, because my loyalties can't lie with a team of overpaid stars who wilt under the heat of the battle. Maybe when a new generation of players take over the team, the likes of Sreesanth & Kartick, I can find that passion within myself again.

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Re: Salil at His Best U can hardly fault a Dravid or a Kumble, as its a rare failure from these two. Failure is too harsh a word in Kumble's case, as he did play a vital role in the first test win. Not too long ago, Dravid & Kumble helped us to a rare series victory in the Carribean. So they can be forgiven. As for SRT, his failure should surprise no one, as he was supposed to fail anyways. He never shows up in a series of any significance. Sehwag was a surprise for me. I thought he would be alright come the Tests, but had a first ever super flop series. Laxman had an ok series by his standards. I did not expect anything more from him. To me, he hit par for the series. Ganguly, surprised everyone & finished much higher than he was expected to. Sreesanth (& Zakky too), had their best test series ever

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