Vijy

This selectors? and this TM? Rathod has outright said they will not bench him

yes, I mostly meant the Ind media. and I know there are exceptions there too, but the dominant narrative is kohli fanboi-ism

Even if he knows it deep down, there's no way he will admit it. instead, he will find some stupid way of trying to deflect blame and the media will all fall over themselves justifying what he says.

most people would continue to play for the paychecks if nothing else. it's no diff than doing a job that one does not want to do, but which pays well. now, one could say that he can retire, but the professional life of sportspersons is short and they want to maximize incomes.

Freak is the right word.

I voted for Rahane just for the heck of it... because what we think won't affect TM. as I mentioned, my pick would be vihari. agree that SKY would be an interesting choice but it's difficult conditions to throw him in

TM via Rathod in an interview has already said that they will play Rahane; there's a Cricinfo article. of the options available, I would go with Vihari for the last test since he has experience of batting in tough conditions, which the others have not experienced to the same degree

yes, they have already started apparently.

Excellent post as always, Gollum-ji. I particularly liked the Sampras vs Federer vs Djokovic analogy. My only caveat to your post is that it's hard to assess Capablanca and especially morphy since we have to go by sparse records (I do know some of their chess games were recorded) and the era was very different. hence, especially for morphy, it's hard to compare him and anand and assess natural talent. Would be nice if people made movies / TV series of the lives of these folks. perhaps we will see some interest after queen's gambit [which I liked for reasons other than chess].

I don't expect it to happen. of course, I would like to see it happen, but it ain't gonna happen. brand kohli has come to be seen as being bigger than brand Indian cricket.

yes, minimal or zero accountability at all levels. it has degenerated very badly.

yep, the true unifying factor. btw, I edited my above post to comment on the chess aspect.

yes, and there's also the fact that saffers have other sports into which they pour their energy where they have improved (e.g., rugby). Ind is, in essence, fixated on cricket and still keeps choking over and over. they have made an art of it. Just like trump wrote "art of the steal", Ind and SA can collaborate on "art of the choke". of the various events you listed, to me the most galling were '17 champions trophy final and the '19 semifinal with NZ. P.S. I agree regd Karpov and Anand. Poor guys. Kasparov was a beast. Would have liked to see peak Kasparov vs. peak Carls

it's like a disease... or a skill. when one group acquires this "ability", they pass it on to others. Ind cricket should take a look at both our hockey teams. they punched well above their weight. that bronze was such an amazing achievement. people said it was the first medal since 1980, but I don't rate that one highly because of how many teams were missing. we have to go back to '72 Olympics and '75 hockey WC. and these were around 45-50 years ago. where is that mental toughness and fighting attitude to come from behind in the cricket team?

there's 10 long-time test playing nations, which are the premier ones (not incl. the new entrants afg and ire). although bang have improved, one can exclude them and Zim. that leaves a total of 8. and of this 8, what do I see? I see 6 diff teams with trophies. the only 2 missing ones: the perennial chokers SA and then the new chokers Ind. it's horrible.