As the Indian Problem league – Oops! Indian Premier League is set to commence the much awaited edition 3, problems and controversies seem to be hitting them in plenty!

Action seems to have begun even before the auction began. With a planned move that owners called “strategy” and the media describes as “balderdash”, ignoring players from our “friendly” neighboring nation stoked a fire. “Dildo” fuelled that fire with a masterstroke to promote his new movie angering the Shiv Sena and setting tongues waging. I’m not here to pass a judgement on the right thing to do – As most passionate Indians, I don’t think that the current political climate would aid Pakistani players to come in and play, not to forget, earn some top dollar and take that back to Pakistan. That said, I also believe that sports shouldn’t be mixed with other issues. Sadly though, our structures don’t permit the co-existence of both ideologies. Someone said, there’s got to be only one dagger in a sheath!

If the auction bit was wave 1, our friends in the rash state of Maharashtra seem to have a new sense of hatred for the Aussies! They threatened to stop the Aussies from playing in Mumbai and had the big bosses calling them. It’s not an unknown fact that their muscle is with the hooligans. From a commercial perspective, the cricket bosses were worried and rightly so. As much as we hate the Aussies for their erstwhile dominance of cricket, we can’t live without them either.

A Shane Warne is a top draw wherever he goes as are the Gilly’s, Hayden’s and the McGrath’s! Cricketers like them are no longer produced and looking at one of the initial tenants of the IPL, the young Indians can learn a ton from some legends like these! The magic unfortunately didn’t work and the Sena seems to have snubbed the cricket bosses. The Government can put up a brave face and promise the support, but it’s a question of time before ruthless elements like these rear their head and cause trouble. If a Government that can’t protect our borders and act on intelligence save innocent citizens, what hopes do these so called security measures have on an unruly crowd?

If this was not enough, the Deccan Chargers have issued a notice to the IPL for moving out matches from Hyderabad. Telangana or otherwise, someone at least believes matches should be played in Hyderabad – there’s a sense of government support (please as need for money) as this battle unfolds! I don’t know if this was big news or not as I didn’t see this breaking. Poor young Jadeja has been banned and he seeks to appeal against it!  Being a recent feature on the international circuit, he’d hate it to be left out – forget the experience and all that blah blah!

With Mumbai being a potential issue and Hyderabad joining, what’s Lalit Modi going to do? Unfortunately for him, he has very little time on his hands to pull off a South African safari. There’s too much skin in the game to even consider moving the IPL beyond our shores and I watch with baited breath. Being that South Indian Tam Bram, isn’t it time we renamed the IPL??

Popularity: 1%

Ok – if you started to think of this as another blog on the Indian Premier League, I’ve got you stumped! By IPL, I meant Indian Political League this time!  But to give you and the way you think some credit, let me be fair – I will have some references to the cricket IPL as well, so it wasn’t as bad in the end eh!

I’ve had a lot of fun watching both these leagues unfold over the last few months. If the ride up to these events was fun, the actual events and the end result was very heartening to see indeed. Here is my take on five big lessons learnt from these leagues:

1. Planning & execution is the key to success:

The Congress pulled off a few rabbits off their hat. Sweeping the polls in states that have never been their bastion, the Congress clearly showed that planning and executing well is the key to success. The cricket league had something pretty similar to showcase too. Teams ranked 7 and 8 in the inaugural edition of the IPL played the finals and it was ironic enough that the tables turned and turned literally. The team that finished last a year ago was the winner. Gilly, the man behind this turn around has in interviews revealed the secret of this turn around – Some good planning, learning from mistakes and some smart execution.

2. There’s no place for “Left” overs:

The Left, a major opponent of development was ousted. In what I believe is a fitting message for them to change and embrace development, the Indian electorate showed that we want to move on. In subsequent interviews, the leaders of the Left, snorting under the message they received said that their party was out of touch with the ground reality! WOW! Did it need Einstein to figure this out?

Wasn’t Somnath Chatterjee saying the same thing a while ago? The story wasn’t different in the cricket league  either – Ganguly, the Lord who can’t field, run or bat was a poor shadow of himself. Being a passenger on the slow moving good train that was KKR, he for sure played his last ever game. Should I say I was fortunate enough to see him play his last? . Laxman, the rock star of test cricket and a spectator in T20 was asked to go home mid-way with the champion side. He was rusty to say the best and played his part “motivating” the team on the benches for a large part of the second half!

3. Charge of the “Youth” brigade:

While old is not necessarily out, youth for sure is in. From Rahul Gandhi to all those young chaps who’ve become members of Parliament, this is a new beginning. There’s for a moment no discounting the old hands here – but the guy’s who actually made it through are the finest and probably the fittest. While I’d love to believe that it’s the case always, there are a few exceptions too right?

How else can you explain an 81 year old with prime ministerial aspirations running the race and winning too? The sane can be said if a former Finance minister who won by the skin of his teeth – there’s a sect of people that believe he didn’t but, is controversy ever away from Indian politics? With the cricket, the Suresh Raina’s and the Rohit Sharma’s continue to impress driving home the fact that Indian cricket is in safe hands. If that wasn’t enough, the emergence of Kamran Khan and Manish Pandey is more testimony to this fact. Welcome to the future – the big turn is just around the corner

4. Failure is an orphan:

From being the toast of Indian cricket ( I still believe he is), MSD wasn’t a part of the dream team that the Chairman of selectors put together. At the expense of stating the obvious, I find it ridiculous that a semi final loss actually had such a steep fall for poor MS. Don’t worry MS – you hold all the keys with your young guns – this is a freaking domestic league at the end of it. Don’t let these distractions take anything away from you.. we need you and nee you in full flow for the other big things coming up. These spineless souls will soon be singing your praises! On the political side, the queen makers if you will, had such a fall. From being courted, wined and dined, they were all dropped like hot potatoes (don’t tell me they look like one now please!) from the moment the lead results started to come out. So much for loyalties and alliances eh!

5. Don’t burn bridges, especially by wagging your tongue:

The cake goes to out former Railway minister. After having a good 5 yrs at the helm, he fell apart with the leadership and went on record to say that the Congress will not win more than 3 seats in Bihar. He didn’t stop there, going on to criticize Sonia and the party that he has been associated with for a good 5 yrs. Guess what happened? Our friend won just 3 seats instead and had to eat humble pie – but to his credit, he came out and said he made a mistake! He went to Delhi with his tail between his legs saying I will provide my unconditional support! What does 3 mean when someone already has 300+ mate? What happened on the cricket?

The war of words on the proposed multi captain theory had its share of fallouts – While people love to talk and comment, this war broke an already divided house into pieces of garlic bread that everyone was content to just eat! From being the butt of all jokes to finishing last on the table, they saw it all. The extent of the damage that these talk have done is still being estimated ( hopefully, Fake IPL players predictions on changes to this team will seal it). The piece I loved the most was a commentator on TV saying, forget winning here – I understand… but look at the fair play awards list, KKR are last here too!! I can tell you one thing for a fact – this commentator has no role to play in any future KKR team. Will he want to is a different question though!

With these leagues over, I realize that my evenings are never going to be the same again. TV shows will be back in vogue – but what the hell, the cricket is just around the corner you see!

Image Credit: Tom@HK

Popularity: 49%

Sports is something that I’ve always had a fancy to. Growing up as a kid, I would play badminton with my grandpa and try pinching a point or two when he wasn’t paying too much attention, flick off the board a couple of coins in a game of carom or chess, all to win. My grandpa used to ignore this at that moment, catch me up aside after the game and coach me on the importance of accepting defeat graciously.  Those lessons that I learnt have stuck with me for a long time. I’m more than sure that this story of mine is not something which is unique to me. We’ve all had our moments when we are desperate to win and are willing to play outside the rules, knowingly or unknowingly. The key here though is to pick up the right from the wrong and learn. Our upbringings haven’t been all that different in the end – have they?

The desire to win is a global phenomenon. Clubs pay ten of thousands of dollars and pounds to hire the best talent, countries go around the world looking for a coach and the best certainly get the best financial deals. Fair enough, I won’t complain. That said, there are times when the best of the brains and the players that you bought don’t give you the desired results. It’s bound to happen and that’s a part of any sport. If there was everything that money could buy, then the world won’t be what it is today right?

It pains me when we pay all the money in the world in attempting to do this and let people abuse us in the bargain. The IPL is cricket’s biggest extravaganza. The ICC would be upset with me if I said that the IPL was bigger than the world cup – but in a lot of ways, it is. Look the money on display and I am sure you won’t have a second thought!

The Kolkata Knight Riders have had a pretty dark IPL2. Seems that someone blew the lights out of their day. With supposedly the best brains in the world and some real good talent to boot, they have had dark nights and nothing else. I honestly dislike that team – both the owners and some key role players (coach and former captain included). While I follow the Fake IPL players disclosures with a lot of interest, I care a rat’s ass to read any other article about their team. Being the cricket crazy fan that I am, I’ve gone and seen the websites of each of the IPL team except theirs. It doesn’t stop there – I switch channels when Nokia or Sprite advertises during the commercial breaks! So much for some dislike eh!

That said, a report on racial abuse in the same team was doing rounds a couple of days ago. For a change, I paused to read that report. The note struck a chord with me instantly as this is something I had read about in a blog. The article also referenced the fact that you don’t need an outsider to validate this and how rampant this was.

Despite all my dislike, my heart goes out to those boys here – seriously! Racial abuse in any form is just not done. It was the same bunch of Aussies that acted like the world fell on them when they claimed that Bhajji said something when the poor sardar swore at them in Hindi. If they felt so strongly about discrimination, you can’t treat people in a manner that you don’t like to be treated in – more so considering that you are an Indian owned team playing for an Indian league. Absolutely not acceptable Bukka! As a coach, you own your coterie and their behavior, and to all those boys out there, you are only playing for pride now! If winning a game gives you pride, doesn’t the need to treat you with respect give you pride too? You may be at the back of beyond, but that’s a part of sport – don’t let some silly fools disrespect you at any cost.

Speak up. There’s nothing more important than your self respect. Stop playing cricket guys, it’s a lost cause anyways and you need to put your feet down firmly to end this crap. Dildo, you patched up something first up? Any self respecting Indian won’t and that makes me wonder where is yours?

Image Credit: KKR, Wikimedia

Popularity: 51%

I referred to the IPL as the Indian Problem League a while ago. With the air of uncertainty around the IPL clearing, the tournament has been off to a rousing start. Nearing the mid way mark, it is for sure the number 1 chagrin of spouses who are not so clued on to the sport and mothers who are addicted to the mega serials.

The thing that I’ve always liked about the IPL is the fact that it’s been a huge opportunity for a lot of budding cricketers. Yusuf Pathan came into his own here, so did Pragyan Ohja to name a few.

This year’s edition has been no different with most teams throwing up the one or two uncut diamonds – Delhi has Pradeep Sangwan and Rajat Bhatia, Chennai has Sundeep Tyagi and Shadab Jataki, the Rajasthan Royals have Kamran Khan and N Ojha, Mumbai’s Nayar continues to be a shining star and Bangalore is helping Uthappa to some decent form.

Not wanting to be left behind, Punjab’s Piyush and Karan rock and the Deccan chargers have Suman hitting a few away and RP roaring back to form. I keep telling my friends; thank god they are all Indians! That said, I am also appreciative of the contributions that some of the overseas players have made. I think this is undoubtedly the best thing to happen to Indian cricket. Some of the western players wanted to be a part of this IPL seeing the impact that this has had on Indian cricket.

A notable exception to this is of course the KKR – languishing at the bottom of the pile, their drudgery continues, and for this,  I’ll blame the owner, whom I now call Dildo, thanks to the Fake IPL player.

If the owner is expected to call the shots (I disagree with this idea though), he saw trouble brewing when Bukka had this novel idea of multiple captains and choose to support it. Too many cooks spoil the broth is an adage that most Indians have grown up listening to. I fail to understand why Dildo didn’t get something as simple as this. Can you attribute this to the lack of his education? Hmm – Maybe I don’t want to go down that path. Was it his lack of cricketing knowledge? Hmm – but this is common sense. What could it be? Oh well, despite the benefit of hindsight, I still don’t know.

True to the spirit of showing who the boss is, he mediated a truce between the Lord Almighty (this is Saurav and by now, I am sure you know I am addicted to reading the FIPL blog)  & Bukka  only to have Bukka announce that he had his way, on the eve of the tournament. To make matters worse, the Chak De man of Indian movies (read as sports) was there, watching as a silent spectator. Anyone knowing Lord Almighty knows how political he can get. Even in his hay days as the captain of the Indian team, he liked to divide and rule.

There were his boys and then the others which was the pissing point for Guru Greg. He had a chance to fix this with his iron fists and choose not to. (If I were him, I would have sacked one of them). He let the divide in the team go on this meandering path that the boys lost so much of their confidence and the rest is history. If this was bad, Bukka now wants more phoren players in the IPL.

Do we need to remind him that this is the INDIAN PL and not the F (PHOREN) PL? If I was Dildo ( I am so glad, I am not), I would have asked him to shut up and focus on delivering results. The icing on the cake was his walking out because the team wasn’t winning. Public knowledge has it that he just walked away like this angry kid refusing to come back and then asks questions on expenses! ( I must tell you that my 2 yr old son is better behaved)

Here’s the point Dildo – Leadership is about staying the course when times are tough. You’ve got the take tough decisions when you have to and not be in sport for just the money. This is not your movie business where you can recover your losses from one flop with another hit. This is sport where only the committed can survive. I don’t know if your heart is in the right place. Look around the learn from the other folks Dildo – Mallya, from whom you can learn the importance of staying invested, Shilpa & Preity  from whom you must learn that you must let the captain and the coach run the show, good or bad

Shame on you to abandon a ship when it probably needs you the most.

Image Credit: 4dreams

Popularity: 58%

What do Mallya and Shah Rukh have in common? Quite a lot, you would say. Both are highly successful in their professions, are Type A personalities, are passionate about winning and are very flamboyant. They are also shrewd businessmen and love sports. Naturally, they understand the money generating potential of cricket. No wonder they own a franchise each in the Indian Premium League.

Unfortunately for them, their vision of success could not be replicated in the field during the first season of IPL. While Shah Rukh’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) came 6^th in the field of 8 teams, Mallya’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) finished at the 7^th position. Mallya gave vent to his frustration by sacking the CEO Charu Sharma even before the tournament was complete.

According to some estimates, RCB lost the most money during the first season of IPL, around Rs. 43 Crores. But Shah Rukh proved to be the most business savvy among the franchise owners and his franchise was the top profit generator in IPL, an estimated net profit of Rs. 13 Crores. This number is impressive considering the fact that only 2 teams apparently made profits, the other one being the winner, Rajasthan Royals (RR). RR reportedly made a profit of Rs.6 Crore. Regardless of the performance of their teams in the first edition of IPL, they were hoping to turn around things in 2009.

But the IPL-Season 2 has started on a wrong note for both RCB and KKR. Before the start of the new season, both Mallya and Shah Rukh made several changes to their franchises. Both were not happy with their respective team captains. Mallya sacked his captain, Rahul Dravid, and replaced him with Kevin Pietersen, whom Mallya bought for a whopping Rs.6.61 Crore. Unfortunately for Mallya, at the end of 5 matches, RCB occupies the bottom of the points table. RCB won only one of their 5 matches and have a huge challenge in getting to the semi-finals. The gamble of buying the costliest player in IPL has not out worked well so far.

KKR has only done marginally better than RCB. Like RCB, KKR has also only won only 1 out of their 5 matches, but have an extra point from a match washed away by rain. Shah Rukh and his franchise coach, John Buchanan, are trying a new strategy of multiple-captains and this has not gone down with the fans of the local hero and captain, Saurav Ganguly. KKR has been moving from one controversy to another since then. First, Gavaskar criticized KKR’s multiple-captains theory and Shah Rukh fired back at Gavaskar. Ganguly’s fans think this is a conspiracy to sideline Saurav and sent hate mails to Shah Rukh. Shah Rukh being a shrewd businessman, must be aware that controversy is always good. Controversy can generate more TV viewership for his franchise matches which means more advertisement revenue and surprise (not really), more profit!!

But the biggest news related to KKR has nothing to do with its performance in the field. Rather, it relates to a blog that goes by the name Fake IPL player. (If you haven’t already heard or read his blog, here is the link for you – http://fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com/ ).

The “Fake IPL player” is apparently someone in the KKR team who gets to play very little cricket. He blogs about the team’s inside news and bashes the franchise-management in a very sarcastic tone. This did not go well with Shah Rukh and Buchanan and they tried different ways to plug the leakage of inside news. They banned laptops, wireless and whatever technology is available for blogging in the team dressing room, but to no avail.

The latest news that KKR is sending back two senior players, Sanjay Bangar and Akash Chopra, to India has raised the speculation that these were the people blogging as Fake IPL Player. But Fake IPL player’s latest blog suggests that it is not the case. So, the hunt for Fake IPL player is still on.

Fake IPL player may be a big headache for KKR, but cricket fans love his blogs. The internet forums are active with discussions about Fake IPL player and on an average, each of his blog posts get thousands of comments. But the mystery regarding his identity continues.

Both KKR and RCB have 9 matches left in the tournament and we will have to wait and see if either of them can put up a better performance in the remaining matches. Will Mallya and Shah Rukh have the last laugh?

PS: The following are my pick of teams to reach the IPL semi-finals.

1. Mumbai Indians
2. Deccan Chargers
3. Delhi Daredevils
4. King’s XI Punjab

What is yours?

Image Credit: Wiki, Arabian Pride

Popularity: 53%

From being popularly known as the Indian Premier League to quickly becoming the Indian Problem League, the fall for the IPL has been rapid.

The money is something that cricket had not seen before. Money talks they say and so is it in this case!  From bringing in cricketers who the world thought was long gone back to stage, to helping another part of the world discover some amazing “young” talent, to entertaining all those cricket crazy fans every evening after work and last not least, giving kids around the country an extra reason to celebrate summer vacations, the IPL did it all in it’s inaugural edition. All good things come with controversies and IPL was not exception to this either. Accusing the league for pushing cricketers around the world into pre-mature retirement, choosing money over country and last but not least, not being inclusive, we saw it all.

I personally enjoyed season one. Choosing whom to support was an easy decision. Being a Bangalorean, I was disappointed to see a test team line up to play T20. My loyalty quickly swung to the best thing that’s happened to Indian cricket – MS Dhoni and his Chennai Super Kings. MSD played masterstroke with the team selection even before a ball was bowled. Getting a right mix of locals and expats, Dhoni ensured that he got along an uncut diamond, Raina along with him to stitch his team of the boys in yellow. The joker in the pack was of course the Rajasthan Royals. Acclaimed to have the greatest ever cricketing brain ever and blessed with exceptional skill to turn a cricket ball on glass, Shane Warne, up north, was putting together his team of underdogs. I wasn’t surprised to see these two teams do battle in the finals. I would have loved to see MSD and his boys win, but on a given day, the team that plays better cricket wins and right so, the Royals.

With time to kick start season 2 around the corner, the hype started as early as the New Year – the fallout of 26/11 meant that the Pakistani players didn’t want to come. For those that may argue this on who didn’t want who, the trading window and the money spent did its share to the share of ink. The nail in the coffin was the recent attack in neighboring Pakistan on a touring Sri Lankan team. While this was “outside” India, the event’s ripples traveled over 500 kms to the national capital for the administrators to sit up and take notice of potential security risks.

From an exchange of words to reading between lines, from the politics of power to the politics of money, in the name of democracy and elections, the home ministry showed who is the boss by having the IPL postpone it’s initial published schedule. Lalit Modi is a die hard and he went out saying this will happen with no change. Someone in the higher echelons of power asked him to backtrack and so he did, with a revised schedule – more cities and slightly different dates. This time around, the states came in to the party saying they were not staffed well enough to support security cover for these games and the proposed elections.

The issue of “security” in the sub-continent is being viewed at very differently by all the foreign players who were itching to come and get a game – life Vs money and we all know the obvious choice that these so called players from safe havens from around the world tend to make. With a couple of casualties in terms of big names dripping out for the fear of life, this storm is yet to blow over.

To me, the real issue on hand is the question of these two events co-existing. Elections are no doubt important and so too is the issue of security. A country of a billion people is suddenly faced with the issue of resources for security – what a paradox.

If I were Modi, I’d flex my financial muscle to hire SO many of those unemployed, semi skilled youth and train them to build up my own security forces for the IPL. Hiring or training is not an issue considering how much time is left. If you want to run and need shoes, you must go and get them! Waiting for someone to give them to you is not smart business. To me, this move is a great win win – strike a deal with the center to say that this newly built security force can be used as a potential resource to staff up national security services. Upskilling them to play a different game is easy and is doable if they clear hurdle one. Your cup of woes is filling up real quick Mr. Modi.. game to try?

Image Credit: Wikimedia

Popularity: 22%

I’ve had a chance to see some big cities around the world and the one that that caught my attention was the skyline that each of these cities boasted off. Growing up as a Bangalorean, I regretted the fact that my city didn’t have something that we could proudly call as a skyline. Not anymore though! Bangalore has a skyline and this is thanks to the spanking new “UB City”. People who have seen the modern London skyline will like to relate what they see in Bangalore to that one! Yes- this is the new Bangalore skyline and is such a pretty sight, especially at night!

Guess who was responsible for this one?

Vijay Mallya!

Bangalore boasts of excellent health care facilities. While we may not be up there in the list of the “medical tourism” destinations, the big names in health care of the city that I live in includes the famous Mallya hospital. This was set up in the early 90s – thanks again to Vijay Mallya!

Friends who know me well have tried it all to get me to get a drink. While I do the odd social drinking, beer for me is a NO NO any day. Taking of beer, isn’t Kingfisher India’s favorite beer? I’ve also seen people ask for King Fisher in several Indian restaurants overseas. Beer in India has evolved to making Kingfisher a super brand! ( Beer drinkers – Please correct me if I am wrong). If beer is not your favorite and you want to try your hand with some spirits, doesn’t the UB group cater to most of your needs here? The man driving this bus… Vijay Mallya.

The airline industry saw a big bang entrant with Kingfisher Airlines a few years ago. Branded as a 5 star airline, this has grown to be one of India’s largest airline. Post the takeover of Deccan, their market share is over a 3^rd and that is significant for someone as fledging as them in a trade that has its glorious uncertainties and mounting losses. Some people call the take over hostile, the business purists call it a strategic move, but any which way you look at it, this airline is now an international airline – the pilot – Vijay Mallya

I’m a huge formula one fan and we all know of the Indian who put us on the F1 grid – a team named Force India is owned 51% by an India. Performance besides, the fact that we have an Indian on the F1 grid, the pinnacle of motor sport is thanks again to VJM 02. I am not explaining what VJM means here though. Being the Ferrari die hard, I like the F60 better than the MP series or the VJs… engine names sound better when they are linked to technology don’t they?

Staying with sports, we all know the frenzy that the IPL is whipping up. Not wanting to be left behind here, someone went out to buy a test team to play T20 and hired a commentator as the manager and a former cricket great as a COO. They say you reap what you sow. The best test players in the world will never ever play good T20 cricket and this was evident in the results with the inaugural IPL. The “Royal Challenge” fell apart to finish a step above the wooden spoon to create a few controversies and a few people to lose their newly acquired jobs! Early this year, we saw big bucks at play to get the flavor of the team changed – horses for courses it is indeed. The results, still awaited though –the CEO?

January is a treat for the eyes, thanks to the KF calendar. The case has been the same over the last 4 odd years and things keep getting better. If January is hot when it is supposed to be cool, December is a blast in Goa. Two famous Taj properties get locked out for over a week, bang in the middle of the year end season. A fancy yacht floats on Indian waters with the who’s who of the glamour business invited to Goa. All this to celebrate someone’s birthday and there are no prizes for guessing whose!

How can we forget someone saving our national pride in times when it matters the most? Gandhi was “bought back” home and so too was Tipu’s sword. With an honorable doctorate and a member of  one of India’s houses of  power, the list just seems endless

From God to Goodman, from Liquor Baron to Fashion Photography, from Team owner to Aviation owner, from Dr. to Rajya Sabha member, from style to substance – What are you Mallya?

Image Credit: Wikimedia

Popularity: 35%

It’s probably the season of scams! There was this whole financial crisis and then came Madoff, not too far away from his heels came Stanford. The reactions to the Stanford scandal were probably much more muted when compared to the intensity with which the media covered the others – maybe they lost steam, or maybe they were left wondering yea, here’s another one and I don’t know how many more!

In a bid to match the IPL dollar for dollar, Stanford had staged a T20 series recently in the West Indies – albeit with just 2 national teams. The hosts were joined by the Englishmen who looked at this as an opportunity to lick their wounds, having missed out on a chance to play the IPL. The money was big and the Englishmen were simply raving about this. I recall how some of them even went to the extent of saying this could probably upstage the IPL over time!

Probably the most interesting reaction to the latest Stanford scandal to my mind came from KP – Kevin Pieterson, the former England skipper and the IPL’s latest million dollar baby! He called Stanford a “sleazebag”.

Funny are the ways of the world they say – look how things can change in a span of around 6 months. From raving about Stanford to letting him have a ball with the WAGs, while the game was on, the English cricketers would do anything for the money that Stanford got to their lives! With Stanford being exposed, these guys seem to be on the run for cover and hence come yet another English word – the Sleazebag! For me, this is like the kettle calling the teapot black!

I’m not for a moment trying to say that Stanford was a saint. His lure for money was very similar to the one that most of us have. Have we ever stopped to wonder if there was anything in this world called enough money? I recall a conversation I had about 5 yrs ago with an old boss of mine. I told him that I’d retire if I had 10 million Indian bucks! He broke out laughing saying I was nuts. My vice for betting took me to the extent of saying, let’s have a bet – I don’t know if it is good sense or his words – I didn’t and I am so glad!

Those were early days in my career, more specifically in my stint in compensation. Like most people, I used to compare my compensation numbers with the other numbers on the payroll and say, yes, this is the number that I need. As I started to spend more time in that area, I started becoming numb to numbers and have realized that there is nothing in this world called enough money! What’s enough today is not enough tomorrow – Literally!!!

We all do different things to make some money – some of us hop jobs, some of us turn into becoming punters, we leverage investments in real estate, short sell and the list if just endless. To my mind, the fact that there are so many complicated financial instruments means that the world is no different from the way most people think. We all need money and are willing to do anything to make it – logical, illogical, high risk – whatever (except illegal!) A lesson I learnt early on in life is on the trade off of Risk Vs Reward. The higher the risk, the higher the reward. There are several parallels to this, the closest being, the fall from a great height leaves you hurt the most!

People calling the grapes sour when they realized they lost out is insane to me – you walked in for the lure, so why make a fuss of it when you lost? If you were so much the saint that you think you are, get off your morale high ground and just stick to playing for your country – why sign up for the million and a half bucks? Isn’t this greed?

The bottom line is the fact that there is greed. With greed, there will be issues. Be prepared to deal with them, else get set to walk off to the Himalayas! I’m staying where I am – where are you?

Image Credit: D Borman

Popularity: 16%

One news that caught my attention a few days back was about Shilpa Shetty.

Shilpa Shetty and her boyfriend Raj Kundra bought a 11% stake in Rajasthan Royals for an estimated sum of Rs.83 crores. Wow! What an astonishing figure to pay for a 12% stake in a Cricket Club!

It is not the amount that is bothering me, what bothers me is the “Me Too” tendency amongst the glamour dolls of Indian Film Industry as if there is no other business in the world.

Look at what happened – When IPL started there were just four or five celebrities raring to take the risk. Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla of Red Chillies Entertainment became the lead promoters in Kolkata Knight Ri ders. Preity Zinta and her boyfriend Ness Wadia bought a significant stake in Kings XI Punjab.

Subsequently Tamil Superstar Vijay and actress Nayantara became the ambassador for Chennai Super Kings while Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar became the brand ambassadors of Vijay Mallya’s Royal Challengers and GMR’s Delhi Daredevils respectively. And now we have Shilpa Shetty and her beau.

Not that Indian cricket and Bollywood did not have a connection. They definitely had – Sharmila-Tiger Pataudi, Azhar-Sangeeta Bijlani et al are shining examples. We also had the likes of Sandeep Patil, Mohsin Khan (Pakistan) and in the last few years, speedster Salil Ankola trying their luck at Bollywood and/or Indian Television. This trend seems to be growing north. With the launch of IPL last year, Indian cricket seems to have taken a big leap in bridging the gap.

Is this the right thing to happen to Indian Cricket? I don’t know.

Purists will tell you that the glamour industry could take the steam out of Indian cricketers. What happened with Pataudi, Salil Ankola, Sandip Patil and the dozens who tried their hands at Bollywood or their glamour dolls. Purists will also give you examples of dozens of Premier Leagues in Football, Soccer, Basketball, Tennis etc are not well represented by the glamour industry. Why should Indian cricket be an exception ?

The broadminded ones, like you and me , will tend to believe that glamour and cricket are inseparable, for cricket is a religion in India and Bollywood stars are Gods. Cricket and Bollywood are like husband and wife – one can not live without the other. There can be innumerable analogies that can establish this relationship and as long as we have a thriving population of glamour and cricket fanatics, the euphoria of being in a relationship will continue. It is a never ending debate.

The meat of the matter is that we, Indians, love cricket and we also love Bollywood. And when Bollywood Glamour and Cricket Stars promises to entertain the entire nation together, there is only one person who is the most benefited – The Spectator!

Three cheers for the Indian Spectator.

Ashkalakiri ashkalakiri hooh haah, hooh haah !

Ashkalakiri ashkalakiri hooh haah, hooh haah !

Ashkalakiri ashkalakiri hooh haah, hooh haah !

Image Credit: Vijay Bhandari

Popularity: 25%

In the 1990s when Bollywood was ruled by the likes of Govinda, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and the like, a lesser known star emerged from the theatre circles of Delhi. His dream was to make it big in Bollywood. In his hunt for the glitz and glamour, he took very calculated steps. One of which was a short stint on Television which turned out to be a massive success. While Circus was the launchpad of his career, the serial Fauji was the stepping stone of a long lasting and illustrious career in films. No prizes for guessing, we are talking of the one and only Shahrukh “The King” Khan.

In the next few years what followed was a series of blockbusters in Baazigar, DDLJ, Karan Arjun etc. Shahrukh Khan went onto become the King of Bollywood – a success story that will always be written with golden letters in history books .

Shahrukh, in his true style carried his success story to cricket. An ardent fan of cricket from his childhood days, he could not fulfill his vision of playing cricket at a professional level but he certainly had the wherewithal  to be the owner of a popular cricketing franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Incidentally, KKR was one of the two IPL franchise that made profit during the first year of operation. With the IPL second season coming along, Shahrukh Khan taking his franchise to the next level is only anybody’s guess.

There is no doubt that Shahrukh Khan is all about winning, leadership, passion, exuberance and what not. True – he is a hero to many. Amidst all the success attributed to Shahrukh there is also some element of negative shade the man carries – call it the “ego” or the “shades of success” . Of course, one can argue that everyone has some shades of negativity around them and rightfully so. After all, we are mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. Isn’t it ?

Speaking of Shahrukh and his negative shades, he has taken his verbal fight with Aamir a bit too personal. Although I am not privy to what transpired between the two, making it public wasn’t the right way of tackling it even if it meant, a hint. And this is not the first time he did so. Remember his public spat with Amitabh Bachhan a couple of years ago or his tiff last year with his erstwhile pal Salman Khan. Shahrukh Khan seems to be picking on his Bollywood colleagues more often than he should.

As Priyanko said in his article “The Dilemma of Being Sachin Tendulkar”, it is the predicament of the great to forge a path of greatness without harping too much on it. Greatness is not just achieving money and fame, it is also about gaining respect from all quarters – the fans and the critics alike.

Despite all this, Shahrukh Khan continues to be the King of Bollywood. He has shown what can be achieved with the sheer power of will and I hope he continues to be written in golden letters in the history books. I also hope success doesn’t get onto his head, for we like Shahrukh – The Winner.

Image Credit: 4 Dreams

Popularity: 16%

I am back with Part II on our team’s evolution in year 2008. I could not stop myself praising India for year 2008 achievements. As luck would have it, Dhoni’s keep- cool-at-all-times attitude helped our team position better than in the past. Captaincy Crown in India was a jinx in the past. It caused burden on the player’s individual performance lot many times. But Dhoni broke all those jinxes and exhilarated the captaincy crown. Lets go back to some stats on what we achieved in second half of the year.

India Tour of Sri Lanka – Jul 2008 – Aug 2008
Mendis Maniac Continues…
1st Test v SL – SL won by an innings and 239 runs – Sri Lanka 600/6d; India 223 and 138 (f/o)
2nd Test v SL – India won by 170 runs – India 329 and 269; Sri Lanka 292 and 136
3rd Test v SL – Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets – India 249 and 268; Sri Lanka 396 and 123/2

The victory in Australia at the beginning of this year fore set high expectation to win series in Sri Lanka very easily. As the test series progressed it did not look like a cakewalk. Even the players seemed complacent and lost their first test in Colombo. Although Sehwag’s double ton in 2^nd Test won match for India, Mendis and Muthiah ensured the series was retained in SL. It was a brilliant performance by both spinners from SL. Mendis maniac followed team India right through Asia cup to this series.

The only saving grace in the tour for team India was to retain one-day series. Of course Dhoni’s leadership and some young blood made the difference to have 3-2 upper hand in one-day series.

Australia Tour of India – Sep 2008 – Nov 2008
Dada, Kumble’s Adieu and Arch Rivalry continues…
1st Test v India – Match drawn – Australia 430 and 228/6d; India 360 and 177/4
2nd Test v India – India won by 320 runs – India 469 and 314/3d; Australia 268 and 195
3rd Test v India – Match drawn – India 613/7d and 208/5d; Australia 577 and 31/0
4th Test v India – India won by 172 runs – India 441 and 295; Australia 355 and 209

This series has vouched two memorable events – adieu to Anil Kumble, the legendry spinner and Dada (Sourav Ganguly), all time favorite batsmen. Tremendous performance ensured India retains the Border-Gavaskar trophy at home and it was a pride fall for Australia. Apparently Dhoni’s leadership won 2 matches for India to win the series. This ended the long norm of different captains for shorter and longer version of the game.

If Zaheer and Ishant stumbled Australia, Dhoni, the king in white clothes, led the team from front to victory.

England Tour of India – Nov 2008 – Dec 2008
Gaining Consistency by leaps and bounds…
One who saw this series would have certainly amazed if it were India, which was playing cricket this way. Out of 7 matches we won 5 matches in a row, which I think by far the greatest performance in my knowledge. I almost thought we would do a clean wash in the series, and England did not have place to hide their face until the Mumbai blasts warranted remaining one day matches being suspended.

1st Test v India – India won by 6 wickets – England 316 and 311/9d; India 241 and 387/4
2nd Test v India – Match drawn – India 453 and 251/7d; England 302 and 64/1

Amongst lot of speculation, finally the test series continued amidst tight security force. We could see less of spectators and more of armed forces witnessing the games. But the winning and sportive spirit did not jitter with these incidents.

The whole team stood by their morals amidst controversies in Australia, renewed team spirits made India win matches and regain the glory. Some emotional moments for India seeing off Dada and Kumble, and in the end it was a great victory against England that cheered the whole nation.

What a way to end a year. I would like to “Thank Team India” for the entertainment provided for all the fans in year 2008 and wish them all the best for year 2009.We all would like to see India taking up the much-coveted top 1 position in this New Year 2009.

Image Credit: markhillary

Popularity: 15%

Just a year ago did we ever bother to know the result when team Australia was playing cricket against any country? Well, we always knew that our team is unpredictable and had potential to win against any team. There are instances of India winning against top teams and equally losing to weakest of weak teams in the past. But one thing lacking was consistency and must win attitude all these days. Year 2008 has been a splendid year for team India, which is edging towards taking over the much-coveted No 1 rank in Cricket. Lets go 365 days back and see the events about beaming India team.

India Tour Of Australia – Dec 2007 – Feb 2008 
Series of controversies, embarrassments, blaming and glory

Test Series:
1st Test v Australia – Australia won by 337 runs – Australia 343 and 351/7d; India 196 and 161
2nd Test v Australia – Australia won by 122 runs – Australia 463 and 401/7d; India 532 and 210
3rd Test v Australia – India won by 72 runs – India 330 and 294; Australia 212 and 340
4th Test v Australia – Match drawn – India 526 and 269/7d; Australia 563

India started the 2007 New Year with disappointment losing to Australia in their first test. Result of second test went much to the expectations pushing Indian fans into further disappointment. It was very annoying to see Ponting’s team faking a grounded catch to be real for Ganguly’s wicket. Australia was playing to win the match at any cost to break their record of winning 16 tests in a row. Team India raised its voice and shown its ire on the dirty tactics and evil spirit of the game played on the fields. As it was not enough, Harbhajan was charged with racist remarks against Andrew Symonds. After this, it never looked like a game but a war to gain supremacy. Venue Perth for 3^rd test was supposed to be strong hold for Australia, yet we managed to put a full stop to Australia’s winning streak second time by winning the match. Although we lost the series, it has made India a strong opponent for Australia. The Ashes series seem to have become passé infront of Border-Gavaskar trophy these days.

Lone 20-20 Match:
Australia could not digest not winning 20-20 world cup, and it seemed to take revenge on India in this match that was won by Australia comprehensively. Everyone pinned hopes on Yuvraj but he could not flash his bat enough to win the match for India. Nevertheless India continues to be 20-20 world champions.

One-Day Series: IND, AUS & SL

India won first final against AUS – Aus 239/8 and IND 242/4
India won Second final against AUS – Ind 258/9 and Aus 249

What a series for India to swing back into action after the debacle in test series. India blanked Australia in first 2 final matches without need of 3^rd one being played. It was Sachin’s first century on Australian soil in first one day and contributions from Rohit Sharma took India to clinch the series.

Indian Premiere League – Apr 2008 – Jun 2008
Wooden Stick(s) and Leather Ball Minting Money
It was proved yet another time how India can change dimensions of any form of Cricket successfully. This time it was for the shortest form of the game. Cricket glittered when stars of tinsel town and business magnets joined hands with the game to conduct the tournament. Results were topsy-turvy when Dhoni’s men took on Warne & co. Rajasthan Royals won the tournament as dark horses.

Asia Cup – Jun 2008 – Jul 2008 (Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates)
Mendis mars India’s Pride

Sri Lanka 273 (49.5 ov); India 173 (39.3 ov)
It was certainly an unusual display by team India in the Asia cup. They were the first one to storm into Finals before any one could reach to that point. I say it unusual because in the past either we pinned hopes on run rate or rain to reserve a berth in the finals. The splendid display at league level did not continue in the finals and India had to succumb to Sri Lanka in the finals. Mendis managed a great victory for Sri Lanka in the finals.

To be continued…

Image Credit: markhillary

Popularity: 14%

Image Courtesy: Indiabuzzing

If US boast to be super power in the world economy, our own India is no less to a “super power” in consumer base and in the world cricket. There is no dispute that our country’s biggest asset is our people. There might be 18 different official languages in India, but Cricket is a boundary less language in India that connects all age groups across all states.

The powerful BCCI has highest stake in ICC in influencing major decisions in and around cricketing world. The recent Mumbai attacks and terror strikes in the country created ripples on security arrangements in India for foreign players visiting our soil; result was the ongoing Ind vs. Eng one-day series was suspended. English players had to go home but only to land on Indian soil again after satisfactory security arrangements ensured by ICC and BCCI to play the test series. There have been remarks making rounds if it’s safe enough to play cricket in India.

A question arises – could world cricket sustain without playing India? Answer is simple, NO. I am sure all the 1.2 billion Indian population would second me on this one. Cricket Boards around the world cannot take this stance at the cost of their exchequer, and this will ensure that we will continue to enjoy our cricket supremacy across the globe. As arrogant as it might sound, but I can take pride of my country and bask in this supremacy.

Indian Premiere League [IPL] is a real citation on how our country can change the dimensions of this sport. Twenty-Twenty cricket has been in vogue in England much before IPL originated, but it never took off to make mint in international arena. IPL has really enticed the whole world come to IPL terms and created a niche in cricketing world. The recognition that our country gave to this curtailed version of this sport convinced ICC to ponder on fitting them in every year plan.

Whilst many of us might feel that India’s population is root cause for some of our day-to-day problems. I wanted all of us to look at the other side of this coin and the benefits. Its like if the glass is half empty or half full.

Leaving aside the reason for India being Superpower in Cricket, if rest of the cricket boards take a decision not to play because it is not safe then they are making terrorists ambitions successful…

Cricket is more than a sport in India, a religion that most of us believe and cannot be taken away so easily.

Popularity: 13%

In continuation to the previous post, here is another one that will be of great interest to you..This one talks about the two great Khans – Salman & Shahrukh. If you thought I’d leave Aamir, then you are wrong. Aamir will be featured in the next one. Watch out, meanwhile take this !

Salman Khan

I have seen Salman Khan dance, emote, show his bare chests, be the good boy in reel life, otherwise in real life. But rarely did I get a chance to read what he writes. Yesterday was one such day when I read what he wrote and believe me he does write really well.

I started off thinking-when I write this article, I will probably talk the usual – all beauty no brains. But to my surprise, he changed my thinking.

Don’t believe me ? Read the below

Art is created in loneliness and exhibited in public. Aamir khan also said once that an actor’s best period is when he has no work. What he probably meant was that such time off gives an artist, ample scope for introspection and brutal self-analysis. This is what helps an actor to grow as an artist and as a human being. We movie stars are almost always surrounded by people and usually have a very hectic schedule… Loneliness is a luxury…precious to us. Continual self-analysis is a dream. We have to steal moments of loneliness or should I say being alone…to look within. This inward journey is highly rewarding.

You can read more of Salman Khan at http://duskadum.blogspot.com/. Sad, he doesn’t maintain a personal blogsite with his brand on it – something like SalmanKhan.com

Alexa Rank for Salman Khan’s blog is 194, 638 – Not so bad !

Shahrukh Khan

If Salman Khan can create six packs, so can Shahrukh Khan. If Salman pick up a fight, so can Shahrukh too. If Salman Khan can write, then Shahrukh will also not be left behind. Shahrukh thinks he is a fighter and is a winner in everything that he does.

I am not a big fan of Shahrukh Khan but the way he carries himself off screen, makes me wonder why I wasn’t one. There is a bit of professionalism displayed in his writings but not good enough to make the reader think, though. I have heard him speak several times. It seems his oratory skills have not folded well into his pen.

Another point that I have observed is that he has not updated his blog since the IPL days – from May. That is not being a professional. It seems he has created the blog only to link with his IPL pitch, very commercially driven. He has used the IPL hype to his advantage. The appearance of his blog has an IPL touch to it. Check the Knight Riders website and you will know what I am talking about.

After reading Shah Rukh Khan’s blog, all I can say he has a lot to learn to make that emotional connect to his readers.

Here’s a glimpse of his writing style.

It is you, fans, and your generous wishes and comments that have always driven the passion in us. For that, I am thankful. I know that even when we lose a wicket, you will be there to cheer us on so that the batsman heading to the pavilion can walk with head raised, so that the batsman coming in to play can feel encouraged, and so that the opponent knows what incredible force they are up against.

Was it encouraging ? Or did it look phony – as in K..K..K..K…. Kiran ! You decide…

Anyways, you can read his blogs at http://www.millanofthevillains.in/blog/home.asp

Alexa Ranking is @ 1,405,757 – Not very impressive

Popularity: 16%

After the stupendous success of the Indian Premier League, suddenly the sporting world seems to have their act cut out. Suddenly, it seems as if someone has woken up from a deep slumber and told the world “We have done it, now it is your turn. Show me how much you can go further ”

Sir Allen Stanford, the super rich billionaire from the Carribean island has decided to take the IPL, head on. He launched a winner-take-all $20 million Twenty 20 match between England and West Indies – supposedly one of the biggest one-off paydays for not just cricketers, but in the history of team sports.

A little more sauce in the already bulky saucer, hear this one out – Each of the 11 players from the winning team will receive $ 1 million for less than three hours of work. That, if you, annualize it, will probably outsmart the net worth of Anil Ambani.

So who is this gentleman – Sir Allen Stanford ?

As per Wikipedia

Sir Allen is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the privately held, wholly owned Stanford Financial Group of Companies. He began his business career in Houston, Texas, making his first fortune in real estate in the early 1980s. Since then he has expanded the insurance and real estate company his grandfather founded in 1932 into a global wealth management firm. Stanford Financial Group’s clients are affluent investors, institutions, and emerging growth companies from 136 countries on six continents. Assets under management or advisement are in excess of US$50 billion”

This is not it – It seems that the success of IPL has already triggered a spate of discussions and negotiations in North America and other European countries. Australia, England & West Indies, anyways are ahead of the game.

Needs to be seen whether this will make our cricketers’ income comparable to that of F1 champs or EPL stars. Lets leave that for another discussion.

Popularity: 12%