http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php C'est la vie en prem.panicker@gmail.com Copyright 2009 2009-06-09T05:28:00+04:30 http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/change_of_address/ http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/change_of_address/#When:05:28:00Z It’s happening all over Bombay and other metros: old buildings being torn down and replaced by towering new structures. Now it’s the turn of my online home. You guys have been complaining that (a) this blog has formatting issues; (2) that there’s the blog, plus Twitter, plus links on Delicious, and who knows what else, to follow. So—a temporary home that brings all of that stuff together while I rework this at leisure.See you on here. 2009-06-09T05:28:00+04:30 http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/bath_bed_and_beyond/ http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/bath_bed_and_beyond/#When:15:10:00Z The other day we gave you the latest in togetherness: bathing in the bedroom [which apparently is not as hot as it is cracked up to be, says Amit Varma, speaking with the voice of experience].Now we give you a bedroom guaranteed to get you laid.I’m going to be off this thing for the weekend, folks—got some interior redecorating to do [Okay, okay, I’m not a bachelor, but must we get technical?]. Later... Mars & Venus 2009-06-05T15:10:00+04:30 http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/dhoni_takes_strike/ http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/dhoni_takes_strike/#When:13:16:00Z “This message is for the people of India and Indian cricket fans from worldwide who care for the whole team. That’s why we are all here.“As we prepare for the T20 World Cup, we are a unified team. The team spirit is as good as it has ever been, with each individual supporting each other both on and off the field.“Recent reports in the Indian media of a rift between myself and Sehwag amounts to nothing but false and irresponsible media.“Our fans and supporters can take confidence from the wonderful unity that continues to exist in the team.“We thank our fans for this continued support and look forward to entertaining you during this tournament which we go into well-prepared, unified as Team India and confident. Thank-you.”Finished, Dhoni and the entire squad stormed out of the conference, leaving the Indian media miffed.Here is the story. So—sorry, ‘Indian media’, but why were you miffed? Explain?Could it be that for once, you are finding a captain who won’t play your games? A captain who, what is more, will confront issues head on when they arise or, more accurately, when you fabricate them out of whole cloth—a probability I’d indicated earlier in the day?One of the reasons problems proliferated earlier is that when sections of the media fabricated stories of rifts within the team, the captain of the time either did not address them head on or, if he did, did so in the sort of wishy-washy fashion that carried no conviction. And that, even more than his captaincy, is why I like MSD—he has the cojones to stop such nonsense before it spreads, and doesn’t care how blunt he has to be to get the message across.PostScript: On phone just now from England, my Rediff colleague Harish Kotian informed us that as Dhoni led his team out of the press conference, he tossed a stack of printed copies of his statement at the reporters and said, Here, otherwise you’ll misquote me on this as well [Nahin toh tum log isko bhi ulta likhega].What to say except, Go, MS! Sport, Cricket, Controversies, T20 WC 2009 2009-06-05T13:16:00+04:30 http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/the_world_cup_and_all_that/ http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/the_world_cup_and_all_that/#When:11:37:00Z While singing a little paean to Rohit Sharma, Harsha Bhogle reflects on the sea change in India’s cricketing character, as exemplified through Indo-Pak encounters.And as happens inevitably, the team that is more tense, more coiled up, is more vulnerable; the team that is obsessed with not losing almost always does. You cannot win unless you are willing to tempt defeat and Pakistan, the gamblers who backed themselves, won more as a result than they lost. Except for a phase between 1984 and 1985, a close match always went away.Then 2004 happened and we began to see a new Indian player on the horizon; fearless, confident, willing to live for the day and for whom a shot was a calculated gamble, not a risk-free effort. In the five years since, this new breed is the face of Indian cricket and I saw that demonstrated on Wednesday at The Oval when a cricket match that might have been classified as tense, as a must-win game in another era, was transformed into an almost cavalier exhibition of strokeplay; the bat, in the hands of Rohit Sharma, was powered by timing and self-belief, the fear of making a mistake erased by the anticipation of a good shot. It is a critical difference in the mind.The story du jour though is Andrew Symonds, whose career at least in Australian colors has likely ended at the bottom of one bottle too many. Team mates mourn the loss of a flexible performer; commentators speak of hubris; others say he had it coming and the real culprits are the administrators and CA’s captain; and former mates suggest the all-rounder may just be tired of the grind of cricket, period [like Chris Gayle, except on the rocks].It prompts some half-formed thoughts about just what is ‘acceptable behavior’ for a cricketer and what is not. For instance, I can understand rules about not bunking training, or about a curfew on pre-game days; I also understand rules about acceptable public behavior—but I am not sure you really want to put an all-inclusive no-booze clause in a player’s contract. Then again, I don’t know too much of what has been going on with the guy behind the scenes, so I’ll let the thoughts remain half-formed.Elsewhere, Mike Selvey is the latest to worry about the logjam in the cricket calendar thanks to the proliferation of T20 games—and reckons it will be ODIs, not Tests, that will end up paying the price.On another note—you would think, off the top of your head, that India would be among the top teams that maximize scoring in the first six overs of T20 games. Apparently not: a statistics-driven piece by S Rajesh puts India firmly in the bottom tier in that category. Read with the fact that India does better than most in the last six overs, you’d think the biggest job ahead of the side is getting its opening combination right, and firing.The World Cup is officially on; I am unofficially off—off blog for the next three days, that is, while I go traveling. Enjoy; I’ll catch up with the game, Bhim and all else Tuesday, when I get back to base.Update: The inside story of Symonds and his contract—fair enough, I guess, that he got decked, since he was in violation of a contract he had personally signed on to. What sticks mildly in my craw is that by all accounts, he was with a bunch of his mates, watching a sporting event and having a couple of drinks, as were others. Even contractual clauses are open to sensible interpretations and enforcement, surely? [Some Australian commentators have spoken of this as the final straw—for your edification, here are the various earlier ‘straws’]. Oh well—in any case, CA’s loss is likely Deccan Chargers’ gain; the franchise says they have no intention of letting him go.Speaking of going—I’m gone. See you Monday. Sport, Cricket, T20 WC 2009 2009-06-05T11:37:00+04:30 http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/the_unmentionables_of_the_economy/ http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/the_unmentionables_of_the_economy/#When:11:05:00Z During an economic boom, women stop wearing underpants. During a recession, men stop wearing them.Discovered this very important economic indicator via Amit Varma, who discovered it via Alan Greenspan. I am not making any comments—or if I am, it is strictly sotto voce. Mars & Venus, WTF 2009-06-05T11:05:00+04:30 http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/two_interviews/ http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/two_interviews/#When:04:45:00Z Interview 1:What is the story on Player X’s injury?It is being evaluated by the team physio on a daily basis, and we are all looking forward to X recovering fully; he is a vital member of our team, and one of our greatest match winners.But in his absence, Player A has been doing the job very well. Do you think X will struggle to regain his place in the side when he is fully fit?As I said, X’s fitness is being evaluated by the physio on a daily basis, and we are all looking to him recovering fully. He is one of our best match winners, with a great track record. It is nice that Player A has been doing well in the stop-gap role; A is an outstanding young talent and I am sure he will serve the cause of Indian cricket for a long time to come.What is a journalist to do with this, tell? He dashes off something on the lines of:X’s fitness being monitored on daily basisThe captain of the national side, speaking exclusively to this newspaper, said X’s injury is still to heal, and that he is being monitored on a daily basis.He said that A, who has been filling in for X, is an outstanding talent and will have a long run with the national team.The editor who gets this submission takes one look and goes, ‘What is this crap? Where is the STORY?!’Interview 2What is the story on X’s injury?You have to ask the physio about that, he is best placed to tell you. Maybe he will issue a press release.But when will he get fit?I don’t know, you can never tell with injuries. Maybe he will be fit before our first game, maybe not.A has been doing well filling in for X—does this cause selection problems?It is always nice to have the problem of plenty; it gives us options for the opening slot.Will X struggle to regain his place in the side when he becomes fit, now that A is doing so well?I cannot say what will happen when X is fit; all I can say is it is nice to have talented players in the side who are performing well.Now we’re off to the races—this is the kind of thing we can work with. And the end result is something like this.Consider one sample:There were a barrage of questions about Rohit continuing as an opener and the status of Sehwag’s batting position. Every question on Sehwag and his fitness or availability was treated with disdain.Disdain for Sehwag, or disdain for reporters who keep asking the same question over and over again [A barrage of questions on Rohit’s place as an opener? Why? Doesn’t one question and answer cover it?], in the hope of getting something they can latch on to and spin into a controversy? Where is the disdain in saying ‘I don’t know, you have to ask the physio’?But reports about simmering tensions between Indian captain MS Dhoni and vice-captain Virender Sehwag are fast threatening to undermine India’s defence of the ICC World Twenty20, which begins on Friday.Reports like the one that is appended to this opening gambit, you mean?The only difference between the two hypothetical interviews above is that the captain in the first instance is a diplomat [who does that remind you of?] while the second is the type who answers questions in the least amount of words required to address it.Likely I’m making a mountain out of a molehill—but during my decade-long stint as a regular cricket correspondent, I’ve seen too many examples of this to count: absolutely innocuous press conferences that, reflected in the trick mirror of a reporter out for a ‘story’, took on sinister contours. Most times, such stories don’t affect the team too much, but it does drive wedges between the team’s fan following—and in some cases, the bitterness continues even after the principals have exited center stage. And just once in a while, reports of this kind cause enormous dissension within the team itself—ask VVS Laxman what he thought when a similarly innocent remark was twisted to indicate that his senior mates and captain didn’t think he was worth a regular place in the side.Here’s a sample of what you can do, if all you want is a page one byline, and are not too worried about where the excreta falls when it hits the fan:‘I want to lead India’: SachinOn the eve of the MS Dhoni-led national team launching its title defense in the T20 World Cup beginning today in London, Indian cricket’s most respected icon has launched a thinly veiled attack on his leadership skills.In an exclusive interaction with this reporter, Sachin Tendulkar said ‘I would like to lead this Indian team’.When Tendulkar told the selectors that he did not want to be considered for the inaugural T20 World Cup, it was universally assumed that the Little Master wanted to save himself for Tests and one day internationals. Clearly, that is not the case—within Tendulkar, there is a raging desire to prove himself on the world stage in the shortest version of the game.Indicating that it is only the captaincy with which he has issues, Tendulkar said: ‘It is a brilliant team, full of talented players.’MS Dhoni’s much-hyped captaincy skills have been questioned in some quarters after the debacle of the IPL Season Two, when last year’s finalists failed, despite the inspirational form of Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina, to get into the finals. I could go on, but you get the idea. Here’s the thing: those words Tendulkar said are actual, and very recent, quotes. I found them in the latest issue of GQ, which has Sachin on the cover.What happened in the interaction was that Sachin said of course he would like to lead the side—it is full of highly talented players [he had elsewhere said it was possibly the best team he had ever been part of], so who wouldn’t want to lead it?Split the two parts of that statement, though, and it takes on hugely sinister undertones. Therein lies the danger and, for some, the opportunity.Caveat: GQ did not twist Sachin’s words in the fashion I exemplified above—that was an imaginary construct to show what could be done. Sport, Cricket, Journalism 2009-06-05T04:45:00+04:30 http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/thirst_is_good/ http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/thirst_is_good/#When:12:37:00Z Video 2009-06-04T12:37:00+04:30 http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/t_day_nostalgia/ http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/t_day_nostalgia/#When:09:54:00Z I have the distinction, if you can call it that, of being responsible for what is likely the only front page of a newspaper, June 5, 1989, that did not carry any images, and/or stories, of what China calls the ‘incident’ at Tiananmen Square—a fact that occasioned a nostalgic chuckle while browsing Time’s photo-stack, and MSN’s use of Bing.I was in Free Press Journal at the time, and burdened with an editor who insisted on deciding what should go on the front page. Fair enough, that is the editor’s prerogative; the catch with this guy was, he also was particular about being the first person to belly up to the bar when the Bombay Press Club opened its doors each evening—so he would decide the stories for the front page at 5 pm, and race away to his watering ground.Stories typically develop later in the evening, so to freeze the front page at 5 seemed folly. The first time a story broke after the editor had gone away, I over-ruled his lineup and put the new story in. Next morning, I got hauled up on the carpet, before said editor and management representative, and my protestations that I couldn’t possibly ignore the story or relegate it to an inside page didn’t seem to cut much ice. The second time this happened, I was categorically told that once the editor had decided the lineup, my job was to implement it, not use my own initiative—or else.Five days later, all hell broke loose at Tiananmen. Even as the first agency takes came in, you knew—as who wouldn’t?—that this was huge. But the editor had decreed, and I had been put on notice for over-ruling his diktat. And the editor was—these were pre-cellphone days, yeah? Also pre-cable TV days—in the Press Club, drinking himself silly, completely oblivious to the developments.So, with a great deal of perverse pleasure, I made the front page the way he wanted, and went home. Next morning, every newspaper on the stands had Tiananmen all over its front page. We had some silly statement by the prime minister. Sure enough, I found a summons waiting for me when I got to work; the management rep went, what the hell were you doing? At which I gleefully produced the paper on which the editor had, the previous evening, blocked out his desired front page, and—you have no idea what it cost me to keep a straight face—went, but sir, you said if I ever deviate from the editor’s instructions, I’ll be sacked, no?That was the last time the editor decided the front page, at least during the few weeks I continued at that paper.More nostalgia, but not my own: Remember Wu’er Kaixi, Wang Dan and other leaders of the students’ revolt who dominated our imaginations and the media front pages [including FPJ’s] over the coming weeks? Where are they now? Here. And still with the ‘where are they now’ theme, here’s the story of a one time soldier in the Red Army who, then aged 17, trained his gun on the protesting students and who, today, speaks of that time in defiance of official edicts.A few other stories I’ve been reading these last few days: how it’s all done with smoke and mirrors; another looking back, looking forward essay from the same source; the shutting down of Twitter and banning of journalists that marks the 20th anniversary ‘celebrations’ [on which Wired magazine has more]; an experience piece on how, in dealing with authority in China, you either get extreme rigidity or surprising flexibility, and nothing in between...And, finally, an interview with Wu’er Kaixi.Enough reading. Back to work. World, Issues 2009-06-04T09:54:00+04:30 http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/a_paean_to_t20/ http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/a_paean_to_t20/#When:08:01:00Z Peter Roebuck sees considerable charms in cricket’s newest version. Sample riff:Although these contests were hectic, they did not shrink into parody. Nor were the exchanges mere skirmishes. Winning is winning. Cricket is cricket. By and large, the same players scored runs and took wickets, and for the same reasons – cunning, power, eye, pace, whatever. It was swift but it was recognisable. Cricket might have put on a red nose, but it was still telling a compelling story. And what else is sport except an opportunity to let off steam, pit one’s skills against another, or else against a dartboard or golf course, and to take part in a drama whose outcome is unknown? At first sight it is child’s play, and has always been treated as such by the constipated, but closer inspection reveals another outlet for the human journey.Me, I’m not as sure. Maybe it is owing to the fact that T20 comes in such large doses [I am still not over the IPL hangover], or maybe I am still searching for that divine moment, that inspired struggle between titanic opponents that plays out on a Wagnerian scale, and not feeling entirely sated by the fleeting rock riffs of the shortest form. T20 for me remains, for now, in the realm of time-pass. Which is not a bad thing, before you point it out. Sport, Cricket, Commentary, T20 WC 2009 2009-06-04T08:01:00+04:30 http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/putting_the_match_back_in_practice_match/ http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/putting_the_match_back_in_practice_match/#When:05:27:00Z After an age [or maybe it just feels that way], finally a cricket match where the commentators and cameramen did not need to subterfuge and high decibel counts to whip up enthusiasm about the collective enthusiasm—the turnout for and crowd involvement in the India-Pak practice game yesterday at the Oval, even through the reductive filter of the television screen, would have done a Cup final proud. [More on that on Cricinfo]Not that the game was even remotely a classic—it was more about nerves, free-flowing adrenalin than look-at-me cricketing moments. A few random points occurred while watching:RP Singh, brilliant with his both-ways swing and seam movement in South African conditions, appears to be nowhere near as effective here; I wonder how much of that has to do with the fact that he mostly seemed to pitch three-quarters, a length that did not allow room for movement through the air.The converse was Ishant Sharma, who in English conditions appears to have rediscovered rhythm, pace and movement—both his spells thus far have been high quality exhibitions, and yesterday’s in particular made you wonder if he was not the more logical choice for the new ball ahead of either RP or Pravin Kumar [MSD appears to be operating on the plan of having Ishant bowl in the middle overs, using his pace, bounce and movement to keep things tight. Fair enough, but with at least one quality spinner plus two or more part time spinners capable of bowling controlled spells, IS just might be put to better use at the top of the bowling order].Harbhajan’s form continues—but what is impressive is that Pragyan Ojha is matching the senior spinner tweak for tweak. Confident lad, this: seems to be taking risks in the way he tosses the ball up and invites big hitting, but you notice that his lines are tailored to the field, and more often than not, he makes hitting out a risky proposition.For the second match in succession, Rohit Sharma has given MSD and Gary Kirsten something to think about. So, assuming fitness, do you now split the opening combination of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir? For my money, no—VS, GG, RS or Suresh Raina [depending on whether the left- or right-hander gets out first] and MS Dhoni [with the option of promoting a Yusuf/Irfan Pathan at need] seems the best batting lineup.Elsewhere, the government—in the person of Shiv Shankar Menon—appears prima facie to be making noises intended to pave the way for the renewal of bilateral cricketing ties—in fact, the heading suggests that such ties have resumed.I’m not so sure, though—Menon is at pains to confine his comments to the context of multilateral contests, and on that front what else was he supposed to say? The GoI was certainly not going to block the national team from playing Pakistan at the World Cup level, so this story seems more a case of a reporter buttonholing a bureaucrat and the latter responding with polite diplomatese. That opinion is reinforced by the interaction with MS Gill towards the end of the same article: clearly the reporter is fishing for a ‘larger’ story; Gill, unlike Menon, clearly refuses to take the faintest nibble at the bait.I’d suppose the GoI is nowhere near ready to resume bilateral ties. Much has happened since I wrote this—most notably, this, and there seems to be nothing in developments between then and now to predispose the GoI into permitting bilateral cricket tours [even assuming the security aspect hadn’t been exacerbated by the attacks on the Sri Lankan team].While on this, an email landed up in my box from Balakrishnan Sivaraman, reproduced here with his permission as thought-fodder:I just noticed that the T20 warm-up game between India and Pakistan is a fundraiser for the victims of Lahore. I was wondering how the BCCI sanctioned this, and also how/why the BCCI (probably) has not done anything for victims of 26/11. I use the word probably, since I’m unsure about it, living/studying in the US far away from Rajdeep/Sagarika/Barkha and their squealing/screeching ilk.I strongly believe that sports transcends politics, but at the same time it irritates me that the Indian team has probably not done anything in terms of support for the 26/11 victims, not even a benefit match but are willing to play one for Pakistan! Am I the only one surprised? Is my thought symptomatic of an inherent mistrust towards all things Pakistani nowadays? Or is it just that everyone has forgotten 26/11 and moved on? As I have often thought, we are a nation with very short-term memory.Thoughts? Sport, Cricket, BCCI, T20 WC 2009 2009-06-04T05:27:00+04:30