Hand holders' club

We won the world cup. Great. Awesome. Incredible. Isn't it? The joy, the excitement and the satisfaction that our boys delivered when the expectations were running so high is just amazing. We're proud of the team, aren't we? They played together, like one unit. They fought together when the chips were down and rose together to achieve success.

So then why are we hell bent on dividing them? Why is it that when we want to reward them, we take sides and pick and choose? As if the rewards for winning the cup weren't enough, each state is trying to outdo the other by announcing cash and kind rewards for 'their' player. And even in that they have grades. So while Maharashtra decided to reward Sachin, Delhi announced largesse for Dhoni, Gambhir, Sehwag and Kohli. What wrong did the others do? Punjab doled out pots of money for their puttars Yuvraj and Harbhajan while Gujarat announced it was only going to bless Yusuf Pathan and Zaheer Khan...and so on. The only state to reward the entire team was Tamil Nadu.
Guys, guys, what's wrong with you? We can all do the maths. How do the chaps who are being left out feel?
I think the Brits must be having the last laugh. It's their legacy after all- this divide and rule, this shove a wedge between friends habit. But hey, they wanted to break us. Why would we want to break our team? Would someone please tell these politicians that?
Warren Buffet, who was in town recently and gave many insightful interviews to the youth, said that one of the first things that he, as an employer, looks for in a prospective employee is 'team spirit'. The ability to work together with other folks. In his candid style he said, 'I dont care if you have all the best degrees of the world in your pocket and you have IQ in triple digits. You are no good to me if you sit in one corner and eat out of your own tiffin. I'd rather pick someone who gels with the crowd, who's a hand holder.'
We've got hand holders in our cricket team. Dont let anybody break the clasps.

IPL addiction is getting to me

The IPL has given me an addiction. I realised it when, for the first time in over a month, there wasnt a match yesterday and i spent the entire evening moping about the house. A friend had asked me if I was supporting any particular team and why. It was a tough question to answer. Last year I supported the Delhi Daredevils because obviously Delhi is the city I live in. But during matches when Delhi wasn't playing I usually chose the underdog. Unless of course I particularly liked the captain of one team or certain players from another. I know it does sound complicated but the bottomline is I just liked the competition of the whole sport. The runs, the chase, the excitement. Therefore, when all these murky deals and goings on became public (Modi/ Tharoor) it sort of took the gloss off the games a bit. No fan likes to hear of match fixing or underhand deals. It's the worst thing that you can do to a sports buff really. We just want to enjoy good sport and such things kill the fun for us. Well, a few more games to go and it'll be over. I'm already consoling myself that there will be the T20 world cup soon and then the soccer world cup followed by the tennis grandslams- french open, wimbledon and so on. Life wont be so bad...

The mantra for success

Shah rukh should take some tips from the owner of the Hyderabad team- Ramu Reddy. Tall, like a friendly giant, he was quite cool about his role in the team's failure (last year) and success this year. I just let them be. They are great cricketers and responsible enough, he said when needled by a too eager interviewer. He didnt go for any change when they came up at the bottom of the heap. He went in for no makeovers, no aggressive campaigning and definitely no publicity stunts. And his team is returning the favour this time.

International Privilege league

For sports lovers like me IPL-2 being played in South Africa is a great boon. One whole month of cricket. And not just any cricket. You get to watch the top players in the world exhibit their game. It’s like a big stage with live performances by Gilchrist, Vettori, Malinga, Warne and you can feast your eyes as much as you want. But frankly I’m not able to show allegiance or feel passionate about any of the teams. In fact their names still do not inspire any sense of belonging or die-hard fan following. Perhaps it is early days yet? Besides, moving out of India has been a big dampener. I mean how can you feel like cheering for Delhi Daredevils in Cape town? Nothing Delhi-ish about it…Maybe if they took some pix of our slums and free for all urinals...!
I like Mandira Bedi’s new hairstyle but I’m already sick of the film stars. Who wants to watch Preeti and Shilpa for God’s sake? If people wanted to watch movie stars they would go to a movie. If the cricket is good fans would watch anyway, you don’t need sops like these. When will these dumbos understand!

Unke paas kya hai?

Ok. I think the cricket fans are going a bit overboard. All this- victory parade around mumbai, showering of moolah and gifts- reek of cheapness. I agree with the hockey team and coach caravalho. What've-they-got-that-we-havent eternal question that they are asking. (Unke paas ma hai- sorry). Unke paas fuloos hai baby- endorsements! million dollar ad contracts! BCCI is loaded. While the hockey federation is a kuccha baniyan outfit. That's the secret. Well, going on a hunger strike might be a good idea. Nothing is gained unless you ask for it and i think the timing is right. It's a shame that cricket should be such a money spinner when only a handful of nations with a colonial hangover play it compared to the really popular sports like football and hockey. We need an even playing field and i'm all for you caravalho! Chak de hockey!