The proverb says that there are many slips between the cup and the lip…It however doesn’t say much when the cup itself slips out… I am talking of course about the T20 World cup of Cricket which India managed to lose…
There have been of course hoarse cries baying for blood and ‘off with his head’ sentiments expressed plenty already. Difficult for saner voices to be heard..
We will have to examine carefully the performance of Indian team to get a clearer picture…One striking thing is that Dhoni didn’t strike the ball well ( pun unintended) as good as he used to and in critical times too…Then some tactical blunders like Jadeja’s, that he did…All that is still acceptable and to some extent forgivable…
But not when he says, post match, that India is a ‘sentimental country’…
Sentimental countries forgive you, sir, when you ask….Not cold blooded countries who merely act than feel…
Dhoni perhaps a needs a lesson in sensitivity there…
Success is not always being first, its really about doing better than you were, said a wise man…That is what makes us sit up and ponder…We were doing much better than failing to chase ( a self inflicted injury after winning the toss!) a mediocre target of 153 runs against a ‘not too hot to handle’ English team..
What then happened this time around..?
IPL, that’s what it’s all about…
How can we expect, most Indian players who contested fiercely against each other in IPL so very recently, to fight for a common cause and jell as a team in the T20 WC?
There were some still unhealed ego wounds somewhere hanging over from those emotional Chennai superkings, Delhi daredevils and Punjab Kings XI’s close contests.. Most International players now playing for their own countries were their recent team-mates...
Besides most became exhausted , ‘fatigued out’, home-sick and some like Viru picked up unwanted injuries at a crucial time…
Its not me who feels this way;Gary Kirsten, our Coach does, as well…He was there throughout and he should know…
If you make cricketers slaves to money merely by hosting dissimilar tournaments and in different continents too soon, then you forget the human factor… It was too much, too soon...
Success is not final and failure is not fatal, said Churchill...
And then every machine needs a rest too…Don’t our cricketers?
That’s what all of us need too…Rest and some cold introspection at our calendars..
Rest will take care of itself…
