IPL HAS SUCKED THE PATRIOTIC SPORTSMAN SPIRIT OF INDIAN CRICKETERS

Ravi: - What a pathetic performance it was for India in the ICC T-20 World Cup Tournament of 2010? They showed dismal performance in batting, bowling and fielding.

Mridul: - Dhoni is saying that due to too much IPL parties and excessive travel, players are exhausted. That’s why; the Indian cricketers were not able to concentrate in the ICC T-20 matches.

Barun: - Then, how can the players of other nations, who have played in IPL also, performed well in ICC T-20 matches? This is a very silly excuse by Dhoni to safeguard himself. Forget his captaincy, as a batsman, what performance has he shown in the ICC T-20 tournament of 2010. He is more a captain of Chennai Super Kings rather than of Indian Cricket Team.

Sushil: - Moreover, there was no proper strategy in the team selection of this Indian Team. You are playing in West Indies. No matter, how much flat pitch it is in West Indies; the pitch is bound to help the fast and medium pace bowlers. If the pitch is on the slower side, then in T-20 format, medium pacers will dominate on the batsmen. So, at least, a team should have 3-4 specialist fast or medium-fast pace bowlers. In contrast to that strategy, Dhoni was using Harbhajan Singh as an opening bowler. Also, there were only two specialist pace bowlers in the team.

Mridul: - Indian Cricket Team have so many all-rounder, maybe, that’s why, they have taken only two main pace bowlers.

Arindam: - All rounder? and that too in this Indian Cricket Team? Now, don’t tell me that Yusuf Pathan, Yuvraaj Singh are great spinners. Both of them failed with the bat also. Thanks to Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina, otherwise, India would have scored the lowest total of this ICC T-20 tournament. Murali Vijay can never replace the gap of Virender Sehwag. Sachin Tendulkar should have played the T-20 tournament for India. What to say about Ravinder Jadeja? I really doubt on what basis, he got selected in the team. Ashish Nehra tried his level best, but got no support from the other end.

Ravi: - You are not asking the question, why Virender Sehwag not played in this tournament.

Arindam: - Yeah, because of injury only.

Ravi: - Why is he injured? It is only because of the hectic schedules of IPL only. What is the point in playing for those clubs, if you cannot represent your country in the World cup?

Barun: - BCCI needs to be blamed for that. Boss, in IPL, all the Indian players are participating, whereas only 4-5 players are participating from the other countries. Therefore, there is a chance that all these Indian players are going to play the ICC T-20 tournament with severe or minor injuries. Then, there is another issue. On what basis, the BCCI is selecting the team for the ICC T-20 tournament. There is no rule at all. A player who played well in IPL may not play the same way in West Indies, because India has a flat pitch, whereas the Caribbean track is bouncy. That’s why; Gautam Gambhir was performing break dances against the bouncers or short-pitch balls.

Sushil: - Somehow, I felt from the body languages of the Indian Cricketers that they are yet to come out of that IPL mania. In IPL, all the clubs are inconsistent in their performance except a few. In IPL, you can afford to miss catches, do sloppy fielding, play rash shots, but, when you are playing in International arena, it’s a very tough competitive game. Even a small mistake can cost you the match. Not a single Indian batsman emphasized more on creating a sound partnership to add momentum later in the Innings. They played very casually and threw their wickets.

Arindam: - to some extent, you are right. The condition of Indian Cricket Team is like the Argentina football team only. Argentina football team has so many great club footballers, but, when they play for their country, they fail to win, because they lack unity among themselves. That spirit of sportsmanship and patriotism is not there. Their mind is only saying, ‘Oho! We get so much money while playing for that club, but, when we play for our country, we just get a mere amount of money. So, why should we give extra effort to win the match?’ Similarly, “IPL HAS SUCKED THE PATRIOTIC SPORTSMAN SPIRIT OF INDIAN CRICKETERS.”