[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

So Tracer Bullet is coach. A good thing actually;

Another silver lining to this cloud is that we will be spared the bombastic tripe that he spouts in the name of "commentary"

Cheers,
Vikram

[Sawyer]

Yes; but his replacement there will need a Kohli approval, so don't hold your breath.

[Chetan_Rao]

Stale smoke and cheap broken mirrors.

Someone should ask the idiot advisory committee to refund all the money spent on pretending to interview/evaluate candidates.

Nothing short of fan apathy will make Indian cricket mend its ways, but they know they've got a majority of that bunch in the bag for life. They'll watch this circus and be glad for the privilege.

[Sawyer]

It is a vicious circle of sorts; we don't have anything else to cheer about in sports, so we watch just this. And so nothing else gets the fan following that will breed success, viewers and sponsors. And cricket keeps getting more than it deserves, so it attracts players, fixers, wheeler dealers, political patronage and worse: it is the biggest honey pot other than politics in India today.

Badminton deserves more attention; as does Indian hockey these days. But no mass base for both. Soccer, athletics, tennis are less than sideshows.

The discerning will tune out of cricket often, but many will wave even the IPL franchise flags in hysterical adulation.

[hemanth.anand]

You lie to your wife
Both of you know it's a lie
Both pretend as if it's not
Life continues but somewhere, the trust is broken

Everyone at the helm of affairs are pretending as if they selected a coach on merit.
We people know that it is nothing but politics and continue watching the drama unfold.
We continue watching the matches but not with the same interest

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

It is a vicious circle of sorts; we don't have anything else to cheer about in sports, so we watch just this. And so nothing else gets the fan following that will breed success, viewers and sponsors. And cricket keeps getting more than it deserves, so it attracts players, fixers, wheeler dealers, political patronage and worse: it is the biggest honey pot other than politics in India today.

Badminton deserves more attention; as does Indian hockey these days. But no mass base for both. Soccer, athletics, tennis are less than sideshows.

The need of the hour is to make these games sexy and glamorous.

And it doesn't mean the players have to glamorous.

But the presentation.

Take Pro Kabaddi League for example. The overall presentation, the gimmicks, the Bollywood stars that own the teams, the marketing have been the reason why it has become such a smash hit.

Even when the players aren't exactly famous or glamorous as the current crop of cricketers are.

It is the presentation that matters.

Organizers need to up their game when they broadcast Kabaddi, Badminton, Hockey; get players to sign up on Instagram and Facebook and manage their account, market it.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The need of the hour is to make these games sexy and glamorous.


Take Pro Kabaddi League for example. The overall presentation, the gimmicks, the Bollywood stars that own the teams, the marketing have been the reason why it has become such a smash hit.

Perhaps, but I don't think that is all there is to it. Cricket for instance was the most watched sport in India before even live TV, fifty years ago. Perhaps Hockey in its glory days came close, but I can't say for sure.

I did not know that the Kabaddi thing is a "smash hit" - it doesn't enthuse me. But if it is a hit, good for it and I hope it gets even bigger. Bollywood stars are a part of the Indian Soccer league as well - is that a smash hit too?

I am optimistic about Badminton with a very charismatic Sindhu capable of doing big things for the game, and now the men seem to have been inspired as well.

But as do car makers, cricket also needs competition of the kind it faces in SA/Aus/ENG, to stay honest and be forced to improve its act. One hopes it gets it, because as long as it stays the opiate of our masses, there will always jokers like Niranjan Shah, Anurag Thakur, Rajesh Shukla to name a few to feast on the rewards. Have you noticed how the politicians of different parties unite to exploit these?

Perhaps the women need to step up to the plate.

[Sawyer]

While the women exceed expectations, the BCCI/COA/CCA/SC farce continues in full force.
"As for Dravid and Zaheer, yet another committee has been formed to decide if they are needed at all, and terms of engagement if they are."
Hilarious. Indian cricket management airing their diapers for all to see; from SC all the way to Niranjan Shah and Srinivasan. Those that are not unscrupulous are spineless.
The Women need just two good games now. And Mandhana has to come to the party, it is high time.

[vibbs]

What a tremendous performance in the Semis!! Looking all set for the title now.

[NPV]

A well deserved victory for Indian women to reach the final of the world cup. Aussies gave a good fight despite losing 9 wickets. Would have been unfair for India to lose after a tremendous 171 not out by Harmanpreet Kaur.

[Sawyer]

Indeed, and Australia kept their never say die reputation to the end in attempting an impossible ask.

The Kaur innings was as good as the legendary one by Kapil Dev. No other Indian male has done more in any World Cup in the knock out stages. Few other Indian matches in the knock outs have been as entertaining, except the 1983 final.

Just one more to go, and we need the luck of the toss to pull it off, perhaps. It will be great if that happens also because it will teach our men another lesson in how to behave and move attention to the womens' game - globally I suspect with the influence of the Indian market.

[C300]

That was a tremendous innings by Harmanpreet Kaur. One of the best given the situation..and that was a magic delivery from Jhulan to dismiss Lanning. Hope we continue the same form in the finals.

[Sawyer]

Mithali Raj is very impressive talking to the press too and a great ambassador for not just the women of India, but for all Indians. Much better than many men that play and talk the game. There is a very balanced and articulate set of comments from her after India reached the finals that is worth looking for.

She also made a mark as follows:
"Raj started this campaign, her fifth, on the front foot. Asked at the tournament's opening dinner who her favourite male cricketer was, with the caveat that she had to choose from either the Indian or Pakistani team, she shot back in response.

"Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? I have always been asked who's your favourite cricketer but you should ask them who their favourite female cricketer is."

Bravo; that should touch at least the thin skinned among us while what seems to be a large majority of Indian men from a 5000 year old civilisation go about ill treating every woman that is not their mother or sister.

And another comment that the men could learn from:
""It's important when matches are televised to showcase a very good brand of cricket. That's how we attract more people to come and watch woman's games."

IMO, good brand here also means appropriate behaviour. That does not have to be explained away to children watching as is often necessary when the men at doing their tantrum things and making horrible faces on the field of play.

The women now play the Gentlemen's game in more ways than one. More power to them and as much as I will be cheering for a win, I will be cheering for a final worthy of the occasion.

With a final prayer that Mandhana fires!

PS: How many know that in effect we have a Tendulkar and a Kapil Dev playing in the team? One better actually, the highest run getter and the highest wicket taker ever in the history of the women's game, both playing together in the same team in the final at Lords, in Raj and Goswamy. Worthy of much more accolades than what they seem to get for that rare feat. With both still contributing a lot more to the results than what these two gentlemen did at the same phase in their careers, when both were carried so they could achieve individual records.

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

"Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? I have always been asked who's your favourite cricketer but you should ask them who their favourite female cricketer is."

Bravo; that should touch at least the thin skinned among us while what seems to be a large majority of Indian men from a 5000 year old civilisation go about ill treating every woman that is not their mother or sister.


PS: How many know that in effect we have a Tendulkar and a Kapil Dev playing in the team? One better actually, the highest run getter and the highest wicket taker ever in the history of the women's game, both playing together in the same team in the final at Lords, in Raj and Goswamy. Worthy of much more accolades than what they seem to get for that rare feat. With both still contributing a lot more to the results than what these two gentlemen did at the same phase in their careers, when both were carried so they could achieve individual records.

(Need of a better off topic smiley. This looks rude to use sometimes ) You sir are contradicting yourself when using the interview comments from Mithali and than comparing Mithali and Jhulan to Tendulkar and Kapil dev. Why can't they be just Mithali and Jhulan?

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

than comparing Mithali and Jhulan to Tendulkar and Kapil dev. Why can't they be just Mithali and Jhulan?

I take your point; on the other hand, bench marking them against two acknowledged Indian greats with the qualification made about their "longevity" is not demeaning to either Raj or Goswamy.