[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by PPS

And the BCCI has ensured the embarrassment continues for Dravid by curiously awarding him 50 lakh reward for winning the World Cup while each player of the squad got 30 lakh! This is the first time I've come across a Coach getting more than the player as a reward in Indian Cricket.
Offcourse, no one's doubting his credentials, he's definitely done a great job with the team.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

I dont understand why BCCI has to demean players of this stature by announcing such money related awards. If they have to give the money, do so by all means. Why shout about it from the rooftops? only so that you are seen doing something.
Just plain cheap, this.

And Dravid speaks out about the discrepancy in the reward amount. Though he is reportedly unhappy about discrepancy in the prize money among the coaching staff. Not sure if he has also mentioned about the players amount too!

Source : TOI.

[Sawyer]

Many rare similarities between the Indian women and the men yesterday. Very similar scores and manner of the win against the same country playing at its home on the same day. I doubt this has often happened in international cricket.

Very creditable performance by both units.

[dailydriver]

I could be the odd one here, but i was surprised to read that there is something called Cricket on Ice, with a dedicated tournament to boot! A match featuring Sehwag, Hussey, Symonds, Jayawardhane, Afridi, Smith, Vettori and Panesar among others will be played today on the lake of St Moritz in Switzerland. The same can be watched on Sony ESPN and Sony Six HD from 15.30 IST onwards.

Cricket on Ice in St Moritz is a sensational experience, attracting international players and high-flying business people from all over the world. It provides teams the opportunity to participate in the most prestigious event in the Swiss cricketing calendar in an atmosphere of fun and sporting brilliance.

Cricket on Ice

Interestingly, Montreal city had in the past played host to something called Snow Cricket World Cup .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4S-BzfQlno

Source

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Nah; I did get your point the first time. My question is: where is Indian cricket losing the plot? Why is it the way it is.

Is the BCCI unable to make the most of U19 talent? Are the U19 winners not being consistent enough to make it to the top?

On a side note, if we have a decent senior team and very few of them are U19 winners, does it say something about the U19 selection itself? Or are players peaking much later than 19.

Is it the system or the players or everything in between.

That's what happens when we are used to corporate and excel sheets to evaluate performance.

No it does not work that way. A world cup winning team member/captain from U-19 does not make you a direct entry into senior cricket team. No chance in hell. It guarantees nothing.

As Guru Mike Shinoda once said: This is 10% luck, 20% skill. 15% concentrated power of will. 5% pleasure, 50% pain and a 100% reason to remember the name. Ask Virat.

Rahul Dravid's words are been taken totally out of context here. I am sure he is sitting somewhere right now and reading all the interpretations of his statements and having a quite smile to himself.

The coaches job is to get the team to win the tournament, to train them for it, to keep them motivated, to keep them fit and to ultimately win that tournament. PERIOD.

He is not there to make them ready to enter the senior side or get the right profile picture on shaadi . com. His job is focused and to the goal. Nothing else. He can and he will make adjustments within the team to achieve that goal. That is why a coach is so important in sports.

Everyone outside is wondering why does a Sachin, Virat or any top athlete need a coach. This is why, they are focused on that one goal.

And thank god, any guy who gets into U-19 does not get automatic entry to the senior side. Trust me we could have been a poor cricketing country if that was the case.

A player needs to be evaluated every day. Each ball he bowls, each stroke he takes. I still remember my selection days, one of them was for the university team. First Class cricketer playing for the state, direct entry in to the state university team. Right? WRONG.

The coach who happened to be a ex- Ranji player from UP, kept me in the reserves because my batting to off-spin was suspect. He saw me getting clean bowled twice to a certain off-spinner during our nets. And my techniqe was suspect. He made me slog for 3 months to get it right under him. I played the next season.

How I wish we had an IPL then... What a tremendous opportunity for the cricketers. And those who are grabbing them with both hands, those guys will surely shine.

That brings me to another U-19 player and captain: Prithvi Shaw. I am worried about his approach when he was playing the tournament. He might slip from getting to the pinnacle. Hope he does not. The other century guys are far away from getting into the senior side any time soon.

Guru Eminem now: Look, if you had one shot. Or one opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted. One moment. Would you capture it, or just let it slip?

For the U-19 this is their moment - Rahul Dravid and what he meant.

Originally Posted by Eddy

PS: What is Swapnil upto now ? I hope he is doing well.

He is still on the state side and doing well.

[searacer932]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Only Dravid could have come up with this:
"Only one Indian from the 2012 winners that defeated Australia has gone on to play for India, while five to six Australians have done so. In 2018 it is therefore debatable as to who really won that final."

These are the 4 Australians who played that final

Sandhu - Has played couple of matches for Australia and has disappeared
Joel Paris - Played couple of matches for Australia and disappeared
Bancroft - Opened the batting in the recent Ashes series and looked out of depth
Head - Still struggling to establish himself in the Aus ODI team

For any country only few people make it to the senior team from U19. If people think that U19 is the breeding ground for senior team then they are completely wrong. It's the domestic tournaments and A teams which are the breeding grounds

Honestly there is a big difference between U19 and senior cricket. I am quite sure Dhoni and Bumrah did not play for India at U19 level. Look where they are now.

At best, U19 can give identify 1-2 people who might have long term potential and then its totally up to the player how they want to maximise it.

Hayden started performing for Australia once he crossed 30. Robin Singh made it to the Indian team at the age of 33. He played U19 for West Indies!

I think you are having too much expectation from U19 cricketers.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Nah; I did get your point the first time. My question is: where is Indian cricket losing the plot? Why is it the way it is.

Is the BCCI unable to make the most of U19 talent? Are the U19 winners not being consistent enough to make it to the top?

On a side note, if we have a decent senior team and very few of them are U19 winners, does it say something about the U19 selection itself? Or are players peaking much later than 19.

Is it the system or the players or everything in between.

Well if you think U19 is the magic breeding ground we wouldn't be having Shield cricket in Australia, county cricket in England and the Ranjis in India. Let's be realistic.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by searacer932

I think you are having too much expectation from U19 cricketers.

Arm-Chair Critics, I tell you. And coincidentally, the same folks are experts in every sphere of life from who should get elected, budget, Space X program, Nuclear fission, anything under the sky. You will see them explaining Virat's approach on the pitch to the working of black holes. Read through the forum to know.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

That's what happens when we are used to corporate and excel sheets to evaluate performance.

...

Rahul Dravid's words are been taken totally out of context here. I am sure he is sitting somewhere right now and reading all the interpretations of his statements and having a quite smile to himself.

Exactly why I posted asking why his statement should be thought over. I'm trying to understand the significance, if any.

[vamsi.kona]

Quite interesting debate. Let me add another aspect. In a nation like Australia, with small population and where Cricket has to fight with other sports, especially Rugby/Australian Rules or whatever they call it, the overall pool of players are quite limited. As such the cope for a U-19 star to make it to the national team are high.

Compare that to the scenario in India. I have personally seen talents who were far better than some Ranji players (I played a few matches with some ex-ranji players, and also played a match with Siraj the new pace talent from Hyderabad) but never got the exposure or opportunity to play even at district level. Some got the opportunity but lost plot because of lack of guidance. And then there are some late bloomers who start setting the grounds ablaze after hitting their 20's. All this gives us, Indians, a large talent pool from which only a few can make it to the Indian snr team. This is after lots of talent that goes unnoticed. That might be one of the reasons and what Dravid intended might have been that this u-19 talent should be nurtured and guided properly.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Exactly why I posted asking why his statement should be thought over. I'm trying to understand the significance, if any.

Ok let me try and do that.

This is the conversation from Dravid's interview

Q: The players will now move into higher level cricket. What’s your advice to them here on?

Rahul Dravid: Those are conversations we’ve already been having. Hopefully they would have enjoyed this, they would learn from it. They’ll reflect on these last, not six weeks but 14 months, and they will take those learnings into first-class cricket. Hopefully, this will not be the highlight of their careers. The highlight should come when they lift a big trophy for India or the Ranji Trophy for their state teams. Those should be the highlights.This should be a stepping stone and something that’s a great memory. Great friendships which they will cherish. But the tough part starts now.

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Guru Eminem now: Look, if you had one shot. Or one opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted. One moment. Would you capture it, or just let it slip?

For the U-19 this is their moment - Rahul Dravid and what he meant.

Above is what I had mentioned by what Dravid could have meant.

Let me explain more. This is not the highlight, this is the moment they have got to go onto bigger goals. To play for the country in the senior team, to win matches for their States, excel at what they do. This was an opportunity to shine and show your capability. This is your moment to be noticed. Grasp it for the real goals. This is not the goal of your career but only a stepping stone. Don't believe you have achieved all that you want being a cricketer. This is nothing, but the start.

A lot of U-19 players think by winning the world cup or being in the team they have arrived.

Dravid wants to tell them - no you have not.

Got it? If not. WhatsApp pe batate hain. [Translated: we will discuss on WhatsApp]

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

He is still on the state side and doing well.

Yeah, I read about his match winning century in the papers today

[Chetan_Rao]

I'd agree with Spitfire's assessment.

While Dravid would be a great mentor to have for anyone so inclined, it falls outside his current brief. He's done his job, and can now only hope that the players see their WC victory for what it is - a milestone along the way and a chance to open doors for bigger opportunities - not an end goal by itself.


There are as many distractions as there are opportunities, and the ones that stay grounded while doing their best and enjoying what comes their way will get to the right places. There are plenty of examples of both types.

It's obvious I'm not a fan of some stuff that goes on with Indian cricket, but Kohli is a prime example of complete, pointed focus as a cricketer. I often argue with fellow armchair experts he's probably the only unquestionably world class cricketer in the senior side, someone who'll walk into any team you can name, anywhere in the world.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Got it? If not. WhatsApp pe batate hain. [Translated: we will discuss on WhatsApp]

All this effort for something I already posted three pages back.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

This one statement from Dravid in the post-match conference speaks volumes about his selfless maturity, dedication and a sincere, genuine expectation as a guide who wants nothing more than his wards to succeed even further.



It is true when he says it gets embarrassing when he gets more attention than the players because of his stature but aren't we so damn lucky to have him offer his services to the U19 team.

I really hope he doesn't coach the senior team; who in the recent past with the likes of Jadeja, Dhawan and Kohli hasn't exuded maturity.

[libranof1987]

Eh?!

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi has been appointed to the ICC Board as the organization's first independent female director. Mrs. Nooyi will join the Board in June 2018 to align with the term of the ICC Independent Chairman, following the unanimous confirmation of her appointment at today's meeting.
The introduction of an Independent Director, who must be female, was approved by the ICC Full Council in June 2017 as part of wide ranging constitutional change aimed at improving the global governance of the sport.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/62848619.cms

[PPS]

I guess the no.4 debate will continue the way Rahane is in a hurry to play too many shots!
Dhoni is not as destructive as before in the slog overs & today it was the ideal time for him to come at no.4. Shreyas Iyer is batting at the wrong position. We are relying too much on the inconsistent Pandya in the last 10 overs to fire.
There is pressure on Kedar Jadhav to maintain his place in the side, time is ripe for Raina to make a comeback into the team.

[vibbs]

I think Pandya is a liability most of the time. He comes good with his batting only once in a blue moon and hardly ever does that with his bowling.

Unfortunate that we don't have anyone else either.