Blaming Dhoni for the defeat is pointless!

The writing was on the wall for many many weeks. The India T-20 World Cup squad was basically a good team, capable of winning any cricket tournament. Unfortunately, it is also the most over-worked team in the world. Mahindra Singh Dhoni, the captain himself could do with some much needed rest. It is absolutely insane the way some of our best players have been over-exposed. Ishant Sharma has been used like a work-horse for two years without a break. BCCI could break him apart just like they did with Irfan Pathan. Besides, a young captain like Dhoni needs a veteran in the slips for a second opinion. Sachin Tendulkar or even Rahul Dravid could give the required input, standing beside a wicket-keeper captain in times of crisis. Mahi (Mahindra Singh Dhoni) looked confused when Zaheer Khan failed to use the bouncy Lords pitch to his advantage. R P Singh pressed his attack with reasonable line and length but Ishant Sharma lost the momentum. Ishant has been out of his league for a long time, he needs to recharge his batteries. He gave 10 extra runs just too many. Yuvraj Singh as a bowler was a very bad idea at that time, Yusuf Pathan could have been a better alternative. But this is all 20-20 hindsight, the important point is that we win some and we lose some. What matters is that we play good cricket for the long run.

Mumbai Mob is on the way out of BCCI…

Former India cricket captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth became the new Chairman of the National Senior Cricket Selection Committee on September 27, 2008 replacing Dilip Vengsarkar at the helm of affairs. Sharad Pawar stepped down as the Board President of BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and was succeeded by Shashank Manohar. Sunil Gavaskar has already resigned from ICC (International Cricket Council), Ravi Shastri is no more the coach and Sachin Tendulkar in not going to be included in the team beyond 2009. This would finally bring to an end the Marathi Century of Cricket in India.

Hopefully, this would open the opportunities to a lot of cricketers from smaller states and smaller towns. BCCI is the main governing body for cricket in India. It was established in 1929 and uses government-owned stadiums across the country for a nominal annual rent. Now, BCCI circumvents any other organizations to use similar facilities. Legally, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is a private club, it does not permit any competition. The new board members might be a little more accommodating! The BCCI is the richest administrative body in the Indian sports domain. In 2007-08 for instance, the BCCI’s annual income went past Rs 1,000 crores for the first time in its 79-year history. It has more money annually than the Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

The cricket board is now in such good financial condition that it has instituted a pension scheme that covers more than 860 former players, umpires and widows of the former players. This initiative has provided the social security to the cricket fraternity to pursue cricket as their sole profession. It is good for the game and good for the professionals. In addition to this, the board has spent Rs 313 crores on cricket related infrastructure during the past three years. A similar amount has been passed on to the  20-plus State Associations. The BCCI spends 26% of its annual budget as payment to its top-of-the-line players for the domestic as well as international performances. Cricketers in India are rich by any standard.

Maharaja of Patiala, H H Sir Bhupendra Singh Mahinder Bahadur, was one of the chief patrons of cricket in India. He led the first unofficial tour of an “All India” team to England in 1911. The concept of a central control authority was never deliberated upon till the end of World War I in 1918. The ICC (former Imperial Cricket Conference) allowed a couple of representatives from the Calcutta Cricket Club to participate in their conclave held at Lord’s on May 28, 1926 on the condition that Indians would soon form a central authority for cricket. Because of this stipulation by ICC, the representatives of 45 clubs from different parts of India met at Roshanara Club in Delhi and formed a central board for cricket on November 21, 1927. W J Cullen and J E MacDonell were appointed as honorary joint secretaries of the provincial board.

This temporary board was dissolved in 1928 and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was constituted in its place. The first President of BCCI was R E Grant Govan, and A S De Mello became the founding Secretary. The Board met on December 4, 1928 and the meeting was funded by the Maharaja of Patiala. In 1929, BCCI got affiliated to the Imperial Cricket Conference. De Mello succeeded Govan as the Board President and later helped create the Cricket Club of India (CCI) at Brabourne Stadium. This became India’s first permanent cricket venue.

International Cricket Council (ICC)

International Cricket Council (ICC), the world governing body of cricket, was established on June 15, 1909 at Lord’s, England. It was then called the ‘Imperial Cricket Conference’ and the membership was confined to Australia, England and South Africa. India joined the conference in 1926, along with New Zealand and West Indies. These were the only six Test-playing nations in the world, at that time. Pakistan was included in the governing body in 1953, as the seventh Full-member and the newest Test-playing nation.

In 1961, South Africa was removed from the conference because of the international outrage against apartheid in that country. Imperial Cricket Conference was renamed the ‘International Cricket Conference’ in 1965. This new governing body expanded the rules of international cricket to other countries, from outside the British Commonwealth.

Twenty20 Cricket

Twenty20 cricket was introduced by the United Kingdom in 2003. Since each team bats for a maximum of 20 overs, the game is called Twenty20. The match is completed in about three hours, each team playing for about 75 minutes. Each bowler may bowl a maximum of 4 overs per innings. This form of cricket was invented for the professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The ECB did not want to replace any other form of cricket with Twenty20. The short duration of the game has made it possible for children and their families to watch the sport in person or on television, without any major time commitment.

The first Twenty20 match was played on July 15, 2004 between Middlesex and Surrey at Lord’s and attracted a crowd of more than 26,000 people. Australia played it’s first Twenty20 on January 12, 2005 at WACA. The match was played between Western Warriors and the Victorian Bushrangers.

The Twenty20 International was first played between Australia and New Zealand on February 17, 2005 at Eden Park, Auckland. Australia beat New Zealand quite decisively but the  match  was played in a light-hearted spirit. The first Twenty20 international in England was played between Australia and England on June 13, 2005 at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire. England defeated Australia by 100 runs.