Wrong Person to Ask

Me: England scored 569 and India is 52/1. India needs another 317 runs to avoid follow on

Me: Where do you think this game is headed?

Wife: India would follow on and will then lose!!!

Me: Tere munh mein dhool, tere munh mein keedey!!!

I always knew that one day....no matter how long the wait....but one day....Ishant Sharma would do something special!!! ;)

Am Scared

Have decided to make a few changes...much needed changes. Have already started working on it. But am scared about what if it is already too late. My daughter's face comes in front of me every now and then. I wish I had been more responsible. I hope it is not too late for that u - turn.

Need for Change

I was and still am extremely excited about the test match series between India and England. India has sent a young and good side. There are indeed certain debatable selections but more-or-less, it is there. Defeating England would be great but more than anything, the series is exciting as it would show what kind of arsenal we have in store for the coming few years. After all, Kohli, Pujara, Rahane etc are among the best that we have and are likely to regularly feature in Indian test side in the next few years.

The first test is already over and it was quite disappointing. England produced a dead, flat track. Yet, Indian batting struggled. They were rescued by a few individual performances. The match ended in a draw as the story was nothing different in the opposite camp. 

It seemed that India did make some mistakes in the first test. And they were in the team selection. I hoped that Indian team would tweak the composition slightly in order to do better in the second test (which is going on). I was wrong. India went in the second test with an unchanged side.

In the first test, India went in with three pace bowlers and one 'specialist' spinner (in Ravindra Jadeja). And they picked Stuart Binny as the fifth option. Jadeja was ineffective in the first test and Binny did not get to bowl much. Whatever chances he got to bowl, he did not look very effective. So, he came across as an ineffective bowler who did not have the trust of his captain (since he bowled so little). He did have a good outing with the bat in the second innings. But, is that enough. What are we looking from him? If we need a batsman, are there not better options available? If you do not trust 6 batsmen, play Rohit Sharma as well. If we are looking for a batsman who can bowl 'a little' in order to give rest to the specialist bowlers, why not play someone like Yuvraj Singh? Or Irrfan Pathan? Or give a chance to Abhishek Nayyar (he had a better outing as a batsman as well as bowler in the domestic season)? If we are looking for a good fifth bowler (which Binny is clearly not), why not include Aswin (who may be a better bat than Binny)? I think Dhoni does not want to include another seamer because he wants to maintain a decent over-rate. Fair enough. Play a good spinner then. The inclusion of Binny is clearly surprising.

And on the top, though I really like Shikhar Dhawan, there seems to be a need for a change. Dhawan has looked good in the little time that he has spent on the crease (in both tests) but is not putting a price on his wicket. We need a strong opening stand and may be, Gautam Gambhir would be a better option.

One more change that can be considered is someone in place of Shami. He has not bowled badly but has not been very effective as well. Probably, it is time to try out Ishwar Pandey. I am not too sure about Aaron as he does not seem to have much beyond pace. And I do not think that only pace would rattle the English batsmen. Plus, he may pick an injury during the test, which would be devastating. He comes across as a better option for ODIs and T-20s. 

I hope Dhawan, Binny and Shami prove me wrong in the last 3 days of the second test. However, if they do not, India should start thinking of the Plan B. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: The Current Indian Sultan of Swing

India has not produced too many great pace/medium pace bowlers. Kapil Dev is of course great due to his enormous success. My personal favorite has been Javagal Srinath. I do not think that anyone has been as effective on the dead and unfavorable pitches of India. Zaheer Khan has been quite effective as well. However, no other seamer has been remarkable.

Moreover, India has produced very few swing bowlers. The ones who did show up lacked consistency or fitness or commitment. Manoj Prabhakar was a very good swing bowler but he faded away due to multiple reasons. Irrfan Pathan 'was' an exception swing bowler. He truly looked like the best bowler around in his early days. Fitness, pace and consistency deserted him and now he is not even remotely as effective. Ajit Agarkar was really good as well but he too was marred by lack of pace and consistency. He had the problem of bowling too many boundary-balls. So, swing bowlers have come but they have failed to stay on and rule the scene.

Now, a new guy has arrived. Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In the batsman friendly sport that cricket is, now a days I switch on the television to see his bowl. He has great control over his line and length and has the ability to swing the ball both ways. These qualities are making him an effective as well as miserly customer. In spite of his lack of pace, he does not give away too many or easy runs. Plus, he comes across as a thinking bowler, who sets up the batsman. And that is really exciting to watch.

One area where he must improve is pace. He would be lot more effective if he improves his pace as history indicates that the best swing bowlers had swing as well as pace. And several promising swing bowlers went away with making a mark due to lack of pace. He is young and can (and should) add little bit more pace in his deliveries.

Having seen Irrfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar show a lot of promise and yet losing out on a long and successful career, I am nervous about Bhuvneshwar Kumar's prospects. I hope he does not go away in similar manner. He looks extremely promising and I hope he is able to serve the country (as effectively) for a long...long time.

Shit Just Hit The Fan!!!

Yesterday, I got test results and like most tests (all kinds) in the later part of my life, the result did not give me any reason to celebrate. In fact, this time around the results are much 'different'. I am not talking about an academic test that I have recently appeared for. I am quite done with those. I am talking about medical test and those are the kind of tests that I have been appearing for quite regularly.

Coming back to the results, some knowledgeable people around me told me that the results give an early indication that I need to change a few things. I do not agree. I do not need to undergo medical tests to reach that conclusion. My bathroom mirror has been giving me such indication for sometime now.

This time around, the results tell much more. They indicate that I do not ONLY need to change a lot of things but I need to change them as quickly as possible. Shit has hit the fan!!!

For a while, loved ones have been telling me that I should try and bring myself back on track. They have always given suggestions and have shown a lot of concern. It has always made me uncomfortable. I have always tried to avoid or end such conversations by hiding behind excuses as well as genuine limitations. 

I can no longer afford to hide behind anything. The test results have not 'indicated' anything. They have not given me any kind of subtle message. Rather, they have grabbed me by the collar and slapped me a few times to give me a reality check.

'I have a family to take care of'. I always knew that but I do not think I have ever realized it more. I knew that I need to change things and I may be on the path to doom. But I always foolishly hoped that I may get lucky and manage to scrape through. The test results have shown that I am probably running out of luck.

I do not know if it is too late to make any resolutions and to start changing anything. It could well be too late. I would come to know the specifics only after a fortnight. However, irrespective of what those 'specifics' tell me, I am prepared to give it my best shot. After all, it is now or never. 

I am committing myself to give up on a lot of things that I love in order to not give up on a lot of people I love. Not from next Monday, not from coming weekend, not from tomorrow morning...I vow to change myself from this very moment. I am committing myself for that and I promise all the people who matter to me that I WILL try my best to turn things around. I would not stop 'hoping' though. But this time, I would just hope that it is not already too late. Wish me luck!!!

Wrong Debate

Just watched an interesting debate on whether, in cases of heinous crimes, the threshold age for 'juveniles' be lowered from 18 years to 16 years. There were some interesting arguments that were put forward by the panelists. Statistics, which indicated that there has been a sharp rise in the crimes committed by juveniles, were discussed during the debate. Apparently, all this hulla-gulla has started after Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi, called for tweaking of the legal definition of juvenility. I completely disagree with her!!!

In cases of heinous crimes like rape and terrorism, I firmly believe that the debate should not be on '18 years or 16 years?'. Rather, the debate should be on '2 bullets on the chest or 1 bullet on the head?'. Irrespective of the convict's age, gender, religion, cast or creed.

Water Games

Whats special about Ranchi?

Every time I am traveling to India, colleagues in office ask to bring anything. That makes me start thinking what would be that special something that I can bring back.

From Kuala Lumpur,  where I am working and staying right now, I typically travel to Ranchi (my hometown) via Kolkata. There are no direct flights to Ranchi. Ranchi, the capital of the state of Jharkhand, is a small town. The place lacks good infrastructure. That was the reason why Jharkhand was separated from Bihar in year 2000. Not that much has changed or got any better. Pretty sad looking malls have come up, population has increased, vehicles on the roads have increased. However, the infrastructure is still poor.....extremely poor.

There is nothing special that is made in Ranchi. It is not known for any special sweets, dish....nothing. Tribal handicraft is there but it is not anything great. Moreover,  am sure my colleagues do not mean handicrafts when they make such requests.

During this trip, I tried really hard to find something special. Something unique. And something that can last the long journey back. But I couldn't think of anything!!! That was depressing.

Is there nothing special about the place? Then why do people live here? Why do people visit the place? The weather used to be really good but no longer. Then why do I visit the place whenever I come to India? Why do I want to visit only Ranchi if I am making a short trip to India?

I have lived a nomadic life, mainly thanks to my father's transferable job. Couple of years in Gurdaspur, Udhampur, Bangalore, few years in Bareilly, ten years in Ranchi, ten years in Hyderabad and now few years in Kuala Lumpur. The longest I have stayed at any place has been in Ranchi. Spent the last leg of my school life as well as my graduation days in Ranchi. Made a lot of friends.  Learnt about the world outside an army cantonment. Ranchi has been special.

Ranchi smells different too. Most people may only smell the 'aroma' of overflowing trash cans. But I smell home. It may not be known for ANYTHING but Ranchi is home and so....would always be SPECIAL.

Kolkata Airport: Something to think about

Kolkata's new airport (now has been around for a while) is much better than it's predecessor. Its cleaner, more spacious and more....'acceptable'. Have used the airport on multiple occasions and have always thanked the concerned authorities for providing this much better and much-needed alternative.

The new terminal was still new when I last took a flight from here. There were some teething troubles but no one complained. After all, people had experienced much worse.

One area in which the new terminal has still not improved is the scanning of baggage before check-in. Most bigger airports now no longer ask the passengers to scan their baggage before check-in. Kolkata still does. It may not sound like a big issue but it causes a lot of inconvenience, especially to foreign travelers. They are not used to of such practices. Though the authorities have put signs to inform passengers, the signs are not noticeable (especially when no one is expecting such a sign). I noticed several passengers spent considerable time in the check-in queue before they were told that they need to scan their baggage first.

I do not know whether putting in place the supporting infrastructure is a costly affair or not. I do not know whether it is not a very safe practice or not. However I do know that most bigger international airports are doing it and there is no reason why Kolkata cannot do it. It would definitely go a long way in enhancing the customer experience.

Railways likely to get on track

The rail budget is here. It has made a lot of promises and shows a lot of promise. How things finally shape up remains to be seen. I am neither getting restless nor panicky (unlike a lot of people). I am happy that the intent has at least been shown. It has touched upon some crucial areas. Cleanliness, speed are significant issues. Privatization definitely is a step in the right direction. I am hopeful that things would only get better from here. Lets wait and watch.

Fish Fry @ 'The' Home

There is nothing in the world like food from Mom's kitchen

BOOYAH!!!