Jacques Kallis – The Unspoken Hero

If you want to get a rough sense of Jacques Kallis's quite astonishing Test achievements, imagine Ricky Ponting, with not just all his runs but also Jason Gillespie's wickets, that’s Jacques Kallis for you.

Kallis, with 12,367 runs and 274 wickets, is undoubtedly the best all rounder from so many years and is a wonder of the modern age. Kallis has already done enough to be considered among the greatest batsmen of all time. When batting, the gravity of technique holds Kallis's creative spirits in place. He's an attractive, classically correct player, who for long batted in denial because of the demands of the team . The age actually seems no barrier to his performance that’s why even  at the age of 36 he is continuously performing for his team in all three departments and all three formats of the game. Ask for one day , test or IPL is has proven himself in all formats and is always considered vital element of the team.  

Its his second inning of career which is more sparkling than the first one as between 2004 and 2012, he has passed 1000 runs in a calendar year four times and made 30 hundreds including the double hundred (between 1995 and 2003, he had crossed 1000 runs a year only once and scored 13 hundreds) and the recent 43th test century against England says it all about his form .

Kallis is a rarity among all-rounders , a top-class, top-order batsman, who, when his mind and body are into it, can hit the 90 mph mark, a speed only the fastest of bowlers breach and is a  splendid, beautifully balanced catcher, primarily in the slips but this man has never received much publicity for his cricket. He is the kind of player which every captain wants to have in his team. If you jot down the names of all the so called all rounders in international cricket than probably he is only one who fits in all parameters. Over 20,000 runs in both formats and more than 500 wickets and 300 plus catches he defines versatility .He has achieved everything which many cricketers dream of achieving .

With time he may have achieved new hair head but he is still a reassuringly old-school . I hope a time will come when he will be considered as an idle standard of what should be called as an all rounder ,that would be a perfect tribute to this great player.

India Vs Pakistan Series Is Back After 5 Years

No matter how many matches India win or loose but when it comes to an India Vs Pakistan match win is the only acceptable result .The matches between these two arch rivals are always high voltage both on field and on stands with stadiums going jam packed .Indian cricketing history is full of many memorable matches between these two countries.For a while we thought India Vs Australia could make up for it but India Vs Pakistan 2011 World Cup semi final reminded us that India Vs Pakistan will always be special.

Apart from  game these tours are considered as a pathway in betterment of the relation  between these two countries .I still remember in 2004 when India toured Pakistan after 14 years under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly which I  had followed ball by ball ,has actually proven to be the strong step in improving the relation between the two countries .But it is vey important to understand that cricket is merely a sport and that eventually all solution will have to be political .Sports is a great vehicle for reconciliation ,but it is also true that terror and sport cant go hand in hand .

The last bilateral series between these two countries was played in November 2007 and after the 2008 terror attack India has cancelled all its sport assignments with Pakistan. The point which should be noted is that Cricket has always been successful in fulfilling the purpose of bringing the persons of these countries together but the problem actually lies within the country . I am sure even after resuming the cricketing relation after 5 years sport will definitely win .

Of course Pakistan touring India to play 3 ODIs in December  is a stunning and positive development for cricket and  I hope this time it proves to be positive in all ways .This is a statement of intent more than it is a cricket tour ,but in any case  cricket fans should be ready to enjoy some real electrifying actions on the field .

The Stolen Time

The role of a coach is not only to train players but also to teach them how to behave in a team and it is his duty to take care of the f act that the dressing room controversies should not be made public either by him or by any other players. But what if coach himself is the reason of all the controversies .Their was a time in Indian cricket when coach was responsible for the controversies and a world cup 2003 runners up who were considered biggest threat to Australia were degraded to such level that it  got eliminated in the next edition of world cup. So what actually went wrong .

India’s most successful captain Sourav Ganguly  has taken a stronger move by opting for an Australian coach just for the betterment of his team Greg Chappell was the chosen one but similar forces repel each other and that repulsion started within few days after he joined .For the first time coach became more important than players and most importantly it was because of controversies the team was in headlines rather than play .Seniors were  clearly the target of him which include the likes of  Sachin Tendulkar , Rahul Dravid , VVS Laxman , Harbhajan Singh , Zaheer Khan , Virender Sehwag and of course Sourav Ganguly or in other way we can say the key players of 2003 world cupsquad .The downfall of this players started from there  only and it was after  his resignation that these players have made a comeback with a bang .  

The period itself have many unanswered questions but one fact that Greg Chappell should accept that team was actually against him and he should stop giving his analysis even after so many years that it was players who were wrong .

"Sadly the success of the team was not universally enjoyed within the team. Some individuals felt threatened by the new world order and appeared to work against Rahul , had he been given the same wholehearted support in the role that he had given others, I think the recent history of Indian cricket may have been very different and he could have gone on to become the most successful Indian captain ever" Chappell has written in his book 'Rahul Dravid - Timeless Steel' –is the latest controversy which he has ignited .Well ,all I can say is it was  Dravid’s bad luck that he was captaining India during that time and  second to Sourav Ganguly’s reaction to this that “ Chappell ‘s remarks do not bother any one “.However he might be right because the reason for Dravid’s resignation from captaincy is still a mystery but its better if such things are answered by the concerned person . The controversies which he creates are the unsupported ones and its better for him to learn from the other successful coaches like John Wright and Gery Kristen who commands respect in India.

Greg Chappell  just cant appreciate Indian’s with clear words even in his articles which are published in ‘The Hindu’ and his piece in the Timeless Steel is one in the series.    

Cricketers Love Rain For Life

“Cricketers love rain for life” well the phrase is meant for the rain interruptions which proves beneficial for one , but the cricket fans didn’t like both on and off the field.  

Cricket is among the least talked sport these days in India , the  sports pages  are going without a word on cricket  !! The primary reason is their home team is not playing ,but it hardly matters for a true cricket fan because all they look for is cricket .But it seems that   even God do not want the little cricket to go smoothly by showering rains just on the match days. Be it test match or one day , no matter in which part of country you are playing rain interruption is something which you can predict in any match in this most unpredictable game of cricket .

It’s a good sign for other sports in India , as the sports lovers are taking interest in other sports which are going on at this time ,obviously people will become more aware of other sports when they will watch and read about them . Tennis , Football , London Olympics are the buzz words in India now a days and this has given every one a chance to follow them closely .Looking at all the drama in cricket ,What I personally found is ,  cricket is always  played with country first attitude by the players .They play with full spirit and are always eager to give their best for India ,the other thing is cricket is a team sports so that might be the reason but still its my  gentle reminder to all sports persons that ,remember your first dream was  always to represent your country .

I am not the right person to talk much about all such issues but would always like to watch the players playing with right spirit .