From 1st of April COVID-19 has vanished

It is official that the pandemic that had made life miserable has become a thong of the past. Social distancing has gone, as have new concepts of online education. Students are excited to be back among their friends and not remain cooped up in their under the constant glare of elders. It was a testing tune for the elders who had to adjust to a new culture called work from home. They also missed the office culture of spying on colleagues and pulling the rug from under the feet of some of them.

Life is back to normal as is evident from the traffic on the roads and the hustle and bustle of people. The best part is the sports arena. Right now, it is cricket time and cricket means Indian Premier League IPL – the magic wand that turns youngsters into millionaires overnight. Let us hope another virus like COVID does not strike again.


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Ban on CSK and RR forces BCCI to explore options to retain 8-team format in IPL

#BCCI #CSK #RR #IPL #LodhaCommittee IPL, the high profile cricket extravaganza, is a money making machine and, with the ban imposed on the two topmost teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals because of allegations of spot fixing, the 8-team format would have to work on a 6-team format unless a solution is worked out.
Therefore, top officials of BCCI are busy working out a contingency plan to ensure that the high-profile league remains an eight-team affair. This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 15 July 2015.

An emergency IPL Governing Council meeting is being scheduled and officials have already started informal discussion on how to circumvent the obstacle. BCCI wants to ensure that the cash-rich league remains an eight-team tournament as per the terms of contract with the broadcasters -- Multi Screen Media -- envisages a 60-match schedule.
Therefore, IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla, and BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya will meet in Kolkata to discuss the implications of the Supreme Court-appointed Justice R M Lodha committee verdict.
One of the options available is that BCCI can take over and run the two teams for two years. Once the ban is lifted after two years, the original owners can come back. A second option is to invite fresh bids for two new teams because many corporate houses have expressed an interest in buying an IPL team.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Cricket World Cup 2015 – end of an Indian dream

#cwc2015 #sydneycricketground #IPL #INDvsAUS From a win-win situation in the seven matches leading up to the semi-final clash with the Aussies at the Sydney Cricket Ground, it was a lose-lose situation for the Indians in CWC 2015 in Sydney. They first lost the toss, then they lost their way in the bowling department allowing the home team to pile on the miseries and, while batting to defend a 300 plus score, they lost the will to fight back. It was abject surrender all the way – most unlike the way they are known to fight back.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 26 March 2015.

One can safely assume that too much hype is bad for health of Indian cricket and this has been proved in the lead up to the forgettable 26th March 2015 – none of the Indian players would want to relive that day. It was a day of failures galore and captain M S Dhoni had no answer to the way the world crumbled around him and he remained a silent spectator to the downfall.
In fact, his run out has also raised questions – from all appearances, he could have made a last attempt to save the run-out but he did not. Obviously, he knew that he was battling for a lost cause and must have been missing the company of Suresh Raina and Ravinder Jadeja.
Should the blame lie with the bowlers who allowed the Aussies to hammer them at will and create a mountain of runs that was insurmountable? Or – should the blame be assigned to the batsmen who failed to rise to expectations? Those who had scored centuries earlier in CWC 2015 just did not deliver.
Anyway – their stint in foreign soil is over for the time being and they will return home to join the extravaganza known as IPL. The past would be a closed chapter.

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