The IPL advertising horror

Rahul Bhattacharya: The advertising horror that is the IPL | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | Cricinfo.com

I love cricket and all its forms including the new - but now old - T20. I like the IPL because of what it could and still can do. Local Indian talent rubbing shoulders with international cricketers. Gilchrist, Vaas and Laxman plotting the downfall of Hayden or Tendulkar. Teams playing the game hard but walking off the field laughing as friends. These are pictures attractive in all their cricketing possibilities.

However, one has to agree with Rahul Bhattacharya, who in the thoughtful post above, laments the horror of advertising that the IPL now is. When do the brands not hit you? A level of imperviousness to all these ads and their messages is inevitable for the sanity of the TV viewer. But how can one bear a constantly operating jackhammer? Subtlety, as Rahul notes, is not something the IPL stands for. In your face ads, the crass brand posturing off every four or six, catch or dismissal, the breaks that are more strategic for the ad vendors than for the teams, all the white cabaret dancers cheerleaders (this is IPL - aren't there any cute Indian girls that can dance?) - all mark IPL for its sheer brash vulgarity.

The following statement (emphasis mine) from Rahul sums it up very well:

The highest possible figure is important because in India money is exciting and a truth.

This is what happens when a people are denied so much. Being told by all and sundry that poverty is the ideal for fifty plus years, people got fed up. The reality of money just is way too attractive for people not to ignore it. Everybody wants money and loves to flaunt it. Gone are those days when people would have liked to be modest. But the then
popular culture had made it cool to be poor and idealistic - the hero would be young, brave and poor while the heroine would be baDe bAp kI bigDi hui beTi - who would then get a lesson on ideals and social equality and ideals would reign in the end. 

Now, the hero and heroine meet in an airport on their way to Switzerland for a vacation. The only thing in their way is their fathers being business competitors. The end of the movie would be a business deal (win-win, of course!).

This change has been drastic- I've seen it in a little less than twenty years. This is thirst for money on steroids. Just like a hungry man ogling a rich food spread - imagine what would happen when he is allowed to eat it. I suppose this will have to settle down. America too has in your face consumerism - but people are used to it. We will get used to it too, hopefully. But when?

IPL is merely one of a million other things that are of the truth, by the truth and for the truth. The truth here - not a truth - being money.

Bungling Bangalore's "royal challenge" thwarted by cool Chennai Kings

The Bangalore team unceremoniously named after a liquor brand is playing as if it has consumed a lot of the product it is advertising. And not just for fun - but quaffing it by the barrel a la Devdas, trying to forget some bygone woe. It also looks like the team was selected with assistance from the same product. The Red and Yellow brigade is all blue inside.

Yesterday's match against Chennai at Bangalore was a golden opportunity for the team to start afresh in the competition after a series of demoralizing defeats. And they were almost there. One careless shot here shouldn't cost the team the match itself. But that was it, exactly.

Jacques Kallis tried to chase one wide outside the off-stump and got picked up by Dhoni. And from there it was all downhill. The great wall of Indian Cricket caved in meekly like a heap of uncemented bricks on the first delivery though he could be termed a bit unfortunate.

Rahul Dravid, who apparently played a major role in the selection of the team has managed to select what a disgruntled supporter chose to aptly term as "the best Test team". Wasim Jaffer, Chanderpaul and Kallis with Dravid and Kumble! When things are not going well for the team, it looks up to the captain. But what do they see? A captain who is probably more worried than the players! To compound Dravid's lack of innovative captaincy, he has so far had a completely forgettable tournament with the bat with a golden pair in the last couple of outings.

Chennai did not have a good bowling attack yesterday. Though Goni and Palani are promising bowlers, they lack experience. Bangalore's bowlers - Zaheer Khan and Dale Steyn are more seasoned campaigners with the non-tyro Jacques Kallis doing a decent job with the ball. However, Dhoni's blitzkrieg (it is a worn out metaphor - but perfectly applicable here) kept the match finally beyond the Challengers. And what a pitiful name for the team! They just challenge royally, but what of the result?

The difference ultimately, in my opinion, came down to Dhoni's captaincy and approach to the game. Dhoni truly seems to believe that this is ultimately a game. The potential loss of contract lucre doesn't seem to affect Dhoni's demeanor on the field. Dravid, who is a gentleman on and off the field doesn't make the cut here. His body language betrays his feelings and his performance does not lead from the front. Dhoni keeps wickets and advises his bowlers frequently. But never have I seen him angry or melancholy. And his batting! This leads me to think if the optimistic and shrewd Kumble is a better match to Dhoni's icyness.

If an already retired bowler like Shane Warne could make 19 runs of the last over off Symonds to carry his team to victory, I don't understand how a supposedly seasoned batsman like Dravid could manage only 34 runs in 4 matches! Of course, Ponting and Ganguly give Dravid abundant company in the matter. For really good players, the format of the game should not matter. Why, I have seen Dravid score a 22-ball 50 against New Zealand!

They say "Form is temporary and class is permanent". I believe Dravid to be of the latter category - but for how long can Bangalore wait?

Dravid dropped from the ODI side

Cricinfo - Part of a method or plain madness?

I didn't know what to make of Dravid's resignation from captaincy. He had done well in England in the Test and ODI series and suddenly decided to resign.

And from there, it has been downhill. We knew the seniors weren't picked for the T20 World cup. But during the ODI series against Australia, Dravid didn't do well at all.

As a pure performance issue, (avg 8.88 from 10 games), Dravid needed to know that he wasn't doing well enough to stay in the team. And they've let him know.

Dravid - once captain of a team that held the aspirations of a billion odd people, and a couple of months later, not even in the team. What a fall has it been from the peak of achievement!

I somehow think that he was pushed...

On the ignominious Indian exit from the World Cup

I've been reading news reports over how Dravid, Tendulkar, Sreesanth and others were weeping upon exiting the world cup at such an early stage.



Poor Sreesanth could never play - but why were Dravid and Tendulkar weeping? They very well had it in them to change the course of the match. They should have knuckled down and played. I know the defeat can be sad, but what is the point of weeping? Or, could that be because of the loss of their potential financial benefits? I have high regard for both Dravid and Tendulkar. On their day, they can easily take an attack apart - but they couldn't do anything against Mortaza and the gentle left arm spin of Bangladesh, who got badly mauled by the SriLankans later. Why did they weep?



And also, our guys were heroes at home. They defeated Sri Lanka at home so easily when it didn't matter and now when it really mattered, they couldn't do much.



So much for the fancy coaching from the great Greg Chappell. Tom Moody, who initially interviewed for the position of Indian coach, must be laughing at the Indian Board. When John Wright could succeed with almost the same team, why couldn't Greg?



I, for one, was sick of his almost stupid experimenting with the batting order. Those things just didn't pay! India should have had a more conventional coach who got his team playing cricket rather than football during practice!



And Dravid -- though he is a good player, he is quite a lousy captain. He insisted upon Uthappa - and contributed to the demise of India in the world cup. A solid opening partnership could have saved India the blushes against Bangladesh and also against Sri Lanka. Uthappa shouldn't have opened at all. He could have been put through his paces in some other tournament. By relying far too much on a debutant, India dug its own grave.



Anyway, I am sick and tired of watching spineless performances by the Indian team. I actually now look forward to Sri Lanka and New Zealand who are the dark horses in this tournament. Now, I can watch the game for its own sake without extra patriotic feelings.

The greatest one-day match!

We were out most of yesterday and returned at around 8 PM. I happened to switch to ESPN to see what was happening. I saw South Africa at a handsome run rate (9+ runs/over) but the asking rate (8+ runs/over) seemed to be high too. I added up the score and the required runs and I was flabbergasted at the target. 435 runs?? How badly did the Springboks bowl?!!

Then I began to notice fours and sixes quite regularly. The man responsible was Herschelle Gibbs. He was over a hundred runs old then and was going quite strong. I was rooting for South Africa as Australia have been winning almost every game and I am really tired of seeing the same yellow shirts win each time. When Gibbs and Kallis got out, I thought - 434 is obviously a very difficult score to get but one had to give it to the South Africans for soldiering on fearlessly.

Then the gap began to narrow till Brett Lee's last over when only 7 runs were needed. When Boucher hit the final boundary, I leapt in joy and everybody at home shared my feeling. What a win for South Africa!

Australia's invincibility should end and it probably has. We need games to be more unpredictable for the good of cricket. Now, India, under Dravid, has vastly improved its game and so have England, Pakistan and South Africa. The cricket world as we see has become flatter now - no higher teams and no lower teams - but a bunch of teams with around the same level of ability. That should make the 2007 world cup very interesting!

Once again, congratulations South Africa!

Play called off on day one in the Chennai test and other thoughts

I knew something like this would happen. Isn't it quite well known that Chennai experiences this kind of weather at this time of the year? If it is already known so well, why would anybody in his right mind schedule a match there?

India and SA could not play the one dayer because of rain and now the first day's play of the test has been called off. Please, please - don't schedule a match in Chennai in the months of November and December.

This brings me to another point. Is weather such an important part of cricket. Cricket - as the cliche goes - is a game of glorious uncertainties. We've all known the Fremantle doctor wreak havoc on unfortunate batsmen in Perth. The dew in the day night games in India is all too well known. If, however, the match has to be an equal contest without being some kind of a lottery, the same conditions have to be given to both teams.

Just think about what happens normally. A team fielding first will have it easy when the wicket is still green and the ball is easy to catch. But the team that fields next will have it bad, especially in a day-night game - when it has to cope with the dew and the ball getting slippery and all. Sometimes, I think this is unfair. Winning the toss and deciding to bat or field is OK - some one has to do it first. But you just can't have the team that wins the toss win the game - assuming that they've read the wicket properly.

Isn't basketball better? No weather gods intervening. Of course there is psychological pressure - but that's it! The fight is between the teams and their abilities only.

Many puritans of the game love this uncertainty which comes in because of the weather, the wicket and idiosyncratic umpires, in addition to the pressure that is experienced by the players. But in these days of instant food and one dayers in colored clothing, do we need such things that bring us more uncertainty?

I, personally, am on the fence on this. As long as it is enjoyable, anything is fine. But sometimes, scheduling the matches at a place and time perfect for rain is unforgivable. Talk to South Africa who had a great chance in the 1992 world cup and lost it in the Semi finals because of the rain and two guys known as Duckworth and Lewis.

The Telstra dome in Australia seemed to be a good idea. Cricket administrators and insurance companies all over the world would salivate over that kind of a cricket venue. You don't have rain interfering and won't have dew. Teams fight it out with all other things being equal. It should be an ideal kind of place to play cricket. But, then, I there is something that is seen lacking in such synthetic environments.

An article written on cricinfo a while ago was on similar lines. Both the players and spectators won't get to see the sky. There wouldn't be any birds (especially the seagulls we see in Australia), and of course, there wouldn't be people sun bathing.

As I said earlier, anything in the game is fine as long as it is enjoyable ! But what is enjoyable? That is a tricky question and I don't have the time to answer it!

Cricinfo - Ganguly unfit to be captain - Chappell

I and almost a billion other people agree - Ganguly is not fit to be captain. I will even venture to say that he is not fit to be in the team too!

Chappell is the cricket coach and he should be given the authority to mould the team. If the team fails, then he is responsible. Partially responsible if he is given no power to choose the team. Fully responsible if he can call the shots. For now, I have been led to think that Greg Chappell has not been given free rein in handling the Indian team.

Ganguly, the so-called Prince of Calcutta, has reached the nadir in his career. He can either go back to the Ranji circuit and prove himself all over again or he must just retire. He has a few endorsement contracts anyway, he can live his life out! His English is pretty good too - he can join the ranks of grumpy old cricketers who have now taken to commentating for cricket matches and/or hosting cricket shows. Well, he can now vie for even the position of Coach!!

Basically, Ganguly has lost his touch and luck. How glorious was he on the off side! Dravid's now famous statement about God and Ganguly on the off side vouches for this. But since the loss in the Australian home series, India has become an enervated side. Yes, India won matches against Pakistan. But India lost at home too! Ganguly has been partially responsible for this debacle. He basically is dead weight in the team. He can't bat, can't bowl and can't field at all. If this kind of performance came from say, Mohammed Kaif, he would be ejected from the team immediately. But wait! Kaif is not even in the team in spite of his match saving exploits! And why is that? Because Ganguly is in the team!

I ask again, how often has Ganguly saved a match a la Tendulkar, Dravid or Kaif? Whenever Ganguly has fired, he has fired as an opener when there was no pressure in chasing and the game was still fresh. While chasing, Ganguly becomes a liability!

Yes, Ganguly has had some spectacular successes. But now his failure rate has increased. If Ganguly were a CEO of a company and if he had underperformed - he would have been fired by now or made to choose another role. Don't Indian fans deserve better? We have so many talented players and they can't make it to the playing eleven because one man seems to know the right people and push the right buttons to have his people in the side.

If I were in Ganguly's position, I know I would think - "Well, I have given my all for this side. Now when I am going through a lean patch, these guys are making me quit instead of supporting me. Didn't a badly performing Mark Taylor captain the Australian side for a long time? These guys have no gratitude! Hmmph!"

But unfortunately, Ganguly is the guardian of the aspirations of millions of people. I think they have given him quite a chance by allowing to remain captain for an extra couple of years. Ganguly should have understood and relinquished his position by now (like Tendulkar who wisely chose to remain a good player rather than be a bad captain). Now he faces the unpleasant predicament of getting forced out of the team and is stung. He can't capitulate now. So he is fighting a losing battle! But we never know, Ganguly, being a good "people person", can approach the right people to get Chappell fired!

I think that the solution to this problem is to have a bunch of *paid* administrators lead the BCCI a la Cricket Australia. BCCI should be run like a modern company and not like a medieval fiefdom. Accountability increases and hence everybody feels responsible.

In spite of being a cricket fan, I will have to say that cricket has too big a following in India compared to other sports. Poor hockey players! When Anju Bobby George wins a silver medal in the World Championships, she is overshadowed by Irfan Pathan who takes a bunch of wickets! Or even worse, by somebody like Ganguly who decides to make a private discussion between him and his coach public! This cricket mania in India is the reason why I am even writing this blog up!

I am also appalled by the media behavior here. The media comes across here as spoilsports who have no other job but to get TRP points by publicising into a confidential report sent by a coach to his team administrators. They are the ones who have created the storm in the tea cup! Reporters should exercise discretion before making such things public.

I hope the next few days see more light than heat in this matter.

Srikkanth's latest ad in Bangalore

A couple of days ago, I noticed an ad by the former Indian opening batsman Krishnamachari Srikkanth. The ad is for a lens company - Varilux. It has Srikkanth saying - "I read my newspaper just as I used to read a Marshall delivery".

Srikkanth, though exciting, wasn't a consistent player at all. Nor was he reliable. He could hit a very good ball for six and get bowled by a very simple delivery. I remember that he always struggled against Imran Khan and Wasim Akram. Marshall - hmm... I don't remember but I think Srikkanth didn't read him all that well at all. Marshall was a genuine quick bowler and one of the West Indian greats. So that ad line probably isn't too good for the lens maker.

Srikkanth's record doesn't convey the kind of feeling that Indian fans had whenever he came out to bat. His inconsistency proved to be his doom. Though a very intelligent cricketer, I think he lacked the temperament like that of a Tendulkar or a Dravid or even that of an Azharuddin. If he had that, Srikkanth would have made justice to his immense potential.

Which reminds me of a quiz question that did some rounds in 91-92. What connects Simon and Garfunkel to the Venkateshwara Suprabhatam? It turns out that Srikkanth used to hum from both of these whenever he did his customary walk from half-way to the square leg empire back to the stumps - between deliveries. Pretty strange, eh? Srikkanth was like that - a bag of contrasts. He makes a pretty good commentator on TV nowadays. He has a good business and making money as the 'brand ambassador' for some brands... (who is not a brand ambassador nowadays? )

The thoughts we get on seeing an ad from a cricketer of yesteryears...