The Bunch of Jokers!
Son: Mohinder Amarnath had once called the BCCI Selection Committee as a bunch of jokers, dad.
Father: True. Go on, son.
Son: The present committee headed by K Srikkanth really felt itself like a bunch of jokers recently, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: The Committee was discussing about the ‘resting’ of senior cricketers including Sachin and Sehwag for the Asia Cup, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: Srikkanth was already under pressure as Gavaskar had issued a statement stating that he could talk to Sachin personally to persuade him to retire from one-day cricket, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: Just then his mobile started ringing and he saw it was Sachin himself calling him. He immediately concluded that Sachin was announcing his retirement and felt fully relieved, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: The conversation went like follows, dad.
Sachin: Hello Srikkanth Sir!
Sri: Hello Sachin. I knew you would not put me in an embarrassing position by forcing me to ask you to quit! Blah… Blah… Blah…
Sachin: But Sir…
Sri: I understand your predicament Sachin. You are close to scoring your 100th century and it is difficult for you to quit at this stage. But…..Blah…Blah… Blah…
Sachin: But sir….
Sri: I definitely can make out Kanna…..I mean Sachin. You are really great Sachin. I know scoring 99 centuries is itself a record that no one could ever beat! Blah… Blah…. Blah….
Sachin: But sir….
Sri: Don’t worry Sachin. I will tell Sunil (Gavaskar) that you saved my day by voluntarily announcing your retirement in the interest of youngsters. Blah…Blah….Blah….
Sachin: (At the top of his voice). But Sir - I rang you up only to tell you that I am ‘available’ for the Asia Cup! You may include my name as usual, sir!
Sri: Oh! What? I understand Sachin! We should allow you to score your 100th century! Let us make your selection mandatory! It is so important from the national perspective also! Blah… Blah… Blah...
Son: The dialogue ended there and the committee decided to include Sachin’s name as usual, dad!
Father: I don’t know, son!
Tendulkar’s Win-Win Situation!
Son: As far as retirement is concerned, Sachin is said to be taking it as purely a business decision, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: His elder brother and business manager Ajit is said to have advised him to continue playing without minding advices to retire from anybody, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: As per Ajit, Sachin’s brand value will nosedive the moment he retires from cricket including one-day matches, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: Ajit is 100% sure that the selection committee dare not exclude him from the team till he scores his 100th century, dad.
Father: Go on, Son.
Son: Ajit says he will jack up Sachin’s brand price the moment he scores his 100th century, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: In case he continues to fail scoring the coveted century, Ajit hopes to maintain the brand value at the same level, dad!
Father: I don’t know, son!
Tendulkar’s No-Win Situation!
Son: While commercially Sachin is in a Win-Win situation, as far as the game is concerned, he appears to be in a No-Win situation, dad.
Father: How come? Go on, son.
Son: If he scores his 100th century in the Asia Cup, that too against Bangladesh, it would be on record that he could achieve the milestone only against a lowly rated team in a sub-continental pitch, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: On the other hand if he fails again, the people will say he could not score the much awaited century even against a weak team like Bangladesh, dad!
Father: I don’t know, son!
Rohit Sharma follows his Heroes Literally!
Son: It seems the young and upcoming cricketer Rohit Sharma had been advised by his well wishers to follow the footsteps of his childhood heroes like Sachin, Rahul Dravid and Laxman, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: Rohit was made to sit in the pavilion during the matches of the current test series in Australia, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: He was closely observing the way Rahul, Laxman and Sachin were playing the matches, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: He found that all the three made it a point to get out mostly before their score touched two digits by playing some silly strokes, dad!
Father: Go on, son.
Son: Rohit got his chance in the one-day series which started immediately after the test series, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: He was accommodated by resting seniors including Sachin, Sehwag and Gambhir, dad.
Father: Go on, son.
Son: He literally followed his childhood heroes by getting out for low scores by playing silly strokes carelessly, dad!
Father: Go on, son.
Son: He did this so consistently that the team management abandoned its rotation policy in the end and made him sit in the pavilion, dad!
Father: I don’t know, son!
A V Krishnamurthy
5th March 2012
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