Best Cricket jokes and insights
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Feb 6, 2022 • 19 tweets • 4 min read
More than the U19 WC win, the sheer dominance of these kids over other teams is a testimony to our talent depth. We can legit play 2 U19 teams in the WC and most likely have both of them compete in the finals. BCCI should take some serious steps to match opportunities with talent
All the biggest leagues in the world last from anywhere between 6 months to 10 months. I am talking Premiere League, MLB, NBA, etc. For the marquee cricket competition in the country to be more inclusive, and to absorb the talent pool, we need longer IPL season and more teams.
Jan 31, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
A lot of talk about the heartbreak of that 1999 Chennai loss on TL today. With more than two decades of healing, I only look back and think about the magnitude of the event. I marvel at what was an exhibition from both sides of quality and skills of the higest order.
And in the end, the best team won. Wasim's mastery over his skills was at its peak. Saqlain was the best off spinner in the world with variations never seen before in the game. To chase 271 against that them in the 4th inning of a match and get that close is itself an achievement
Jan 19, 2022 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Tendulkar and Ganguly. Both India's best ever openers back in their day. Both batted in the middle order at 4/5 when the team needed Sehwag to open and get quick runs. Dhoni could have batted in Top 4 all his life, but chose to play finisher role at 6/7. Why? The team needed it.
Past 6 years, I have lost count of games we have lost with our top heavy batting order. It's not even a surprise any more. Still India's most experienced white ball batsmen simply refuse to bat in the more tricky 4/5 positions.
Jan 17, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I have seen it time and again. Learnt it through personal experience and seen it in public life. A hands on leader is awe inspiring. But being too hands on borderlines on the leader destroying the institutions and processes they preside over. That's how Ganguly's stint is shaping
As a leader, you can't act like a know-all (even if you are one). Ganguly wants to be the one taking and announcing every decision. I don't remember Pawar, Dalmia, Srini, etc meddling with the job of selectors, secretaries, etc.
Oct 12, 2021 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Virat doesn't build a team, he builds a vibe.
This statement alone tells so much about him as a leader, and a person. This is a summary of his strengths, weaknesses, and contradictions.
Let me try and dissect it for you and bring out pattens in his leadership style.
No one talks about loyalty like Kohli does. Not in IPL at least.
Kohli values loyalty. This is different from saying that he plays favorites.
He wants to build a team that vibes together. He believes in the harmony and energy of a well aligned group.
2/n
Aug 17, 2021 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Thread....
It's easy for British press to dismiss Kohli's team as uncouth. Only if they hadn't seen the same team playing and losing the WTC final, a game with so much riding on it, fair and square without flaring up any tensions with the well mannered Kiwis.
No. This is a team of counter punchers. They bully the street bullies, and they greet the friendly neighbours with smile. If you try to hurt their pride, they would rally and make you pay. From Paine going after Ashwin to England going after Bumrah, there is a pattern.
Aug 16, 2021 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
"You go after one of our players, all eleven of us come back at you"
Whoah. What a statement by KL Rahul on and off the pitch. Not mincing words at the home of England cricket.
Yes. Home of "England" cricket. The home of cricket is Wankhede of course.
Nov 10, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Thread:
DC truly lost the finals before it even started. Remember the scene from the Dhoni biopic where he tells his teammate that they lost the game when they saw Yuvraj Singh stride into the ground as if he owned the place? There was a bit of that today.
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There is a method to beating the invincibles. They give you that aura where you feel you have to do something extraordinary to go one up on them. Their simple moves create doubts. If Jayant Yadav was playing for another team they might have taken 40 off his 4. But this was MI.
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Oct 31, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
DC's season has been a prime example of taking your success too seriously. They got lucky to get back into the very first game against KXIP. They played well after that and won games but fitness, fielding, batting order were always a problem.
Hetmeyer was massively under utilized for a player of his potential. KXIP realized their mistake of batting Pooran too low early on and he gave them impetus. DC needed to do the same with Hetmeyer. But success with a winning combination makes you complacent.
Oct 31, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
IPL has unlimited untapped potential. It can be the biggest sporting league in the world in the next two decades if BCCI gets serious about expansion.
Start with making it a two-tier competition with ten teams each. Promotions and relegation every year.
Sell city based franchise for states that are representated. Sell the franchise at a lower cost if you have to. Build revenue streams for future. Make a franchise for Assam, for UP, for Gujarat, etc. Have them play the second division for the first couple of years of you have to.
Aug 15, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Watched Dhoni's retirement video. Eyes got watery.
Decided it's enough for the night.
Had a drink.
Watched one last time. Eyes got watery again.
That video is not just a tribute to self, it is the story of Indian cricket in last 15 years, and with it the story of my entire youth.
Dhoni never gives away much on what goes on in his head. But may be, just may be, we get a glimpse of how his emotional side works with that final video.
Jan 6, 2019 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
But 900 runs in Aus is like 1500 in India, so it's all good.
Australia's decline is a classic case of believing in your own hype. They dominated the game comprehensively for two decades and turned a blind eye to how the landscape was changing.
Aug 8, 2018 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
As sports fans we have this tendency to believe results of lost games could have been favorable if only some selection decisions were taken wisely. Although one can't deny the impact of having the right team, there is seldom reason to believe one man could have overturned a game.
Good teams generally have a squad and a bench that are all equally capable of winning games. Brad Hodge played just 6 tests for Australia and averaged 56. Should he have played more? Yes. Did the mighty Australian team of his era lose games because of his exclusion? No.
Jul 5, 2018 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Bangladesh 43 all out against West Indies. A few weeks back Afghanistan embarrassed itself against India in their debut Test. These pointless one sided Tests are diluting the quality of the format.
The problem is that we believe Afghanistan or Bangladesh have improved looking at their limited over performances. But these players aren't playing any real first class cricket to improve their Test match skill.
Jun 29, 2018 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
I've been binging on interviews of Indian cricketers on youtube recently, past and present. The generation gap between the past and current crop is both striking and fascinating.
We all acknowledge that the current crop of Indian cricketers loves to express themselves, are fearless and irreverent, love to flaunt their desi routes. But beyond than what struck me was their choice of life partners and how they talk about them.
