IPL matches scheduled in Maharashtra in May shifted out

In view of the grim water crisis in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court has ruled that all the IPL 2016 matches scheduled in Maharashtra after April 30 must be moved out of Maharashtra. A bench of Justices VM Kanade and MS Karnik, hearing a PIL by NGO Loksatta Movement challenging use of large quantities of water in stadiums at a time when the state was reeling under severe drought conditions, asked the BCCI to respond in three days.

The judges also asked the board whether it can contribute to the Chief Minister's drought relief fund. As the BCCI said it had supplied 40 lakh litres of water to stadiums per day for IPL tournaments so far, the judges asked whether it was ready to supply the same quantity to water-starved villages in and around Pune.

The ruling affects 13 matches, including the final which was to be held in Mumbai on May 29. Pune will miss out on six matches, including the Eliminator and Qualifier 2, while no games will be held in Nagpur. The state was earlier scheduled to host 20 matches.

Last week, the court had sought an explanation from the BCCI and the three state associations on why water should be "wasted" on hosting the games when the state faced one of its worst ever droughts. The court later allowed the opening match to be held as scheduled in Mumbai on April 9, and asked the Maharashtra state government and Mumbai's civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, to respond on plans to tackle the issue of water shortage. On Tuesday, the court orally asked the BCCI if matches could be shifted out of Pune.

In its defence, the BCCI had stated that less water was used to prepare the ground for an IPL game when compared to an international fixture. The board also stated that it intended to use treated sewage water for ground preparation in Mumbai and Pune. Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants, the franchises based in Mumbai and Pune, had proposed to contribute INR 5 crore to the Maharashtra chief minister's drought relief fund and supply 40 lakh litres of water to drought-hit areas at their own cost.

While the BCCI is mulling its next move, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla has admitted that moving games out of Maharashtra is a logistical problem for the board. He also pointed out that no objections of this kind were raised when Mumbai and Nagpur hosted World T20 matches last month.

"Organising the IPL is a gigantic work. It's not easy. All preparations had been done, completed," Shukla said. "Now shifting the matches will be a problem. So far, we have not got the written order, after we get that, we will study the order and work out an alternative plan. We always respect the court. We need to talk to other franchises. We will have to work it out.

"The key problem is water for farmers, which we are trying to find a solution to. We were willing to give water, contribute to the CM's fund. Now shifting matches will be a problem. If matches are to be shifted, where will they be moved, how will they be moved, all these issues are involved. And this comes after nobody raised an issue about the 24 World T20 matches that were held recently.

"Nobody raised these issues for six months. Whatever was required, we were willing to do. In fact, I would like to point out that a lot many other sports and cultural events are going on in Maharashtra, which also use water and they should also help."

Anurag Thakur, the BCCI secretary, said there was an attempt to create negativity over issues: "We are not using drinking water, we have said that we will use treated sewage water only. How many swimming pools of five-star hotels have been shut? Have people stopped watering their lawns? There is an attempt to create negativity on every issue these days. IPL was to use 0.00038% of water so that shows the requirement was not much."

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Harsha Bhogle removed from the IPL Commentary team

It is unfortunate that we have lost a good commentator who has good knowledge of the game.
Nothing wrong in praising other team players when they played well. In this case it is Bangladesh players. He has done this as he is a professional. In fact India has badly in this game and don't deserve to win. They won it because of foolish shots by Bangladesh players and of course by some good thinking on the part of MSD.

Gone are the days of smart and witty commentary, one you can enjoy along with the match! It all started after India vs Bangladesh World Cup Match. It was a really close match which India definitely won due to smartness and presence of mind of our skipper Dhoni! Thats all well done! But as a cricket lover you wouldn't undermine the fact that Indian team almost lost it due to their mistakes!

So as a cricket commentator how will you analyse the game? By running all over the ground chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai? Or you will appreciate the efforts of both the teams and highlight their weaknesses as well?

I have read few reasons for his termination from IPL2016 which is not reasonable. One is that he has appreciated the Bangladesh players for their effort against team India in WCT20. It was a fair comment and nothing wrong in appreciating the opposition for the wonderful fight back. Team India did nothing before the last three balls of the match. It was Bangladesh game to win, but luckily India snatched it from them. And Amitabh Bachchan commented about the Indian commentators on social media which is not good.

I am an Indian team fan and I was equally saddened by Harsha's comments but that doesn't mean he is incorrect! He did his job way better than others but what did that yield him? Look at the remarks of a grown up and legendary personality.
This was a world T20 match and the commentators are not hired for their nationality. So who on the earth are you to tell him to be nationalist when it comes to his job?

These recent incidents reveal an ugly and dangerous trend that has started emerging – our cricketers and the board that manages them has stated to believe that they are above any form of questioning. The idea very simply is “either you are on my side or you are my enemy”.

I have been listening to Harsha right from his AIR radio commentary days. In fact I have grown up with his commentary as much as with Sachin's straight drives. I have often felt he is too verbose, and that he should learn from some other pastmasters in the art of being concise. He, along with Gavaskar and Shastri was over-exposed and so he lost the charm of being an infrequent and welcome visitor. However, never ever did I think that he was anything but a mouthpiece for BCCI. I always felt Harsha represented the best in Indian commentating, although it came short of the best in the world. This ouster only shows that BCCI works like a corporate and so tolerates no criticism. Commentating is an art of criticism, positive or negative. Nobody should chain up any art form. Yes, there are norms and standards, but Harsha never flouted any of those. This is simply not done, BCCI.

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MS Dhoni - is no more Captain Cool

Ever since MS Dhoni, a rather tetchy MS Dhoni, called Sam Ferris of the Cricket Australia website up on the dais at the end of India’s semifinal loss against West Indies in the World T20, a debate of sorts has been on. Ferris had asked a question about Dhoni’s international future. It’s a question he has been asked more than once since he packed his Test whites away in Australia a couple of seasons ago quite out of the blue. And it’s a question that has irritated him no end, something he has expressed in less dramatic ways in the past.

Some feel what Dhoni did was fun, kind of smooth, nothing to get het up about. He is ‘Captain Cool’, after all. The other lot think he was out of order, a bit too prickly for his own good.

I have been a bit torn about this from the time I saw the video but the more I think about it, the more I feel Dhoni was off on this one.

Not that I don’t empathise. India had just lost and that question is an old irritant. He could have barked back an answer. He chose humour – even if he was needling and patronising.

A simple “I’ll tell you when I decide” would have sufficed. That’s just me, though. I probably won’t be asked about quitting till I’m 60 (I hope; it would be awfully embarrassing otherwise). It won’t be news when it happens. No discussions on succession will take shape after.

Dhoni’s announcement to step down from the Test captaincy was sudden and unexpected, three-fourths into a series away in Australia. Not to forget, the man said after India’s exit from the 50-over World Cup last year, “I am 33, I am still running and I am still fit. Next year (after the World T20) will be the right time to decide if I should play the World Cup in 2019.”

This is next year. It is after the World T20. So why not ask the question? How is it, to use the man’s words, firing “the wrong ammunition at the wrong time”? How is it ammunition at all?

And it’s got nothing to do with Ferris, or me, having a son good enough to keep wickets for India or, as is the case, not. The same way the headline writer who came up with ‘Endulkar’ was just being witty-nasty and not trying to push her/his son, if s/he had one, into the No. 4 slot.

I can see Dhoni’s problem. The question is a constant reminder that he is getting on a bit – he’ll be 35 in a few months – and each time it crops up at the end of a disappointing show from the team he leads, it’s almost like a suggestion that he isn’t good enough anymore. Add to that the fact that Virat Kohli is nudging Sachin Tendulkar in the popularity stakes these days, and the Test team the younger man is in charge of has been winning more often than it isn’t. Dhoni’s position might not be under any threat, but social media often makes it seem like it is.

Dhoni is mostly polite and humorous, a professional, but even he does crack.

Unfortunately, this came soon after that other press conference, the one at the end of the Bangladesh match that India almost lost. “I know you aren’t happy that India won … listen to me, your tone and your question says that you aren’t happy with this result. Okay?” he said when asked about India’s struggle before the one-run win.

If that wasn’t pretty, what followed on Twitter was even less so. Amitabh Bachchan was not pleased with the TV commentators, who, he felt, spoke more about ‘the others’ than ‘our players’. The movie star was a fan airing his thoughts. But Dhoni endorsed that tweet quickly, throwing in a “nothing to add”. It’s one thing for Bachchan to feel the TV commentators should be cheerleaders for the Indian team, but for Dhoni to think so as well was, frankly, bizarre. Especially keeping in mind the political goings-on around India at the moment, where everything starts and ends with an idealised patriotism.

Yet, it’s probably not fair to place the blame squarely on Dhoni. Haven’t commentators, and even journalists, been fawning fans-in-disguise often enough? That “I know you aren’t happy India won” statement – journalists are supposed to be neutral, but maybe we have given Dhoni & Co the impression that we are travelling groupies of the Indian team.

Is that the real problem then? In the pursuit of that one exclusive quote or interview, or, these days, even a selfie, have we created a situation where cricketers can get away with bullying? The laughter in the background when Dhoni was fooling around with a visibly uncomfortable Ferris suggests as much.

Don’t get me wrong. I admire Dhoni greatly (not that it matters to him or anyone else). I think he has been one of the greatest things to happen to Indian cricket in the longest time. And I certainly don’t think it’s time for him to go, not from limited-overs cricket. Not for as long as he is playing and leading as well as he has been, especially during the World T20.

That’s not the point, though. The point is about a touch of humility, which Dhoni seems to have lost to an extent along the way, something we, as journalists, have facilitated, possibly encouraged. Many of us have stopped asking questions. Some of us even hang on to a “no comments” as an exclusive quote. Some of us would rather get a smile of acknowledgement from Dhoni or Kohli than do our job.

Perhaps the first step ought to be for us as journalists to look within. Dhoni’s conduct that evening was quite out of order. But it’s what led to it that might be the bigger problem. That’s what needs resolving first.

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Why we lost to West Indies?

All our batsmen (Kohli especially) did an outstanding job, but the bowlers basically gave it all away and we have to accept that. We lack speed, we lack sting and we lack the skill to "Bowl at Will". Just to put things in perspective for all readers, by "Bowl at Will", I mean- As a first class cricketer (Bowler here) playing at the International (the highest) level, a bowler is ideally expected to be able to pitch the ball where he wishes to, atleast 70% of the times.

All the Windies' players are physically very strong men- great height, broad shoulders and muscular build; and if the ball happens to middle their bats (by chance, since more than half of them do not have footwork or technique) when they mightily swing their bats (more often than not towards the Leg Side), there is very little chance of the ball not making it outside the fence.

The key to bowling to a West Indian batsman (inclusive of the likes of Gayle) is to attack their legs and target the Block Hole, which forces them to bend and dig out the ball or play clumsily to get the ball away from the pads, thereby increasing the chances of them chipping the ball in the air, or bowl wide outside the off stump, with fullish length, since they arent capable of scoring on the Off Side, in case you intend to save crucial runs, not really attempting to knock a wicket.

In the semis, we bowled short of good length when the wicket was not offering any bounce and the balls right at their waists, which made sixes and boundaries, easy pickings for them!

Kohli scored at a strike rate of nearly 190. How much more could he do? Only Andre Russel scored at a better rate and that too was due to shoddy Indian bowling. Just imagine if all other batsmen would have scored with same rate, India would have mounted 230 runs on the scoreboard. So one shouldn't say that running twos was Kohli's downfall. In fact he was the only saving grace for India in this match.

India defeated only one good team in Australia and they were without their best bowler starc, and it was all Kohli in the tournament who took India this far like Sachin did in 1996 world cup. Otherwise we might have lost to Pakistan as well. The win against Bangladesh was sheer luck and some mindless batting by the Bangladeshis.

Maybe we were lucky to go this far and we should accept that the hitters of West Indies are way more fierce than ours.We needed a Yusuf Pathan or a Yuvraj Singh as an equalizer but it was not to be. Maybe someone like Shami or a pace bowler instead of a batsman would have done the trick. Anyway,after the match every one is wise ,after looking at the results its very easy to point out what went wrong.I believe that with a misfiring majority ,the captain mobilized his resources very well.. he along with Virat and Nehra atleast , should be given a thumbs up if not the entire team.

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