Cricinfo Select
The real culprits
S Rajesh
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
S Rajesh
While India's players blame their recent poor form on everything from a manipulative coach to a sense of insecurity to an indifferent captain, the plain truth is this: When it really mattered, India's batsmen failed to deliver. It's a fact that has been obscured by emotion, hype and selective memory but a reading of the statistics is revealing.
Full postA league of their own
The Indian Cricket League may shake the system out of its lethargy
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
by Jayaditya Gupta
The announcement of a parallel cricket structure, though not a real surprise given the stakes involved, is shrewd in its timing and plentiful in potential. This was a googly that the BCCI didn't read and, with its mind already occupied by the civil war erupting in its backyard, it must play the ball with a lot of thought and with both eyes on the future. There is opportunity in this for Subhash Chandra, whose idea it is, but also for the BCCI if it plays its cards right. It may even be for the good of Indian cricket if only by giving the system a shake-up.
First, though, a note of cynicism: It's best to wait and see whether this is a genuine move by Chandra and his vast Essel group or a bargaining ploy by the man who lost out on the BCCI's TV rights three-odd years ago. Will Chandra go the distance or will he be open to adjustments if the right signals are sent out?
Full postIndian cricket needs a revolution
India's World Cup debacle has thrown up many pressing questions but don't expect too many honest answers
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Sambit Bal
As is the norm with botched-up jobs, India have returned from the West Indies with a bagful of questions. No two ways about it, the World Cup was an embarrassment for India. Not only did they lose to Bangladesh, who have since struggled to put the ball past the square, they never looked like winning against them. Say whatever you will about the format, India didn't look in shape, either mentally or physically, to go any further.
Full postLook into that mirror, Sachin
If Sachin Tendulkar is playing to eke out a career, then he is wasting his time and should retire immediately, feels Ian Chappell
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Ian Chappell
In the fallout from India's early demise at the World Cup one of the major decisions will concern the future of Sachin Tendulkar.
Full postThe man who wouldn't say no
As he gives up the one-day game, it would be a pity if Anil Kumble is remembered by his last few years in that particular version of the game
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Anand Vasu
It is said that the memory span of the average Indian fan is one week, perhaps less. In Anil Kumble's case, that may not be such a bad thing. The last ball he bowled in one-day cricket was a quintessential Kumble rocket. Bermuda's Malachi Jones stood stupefied - and better batsmen have suffered similarly - as the ball pitched in line, hurried inexorably on, and crashed into pad, trapping him plumb in front.
Full postIndia lacked muscle and hustle
Hungry and energetic, Sri Lanka out-fought an Indian team packed with stars but lacking a single enforcer
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
The magnitude of this match, it was said, could have rivalled a World Cup final. The tournament could ill afford India, cricket's cash cow, to crash out so early. Some reckoned there was so much at stake that India, which contributes close to two thirds of the game's revenues, would remain in the competition, even if it involved arm-twisting behind the scenes.
Full postIs twenty plenty?
The inaugural Twenty20 World Championship begins in September
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Daniel Brigham
As the World Cup rumbles on through its marathon six and a half weeks, a slim-line, nubile new kid is swaggering into view. The Twenty20 World Championship, with its promise of sixes, sixes and sixes, is on the horizon. Come September, when the inaugural tournament starts in South Africa, 50 overs may seem an awfully long time in cricket.
Full postIt's only a game
Bob Woolmer's death, whatever the cause, is an alarm to put the brakes on a game skidding out of control
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
by Sambit Bal
We don't yet know for sure why or how Bob Woolmer died. We shouldn't rush to judgment; it is still possible that it was an accident. It is equally possible he was murdered. And, while conspiracy theorists are working overtime on the motives, it is also quite possible that we will never know the full truth.
Full postThe wonder of Woolmer
With a CV that encompassed Kent, Natal, England, Packer, Avondale, Boland, Kent again, Warwickshire, South Africa, several minnow nations and Pakistan, Bob Woolmer was the most cosmopolitan of coaches
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Tim de Lisle
The last time the cricket world saw Bob Woolmer was in the closing minutes of Pakistan's game with Ireland on Saturday. Triumph and disaster, Kipling's twin impostors, were hovering over Sabina Park like a pair of blimps. One set of supporters was already having a ball, dancing and hooting and laughing. Some members of the other set were shortly to go out on the streets back home, chanting murderous slogans. The camera kept going to Bob, watching as Ireland inched to their target. His face was glum, motionless, quite unlike him. Then the game ended, the Irish jigs reached the middle, and the camera found Bob again. He was packing away his laptop. That was more like him.
Full post