Some men prefer to follow a predictable path and their stories tell of a slow rise to the top and an equally measured decline. To that end instinct is subdued, contention avoided and risk reduced. That has been altogether too dull for Ganguly. Throughout he has toyed with his fate, tempting it to turn its back on him so that once again he could surprise the world with a stunning restoration. Something in him rebelled against the mundane and the sensible. He needed his life to be full of disasters and rescues, and comebacks and mistakes and memorable moments. To hell with the prosaic. At heart he is a cavalier, albeit of mischievous persuasion.
Maybe I have read Roebuck too much. Maybe too many cricket articles are coming out today compared to the frequency of cricket articles in the past where weekly sportstar and daily The Hindu was the standard serving. But it is nauseating to hear the same thing being said about cricketers again and again and again. And half of it isn't about cricket. If its Ganguly, there are a few standard things Roebuck says about him- removing shirt in Lords, making Steve Waugh wait for toss, and century in Brisbane. With Kumble its "fighter". With Dravid its "technique". With Laxman its wrists. There is definetly more to the game and these cricketers than these standard cliches. I wonder what Laxman, Dravid and Kumble are thinking when they read Roebuck. Is it too much to expect cricket writers to write about cricket? Can't they write about real stuff? What the hell is this?
He did not give much ground to the modern game, with its fitness and diving and running between wickets and morning training and all that rot. It was brave of him to remain apart, for it left him exposed to ridicule, forced him to justify himself. But Ganguly was not scared of the pressure. Perhaps he needed the extra pressure the way a veteran car needs a crank. And, just in case, he had the populist touch. If Anil Kumble was the colossus, Sachin Tendulkar the champion, Rahul Dravid the craftsman, VVS Laxman the sorcerer, then Ganguly was the inspiration.
[bold emphasis in quoted para is mine] Here, he is explaining someone's inability to dive and field as a "brave" deliberate thing. I hope Gaundamani watches cricket, reads Roebuck and says "Ithellam avanukke theriyaadhu da nayee". Looking at the way his recent articles describe the game and its players, I wonder if he is watching the same game I watch. He seems to be explaining a game in the parallel world where collossuses, craftsman, sitthal, maesthri, kundu oosi vikkaravan, sarayam kaacharavan are playing cricket. I recognize that he is now being paid by Indian media and *has* to jalra. But athukaaga ippadiya. You should read his stuff in Sydney Morning Herald. He doesn't write cricket anymore. Total fantasy fiction stuff.
16 comments:
Hey Hawkeye,
You are taking this personal man... He is just showing loyalty to his paymasters
Saapadra thatliye otta poda mudiyuma? :)
Have you seen how Andy Gray supports Liverpool, the club whose lifelong fan he is?
And, anyways, cricket is now a business. So what is wrong if the BCCI uses its clout in the media?
It might leave a bad taste in the mouth for some, but it is all business and it works....
Hawk... forgive my dumb question if it is.. but isn't vayishal supposed to mean drooling? or have I been in Chennai too short to remember it?
Peter Roebeck, was always the fair-weather fan. If now India were losing, then your bold face words would be much different and of course, would not be published in Indian media. :)
He is still better than Sambit Bal and Rahul Bhattacharya types. Thank God, Amit Varma is no longer in cricinfo.
Goundamani:"prachanai ellAm oNNuthAn"
The last line was too good! Infact my friend's dad uses the exact words! ;)
ellam orey kuttais mattais..
sports writers na david foster wallace or nirmal shekar..avalavu dhan...
sports writers always pander to the readership.
I remm reading a BBC article on how Jenson Button came 8th in a race. The headline read
Button comes 8th, schumi takes pole!
I rest my case
I like this peripa of yours.
Worst fellow ba avan. Kaasu Vaangittaan.
ROTFL
haha, the goundamani response was just perfect :)
I guess indha kaalathla, there are too many vimarsanams..
-Eve of test match, all vetti officers/pensioners like Yashpal Sharma, Kirmani, MadanLal get on TV and ask "will the offside God click"?
-Match day: morning paper has a column about offside God.
-Before telecast, Mandira, Namitha types remind us(unsuccessfully) about off side God.
-Batsman walks out to bat: L.Siva reminds us to look out for "offside magic" if it happens
-Studio fellow reminds us @lunch that today may be offside special.
-Camera shows batsman face, L.Siva asks Border/Gatting etc what he thinks of offside God
-Batsman puts zero, gets out.
-L.Siva sings farewell song.
No wonder, these Robak-Gobak type fellows have to resort to writing poetry.
karthik,
:-)
ram,
vayishal is not just drooling to flirt with a girl. It is any drooling activity to impress someone
LKS,
for some reason i think he is phony.
alan,
:-)
venkiraja,
:-) its the brotherhood of periappas i suppose.
gradwolf,
i likes nirmal for his over the top -ness but there are too many people like him now.
maxdavinci,
:-)
sahana, rastafari
:-). he constantly abused vellaikaaran for killing math ramanujan too.
ttm,
LOL. thank god i am not watching it in desh.
Its funny cause thats the same thing my dad and uncles say when a umpire gives a wrong decision :)
Well that article was wierd! sometimes i wondered if it was vanja pugzhachi
Reasonable criticism...I concur.
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/377870.html
your claim is being proved time and again.. this time it is Dhoni - The Obama in White clothes!!!
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/377870.html
His column should read, Everything except cricket, By Peter Roebuck
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