Well cricket is the flavor of the season, or should I say, was the flavor? After the much-hyped Indian Men-in-Blue team faced blues in the world cup, and with the widespread, in-your-face media, every tom, dick and harry got to voice their opinion under the guise of a Genuine Indian Cricket Fan. (True to the title of the blog, this entry too is 100% fact free, so whatever be the opinion, it may not be hard facts)

So, now that everybody has become an overnight expert in the affairs of Indian Cricket, let me also try my hand at it.

First, I will be honest, I wasn't following Indian cricket that much as I could do when I was in India. So, all my information was second-hand, or even third-hand opinions from "experts" (the real ones) and statistics from Cricinfo. Now that I am clear with my status, let me also proclaim, I AM A HUGE FAN OF BLACK CAPS!!! (Also called New Zealand..)

Ok, so here is my 2 paise. Indian team, though the build-up was high, was not capable enough to win the world cup. But having said that, let me also make something clear, one-day cricket is purely a DAY'S game. Now, we all know how ONE day could be so very much different from the rest of the week. So, even though we weren't capable enough, theoretically if we had 8 weeks full of those "one days", we could have been the World Champions.

I am the sort of guy who takes any praise attributed to Sachin with a pinch of salt, especially in the last few years. Sachin is an amazing player. No questions. His drives and shots sometimes give the orgasmic satisfaction to even die-hard bowlers, or their ilk (which includes me). Being a fan of the game gave me enough opportunities to enjoy those O moments whenever he was in full flow. But, it ends there. The biggest grudge I have against him is that he never played when it mattered the most. Now I mean really really MOST. Though the memories of something called as a Sharjah victory over the Aussies is still vague, I'd say he didn't play to his potential for India. More about this enigma later.

The other players are THE part of our team. But, the Star status does have its effect on everybody else. So expect the failure of any Star batsman to put pressure on the not-so-Star players of the team. Especially for a team like us. By the way, did I say team?? Hahahahaha!!!Frankly, the team though was the best we could have gotten, we should have stuck to players like Raina and Kaif. It's not that they were utter failure, both of them played few really good innings in the past to get us out of the rut. And they are the boost an bowler would like to have in the field. Even though they were young, you have to give them chance to mature in crunch situations and high-adrenaline events such as the WC!

It's hard to say who could have been dropped, I was strongly backing Sehwag to be in the team, so it had to be some other. Why Sehwag, 'cos he's a proven matchwinner. He is the kind of batsman, who on song, would take away the game from the opposition with just one innings over!! And not to mention, he is a handy bowler!! He can come good at any time, and the risk is always that he may not come good at all. So it's a risk we took and were successful and it was time we needed to put something back in that risk.

Ok, we lost. Now what? Where do we from here? Hmmm, Captaincy was one of the biggest issues that came up. What do I think? Dravid's not good as a captain. At least when it comes to being a leader on the field. He is not aggressive enough, period. It's probably time for us to invest in a young aggressive captain. How about Kaifi? or Raina? Karthick? I wouldn't suggest Yuvraj cos even though he is aggressive, he isn't exactly the material. He has had more of a Ganguly effect on him to be the captain. Arrogant more, than aggressive.

Going back to any of the oldies, is according to me, a step backward. I always admired NZ cricket for backing Fleming from the beginning and persisting with him. He might not be a tactician that he is now from birth or inception, but there is always room to learn. And that's how I think we should have proceeded. Get in a young captain. Groom him. With such a wealth of experience in the team, he will learn, be it the hard way. When Graeme Smith was appointed the Captain of South Africa, everybody knew him just as an aggressive (bit arrogant too) young batsman. He is learning the trade. He will and he should. Why can't we something like that? We don't definitely lack the talent!!

The problem with our bunch is that no sooner a new player begins to click, it's expected of him to be seen endorsing everything. Case-in-support, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. I have nothing against him, yet, everything against the situation that led him to appear in endorsements more than required. And no sooner he fails, he the proverbial dog to be kicked and abused. Any player for that matter, is treated this way, by us, by our MEDIA. Hype, hypnotize and Kill seems to be their motto. Now, now Media here is my main target. People should probably start realizing that they are just manipulating things to earn their bread and butter. Pch.. poor viewers.

So finally, if someone asks me why I wrote such a long essay. Do I expect it to be read completely? Frankly, I don't expect it. And neither do I care. They (you) might have read the same opinions a thousand times by now. But, then I had to get it out of my system, for my own sake. So be it. This is it.

And for the record, this is what I want:

Sehwag, Uthappa (which two slaps across his face), Dravid, Ganguly, Tendulkar (both in rotation), Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina, Laxman, Rayudu, Karthick and Dhoni.

Zaheer, Agarkar, Nehra, Balaji, Munaf, Powar, Harbhajan and those Singhs (RP and VRV).

These are the players to be pursued with at least till some more time until we have more options. I am very very excited (rare thing) with the new set up. Probably it has to be. But I am happy that something looks to be happening that has a hint of positivity.

I still support Kiwis as my team, but I usually choose to be neutral when India play New Zealand, but it so happens that the overwhelming support for Indians always polarizes me and forces me to support the Kiwis!

As of now, I sit back and enjoy the World Cup for everything that is cricket and not hype. Well, at least partially!