Piyush Chawla's Selection - No Longer a Secret

While Cricket columnists and commentators around the country have gone wildly insane in finding exactly why Piyush Chawla has been selected into the Indian test team, the Kiwi batsmen have reportedly taken this news with much trepidation. Sources reveal that the computer analyst of the NewZealand team has gone through every piece of video, article or blog post that is there on the internet to find a pattern as to how exactly does Chawla get his wickets but has come up with zilch.

An air of despondency has fallen over the already depressed Kiwis who were as such under tremendous mental stress knowing that the star Indian batsmen Laxman and Dravid will not be playing.
"I only agreed to get myself selected as I thought I could get their autographs." - an almost tearful young Kiwi confessed.

Meanwhile, when a bunch of over enthusiastic reporters tried to contact Chawla's parents to get their reaction on the selection, they apparently received a confused reply from them.
"Last we know, he was playing Virtual Cricket with Mantu, the neighbor's kid on PS3. May be he got some wickets in that game"  - was the hopeful conjecture of the father.

The Indian team is also none the wiser about the selection. Coach Fletcher was seen asking whether the Hyderabad stadium has a safe locker for him or not. Reportedly, the last time Chawla was around the dressing room, he had polished off all the high calorie bars and candies. The coach does not want to go empty handed to his grand kids this time.

When we sought Kris Srikkanth's opinion on this bizarre selection he jerked his thumb in our general direction and muttered "Po da, de!!".

Captain Dhoni though cut through the mystery by pointing out that - "Look, they have got Jeetan Patel and I am damn sure they have no idea what they have selected him for. It is only fair we select somebody that can keep us bamboozled. After all, we believe in playing on a level field."

The Cubs Roar

Down Under in the U-19 World Cup, the Indian team has won a cliffhanger against Pakistan in a Quarter Final match. Detailed report here. On a lighter note, the Indian juniors seem to be outdoing their older counterparts in adding dramatics to the mundane. A target of 137 to be chased in 50 overs does not promise the kind of excitement that was on display today in Townsville. Come on kids....think of the cholesterol laden veins and arteries of your parents that must be bursting with anxiety each time one of you got out or decided to take a wild swipe.

India plays New Zealand in the Semi Finals who beat West Indies in a text book T20 style with an Indian origin batsman (IS Sodhi) blasting 17 runs in the final over.

Congratulations to the Indian team. Keep Roaring!!!!

Retired 'Hurt' (?)

We Indians have the rare gift of romanticizing even the least poignant of moments to degrees that can only be called out of proportion. Hence when the most magical and at times most whimsical of our famed batting quartet calls a press conference to let us know that he is hanging his boots,  we can be excused if we go a tad berserk in mouthing our astonishment. Elsewhere in the world, a 38 year old cricketer with indifferent form and of visibly inadequate fitness retiring from the arena would be a natural progression but leave it on us Indians to drum up a conspiracy theory when none exists.

Nobody in the right frame of mind can undermine the contributions of V.V.S. Laxman to India's cause in the last decade and a half or so. Be it the belligerence of Adelaide or the grit in Eden Gardens, his tag of 'Special'  is well earned. In style and poise, he probably even transcends the greatness of his fellow greats.  But let's face it, he is not age proof, he is not form proof. He is as mortal as any of us and hence when his muscles and nerves do not quite cope up with the rigors of the game, he should give up. Inner voice or no inner voice!!