Second Chances ?

He was at the crossroads with the decision looming large. He could possibly not put it off any more. The choice had to be made. Would he follow his dream and go for the glory - to play cricket at the highest possible level - or would he take the other route and fade away into the sunset?

To be fair to him - he had taken his shot at international cricket. He even got a look-in, made an earnest effort but had failed to impress the selectors, who having taken a look at him had done what seemed like the right decision for them - dropped him. He had made half-hearted attempts to get back into the team but the selectors were too wise to let that happen.

And yet - he dreamed. Playing international cricket with this particular Indian team was the dream for him. It seemed unattainable, it seemed glorious, it seemed fulfilling, it seemed unreachable. Just like dreams should be. And yet while he had never yet realised that dream, he had seen others do it. Some were prodigiously more talented than him but some were simply more confident and had waltzed ahead to play.

He could basis his past failures and the lack of interest evinced by the selectors - give it up and take the lesser road. But some dreams were too precious to let go that easily, to let go without a full heart felt attempt at making it through. Failure might still be the most likely result and perhaps the selectors would still not be impressed and yet he might rest easier knowing his best was not enough. And that he had done all he could but the dream was just that - a dream!

To take a shot at his dream - it would mean that he would have to take risks. The risk of making a fool of himself, the risk of failing and the risk of feeling bummed. But sometimes in the long term - those risks might just be worth it.

He sat on, staring at the vacant space in front of him - his mind not yet made, pondering the crossroads, watching the time slip away. He needed to decide. What would you do if you were him?

Old Fashioned ?

Cell phone companies probably have a different profit booking code for festivals and new year what with the mass smsing that happens. And on those days sms inboxes are full to the brim with the warm wishes of many well wishers

But somehow I have found this mass forwarding to be extremely impersonal and insincere. Festivals and the like were meant to meet up with friends and relatives and wish each other. The wishing is only an excuse for catching up and chatting up. And when meetings in person were not possible - the phone stood in to facilitate the 'catching-up'

The phone with the advent of mobile phone has been replaced by the sms. And the art of mass forwarding.

The whole process - the whole premise - was based on personal touch. And technology has probably thrown us away from that into a space that is largely impersonal.

I hate receiving messages on festivals which are mass-forwards and typically I do not reply to them. I reply only to messages which are clearly meant only for me and are not part of a blind forward all. And while even I have been lost to speaking to people on festivals - I do follow a strict policy while smsing greetings to people. I detest simply forwarding mass smses and hence if i do sms - i only allow it if each message has been personalised with the recepient's name. Long process but frankly worth the satisfaction.

Similarly on birthdays - I refrain from wishing people on FB. If a friend is/was close enough at some point of time - FB just doesnt cut it. There has to be a phone call. If there isn't - you aren't close enough. And ofcourse I dont put up Birthday reminders on Facebook. Friends are supposed to remember.

Yeah - i guess I am old fashioned. Whats your story?

Conclusive Proof

The reporters of news of the world had smug grins on their faces. They had after all established beyond all doubt that the Indians had been fixing matches for some time now.

More so it was the English and Australian boards that were more pleased with the revelations. Life was much simpler when you could blame the indian board for everything. The Pakistan board blame game was too lame - too easy plus it did not have the added advantage of pointing fingers at the money bag bullies.

What then was this conclusive proof? Was it video? Was it a sting? Was it substantiated? Was it hearsay?

No - it did not need a sting - it just needed the greedy indian players and the indian board to come out to make money at the CL T20 to reach this irrefutable conclusion.

Anil Kumble and MS Dhoni - the last two test captains of India were on air promoting the champions league. And both of them were saying just one thing "ab hoga asli muqabla"

The smart journalists had jumped on to the usage of "ab" and "asli muqabla" - it was now that a real competition would happen. Clearly betraying the fact that all matches before this were 'nakli' or fake meaning FIXED!

Suresh Kalmadi was glad that there was something now to divert attention from him especially since the cabinet minister for cricketing affairs - Sharad Pawar was laughing at him.

Sharad Pawar and the cricketers were not available for comment while Ijaz Butt could not reply since he was in the middle of a crazy celebratory dance!


An attempt at faking news.

The fear of failure

The one reason at the forefront for the yawning gap that exists between potential and performance has to be the fear of failure. The "What if this doesnt come off" probably ensures a lot of things that die out even before they are born. Because fear leads to doubt leads to tentativeness leads to failure.

How often - even in cricket (what else did you think this blog would draw parallels with?) - have we seen a fast bowler come charging down in a scenario with nothing to lose and give it his very best. A team batting first bowled out for 130 odd leaving very little chance for a victory - comes out knowing that while fielding there is nothing to be lost. And that liberation leads to the best coming out. The pacemen going all out - no one to block the boundaries - the fielders all in menacing attacking positions eager to snap up any chance that comes their way. Because there is no use in moping about the poor first inning now (the media will do it anyway) and hence seek whatever little joy they can bring their way with a spirited performance.

Sehwag has to be the best proponent of having no fear of failure (esp in test matches). He lives the moment - that particular ball. It never matters whether hitting this particular ball for what he believes it deserves causes a slide for the team. Or that foregoing the boundary here might set up the bowler to concede six later. He wants to cross those bridges when he comes to them and hence doesnt hesitate ever to make the most. The fear never exists because he has made his peace with the effort being worth it anyway

But it is perhaps this very fear of failure and the lack thereof that causes champions to fall to underdogs and for a bunch of no hopers to put one past the champions.

Logic and strength on paper would always mandate a champion victory. But then logic never accounted for the power that liberation from the fear of failure brings in. And ofcourse no body can ever account for spirit. Couple the two and you potentially have a bunch of impossible to explain results right on your hands. Why spot fix when the ROI on any betting would be infinite if only liberation and spirit were to be mixed.

As for me - i seek that liberation.

The Conspiracy

It was a grim time and shock was writ large on everyone's faces. How well they had acted all this while. Who would have ever thought? That it wasnt the usual suspect but them all along. But soon the shock and outrage would turn into gratitude. Not towards the criminals or the innocent usual suspect but to News of the World who brought out yet another dirty conspiracy.

Saturday and Sunday - the most loved of all days - the days every one welcomed with such joy and anticipation. The fun days! The best days! Oh why do they ever end! Such love everyone had for both of them. They had been exposed - for so long they had stooped so low and built up this image of greatness for themselves.

They werent nice - they were infact the S-Gang - much feared in Daykistan - all the other days save perhaps Friday were completely scared of them. They used all the leverage possible to make the others toe their line. What the S-Gang said was law. The S-word was obeyed by the others without protest. Except for that pesky Friday.

Investigations revealed that Monday was not a bad guy at all - he never meant anyone any harm. But the leverage the S-gang had over him and his poor family meant he had to go their bidding. They set him up as the worst guy - the one day that would be the worst right after S-gang had come in and done their 'we are the nice guys' routine. They made sure Monday had character - that Murphy would star only on a Monday and never else. That Monday would inevitably bring with him loads of work at office. That Monday would have broken chappals and traffic jams in unexpected places. That Monday would be the day you would sigh wistfully and long for those rascals Saturday and Sunday.

They ensured Mondays were so bad that in contrast even an ordinary performance from them during their showtime would be lapped up by the adoring masses gratefully and willingly.

The others just had to carry on what Monday started - they lacked the flair Monday had - he might be good at heart but a born actor he was too - but the damage he did at the top of the order was enough to sustain the supporting acts of the rest.

Except Friday. The one guy who really did his job truthfully. The one who signified the end of the dreary work week (keep in mind the S-gang had their role to play in making it dreary). He had principles. He had a backbone. He always made attempts to ensure that things wrapped up early with him around. He never liked those formal clothes and ensured on his day you could be yourself. Comfortable.

And he was popular - why wouldnt he be with all that he did! The S-gang was jealous. He was their immediate past and they did not hold much leverage on him. All they could do was stop him from ratting on them but never could they get him to do a Monday and make them look good. He was a star in his own right.

They started smear campaigns against him. Who do you think came up with the concept of 'Friday the 13th'? 'Black Friday' 'Freaky Friday' - Oh they did all they could to bring him down - to make him unpopular. But they couldnt succeed.

Today as their true colours were exposed - they stood there jealous of the one guy who stood up to them and would take the witness stand today in the expose by News of the World.

*Working on a Saturday can do strange things to the mind. Pakistan Cricketers can be inspiring in their own way too

If and Sachin

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

The World Cup 2007 was perhaps the biggest disaster India had been to. Starting as some sort of favourites - it ended a dream. Sachin himself got out to a ugly posture crouching as his stumps lay dismantled. The blame game had begun with doubts on Tendulkar's future, a noise created on his 'waning reflexes and skills'. It was the time for 'Endulkar' and Manjrekarian opinions to rear up their head. Guru Greg chose to absolve himself of all blame for the debacle and lay it firmly on the team's shoulders - even pointing fingers at Sachin. Sach meanwhile quietly made his protest known and got back to doing what he does best - play cricket

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

There was a phase when Sachin would play not like the old himself - not the ravaging genius - but more a seasoned statesman. Not going for those lofted shots but for those nudges that would get the singles. Scoring effectively and doing what the team needed. And then hear people whisper - He isnt himself these days. He must Retire. Yet to win the Man of the Match award and announce to the world that he alone knew his game and what he was doing, it was fine to compare this to his old self but he would play as he chose not the way his 'fans' demanded.

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

And that phase when he traded his big shots and domination for percentage cricket and maybe to an extent chose to let the sheen dim off a little, letting himself be deemed mortal - when he took hits on the body on that England tour to keep playing for a country needed him to be there. Or when he chose to play a full inning of 241* without once falling to the temptation of the off side drive. When he believed that he could look ugly, could let his shine dim because in the end it was all for a larger cause - a team getting a gritty middle order batsman who was up for a scrap even if not beautiful.

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

As a kid - taken by his brother for coaching with Ramakant Achrekar. To sacrifice his education to follow a dream to play cricket. To play and practice till he was tired. To proclaim to the world that all he wanted to do was play cricket for India. And to do that more successfully than anyone else and then when that dream was achieved, to change the dream to play for India as long as possible and keep achieving that with the mischeivious enthusiasm of a 16 year old.

If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

The equanimity with which he accepts both accolades and criticism - to have the grace to smile and say that in a long journey, you get stones thrown at you - you simply convert them to milestones. To accept the pain of seeing a masterful 136 in Chennai go waste only to come back there years later and hit another masterful 103* to seal a win. To see 175 of his best get wasted by a bat not grounded but to come back and non-chalantly score 200* and then have the humility to simply raise his arms and dedicate it to a nation of adoring fans.


If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

To play like no one ever has in a WC, to hit the fastest bowler out of the attack - to take the team to the finals and then fail in the finals chasing a mountain. But to have gumption enough to fail in another edition and still be determined to come back and claim what should have been rightfully his. And then start playing again better than ever before - with a consistency that mortals will only dream off. To have the critics who wrote him off , lineup yet again to praise him AND for Sachin to be unaffected by either reaction

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

To be 37 in a game of youngsters, to have played for 20 long years and show no sign of tiring. To carry on for what can be nothing but sheer love of the game. To outdo oneself for others were left gasping for breath way behind. To have a host of youngsters wishing that they could be a third of his brilliance and yet outlive the careers of those who idolised him.

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

Humility is an hallmark that has been true through his career - whether in form or out of it. Whether it was the time when he signed multi million deals or when he was booed at the Wankhede. When he accepted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna or when he was out for 4 in the WC finals. When he hit his 200 or when he had to read the prophets of doom attempting to push him out of the team.

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

For 20 years of outstanding sportsmanship, unparalleled batting, unquenchable thirst for the game. For being the game's greatest idol and its greatest worshipper. For taking us to places we never imagined. For fulfilling our repressed dreams - for making India dream. For being the impeccable role-model we all looked upto - in the days of Tigers. For being the man for whom the earth awaits! Thank you Sir!


The poem is 'If' by Rudyard Kipling. If only he knew how that he was predicting Sachin Tendulkar's career when he wrote it.

Marketing & Cricket

You make profits in marketing when you sell your larger sized SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). So say a 400ml Clinic Plus bottle is likely to make more profit than a Re.1 Clinic Plus pouch. But yet both these SKUs play extremely different and yet extremely important roles in the marketing portfolio.

Ideally you want all your consumers to buy the 400 ml pack and be wed to your brand for a longer period of time and along the way make a higher profit. But therein lies the catch - not everyone can afford the 400 ml pack, not everyone uses shampoo at all and for a non-user - fat chance of ever jumping into the category with a 400ml buy, Not everyone even buys your brand and perhaps for them to try it out for the first time - the 400 ml might be overkill.

So thats where the 1 Re SKU comes into the picture. It plays the role of expanding the category itself by recruiting new users to the category - people who never used shampoos. It also allows people using other brands to take a peek at your brand and maybe convert. Finally it also allows people to get what they want in lesser quantity and at an affordable put down price.

So in a nutshell if profitability and loyalty is the task for the large SKU, expansion is the thing to do for the smaller SKU and thats how they both co-exist peacefully.

Wait! FOUR full paragraphs and not a single mention or reference to cricket? Wondering if you are on the right blog? Oh yes you are!

Time now to pan to cricket and look at its SKUs - The Large SKU - Test Cricket. The Middle Sized SKU -ODI cricket and finally The Small SKU - T20 cricket.

Lets start with the simple one - T20. Very clearly the format of the game which will add more viewers to the game. People uninterested in sports will not mind spending some time watching a T20 game because of the basic nature of the format - quick and exciting! Hardcore fans of other sports like Football who had very little interest in cricket might also want to enjoy the T20 phenomenon (an analogy for gaining users from competing brands) and finally given that the format is extremely short and quick - those fans who like watching cricket but simply dont have the time to devote to it now have it good. (analogy for the affordable put down price)

But a moment here to step back and check the glaring difference hitting one in the face. While typically the small SKU is low profitability, this format of the game is the highest profit garnering version.

So while the ultimate aim should have been to recruit new fans through the T20 mode and then gradually upgrade them to Test Cricket - from an economic perspective it may not hold much water. From a pure economic perspective, it makes sense to promote and maintain T20 and hold the attention of viewers there.

So what is it that the oldest and longest and biggest form of the game have to offer? For starters - it IS the REAL version without doubt. It is the truest test of temperament and skill for T20 reduces the gap between skill and result and Tests tests it over 5 days. It allows you to appreciate strategy in the game and see a duel build up between bat and ball without the constraint of field placements or over limits. The thrill of seeing people going for it without inhibition. The field where a player well and truly proves himself.

But thats for the hardcore fan. Cricket's marketing dilemma lies in the fact that without Test Cricket - subtlety and skill will desert the game and convert itself into a more 'wham bam' power / hand-eye coordination game.

And it will mean turning around conventional economics or marketing and have the small SKU generate funds to invest in the larger SKU for long term sustenance. Because if we are to see player temperament being tested and for players to be able to triumph over conditions - Test Cricket is the only way to go.

But till the time pure and shortsighted economics continues to rule - this will be a pipedream!

Hope and the like

Sidin Vadukut wrote about how Srinath and Kumble made him an eternal optimist while watching India play cricket. Their riveting partnership in Bangalore had snatched a win from the jaws of defeat making him hopeful in all India matches.

My contention is that a lidetime of being a India cricket supporter makes you an optimist in life - not just cricket. Basically being a God Fearing country and hence being a strong believer in Divine Intervention - we are natural optimists and hopers.

A child would go to an exam ill prepared and then pray to God hoping that he passes the paper - knowing fully well that he wont as he just hasnt put in the hard yards.

So as you might make out from the garbled text above - I am clearly mixing two ideas and trying to pull out a unifying thread. To put it simply, irrational hope is something majority of us believe in and stray instances of such hope being validated push us to root for the improbable to happen because while the mind knows it wont happen, the heart roots for the romantically fabulous result.

Some F1 seasons ago - when Hakkinen and Schumacher used to slug it out - as a Ferrari supporter (which then used to be the inferior car) - I would always hope for a mechanical failure for McLaren if Hakki was leading by 40 seconds or so. It would never happen - till that last lap, where his car conked off leaving him stranded at the last corner - so much so that he could have ran across and still finished first. But the Ferraris won with the fuming McLaren stranded. And then there was precedence for such hope to fly everytime the Scuderia were trailing.

The WC Final of 2003 when Australia blasted the living daylights out of us and we were left to chase a mountain of a score - there was immense hope when Sachin hit his first ball for a boundary and then a wave of futility when he got out the next ball. Then Sehwag started whacking it, hope rose again but it reached its crescendo when it started raining. For that fleeting moment it seemed that no less a personality than the Almight Himself wanted India to win and it was Him raining in on the Aussie Parade. Out came my trumpet and on went the noise (no - not even I can describe my trumpetting even remotely as music) for those 15 minutes till they came back on to play and the irrational hope was squashed.

And then recently the famed last wicket stands for England to save Test matches - irrationally hopeful but it happened.

Point being that as The Shawshank Redemption states "Hope is a Good Thing, maybe the best of things" Perhaps so! But it is that thin line between Hope and Irrational Hope that causes trouble and maybe even miracles.

A lifetime of irrational hoping for miracles in Indian Cricket makes one an irrational hoper in life. And it is that thrill of playing the miniscule odds even in the face of certain disaster that makes the hoping worthwhile. For in hoping, you possibly lose a few hours feeling bummed that you ever believed, but for the one in a thousand chance that the irrational hope comes off - the payoff of having believed is worth the other 999 chances - inspite of the bummy feeling after it.

And then again going with the thought that you miss 100% of the chances you dont take - irrational hope atleast ensures you take the chance.

Runouts - Part 3

Well i lied - the title of this post has nothing to do with a runout but since it carries on in similar vein to the earlier run out posts, this one also carries the run out title.

Having gotten the disclaimer out of the way let us continue to the arbit part of the post (as with all run out posts)

So the same batsman who was runout the last time on a duck after an excruciating wait for the third umpire to call the decision gets another chance to play and shine. He waits in the dressing room for his turn to bat - twiddling his thumbs as the batsman just before him gets out. He starts visualising his innings in his head - wanting to go out there and play but at the same time wishing a delay for him to go in and face the music.

Finally its his turn to bat - he starts confidently, running the singles - trying to lay the base for a longer innings and his big shots. Right then he goes for a big shot - but just as it seems that the ball is to carry away over the boundary - the fielder catches the ball right at the edge. The umpire signals it as a six making the batsman want to cheer! But cue the UDRS which is called upon immediately and the decision gets overturned to get the batsman out.

He trudges back again - wondering what could have been, wondering if he will ever be back to get another chance at batting?

Out of Office

This is the Out of Office I had written while on leave - and i am wanting to put it up on the blog as it deserves a wider audience. Yes this is a complete show of non-modesty. But its MY blog.

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Hi - this is the Outlook Out of Office Assistant filling in for Pushkar. I hereby inform you that Pushkar is on leave from 28th December to the 14th of January (If you have queries on how that leave ever got approved - you would have to contact his Boss - XYZ <+91number>)

While on leave, Pushkar will have no access to his mail box but to deal with immensely urgent issues, he suggests that you drop him an sms and he will get back to you.

In the mean time, if you have any GSA related issues to discuss you would do well to contact his enthusiastic FSCMs (who will no doubt be celebrating and enjoying the free reign that Pushkar's absence will bring to them)

For Ahmedabad Zone, ABC on +91number
For Surat Zone, DEF on +91number
For Rajkot Zone, GHI +91number

For any branch related issues, it is strongly recommended that you get in touch with PQR (our extremely knowledgeable and helpful BOM - you might have to get past his incessant laughter track before that though) on +91number

Pushkar also advises me to wish you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New year in his absence!

Cheers!

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Names and numbers have been masked ofcourse!

Runouts - Part II

The debutant walked to the middle - having waited 27 years to make his debut. Facing his first ball, he played at it and placed it close to the mid on fielder. To run or not to run was the call he had to make.

It would be his first run ever - but he would really have to take the leap to make the run - or really take a dive to make it. He ran - daring the throw of the sharp fielder, shaking off his own inhibitions and then saw the ball closing in on the stumps. He did the only thing he could - dive in full length.

While the dust blew up in front of his eyes, his ears could catch the audibly boisterous appealing of the fielding team. He glanced up to see the Umpire make the familiar signal to the 3rd umpire.

And those were possibly the longest moments of his life - the black TV screen showing an advertiser endorsing the 'Decision Awaited' graphic. The heartbeats for him could not be any faster and just then the screen flashes up the decision - a red coloured 'OUT' graphic.

And his nervous energy dissipates into disappointment but not before he vows to come out again and bat and this time beat the throw from that sharp fielder.