Monday, November 27, 2017

Three events that changed Indian cricket

I am going to list down three events in chronological order which in my option changed Indian cricket: -

1.       Eden gardens – India vs Australia, 2001

2.       Sourav Ganguly taking off his jersey at Lord’s – Netwest trophy final, 2002

3.       Inception of IPL - 2008

Rahul Dravid in the book titled “Rahul Dravid: Timeless steel” says, we could both sense that we had done something unique, something that would define our careers from then on, irrespective of what we achieved or didn't achieve after that. Indeed, they did something which can never be forgotten.

Australian team arrived in Kolkata riding high on 16 consecutive test matches victories. Indian team was up against a mighty opposition again, having lost the first test match in Mumbai within 3 days. 2nd test match also going the same way, even worse as India were following on after being bowled out for 171 against 445. There was no hope, only a miracle could rescue India. And miracle did come in the form of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman who stood firm against all odds. They batted whole day taking India from 254/4 at the start of day 4 to 589/4 at the end of day 4 adding 335 runs without losing a wicket with Laxman unbeaten on 275 and Dravid on 155. India declared on 657/7 midway in morning session on fifth day. Indian fans started to sense something. Victory was not easy from here on too but they knew that they had surely averted the defeat. Australia were none for 12 at lunch and 161 for 3 at tea. India needed 7 wickets in last session. Thanks to Sachin and Harbhajan’s great bowling that Australia were bowled out for 212. India won the match by 171 runs.

It was a great team victory. This win provided a self-belief that no team is unbeatable if everyone stood up to their task. Prior to that, there were individual brilliances but mostly as a team we ended up losing.  

The second event came a year later at Lord’s when India was asked to chase a mighty total of 326 against home team at the mecca of cricket. England captain Nasser Hussain and Opener Marcus Trescothick scored centuries. India started well reaching 100 under 15th over without losing a wicket. Ganguly and Sehwag took advantage of power play and toyed the English bowlers. But some poor shot selection found them wobbling at 146/5 losing five wickets in just 40 runs. And because of flurry of wickets in no time, asking run rate was also going up. In came two young lads Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif and played the match of their lives taking India home. Need to mention here that Kaif debuted in the same year in January and it would have taken a lot to remain calm and to take calculated risk in this undisclosed territory he was in. I still remember the overthrow which sealed the win for India with 3 balls to spare. It was India’s one of the greatest ODI victory.

What happened after that at Lord’s balcony was a statement by Ganguly, and it infused aggression into young Indian side. I do not think anyone would have had audacity to take off his shirt and swirl at Lord’s balcony. This win also made Indian fans believe that there is world beyond Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid. Coincidentally Ganguly was the captain in both the occasions at Eden Gardens and at Lord’s.

Nasser Hussain at SAP Labs leadership talk in 2011 in Bangalore said, “Indian team used to get bullied by class fifth students whenever they used to tour England”. It was Sourav Ganguly who changed that. He infused passion, aggression and new energy in Indian team. World started looking at Indian team differently not just from within 22 yards but beyond it. It indeed was Ganguly who built the new team and provided them a platform to express themselves.

In this series, I think inception of IPL in 2008 changed the game. BCCI started getting more money, youngsters from all over India started to dream to play with best of the best in the world and learn from them. Many purists would argue that IPL ruined the real cricket and they may well be right but I think it changed the cricket in India for good. Good facilities started reaching to remote places. It became the game for masses now which was only for select few big metropolitans before 2008. Now you can see players from all over India playing IPL and getting noticed. It united India in a way. It also gave a good quality life to cricketers. You play well for 2 months and then you can enjoy the whole year. Most players still aspire to represent India but if they don’t make it to the highest level they can still feel satisfied and lead a good life.

No one would have imagined that the entire tournament can be shifted to a different country because of general election in India in 2009. South Africa hosted 2009 edition of IPL which was won by the then Deccan Chargers Hyderabad. Game changed dramatically after the advent of IPL. Players attitude changed too. Now the match is not over till the last ball is bowled or last run is scored.

I remember Harsha Bhogle in one of the Ted Talk mentioning that Dwayne bravo was called in to play one match for Mumbai Indian against Deccan Chargers Hyderabad in Hyderabad and then use Private corporate jet to send him back to represent West Indies. Never would we have imagined that we will get a player for one match all the way from Jamaica and send him back via private jet. We have arrived somewhere.

In my opinion, these are three events that largely changed Indian cricket. India was destined to be no 1 test team after the hard work put in by Ganguly in shaping the team. 2011 world cup victory was also the result of the preparation done in last decade under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly. But I would concede that 2011 world cup victory was the most special moment for the Indian team and the fans.

I hope to see India reaching new heights in world cricket and bring more joys to everyone’s life.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Logic Vs Compassion


 
In this age of rapid technological advancement and cut-throat competition there is no time for looking back. Everyone wants to outrace others in this never-ending race.
In our personal and professional life, we are largely driven by logic. We want to appear the most logical in front of our peers and sometimes that is a very dangerous thing. We want to assimilate everything in that tiny logic of ours. If the logic doesn’t fit into our scheme of things we start feeling stressed. However, if we work together towards a common goal and help each other in that process, we not only achieve it but also have fun doing it.
Not everyone is same. Some people are talented, some are hardworking, some are technically sound and some are not so good also and they just need a little push to get going. If we take everyone along, things get done easily.
Logic is important too otherwise there will not be any set standards and there will be chaos all over. If logic separates us, compassion brings us together. If compassion shows a blurry path, logic gives a decisive direction. Logic makes you arrogant, compassion makes you empathetic. It is easy to get bogged down when you fail but it is hard to stand up again if there is no support.
So, let us be little more compassionate towards each other in our professional and personal life. We can make this world more beautiful.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

Meeting a CEO

Generally, I web check in advance to get a seat of my preference in a long flight but this time I forgot to web check-in and was sandwiched between two passengers on my flight from Delhi to Toronto.

As my connecting flight took off from Amsterdam to Toronto, I started chatting with an elderly gentleman sitting to my left to stay awake and to avoid jet lag as I had to be in the office next day.

The conversation grew from general to more specific. He was so attentive whenever I spoke, occasionally composing emails in between. We spoke about variety of topics including how US is different in Trump era, how India is changing in 21st century, harsh winters in Canada, Niagara Falls, The Taj Mahal, how some countries are averse to English and which is the best country to live in right now. We settled in for our home countries to be the best in the world and why wouldn’t it be as India is the most beautiful country and Belgium sells best waffles and chocolates.

We joked about how India is different from entire Europe put together as in India everything changes in about 200 KMs from food to language to custom to dressing sense.

When it was time for the meal, I even asked him to opt for Indian meal and told him the benefit of serving yogurt in Indian meals as we eat spicy food and it helps digest the food faster.

After a long flight of 11 hours which took more than the expected, when it was time to say good bye I asked him for his email and instead he game me his business card which read ‘Patrick Gerard, CEO, Rompa Group’.

I was amazed to see how a CEO of more than 100 years old company is flying in economy and talks like a simple man, is always eager to know more and to learn something new.

I understood a couple of things after that conversation that as you go up in the ladder, more than anything else it is your humility that matters the most and listening matters more than talking. He gave me lessons that always speak with humility, spend wisely and help others in need.