The day after .. let the tamasha start

And the very next day after India's knockout from cricket world cup 2007, the mudslinging, backbiting has started.

Lets see the reactions:

Sharad Pawar - BCCI Chairman
"Our expectations were quite high. India is the country whose board provides max facility. We expect them to deliver. To lose or win will always happen but the performance in both matches was not upto the mark. In SriLanka atleast the bowlers played but the batting was disappointing."


"I think again umm that when India wakes up tomorrow they will be disaapointed and angry. People should realize its just a game and we have to go back and discuss."

"We will wait for the managers report, but my personal opinion is that we should give a chance to younger players now. From this date we should start planning for 2011."


Greg Chappell - Team India Coach
this is classic, don't miss this. The questions are being asked by reporters and answers by greg

What do you think greg happened to the process?
I think thats an inflammatory question and i won't respond.

Greg don't you owe something to the 1 billion people. You have nothing to say?
yes, i think we are all dissapointed

Greg will you, if given a choice, coach India?
Let the choice be given first.


(More below)





Niranjan Shah - BCCI Secretary
"Its the selectors who select the team. Yes they are BCCI players but selectors select them" (this is hilarious)



Rahul Dravid
"The top order failed and thats plain and simple"
"I was under contract till the world cup as captain and the world cup will be over in two days"


Mohinder Amarnath
"Its time for Tendulkar to say goodbye to cricket"

Navjot Singh Sidhu
"Its a decision that he will have to take(Sachin) but a decision that he has to take now as he is belittling himself."







CNN IBN is confirming this via BCCI sources


Greg Chapell has been sacked as Team India coach and his contract would not be renewed. It may be noted that Greg was under contract till the world cup only

BCCI has further said that it will debate whether we need a foreign coach anyway.





The above reactions were catched by me from various news channels.

The following is the transcripts of press confrence right after the match. Sourced from cricinfo




Greg Chapell

Greg Chappell appeared in what was probably his most volatile press conference in the job. "In light of recent events," he said, referring to the Bob Woolmer incident, "I am not going to be making any comments about what's wrong with anything or anybody." It did not stop the media from trying.


Who should take responsibility for this defeat?
I think it's a collective responsibility. We didn't play well enough and it is a disappointment that everyone has to share.

Would you like to continue as coach?
This is not the time to talk about that.

This proves Vision 2007 has failed. Is it a personal failure for you?
As I said before I think it's a collective responsibility. We've come here with high expectations obviously, certainly from home, and we haven't been able to live up to that. That's something that everyone is well aware of in the dressing room. It's a fairly quiet place as you can imagine at the moment. Everybody's disappointed. As Rahul [Dravid] said some time back, we're all in it together and we have to share in it together.

The team looked flat in the middle. Have they played too much cricket?
I think coming out of Jamaica the feeling in the group was very strong and the spirit was fine and high and we were confident and we had a reasonably good break in that period in Jamaica so that we can complain about that or use that as the excuse. At the end of the day we didn't play well enough in the group stage.

Was the team under pressure?
I think Indian team definitely playing under more pressure than most teams because of the weight of expectation back in India. I think it does have an effect and I would say from my experience from the last few weeks that it definitely had its effect, playing up to the Bangladesh game I thought the boys were a bit anxious at that stage and then the pressure built from there. Today, they just didn't play that well. I think the bowlers did a reasonable job and we didn't really give ourselves a chance to win the match because we didn't get any partnerships.

There was a whole hype built around how this team was working towards the World Cup. What went wrong?
There is nothing more to be said other than we didn't play well enough. The fact of the matter was that we got the team that India wanted and we didn't perform when the time came. That's the long and the short of it. That is my answer. I'm not sure right at this time is the moment to try and dissect it. We need to go and look at it from a distance that might give some perspective. There is no point making comments at an emotional time like this. At the end of the day, we didn't play well enough.

Are you concerned about the reactions back in India?
In the light of recent incidents, obviously you've got to be concerned. When India wakes up tomorrow, they will be disappointed. They will be angry with what has happened, and it is a disappointment. I hope that people realise that it is just a game, and the guys out there did their best. It wasn't good enough on this occasion. I think there are a number of things that need to be looked at to get a clear perspective about what has happened this week but I don't know if we're going to get any answers right at this moment other than to say we didn't play well.

Why did the team crumble? Are they unable to handle pressure?
There are a number of factors but I'm not going to try and put labels on it. Again, it's a very emotional time for a lot of people and any comment that is made can be misconstrued and made to sound worse than it actually is. I don't know I can say it, but we weren't good enough on the day.

Over the last 17 matches overseas, India have only played 50 overs on four occasions. Why is that?
We haven't played well enough.

But it's a period stretching over one and a half years...
We haven't played well enough, that's it.

Can you pin-point the reasons why they haven't batted well enough?
I don't think this is the forum for me to make any comment in that regard. There is a lot of emotion, as I said. In light of this and in light of recent events I am not going to be making any comments about what's wrong with anything or anybody.

Aren't you shirking your responsibility?
No I don't think so. I am not employed by you people, I am employed by the BCCI. Obviously, I will have to face up to them and give them a report and give them some indications of what I think. But I don't think this is the forum for me to say anything.

Another word that has been mentioned a lot is 'process'. What went wrong with the process?
That's an inflammatory question and I'm not prepared to answer it.

You said you are answerable to the BCCI. But aren't you also answerable to one billion fans in India? Shouldn't you say something to them?
We didn't play well enough.

That's all?
I don't know what else you want me to say? You want me to criticise somebody or a group of people? I am not prepared to do that. We didn't play well enough. We weren't able to play well enough under the conditions or the circumstances of the tournament. We didn't play well enough.

Why didn't we play well enough?
Well I don't think India has won a tournament overseas since 1985. There is a bit of history to it. There are obviously some reasons. I am not prepared to go into them at this stage.

How critical was [Sachin] Tendulkar's failure?
I don't think we can give the blame to one individual, or a group of individuals, in this case. Everyone goes out there and tries to play well. Nobody goes out there and tries to play badly. I don't know if we can pick on any one person and say it their lack of form or lack of performance. As a group, we didn't play well enough.

Did we pick the right team?
That's not for me to say. I was given a team and I was happy to work with the team.

How much responsibility are you willing to take?
Obviously I have to take some responsibility and I am quite happy to do that, I'm the coach. But I don't think the coaching staff alone must be blamed for what has happened here. The coaching staff and the support staff have worked very hard, the coaching staff haven't worked very hard. Apportioning blame is not going to change what has happened.

This is still India's worst performance in World Cup history. Is there a need for serious introspection?
I think there is a need for a serious introspection, but I don't think it should start today.

Do you think it's time for a change of guard?
That's an inflammatory question, and you know I can't answer that in this forum.

Are you taking anything from this World Cup?
A lot of disappointment. Again, I think if we look at this from a distance it will give better perspective than walking straight off the field on what has been a disappointing day, and one of the more disappointing days in India in cricket. I'm not sure we're going to come up with any answers that will solve any problems or change what has happened out there today. But, as I said in the last answer, it's time to sit down and take a serious look at what's happening and what's happened and see what may be done to improve things for the future.

Given a chance, would you like to stay with the Indian team?
I am not prepared to answer that question today. It's not my decision.

What if you are given a chance?
I haven't been given a chance. Given an opportunity, I will give an answer then.

Was there anything wrong with the planning?
I think the planning was fine, the preparation was good, but the execution on the day wasn't good enough. You've got to give some credit to Sri Lanka, they played well and they deserve their victory. We weren't able to execute the plan as we would have liked to. It happens. It's happened probably more often that it should have.


We didn't see the right body language after the Bangladesh match. Do you agree? Or do you think it would also be an inflammatory answer?
It would be an inflammatory answer. You are trying to put words in my mouth. They're not my words and they wouldn't be words I would like to use.

Do you agree the fire was missing?
The team was under pressure, I absolutely agree with that. I think that pressure did have a bearing with what happened out there today.

Are you going to go back with the Indian team or are you worried about your security?
I don't think any comment about that is going to help the situation. I'm quite confident that systems are in place to look after security of the team and the individuals involved.

You took over the team in July of 2005. How many points would you give yourself on a scale of 10?
Again, that's a very difficult question to answer. I'm happy that I've done the best job that I could do. Eighteen months is not a long time to build a team. If you look at any sport, it takes a long time. To put a number from my point of view, I don't think I am the right man to make that assessment. I am happy with myself. The coaching staff and the support staff did they best that they could do. It wasn't good enough.







Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid played the shot of a defeated man in India's virtual knockout by Sri Lanka at the Queen's Park Oval. Hobbling on one foot, watching the wickets go down and the required rate go up, he began throwing about his bat, ultimately holing out, having just taken 17 from a Lasith Malinga over. It was the cricketing equivalent of his expression as he faced the press for a long interrogation later.


Do you regret your decision at the toss?
Not really, there was something in the wicket early on. It was the right decision, we bowled quite well. We did not have luck upfront beat the bats a few times, hit the pads a few times. They played well after that to reach 250.

What are your plans for the future?
It's too early really to think about anything. A lot of hard work has gone into the preparation in the last year and to be knocked out of the tournament so early is a huge disappointment for all of us.

How emotional are you at this point?
Like I said, very disappointed.

Can you say something about the Irfan Pathan mystery? He is always in the squad but never picked in the XI.
I think we picked the team based on what the best combination is for the day. There is a tour selection committee with a lot of experience and we decide who's going to play and who' s not going to play, everyone cannot play in the 15, and some guys miss out. He played against West Indies. He was unfortunately injured against Sri Lanka. He played in the Deodhar Trophy, he was declared fit and he came here. At this point we did not think he was in our three best seamers so he did not play.

There was a lot of talk about Vision 2007. Where do we go from here?
It's really early to collect my thoughts. Really disappointing, a lot of hard work has gone into it over the last year. We did not play well in this tournament and did not deserve to go into the second round.

Did you think the target was gettable today?
255 was gettable. I'm disappointed with the top order. Definitely I thought it was a gettable target. I think we had the extra batsman. We lost wickets at regular intervals. We needed one big partnership, we did not get that. We definitely should have made a much better chase of it than we did in the end.

Do you have any hope that Bermuda can give a shock result over Bangladesh and help you qualify for the Super Eight?
Not really. Well, anything can happen in cricket. To be honest we have not really played well enough. The things which were in our control we have not done well enough.

India had a good build up to the tournament. Where do you think it went wrong?
The lead up to this tournament was pretty good. The confidence was quite high and the boys were playing good cricket. That's the nature of one-day cricket, we had a bad game against Bangladesh where we did not really bat well upfront. That sort of put pressure on us. Today again we did not play well enough. The way the tournament is structured you have one banana-skin game and you can be out of the tournament quite quickly. We started slowly too but had enough games to pull ourselves us back. This time we did not have that, that's where we fell I suppose. The first game against Bangladesh we did not play anywhere near our potential.

t's not happened for the first time, the batsmen crumbling, choking under pressure...
Some of these guys have had success before as well. It's a question of may be the guys going back and looking at their performances, how they performed in the important games and critical games. Yes, we have not batted anywhere near our potential. We picked what was the best batting line-up in the conditions but I guess we were the best batting line-up in India, but we did not bat well enough in these two games. It is definitely something to think about.

Is this the worst defeat of your career?
It's disappointing. It's not a nice thing to lose in the early part of the World Cup. We have invested a lot of time and effort in it and it has not gone our way. It's a big event and you really want to do well. Sports is like that, sometimes your best plans and all your ideas just don't work.

Both Pakistan and India have crashed out despite the conditions being similar to that in the subcontinent...
Both the teams did not play good cricket. I think Pakistan stumbled against Ireland and we stumbled against Bangladesh. In a tournament like it is, you have one bad day and you could be in big trouble and that's what happened to Pakistan and India. I am sure there is a lot of thinking to do in both the countries.

Is it time to look at the entire system?
I have just come out of a game and I have had no time to collect my thoughts and think about these things. But when you lose like this, that is what you should do. When you have a few setbacks, when there are disappointments, or when things like this happen, then it's time for the people concerned to sit back and look at the whole issue and see how we can go forward and how we can g et better and keep improving, and perform better in the tournaments to come. So, yes it is obviously time for people who make decisions to sit back and reflect, and look at how we can make things better. We have to think about it rationally. I guess there is always a lot of emotions that gets involved in all these things. But it is time to look back rationally and see how we can move forward.

Are you worried about security back home?
Not really. I hope the players wouldn't be under any physical danger. To be honest, I don't expect that to be the case. I am sure people will be disappointed, and fair enough. They have invested a lot of hope in this team and we haven't delivered. So, they are entitled to be disappointed. But I just hope that no-one in is in any physical danger.

Are you happy with the effort of the players in the tournament?
We put a lot in this game. Definitely against Bangladesh, I was pretty disappointed with just the all-round effort. But today I thought we put in hard in the field. The boys were up for it, they came out really hard and tried their best. I just think we didn't execute well with the bat. I think 254 was a very gettable score on that wicket. We didn't execute our plans well with the bat. We just kept losing too many wickets and that's never a good thing when you are chasing a score like 250 at five runs and over.

Do you realise the enormity of this defeat?
Nobody realizes the enormity of the defeat than the players. The players are the one who put in a lot of time. They worked really hard for this. It is an opportunity they get once in four years. It is something that you really look forward to in your career. So no-one understands the enormity of this more than the players. Definitely there is a lot of introspection and disappointment in the dressing room.

It's been difficult for India in the Caribbean...
We have done quite well in the Test matches here. Yes, we haven't done well in the one-dayers in the last couple of series. It just hasn't worked out for us. We, as batsmen, have just not been able to adapt to these wickets. The nature of these wickets somehow has been that, as a group, we haven't been able to adapt to and score the kind of runs that we should.

Have some players overstayed their welcome?
It is too early, and it is not for me to say these things. I am just out of a grave game of cricket. I have just lost a game of cricket. I guess there is a month now and obviously the people who make decisions will have to sit down and think about it and see what they feel is the best way to take things forward or how they felt that things should move forward.

Shouldn't some one stand up and take responsibility?
We definitely do take the responsibility. I am not sitting here and trying to shirk responsibility. I am the first one to stand up and say that we should have done better, and it starts with me. I am not trying to put the responsibility on anyone. People are asking me what's the way forward and what do we do. I haven't really thought about stuff like that. Till about 24 hours ago, I truly believed that we will still be in this tournament. I didn't have the time to think what's ahead of us. But I am not trying to say I don't take any responsibility. I take full responsibility for the fact that we haven't progressed to the next round.

Will you continue as captain?
I was appointed captain till the World Cup. So I am not even the captain at this point of time. So it's not my decision to make.

How does it feel for the senior members to never have won a World Cup?
It will always be a disappointment. I have played in three World Cups, and we did well in one of them. So, yeah it's not an ideal scenario. It's not something that, if you were writing a fairy tale, you wouldn't write it this way. But that's\ what sports is about. Sometimes, you don't get to choose the way everything works out for you. That is the beauty and cruelty of sport.

Can you compare this campaign with the one in 2003?
I just think we probably had a little more breathing space there to regroup there and bounce back. The way the format was in the last World Cup, it guaranteed you five or six games. So it gave you an opportunity to get into a bit form. I thought we batted a lot better in the last World Cup. We got some good scores, we chased down some good scores. I think we just adapted better to those conditions in the last World Cup then we did here, in this first week that happened so quickly for us.

The captain and coach keep saying 'everything is fine, we are going to win.' Why doesn't it happen?
I haven't come across a single captain or coach as yet, who starts before a match saying we are going to lose it. Nobody will come to a press conference and say that we are going to lose the match. That's not what you do. Definitely, we expect our batsmen and our bowlers and everyone to do well.

Where did you lose?
We didn't play good cricket. Where did we lose? We gave them 254 runs and we didn't chase it down. We ended up with 180. No one-one feels worse about it than the players. I know you guys feel bad and disappointed about it. The players also feel disappointed. It's a lot of time invested by the players. It's a lot of their dreams, a lot of their hopes that go into tournaments like this. When it doesn't work out for them, they feel it more than anyone else.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooo

_______________________________________
Agnel's Signature:

The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds;
and the pessimist fears this is true

what was that agnel

See the press confrence of chappell. Man he was real agitated.

_______________________________________
Safin's Signature:

Have Fun, Take part in debates, Read jokes, Ogle at Celebs; Just follow the Rules!

“There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it.”

Axe gona fall on senior Players..
Ganguly...not goin coz he played for himself and proved tat he can bat ...even it meant slow runrate..
Rahul...wnt go but might be dropped frm captaincy..
Sehwag...last 2 matches might just save him...
Kumble..Already stated tat he is retiring

And God of Indian Cricket..Sachin Tendulkar failed in both matches..except tat quick fire 50 against Popatwadi XI(Berumda)...
So there is a slim possiblity of axe falling on him..

But Sincerely hoping Sachin doesnot retires...

_______________________________________
knoughtyd's Signature:

Sachin will be rested, if he doesn't retire that is.

That for sure.

Ok carrying forward the discussion from the betting thread here(India vs Srilanka - HighStakes Betting) as this is the right section.

I am not willing to buy the argument that the fans are fickle minded. They are not. When you play as badly as this, you should expect a backlash.
Face it these guys are the richest and highest paid persons in India. This is a game, but its more than a game in India. When you get paid as much as you do, when you have a larger than life image and you enjoy it too, you owe it to the people to give your 100%. You don't do that, be ready to face the music and don't cry.
If this was a private company and the players were employees, all would be sacked. Its time India team realized that.

_______________________________________
Safin's Signature:

Have Fun, Take part in debates, Read jokes, Ogle at Celebs; Just follow the Rules!

“There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it.”

CNN IBN is confirming this via BCCI sources


Greg Chapell has been sacked as Team India coach and his contract would not be renewed. It may be noted that Greg was under contract till the world cup only

BCCI has further said that it will debate whether we need a foreign coach anyway.

_______________________________________
Safin's Signature:

Have Fun, Take part in debates, Read jokes, Ogle at Celebs; Just follow the Rules!

“There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it.”

Lol as always BCCI officials are fast to play blame game. Though its not gonna happen, but still imagine the emabarassment they may have to face if bermuda beats b desh and india makes it to next round.

When acting officially one shall wait till exit is officially confirmed.

Yes i saw what chappel said. He was very careful with his remarks.
Full marks to dravid he takes full responsibility. Hats off. True champion.

Fans are indeed fickle. One day you call them god, blah blah.. another day, ppl burn their effigies. Yes, there should be back lash,

You can make them pay by dropping them from the squad, ban them from advertisement [ i guess this can't happen ]. Don't pay money for games that they lose.

You can't destroy a house, stone their homes, burn their effigies, hit their effigies with chappals, spit on their posters.

Extreme reactions.

Okay, i know i might be talking to deaf ears at times.
But i still stand by my country and this team. I believe in giving more than a second chance.

If we have players to fill in their shoes, we can very well bring them in.
If they were good enuf, they would be here in the first place.

anyways, this debate would never end.
Bottom line.

Most of the fans are fickle. Period.

A true supporter would support the team no matter what, and should be with them when they are down.

Sure they need to be told and should be told in a way that would sink in.
When there are so many different ways to do, fickle fans and CULPRITS MEDIA resort to cheap measures.

_______________________________________
Agnel's Signature:

The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds;
and the pessimist fears this is true

What's happened has happened, we're all very disappointed. I just hope when they come back, train hard, win the next tournament/tri-angle series/whatever, they don't go back to advertisements.

if they can do that for us Indian fans, we'll know that at leat they tried even if they fail just as bad in 2011.

Don't expect too much from our team guys(for 2011 WC), even the champion's trophy was played in india and we all saw what happened....

_______________________________________
Ninja's Signature: