I apologize to all my readers for inactivity on Cricz.com for over half-a-year. Inability to dedicate time towards voluntary writing on this time along with all my other writing contracts was one of the chief reasons for the unproclaimed sabbatical.

With more free time opening up, I am now confident that Cricz can be updated on a regular basis from this day forward. Hope to receive your comments on my work and appreciate your feedback so far.

1. That ball went so high it could have got an airhostess down with it.
2. There is light at the end of the tunnel for India, but it’s that of an incoming train which will run them over.
3. Experience is like a comb that life gives you when you are bald.
4. This quote was made after Ganguly called Dravid for a run and midway sent him back and Dravid was run out in the third test against the West Indies at Barbados.”Ganguly has thrown a drowning man both ends of the rope.”
5. Sri Lankan score is running like an Indian taximeter.
6. Statistics are like miniskirts, they reveal more than what they hide.
7. Wickets are like wives - you never know which way they will turn!
8. He is like Indian three-wheeler, which will suck a lot of diesel but cannot go beyond 30!
9. The Indians are going to beat the Kiwis! Let me tell you, my friend that the Kiwi is the only bird in the whole world, which does not have wings!
10. As uncomfortable as a bum on a porcupine.
11. The ball whizzes past like a bumble -bee and the Indians are in the sea.
12. The Indians are finding the gaps like a pin a haystack.
13. The pitch is as dead as a dodo.
14. Deep Dasgupta is as confused as a child is in a topless bar!
15. The way Indian wickets are falling reminds of the cycle stand at Rajendra Talkies in Patiala one falls and everything else falls!
16. Indian team without Sachin is like giving Kiss without a Squeeze.
17. You cannot make Omelets without breaking the eggs.
18. Deep Dasgupta is not a Wicket Keeper, he is a goalkeeper. He must be given a free transfer to Manchester United.
19. He will fight a rattlesnake and give it the first two bites too.
20. One, who doesn’t throw the dice, can never expect to score a six.
21. This quote was made after Eddie Nichols, the third umpire, ruled Shivnarine Chanderpaul ‘NOT OUT’ in the second test at Port of Spain T&T “Eddie Nichols is a man who cannot find his own buttocks with his two hands.”
22. Anybody can pilot a ship when the sea is calm.
23. Nobody travels on the road to success without a puncture or two.
24. You got to choose between tightening your belt or losing your pants.
25. The cat with gloves catches no mice.
26. Age has been perfect fire extinguisher for flaming youth.
27. You may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard-boiled egg.
28. He is like a one-legged man in a bum kicking competition.
29. The third umpires should be changed as often as nappies and for the same reason.
30. Kumble’s bowling at the moment is flat as a Dosa

Set aback by mass injuries to all the leading pacemen, selectors were forced to select a list of probables before the final team is selected.

Here’s the probables: Anil Kumble, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, VRV Singh, Pankaj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Murali Kartik, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Aakash Chopra, Gautam Gambhir, Ranadeb Bose, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Parthiv Patel

The final XVI should be a composition of experience and youth. It is worthless to carry people who aren’t in good form and have no set future ahead of them. Ideally the team should have 7 batsmen, 2 spinners, 5 fast bowlers and 2 keepers. Here’s my recommended team that needs to travel to Australia:
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Sir,

I am writing this letter with a heavy heart as I hold you in high esteem. However, the current situation vis-a-vis my position as the Chairman of selection committee has compelled me to write this letter to you.

I am really appalled at the way the BCCI has treated its selectors of late. The recent gag order issued by the BCCI wherein a lot of restrictions on freedom of speech or even movement have been imposed on the selectors, which I feel is rather unfortunate. It has not only humiliated us for doing selfless service to Indian cricket but also shown us in a very poor light.
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Watching the proceedings at Edgbaston where India got edged out in a familiar fashion, it calls for some changes in the batting line up. I would start right at the top with the one down position. Karthik was brilliant in the test series and showed promise in the first one dayer where he played low down; but, he is not apt for the crucial No.3 slot. We need somebody with experience at that position. As Dravid has taken on the responsibility of steadying and stabilizing the lower order, the only other man fit for that position would be Tendulkar. He has the experience and grit to carry out the job that Ian Bell has been doing for England in this series. Tendulkar needs to drop to No.3 position in the best interest of the team.

Taking Tendulkar out of the opening slot would enable Uthappa to walk in seamlessly. Uthappa is an exciting player, entertaining to watch and a great prospect for the future. He has the tenacity to murder bowlers in a Gilchrist fashion. He will surely up the ante by providing some quick starts which has been lacking so far from India.

Another change that I would recommend is going back to the four bowler formula. We don’t have a dependable batting line anymore. We need more batsmen to compensate for our shortcomings. Powar has played well but his nonathletic fielding, spilling catches and no-contact batting should be taken into consideration and dropped to make way for the debutant Rohit Sharma. India can manage with the guile of Tendulkar and the accuracy of Yuvraj for the fifth bowler’s slot. Having just four bowlers will put more responsibility on other regular bowlers and that’s how it should be.

Subhash Chandra announced the formation of the Indian Cricket League mainly to make money from the cricket crazy Indian public. He hoped that BCCI would support him in his venture and take a share of the earnings as well. But, the money hungry board that single handedly rules over any cricket activity in India was not ready to part a piece of it’s pie. The great Indian cricket tussle had begun.

BCCI never felt that ICL would be able to kick off as they maintained their authority over all cricket stadiums and domestic cricketers who aspired to play for the country. They even made fun of ICL when retired players started signing up with lucrative deals. BCCI had the biggest shock of the century when several domestic players started signing up for the league despite life ban threat. The sleeping giant had woken up to the biggest Indian migration since the partition of India and Pakistan. This kind of switchover is not found in the political circles as well.

BCCI had to do something really quick, or the cards were turning square. They put together a great format for Twenty20 which involved other countries and a professional firm like IMG. They called it Professional Cricket League. There would be some foreign cricketers presence in this BCCI league which should add color(literally) and variety to the cricket played. The same professionalism and quality will gradually be moved over to the domestic ODIs and test matches to be played.

It does not matter whether BCCI wins this battle or ICL manages to squeak in the glory; the obvious winner is Indian cricket. BCCI had done nothing to the game but to update their personal passbooks. Money that came from the game was not spent for the game which is ideal scenario but was used for personal satisfaction. Finally, we can see a small fraction of the BCCI money spent on cricket. It has already announced 200 crores for training facilities.

Kudos to ICL for initiating a revolution in Indian cricket history. There is no doubt on my mind that Subhash Chandra is set to face the biggest loss of his business life through ICL but he has done a great favor which should be recorded in the history books.