Cliched but one more thought on IPL

Guys, this is my first ever blog. Its just out of inquisition on blogging that i hit upon an idea to have my own blog. To begin with, am a sales guy and my calling demands that i cultivate listen skills. Hence i get little chance to talk (supposedly). Hence to satiate my urge to talk, I thought of having a blog to express my thoughts and think that this is an excellent opportunity to interact. The worlds getting flatter and how true it is. Things like these keep us connected.

Let me come to the topic. IPL season III . Am a cricket buff and see this game as a complete package for entertainment though it does not appeal to the exponents of the game for sole quality purposes. I do second the thoughts that when it comes to complete cricket, it has to be test matches but somehow just love the IPL part.

I have a reason to this and since its my blog, it just a personal opinion. I am left dazed at the rarity this format (IPL ) in particular offers. Where or when else would you ever see a Sangakarra C Mendis B A Matthews. Or for that matter AB De Villiers B J Kallis. Its so good to see the entire gamut of some amazingly talented blokes vying for a spot of glory. The very next moment they are back to playing for their nations and play with the spirit true to each format.

IPL has made the world a lot more flatter, more connected and has atleast given a platform for the world to see a huge bunch and variety of talents playing together and dishing out the very best in cricket.

The other aspect for me as a rookie is the education part. I have been having this recurring dream of sharing space with the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, AB, Matty Hayden, Gilly as one of their striking partners when batting or taking directions from MSD, Gauti, Dada et al when coming in to bowl. Just imagine the sheer rush of adrenaline or the pleasure that a nondescript Aditya Tare would have got when Sachin would have walked up to him and said "Shaabash. Dhyaan se, Aise hi" when he belted Tait to the cover boundary. In case you did follow that game, Tare played some awesome shots before falling to a loose stroke!! The whole feeling of sharing dressing rooms, crease, bat, tips etc with these greats would make IPL an awesome experience.

I love to watch IPL not just because of the slam bang thing but because it also gives me a lot of food for thoughts about what the tourney could do for the budding lads.

I personally feel that we must watch out this IPL 3 for likes of Manish Pandey, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Rayadu, Sree, Tyagi etc to see if these guys will make the cut. I seriously wish and pray that they do.

I would sign off paying tribute to great man Tendulkar for bringing so many laurels to our country. Here's what some greats have said about Sachin. Read them and savor these thoughts.

Happy watching the magnifique!!....

"Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it."

- Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight.

"Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job."

- Yaseer Hameed in pakistani newspaper.

"To Sachin, the man we all want to be"

- Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin.

“Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives."

- BBC on Sachin

"Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?"

- Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin's catch in 2003 WC.

Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal.

- Brian Charles Lara

"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin."

- Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

"The more I see of him the more confused I'm getting to which is his best knock."

- M. L. Jaisimha

"The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility - all make for a one-in-a-billion individual,"

- Glen McGrath

"I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play,"

- Anjali Tendulkar

"Even my father's name is Sachin Tendulkar."

- Tendulkar's daughter, Sara, tells her class her father's name after the teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai.

Question: Who do you think as most important celebrity ?

Shah Rukh Khan: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the GENIUS!!

- Shah Rukh Khan in an interview.

“India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte.. “

- Navjot Singh Sidhu on TV

He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also.

- Waqar Younis

'I Will See God When I Die But Till Then I Will See Sachin'

- A banner in Sharjah

Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world. I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and i know a way to pin Sachin. And i delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. And i shouted catch. To my astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best i have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries.

- Allan Donald

On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!

- Peter Rebouck - Aussie journalist

"Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to politics. It's clear discrimination. "

- NKP Salve, former Union Minister when Sachin was accused of ball tempering

There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.

- Andy Flower

"I have seen god, he bats at no.4 for India"

- Mathew Hayden