A substandard team on display, Messi missing the penalty against Croatia last Thursday night shows his inability to make chances count.

Lionel Messi missing a penalty may be incredible and inexcusable but can still be attributed to mortal error. But the way the Argentine superstar, arguably the world’s best footballer of all time, has been underperforming along with his team, has disappointed millions of fans around the world. No magic tricks by this wonder boy, only a reticent, reconciled angsty expression as his team fell to a humiliating 0-3 defeat at the hands of the much lesser Croatia. That this legendary South American unit is facing a group stage outer first time in 16 years is stunning, especially with Messi at the helm. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has won almost everything with Barcelona at the Club level, has been struggling to play his natural game in his national jersey, fuelling speculation of his imminent retirement from national duty after this world cup. Yes, the opposition systematically marks him relentlessly but he is Messi because he has the expertise to escape with the ball and create wonders. Messi’s helplessness to make impossible chances count has been constantly teamed up with the poor display by his teammates, making Leo’s elusive dream of winning an international trophy for Argentina a far cry. Thanks to the missed penalty against Iceland by the Barcelona forward who turned 31 on last Sunday, La Albiceleste is now facing tough crisis to stay in contention in the tournament. The Golden Ball winner of the previous edition failed to utilize the chance because of which Iceland managed to hold the two-time champions for a 1-1 draw. And after brutal thumping by Croatia on Thursday night, their worst defeat in 60 years at the group stage in World Cup, the side considered favourites to lift the Cup is staring an early exit.

Startlingly, Messi recorded the fewest touches of the ball against Croatia. With Argentina failing to open up a supply line to their best player, Messi touched the ball just 49 times in comparison to 116 times in the first game. This was also the least involvement he has had in a match when he has played the full 90 minutes. While playing for Barcelona in La Liga last season, he averaged 83.2 touches of the ball per match. It was not only that Messi hardly had the ball; he barely did anything with it either. A player with 616 career goals only managed one shot in the game which was his joint worst ever shooting contribution in a full World Cup match — level with the semi-final win over The Netherlands four years ago. In fact, it took him 64 minutes to get the only shot in the match against Croatia. In La Liga’s last season he averaged 5.9 shots per game. He managed just two touches in Croatia’s box; in La Liga, it was nine per game. And he created two chances; in La Liga, he was averaging 2.6. The statistics clearly show that far from playing to Messi’s strengths, Argentina effectively neutered him. The poor performance of other members of the side and Sampaoli’s surreptitious tactics has invited violent criticism. Former Manchester City full-back Pablo Zabaleta said the side’s failure to “play quicker” left Messi “isolated” in the final third. Messi’s former Barcelona team-mate Cesc Fabregas called Argentina a “broken team” and questioned its team spirit, saying they were “playing against each other, not for each other”

Writer and Courtesy: The Pioneer

Russian footballer Denis Cheryshev scored a bracket in the FIFA World Cup 2018 tournament in style, beating Saudi Arabia 5-0.

Verily, there is a reason why underdogs in the sporting world are thus named. In the 21st century, which has mainstreamed what Prince Charles rightly termed a culture of blame, it is everybody’s else’s fault but one’s own when you don’t perform. Unfortunately, this a culture that now seems to have also got firmly ensconced in the world of sport and complicated by the power play at work. The 5-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia by Russia in the World Cup opener on Thursday and the embarrassing, abject surrender by the Afghanistan cricket team, playing its first five-day Test against India in Bangalore which ended in two days flat on Friday are perfect examples of how competitiveness is being given short shrift in world sport.

Take the FIFA World Cup first. Coming after a string of bribery and corruption scandals that have dogged the world football body over the past decade which included allegations of ‘fixing’ when footballing non-entity Qatar was selected as the venue of the 2022 edition of the quadrennial event, there has also been persistent criticism of its decision to increase the number of teams participating over the years and to up the quota for teams from outside the traditional powerhouse continents of Europe and South America. The argument proffered, that of popularizing the game, only stands when the performances of those who have been given a helping hand, as it were, bear scrutiny. While some African nations have grabbed the opportunities provided, West Asian nations have been consistently sub-par. It is not the score-line of Thursday’s opener which was the embarrassment; all teams can have an off day, even the best of them as was seen in the 2014 semi-final when mighty Brazil were soundly thrashed 7-1 in front of their home crowd by a rampant Germany. No, the issue is that even the battle between the two lowest ranked teams in the current edition of the World Cup showed such a massive difference in quality that Saudi Arabia making it to the finals from the region as consistently as it has over the past two decades is indefensible; a further play-off is the need of the hour. But then many countries in the region have a lot of money which they are willing to spend so our guess football will continue to suffer from a quality deficit on the world stage. As for cricket minnows Afghanistan, one can have all the sympathy in the world for this brave band of cricketers having overcome myriad obstacles in their war-ravaged country to display their cricketing wares at the highest level, but they are just not ready yet. The BCCI wasinstrumental in getting Afghanistan in and had earlier successfully pushed Bangladesh into the Test arena. The ICC has, of course, also granted Ireland Test status. These moves unfortunately are more a reflection of the desire to control the votes of ICC member-countries and thereby the game rather than a recognition of the quality of the two teams.

In all of this, the real loser will be the sports fan who expects a pyramidical structure in sport in which only the best makeit to the top.

Writer: Pioneer

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Chennai Super Kings (CSK’s) journey to the IPL trophy was not easy. It was all about their hard work and dedication. After winning the IPL trophy for the third time they have proved that they are the real kings forever. It’s truly a dream come true.

We all know MS Dhoni as a master chaser, man who blooms in adversity, skipper who believes in emotional cryogenics and a wily strategist who not just talks of processes, systems and clinical build-ups, but creates opportunities to achieve targets thus set. His team, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), signifies his way of life. Two years in the dump and a phoenix-like rise to the top is no mean achievement. It is signature CSK, its signature Dhoni. The adversities were many. Iconic yellow jersey players had been wearing other team colours, thanks to the two-year ban imposed on CSK. Raina was captaining Gujarat and Dhoni had found and lost skippership of Pune. Not all were bought back but those who were, were carefully chosen with specifics in mind. They made for the core team which orchestrated most of the wins — Dhoni, Raina, Faf and Bravo. The new ones were added, like Harbhajan Singh from MI, to make up for the Ashwin gap. Shane Watson was assigned a specific purpose as was Rayudu in whose abilities there was faith, whichever spot he was envisaged for. Faith worked for CSK at many levels — the team’s faith in their skipper, the skipper’s faith in his squad, the management’s faith in winnability and, last but not the least, the fans’ faith in the yellow jersey. The team got only one match to play at its home ground but the fans travelled en masse to the adopted home in Pune making yellow the colour of the stands wherever the team went. This belief in the team, this trust, this loyalty is unique to CSK. The stunning fact is, none of the iconic players in CSK is from the home State and yet Dhoni is their one and only Thala and Raina their Chinna Thala!

So what is it about CSK that is so different from other teams? For one, it is a concept conceived with sustained thinking and impeccable forward planning with grey heads like Stephen Fleming and Dhoni getting together to talk cricket much in advance of the big show. In this edition, the odds were particularly high. The team was returning from oblivion, tasked to climb out from the well of the spot fixing ignominy without being thrown off gear. To suit the new dispensation, new strategy and play capsules were conceived and executed, one of them being the shift from slow spin attack to a seaming focus. Players got compartmentalised roles and they stuck to it. The clinical approach was inserted into everyone’s DNA and winnability became a uniform barometer of existence. That’s why the scorn around the white hair in the team did not result in fogginess of the mind. The 30s men brought experience into competition — Faf, Watson, Dhoni, Bravo and Raina – none of them young but all of them happening, cementing the fortunes of the team along the journey, often helping stunning comebacks in death overs, dwarfing oppositions as good and sound as Sunrisers Hyderabad with professional performances. Indeed, CSK is about ultimate turnarounds that none other team has been able to fathom. A presence in nine Finals and three championship points tells you why Dhoni’s team is the man among the boys.

Writer: Pioneer

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Saina and Sindhu’s Olympic medals and Gopichand’s champion-producing academy have all contributed in their own ways to help badminton get necessary spotlight in India. Karthik Ramananalysis how the sport has managed to win the hearts of millions of Indians

India’s upward surge in badminton has been evident for a while now. From being mere pretenders, several names have emerged from the country to be regarded as serious contenders at the world stage.

The present BWF rankings speak for itself. In both men and women, India has two players in Top 10 — Kidambi Srikanth (4), HH Prannoy (9); PV Sindhu (3) and Saina Nehwal (10).

The likes of Parupalli Kashyap, Sai Praneeth, Ajay Jayaram, Sameer Verma, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa have also been doing their part to keep the country’s flag flying high.

It’s not like this is the first time the country has produced top shuttlers.

Dinesh Khanna became the first Indian to win an Asian badminton title in 1965, while Prakash Padukone was the first Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Championships back in 1980. He also topped the rankings chart that year.

Not least of all, the present chief coach of the country, Pullela Gopichand became the only second Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001.

India is used to having quality shuttlers, but this might very well be the first time, the country possesses so many worldclass shuttlers at the same time fighting for top honours around the world.

Undoubtedly, this is the golden generation of badminton in India. India’s Rio Olympic Silver medallist PV Sindhu believes the reason is due to the rise in the number of players performing well for the country.

“Before only one or two were doing well, but now 10-15 are doing really well and definitely India is doing really well and in coming years they will get more medals as well,” the confident 22-year-old player tells you.

HS Prannoy concurred with her and said that is the reason why badminton is garnering more attention in the country lately. “In the last couple of years Saina, Sindhu and Srikanth have been winning tournaments and winning is what that matters. People will only know once you win. I think the performance from each of them has gained big medals at bigger events in World Championships and Olympics. All these kind of medals we bring aboard says that Indian badminton is doing really well in the world level and through that, the popularity has also gone up,” Prannoy explains.

WATERSHED MOMENT
Of the many glorious trophies India won, the one medal which proved pivotal in badminton’s rise was the Bronze medal Saina won in the 2012 London Olympics.

Luck may have favoured her in the Bronze medal match, when China’s Wang Xin retired from the match after an injury with the match at 18–21, 0–1, but, there was nothing lucky about the path she endured to achieve it.

She became the first Indian woman to reach the quarterfinals at the Olympics, when she achieved the feat in 2008 Beijing Games. Then, she won the Gold in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and entered the 2012 London Games as a medal hopeful and lived up to the billing, bagging the Bronze. Thus, she became the first Indian to win a medal in Badminton at the Olympics.

Since then the country has been virtually unstoppable in this discipline. Saina bagged the Bronze in the 2017 World Championship and Silver in 2015 Championship. Sindhu had bagged the Bronze in the 2013 and 2014 editions and Silver in the 2017 edition of this event. Nehwal bagged the Bronze three times in the Asian Championship, while Sindhu managed it once. They both have also won several Super Series since then.

Then came the 2016 Rio Olympics. Saina went out in the second round, leaving India’s hopes of a medal in that discipline in tantrums, but Sindhu stepped in and ensured that Indian flag in badminton will keep on rising.

The Hyderabadi shuttler might have lost to Spaniard Carolina Marin to settle for Silver. Nonetheless, she won everyone’s hearts with her exquisite performance.

Those two medals were considered by many as the turning point of the sport in the country. “Saina has started the trend of performing at the big stage and Sindhu has followed it up with great wins. Saina’s Olympic medal and Sindhu’s Olympic medal and lot many things that came together which made everyone think about the sport. Plus the government is supporting all of us and giving us such great infrastructure. So a lot many things came together,” men’s badminton sensation Kidambi Srikanth told The Pioneer on the sidelines of a recent felicitation ceremony organised by Badminton Association of India.

Gopichand’s academy coach Mohammed Siyadath Ullah Siddiqui believes the performances by both of them played a huge role in the sport gaining popularity in the country.

“After getting the Olympic medal from Saina and after that Sindhu, now the parents are supporting the sport. Before, all the parents used to tell studies are more important. Now they can see that future is going better so they are encouraging to play sports and especially in badminton, we are getting results in it so a lot of parents are encouraging them. So now many are trying to take the sport as a profession,” Siddiqui explains.

It didn’t stop with the women as the men have also joined the pack in the last few years and have asserted their domination at the world stage. Last year, Srikanth became the first Indian and only the fourth player in the history to lift four Super Series titles in a calendar year.

The four titles were the French Open Super Series, the Denmark Open Super Series Premier, the Indonesia Super Series Premier and Australian Open Super Series.

Prannoy also showed his ability at the top level, regularly beating top players last year.

Before these two, Kashyap created history by reaching the men’s singles quarterfinals at 2012 London Olympics, becoming the only male player from India to achieve the feat at that time. At the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, he won Gold in singles event.

Prannoy is of the opinion that Srikanth’s outstanding performances have given the necessary belief to all the male players. “It’s a good transition from over the years of training and credit goes to Srikanth for the way he has played last season. A lot of positive energy from his performance is felt in the entire camp. It is one big spark that has given a lot of good performances,” he says.

“The belief of saying that we are in the world rankings up there and we are beating the world’s top players every now and then and now we have the belief that we can be up for it,” he says.

Gopichand is happy to see that Kidambi is doing his part to keep the spotlight on men’s shuttlers. “Women have done well over the years and have won some serious big events and won medals for us at the biggest of the events like the Olympics so I think the women have definitely done well. But it’s great to see Srikanth push the flag up of the men’s shuttler,” he says and adds that Srikanth, Prannoy and Kashyap’s contribution will be an inspiration for the younger lot.

Can Srikanth and Prannoy emulate Saina and Sindhu in the country? “Well, I think both of them are young and both of them have a very solid game and both of them are aggressive and have what it takes to be at the top for many years. So with that perspective, I think they definitely can do very well,” Gopichand tells you.

Srikanth carried on his superb form from last season to bag the Gold in the mixed-team event and Silver in the men’s singles event in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games, which ensured him secure the World No. 1 spot. However, he couldn’t hang on to that spot for long. And currently, he is placed at the fourth position.

Gopichand explained what Srikanth has to do in the future to sustain the No. 1 ranking.

“Every area of his game needs to be worked because the moment you are a marked player, people will prepare for you and you cannot afford to have any faults or weaknesses in your game. Srikanth will have to work with his by nature strength, which is to be attacking. But, he will have to control and curb his attack and save his energy in the big matches, in the big stadiums and slow courts against defensive players. Srikanth will also need to ensure that he cuts down on his unforced errors during matches,” Pullela explains.

However, for the player, ranking is not a priority right now. Kidambi believes that if he does well in tournaments, the rankings will automatically follow him.

“Rankings are not the priority for me. To do well in the tournaments that I’m playing is important. If I can do really well in tournaments, I can reach that. So I’m working really hard to play well in the tournaments,” he says.

Following his terrific run of late, Kidambi is being compared with several prominent players of the past and is expected to break the records of those former players. Notably, when asked if he could be the next Gopichand of India, the 25-yearold shuttler gave a modest reply.

“I just want to remain as Srikanth and not the next anyone. I’m not challenging any player. Each player has their own achievement. It is great what Gopichand achieved, winning All England in 2001 without much support. Now with the kind of support we are having, many players are doing well. I really want to do well in every tournament,” he says.

Prannoy too had a brilliant end to last year. In Indonesian Open, he defeated Olympic Silver medalist Lee Chong Wei and reigning Olympic Champion Chen Long in successive matches. Then, he beat Srikanth to win the national championship title.

The 25-year-old believes there were lots of reasons for his improvement. “There were a lot of things in the training schedule and probably a lot of things when you work mentally and personally. There were a lot of support from each and every corner and the things which you try differently will work differently,” he explains.

When taking into account the improvement the country has shown in the sport of late, can India be regarded as a powerhouse in the sport now? Sindhu believes so.

“This is because earlier, only one or two were doing well. Now 10-15 are doing well. India is doing really well and in coming years we will get more medals as well,” she opines and tells you what needs to be done to reach the level of the sport’s heavyweights.

“We are not less. We are beating the Chinese, Japanese and Malaysians. So it’s not that we are unable to compete with them but I feel that on a given day whoever plays well and gives their best is the winner,” Sindhu says. Gopichand reckons that there should be a system to identify and nurture youngsters so that India can also be a badminton powerhouse.

“We have made a significant improvement in our strength over the years. If we are able to focus and get our attention to ensure that there is a system built around identifying the talent and nurturing it well, I think we can be one of the powerhouses of the world badminton,” he explains.

Gopichand also believes that for a player to be successful and maintain that level mental aspect is equally important.

“If you look at any player at the top, the mental aspect is a very significant one and very rarely you will see people without mental strength and quality gets to the top. I think physical is there but your perseverance, you are fighting against odds, your will and attitude towards change are very important aspects which differentiate players from winners. Of course, physical element is very important but mental is a very significant one,” said the 44-year-old former player.

It took years of hard work for India to reach this level and now comes the most difficult part – sustaining the success.

“Now we are performing really well and I think we are all really proud of what we are doing but we have a lot of work to do and we have a lot of teams to catch up and to stay at the top level is not easy, getting over there is easier than staying at the top,” concluded Prannoy.

Writer: Karthik Raman

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Besides offering a world full of opportunities, IPL is a powerful tool that inspires enthusiasm and glee among people.

Sawai Mansingh Stadium at Jaipur on May 11 was glowing with spectacular charm. The mood was eclectic. Every step leading up to the stadium was lit up with dazzling colours. Large and imposing cutouts of players stared at the people from every possible angle. Youngsters and elderly alike turned out in large numbers to witness yet another spectacle of an Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Vendors of all hues did brisk business at the road leading up to the stadium; most notably those selling Dhoni No 7 tee-shirts. Part-time tattoo makers were sought after too; and this writer’s cricket crazy kids could not resist the temptation of getting a CSK flag embossed on their cheeks.

As we entered the stadium, the dazzle was even more overwhelming. The relentless music, the blazing IPL siren and the fluttering of flags created an ecstatic ambience. And, of course, one could not afford to miss the cheer leaders and their mindless acrobatics. When the history of 21st century India will be written, IPL will stand out as one of the biggest success stories which galvanised sports, marketing, commercialisation and entertainment into one single event. Today, an extraordinarily large amount of money rides piggyback on this Indian cricketing mahakumbh that has sent the market, media, cricket fans, TV channels, advertisers, sporting companies and spectators in a tizzy. No other event triggers such widespread jubilation and excitement as IPL. As a student of sociology, this writer admires its economic and cultural ramifications and wishes to list down a few.

IPL certainly means a world of opportunities in terms of new jobs — from budding cricketers, support staff, ground staff to street vendors, merchandise makers and even cricket commentators. Numbers around it are fascinating and have huge significance. As per industry data, $94 million was spent by the eight participating teams to buy 169 players in an auction. This is a seven-fold rise from a year ago when $14 million was spent to acquire 66 players. Star India too spiked its stake when last year, it bought the five-year global media rights for IPL at a whopping $2.55 billion, making IPL one of the richest sports properties in the world. Star expects 700 million people to watch IPL and aims to generate an advertising revenue of over $300 million. Valuations specialist Duff & Phelps valued the IPL brand at $5.3 billion in 2017; a 26 per cent increase from $4.2 billion last year. Little surprise, the IPL is being spoken about in the same vein as the UK’s English Premier League and the US’s National Basketball Association.

One is certain that the huge money that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) earns out of this sporting bonanza is spent in promoting cricket across the country through investments in both infrastructure and nurturing young talents.

In a society largely to witness unprecedented acrimony in social and public discourse, IPL may have served as a powerful tool of cultural cohesion by inspiring glee and enthusiasm. For instance, a few good sixes from Dhoni or Virat Kohli or Dinesh Karthik trigger phenomenal applause and ecstasy. A good 63-ball-128-run inning by Rishabh Pant or a rookie Mayank Markande, who got prized wicket of Dhoni in his first match, become talking points from high-end bars in big cities to corner tea stalls in small towns. This also has other implications — with the country seemingly in the midst of a Titanic ideological polarisation, a sporting event brings about a semblance of consensus. Infusing widespread happiness among the children and elderly alike is another subtle spin off of this 50-day celebrations.

For anyone with keen pair of eyes, IPL may also serve to buttress India’s long-standing image as a melting pot of diverse cultures. By bringing in players of diverse nationalities and making them a part of local teams, we are in a way living up to our reputation; and this has significance for India’s brand value as well. An English Jos Buttler in Rajasthan Royals; South African Imran Tahir in CSK; West Indies’ Chris Gayle in Kings XI Punjab; and New Zealander Trent Boult of Delhi Daredevils serve as big brand Ambassadors for India.

However, IPL does leave the parents worried for sustained distractions it causes among the children. It does eat up lot of productive time of children — and that leaves the parents with a unique challenge to negotiate. The brazen flamboyance with which the women cheer leaders are shown on television — which is akin to perpetuating gender stereotyping of equating women with dance — too is disturbing. Though this criticism has been countered by bringing in male cheerleaders, it does little to neutralise the flaunting of the gender stereotyping. One hopes, this is done away with in 2019.

(The writer is a strategic communications professional)

Writer: Navneet Anand

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Prithvi Shaw is excited and cannot wait himself to reunited with coach Rahul Dravid after getting selected for the India A squad.

Shaw has been named in both ODI tri-series and the Four-day Test in England. Notably, he was the captain of the side which recently won the U-19 World Cup and his coach during that successful campaign was Dravid.

“I have been under Rahul sir for more than two years now. From U-19 level till now and again in the India A squad, it’s going to be great fun again with Rahul sir. I have been really missing him because after the World Cup, I haven’t seen him and I think we are going to have good fun over there and obviously, he is a legend so want to get some more experience there,” he explained.

Shaw also added that how he will try to make the most of this opportunity.

“It will be a great opportunity for me to go there and perform for my team and I would try to grab this opportunity with both hands. I will try my best over there,” he added.

Shaw said his past experience of playing in England will help him get an idea of what will be coming in his way.

“I have played lots of games in England. I have been there for U-19 games before the World Cup so I have a little bit of experience of what kind of conditions I’m going to get there and what type of wickets I’m going to get there so I’m going to prepare for it after the IPL,” he said.

In his maiden IPL campaign, Shaw has enjoyed a great time so far. He has 205 runs from just five matches, including two fifties.

“Thanks to the seniors out there, who have supported me quite a lot, given me those positive things like what you need in IPL because there are lots of experienced players in the squad. It’s been great so far and still looking for the four games that’s going to come towards me and I will try and give my best for the team,” he said.

The Delhi Daredevils opener only had positive things to say about his IPL side’s coach Ricky Ponting.

“Ricky Ponting sir is a guy who comes really hard on you but he will try and make sure to get everything out of you and not to be negative all the time. He is always positive and when he talks, it’s inspiration for all the youngsters,” he said.

Writer: Karthik Raman

Courtesy: The Pioneer

From the Guardian to the Sydney Morning Herald, captain cool Mahender Singh Dhoni’s captaincy is being praised across the cricket playing world. His decision to promote himself up the order and bat under pressure, his captain’s innings 91 of 79 balls in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai have all come in for praise in the world media.

The Telegraph summed it up saying, ‘the prolific Tendulkar may be India’s national treasure, but Dhoni is their modern icon’.

The Sunday Times wrote, “India’s captain and his team take pressure in their stride on way to a famous triumph.”

Heaping praise on the Men in Blue, The Australian wrote: “It was about two great South Asian teams giving fans a thrilling, edge-of-the-seat One-day final and a deserved triumph for a cricketing nation which felt its time had come.”

Here’s what The New York Times had to say: “The six-wicket victory on Saturday in the World Cup final confirmed that India, incontestably, has become cricket’s dominant nation, on and off the field”.The Guardian said, “It seems inconceivable that anyone but India should have taken the trophy.”Even Pakistan media, grudgingly, had to give it to the Indians. The Dawn wrote, “India’s batting superiority in home conditions proved decisive. But more impressive was their ability to win the battle of nerves in Mohali and Mumbai. And it was their captain M.S. Dhoni, who epitomized that composure under duress. The World Cup be- longs to India but the victory belongs to Mr Dhoni.”Mahendra Singh Dhoni has got perhaps his biggest compliment: Sachin Tendulkar, the man everyone has been rushing to dedicate the World Cup victory to, has described Dhoni as the best captain he has ever had.”In all the years that I have been playing, Dhoni is the best captain I have played under,” Tendulkar said today. “I think he is a fabulous captain. He stayed calm, patient and at the same time very clever and alert.”

Management lessons from CEO Dhoni

What Mahendra Singh Dhoni as CEO of the Indian cricket team did to ensure the country won the World Cup will beetched as learnings for leaders across all walks of life. Captains of India Inc, leading business schools and HR leaders have taken note of Dhoni’s style of management.

Experimentation, innovative and risk- taking are some of the characteristics being attributed to him. So what really is Dhoni’s management style? “He sets stretch goals and works determinedly to achieve them by getting the best out of his team,” says Adi Godrej, chairman, Godrej Group, who has also taken on a new role as chairman of The Indian School of Business.

Dhoni is being described as ‘a true leader’ who did not hesitate to push him- self up the batting order in the final, when the team needed him the most. “He led the attack from the front and was not afraid to make this change. He knew well that had he failed, he would have been severely criticized but yet he fearlessly took up the challenge at a critical time in the Indian innings,” says Harsh Goenka, chairman, RPG Group.

Santrupt Misra, HR head, Aditya Birla Group, on the other hand, lauded Dhoni for being experimentative that is innovative and, at the same time, prepared to face the consequences.

“He’s inclusive, but at the same time when the moment of truth comes, he doesn’t hesitate to take decisions.” 

And what does one learn from Dhoni’s leadership skills? “Take measured risks and back your team to deliver,” said Gunit Chadha, CEO, Deutsche Bank India. “A leader should maintain his calm. He should know his business well and take appropriate decisions in changing con- texts,” said Misra.

One could see how these characteristics came to the fore when, in a crisis situation during the World Cup (India had lost two crucial wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in the early overs), Dhoni kept his cool and led India to victory. “Dhoni has been consis- tent match after match. He has stuck his neck out and accepted his mistakes,” said Deepti Bhatnagar, faculty, Organisational Behaviour, IIM- Ahmedabad. What’s more, the captain succeeded in building a team where young people can come up with their opinions. “In a situation where a much younger player like Virat Kohli can give his opinion towards a senior player like Sachin without inhibitions itself speaks volumes about the team culture,” said Bhatnagar. Nehra’s comeback against Pakistan is another good example of how Dhoni’s faith in him paid off.

As co-authors Bill Conaty and Ram Charan have said in their book, ‘The Talent Masters – Why smart leaders put people before numbers’: “You can liberate your capacity and courage as a leader if you continually plumb the depth of your inner core. Only by doing this can you understand the role it plays in the changing complexities of your job.” Dhoni has proved to be a smart leader.

– OE News Bureau

The former player and French Football Manager, Arsené Wenger, was a peculiar in today’s fast-paced world of sports, where patience is unusual. However the question still remains, is being a sentimental a bad thing in today’s multi-billion dollar sports world?

The coach of England’s Arsenal Football Club Arsené Wenger had become so synonymous with the club, and not just because of the similarities of their names, that he had become Mr Arsenal. Over a two decade long career, he delivered a lot of silverware to the club, nurtured the careers of tens of players including greats like Thierry Henry as well as coaching other greats like Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp. He coached the team to what will always be known as one of the greatest seasons in domestic league history when his ‘Invincibles’ remained unbeaten the entire 38 games of the season. This was a team that included greats like Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira, Sol Campbell, Freddy Ljungberg, Robert Pires, Jens Lehmann and the list goes on. No other team has managed such a feat in modern football history in a large footballing nation, few other teams have come close to such a feat in any sport, although some teams in US sports have come close.

The greatest prize in European Club Football, the UEFA Champions League always eluded him, despite Arsenal having a fair crack at Barcelona in the 2006 finals, however that to many Arsenal fans including your columnist, colloquially calling themselves ‘Gunners’ or ‘Gooners’ after the cannon on the Arsenal club crest was the high-water mark for the club.

Almost a decade passed before the club was to lift any other silverware when they won the Football Association Cup, an English football knockout competition three times in four years from 2014 onwards. This was a horribly lean spell, and while many fans of the club were incredibly patient, believing in ‘Arsené’s Way’ which could be described as developing young talent and nuturing them, with the advent of global superclubs fuelled by Russian oligarchs such as Chelsea, petro-dollars such as Manchester City and Paris St.Germain and the complete corruption of the banking and television rights system as in Spain where a comfortable duopoly exists between Barcelona and Real Madrid, Arsenal found itself in a strange place. Primarily because the man who came from once-contested region of Alsace-Lorraine on the Franco-German border was a committed socialist in a decidedly capitalist age.

Arsenal Football Club built one of the most modern stadia in the world for their fans at Ashburton Grove near Islington in North London. The Stadium which came to be known as ‘The Emirates’ after the Dubai based airline became the title sponsor of the stadium and the club was one of the most expensive modern stadiums built. And despite Arsenal having a lot of rich suitors willing and able to buy the club, Wenger ensured that the club financed the stadium by themselves and kept on serving their debt. This extremely ethical way of doing business and not chasing after quick and easy because its provenance is unheard of in today’s greedy time where everyone is there just to make a fast buck or to con others, Wenger was determined that the club will not lose its soul in a Faustian deal.

That was an honourable thought but leads to the obvious question? Is this a time for honour and good men when even thieves don’t have any honour left. Because to fund the stadium, Arsenal did not just start milking their own supporters by having some of the most expensive tickets of any football club in the world, although being in one of the wealthiest catchment areas in the world helped, they also invested less and less on players.

Indeed, this lower level of investment in talent led to some of the existing talent to leave. Some of them were sold to gain a profit on them and others like Thierry Henry, Ashley Cole, Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabergas and even more recently Alexis Sanchez left the club because they (rightly) wanted to win trophies and Arsenal was not competing for the Premier League and frankly in an era of clubs bankrolled by immense amounts of money, Arsenal found themselves unable to compete.

Even though majority ownership of the club moved to American sports businessman Stan Kroenke, someone personally vetted by Wenger, it found itself moving down the English Premier League table with Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspurs rising again with fresh investments in players, stadiums and managers.

This was not necessarily Arsené Wenger’s fault, he dedication and hard work and investment in players such as Mesut Özil ensured that the club never left the top half of the league, an unprecedented level of success. Yet, clubs like manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City have been dominating the Premier League and Arsenal find themselves at the bottom of the high table among the big clubs.

Wenger’s style which was revolutionary when he arrived at London from Nagoya Grampus 8 in Japan where he introduced the modern techniques of personalised exercise and diet routines which are now standard not just in football but even in sports like cricket. And his style of play that took the tough and burly English style to a more evolved level and he inspired future coaches like Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp as well as his peers like Sir Alex Ferguson had now started to evolve too fast for him. One could argue that Wenger, the one-time revolutionary, had become a conservative with age. Which, oddly enough is a typical human property.

And the last few years even if they have seen three FA Cups have been painful to watch for many Arsenal fans. Some, who backed Wenger through some of the dark days found their support waning every passing weekend, particularly after consistently inconsistent performances. And while Wenger had complained that the atmosphere among the clubs fans was one reason he left, the fact is that a long period without success, rather a long period without the promise of any potential future success on the horizon was becoming very hard for the fans to bear. That is why the constant shouts of #WengerOut on social media platforms, something that did not exist when Wenger started out at Arsenal.

For better or for worse, we do live in an age of instant gratification and Arsenal fans were sick and tired of seeing the smug faces of rival fans, particularly those of arch-rivals Tottenham who have some of the greatest English players in their squad now. Even Liverpool, who are likely to make the Champions League finals were rising while Arsenal’s current trajectory was decidedly downwards. Even if Wenger couldn’t see the writing on the wall, every Arsenal fan could.

Yes, Arsené Wenger revolutionised English and world football, and his name will go down in history as one of the great modern managers, and any Arsenal fan does feel sad that he has decided to step down at the end of the season. It hurts, but frankly it was time. Yes, the possibility exists that Arsenal might endure a couple of seasons of managerial musical chairs like manchester United did after Sir Alex Ferguson quit, but some of Wenger’s old wards are doing very well in the managerial game right now such as Patrick Vieira in New York. Wenger’s legacy will be a great club and a fabulous stadium, it is now time for it to be taken to new heights. As should happen in any sports team.

(The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer)

Writer: Kushan Mitra

Courtesy: The Pioneer

An outstanding performance and a number of medals earned by Indian Athletes at CWG proves that our athlete are Olympics-ready.

India’s performance at the just-concluded Commonwealth Games (CWG) has indeed been commendable, considering we broke new ground with stellar team performances in badminton and table tennis — where we have taken on some of the world’s best like Malaysia — and added a new sheen to our traditional disciplines. Though experts might argue that this is not the Asian Games or the Olympics, where China, the US or Europe are in contention, the gold haul does show that we are coasting towards a confidence to convert our abilities to medal prospects. And that is the bigger story of the Games, the triumph of a scientific, result-oriented sports policy of recent years and world class training modules, both Government and private. A quick analysis reveals a map of our sporting abilities and the need to refine our core strengths to be the world’s best. While we are making rapid strides in power-driven sports, the tally clearly demonstrates our skill set in indoor disciplines and mind games. Wrestling has been our traditional forte, Indians having had a civilisational connect with Malla Yuddha, and the boys and girls from Haryana have polished what has been encoded in their genes. Boxing is an acquired skill which has grown out of our grappling ability and mental agility to fool the opponent. Our shooting medals are ample testimony of making the cut with our patience, calm and concentration, something that has worked for us in chess and archery too. And while kabaddi is an inherently Indian discipline, its quick on-the-spot athleticism has found expression in some outdoor disciplines like javelin and shot put, both of which incidentally involve focus and concentration, and in sparring duels of table tennis and badminton. These two racket sports are our colonial legacy and though not exactly involving muscular displays or run-ups, draw on stamina and the consistency of keeping the eye on the ball. Weightlifting is another of our home-grown strengths, the gene pool of the North-East naturally more attuned to scoring success. This is not to say that we need not culture and curate newer disciplines but our traditional skill set can be used to set world benchmarks and retain them.

The second big revelation is that of power women, from the 16-year-old Manu Bhaker to the magnificent 35-year-old Mary Kom, proving that India has finally empowered women through sports. Our teen shooters and consistent weightlifters show that no matter how humble or privileged the background, families are encouraging young girls to choose combat sports as a profession over conventional education. Of course results bolster confidence and one must, therefore, credit the competitive readiness offered by the third most important aspect, the government’s revamped sports policy. So if we have a 15-year-old Anish Bhanwala as a gold medallist, credit must go to the talent-spotting by the Sports Authority of India and the Khelo India mission, which has started an annual national championship of grassroot games for under-17 schoolkids. Topliners will be given an annual scholarship of `5 lakh for eight years. States like Haryana and Maharashtra need to be emulated as they have implemented training laboratories and made sports a key driver of the school curriculum much before we could nurture hopes of a medal. And though there is the overwhelming shadow of cricket, the IPL lookalike hockey, football, badminton and kabaddi TV championships and their endorsement by cricketers themselves have lent these disciplines the status of spectator sports. That has brought in corporate endorsements. Meanwhile, our evergreen champions like Prakash Padukone, Pullela Gopichand and Mary Kom are nurturing better clones of themselves at their academies. Rio may have been a disaster but we might yet get our Olympian feat.

Writer: Pioneer

Courtesy: The Pioneer

High risks of missing out on substantial IPL money and injury doesn’t stop top cricketers to give their best in Test cricket while representing their country.

The recently concluded Australia-South Africa Test series was, even if you leave out the hopelessly one-sided fourth Test, not only one of the most controversial in recent memory but also one of the most competitive. A strong and robust South African team at home were taking on an Australian side blessed with their innate never-say-die approach and it sure made for some enthralling cricket.

The high standards maintained by both sides, at least for the first three games, definitely offered a polite reminder to those who believe Test cricket is dying. It’s very much alive and the sheer competitiveness on display was a fair enough reflection of that.

This Australia-South Africa series was being played a year after another enthralling four-Test series closer to home between India and Australia. Despite the Aussies battling gallantly, the Indians at home proved to be far too strong after losing the opening Test match.

It isn’t just the competitive spirit that binds both these series together, there is another common factor. As many as three players Kagiso Rabada, Patrick Cummins and Mitchell Starc, all fast bowlers, were ruled out through injury from the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) that started a few days post the completion of the Australia-South Africa series. This is in addition to Steve Smith and David Warner who are not playing this season’s IPL after being handed a one-year ban by Cricket Australia, for their role in the ball-tampering scandal that took place during the third Test match in Cape Town.

This is not the first time though  that we are seeing players putting their bodies on the line to play Test cricket even if it means aggravating an injury that could rule them out of the cash-rich IPL. Last year saw three premier Indian cricketers KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Vijay miss the entire IPL season, a rare occurrence in the tournament’s decade-long history as Indian players are always the major draw.

More than just the physical toll that such heavy schedules involving Test cricket can take on one’s body is also the mental side of things. Starc and Cummins were both involved in the Ashes, a special series for any Australian cricketer, a couple of months prior to their duel against South Africa. Rabada, on the other hand, was involved in a highly competitive series against India right through January.

With such lucrative contracts on offer, the players could easily have tried to preserve their bodies for the IPL. Starc was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 9.4 crore, one of the highest for an overseas player. Cummins too was on a handsome contract of Rs 5.4 crore  with the Mumbai Indians and Rabada was bought for Rs 4.2 crore by Delhi Daredevils.

Yet with so much riding on their performances, and the series attracting interest even from outside their own countries, it would have been silly to imagine these cricketers saving themselves. Given their workloads and also the fact that they are fast bowlers, it was only inevitable that something had to give.

It was effectively a repeat of last year when the three Indians, who had played non-stop from September, had to pull out through injury from the IPL. In one of the cases, Murali Vijay had played the Test series against Australia with a wrist injury, probably in the knowledge that the IPL would have to be sacrificed as a result.

While injuries to anyone, let alone sportspeople are terribly unfortunate, for a format that many believe is losing out to the riches of Twenty20, it is heartening to see many top cricketers giving their all  and keeping the value of Test cricket alive. The problem does arise of course in the scenario where some of the world’s best Test cricketers are also premier Twenty20 cricketers.

The best example of this is the great AB de Villiers or even Virat Kohli, but even amongst the names mentioned above, Mitchell Starc is a quality T20 bowler while KL Rahul has shown the ability to combine the different needs and requirements of being a good Test cricketer and a top-drawer T20 player, one of the reasons why he attracted a bid of Rs 11 crores at the recent IPL auction.

Despite some well-contested series’ in the recent past, is it fair to say that Test cricket isn’t really in the pink of health? Well the trend hasn’t hit Indian shores as yet, but England, Australia and New Zealand are all seeing the rise of players who are giving up their first-class careers so as to focus on 50-over and T20 cricket.

In the West Indies, many of their premier cricketers do not play Test cricket and were recently left out of the squad that played the 2019 ODI World Cup qualifiers, and instead played in Pakistan’s Twenty20 competition. It’s an unfortunate scenario but perhaps the reality of today’s cricket world has to be embraced. One does genuinely hope that the balancing act between Test cricket and cash-rich Twenty20 leagues can be found.

(The writer is a sports management professional)

Writer: Shakya Mitra

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Top Billing for the Commonwealth Games, starting at Carrara Sports and Leisure ZCentre on April 10, has been given to the Olympic silver medalist P V Sindhu and World’s No. 2 badminton champion K Srikanth for their respective women’s and men’s singles badminton competitions.

In the draw of 64, Sindhu will begin her quest for the gold in the second round against Falkland Islands’ Zoe Morris after both the players received byes in their respective opening rounds.

The 22-year-old Indian is expected to meet 2014 Glasgow Games champion Michelle Li in the semifinals. The third seeded Canadian had beaten Sindhu in the semi-finals four years back en route the gold medal.

The 2010 champion and former world No 1 Saina Nehwal has been seeded second and will start her campaign with a second-round clash against Elsie de Villiers in the other half of the draw. In men’s singles, Srikanth, who clinched four titles in the last season, will open his campaign against Liam Fong of Fiji and is likely to clash with 2010 silver medallist Rajiv Ouseph in the semi-finals.

Writer: Pioneer

Courtesy: The Pioneer