Sports
How India has become cricket’s super power
Rex Clementine in Rajkot
Often Virat Kohli’s on field antics doesn’t win him many friends outside India. As a result, Indian cricket is frowned upon by all and sundry. As a norm, most Sri Lankan fans, especially the young ones want India to lose wherever they play. There was this fan who came to RPS one day with this t-shirt. It read, ‘I support two teams. Sri Lanka and anyone playing India.’
Sometimes you tend to believe that the hatred towards India goes beyond cricket. Rajiv Gandhi’s invasion of Sri Lankan airspace to provide dhal and allegations of RAW funding and training the LTTE doesn’t go too well with people. But, let’s not forget that last year alone India provided Sri Lanka aid worth over US$ five billion when most of the western nations turned a blind eye. If not for that, the economic crisis would have been far worse. As for the LTTE, defeating them would have been not so easy without the help of Indian intelligence and military.
Coming back to cricket, India played a lead role in eliminating the veto power that Australia and England enjoyed at the ICC. By jointly hosting the 1987 World Cup between India and Pakistan the competition was taken away from England for the first time. It was a major breakthrough.
But cricket in India didn’t have the financial capacity to host a mega event like the World Cup. Neither did Pakistan. The government’s assistance was sought and with that assurance, the event became a success.
N.K.P. Salve was a powerful government Minister and it helped as he was guiding cricket from the front. There were other visionaries leaders like S.K. Wankhede from the north and M. Chinnaswamy from the south. Together they all challenged the founding members of the ICC. Then a new set of businessmen emerged who made India financially strong.
Jagmohan Dalmiya from Calcutta, I.S. Bindra from Punjab and Raj Singh Dungapur from Bombay were key figures in late 1980s and 1990s. Dalmiya was the main man among them having gone onto become the President of the ICC.
The norm was that the Indian board paid the national television station Dooradarshan for telecasting cricket. The ambitious Dalmiya made cricket a product that could be sold. He believed that cricket was a valuable brand and wanted television stations that were interested in taking the game to the homes of world’s second largest population to pay for it.
Soon big money started pouring in and gradually India went onto become the richest cricket board in the world. Then began their domination of world cricket. The arrival of N. Srinivasan changed cricket’s landscape significantly. The holder of a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering and boss of India Cements, Srinivasan was a leading figure in the corporate world before he became known in cricket circles.
Srinivasan’s rise in cricket wasn’t sudden. He worked his way up. In early 2000s, he was the Treasurer of the Indian Board. A former Sri Lanka captain who knew well how Srinivasan operated warned a group of reporters never to cross Srinivasan’s path if we ever met him. At that time we had no idea who this person was, but soon the world would get to know him.
Srini as he’s popularly known had an interesting theory. That was India contributed to cricket’s finance significantly and hence India needed to get bulk of the revenue. He knew pretty well that taking on the rest of the world all alone would be tough. So he created this scenario where it was told that since England and Australia were the two nations that contributed the largest revenue next to India, their portions of profits from ICC events needed to be significantly higher than the rest of the world. It was a deal the likes of Giles Clarke, the English boss and Wally Edwards the Aussie chief couldn’t resist. Then the concept of the Big Three was born.
Not many agree with Srinivasan’s methods or theories. But the interesting point is that he was able to get the rest of the cricketing world at his feet. Whoever who disagreed paid a price. Haroon Lorgat for example, the South African who went onto become the CEO of the ICC. This reminded you the ex-captain’s words. ‘Never cross Srinivasan’s path’. 
The point that needs to be reiterated here is that when Australia and England are playing ball with India, there’s no point that a board like Sri Lanka takes them head on. There’s going to be only one winner.
BCCI has graciously supported Sri Lanka whenever the local board had felt the pinch. India had been quick to come over to Colombo for many a bilateral series.
Along with Srinivasan, there was another individual who changed Indian cricket fortunes. He was the US educated Lalit Modi. The IPL was his brainchild and it soon became a hit. Not only have the players earned handsomely, BCCI has gone onto become such a rich board that it has several schemes helping past player even after their death supporting their families with monthly allowances.
Some may say that Modi and Srinivasan have skeletons in their cupboards. Of course they have. But the reality is that we aren’t living in an ideal world. The bottom line is due to their visionary thinking Indian cricket has benefited. We may disagree with their means but every man who built a sporting empire broke a few rules be it Sepp Blatter or Dr. Ali Bacher.
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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