This is the silly season of cricket, so being to the point (literally) and maybe even inane, is quite in. So here’s my take on why the Champions League T20 isn’t justifying the pre-event hype… as yet.

1. T20s… just too blah
Whatever anyone says about the death of Tests or ODIs, perhaps people are finally waking up to the fact that one T20 game is pretty much like the other. Yawn…

2. Where are our He-Men?
We Indians like our desi big brands. Other than a few good men, Dravid and Kumble in Bangalore, or Gambhir and Sehwag (and to a lesser extent Nehra and Karthik) in the Daredevils, there’s not much for Indians to get starry-eyed about. (Except in that cool boat ad). No Sachin, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Bhajji, Ganguly, Zaheer or even poor Ishant.

3. Phoren teams? So what?
When we don’t care about our own domestic cricket (am sure Neo isn’t even asking for the ratings of this year’s Challenger Series) what chance of our caring about cricket or cricketers from clubs most of India has never even heard of?

4. Howzatt! You mean, ‘Who’s that’?
We Indians also like our designer foreign brands. And they’re not around. No Smith, Ponting, Hayden, Flintoff, Pietersen, Warne, Vettori, AB… and no melodramatic Pakistanis! Okay, so we have Gilchrist holding the Deccan flag aloft and Gibbs disappearing before he can say hello for the Cobras. Then there’s Brendon McCullum (traitor!) on for Otago, that quiet Kallis, and a subdued, shorn Kallis. Not enough, mate.

5. Big-ticket event doesn’t equal big crowds
Basically, despite the tournament being cricket’s richest prize, the BCCI-IPL is treating the event just like they treat domestic cricket in India — with disdain. Outside of the corporate Read more…

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About a fortnight ago when I wrote the blog, Why Pakistan must win Twenty20 World Cup, I was flooded with colourful abuses. An overwhelming majority of respondents labelled me "unpatriotic."  Many appeared convinced that India was going to win the World Cup and that Pakistan will be knocked out in the first round.

They had their reasons, I guess. Some were political and had little to do with cricket. But for a variety of reasons, many genuinely believed that Pakistan wasn't going to put up a good show. To begin with, Younis Khan and company hadn't seen much of international cricket in recent times. That apart, none of them had played in IPL2. Even in the practice games, the team hardly inspired confidence.

So how come Pakistan is playing Sunday's final while MS Dhoni's million dollar boys nurse their wounds. Let us try to analyse:

1. Unlike us, Pakistan improved with every game: Younis Khan and his men looked rusty in the warm-up matches. But rather than being dismissive or cocky, they worked on their shortcomings... Read more...

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