I wish I had written this just after the World Cup. The mind was in a happier frame of mind then. Oh how have the mighty fallen!
The downfall has been as stunning as the rise. The analysis and dissection comes from any and every body. The one common thing I hear is there's too much cricket Indians play, and largely attributed to IPL.
Is that the case? I'm still not sure about that one. If you look carefully at every current Test player, each has got a fair amount of rest between the IPL and the England series. Many skipped the West Indies tour, just to get themselves ready and fit. In my view, they took too much rest!
I think cricket, like any other sport or skill, requires constant practice. If you're out for a period of time, rustiness sets in. Combine that with bad form and injury, matters only get worse. So it would have helped if players had not opted out of the WI tour.
As an aside, I was in the US last month and was taken to a baseball game. While understanding the nuances of the game, I also understood the league formats - essentially major league and national league. Teams play against each other for a major part of the year and a game can go on for more than 3 hours, sometimes into the early hours of the morning.
So I asked someone, 'Is there something called too much baseball?' This person laughed and said,'What a crazy phrase! As long as we love the game, there will never be enough'.
Too much cricket?
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