Lokendra Pratap Sahi

David Gower: Classy on and off the field DAVID Ivon Gower didn’t just score over 11,000 runs for England, he did so with flamboyance that isn’t a feature of every batsman who makes it to the highest level. Classy as a batsman, classy as a person too. That’s Gower. Besides, he has been a dear friend from England’s 1984-1985 tour of India, when he was the captain. Gower, who has made it to the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s Hall of Fame, is currently on vacation in France, near St-Tropez. In a wonderful gesture, Gower nevertheless took time off on Saturday evening to answer a range of Qs. Excerpts… Q: Only one win in the first five matches… Stunned by England’s performance, or the lack of it, in World Cup 2023 or is there a better description? A: Stunned, yes. Astounded. Perplexed. Bemused. Take your pick! Q: What do you think derailed the defending champions from the beginning itself, when teams normally look to build momentum? A: Impossible to know (what went on within). I w...

  In February 2017 , Bedi was in Calcutta to deliver The Telegraph 's annual Tiger Pataudi Memorial Lecture. Pix appeared with the Author's interview of Bedi in the newspaper HOW do I begin? Where do I begin? Do I write at all? Hard to do so when you’re overwhelmed by grief. So, it’s on the day after dear Bish’s demise that I’m making this attempt. But the questions return: How do I begin? Where do I begin? Do I start with my first look of Bishan Singh Bedi, in possibly a maroon patka, as a 10-year-old? That was during my Eden Gardens ‘debut’, India vs Australia Test, in the 1969-1970 season. Or, do I start with my first face-to-face meeting with Bish, as a journalist, in the mid-1980s? I could introduce myself to Bish, no more, as seniors in the profession kept badgering him to add “ raunaq ” to an impromptu “ mehfil ” by cracking “non-vegetarian” jokes! Bish’s response: “ Yeh koi time hai kya ? Let’s meet at 7.30 in the evening.” My first (and lasting) impressions...

MS Dhoni, doing it his way. Pix: Courtesy ICC THE past week has seen extraordinary happenings both over the 22 yards and away from the thick of action in World Cup 2023. Cricket is a mere five years away from making a comeback in the Olympics, in Los Angeles. Too late for the Rohit Sharmas and Virat Kohlis to become Olympians, but the Ruturaj Gaikwads and Yashasvi Jaiswals should. Already back are exciting/bizarre rewards (depending on how you view them) after Poonam Pandey’s offer to strip if Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team won the 2011 World Cup. Dhoni did lift the World Cup, but publicity-seeker Poonam didn’t strip, claiming the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declined to give permission. Laughable, for the BCCI doesn’t control social media platforms. Perhaps dreading a bounty being placed on her head, Pakistani actor Sehar Shinwari didn’t take a leaf out of Poonam’s controversial book, but did draw inspiration in a limited way. On the eve of the India vs Bangladesh match,...

MoM Jasprit Bumrah. Courtesy: @ ICC 2023    FAR removed from the World Cup, a retired Israeli General, Israel Ziv, showed the commitment which can make the difference between saving/losing lives. In the context of cricket, such commitment would make the difference between winning/losing. It’s about responding to a crisis in a manner which is effective and inspirational. For General Ziv’s extraordinary story, telecast the other night, one must thank India Today. Once captain Babar Azam got out (50, three down for 155), somebody from Pakistan needed to do a General Ziv. Instead, the seven wickets to follow added only 36 runs in 13.1 overs! It was as spectacular a crash as is possible. Solid-looking India didn’t have to sweat, winning by seven wickets with 19.3 overs remaining. Such margins are unusual in India vs Pakistan matches, but the latter team has been losing big against India. Indeed, in my Blog on Saturday, I’d posed a question in the headline: Will India’s 2023 win in ...

Author with Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, hero of many WC matches MUCH as any captain or player may insist, an India vs Pakistan cricket match is one game you cannot afford to fail in. Individually or as a team. Lose and hell breaks loose, more so in this age of social media nuisance as the target is almost pushed into jumping off the nearest highrise.  Emotions, expectations, politics… It’s such a combustible mix that only a superhuman will not feel the pressure in an India vs Pakistan match. Non-cricket considerations appear to get the upperhand. That the face-offs over the 22 yards are so infrequent (no bilateral series or match after 2012-2013) doesn’t help. Naturally, then, succeed either as a team or an individual and you become taller than the rest by many feet.  By the time I was 12, India and Pakistan had fought each other in two wars – 1965, 1971. Those born after Kargil, in 1999, haven’t experienced anything. Usually, that lot is the one spitting most of venom on social ...

WHY BLOGGING? First things first. I haven’t moved from journalism to blogging, I merely see a Blog as another platform to share my thoughts or, indeed, the views of those I interview.  I’m not dependent on the health of the Managing Editor of one newspaper or on the space provided to the Sports pages in another publication. A Jumbo thank you to John Marshall Buchanan, a dear friend from the time I first interviewed him (Sydney, January 2000), for being such a terrific sport and agreeing to a late request for an interview.  Do I need to introduce Buchanan? Come on, no! Let me just say there have been International coaches by the dozens, but Buchanan stands apart. As for the timing of this blog, India’s first match in the 2023 World Cup is today (Sunday). It’s a big day, then. India did win the recent bilateral ODI series against Australia, but that’s part of history. Best not to dwell on the past, but to treat this World Cup as an enormous opportunity to enhance and build reput...