Buchanan's book

Buchanan's claim that his remarks on Indian cricketers were taken out of context and one has to read the whole book to understand them is hilarious.In the first place, if one has to read a few hundred pages to understand a few snide comments on persons who are far superior to him it speaks very poorly of his writing ability.We are very familiar with politicians saying something openly in the TV media and then making fools of themselves by invoking precisely this excuse.That apart,what Buchanan has said about the likes of Gavaskar and Warne is in simple English and does not need painstaking study to understand.He is surely not talking metaphysics.He is accusing Gavaskar of being biased.Coming from an Australian that's a laugh.Buchanan 's stint as the Australian coach was terminated at a time when that team was losing to every other side and had ceased to be regarded as indomitable.This speaks volumes of his credentials.He and his hangers on then turned their attention to IPL and KKR with results that may have made the great SRK spend sleepless nights.He was given short shrift after that and tried his hand at ingratiating himself with Andy Flower[England coach] by passing on information about the Australian cricketers now in England for the Ashes series.What a patriot!
Buchanan should have remembered where his money was coming from and whether the appointment of Gavaskar was not fully justified.His heartburn is obviously at Gavaskar's known stand on the stuffing of the IPL teams with foreign 'talent'.The word 'Indian' in the Indian Premier League seems to have escaped his notice.If an attempt to include more outsiders in the playing eleven at the cost of nurturing indian players is thwarted by Gavaskar would that constitute bias?Does Buchanan believe that the KKR should have won the IPL trophy with more than half the team comprising of foreign players?The irony is that Buchanan still is hopeful of coaching assignments in India!I wonder what he will claim as his achievements in his CV.
As for his book, I for one, will not care to spend either time or money on it.Come to that I may not care to read it even if offered free.

Dhoni vs Sehwag

A lot has been said particularly in the TV Media castigating Dhoni for messing up the team spirit and even leaking Sehwag's injury to the media.That self proclaimed oracle on Indian Cricket,B.S.Bedi has accused Dhoni as being too big for his boots.Yet for the two days that all this drama was being played out on the TV screens Sehwag's questionable role in it all was buried.Everyone saw Sehwag missing a few matches in the IPL owing to injury and this assumes considerable significance given that the IPL is the creme de  la creme of the indian cricketers' moolah.After this,if the selectors went ahead and included Sehwag they should have known something which the vast public did not{perhaps not even Dhoni}.If ,after reaching England Sehwag had only one hour of nets and withdrew from all cricketing activity thereafter the blame can hardly be laid at Dhoni's door.One can safely assume that he would have been subjected to a gag order on the issue.If the media hounds him to speak out when he cannot his frustration is understandable.The media should have concentrated on Sehwag and demanded why he did not voluntarily withdraw himself for selection when he alone knew the real extent of the injury.This has happened before and will happen again.Players will deliberately hide their injuries before a series and hope all will be sorted out as they play on.Sadly it fails most of the time.Even Sehwag's betters are guilty of this.I feel the media is guilty of blowing up an issue and worse,persecuting the wrong man.