By all gathered accounts, the World Cup is still on. Switch on your television sets and you will see how marauding and power-packed Australian performances are, and how England just managed to scrape through. And here, in India, we are behaving as if cricket is over and done with. As if with the exit of India there is nothing left. As if cricket in this country has reached a dead end.

I have no doubt, if the World Cup had been held in India, and the hosts were ousted, the stands would be almost empty (maybe a little better than in the Caribbean, though), and we would be in shock, and moping.

Quite understandable, I guess, from a cricket-crazy country. What I don’t understand, though, are these cruel comments, jokes in bad taste, and how cricket has degenerated.

How can you ridicule a cricketer of the calibre of Sachin Tendulkar, a living legend who has all the records in the world in all forms of cricket? Is it just because he is not in good nick right now, and because he did not get the opening slot in which he always excels? Take my word: Sachin still has two-three years of top class cricket left in him before he would even think of hanging up his boots.

In this context, let me tell Ian Chappell that comments about the Little Master were totally uncalled for. He should have thought twice what the import of his comment would be. I think Ian Chappell would do better thinking about his own countrymen, and advising them instead, and also maybe thinking about his own brother Greg instead.

... contd.