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'I do believe that it..s time we as Indians gave serious thought to whether it is ..India Shining. or ..India Burning.'
© AFP
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Back home sooner than expected, I am writing this from Chennai, and with sadness. My heart goes out to all the families who lost their loved ones in the attacks on Mumbai, and I also stand up and proudly salute our brave armed forces who brought the mayhem to an end. The beginning of the ICL World Series seems so far away now.
I was very happy to be a part of the ICL India team, as I..ve always relished the challenge of going up against quality players from all over the world. We began with the ever-thrilling fixture against our neighbours, ICL Pakistan. We started well with R Jesuraj getting rid of their dangerous opening pair in quick time. Rana Naved looked good, but we introduced Ali Murtaza to take the pace off the ball, and it worked. After Naved fell, they never got going and we were happy to restrict them to 165.
During our chase, we lost G Vignesh early, but Ibrahim Khaleel and Ambati Rayudu put on a good partnership. Suddenly, three wickets in four overs brought the Pakistanis right back into it. However, at this stage I was confident I was the right man for the job, as the situation called for a calmer and more mature head. I was able to play steadily and guide Rayudu, and also took a few chances when needed. We did lose several more wickets, but I was glad I could remain till the end and see us home with just one wicket left. It was a good, tight finish, and I was pleased with my effort.
Playing back to back is always hard, more so when you have had a tough last game. When ICL Bangladesh put us in to bat, we lost wickets regularly right from the start. The wicket was on the slower side, and all of us struggled: I couldn..t get the ball off the square, and only R Satish..s quickfire 44 got us anywhere near a respectable total. And though we took a wicket first up, we were never in control of the game, with Shahriar Nafees playing the anchor role and Alok Kapali looking in a class of his own. He treated our bowlers with disdain, and smashed them to all corners of the park. Still, with 11 to get of the last over, we felt we might have a chance, but a four off a misfiled and a six off the next ball finished the game in no tiPme.
After a tough fielding session the next afternoon, we started to hear about Mumbai, and stayed up till late in absolute shock. The next day was just as bad, as the war continued. It was terrifying to see what was happening. The tension grew as the day went on, and no one was sure what would happen to the rest of the tournament as the killing spree went on. We got the news at around five in the evening that the tournament was called off. Disappointing for sure, but it was certainly the right thing to do: how could we play cricket at a time when such things were happening? I do believe that it..s time we as Indians gave serious thought to whether it is ..India Shining. or ..India Burning.. I wonder if we can feel safe anywhere in India. I love my country, and cannot accept this happening to us time and time again. Someone has to be accountable for all of this.
We now have a long break before the start of the next tournament, but stay tuned to the Diary, as I will keep you posted on the life of an ICL cricketer.
current bangladesh team is not a full strenth side. Because lost few key players Nafees,Kapali and Aftab to ICL.and main bowlers Razzak,Rasel and Sahadat is also missing.Yet managed to beat NZ, SL in last siries.imagine what a full strenght BD side can do
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