If Sehwag manages to get runs in the next game, it will be dubbed a timely return to form ahead of the World Cup but, if he fails, no one will spare a moment of thought in sympathy for the man © Hindustan Times

In another game, where it generally pays to whack the ball as hard and as far as you possibly can, another often misunderstood sportsman once distinctively remarked, "Slump? I ain't in no slump. I just ain't hittin." Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra is now 80-plus, but many of his pithy 'Yogiisms' would be happily taken up by many of my cricketing colleagues. With the same spirit.

Case in point: Ever since India's tour to South Africa ended, Virender Sehwag has been the talk of the town. First for his omission in the series against West Indies, then for his inclusion in the side for this series (which, doubters believe, apparently bettered his chances for the World Cup), and now for an alleged manager's report that is said to reveal a lot of damning secrets about his behaviour in South Africa.

Intriguingly, this "report" was leaked just before Viru was set to play his first match after his comeback and that itself gives rise to many questions (which, of course, is not my job to raise).

However, the situation took me back to the day before I made my debut for India in October 2003. I got a call from an inquisitive (and well known) journalist, ostensibly to ask about my plans for the Kiwis but matters quickly went another way. He soon reminded me of a couple of balls I had nicked in the side game prior to the Test and how lucky I was to find no third or fourth slip in place. He went on to tell me about an inside edge that missed the stumps narrowly and how I was seen to be uncomfortable against the Kiwi attack.

He must have watched the tour game very closely indeed as he detected a flaw in my forward defence too (and told me in detail). Finally, when I put the phone down, I was in a daze and left wondering if there was anything right at all about my batting and technique. I had scored runs against the same opposition in the two warm-up games while playing for the Board President's XI and India A but that conversation scared me more than actually facing Daniel Vettori and the others.

And it was not an isolated incident. On the eve of our first Test in Australia, later that year, a senior, renowned cricket journalist took the time out to explain to me why I had neither the technique nor the temperament to face the Aussies at the Gabba!

I'm certain every cricketer who's played for the country has encountered similar situations. I haven't spoken to Viru about this but I'm sure he's been bombarded by calls and text messages in the past few days. I'm also sure a lot of people trying to get in touch with him were not ill-intentioned and were merely trying to put forward his case but does he need all that attention before a hugely important game?

His focus should be on the game but is it really possible to not only switch off your cell phone but also switch off mentally and turn a deaf ear to whatever is happening around? If he manages to get runs in the next game, it will be dubbed a timely return to form ahead of the World Cup but, if he fails, no one will spare a moment of thought in sympathy for the man.

Players are humans (though many believe they aren't) and are as affected by the environment around them, especially if they're in a fragile state of mind, as most other people. There's more than enough on your plate during these times (regarding your form and self-belief) and any add-ons are disruptive. But who's listening?

On the eve of our first Test in Australia, later that year, a senior, renowned cricket journalist took the time out to explain to me why I had neither the technique nor the temperament to face the Aussies at the Gabba

Before I'm attacked for being anti-media, let me quickly say I'm not. I think the media of today does a great job in highlighting domestic performances and bringing deserving players into the national reckoning. Look at how Robin Uthappa was rewarded for his outstanding first-class season and is now a new sensation. Or the way Ranadeb Bose has figured on every news channel after taking his team to the Ranji finals.

This wasn't the first time a player had scored in excess of 1000 runs or taken 57 wickets in a season. A few years ago, Tamil Nadu's Sridharan Sriram scored more than 1200 runs in 12 games, Dinesh Mongia totalled more than 1000 in 11 while I managed to cross the 900-run mark (in 9 and 11 matches respectively) in two consecutive seasons.

Similarly, Narendra Hirwani, the former India legspinner, took 79 wickets in 2002-03; the same season Sairaj Bahutule, another former India leggie, took 62 wickets. But did anyone really know anything about it then? The answer is no, simply because the kind of interest you see in domestic cricket now was absent a couple of years ago.

This has happened because purely because of the media, thanks to whom people across the country now know in advance who's next in line for an India cap, instead of knowing people only when they wear one.

The added pressure is the flip side of the publicity. So not only do you have to develop a skin thick enough to face verbal assaults (read: sledging) from the opposition but also to prevent whatever is written or said about you in the media to get to you. Or, to paraphrase Yogi Berra, the nickel you have won't be worth a dime.

Aakash Chopra and Virender Sehwag are two players who're contemplating moving out of Delhi © AFP

Kadambari Murali

Step into the Ferozeshah Kotla this week and you will hear the story of how a desperate couple, at their wit's end over how to get their son into an age-group team, came up with a strategy that was as simple as it was smart.

Having heard about how a certain selector had made salacious suggestions to the mothers of several young aspirants, they took the man to dinner. Midway, the father got an urgent call and left, asking the lady to drop the selector home. Along the way, she and the selector made a private date and sure enough, soon after she obliged him, the boy made it to the age-group team.

Of course, as the selector eventually found out, the woman he had made (and kept) the date with was not the boy's mother; she had been paid to do a job. The money exchanged was apparently Rs 5,000 (the exact amount is unknown) which, if true, was far less than what some parents have allegedly paid to get their son to play for Delhi.

At one level, this story is funny. At another, it is a sad reflection on the state of cricketing affairs in India's capital, where, it seems, there are many ways to get oneself selected - heaps of money, top political or bureaucratic connections, a father or uncle in the DDCA brass, goon power. Perhaps even a despairing "mother".

Ironically, though, the topic of conversation among senior Delhi players at the current training camp at the Kotla was not entry but exit: Fed up with the mess in the DDCA, they are considering plans to leave the state and play as professionals elsewhere.

The topic of conversation among senior Delhi players at the current training camp at the Kotla was not entry but exit: Fed up with the mess in the DDCA, they are considering plans to leave the state and play as professionals elsewhere

While players do not obviously want to come on record with their plans, it is fairly common knowledge that Virender Sehwag has a standing offer from Haryana, that Aakash Chopra has been sounded out by a couple of teams, that Ashish Nehra might well choose between Maharashtra and Rajasthan and that Gautam Gambhir and Mithun Manhas are also thinking of shipping out to Rajasthan.

"It's a huge step, leaving home", said one player, "but if it doesn't feel like home any longer we might as well move to a state that wants us enough to pay for us and, more importantly, respects us as cricketers and supports us as its players."

Whether any or all of them will actually hold concrete discussions or make a move will be known only later this year but it is a chilling prospect for any organization. However, the DDCA, immersed in faction-fighting, may not care. They will ignore the iffy Ranji Trophy record and the shambolic state of affairs at the Kotla and instead point to the 10 India players, including nine Test cricketers, Delhi has produced since it last won the Trophy in 1991-92. That figure, equaled in Tests only by Mumbai, goes to show the talent that exists in the capital.

It is to Delhi cricket's credit that, though naturally reflecting the power-centric ethos of the national capital, it remained fairly sane till the mid-nineties. Despite a powerful administration, the players were a powerful lobby too and, while they bickered amongst themselves, they were a pretty united front when facing the world, not allowing any interference in selectorial policies.

However, the period after the 1996 World Cup saw a vicious fall-out between two of Delhi's senior-most players, with one joining hands with the administrators. That was perhaps the beginning of the end. The toehold allowed to non-cricketing officials, combined with Delhi's political culture and the hugely increased commercial stakes, resulted in an unseemly mess. The upshot: nobody in the DDCA has since given a damn.

And it shows. This season, the players had to spend about 15 hours travelling from Delhi to Rajkot - via Ahmedabad - by air and road two days before a crucial Ranji game. Why, they wondered, couldn't they be flown to Mumbai the night before and then taken on a direct flight to Rajkot , instead of the long road trip? That wasn't all: Match done, they had to endure a 22-hour journey to Vijayawada for the match against Andhra, a journey that included long hours in the Mumbai airport ahead of a connecting 3:15am flight to Hyderabad (obviously a cheaper option).

It wasn't just the travel: The hotel in Vijayawada, say the players, "was terrible" but as it had been paid for in advance (as is the norm), with no one checking the quality of services, they stayed put. In Rohtak, for their final game against Haryana, the team was spread over two hotels as there weren't enough free rooms in one. Obviously, no one had bothered with bookings in advance despite Ranji schedules being known months ahead.

And this is the Ranji Trophy side. Delve deeper and you will hear allegations of bribery and enticement, unhappy and sordid sagas that cannot be legally taken up because it is a world that protects its own. And because few want to come on record and say something that would almost certainly hinder their son/ brother/ nephew's quest for what, to most, is the ultimate prize - a Delhi Ranji cap.

Except, apparently, for those who already wear it and are sadly discovering it's just not worth the bother, or the heartbreak.