I read somewhere that Plessis was recommended by Albie and hence was the surprise pick in the IPL auction.
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I read somewhere that Plessis was recommended by Albie and hence was the surprise pick in the IPL auction.
Albie's reco?
IvanE estraa luggage.
Dhoni at No. 13 in list of greatest ODI cricketers
NEW DELHI: The latest innovation to measure the impact and performance of cricketers, to be found on www.impactindexcricket.com, has two active Indian players in the top 20 of the ODI Impact Index: Mahendra Singh Dhoni at No. 13 and Sachin Tendulkar at No. 18. The only other active cricketers in that category are South African Jacques Kallis at No. 8, Australia's Shane Watson at 16 and West Indian Chris Gayle at 19. Dhoni and Sachin apart, Kapil Dev is the only Indian in the top 25, ranked at No. 9.
If you're surprised at Sachin's relatively low ranking, remember the new system does not rate cricketers by aggregates, but by how much of an impact the player has had in his team winning matches. Also, when you're talking about the 20 best of all time, there clearly isn't all that much to choose between the one on top and the one at the bottom of that exclusive club.
Everybody in the top 25 of the list has more or less multiple skills, maybe useful even as a part-timer with the ball or a handy batsman. The only one who makes it almost entirely on the strength of a single skill is West Indian Joel Garner, universally acknowledged as one of the most effective ODI bowlers ever and the master of the yorker in the death overs.
The system has been applied to all forms of the game, but with the ODI World Cup just round the corner, its creators have understandably decided to start by revealing their findings for the 50-over version.
Source: TOI
Pepsi Change The Game - Dhoni's Helicopter Shot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkg4w92fAmo
"He (Dhoni) is the most fascinating character at Chennai Super Kings. He is India's Ricky Ponting, an unpretentious working class boy with simple, clear thoughts on the game and a love of rolling up his sleeves and getting into it. Like Punter, he thrives in training. One minute he is batting, next he is throwing the stumps down, next he is onto something else. Dhoni is very direct.
"I related to Dhoni on several levels, including his ability to enjoy life outside the game and see cricket as a vehicle to pursue other passions. He is an all-action sort of character, in every way. He can be an elusive character. I have never once got him on the phone, and at times I think he likes to hide from the madhouse world in his hotel room, as well as getting out and doing his own things," Hayden wrote.
http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news...ur-test-hayden
When Mahendra Singh Dhoni opened the bowling with a spinner in his first Test as captain in 2008, the message was clear -- he would not be a prisoner to convention.
Following hunches produced the desired results as Harbhajan Singh responded with four second-innings wickets to help India level a three-match series against South Africa on an underprepared, spinner-friendly Kanpur track.
"I prefer to go by instinct (in some situations)," Dhoni said after leading his team to a tense one-run victory over South Africa in the second one-day international in Johannesburg last month.
Dhoni was the first wicket-keeper to lead India in Tests, but had already proved his credentials as captain when his young side triumphed in the inaugural World Twenty20 championships in South Africa in 2007.
His stock rose instantly as he was named one-day skipper the same year, but at a time when India were trying to revive their fortunes in the 50-over game after the disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign in the Caribbean.
India bowed out in the first round after losing their opening match against Bangladesh in Trinidad, with former Australian batsman Greg Chappell as coach and Rahul Dravid as captain.
The national selectors plumped for Dhoni after record-breaking batsman Sachin Tendulkar refused to lead and, in turn, recommended the youngster for the job.
All captains are under pressure, but an Indian skipper is under more scrutiny than others because of fans' huge expectations in the cricket-crazy country.
So far, Dhoni has handled the pressure remarkably well.
He is not merely a cool captain, but also a devastating batsman and a safe wicket-keeper.
The burden of captaincy has not affected his batting as he cracked an unbeaten half-century in his early months as one-day skipper, powering his team to a five-wicket win over Pakistan in Guwahati in November 2007.
With former South African batsman Gary Kirsten as coach, Dhoni's Indians tasted success in home one-day series, beating England, Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand in recent years.
India are ranked number one in Tests and number two in one-dayers, thanks to the Dhoni-Kirsten combination. They recently drew a tough three-Test series 1-1 in South Africa, the first time they returned home unbeaten from that country.
Dhoni had just four ODIS under his belt when he proved he had the ability to demoralise any attack with his power-hitting, smashing four sixes and 15 fours in a 123-ball 148 against Pakistan in Vishakhapatnam in 2005.
Sri Lanka's bowlers were to suffer the same year when Dhoni hammered an unbeaten 183 -- the highest by a wicket-keeper in one-day internationals -- with 10 sixes and 15 fours in the third one-dayer in Jaipur.
India expect Dhoni to continue performing the triple role with distinction in the World Cup.
http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news...oni-is-own-man
Friend just called from the stadium. He said there was thundering applause for Dhoni and Raina when they came in. Their stint with CSK has more or less made them sons of the soil. :-)
Lessons from the Mahi Way
He is just 29 and has a lot of cricket in him yet. A second career though is ready, carved and beckons Mahendra Singh Dhoni or MSD as he is referred to by cricket experts. He has the makings to be among the top motivational speakers, be a leadership guru and a mentor for budding CEOs. And corporate India is sure to queue up for a dose of guru gyaan. But it is Political India — particularly Team UPA — that desperately needs to seek tutorials from the young Captain Courageous. You could say it is easy to succumb to exaggeration amidst the euphoria of the World Cup. You could also argue that he is fortunate (though I prefer “brave”) to have been at the right place at the right time, after all India is obsessed with the lethal fatalism of destiny. There is though no denying his achievements.
MSD is poised on the cusp of history. He may or may not be lucky to win India the 2011 Cup but his legacy is here for posterity. Dhoni has led teams to victory in virtually every form of cricket — from T20 World Cup to topping the ICC Test rankings to leading the Chennai Super Kings which is a global team to victory in the Indian Premier League. Indian pacer Praveen Kumar may have been hijacked by hyperbole when he described Dhoni as “the Obama of cricket” but there is no disputing his leadership or the enigma that this leadership is wrapped in.
Nobody is quite sure whether madness is the method or there is a method in his madness. But his ability to achieve desired outcomes with given resources under varied conditions is unmatched. The context of limitations of talent and meeting public expectations may yield some lessons for the political class. After all as in government on the cricket field too a leader cannot don the role of all the players. Yes, the difference is that victory or defeat on the field is unlikely to be viewed as a life and death situation but unlike in politics failure can end a career. It is also worth recognising that the outcomes are achieved under intense scrutiny. Almost every Indian in the nation of 121 crore people is a self-certified expert. The inclusion of Ashish Nehra and the exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin are subject to more scrutiny than parliamentary legislation. Like regional elections, every match — and cricket is the focus for over 150 days a year — is a virtual referendum on the talent of the players and the quality of leadership.
Interestingly the context of MSD and MMS — as Manmohan Singh is referred to on social networks — are accidental leaders. Dhoni strayed from soccer to cricket and from goal-keeping to goal setting. Dhoni burst into public imagination by displaying freedom from fear, with audacious strokes that made the team believe in the potential of the possible. Manmohan Singh, the second choice of P V Narasimha Rao, harvested public adulation by liberating India from the shackles of licence raj and the Hindu rate of growth. He has since turned cautious and boldness of approach is limited to — the nuclear deal or the persistence with Indo-Pak peace. In contrast, the inventor of the “helicopter shot” may have eschewed the stroke since but retains audacity in his approach.
Perhaps audacity is a function of youth, but there is no denying the need for audacity if change is the desired outcome. Consider the game plan in the current World Cup. Team India has built its strategy around Sachin Tendulkar, the God of cricket in India. But naturally the plan of every team has been to target Tendulkar. But Tendulkar’s failure in Chennai did not result in a complete collapse. That is primarily because every failure is backed by a Plan B, building partnerships. Obviously other players do play a role and this is the critical difference. Every player is assigned a role, an objective and empowered to achieve the result desired. Similarly this isn’t by any means the youngest or swiftest team but Dhoni strives to achieve efficiency by playing players to their strength on the field.
Evidently Dhoni has been successful in articulating this and communicating in analogies and metaphors. And remember he is dealing with players who have been captains, who have been playing even before he made his debut. Journalists and analysts familiar with team meetings and briefings are struck by the ability of MSD to rationalise objectives and explain decisions. The replacement of Yusuf Pathan with Suresh Raina for instance was succinctly explained in the need for India to bat for 50 overs. Dhoni is just as candid with his own mistakes, for instance in admitting to have read the Mohali pitch wrong. To borrow a phrase from management jargon, the team is on the same page.
Juxtapose this with the UPA. Assuming ‘inclusive growth’ is the instrument to alleviate poverty towards sustaining vote share, Team UPA must focus on rural development and GDP growth to fund it. The problem with rural development is twofold. The top-down approach needs to be replaced with a bottom up partnership with the states. Secondly there is little or no audit of money spent or reviews of outcomes. Clearly the sector requires a Tendulkar or a Yuvraj who can build the partnerships with states but has few takers and is left to tail-enders. If the UPA stated its objectives clearly wouldn’t the best in politics queue up to make a mark?
Leading the Indian cricket team is not unlike leading the UPA. Team India is selected by a committee reporting to the BCCI, which is a collection of subedars. Team UPA too is selected by a committee and is accountable to the coalition of political subedars called UPA. As with the UPA regional pressures and vote bank politics do play a role in the world of cricket too. The inclusion of Piyush Chawla over Pragyan Ojha or the selection of Virat Kohli and exclusion of Rohit Sharma were contested and tested by conspiracy theorists. Admittedly success has afforded MSD a stronger say in who should be in his team. At least he hasn’t yet complained about the compulsions of regional blocks in team selection.
It isn’t only about lack of talent. The UPA has talent and it is not just the presence of nine former CMs in the Cabinet. Pranab Mukherjee may not have set the markets rocking with reforms but he has ensured stability in the economy. P Chidambaram has delivered in the home ministry. Kapil Sibal has shaken the education sector with his ideas, even if some are seen as radical. Exceptions only prove the rule. The list of doers is shockingly short.
The moot issue seems to be lack of empowerment, a clear set of objectives and absence of rigorous ministerial accountability. And this would be true of many state governments flailing in fiscal profligacy and political bankruptcy. It would be true of parties too. The BJP for instance is struggling to find a captain. Indeed, political parties and governments have a startling similarity with the Indian cricket teams of yesteryears. Each player was a team playing for personal glory.
This can’t sustain if India has to win. Manmohan Singh, the longest serving PM since Mrs G, has the unique opportunity to change this. A new template of objectives and accountability will deliver a lasting legacy. India needs a courageous captain
Shankkar Aiyar, an analyst and a senior journalist currently on sabbatical, specialises in the interface of politics and economics
http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/colum...ay/261380.html
Mahi:-D:smokesmirk:
in this article about MSD,found this VERY VERY VERY INTERESTING!!! :smile:Quote:
Like he has always done, he will stay away from the bowlers meeting on Friday night, saying it helps him formulate his own alternative plans, if the bowling begins to fray on the field the next day.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cric...ry/509084.html