Overreaction Monday ft. Jofra Archer, Rahane at No.4 and Chennai Super Kings-less IPL
31.08 edition of Overreaction Monday
|SportsCafe
MS Dhoniās retirement now looks like ages ago, as we have moved on to the new normal - IPL - in a chaotic world filled with āpositiveā news. Donāt worry, as usual, we've got you covered with the bizarre comments made from cricketers in the world of sport with the IPL just around the wretched corner.
āWhite ballā suits Jofra Archer better
Jofra Archer, following a long and hard Test summer for England, stated that white-ball cricketing action suits him better because it is easier for the bowlers.Ā
SC Take: The statement in itself is the epitome of bizarreness, given that several bowlers in the past have complained how hard white-ball cricket is, especially in a batsmen-dominated format. However, Archerās belief that white-ball is better because he can pick more wickets is bizarre, given that red-ball offers more to pace bowlers. I mean, look at the statistics, it would paint a better picture.Ā
On the other hand, he also opened up saying that the batters would have to come out and attack the bowlers. In the same line, Jofra, the bowlers would have to get it inch-perfect in order to get success in the white-ball format, unlike with the red-ball. In the Test format, the bowlers are helped more by the conditions favouring the bowlers - particularly in a country like England. If he canāt make use of those conditions, well the blame is on him and, as it stands, this piece of news is only kick-starting this weekās edition of Overreaction Monday.Ā
Good ārecordā Rahane at No.4
Indiaās Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane suggested that his numbers before he was axed from the Indian white-ball team were very good.Ā
SC Take: Letās make it clear, Rahane is still holding his place in the longest format on the basis of one odd Test success in world cricket. But that is Test cricket, where one can get away with one good innings - look at Jos Buttler against West Indies. However, in the shorter formats, the scrutiny is more intense and more immediate, as witnessed by Rahane first-hand. In the 90 appearances that he made in the ODI format, the Mumbaikar scored 2962 runs, at an average of 35.26.
To be calling an average of 35 and 2962 runs as very good in itself is nothing short of ludicrous. On top of that, the Indian management dumped Ambati Rayudu, who scored 1694 runs in 50 innings, at an average of 47.05. If that guy was dumped for Vijay Shankar and now Shreyas Iyer, Rahane would be left far behind in the list. The less we talk about a comeback, the better for the Indian cricket team.Ā
PCBās āYouTubeā policy
After MS Dhoni retired on August 15, Saqlain Mushtaq said that BCCI did not treat the former Indian skipper well and the veteran's retirement should not have happened without a proper farewell. This statement did not go down well with PCB, who asked him to stop.Ā
SC Take: The first quote from PCB apparently was - āThe PCB was not impressed by Saqlain for over the board praise of Dhoni.ā Let us understand this, the PCB basically said their former player is not allowed to praise MS Dhoni. Second of all, it is a weird statement that came out of the former spinner, who criticised BCCI for not arranging a send-off match for the former Indian skipper. To make it easier to apprehend, Dhoni wanted none of it, which is exactly why he took to Instagram, the last medium that you would think of when it comes to announcing retirement.Ā
Even if Dhoni wants BCCI to give him a proper send-off, why would one of the worldās powerful boards listen to a former player who is not even from their country? On top of that, regarding PCBās bizarre statement to prevent the players from not working on YouTube, well, there should have been some kind of guideline in the first place.Ā
CSKās troll day on Twitter
After two players - Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaekwad - tested positive for COVID-19, Twitter took off, suggesting that IPL should ban CSK for bringing the virus.
SC Take: Sometimes you sit down and think hard, pondering whether āhumanityā does exist at all. Such was Friday and Saturday for all those people following cricket on Twitter. On Friday, eleven of CSKās management and players tested positive for the virus. That somehow gave all the keyboard warriors an opportunity to pick up their mobile phones and laptops to troll the franchise. How on earth is it their fault? They stepped foot in the Middle East after testing negative twice in the span of one week in India.Ā
Does that then mean that the tests back home were faulty, given that they tested negative? On top of that, even if they tested positive, you would have to understand that it gives no reason in the entire world to troll them. It could have happened to any team in the tournament, would you then want to ban those teams too? For some reason, journalists and fans equally felt it was a welcome opportunity for them to give their penny on Rainaās personal matters. Stop the internet, take a bloody rest!
