Dev: India should focus more on team, less on Sachin's 100th

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/kapil-dev-slams-medias-obsession-with-sachin-tendulkars-100th-ton/articleshow/10183082.cms

At least someone in India is sick of the hype surrounding the 100th ton. Perhaps it has taken their collective eyes off the ball.

No Perhaps about it.

It's bleedin' obvious, but it seems someone had to say it. (To the journohacks, mind.)

It's good that it's Kapil, who was a winner by mentality.

Better - and more important - than the sideswipe at the Indian media is this section:

"The players did not get time to unwind and enjoy their World Cup victory. They had worked four years for it. But they just got four days before the IPL began," Kapil said.

"They should have got more time to enjoy the moment. If you don't give time to unwind, you lose the passion to play. That's what happened in England."

Kapil also wanted players to be paid more for representing the country than their IPL franchises.

"How can you give more money to play for a club [than] for playing for the country?" he said.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.... India only lost because they didn't enjoy the WC win. Not because they're a bunch of unprofessional dickwads who got shat on by a collective of machines. Had they got a few days by the pool, they'd have been all the more hungry - 4-0 the other way, by my estimation. Thank f*ck for the IPL, it was the only chance we had.

Emm ... I think Kapil was politely implying something else, namely: "I wev-v mah prrrahvett parrrts in ze ge'ne'ral deerrekseeong of ze AhPayYell".

In other words, the Indian Cricket Board should not be letting the IPL F the country in the A at will - - - - paying Test players enough to tempt them to be half-way patriotic (and keep in fighting condition) would be a start.

"They should have got more time to enjoy the moment. If you don't give time to unwind, you lose the passion to play. That's what happened in England."

i.e. Boo hoo hoo hooo we didn't get outskilled they just didn't want to win.

Wasn't Kapil on the board of the ICL? ....that got F'ed in the A by the BCCI/IPL

Probably.

Which will lend more bite to his statements, but doesn't invalidate his point(s), I think.

In some ways lends them more weight as well as bite.

"How can you give more money to play for a club [than] for playing for the country?" he said.

dev was among the people who started this trend in india with the ICL. can't see why he is complaining on that point

his row with the bcci seems to be never-ending. not that anyone in india likes the bcci

But did the ICL set out to ignore the international team, and weaken it by planning an endless string of daily fast food matches right up to Tests?