Hoo Haa India, Har Gaya India

The chant of the Pepsi Blue Billion will be saying this for some time to come. When all the hope was built up, the end result was as always dissappointing. The killer instinct went missing, and the will to win vanished. So, after having created History by winning the first test in Johannesburg, Team India squandered the lead and lost the test series to South Africa. The final test in Cape Town ended with South Africa winning the match by 5 wickets, and thus ending a miserable tour for India.

With this result, Team India has to do some very serious and deep thinking. It is about time that the team for the World Cup is announced, and ensure that the rotation and flexibility policy be practical and helpful, not detrimental, as in the case of Irfan Pathan. Make sure that every person in the team has a defined and a more precise role, so that the players have confidence in themselves. Last, but possibly the most controversial suggestion, ensure that there is a COMPLETE MEDIA BLANKET TILL THE END OF THE WORLD CUP.

It is on this point that I would like to stress upon. Let the team concentrate on playing rather than endorsing products. If team India fails at the World Cup, then the people should not blame the players, but rather the Advertisers and other Media firms who want tohese players to endorse their products to the public. This is highlighted by the fact that before the trip to South Africa, the players walked on a fashion ramp, rather than preparing for a series!!!!!! It is this kind of attitude that must be changed among the players, and hence the Media blanket is an effective way of changing it in the short term.

The players now have to believe that they can win. Being Mentally strong is the first step towards securing victory. After that, it is the application put out by the players which will lead them to the final goal. The world cup is barely three months away, and looking at rhe current form and performances of the team, many people would not be mistaken to believe that this team will not do well in the World Cup. But, sports is a funny field, and Cricket is known to throw up surprises. Let the Cricket administrators in the country ensure that the options in the above paragraph are more or less followed, because if they are not, then the chant "Hoo Haa India, Har Gaya India" will be unfortunately true.