Sunday, July 08, 2012

The single biggest reason to strive "doing the bestwe can with what we have"

Cannot resist sharing these 2 paragraphs I just read in Ed Smith's tribute to our Rahul Dravid:
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I last bumped into Dravid late last year at a charity dinner at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He was the same as he always has been - warm, self-deprecating, curious about the lives of others. As ever, he made a point of asking about my parents - their health and happiness - although he has never met them. Family and friendship, you sense, are central to his life and his values.

In the q&a that followed his speech, one answer got close to the core of his personality. What motivated him still, after all these years and so many runs? Dravid said that as a schoolboy, he remembered many kids who had at least as much desire to play professional cricket as he did - they attended every camp and net session, no matter what the cost or the difficulty of getting there. But you could tell - from just one ball bowled or one shot played - that they simply didn't have the talent to make it. He knew he was different. "I was given a talent to play cricket," Dravid explained. "I don't know why I was given it. But I was. I owe it to all those who wish it had been them to give of my best, every day."
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http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/557122.html

Married to the Big Five

I would like to get a statistic from Google blogger:
Exactly what percentage of my total posts on PV have involved either one or more of Indian Cricket's Big Five: Sachin, Rahul, VVS, Ganguly and Kumble.
Hope I get the figures some day...maybe even 10 years down the line with a super-intelligent blogger...hope so!
I suspect that the percentage won't change too much even by then..

Saturday, July 07, 2012

Happy 40th Birthday, dear Dada

In a few minutes from the time this post gets published, we shall celebrate the 40th birthday of Sourav Ganguly.
The change agent of Team India.
http://scganguly.com/corona/wp-content/uploads/catablog/originals/DADA%20(1).jpg


Leaving aside customary praises that we have given him in plenty, I searched the net for quotes on him. 
I suggest we re-read the words that once came out of a still-young-but-under-fire off spinner from Punjab about the captain that made him:

"Ever since Sourav became the captain, I do not feel like a youngster in the team any more. Everybody is treated equally and Sourav himself is extremely approachable and a pillar of strength. Sourav stood by me when I was struggling. I owe a great deal to him for standing by me at the most important time. I can’t express my gratitude to him in words." – Harbhajan Singh


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourav_Ganguly


Happy birthday, dear Dada. and thanks a zillion for being there.