Blogs - Bat on Regardless

Yuvraj’s life has been far from private, but most of us don’t know him at all.

At 49, most sensible people have accepted that Azhar's cricket days are behind him, and it appears that so has the man himself.

While a nation may want answers for India's loss to England, question is: are we ready to accept the responses that will come our way?

A cornerstone of the Kirsten-Upton duo's coaching methodology, as observed when they were part of the Indian set up, was that happy people are successful people, and this applied to cricket as well. Given the sheer technical, physical and skill challenges that the bat and ball game threw up at the highest level, and the already proven calibre of the practitioners, the one thing support staff needed to do was help create the right kind of environment.

Since the Mumbai Test, where Sachin Tendulkar endured twin failures, falling to the left-arm spin of Monty Panesar in both innings, there has been speculation over whether Tendulkar has had a word with the selectors about his future.

Kevin Pietersen is not the only English player struggling to come to terms with India's spin. That said, the team has the ability to solve the problem as long as it admits there is a problem in the first place.

At every major International Cricket Council event, whether it's the World Cup, the World Twenty20, or the Champions Trophy, there's a minor stampede back in India as sponsors backing the team and the event try and make the most of a fertile window of opportunity.

India's recent triumph over Australia in the final of the Under-19 World Cup opened up the floodgates. From receptions on the tarmac on arrival to felicitations and cash rewards from the Board of Control for Cricket in India to panel discussions on television channels, the young men who were till recently merely cricketers have taken their baby steps towards stardom.

It's becoming quite obvious around the world that you have do more than just call your tournament Premier League to attract the kind of attention the Indian Premier League has.

Some cricket fans in India must be mildly confused by the storm that Kevin Pietersen seems to be at the centre of in England.