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[caught and bowled]

The men in blue, seemingly calm and cool but ready for war
Ashish Magotra
Wednesday, February 28, 2007  23:04 IST
As they prepared to travel to the West Indies, the Indian team kept their calm and looked ready for anything

MUMBAI: Just before you embark on a long journey that will take you, figuratively speaking, a million miles from home, you feel that tinge of self-doubt. Somewhere inside you is a fear which tells you that something just might go wrong. And when you, like the Indian cricketers, know that the odyssey could lead to untold riches, it would be almost natural to feel the nerves.

One person in the team, who is almost synonmous with energy, is S Sreesanth but he emphatically made the point that he isn’t feeling the enormity of the task at hand. At least, not yet.

“I am not nervous, I am not nervous and I am not nervous,” he said. In fact, for a change, Sreesanth actually did look relaxed.

On the other end of the spectrum are the seniors, who have played in World Cups before. For them it may be their last chance to win cricket’s highest honours, one last fling at glory.

But while walking through the lobby of the team hotel, Sourav Ganguly presented the picture of calm. With his wife Dona in tow, he was completely foxed by three foreigners, who thought him to be the grandson on Mahatma *hi. Now, Ganguly’s been called a lot of things but you can be sure he’s never been called that. {I wonder what the "in other words" brigade of this DG would say to this..."How can he be connected to the Mahatma? Sourav has butchered bowlers all over the world, what can he have to do with peace, ahimsa?? These foreigners must be Chappell's cousins trying to defame Sourav by talking about his financial losses. More was toeing  Chappell's line because of  Chappellway. Where were these foreigners when the greatest sporting icon of India was being humiliated? *jumping up and down* }

There were others like Harbhajan Singh, who were chilling by the pool. The off-spinner hasn’t had the best of times in one-day internationals with his strike rate per wicket going up with every match. But the 26-year-old finds humour to be his best companion. “I am going to just walk outside the hotel and feed the pigeons. That will bring me good luck in the World Cup. Pray for me,” he said with a laugh.

Munaf Patel has been media shy in the past and he maintained the distance on Wednesday as well, but he couldn’t help showing off his new hairstyle. The long curly tresses have given way to a close crop.

Zaheer Khan is expected to lead the Indian attack into his second World Cup and with his new found work ethic, the left-arm paceman isn’t leaving anything to chance. While the other players were trying to get their suitcases sorted out at the last minute, Zaheer wound up in the gym.

Sanjay Jagdale, the team’s manager and also member of the national selection committee, was busy getting everything in order for the departure, late on Wednesday night. And he certainly wouldn’t want to repeat the gaffe of the manager of the South Africa tour, Chetan Desai, who’s tour report found its way to the media.

“Yes, yes, the BCCI has got in touch with me over that. This is the best 15 that we could have chosen for the World Cup and I know that each and every one of these players will give more than 100 per cent on the field. The expectation are high and they will try to live up to them,” he said.

Right now, however, the Indian team is trying to keep it simple. The journey will be long, difficult and perhaps the best way to counter the expectations is to just go with the flow.
 

[flute202020]

“I am not nervous, I am not nervous and I am not nervous,” he said

  looks like SS is indeed nervous