Overreaction Monday ft. the Kohli-Surya stare-fest, the Srikkanth-Manjrekar tiff and Cameron 'Ponting' Green

Overreaction Monday ft. the Kohli-Surya stare-fest, the Srikkanth-Manjrekar tiff and Cameron 'Ponting' Green

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Kohli and SKY were schooled by fans

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SportsCafe

Phew, the cricket world is full of dividing, contrasting, mesmerizing and over the top opinions by cricketers, the Twitter world, the fans and what not - especially during the IPL time. This week was no different as it threw up some amazingly bizarre opinions that took the world by storm.  

Kris Srikkanth rubbishes Sanjay Manjrekar

Kris Srikkanth on his YouTube channel accused Manjrekar of creating controversy after he questioned Rahul's Test selection and asked him to check Rahul's Test record, terming his opinion as 'rubbish' and thinking limited to 'Bombay'.

SC's Take- YouTube channel, controversy, talking outlandishly, making no sense - Welcome to the YouTube world of viral cricket channels. In all honesty, I must admit that in the longest period of time, I haven't heard a more confident take by anyone sans complete ignorance for facts and logic like Kris Srikkanth. First things first, if you pick a player on the basis of IPL performances and not Ranji trophy for Tests, there will be controversy and question marks, so Manjrekar has hit the nail on the head. 

Secondly, Srikkanth himself needs to check Rahul's record than asking Sanjay to do so as he is terribly wrong about his Test exploits. By the way, that's classic Indian expert stuff, keep blabbering, without research. KL Rahul was so bad that he could manage only a hundred and a fifty each in the last 15 Tests he played, with the fifty coming against Afghanistan. As far as Srikkanth's Bombay tirade goes, first of all, it's 'Mumbai' not Bombay, and Manjrekar, for a change, didn't show any bias and talked with facts and numbers to back his claims and was completely bang on in his point unlike Srikkanth's failed attempt to go viral overnight. 

Banter on a cricket field, what's that?

According to a section of Indians fans, Virat Kohli can't stare into the eyes of a youngster like Suryakumar Yadav while SKY shouldn't stare back at a man with 70 international centuries.  

SC's Take - Virat Kohli continues to divide opinions. But damn, this time he was just intensely staring Suryakumar Yadav, playing mind games, trying to get into his head, intimidate him sans cussing for the fans to start preaching moral science lessons. Have we really become so naive and kiddish that we make a mountain out of a molehill when two men in a competitive sport are fiercely staring at each other dedicated to get their respective teams over the line? Things do get heated in the middle but it shouldn't matter as long as nobody crosses the line, and that's the beauty of the live sport that keeps us hooked.

All of those blowing things out of proportion should watch POGO on TV, because this ain't your cup of tea. Or else watch BIG BOSS, as cricket isn't a popular personality contest where you need to play the moral police over every freaking minuscule stuff. As far as SKY is concerned, he has all the right to stare back and respond to Kohli irrespective of his centuries as they are playing the same match, at the same platform, in the same sport, to express themselves the way they want to. In fact, it was great from Surya not to budge, stare back at Kohli and then finish the game for his side. Champion stuff!

Cameron 'Ponting' Green

Greg Chappell states that Cameron Green is the best batting talent since Ricky Ponting. He also says that he can win Australia the next Ashes. 

SC's Take - What is it about former greats of the game, making ludicrous comparisons of youngsters to some of the legends of the game, who have played 15-20 years of cricket and excelled in every which way. I mean if you want to hit the headlines, why take a youngster down the line, especially someone like Cameron Green, who is still so raw. Also the best batter since Ponting? Did Chappell stop watching cricket in the last few years; I mean there is a certain Steven Smith, who also plays for Australia too. Given Green is someone who has not even played a Test, and someone we don't even know whether will play the Ashes or not, calling him to potentially spearhead the Aussie Ashes campaign is the height of going overboard. 

Now, coming to Green, he has been fantastic in the last 12 months in the Sheffield Shield. No wonder he got a call-up so that he gets an exposure against India in white-ball cricket. But handing him over the Baggy Green will be a result of more hype than substance as he's way too young and inexperienced and might get found out against a gun Indian bowling attack. Also Matthew Wade and Travis Head deserve their chances after they have done well in the whites and in the ongoing Shield. 

Watch out for Shaw in Australia 

After seeing bits of Lara and Tendulkar in Prithvi Shaw, Brad Hogg has opined that the youngster will be a player to watch out for in the Australia Tests. 

SC's Take - Undoubtedly, every cricket expert has his or her own blue-eyed boys. For Brad Hogg that seems to be Prithvi Shaw. After comparing him to Tendulkar and Lara, before the IPL begun, and predicting him to be Delhi's best batsman for the season, Hogg is at it again, expressing his excitement that Shaw will take on Aussie pacers in Tests and will be a player to watch out for. But just as bizarre the earlier comparison was and miserable his prediction turned out to be, this time as well, his claim of Shaw dominating the Aussie pacers might fall flat. 

Prithvi Shaw's back foot stays rooted in the crease and doesn't come in line with the delivery and as a result, he ends up playing outside the line. It is a major problem when the ball does something. On expected lines, Shaw failed in the New Zealand Tests where he averaged 24.50. Now, throwing your hands at the delivery, less feet movement might not be as troubling on flat Aussie decks. But then we have seen that Shaw has also started struggling with short deliveries, getting into awkward positions. In fact, he has been bounced out by the likes of Archer, Boult and Nagarkoti this season, and he might prove to be a sitting duck Down Under.

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