Fight words with bat, ball and fielding heroics

Slowly but surely, the sheen of cricket being a “gentleman’s game” has worn off. Batsmen don’t “walk” unless forced by the umpire to do so (Gilchrist may be an exception in recent days), bowlers don’t mind appealing just to apply pressure on the umpires, and even fielders do not accept that the catch was not “clean”. The other side of the argument, though, is that with so much technology on and around the field, there is ample scope for catching such stuff that falls into the category of “not cricket”- and in spite of this, umpires still get their decisions wrong quite frequently. The logic continues that waiting for the decision only levels the playing field.

Sledging has become the norm, especially over the past two decades or so. With some teams, such as Australia, it is a fine art. The aim is clearly to get under the opposition’s skin and provoke the batsmen/bowler into doing something rash- and in the process, give Australia a break. The good news is that by and large, the Australian cricket team has had the firepower and performance to back up verbal gamesmanship- something very few other cricketing teams can claim.

At the start of the current series also, some of Australia’s cricketerssaid a few things to try and deflate the balloon of the victorious T20 world champs Sadly, several young (and hot headed) players in the curent Indian cricket team have allowed themselves to fall into the trap. Rather than let their cricketing abilities- and the results- speak, Harbhajan Singh, Sreeshanth and Robin Uthappa have all opened their mouths. And without having delivered (Robin did score briskly at Kochi but what was needed was for him to stay and play a bigger innings), it now looks like idle talk.

Being an armchair expert (”Monday morning quarterbacking”, as the Americans call it) is very easy. But I am as ardent a fan and supporter of Indian cricket as anyone else is and it hurts to see our team falling prey to a carefully laid trap. All I will say is this: guys, let your game talk. If a batsman says something, try and get his wicket in the next delivery. If you are batting and the fieldsmen talk to you, try and hit a boundary. Win the series and when you get called on stage to collect the man of the match/series awards- say a “thank you” to Australia for goading (inspiring?) you to do better. Till then, watch your words and focus on winning the cricket series. Good luck!

What the strengthening Indian Rupee means

As recently as about 3 years ago, US $ 1 was worth almost INR 50 (ok, a few paise less, if you want to be puritanical about it!). But today, the exchange rate is closer to US$1= INR 40 (maybe INR 39 is closer to the truth). The very premise of the Indian IT services and BPO industries is being questioned. Exporters are upset- and the impact is there for all to see whether it is garments and textiles or tea or even silk and handicrafts.

But is it all just gloom and doom? Foreign travel has become cheaper (in Rupee terms)- so more people are holidaying overseas and getting exposed to the global environment; each Rupee goes farther in terms of paying for our imports. Hiring foreign talent will be less of a burden (whether we are talking pilots or CEOs)- especially when a large chunk of the company’s revenues are denominated in INR, giving it a natural hedge (of course, when the contract is renegotiated, the expats may demand to be paid in GBP or some fancy basket of currencies!).
In the long run, a strong Rupee can only be good for the nation as a whole. Yes, certain industries will be adversely impacted- and they will need to focus on enhancing productivity, providing higher-value services that will command higher price points, and simultaneously, expand to locations that are still cost competitive. For instance, if India’s outsoucing industry is benefiting from the country’s colonial past in that English is widely spoken and is often the medium of instruction, then why should he industry not leverage the same historical English connection that African countries like Kenya and Botswana also possess? Or for that matter, tap into Francophone Algeria to service the outsourcing needs of French speaking companies/markets? If companies were to do this, I believe the true benefits of globalization would percolate far quicker across the world.