Why so much intrigue?

Where else, but in a place where intrigue and secrecy are of greater significance than truth and transparency, can a situation like this develop that the man announced as captain goes `missing’ and the governing body has no idea of what is happening? All they do is spread more confusion and resort to subterfugeand even half truths. But why? That is the question.

Let a few questions be raised first. Who was this `top Board official’ quoted in two leading dailies of East and South on the morning of the selection saying that Tendulkar has said `no’ to the job and the selection committee will be told so? Did Ajit Wadekar tell the selection committee that Tendulkar had conveyed his `unpreparedness’ for the job before taking any decision?

As it turned out the selection committee — if chairman Ajit Wadekar and BCCI secretary JY Lele are to be believed — took just a couple of minutes to decide that Tendulkar is the man to lead India. They did not give any indication that Tendulkar had told them he is not interested in the job.

And then begins the bizarre drama. Tendulkar goes `underground’ and finally after 24 hours of being appointed captain, the Board president tells the press that Tendulkar has accepted the job. He also tells The Indian Express that Tendulkar had not said `no’ to the job and the reportsin the press are a `figment of their imagination’. And when asked who could this top Board official who was quoted by the two newspapers be Mr Dungarpur again says that `newspapers are in a habit of speculating’ and the man definitely is not him as an agency report had suggested.

Now that Tendulkar has informed that he had told Mr Dungarpur, coach Anshuman Gaekwad and Wadekar of his being `mentally not prepared’ for the job, what is Dungarpur’s stand now? Who is speaking the truth? Whom does one believe? Will the two newspapers, in public interest, reveal the name of the `top Board official’?

Why should this simple matter of Tendulkar’s reluctance be shrouded in layers of secrecy and finally create a situation where nobody comes out with his `honour’ intact. Is there more than what meets the eye or is the officialdom so obsessed with themselves and retaining power that matters cricketing will always remain secondary.

Best of luck Sachin Tendulkar and your team.

`Domestic cricket must get itsdue’

Sachin Tendulkar’s approach to the tete-e-tete with media was like his batting — clear and decisive.

Tendulkar was candid to say that he was disappointed to lose the captaincy.“I just took it in my stride,” he said.

“I cannot allow happenings of the past affect my captaincy now. I was positive in my last stint and will be likewise now. It’s all about winning matches. When you win one game, you forget about it and move on to the next one. The same applies when you lose. I will have to look for the positive points from the mistakes I committed earlier,” he added. Excerpts from the media conference:

Captaincy goals: I have always set goals for batting which I keep it to myself. I will try and do likewise with the captaincy. I have to live up to my own expectations and standards. But the general expectations are always high and it’s not easy living upto it. If I can live upto my own expectations I think I would be doing a decent job for the country.

Is captaincy aninspiration?: When you are playing for India, you are automatically inspired by the people, by the fans who wish well for you, who pray for you and are willing to do anything for you so that the country wins. That itself is a great inspiration.

Prescription for the Indian team: It’s very important that we play as a team. It doesn’t matter if there are no outstanding performances. But we should learn to perform well as a team. We should identify our problems areas because each individual’s job is going to differ from the other.

Batting order in one-dayers: I would surely like to open.

On improvement of domestic cricket: Whenever India players are available they should play all the games. Though there are times when an players requires rest from the rigours of a tight international calendar. So we have to plan accordingly. One of the grey areas has been the lack of nice and fair tracks. There are places in India which don’t have decent tracks for cricket which is unfair to theplayers. Preparation of fair tracks are important for the improvement of domestic cricket.

India’s World Cup performance: I don’t think we did badly as it is made out to be. We did a decent job. The crucial game was against Australia which we lost. Whatever had happened in the league phase had sort of become history, but we had a good chance in the Super Six chance as well.