Listen to The Hindu's Sports Editor Nirmal Shekar speak to our Sports-Writer Arun Venugopal about the World Cup and India's tour of England. Reach out to us @thehindusports and #SaturdaysWithShekar. Editing: Lavanya Prabhakaran
Arun Venugopal: Hello and welcome to the third episode of Saturdays With Shekar. This is Arun Venugopal and joining us on the show is The Hindu’s sports editor Nirmal Shekar. As always, wonderful to see you here, Shekar.
Nirmal Shekar: Thank you. I am happy to be here again.
AV: Before we get Shekar to talk, let’s just look back at how frenetic the last few days have been. Yes indeed, I am talking about the World Cup. The two semifinals. What a study in contrast have they been! While Germany fans have been happily stunned by the team’s performance, Brazil’s fans are probably too numb to react, and I suspect, are still in hiding. Jokes apart,
Shekar, 7-1, surely, you weren’t expecting such a scoreline?
NS: This is perhaps the most shocking scoreline I have ever come across in my experience of watching World Cups. And, it’s because of a combination of factors. One, the injury to Neymar, and two, the absence of the captain – in the rear – Thiago Silva. And, three, on the field, the Brazilians put too much pressure on themselves. They just came apart and strategically they came apart. Emotionally they came apart, every which way they came apart.
AV: They keep speaking about German efficiency all the time and do you think Brazil were slightly hampered by the fact that they let emotions dictate the course of play. Is that what worked in Germany’s favour?
NS: Certainly, to a point, yes, emotions on the Brazilian side worked in Germany’s favour. But this German team is a very good team. They have peaked at the right time and everything is going well for them.
AV: A Germany-Argentina final. They have met twice in the title clash in the past – in 1986 and 1990 -- although technically you could argue it was West Germany then. Shekar, your memories of those two finals?
NS: I don’t want to pat myself on the back, but in the last episode I did predict this final. I have also said it’s going to be 50-50 in the final. But given what has transpired in the semifinals, I would say it’s now 55-45 in Germany’s favour. As for my memories of the last two meetings between the two teams in ’86 and ’90, 86 was just [a] one-man World Cup. It was all about Maradona… Maradona…Maradona. But ’90 was a little different because Maradona was nowhere near where he was in 1986, and it wasn’t a great final, I can remember that. But 1986 was very, very special because of Maradona.
AV: Traditionally, when we speak of World Cup finals, we remember very many great encounters. What are your favourite World Cup clashes – the ones that instantly spring to your mind?
NS: In qualititative terms, I think, the 1970 World Cup final between Brazil and Italy stands out. It was a great Brazilian team, a very, very good Italian team, and a 4-1 scoreline in the final. It was all that the fans could ask for. There have been other good matches as well but this certainly stands out in my memory.
AV: Time to take in questions from our listeners. This one is from Karthik Sankar on FB. Should the football World Cup be revamped to a different format as the current one does not allow teams to settle down and establish themselves?
NS: FIFA can definitely look at other formats but I think it’s going to take a lot of doing. Getting the World Cup in place with so many teams after the long qualifying months or years, it’s going to be tough. I think the 32-team format is perhaps the best. [With] More teams, it’ll be too unwieldy, less teams, we won’t get to see these outsiders come in and do their bit.
AV: We earlier spoke to Jose Ramirez Barreto, the former Mohun Bagan star. Here’s the Brazilian’s take on his country’s shocking display in the semifinals.
Jose Barreto: I think the players… they have done what they could have. I just feel the coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, who we were full of praises of, had failed in this World Cup. I just feel he disappointed in the World Cup with his game-plans and strategies. Unfortunately, we lost Neymar and Thiago Silva in the semifinals. That was a big blow for us as well.
AV: Jose Barreto clearly seems to be an Argentina fan, but he has got a good word for many other teams in this World Cup. Listen to what he has got to say about the standard of competition in the world’s premier event.
Barreto: It’s been a high-level tournament. I have been impressed with the level of the South American teams, European teams, and African teams as well. My point is it’s one of the best World Cups I have ever seen so far, with a very high level.
AV: After a steady diet of football and tennis over the last two episodes, we have some cricket on offer now. The India-England series — a five-test bout between the two teams after a long, long time. How do you think it’s going to pan out, Shekar?
NS: I think these are two equally matched teams because they both lack in quality, I’ll be very frank with that. They have many new players. The conditions are very different from the last time they met. The players are very different. India has probably two or three players who’ve played test match cricket in England before, and this English team’s also got new players. So, I think that they’re pretty evenly balanced. But I’m disappointed with the nature of the first test pitch. It’s so flat that it’s going to kill test cricket.
AV: Here’s a listener question, again. This time from Deepak Negi on Facebook:
Should India go with two spinners as it is summer in England? We’ve seen how Rangana Herath was spinning the ball. And what’s your take on Roger Binny in the Playing XI instead of one spinner?
NS: You know England’s track record against India, against spin bowling. I certainly think that two spinners will be great. Two quality spinners, if we can find them, can be great. But the question about Stuart Binny, I don’t know. It’s early days; his first test. But I think that he’s a bits-and-pieces cricketer.
AV: Shekar, tell us about your own experiences growing up watching India-England test matches. Which are the matches you remember getting excited about?
NS: I was very excited as a teenager, listening to commentary from the 1971 series in which India beat England at the Oval. I remember Chandrasekhar’s great spell of 6 for 38. I especially remember a blinder that my dear friend Venkataraghavan took off Brian Luckhurst and (Eknath) Solkar had two good catches as well, and Wadekar’s team won that series 1-0. That was a great win for India. I think it was India’s first test victory, not just series victory, in England. Since then, I’ve watched lot of good India-England contests. From the English side, the player I’ve always admired and loved watching is David Gower.
AV: Do you remember reminiscing about some of these instances with players from the 1971 squad, like Venkataraghavan for instance?
NS: I’ve had lots of chats with Venky on that series, and I’ve spoken to some older journalists who were on that tour. And yes, those were special days. Days when India was really making an impact on the world scene outside India for the first time, for Wadekar’s team had just a few months ago beaten the West Indies in the West Indies, thanks to a 22-year-old young man called Sunil Manohar Gavaskar. He went on to become a legend. So, those were great days for Indian cricket.
AV: Speaking of Gavaskar, we had the little master celebrating his birthday on Thursday. A very happy birthday — belatedly, of course — to Sunil Gavaskar from Saturdays With Shekar. Moving on. There’s another question, this time from Ram (@ram_k27). And this is a topic that you’ve written extensively on:
What’s your take on N. Srinivasan’s recent posting as the chairman of the ICC — newly created just for him?
NS: To be fair, the matter is in the Supreme Court, and I wouldn’t like to make an in-depth comment on this issue. But, it does seem strange to me that a man who has been temporarily barred from heading his own country’s board can be elected chairman of the ICC. It does seem strange to me. But beyond that, I don’t want to make a comment because the case is in court.
AV: Moving on back to football now, Shekar. I know you said 55:45 in favour of Germany, but you have to stick your neck out and support one team. Which one would that be?
NS: Emotionally if I had to stick my neck out and support one team, that’d be Argentina because it has Lionel Messi in its ranks. As for my prediction from a very rational perspective, I would say Germany is a slight favourite. But that depends on whether Mr. Lionel Messi turns up as Mr. Genius or just another average footballer in the team. Everything is going to depend on how well Messi plays on that day. But I still think Germany is the favourite.
AV: Trust Nirmal Shekar to have more than one answer for every question. All right folks, that’s a wrap on this episode any way. Do listen in to Saturdays With Shekar on www.thehindu.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @TheHinduSports. I’m sure you’re going to have a thrilling weekend with the World Cup final and the England-India test match. Until next time, this is Arun Venugopal signing off. Take care and have a wonderful evening…
