Dhoni and Kumble reading from different sheets

There's dissent in the Indian team ranks, and the vice-captain is to blame. Yesterday, in the run-up to the Adelaide test, Dhoni said

It's a moral victory, coming to Australia and not letting them beat us comfortably.

Three things to remember, Mahi.

One, the series is not yet over. A whipping at Adelaide (I don't expect a whipping, but I'm expecting a 3-1 series result) throws away any claims of a moral victory or not being beaten comfortably.

Two, there are no moral victories in sport. You win or you lose. Rohan Bopanna breaking Roger Federer may seem like a moral victory, but it doesn't count if the scoreline reads 6-1 6-0 6-0.

Three, you're in public disagreement with your captain. After the recent drawn Eden Gardens test against Pakistan, skipper Kumble responded to Pakistan coach Lawson's comments about escaping with a draw

I don't believe in moral victories. It's really crazy, I don't know why people talk about moral victories.

The last thing the team needs right now is people publicly disagreeing with each other. The Australian media are having a field day, writing about a schism in the side following Ganguly's omission from the one-day squad. I have no idea why Indian news channels extend their 'exclusive' chats with the likes of Ponting, Clarke, etc. to asking them about India's one-day side. Obviously Ponting isn't going to let go an opportunity to create some more confusion. So on his 'exclusive' chat with NDTV yesterday [Can't find a link to the video], he said

I am surprised and shocked that he is not in the side because right through this Test series, he has certainly looked good with the bat.

Why're the likes of NDTV or Times Now still having exclusives with Ponting and Clarke, when they both were significantly responsible for the controversies at Sydney 2008?

This is something that we sort of touched upon over 3 years ago, during Australia's last test tour of India. Perhaps it is time that the BCCI relaxed its rules for players speaking exclusively to the media. Right now, it makes for some pretty one-sided coverage.

Labels: australia, dhoni, ganguly, ind v aus 2008, india, kumble, perth 2008, ponting