A matter of gloves

So I've been noticing Mushfiqur Rahim's wicketkeeping gloves.

They look incredibly familiar.

Why? That camouflage design. That pseudo-military-whatever-type pattern. That's Dhoni's gloves. His supposed custom designed gloves that also got him into a bit of trouble in Australia '08.

Exactly the same, right down to that little patch of brown tape on the left glove.

It's got me thinking: how? Why?

Here are my theories:

1. Obviously Dhoni is a pioneer. A fashion maverick in the cricketing world. About time other wicketkeepers started emulating him, eh?

2. Rahim probably thought he could cinch a bit of Dhoni's luck by copying/stealing (where's that dressing room security?) his gloves. Unfortunately all he's been able to supernaturally cinch is Dhoni's 'keeping skills (or lack, thereof) as was evident in that stumping he missed off Rohit Sharma - who, by the way, was so far out of his crease it should technically have been a run-out.

3. Dhoni's been discarding his old gloves and decided to give a pair to Rahim as a motivational gift out of the goodness of his heart. You know it's true.

4. Their cricketing kits have been either Confiscated/Burnt/Lost/kicked out of the plane, so they're sharing the one pair of gloves that Dhoni managed to smuggle under two layers of designer jackets.

Which one of them is true, I wonder. Oh well, at least the journos have something to ask in the post match press conference that won't be met with a barrage of mumbled and badly pronounced cliches.

In other news, apparently a game called Twenty20 cricket is going on. In fact, I hear, it's actually a World Cup. I hear people like Chris Gayle, Jesse Ryder and Yuvraj Singh have played innings that have been often described as "scintillating."

For me? I'm just experiencing the joy of listening to Harsha Bhogle again. And Wasim Akram, who keeps wanting me to "look at the noise", but honestly, Mr. Akram, I'm sorry, I'm not able to see it.

Not to mention the billion ads that often come in between balls of the same over (honestly, the IPL was so much better in that regard, at least they waited till the end of the over), but I don't mind anyway, because every second ad has Dhoni endorsing products ranging from cell phones to ceiling fans, looking debonair, gleeful (and occasionally appearing in really short running shorts and sending me into transports of glee) and suave.

New Zealand to win this year's T20 WC.

Happy Birthday, Parthiv!

... So I have a confession to make.

Back in 2003, as a hormonal 13 year old fledgling, I'd just begun to take to cricket. For some reason, right from the beginning, even before I was fully aware of what a wicketkeeper did, my favourite player in any team would be the wicketkeeper (all English keepers were and are exceptions). Always.

So there was this dude who was keeping for the Indian team, right? The little one, all of 17, who looked remarkably like he could be my classmate, and as I grew a few years older, he could be my little brother's classmate? Well, I fell for him, chubby cheeks, Wide Eyed Innocent Stare of Doom, adorably diminutive stature and all.

Parthiv Patel was my first celebrity crush.

And this happens to be the first time I'm admitting that publicly, by the way.

I remember being furious when he was dropped after a patch where his wicketkeeping deteriorated into atrocious levels, to be replaced by the likes of Dinesh Kaarthick and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Nobody could replace Parthiv, I fumed. These replacements will be no good.

Of course, exactly six months later, my affections were firmly centered around a certain long-haired stocky wicketkeeper, but hey. It was bound to happen, right? And I was fourteen.

I still follow Parthiv's exploits now, though; like a big sister I know how to be I feel proud of his achievements, pray for his continued success. Come on. Just look at that face. You can practically feel those parental/older-sibling instincts shooting up.

You can imagine how insanely delighted I was when I learnt that both Dhoni and Parthiv would be playing for Chennai Super Kings. I honestly would never consider atheism again, as obviously there is Somebody up there listening to my secret, coveted desires.

Why this confession? Well today, the little dude turns 24. Tomorrow, he celebrates his first wedding anniversary.

Happy birthday and best wishes for your continued success, Parthu!