Its may seem a bit preposterous to talk of soccer at the moment and I seek forgiveness for not being able to hold on to this rather innovating thought. This morning a wise guy asked me to spot the similarities between Indian Cricket and Indian Soccer. At the very broad level, mind you and not the pub hopping fashionably interested in soccer frenzy of the kind that I witnessed with much amusement this year. I could find no similarities - not money, sponsorship, audience or government interest, fan following...except may be the running (they all run all the time) or the ball (size matters!) or the ball stopper. And that could be the genesis of the Indian soccer team!
The wise man added that instead of only dreaming of watching an Indian team playing international soccer (we are 117th in the FIFA rankings ), it may be time for innovative thinking. Why cant the wicket keeper be the goal keeper? Isnt it the exact role that he is tuned to? Stopping the ball? Some practice to align for the size of the ball but that’s easier than the alternatives. The reflexes of a wicket keeper are geared to keenly watch, follow and catch a ball traveling at the speed of 80-100 miles per hour. And that’s a good starting point for our soccer team.
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