Ashish

Passionate about politics and cricket

[Ethan Evans @EthanEvansVP]

“Executive presence” helped me reach VP at Amazon. The biggest challenge when it comes to improving your executive presence is simply defining it.

[Sanjay Jha @JhaSanjay]

IPL NEEDS TO BE RADICAL. RIGHT NOW IT RESEMBLES RAVANA’S HEAD; THAT IS THE PROBLEM.

Lalit Modi’s T20 brainchild revolutionized cricket, much like Kerry Packer’s ODI once did. It transformed the sport into a global entertainment product. It is a summer obsession in the most populous country in the world. But it has now reached a precarious inflection point. Cricket’s popularity in India has a strong base and the IPL certainly does not face extinction, but the risks of stagnation are high. The problem is that many matches are beginning to look the same.

IPL NEEDS TO EMBRACE A FREE-
MARKET MODEL.
(It must abandon the homogenization of IPL teams. That initial format has outlived its utility.)

The current periodic auction and retention structure is designed to create parity. While noble in intent, it has produced unintended consequences.
Every franchise has access to roughly similar budgets. Every squad contains a mix of star players and talented but lesser-known local players. The result: every team is capable of beating every other team on a given day.
While this appears fair, it often diminishes one of sport’s most powerful attractions: narrative. And favourites. David versus Goliath. Remember India’s 1983 World Cup win by Kapil’s Devils?

Football’s most successful league, the English Premier League, from which the IPL draws inspiration, thrives because there are giants and modest but resolute challengers. Supporters love watching powerhouses battle underdogs. They enjoy dynasties, rivalries, drama, and superteams. Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians were once touted as the Manchester City, Liverpool, or Chelsea of the IPL (sorry, Arsenal fans). They currently languish near the bottom of the table. Nottingham Forest, Brighton, Crystal Palace, and Everton can beat any of these teams on a given day, but the Big Six remain a dominant force. They draw the crowds. They provide the drama. An upset is still an upset. Tottenham Hotspur nearly got relegated this season in a spectacular collapse, although that is not de rigueur.

The IPL, by contrast, often resembles ten versions of the same team. It is like Ravana’s head. Winning and losing can often be forecast on the law of averages. Punjab Kings won their first six matches and then lost as many. KKR had the reverse experience. Defeats are rarely comprehensive. Frankly, the team at the bottom could simply be unlucky. The recurring wafer-thin margins of victory and defeat take away some of the thrill of the game. There is zero surprise; the surprise is known beforehand. The thrill factor induces a yawn. Sixes become meaningless. Soon, only a Super Over will titillate.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The IPL need not be churlish. It is a full-blown capitalist enterprise; the owners include billionaires and private equity funds, among others. They have deep pockets and big egos, and I am sure they want to win, given rising franchise valuations. It is a business model, so why cap its fortunes?
1)      Allow franchises complete flexibility in player acquisition based on their financial muscle and appetite.
2)      Remove salary caps. Why should Vaibhav Suryavanshi or Virat Kohli, who are major draws, not receive whatever a franchise owner can afford to invest? Players must be the real beneficiaries.
I am sure Reliance can afford to buy the whole Men in Blue team to represent Mumbai Indians if he is given the liberty to do so. Then let them. What would make T20 and the IPL entertaining is that a power-packed team by itself will still not ensure the championship, because of the inherent capriciousness of the format. On any given day, anything can happen. The heavyweights can still be upset, even if they would begin as clear favourites. There is no contradiction here. All sports carry that caveat.
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[Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 @priyankac19]

Families must learn to recognize early distress signals, prioritize their daughters' physical safety over social standing, and treat divorce as a valid path away from abuse. I write my bit on @Substack
https://t.co/q5mC4Cbbhy

[Muthukrishnan Dhandapani @dmuthuk]

Many tweets about missed opportunity by Rajnikant. Many Gen Z may not know. Rajni's time was 1996. His influence and popularity in Tamil Nadu was such that he would have won almost all the assembly seats. I'm not exaggerating.

Vijay is young for politics and has come in right time. People choosing him as Chief Minister is a rare opportunity. He has few decades of political career ahead of him.

Time and timing plays a very crucial role.

[Ashish @ashishdabole]

@cricketaakash @YvLahoti What’s matters is things that get documented. Giving out a verbal clarification does not make any sense in professional league.

[Zariah @OopsRewind]

A sinus infection (sinusitis) is inflammation of the nasal sinuses, often causing facial pain/pressure, congestion, thick mucus, and headache. This is how it is treated 🤧

Everyone here can feel his relief ❤️😍❤️

[Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta]

As you look at the horrific pictures of the bombed Iranian school…

Pause for a minute and think..

Indian Air Force and the Army were given 2 and 7 terror targets respectively to hit on the night of May 6-7 in Op Sindoor…

Each was fully destroyed…

On the morning of May 8, the IAF carried out extensive air defence suppression using long-range kamikaze drones…

On May 9-10 the IAF targeted 14 PAF bases or radar stations/missile batteries…

Destructive evidence of almost all these strikes cane up in satellite pictures…

All strikes were carried out by precision munitions from long distances…

Not one missed aim or strayed to harm civilians… no school, no village or city, no hospitals. None…

This despite not having a fraction of the US military weapons, sensors or surveillance ability…

And in a furiously contested air space against near-peer PAF and its Chinese air defences…

Let’s give credit where due. To our armed forces in this case…

[Gabbar @GabbbarSingh]

I remember when Pat Cummins won the World Cup, he casually walked out of the Airport with the trophy, with barely any crowd outside waiting. Aussies won so much that it became routine. Diminishing marginal utility.

I think the Open Bus parade this year won’t attract the crowd like it did the last time. Our T20 team will become so strong that a WC will be inevitable. Great times to be in.

[Kunal Shah @kunalb11]

Humans will delegate all boring things to agents and keep interesting things for themselves.

[Boria Majumdar @BoriaMajumdar]

Venkatesh Prasad has worked very hard to get the @IPL back to the Chinnaswamy. As President KSCA this is a serious achievement for him and his team. Fans will welcome the development. @RevSportzGlobal

[OM. @Badpatch18]

Bro literally played this shot when 10 was needed in 3 balls 😭🔥

Happy birthday Ab devilliers 🐐 https://t.co/sEXlvH1B0J

[Jon Erlichman @JonErlichman]

Expected revenue in next 5 years:

Amazon: $5.1 trillion
Alphabet: $2.7 trillion
Apple: $2.6 trillion
Nvidia: $2.4 trillion
Microsoft: $2.3 trillion
Samsung: $2 trillion
Meta: $1.8 trillion
Taiwan Semi: $1.2 trillion
Alibaba: $917 billion
Broadcom: $836 billion
Tesla: $762 billion
Tencent: $718 billion
AMD: $450 billion
Uber: $379 billion
Netflix: $315 billion
Shopify: $111 billion

Source: average analyst estimates

[Amitabh Tiwari @politicalbaaba]

Since DMK split into DMK and AIADMK, AIADMK contested first election in 1977.
Since then Tamil Nadu has seen 11 elections.
AIADMK has won 7 times, DMK 4 times.
In last 49 years since 1977, AIADMK has ruled for 31 and DMK for 18 years.

[Vijay Mallya @TheVijayMallya]

Heartiest congratulations to the RCB women’s WPL team. Two championships in succession. Well deserved and well won. Motivation to the RCB Men’s team as well to retain the trophy.

[Andy Jassy @ajassy]

India's entrepreneurial energy continues to inspire.

Excited to share we plan to invest an additional $35 billion in India through 2030 to help small and medium-sized businesses grow and thrive (announced at our sixth Amazon Smbhav Summit).

This will bring AI benefits to 15 million businesses and 4 million students, quadruple “Made in India” exports to $80 billion, and support 3.8 million jobs by 2030.

SMBs are driving India’s efforts to go digital, contributing to growing exports of local goods, and are creating lots of good jobs.

Looking forward to empowering more SMBs to build new businesses and fuel innovation across India. https://t.co/LG0ag8nAVD

[D' @AirawatG]

Virat Kohli and 82* during Chase,, is never ending love story.....❤️🥲

https://t.co/pTitCyCJin

[UP 10T Economic Goal™ @up_10t_army]

Lee Kuan Yew, former PM of Singapore, said in 2009:

"The future belongs to three powers: USA, China, and India.

India will take third place by mastering manufacturing; it won't be anyone's puppet."

[Kshitij @Kshitij45__]

Dinosaurs would come back, but an innings like this could never.

- Glenn Maxwell literally nailed it that day.

[Pushkar @Musafirr_hu_yar]

Biggest unsuccessful hatewatch of all time