Talking Heads: Abhinav Bindra, David Gower, Andy Flower Et Al

More quotes from the world of sport.

This edition may not have big names but it does not lack for entertainment (and autobiographies).

Michael Luevano, Shanghai Masters director, calls for a grand summit of tennis.

English cricket team director, Andy Flower, requests circumspection from players penning autobiographies.

Abhinav Bindra 'yaks' on about his achievements in his biography.

David Gower comments on Shoaib Akhtar's—you guessed it—autobiography.

And Rajeev Shukla does not believe in fatigue.

What They Said, Really Meant and Definitely Did Not.

Michael Luevano Is Papal to Players’ Demands

What he said:

"Lock them in a room and throw away the key until they come out."

Shanghai Masters tournament director Michael Luevano insists that the only way to resolve tennis player concerns is to get all the governing bodies—ATP, WTA, ITF and Grand Slam tourney organisers—involved.

He called for a meet, “They need a summit with the Grand Slam present, the ITF present, the WTA present and of course the ATP."

Luevano added:

"It’s like voting for the Pope. Stay there [in the meeting] and we’ll wait for the white smoke."

Talking to BBC Sport, Luevano said that it is frustrating to lose top players to withdrawals and injuries.

Referring to Roger Federer’s withdrawal from his event, the Shanghai Masters boss said:

"

Especially with someone like Roger, we want him in the game for five more years.

If he’s not comfortable with how his body is feeling, and we just happen to be the tournament he can’t make, then so be it.

"

Luevano called for a balancing of players’ demands and tournament needs:

"

It is very complex [the calendar debate]. There are a lot of moving parts, a lot of historic events, established market places.

By wanting to shorten the season, someone is going to suffer dramatically.

I think a lot of progress has been made by the ATP and from the tournament side what we’re looking for is player commitment which is how we build the event.

"

What Luevano really meant:

“Decisions and solutions don’t get made without coming to the dialogue table. Oh, by the way, can you ensure that my Shanghai sojourn continues in the mix?”

What Luevano definitely didn’t:

“There are plenty of empty rooms and seats right here in Shanghai. Let’s do it—now!”

Andy Flower Calls Foul on the Written Word

What he said:

"

I personally don’t think that it’s a good idea for current players to be talking about their fellow players. The written word does come across very, very differently—when you can’t judge a person’s tone—and particularly with Swann’s words, that is an accurate and important point.

"

English cricket team director, Andy Flower, is unequivocal that Graeme Swann was inappropriate in his criticism of then-skipper and fellow teammate, Kevin Pietersen, in his autobiography, “The Breaks Are Off,” which was serialised in an English daily.

Swann is severe on Pietersen terming him the wrong person for the job.

Flower, however, brushed aside suggestions that the book has caused strife within the team.

Flower said:

“It’s all been handled in-house—without many problems. Pietersen and Swann get on well, and I think Pietersen has handled it very maturely.”

Commenting further on Pietersen, currently touring India for the return ODI series, Flower considers the No. 4 an integral part of the squad:

"

When Kevin was competing in the game any -comments in a book had no place in his mind.

I expect him to score runs, that is why we pick him. If we didn’t expect it we wouldn’t pick him so I look -forward to him doing that soon. I personally disagree with -current players making comments about their team-mates. My personal opinion is that it is not the right thing to do.

I don’t think the commercial opportunities are that important to be honest. However, I think Pietersen has handled it very well and he and Swann get on fine. I think he has handled it very maturely and there aren’t any issues arising from it.

"

What Flower really meant:

“What you say, is very, very different when it’s written out. There’s a finality about it that’s damning. One thing to hear it, quite another to read it—in print.”

What Flower definitely didn’t:

“I guess it’s all right if the same thing were to be reiterated over and over again—verbally! Sledge him with it, chaps.”

Related articles

• Graeme Swann: What he said, really meant and definitely did not (maketimeforsports.com)

Abhinav Bindra Differs on Gold

What he said:

"

I once got yak milk from China because I was told it enhances concentration. It didn’t. I attached electrodes to my head to view the activity in my brain when I shot well. I lasered off my love handles. Let’s be clear: We’re not you. We’re not better than you, or other athletes, just caught in lives mostly weirder than most.

"

Abhinav Bindra, India’s first ever gold medallist—at the 2008 Beijing Olympics—in an individual Olympic event recounts the myriad attempts at  securing that little bit extra, that edge, that would separate him from his competitors, make him a better shooter.

Bindra’s autobiography, “A Shot At History,” is to be released on October 28, 2011.

The 260-page book, co-written with journalist and sports writer Rohit Brijnath, is published by HarperCollins.

Bindra writes:

"

We have to be a little insane to do this, a trifle obsessive, almost as single-minded as shaven monks who sit for years meditating under trees in search of distant nirvana.

"

Of the fateful evening the day before he clinched his historic medal, Bindra says:

"

The mission, whose worth would be evaluated tomorrow…butterflies tango in the stomach.

The answer was a McDonalds meal and a long walk. I am too wired to sleep, but then I have already practiced going without sleep. I stand in my balcony at 3 am and look out into the dark nothingness, another athlete swallowing his fear in this dormitory of the strange and the gifted.

I felt the pressure of the Olympics, as if a nervous breakdown was imminent, and I carried it (a miniature bottle of Jack Daniels) with me. Now, on this sleepless night, I retrieve it from my toilet kit, I twist it open, empty it into my nervous stomach. As if it is an antidote to everything that assails me.

"

Bindra slept just an hour that night.

  What he really meant:

“Obsession—thy name is gold.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“The book’s merely yakkety-yakkety-yak.”

David Gower Pricks Shoaib Akhtar’s Hot Air Balloon

What he said:

"Its all talk, hot air. Wouldn’t want to get stuck in the argument.”

Former England skipper and commentator David Gower is dismissive of Shoaib Akhtar’s remarks concerning Sachin Tendulkar in his autobiography,“Controversially Yours”.

Gower said:

"

Shoaib had the talent. He was one of the quicks in his generation. He had the pace to trouble the best. Even (Vivian) Richards was troubled by pace. There was nothing new about that. But look at Sachin’s record, his thousands of runs in Test and one-day cricket…Its all hot air, irrelevant!

"

The left-hander with the sublime skills at the crease was equally critical of Akhtar’s suggestion that ball-tampering be sanctioned:

"

I understand what they are saying but there has to be a line somewhere. Its like legalising good ivory. It will increase poaching anyway. If you say its okay to do tampering, you will get a lot of tamperers. It will encourage cheating.

"

What he really meant:

“Shoaib’s blowing hot and then cold on Tendulkar makes this a non-starter. Do we really need to take this topic further?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’m a batsman. Do you seriously expect me to take a bowler’s side on this? I still recall quaking in my boots when we (the English side) had the West Indian quartet of fast bowlers at our throats in the 80s. It’s the stuff of nightmares.”

Rajeev Shukla Is Not Fatigued for Excuses

What he said:

"

We have three formats. There are very few common players. There is no fatigue in common players.

To avoid fatigue, we said there should be proper coordination between physio and trainer. We will talk to the franchises to reduce the participation of players in parties that are held on the eve of matches.

So that the players get rest. But, if you say that there is fatigue due to IPL, I don’t agree with that.

"

IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla refutes the ‘absurd’ notion that cricketers are tired because of the IPL. The ICC virtually cleared the Future Tours Programme (FTP) schedule to accommodate the IPL.

The BCCI was severely criticized following the abject surrender of the national side in the away series in England. The tourists lost 0-4—a complete whitewash.

The IPL was seen as the largest contributory factor for this defeat.

Injuries to key players on the tour only exacerbated the perception.

What he really meant:

“Cricketers are superheroes, robots or demi-Gods. Have it whichever way you like. Fatigue is for mere mortals.“

“Just wave a little IPL moolah and the word ‘fatigue’ disappears from players’ dictionaries.”

What he definitely didn’t:

 “It’s a no-brainer. Let’s drop Tests altogether.”