Bermuda146;s captain has promised to do something about this

8220;Funny, isn8217;t it?8221; asked Whatmore. Funny for Bangladesh, quite funny for Sri Lanka, but no one in India was smiling. Their World Cup was over in eight days, their team had lost to Bangladesh, and had just been humiliated by Sri Lanka, that record 413 against Bermuda now just a pathetic joke.

The night before, the reticent Anil Kumble had tried to stir up his teammates by taking them back to that inspirational 1996 quarter-final win against Pakistan in Bangalore, skipper Rahul Dravid had stood up to read out from a motivational book, even Sachin Tendulkar had chipped in.

But by late afternoon on Friday, when Yuvraj Singh, the last hope, dashed down towards Dravid, was waved back, and finally left stranded in the middle, almost everyone in the dressing room knew it was all over. And when the wily Muralitharan spun out Mahendra Dhoni three balls later for a duck, it actually was 8212; 112 for five, 112 for six, the target still a distant 142 runs away.

Kumble8217;s eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses, Tendulkar was left with tears in his eyes 8212; his bulging trophy shelf will now never have a World Cup 8212; and Dravid barely managed to hang on to his nerves.

Of course, India can still sneak through if Bermuda topples Bangladesh on Monday, bringing it down to a net run rate race with their eastern neighbours. But even Dravid didn8217;t seem to think that would actually happen. 8220;Not really,8221; he confessed.

So will he quit now? 8220;It8217;s too early really to think about anything,8221; he said, still shell-shocked by the way his 50,000-run batting line-up crumbled for an embarrassing 185, 69 runs short of the Sri Lankans.

But coach Chappell, whose contract has officially ended, stuck it out, saying, 8220;I8217;m not employed by you people. I am employed by the BCCI. Obviously, I will have to face up to them and give them a report and give them some indications of what I think.8221;

What about the team8217;s dismal fielding, the horrendous batting collapse? 8220;We just didn8217;t play well enough,8221; said Chappell, repeating that one sentence 13 times in 20 minutes. Originally scheduled to land in Antigua tomorrow for the Super Eight round, Team India will now hang around till the Sunday match, and possibly leave for India the day after. Unless, as Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene sympathetically offered: 8220;I don8217;t think they are still out of the tournament, if my calculations are right. We haven8217;t written India off yet, there8217;s another game. And cricket is a funny game, we will always have to remember that.8221;

Yes, cricket is a funny game, but not the politics behind it, at least in India, as you will discover over the next month when India picks its next coach and possibly its captain.

Chappell8217;s 8216;vision8217; for rebuilding Indian cricket by brushing off some of the stardust has the backing of a strong group of BCCI officials. Although, it8217;s a different story that this powerful group8217;s vision is more about 8220;putting star cricketers in their place8221;, some of whom had openly defied the powers-that-be in the negotiations over players8217; contracts that are yet to be signed. But Chappell8217;s return would also mean a drastic 8216;overhaul8217; of the team with some of India8217;s most popular faces fading away. It could even lead to an open confrontation. Already, many of the senior players are not happy with the coach8217;s style, his method of communication, which they feel has been a divisive influence on a 8220;fractured8221; unit. As for Dravid, the door is not shut yet, even if there is a strong buzz within the team that Tendulkar may be offered the captaincy. However, Tendulkar8217;s miserable duck yesterday, and his recent run, wouldn8217;t have helped much, unless Dravid actually decides to step down on his own. Then, there8217;s Sourav Ganguly, the comeback man, who took India to the finals in 2003, back in public favour after a string of stirring knocks.

8220;For starters, I was appointed captain till the World Cup. So I am not even the captain at this point of time, if we don8217;t progress in the World Cup. So it8217;s not my decision to make,8221; said Dravid. Well, it8217;s getting quite serious out here, and the players are hoping there won8217;t be a security problem back home 8212; a senior team official just got the scare of his life last morning when a hotel employee tried to stuff the newspaper on the door handle, making a 8220;suspicious8221; noise.

Maybe, it8217;s time to step back a bit, lighten up, and let the cricket politicians scrap it out. As the legendary West Indian pace bowler Colin Croft remarked aloud yesterday, 8220;C8217;mon boys, it8217;s just a game of cricket after all.8221; Of course, Team India8217;s mega sponsors may not agree, not after losing to Mirzapore tea first, and now to Dilmah tea. But if there8217;s something they can still hang on to, it8217;s this line from the bulky, jovial Bermuda captain Irvine Romaine: 8220;The whole of India wants us to beat Bangladesh? Don8217;t worry, we will try our best.8221;