Finally, journalists, cricket experts and fans around the world have got answers as to why Mumbai Indians players dropped so many catches. Captain Sachin Tendulkar, in an exclusive interview divulged to reporters that the high tech Spidercam was responsible for players not holding on to catches. "Whenever the ball went high up in the air, the Spidercam came out of nowhere and came down towards us faster than the ball. As a result, many players thought the cam was going to crash land on them, and so moved away. The camera would then circle around us, thus showing to the world in 360 degrees our body language after dropping the catch. After the dropped catch, we couldn't collect the ball and throw it back to the bowler too, since the cables were all around us and the spidercam operator wanted a perfect-shot before we got back to the ball again."
Surprisingly, the little master also blamed Spidercam for the team's decision to send Pollard lower down the batting order. "Well Pollard is a tall man. Sometimes, his head gets stuck to the spidercam and he gets carried all over the ground before our team manager talks to the technicians to drop him off at the crease. But by then, the game almost gets over."
Meanwhile, Saurabh Tiwary revealed even more shocking revelations. "In my case, the player mic also conspired against me. There was this ball in the air, the Spidercam floating towards me, and the earphone microphone crackled to life. 'Chin up.. angle your face left... look into the lens... and SMILE'. I just did what was told to me. I was even told the shot was perfect. Only when I came back to the dug out did Jonty Rhodes tell me that I had dropped a catch."
The technology hasn't gone too well with the umpires too. Says Aleem Dar - "We've been having difficulty judging run outs, especially the leg umpires. Sometimes we feel someone is nudging our back or tickling our butt. On reflex, we thought it was Bhajji(when Mumbai played) or Raina (when CSK played). Only later did we realize that it was the Spidercam, focussing on the batsman from between our legs!"
However, Champions League CEO Raman Sundararman remains undeterred. Taking a cue from his former boss Lalit Modi, he plans to put this technology to maximum use and make the sport fan-friendly. "We have struck a deal with Cox & Kings Holidays Pvt Ltd. According to this, every day, a lucky winner will get to tour the whole stadium sitting on the Spideycam. He will also get to interact with players and get autographs from them as they are playing."
Lovely :)
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