Statement issued by Guruji, the coach of a team that made a surprisingly early exit from World Cricket 2007.

I would like to offer no excuses for our performance. However, it would be totally inaccurate to assume that we lost because we did not play well. Well, we did not play well, but that was not the reason we lost. The seeds for our defeat were sown in the field of technology.

A team cannot be expected to do well when its channels of communications are blocked. Thanks to severe network congestion, we were not able to exchange ideas as often as we should have. There are those who believe that we could have simply met and talked face to face, but this is the age of technology—is there a need to meet a person if you can call him up on his cell? Sadly, this did not happen, and we paid the price. I have recommended that team members carry Bluetooth cell phones on future tours so that we can communicate even in the absence of a telecom network.

On the subject of communications, I would also like to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the security of our networks. E-mails and SMSs were frequently intercepted and published in the media. How do you expect players to play well if they do not know whether an offensive message they have sent has reached the right person(s)? The Wall is no good if our firewalls are defective.

Sub-standard systems were also behind several of the injuries and problems afflicting the team. Thanks to the poor quality of the gamepads, one of our key bowlers found that he could only bat and not bowl in World Cricket 2007. This affected his performance, especially his bowling, which has gone into a downward spiral. Several players also suffered from finger injuries as the notebooks allotted to the team had sub-standard track pads. We were sometimes accused of making crude gestures with our hands–we were only trying to exercise fingers that had been almost dislocated by third-rate track pads! The absence of proper computer furniture and accessories also led to poor posture while gaming, resulting in spinal injuries and muscle strains.

We have been accused of lacking drive. But we were only as good as our hardware. 40 GB is seldom enough in these data-laden times. How can a team function if its players are worried about how they are going to squeeze in extra songs into their iPods or if they have enough space on their mobiles to download the latest MMS scandal? The game is not just played in the mind; it is also played on systems. And all we had were outdated consoles and PCs with dated graphics cards. We could not win games on a PlayStation. How on earth could we be expected to win on the field?

Our defeat is not just a defeat for the nation, but for its technology sector. I would like to take this opportunity to ask entrepreneurs to come forward and ensure that the teams of the future are well-equipped technologically when they go for such tournaments. We may lack technique and ability, but we should never be found wanting on the technology front. We need to rebuild. Not the team, but the hardware that lies behind it. To play a good game, you need a good system and our sport is no exception to this rule.

I would like to conclude by announcing my resignation from the post of coach. My decision has nothing to do with the performance of the team. Victory and defeat are a part of the game and one should take them in one’s stride. But no self-respecting coach can tolerate the rejection of a request for an Apple Powerbook (with 2 GB RAM and a 360 GB HDD). It is one thing to work with an assembled team, but quite another to work with an assembled notebook!

Thank you and all the best.