Indian cricket is back into the pavilion
Sir, Indian cricketers should realise that over confidence and blatant talks do not  make good sportsmen. By undermining the Australians after their victory in the Twenty20 tournament, they felt they were the greatest cricketers of the season. Now they are biting dust as they are faltering as seen in the first three ODIs.

Despite the senior players returning, the form still is lacking in leaps and bounds. To be a good cricketer, one has to be capable to convert their talk into their game, but Indians never learn.

They have resorted to chattering on the field and media wrongly calls it aggression, but I would call it frustration. Our cricketers show frustration for not being able to improve their own skills.

Australians are always on top of their game, they play confidently and keep improving all the time.  They have time and again proved that they are mentally stronger, alert and sensible at all times. Just one loss in the semis and the Indian players  started roaring at the backyard. Probably they are paying the price for showing too much enthusiasm.

Rajeeb Ghosh
Hyderabad

Unholy alliance
Sir, The criminals involved in the murder of Gopalgunj District Magistrate G Krishnaiah,in 1994, who were sentenced on Wednesday, were all politicians.

The unholy alliance between politicians and criminals has deepened to such an extent that it has become worrying for Indian democracy. Well meaning but half-hearted efforts at electoral and other reforms meant to keep criminals out of politics have not been successful largely due to several loopholes in the law. Much more needs to be done to clean the Augean stables.
J AKSHAY
Secundarabad

Opportunism
Sir, H D Kumaraswamy’s statement that he would become a vachan brashta and that he was prepared to seek other options, reveals the sad state of affairs in Karnataka. We have seen people electing one party to the assembly another party to the Parliament when simultaneous elections were held. Because they got a majority in urban elections, JD(S) should not feel that they could repeat the same performance in assembly elections also.
H D Deve Gowda and his son have become aware overnight that BJP is a communal party.  But why did not they think about it while joining hands with the same party 20 months ago?
D Radhakrishna Rao
Bangalore

Politics is dead
Sir, Will the common man benefit in any way from this tussle for the Chief Minister’s post in Karnataka? All the media attention makes it look like a three ringed circus. The hype and politics aside, are our lives any better for it?

The common man would be wondering how this hullabaloo would decrease the soaring prices of onions and petrol. Will this or any future CM look beyond gluing himself to the chair, to improve our lot? Politics is dead if it is no longer touching the people, and our leaders would do good to keep this in mind.
Shilpa G
Bangalore

Secularism?
Sir, H D Deve Gowda is fooling none by accusing the BJP of being communal. The BJP has been known for what it is for all these years and it does not behove the JD(S) of mudslinging against its coalition partner after having cohabited for 20 months to enjoy power. It was an unethical alliance from the beginning and it is immoral for the party to deny the fair share of tenure to its partner. Bringing in secular-communal question hardly camouflages the sinister intentions of the baap-beta party. 

Maqbool Ahmed S
Bangalore