Tag: Pakistan

મિયાં પડ્યા પણ ટંગડી ઊંચી! રમત અને રાજકારણ – અલગ કે અખંડ?

On By deepozIn GujaratiLeave a comment

એશિયા કપની જીત સાથે ઉભો થયો પ્રશ્ન — શું રમતને રાજકારણથી ખરેખર દૂર રાખી શકાય?

તમારો પાડોશી છેલ્લા પંચોતેર વર્ષથી તમારા વિરુદ્ધ સતત યુદ્ધ ચલાવી રહ્યો છે — સૈન્યની કાર્યવાહી દ્વારા પણ અને આતંકવાદ દ્વારા પણ. તમે આ બધું સહન કર્યું, હંમેશા પ્રતિસાદ ફક્ત આક્રમણના જવાબમાંજ આપ્યો. પરંતુ હવે, જ્યારે તમારા નિર્દોષ નાગરિકો રજાઓ માણતા હોય અને તેમના પરિવારની સામે તેમની હત્યા થાય, ત્યારે તમારી સંસ્કૃતિએ શીખવેલી સહનશીલતા કાયરતામાં પરિણમે — જો યોગ્ય પ્રતિસાદ ન અપાય તો. આ હવે વિવાદ નહીં, યુદ્ધ છે.

બહિષ્કારની વાત સરળ છે પણ વાસ્તવિકતા? વારંવાર કહેવામાં આવે છે કે રમત અને રાજકારણને એકબીજાથી દૂર રાખવા જોઈએ. પણ આ સલાહ આપવી સહેલી છે, અનુસરવી કઠિન છે. જ્યારે તમારો દેશ પોતાના જ નાગરિકોના રક્તથી રંજાઈ રહ્યો હોય, ત્યારે મેદાનમાં દુશ્મન સાથે હાથ મિલાવવો વ્યર્થ લાગે છે. આવી સ્થિતિમાં રમત આપમેળે ગૌણ બની જાય છે. આપણે કહી શકીએ કે “દુશ્મન સામે ન રમવું” એ જ ઉકેલ. ન તમારી ટીમ મોકલવી, ન તેમની આવકારવી. દ્વિપક્ષીય મુકાબલામાં આ શક્ય છે, પણ બહુદેશીય સ્પર્ધાઓમાં મુશ્કેલ. સ્પર્ધામાં ભાગ ન લેવાથી તમે સ્પષ્ટ સંદેશો જરૂર આપો છો, પણ સાથે ખેલાડીઓને તેમની તકથી વંચિત પણ કરો છો. સ્પર્ધા નબળી પડી જાય છે અને રમતનો મૂળ હેતુ — સ્પર્ધા — અપૂરતો રહે છે.

આજની રમત માત્ર શોખ નથી; એ વૈશ્વિક ઉદ્યોગ છે. લાખો લોકોની આજિવિકા તેના પર આધારિત છે. અન્ય વ્યવસાયો કરતા ખેલાડીઓની કારકિર્દી ખૂબ ટૂંકી હોય છે; તેથી દરેક તક તેમના માટે નિર્ણાયક હોય છે. જ્યારે આપણે ખૂબ સરળતાથી બહિષ્કારની સલાહ આપી દઈએ છીએ, ત્યારે આ હકીકત ભૂલી જઈએ છીએ. ભારતને આવી સલાહ ભારતની બહારથી બીજા દેશોના ખેલાડીઓ અને વિવેચકો તરફથી પણ ખૂબ મળી; એવા દેશો કે જેમનો ઇતિહાસ કહે છે કે તેઓ રાજકારણને રમતથી દૂર રાખવામાં સદંતર નિષ્ફળ ગયા છે! ઇંગ્લૈંડ અને ઓસ્ટ્રેલિયા, બન્ને જ્યારે માફક આવે ત્યારે રાજકારણ કરે અને માફક આવે ત્યારે સલાહ આપે! આ તેમના માટે સ્વભાવગત વાત છે. આ બન્ને દેશોને આતંકવાદનો અનુભવ ભારતના પ્રમાણમાં ઘણો ઓછો છે. પોતાની ધરતી ઉપર યુદ્ધ થાય ત્યારે સાચો અનુભવ થાય. કહે છે ને કે જ્યાં સુધી પગ નીચે રેલો ના આવે ત્યાં સુધી સલાહ આપવી સરળ છે!

ભારત માટે તાજા સંજોગોમાં એક સહેલો જવાબ હતો — ભારતે એશિયા કપમાં ભાગ ન લેવો જોઈએ. ભારતમાં રાજકીય વિરોધીઓએ એ જ માગણી કરી, સોશિયલ મીડિયા પર અભિયાન ચલાવ્યાં, ટીવી તોડ્યાં. પરંતુ તેમણે પરિણામો વિચાર્યા? ભારત વિના આંતરરાષ્ટ્રીય ક્રિકેટ પરિષદ (ICC) નું ટૂર્નામેન્ટ ચલાવવું મુશ્કેલ બને, કારણ કે મોટાભાગના સ્પોન્સર ભારતીય બજાર પર આધારિત છે. ઇંગ્લેન્ડ અને ઑસ્ટ્રેલિયાના વિશ્લેષકો વારંવાર ભારતને “વિશ્વ ક્રિકેટનો મોટો ભાઈ” હોવાના અને તે પ્રમાણે તેમનો અભિગમ અપનાવવાની સલાહ આપતા રહેતા હોય છે. આ સંજોગોમાં ભારતની હાજરી અનિવાર્ય છે.

બીજી તરફ, પાકિસ્તાનને આથી લાભ માત્ર છે — તેની ક્રિકેટ વ્યવસ્થા ભારતીય દર્શકો અને સ્પોન્સરોના પૈસાથી ચાલે છે, ભલે તેનું રાજકીય તંત્ર આતંકવાદને ટેકો આપતું રહે. આ વિપરીત પરિસ્થિતિમાં ભારત અને BCCI માટે વિકલ્પો ખૂબ મર્યાદિત રહી જાય છે. છતાં ભારત સરકારે વિસ્તારપૂર્વક વિચાર કરીને ભારતની ટીમને એશિયા કપમાં ભાગ લેવાની મંજૂરી આપી.

પણ ખેલાડીઓ નું શું?

ખેલાડીઓ કરારબદ્ધ વ્યાવસાયિકો છે; પોતાના નિર્ણયથી મેચ ન રમવાનું પસંદ કરી શકતા નથી. તેથી તેમની લાગણીઓને વ્યક્ત કરવાની એક માત્ર રીત પ્રતીકાત્મક હતી — દુશ્મન સાથે હાથ ન મિલાવવો. આ હાવભાવ તેમની અંદરની વેદનાનું પ્રતિબિંબ હતું. સ્વાભાવિક છે કે કેટલાક લોકોએ તેને “અનૈતિક” અને “ખેલભાવના વિરુદ્ધ” ગણાવી દીધું. પરંતુ આ એ જ લોકો છે, જે પોતાના હિતમાં રાજકારણને રમતમાં ઘૂસાડી દેતા બિલકુલ અચકાતા નથી, અને તક મળે ત્યારે ઉપદેશ આપવાનું પણ ચુકતા નથી કે “રમતને રાજકારણથી દૂર રાખો.”

પુરસ્કાર વિતરણ દરમિયાન પાકિસ્તાનના આંતરિક મંત્રી અને એશિયન ક્રિકેટ કાઉન્સિલ (ACC) ના પ્રમુખ મોહસિન નકવી ભારતના વાંધા છતાં પોતે ટ્રોફી આપવા તત્પર રહ્યા. તેટલુજ નહીં, પણ જો ભારતીય ટીમ તેમની ઈચ્છા વિરુદ્ધ જાય તો તેમને ટ્રોફી અને પદક આપવાની ધરાર ના કહી ટ્રોફી લઈ પોતાની હોટેલ ચાલ્યા ગયા! જાણે ટ્રોફી તેમના બાપની જાગીર હોય! મેં આવી બાલિશ વર્તણુંક અત્યાર સુધી કોઈ પણ પ્રશાસક  તરફથી જોઈ નથી. તે ભલે નાનામાં નાની સ્પર્ધા હોય કે આંતરરાષ્ટ્રીય સ્તર ની. એક સાચા પ્રશાસક માટે ખેલનો આત્મા સર્વોચ્ચ હોવો જોઈએ — પોતાનો અહંકાર નહીં. વિજેતાઓને તેમના પદક અને તેમનું સન્માન મળે તે વાત વધુ અગત્યની છે, કોણ ટ્રોફી આપે તે નહીં. નકવી ઈચ્છતા તો વિવાદ ટાળી શકતા, પણ તેમણે રાજકીય નાટકને પસંદ કર્યું. પરિણામે, રમતની પ્રતિષ્ઠાને નુકસાન થયું. અને આ વિવાદ માટે માત્ર ભારતને દોષ દેનારા, દેશની બહાર કે દેશની અંદર; ક્યાં તો પોતાની આંખે પાટા બાંધી ચાલનારા છે કયા તો નકરા દંભી!

આ તમામ નાટક છતાં ભારતે એશિયા કપમાં નવમી વાર વિજય મેળવ્યો. ટ્રોફી વ્યક્તિગત રીતે ન મળવી તે એટલું નુકસાન નથી, જેટલું ACC અને તેના પ્રમુખના વર્તનથી રમતની ગરિમાને પહોંચ્યું છે. ભારતે કંઈ ગુમાવ્યું નથી — પરંતુ રમતને ઘણું ગુમાવવું પડ્યું છે.

આગળ શું?

આ પ્રસંગ કદાચ એશિયન ચેમ્પિયનશિપ માટે એક ટર્નિંગ પોઇન્ટ સાબિત થશે. મારુ માનવું છે કે આ સ્પર્ધા હવે મૃતપ્રાય થાય અથવા થોડા દશકો પૂરતી સ્તગીત થાય. ACC પણ વિલંબિત પરિસ્થિતિમાં રહેશે. પાકિસ્તાનમાં પણ હવે એવી માંગ ઉઠશે કે તેઓ ભારત સામે ન રમે. વારંવાર હારની પીડા એક કારણ જરૂર હશે, પણ ભારતના કડક વલણના કારણે તથા બળતામાં ઘી હોમવા જેવી મોહસિન નકવીની બાલિશ હરકતના કારણે સામાન્ય લોકોને થયેલી અપમાનની લાગણી એ મોટું કારણ બનશે. મારી દ્રષ્ટિએ આ સૌથી વધુ અગત્યની વાત છે. અત્યાર સુધી ભારત એક ગાલ પર તમાચો ખાઈને બીજો ગાલ ધરતું રહ્યું હતું અને પાકિસ્તાન ભારતના તંત્રને જીભ બતાવીને લલકાર્યા કરતું હતું. લાંબા સમયથી રમવું કે નહીં તે નિર્ણય લેવાની જવાબદારી માત્ર ભારત પર હતી. હવે પહેલી વાર પાકિસ્તાનના વહીવટી તંત્રને પોતાના લોકોના દબાણનો અને ભારત સામે રમવાના નિર્ણય સામે વિરોધનો સામનો કરવો પડશે. પગ નીચે રેલો આવી રહ્યો છે. પાકિસ્તાન માટે આ એક નવી પરિસ્થિતિનું નિર્માણ છે તેવું મારુ માનવું છે. જોકે પાકિસ્તાનમાં સામાન્ય અવામને ભાગ્યે કોઈ સાંભળતું હશે. પણ હું માનું છું કે નકવીના આ નાટકથી, અંદરખાનેથી ત્યાંનો  નિર્ણાયક સમુદાય પણ નાખુશ હશે. નકવી ભલે ભારતને ટ્રોફી ના લેવા દઈને ખુશીથી ફુલાતા હોય; ભલે તેમના સોશિયલ મીડિયાના કલાકારો સાચી પરિસ્થિતિ છુપાવવા પ્રયત્નશીલ રહે. હકીકતે તો પાકિસ્તાનના ક્રિકેટતંત્રને એક તમાચો કદાચ પહેલી વાર લાગ્યો છે, જે વાત અત્યારે નહીં પણ થોડા સામે બાદ તેમનાજ ચાહકો કહેશે. ગુજરાતીમાં એક સરસ કહેવત છે; મિયાં પડ્યા પણ ટંગડી ઊંચી! આ ટંગડી ક્યાં સુધી ઊંચી રહે છે, તે સમય કહેશે..

Asia Cup Conundrum: Sports, Politics and Limits of Tolerance!

On By deepozIn cricket1 Comment

You have a neighbour who has waged war against you for over 75 years—militarily as well as through terrorism. Throughout this time, you have tolerated, responded only when provoked, and shown restraint rooted in cultural tolerance. But when your civilians are massacred in cold blood, while on holiday with their families, tolerance begins to border on cowardice—unless there is an adequate response. At that point, it is no longer a dispute; it is war.

We often hear the wise say that sports and politics should not mix. Yet this advice seems much easier to give than to follow. When your nation is reeling from continuous bloodshed, shaking hands with the enemy—even on a sports field—feels like an empty gesture. In such an atmosphere, sports inevitably becomes secondary.

So, what is the solution? At first glance, it seems simple: do not play against the enemy. Do not send teams there, do not host theirs, and halt all cultural and sporting exchanges until the situation stabilizes. Straightforward enough in bilateral contests. However, at global or multi-nation tournaments, the question becomes more complicated. Opting out of participation does send a firm and symbolic message, but it also carries significant implications. It denies athletes critical opportunities, undermines the competitiveness of tournaments, and deprives fans of the very essence of sport—the contest.

Sport today is not a pastime but a global industry. Millions depend on it for their livelihood. Unlike engineers, doctors, or bankers, whose professional careers can last decades, athletes have a brief window to perform and earn. Every contest counts—it is the culmination of years of preparation. Too often, when we call for boycotts, we overlook this reality.

This brings us to India’s recent situation. The seemingly easy answer was: India should not have participated in the Asia Cup. Indeed, political opponents and public voices called for a boycott, supported by hashtags and even street hooliganism, such as breaking televisions showing the games. Yet, they ignored the larger impact. If India withdraws from multilateral competitions, the International Cricket Council (ICC) suffers financially. With the majority of sponsorships dependent on India, ICC events would struggle to survive without Indian participation. Experts from England and Australia often remind India that, as the “big brother” of world cricket, its presence is essential, even at the cost of its own sentiments.

Pakistan, on the other hand, benefits from this structure—its cricketing system survives on revenues generated by Indian audiences and sponsors, even while its administration fuels terrorism across the border. This paradox places the BCCI in a Hobson’s choice. And yet, India’s government, understanding global responsibilities and long-term implications, allowed participation in the Asia Cup.

But what of the players, caught in this crossfire? They are professionals contracted to the BCCI, with little personal choice in the matter. Their only avenue to express solidarity with victims and dissatisfaction with the situation was symbolic gestures—most notably, refusing to engage in handshakes. Predictably, critics labelled this “unsportsmanlike,” ignoring the hypocrisy: those who insist politics should stay out of sport are often the first to inject it selectively when it suits them.

The controversy intensified during the presentation ceremony. Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), insisted on personally presenting the trophy despite India’s objections. An administrator’s role is to serve the spirit of the contest, not personal ego. The winners receiving their prize is more significant than who hands it over. Naqvi could have easily avoided the controversy by delegating the task—but instead chose political theatre over sportsmanship.

India, ultimately, lost nothing of substance. The team secured a record eighth Asia Cup title. The trophy presentation, or lack thereof, is symbolic—the real loss was to the credibility of the ACC and its leadership, who failed to uphold the dignity of sport.

So, what lies ahead? Possibly, the end—at least temporarily—of ACC championships. Even in Pakistan, voices may rise against matches with India, as public humiliation must have intensified with off-field drama. For decades, India alone bore the burden of choice—whether to play or not. That equation may finally change, with Pakistan’s administration beginning to feel the pressure of its own public sentiment.

The Real Mahabharat..

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20102 Comments

India V Pakistan must be the biggest rivalry in sports history if the audience number or emotions or even hype are criteria. And when the contest is for the World cup and a knock-out likely result, it does not come any bigger than this. Often the match-up has lived up to its expectation in terms of quality of cricket. There are many articles clogging up the cyber space these days highlighting that and every one has their own favourite encounter. Being an Indian cricket fan, for me it is difficult to get away from the hype, thouh in recent times my emotions have been tested more by an India-Australia encounter. But still, India-Pakistan is India-Pakistan; the mother-of-all contests. I still remember that incredible Sharjah game, 125 plays 87 game, in 1985 that India won against all odds. And later in 1986 Pakistan returning the compliments at the same venue in another enthralling battle better known as Miandad’s game. I still remember the feelings of being shattered as Miandad sent the last ball from Chetan Sharma soaring over the mid-wicket fence for a six to seal the Austral-Asia cup.

Along with these mercurial games I also have some horrendous memories of the tension and genuine fear when India Pakistan games were in the offing. I still remember the news of communal riots in Baroda on the day of ODI in Sahiwal when India were visiting Pakistan after a long break in 1978. The first thing I said was, it must be due to the cricket game. Bishen Bedi conceded that game (!) due to poor umpiring; he believed that India were in great command to win the game (23 runs required in ~4 overs with 8 wickets in hand) but Pakistan bowlers bowled huge bouncers, out of reach of batsmen that were not called wides by the local umpires! Sure enough, Baroda was under curfew for a few days or weeks after that!!! And there are many more such memories of stone-throwing and the fights between intensely communal groups of followers, the usual suspects, in Baroda-Ahmedabad, targeting each others and anyone else unfortunate enough to be caught in-between, presumably in the name of taking out their frustration. I don’t know if there ever was a riot or even communal tension in Pakistan when India beat Pakistan! But then, India has always taken great pride in calling itself secular; even at the cost of local peace! I am sure people of my age who lived in Gujarat in those days would remember that, not very fondly. The worst thing was, it completely took the focus off the great cricket both the teams played.

It was one of the most riveting cricket I have ever seen. My memories are still fresh; Imran’s bowling; the most incredible swing bowling at extreme pace in the series of 1983 in Pakistan and Sunny Gavaskar’s awesome innings of 127 not out, when he carried his bat against rampaging Pakistani pacers, all in a lost cause; or Zaheer Abbas’s silky cover drives or Javed Miandad’s antiques and and of course, “Alla Kidhar Hai, Upar Hai” umpiring from “world famous” Pakistani umpires like Khizar Hayat and Shakoor Rana (of Mike Gatting fame). I remember Mohinder Amarnath reminscing that in Pakistan, their players do not appeal “Howz that”? They ask umpire “Allah Kidhar Hai” (where is God) and in answer the umpire raises the finger showing the dressing room to the batsmen!!! Jokes apart, and umpiring or no umpiring, Pakistan cricket had upper hand over Indians at that time. But Indians somehow, turned the tables on Pakistan in the world cup games. Who would forget that terrific assault by Tendulkar on Shoaib Akhtar at the Centurion in 2003 world cup? Or the famous Aamir Sohail-Venky Prasad’s exchanges and Ajay Jadeja’s plucky innings in 1997 world cup? There are many such memories of battles within battles. To me it is like Mahabharat; compelling and riveting and emotionally draining, whatever the result…..

Today’s Pakistan is perhaps not as domineering as it was in those days; nor is Indian team as meek as it used to be. I firmly believe that apart from Australia, only other team Indians used to loose the game mentally in the dressing room it self, was Pakistan. However, since Ganguly became a scourge of Pakistan in 1997 Sahara Friendship Cup in Toronto, the famous Inzmam-Aloo episode, Indians started showing a sign of a lot of spine. Presence of match winners like Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dravid, Kumble and Harbhajan provided not only skills but a lot of heart that changed the complexion of the encounters. Since Ganguly took over the reigns of Indian team, there was a perceptible change in the body language and results on the field. Australians will vouch for that! India and Pakistan have come to a level pegging and of late, Indians have dominated their arch rivals even in test and mutual ODI series, both at home and away. The contests, though are still on even keel every time. And so it will be tonight.

As I see, prima-facie it is a contest between Indian batting and Pakistani bowling. The wicket, it seems will be a “patta”, a road, or even a highway. I don’t think there would be much grass left on the pitch; and will be firm and not yield much to the spinners as well. I don’t need to see the wicket. It is obvious to me that it is the only home advantage India can get against this Pakistani team as they have a well balanced bowling attack, though in my opinion, not a world beating one. Afridi, the highest wicket taker in the World Cup so far and fairly successful against all comers, has scalped minnows more than top ranked batters. His economy rate though, is excellent. Umar Gul, on the other hand has been outstanding. As against that, Zaheer Khan has turned the games with his bowling. But Indian bowling starts and stops with him. Yuvraj has been a surprise package with Bhajji a little disappointing. So Pakistan has upper hand over India in the bowling department.

As for batting, there is no comparision. Not a single Pakistani has scored a ton as yet; highest individual total scorer is Umar Akmal with 211 runs. First five in Indian batting order have scored more than that with Kohli at 238 being the lowest. As for fielding, while Pakistan has been nothing less than diabolic, Indians have also not exactly set the grounds on fire. However, if Indians are able to match what they produced in the field in the crunch game against Aussies in the last game, they will easily outscore Pakistanis, a few slow movers in Indian side notwithstanding. I sense the fielding will be a game changer in this contest.

If I have to give score out of 5 for all three departments, I will score Pakistan as 5+3+ 2 (Bowl+bat+field) = 10/15 to India’s 3+4.5+3 = 10.5/15. That makes India slight favorites in my books, purely from logic. However, when it is India V Pakistan, logic goes out of window and heart rules. Especially with, as genetically inconsistent a team as Pakistan, one can not predict. Indian team, has also shown inconsistency of its own, having come through two inexplicable lower order batting collapses in the tournament. However, this current Indian team, to my mind, is not likely to give up easily and revert to its pre-2000 days of landslide losses. It is made up of sterner stuff. The fact that it has also come through some extremely tough games in the competition against England, South Africa, West Indies and Australia will stand them in good stead. Pakistan on the other hand have been tested by Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia; WI just did not turn up. To their credit they won two out of three handsomely but that one colossal loss against NZ will remain at the back of their mind; triggered by diabolical fielding performance. As I sense, once the pressure is applied and things start to come off the rail, Pakistanis are less likely to put things back on track as compared to current Indian team. There in lies the clue to the outcome of this encounter.

Let us put aside all the hype. Let us look at this as merely a game and applaud physical skill, temperament, mental attributes and ability of all players, to perform to their optimal, under severe testing environment and enjoy. May the best team win…

pU steS! Talking Confuciusly!

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20103 Comments

Three quarter finals have been done and dusted. Confusion reigns!! One major upset, one sort of and one a damp squib. Such a contrasting level of cricket skills seen in all three games……. confusion rains!!

West Indian effort against Pakistan was a total washout; a complete disgrace and unworthy of last 8 round of a premier competition. May be West Indian team decided to take their revenge on Bangla spectators for the stones they received at their hands!! Me thinks that may be West Indians took it upon them selves to confuse the (g)hosts of match-fixers that inevitably tag along Pakistan team, like a Betal on Vikram’s shoulder! May be this is a better way of taking the ghost of match-fixing out of equation?? Take that..we will shoot your odds to hell! And for free….

I mean, for cryinoutloud, how can batsman after batsman of international class miss simple straight ones? I thought I saw an expression of utter confusion on the face of Mohammad Hafiz. Poor fellow must be trying hard to spin the ball and here he is getting wickets even when failing to do so? Wow, how come no one told me that to be a “right-arm-sidha” could be so profitable? Sack the coach!!! When confusion rains, it could be cats and dogs and wickets!!

To me, more than minnows bashing this spineless batting performance is a reason enough to dredge up the  discussion to revamp this premier competition. Reduce this to only 8 teams AND performance in last tournament should count towards your entry to the next!!! If you loose by over a certain margin (e.g. over 100 runs or more than 8 wickets), whatever you do in proceeding four years, you shall remain barred till next edition! Sorry, that is a bit harsh but there has to be some bloody accountability towards performance. If the players do not take pride in their performance, may be they do not deserve to get the center stage! Perhaps ICC should penalise the board for such a pathetic performance. May be their one year royalty or whatever that ICC distributes to the member boards should be withdrawn! May be if the board members find it hard to live an exalted status for a year or two, it may knock some sense in those fat cats? In case of Windies, that would certainly be helpful. If they had settled the players contract issue in time the team could have performed better….or would they? Confusion reigns…

Was it New Zealand beating South Africa or South Africa loosing to NZ or SAF beating it self? I am confused….I guess, so must be Daniel Vettori and his team. While the South Africans are perhaps chokfused!! How can you explain this phenomenon of choking? People have choked on fish bone; even on drinks. Choke  Africans, oops South Africans  do so regularly in cricket. Graeme Smith has been known to answer “choking” questions from scribes by dismissive and aggressive responses; sadly he and his team has refused to answer that in the best possible manner; on the turf! Strange how many times a team can repeat its follies? On the other hand, you can say that in case of South African cricket, the saying “practice makes you perfect” can’t be truer! It is unconfirmed news that ICC is going to open a “Hall of Choke” which will exclusively include South Africans. The inductees will be called “Choke-a-bloke”. I have this from an unquestionable source that Google will request Smith to write the new Chokopedia. Also it is grapevine on the international cricket circuit that South Africans are not sledged….just “c” word followed by a grin will do! I was surprised when I heard that South African team management had given strict instructions to caterers that their dressing room shall be chocolate-proof…..now I know why. For heaven’s sake, scribes are rummaging the statistics to dig out all “choking” stats of South Africans. The pity is they don’t need to search too hard!! I am told that some one from SAF team actually accused Indian Hindi reporters of sledging when they mentioned phrase “choka chhakka”!  I mean, for chrissake, Kiwis won this fair and square. Isn’t it a “choking” shame that we talk only about South Africa?? That’s why I am confused with this up set!!

To be honest, the Kiwis were still celebrating Australian team’s loss to India more than their miraculous win. They now have the antipodean bragging rights for the next four years; for the first time in the history of World cups, Kiwis have gone a step beyond their elder neighbors. (if it is incorrect, then I blame it on confusion!). I heard a loud cheer last night from across the ditch. I was told it was New Zealand cheering their team’s win. Then there was even louder cheer. It seems some one mentioned Australia!! India’s beating Australia can be called a “sort-of upset”. In some ways India were expected to win in their home conditions. But India’s performance till date was confusing. Perhaps the players were confused that they were still playing overseas… However, it seems that the Aussie sledging reminded them of the “home-truth”. Australian media is now accusing Ricky Ponting of poor captainship. It was reported in one daily that “It was disapPonting to note that we did not let the sleeping dogs lie”.

Hopefully, it is expected that this state of confusion will not continue for long. Tonight, Sri Lankans will resolve any confusion Andrew Strauss has about the out come of last quarter finals. Seems like Strauss is confident of “adjusting”. I have a feeling that by the end of the game Poms willl know that adjusting is not enough in cricket; you have to win it!! But then again, Poms have been the most Jekyll and Hyde team of this World cup. So much so that Afridi is totally confused. So much so that the Pakistani team has registered a protest with ICC and threatened England for a compensation for “breaching of our paternal rights”. Now ICC is confused and trying to interpret cricket laws as per Sharia Laws!! Confusion reigns supreme….

Neither here nor there..

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20105 Comments

It was not surprising that Aussies and Ricky Ponting have started their preparation for the upcoming series against Pakistan. If you are looking for details on a cricket camp you sadly underrate Aussies. Their preparation begins by hurling a few testing verbal bouncers at their opponents. Ponting decided to “compliment” the new Pakistani test captain Shahid Afridi (any one remembers how many have come and gone?). Nothing new there. Aussies believe in softening the opponent captain first. However the quantum of statements about Afridi (“He hasn’t played much Test cricket of late, has he?” OR “he’s….not necessarily one of their best Test players” etc), especially after winning the last series, tells me that he may be a tad worried about Pakistan team getting together under this new captain. Read his last sentence…”…we just have to make sure we’re focusing on our little things to be the best team we can be when we play them.” Lovely! If you read that last sentence without the benefit of full text, you may be excused for searching for the rising Sun in the west! Don’t worry, Ponting and Aussies are as consistent as the heavenly bodies!! But hey, what is this “..I think we can sort him out in Test cricket for sure” thingy?? Mate, you don’t have to worry about sorting this opponent. If the last series is any indication, they are champs at doing it themselves! Aussies just have to turn up and leave the rest to their opponents!! I wonder, just wonder, what the Pakistan Board is planning, though. If you are seriously doubting your own team for loosing games for money, I wonder how can you keep this series clean that is being played in England, where there are huge number of Pakistani ex-patriots? May be by sweeping previous decisions under the carpet!

Is this “Match fixing” मौसम or what? Doubts are also probably raised about the Indian team’s performance in Zimbabwe! There is hardly anything worthwhile writing about the two “shocking” losses to Zombies…oops, Zimbos. What is surprising is the facile win by Indians against Sri Lankan team in the first game, probably the strongest team on paper in the comp. So are Indians being “obliging” guests? A few wins against a highly ranked team can divert the attention off the beleaguered Zimbabwe Cricket Association. Remember how Bangladesh got the nod of ICC? While not detracting from the terrific performance of the Zimbabweans, they may have benefited from the charitable gestures not only from Harbhajan Singh, but also the India selectors! How else can you explain experienced pacers like Ishant and Appam cooling their heels when a completely new look, new ball attack opens for India? Every time a team plays, it has to do so with the respect for the opponents. Sadly, Indian selectors have forgotten that. Or is it that India and Sri Lanka have decided that the hosts must play the finals; the opponents will fight it out for a spot in the finals??  It looks like Indian team management is absolutely committed to experiment in this series even at the cost of being thrashed. That can constitute match-fixing of a sort, isn’t it? Your guess is as good as mine. Seems to me that match-fixing is a disease easily traversing across the LOC!! Poor Raina is on a hiding to nothing…

Some very very interesting things have emerged from the whole IPL mess..I would strongly suggest all  read the copy of email from ECB Chairman Giles Clarke to BCCI President Shashank Manohar. Modern soap opera. If it is made into a sit-com it can easily give a run for the money to “क्योंकि सास भी कभी बहु थी”. Apparently Clarke himself is not that much popular within England County Cricket set up that makes up the ECB. Majority counties and especially those with major stadia are looking to increase revenue and Lalit Modi’s proposed “rebel league” in England was very interesting. While Modi is being portrayed as the biggest villain to hit cricket, it seems that the men present in Delhi meeting admire him as a visionary. All charges and his “bigger-than-the-game-attitude” notwithstanding, his contributions to BCCI and Indian cricket can not be denied. I hope current BCCI stake-holders understand that sooner than later. In last couple of days it has become apparent that the typically Indian ‘Narangi” (mandarin) unity is being exposed as the skin is being peeled off slowly in this IPL mess. Seems now that Sharad Pawar and even the interim  IPL chairman Chirau Amin are as “clean” as Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor. Looks like Modi is on a course to take a few down with him. Does it mean that the English motto of “Divide and Rule” will succeed again? Empire Strikes Back?? Will money win over the beauty of this game? Will the real Gods of cricket like GGT (Great God Tendulkar) become merely the ushers to the virtual Gods of Cricket like Modis, Clarkes, Pawars?? Keep watching the drama…at least it is better than the insipid cricket Indian team has been dishing out of late!! Legendary Kishor Kumar is blaring out loud and clear on my stereo “पैसा यह पैसा, कोई नहीं ऐसा, यह हो मुसीबत, न हो मुसीबत…”
Cheers Folks..

Pakistan embroiled in Match fixing…again!!

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20104 Comments

Heard that ICC’s anti corruption bureau has been investigating Pakistan’s tour of Australia..goodonya ICC! A bit late but देर आये दुरुस्त आये; better late than never. Or is it a case of “oops, we missed the most obvious so better start doing something now” syndrome? It smacks more of politics than a real intention of doing something good for the game.

Years back when Salim Malik, Mohammad Azaharrduddin and Hanse Kronje got exposed as match-fixers I could not believe any player would throw his innings (as a batsman I never wanted to get out) or his pride as a fielder to drop a catch or miss a stumping deliberately. I often spent sleepless nights for dropping a hard chance or a stumping while standing up, playing backyard cricket with a tennis ball on wet concrete floor. And I am sure I am not alone. What is it that makes a player do so? I still find it hard to believe that when for elite cricketers there is so much money to be made legally, a player would tank his game for money…isn’t pride in your success at least, as much important as money? Or am I too old fashioned? It is still difficult to digest that cricket may have changed so much where a man would not hesitate to sell his sporting achievement for a few bobs.

Of course, now there is enough smoke to infer that there must be fire; may be just a small amber burning somewhere. I was convinced about that after the Sydney test this new year. Pakistanis definitely tanked that game; Aussies had no business wining that one and all that brouhaha about the best win from death and all that crap was just that, crap!! Pakistanis lost, plain and simple. I have seen videos of Kamran Akmal’s keeping in that test a few times and could not believe that any wicketkeeper would go through such a horrendous spell in a day; not even a sixth grade, 130 kg, wide as a barn door and no-where-else-to-hide, reluctant with gloves and pads, back-stopper..In my opinion Akmal missed those catches, stumping and run out deliberately. What is not clear is, why? Could be for money or for proving a point?? May be the Pakistan camp was so badly divided that Akmal took it upon himself to “stamp his authority”..or may be he thought he could kill two birds with one “glove”, make his point and earn some dough? Wicket keeper is the engine-room of the fielding side and his abject failure can corrode the morals of the fielders quite easily and quickly. Akmal’s performance that day is an example of that.

There was sufficient doubt about Akmal’s performance even within the Pakistan camp when the coach Intikhab Alam asked his keeper to fall on his own sword. That done, somehow he returned to Pakistan team for the T20 world cup. Does it mean that if Akmal fixed the game, the team selectors have an equal role to play in the drama? How else can one explain his return? Probably all thought, Akmal behind the stumps, is the only fool-proof plan to lose!! May be everyone is on the gravy train!!

Then again, when your country is in strife like Pakistan is in today and suicide bombers are dime a dozen, it must be hard to keep focus on cricket. Pakistan as a state is falling on its own dagger; one that it has used for long against its neighbor is now aimed at its own heart. Terrorism, a product which was designed strictly for export market has now become a huge commodity for local consumption. Probably a poetic justice, but very sad! It is a chaos out there and the cricketers are only humans. What do you achieve by winning a cricket match when the value of humanity is next to zero? When there is no pride in winning, there is no pain in loosing. May be then the allure of money takes over. What a pity! I hope I am wrong since I am convinced that Indian V Australia is still a distant second to the Mahabharat of Indian V Pakistan..get your act together Pakistan. Believe it or not, you have a huge fan followers within India..even traditionalists would love to see Pakistan cricket up on its feet and playing trademark hard fought cricket…