Indian Cricket -a quiz about Income-tax theft,cocaine and murder.

In a quiz published in Hindi Newspaper (नवभारत टाइम्स ) Navbharat Times , dated 23rd May 07 ,which claims to have largest circulation in Delhi, quiz question 4 is reproduced for perusal of cricket community. No doubt, it will add to profile of the cricketers involved for their service to the cause of the cricket as well as nation. The general awareness of the Indian Students in particular will improve.Unsporting General public will, however, feel shy and shamed for being connected with the Indian cricket.

Another news, that is being circulated by International news agencies such as AP, Reuters, and Indian TV channels and newspapers is about the arrest of Ex-cricketer Maninder Singh for possessing cocaine. Maninder Singh who has been released on bail, represented India in 35 Test matches and 59 Odis. Maninder, a famous on-screen entity, 'expert commentator' in television channels , found way into the Page 3 circle where use of drugs is never an inhibition. It is strange that he retired at the early age of 28 for reasons best known to him, when, in India, it is customary to serve the nation and the cricket till you are dropped by some daring selector. Some quiz master will definitely include his name also in a subsequent general knowledge quiz.

In my humble opinion, the name of Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been sentenced to imprisonment by Punjab and Haryana high court recently, for murder of a senior citizen should also be included in future GK quizzes for the awareness of not so talented students and street kids who love and adulate such Indian cricketers. Or else, Sidhu may feel hurt again and may resign from the Parliament to uphold the mask of moral duty and help the nation by spreading message of ethics . It is another matter that he did not have the guts to express , at least , the lip sympathy to the victim's family. It is a trivial issue, his pro-protective media thinks so. And rightly so, because if you hit an infirm, sick, and old man and he dies, in India, as a rule, he succumbs to heart attack or some existing disease.The ethical hits and blows showered on the victim are perhaps incidental to the disease!

The common factor in the above cases is that all of them are high profiled. Three of them are expert cricket commentators: and so serving the nation by contributing their expert comments about Indian Cricket and also adding to the general awareness of Indian street kids cricketers by their ethical actions.The two tax evaders have made the nation richer by not paying about Rs.4,0000000/-. They have been projected as role models for the young entrants by some Indian TV channels, and rightly so by Comptroller and Auditor General of India who has observed in their report that as per the rules of tax game they have earned money by just being models and not by playing cricket.Yet, to preach sermons about the protecting the honor of Indian cap and who should wear it and when , is their fundamental right.

God save the Indian Cricket from the quiz masters!

Australian Batsman Gilchrist -A Trickster or a Cricketer - Hand in glove with a squash ball

Graphic- The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka

Upon Western Australian batting coach Bob Meuleman's advice, Gilchrist had been carrying a squash ball in his left, bottom hand to help him with his grip in the final against Sri Lanka in recently concluded World cup final 2007 .The experts' opinion is divided on whether it should be termed "Ingenuity",or "Cheating".Whatever may be the opinion, the rules of cricket do not allow a foreign substance in his glove.However,another opinion is "Though it does not permit a foreign object inside the batting glove, it also does not prevent anyone from having it."

Sri Lankan fans are fuming with accusations against the Australians for unfair practices, as Gilchrist’s use of the squash ball allowed him to hit the ball further in the field.
The blog is of the opinion that it was unethical for Gilchrist to use a squash ball as it gave unfair advantage to him.

read more
Australia officials laugh off Sri Lanka complaint

Indian Cricket Team Leaves for Bangladesh tour

Today Indian cricket team leaves for Bangladesh to play 3 Odis and 2 Test series amid the controversies created by the same old nexus of Players with high TVRPs ,their sponsors,the advertisers and their agents in the media and the BCCI.

Media is clamouring in one voice that endorsements should be unlimited for those who have rendered service to the cricket, and so to the nation for 16 years, despite the non-performance in world cup.It was just one bad day.

Some channels like NDTV - in their programme "cricket controversies" advocated that Sachin should earn more. One participant said that he will be happy if he(Tendulkar) earns 5000 crores. The participants collectively saw no reason that why Manoj Tiwari, a new entrant in the team by virtue of non-performance of those earning crores and crores, should earn as much as Tendulkar. In their words:"why tendulkar should earn as less as Tiwari." But, participants in the program could not point out even a single person amongst the billions who has objections to Sachin's earnings, or for that matter even TV participants earnings even from undeclared sources. Indian fans do not bother for such trivial matters as earnings . What they(the public ) demand is: "if you are great, respond when the team is in crisis and not to take an escape route via history of 16 years or so!" . Where is the future for Indian team in Tendulkar who just struggles with his body in pain and consequently mind in fear and out of focus ?

In another programme on NDTV India Ajay jadeja and ex-wicket keeper batsman Kirmani participated. Kirmani was virtually gagged by Jadeja when Kirmani begged to differ and commented that heavy endorsements do affect the mind set and ultimately performance of the player, who is saddled with more responsibility to perform because of fear of endorsements being denied if he does not perform.

From the tone and tenor of the utterances of the sponsored participants the sole view that emerged was that unlimited endorsements must be the order of the day.Only that way there is a hope for the Indian Cricketers and, thus, Indian cricket.

From such programmes, which are always perfectly timed to air the players' demands by the vested interests of the moneyed corporates and their agents,what else a street spectator can expect from them? It would be much better for these groups to consolidate,program,participate,and develop the virtual games of cricket on the Internet. Why make the fans sweat and suffer in scorching heat and fleece money from their pockets and make fun of their hopes and dreams.The fans will also enjoy more on the Internet, if they could afford it, than on the field. But to program virtual games requires more skill,programming knowledge,hard work,and application and devotion,than meaningless discussions on the channels by sponsored few whose interests are more in covering the losses suffered recently.

The advocacy of the greedy instincts of the some of the players top rated by the media takes the focus away from the performance and is highly shameful. Needles to say, that this nefarious link has been constantly wrecking not only Indian cricket which has always been in the hands of some of the seniors, their sponsors, advertisers and agents.What this tie up openly decries is wide spread public resentment for the strip tease done by the great names at the world cup 2007.Now they feel that the the team will easily beat Bangladesh and this will enhance the ratings of the big players which in turn will mean more revenue.

An argument is now being advanced is that money to board(BCCI) flows because of big players and their contracts. The board will not get TV rights if such big players are not in the team.It is a weak argument in defense of meek players who after huge earnings fail to perform against the minnows and then offer weeping apologies for their "one bad day" theory of escapism. It is easily forgotten that they have earned huge amounts only when their performance is paid for in terms of hard earned money by the spectators who come to watch the matches against all odds.And imagine the sufferings of TV viewers who are fed ads and ads more than bat and ball. By seeing the ads instead of performance ,what do the fans earn?Should not their money be refunded on poor performance?Many spectators in the world cup have demanded this of Indian team through placards.

This argument also exposes the view of the defenders of the players who feel India is devoid of talented young cricketers as suitable replacements?When tendulkar replaced Mohinder Amarnath ,where was the argument of suitable replacement gone? Only after 2 years of cricket did he become a suitable replacement.Also, it is a fact that the performance of under 19 team has always been better than the performance of the Indian team abroad.

Alas! the truth is that the Board of control for cricket in India has always been a timid board with randomly chosen selectors whose interests have been to sub serve the related interests of paying lobbies rather than the game of cricket.No one in India dare sack sachin! and Gangauly manoeuvred his way back to the team duly supported by regional politicians in Indian Parliament.

Now the Board, to eye wash its timidity has appointed a committee of 2 persons to look into the money earning demands of the players.If these players are so proud of their talents and consequent earning capacity why they do not openly refuse to sign the contracts ? Why they keep navigating two boats with one paddle? In fact they know that better replacements are always available in the Indian cricket, as elsewhere.No one is indispensable in any game in this world.

And, whosoever plays for India, however junior he may be ,Advertisers as well as Board are bound to earn.But what is feared how to recover the loss of crores which they have suffered in recent world cup by investing heavily on these players.

The Indian cricket has never earned the name or fame abroad except in the era of foreign coaches.Indian cricket has always been a story of individual performances and team's defeats abroad.

A the time when the team is leaving India- a team whose reckoning is lower to
Bangladesh-the media should have concentrated more on cricket rather than raising proxy wars through the channels.For, if the team happens to beat Bangladesh, as there is no reason to doubt, the channels will again make these players advertised heroes for the world cup 2011.

It is good in one sense that we have been converted to a nation of dreamers by well advertised campaigns.The ground realities are bitter.The truth is that the Indian team wont be able to beat Bangladesh as convincingly as Bermuda, and yet will get unrestricted endorsements on return from the tour due to the board's under performance.

Shooting ad films by Indian cricket players

The front page article in the Times of India dated April 11, 2007 is a classic example of “Money Defending Money”. ‘Shooting ad films by the The Indian Cricket players"-the highest paid in terms of sponsorship in world- "doesn't hurt performance". It says moral police is at work against The Indian Cricketers. The Article further cites examples of "moral policing" such as, swooping on discotheques by the police, rounding of young couples, shutting down of dance bars etc.These instances stem from socio-political order and negative cultural values engulfing all developing and developed nations in the world and in no way relevant to the utterly dismal performance of the media sponsored Indian team in the field.Rather the references are only far fetched.What all this has to do with the Cricket?

I think, the writer is thoroughly ignorant of the system and conditions prevailing at discotheques or the venues served by the bar girls. How many Advertising companies have sponsored the bar girls in their ads,even for fun sake! And what steps have been taken by the sponsors involved in improving the plight of bar girls?

No doubt, the people must have fun in all fields including Cricket. But, whatever may be the ways for providing or deriving fun in the field of cricket or any other sport, the recent strip tease performed twice by the Indian team in Caribbean , even shamed the bar girls . Did it provide any fun to the thousands of spectators and supporters or even the moneyed advertisers?

To advocate the cause of the moneyed players, Advertisers and their agents, the writer considers the proposals regarding the reasonable restrictions on shooting of advertisements as lynch-mob morality against the cricketers .To define the likely or(most) unlikely restrictions on shooting of ads on the players in such strong terms as lynching, keeping in view the timidity shown by the BCCI , is a concrete evidence of the money game being played in the BCCI by the Advertisers and their Agents , in league with electronic and other media.

In fact, these very advocates led to the lynching of the younger players when they were on tour to South Africa recently. Pathetically, the Indian Parliament and a state legislature-West Bengal, were also involved in lynching of the upcoming but under performing young players who needed more exposure in foreign countries. Given the time, the younger players would definitely have performed better than the players who play as per the contracted time slot with their sponsors, and get payment from the Advertisers accordingly.

Bangladesh’s young ones have shown that they are better in the field since they do not believe in ad shooting off the field. Moreover, the interference of the Politicians backed by the big money has started recoiling in the form of further addition of Politicians like Raj Thakre. Who knows tomorrow it will be Yuvraj Singh being supported by politicians from North of India.

After the defeat of Indian team by the popular minnows, Bangladesh, and ouster of the Indian Cricket team from World cup, the big companies have lost so much that they need to encash the forthcoming Indian visit to Bangladesh through the contracted players whose Television Rating Points (TRPs) are higher to cover the losses. (India's exit caused a loss of about Rs.1.53 billion in terms of viewership)

It is further claimed in the article that that world over, money has created talent. The hard fact is that talent is never creatable. It just happens. Money provides infrastructure and helps groom talent to some extent. It is commitment, training and discipline without the accompanying adverse influences of money that matters. Money generates the necessary means for furthering sport to some extent and is not the prime cause for the creation of talent. All the erstwhile communist and closed societies, such as Russia, East Germany, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and China, devoid of market logic till recently, have ruled the world scene in sport for decades in the Olympics and the Asian and other world games.

Money does not fuel ticket sales .It is the performance of the players and the competition among the best that fuels ticket sales. Had it been not so, the contingent of people interested to see the world cup would have not cancelled their tours to West Indies and those who happen to reach there would not have asked for ‘refund of their hard earned money’ through the placards visible on TV during the matches, from the ad prone cricketers . Why the advertising companies withdrew their ads showing the so talented for ignominious defeat? And why these companies are not interested in further creating talent through the money! Why they are still defending the Seniors?

If the cricketers are allowed to 15 days of ad shooting there is no harm, the writer says. From where the arbitrary figure of 15 days has cropped in? He fails to explain.The people who support this view are confident that given a beginning 15 days in India can be easily extended to any number of days without affecting the performance!

The fact is that the excess of money power has rendered the players powerless in the field.
Every worst performance is echoed as one bad day. The good days are no longer available in the calendar of Indian Cricket. A bad day may occur due to circumstances beyond the human control such as D/L system ,if rains or other natural factors step in. When a player is not doing which one is supposed to do, blaming a bad day is escapism.

The vicious cycle of money has encircled and damaged the commitment of the players to an irrevocable extent. Seniors want to shoot ads despite non-performance and resulting defeats. So far as the sport is concerned in this country , the stories of Indian street kids are always awe- inspiring and never inspiring. The street kids would prefer burning the effigies of Indian players. They just need minimum wages. Has the writer ever visited Indian streets at Srinagar, Gauwhati, Kanpur, or other non-metros? If so just tell the kids that the senior cricketers are being denied ads to shoot because they want to create talent amongst you, and watch their reaction and then one will not be able to write sponsored articles.