The attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan was always going to cast a pall of gloom on sports on the subcontinent, in general. It was also always going to spawn numerous half-baked comparisons to the 1972 attack on Israeli athletes in the Munich Olympics. What was less expected was that it would necessitate a shift in venue for the Indian Premier League (IPL). South Africa and England are two of the potential venues being explored, at the time of typing this.
Moving the IPL, you say? The bizareness of watching Kolkata Knight Riders playing Deccan Chargers at The Wanderers in Johannesburg isn't too far removed from watching an Aston Villa versus Middlesborough FA Cup match in Sydney, Australia or watching the Green Bay Packers take on the New York Giants in Tel Aviv, Israel. It just doesn't work that way, right?
Put into perspective, however,... it's a different story. With nationwide general elections set to clash with the IPL's schedule, it wouldn't seem like the smartest thing for security to be compromised in trying to run both the polls and the tournament simultaneously. Nevertheless, the people behind the IPL fought tooth and nail to ensure that the tournament would be held as scheduled.
Dates were moved around, permission sought from chief ministers of different states, clearances sought from security firms, bulletproof vehicles ordered etc. etc. Was it really worth risking the lives and safety of so many (common citizens would be at risk as well because of all the VIPs around)? And for what?
Just to ensure that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) doesn't lose its grip on the udders of the cash cow that is cricket in India?
Just to ensure that every last bit of money is milked out?
The smartest thing in my opinion would have been for the big boys of the BCCI to realise that there are some things more important than cricket in the world and that elections obviously come first. Secondly, had they been willing to eschew this year's season (possibly even annul the players bought in this time's auction), then the integrity of the IPL would have remained intact. Through its own unrelenting obstinence, the BCCI has succeeded in watering down its product and turning it into the NRIPL (Non-resident IPL as a newspaper put it).
Kudos!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Pakman and the ghosts that trail him
"I am happy we didn't tour Pakistan, and that the government didn't allow us to tour Pakistan. It may or may not have happened to us. But overall I am happy to be here (New Zealand)."
When I first read these words by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the wake of the senseless attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on March 3, I remember thinking to myself, "What a horribly selfish and nasty thing to say". And then comments from external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and home minister P. Chidambaram began flowing in and it all seemed like a bit of schadenfreude at the expense of the Pakistani government. Once India's three most important men had shared their views (yes, my tongue is firmly buried in my cheek), the gates had been thrown open.
Send in the clowns!
'Expert' after 'expert' and 'specialist' after 'specialist', everyone had a view about why Pakistan should be sidelined from world cricket and how cricket on the sub-continent had taken a dangerous turn. (Well, it's not just cricket — the sub-continent itself has taken a fairly ominous turn) Amidst all this mayhem, was a distraught Younis Khan apologising to the Sri Lankans on behalf of his country and saying that without cricket, the country was doomed, a despondent Inzamam-ul-Haq ruing the concept of teams not touring Pakistan, a fiery Imran Khan letting the ruling regime have it for the pitiful security provided in the name of "Presidential Security".
RULING regime? Ruling whom exactly? Certainly not those bone-heads who opened fire and hurled grenades at sportsmen. Then Zardari goes and claims that India is responsible for that shameful incident. Meanwhile, his policemen round up 50 suspects. The damage has been done. And yet, Lalit "Money Money" Modi sees fit to start whining about his beloved Indian Premier League, even as Chidambaram suggests it would be safer for the league not to clash with the general elections.
Far removed from all the talk of how much each franchise stands to lose in terms of revenue if the IPL is called off, is Pak-man. An average guy who goes to work, pays his taxes, prays, raises his children and when time permits, likes catching a match or two of cricket. To dive into the metaphor of the day, he'll eat all the pills (just like his buddy Pac-Man), in the hope that there's a nice cherry around the corner for that little bonus.
DENIED!!
Some stinking no-good ghosts pop up out of nowhere and that's the end of that.
No person in the right frame of mind would want to send a team to its potential death anymore, as sad as that is to say. While it's foolish to whine, "Oh, How can you live in a place where you could be blown up or shot at any time, yaaarrr?" (insert suitably whiny voice) like so many people who leave the sub-continent for greener pastures overseas, I can't help but feel maybe Dhoni had a point.
If the Indian team (as it was scheduled to be) was in Pakistan at the time and a similar incident has occurred, it's difficult to imagine the sheer nuclear amounts of firepower that the saffron army would get access to. They'd use it as a reason to push their anti-Muslim propaganda further and while it seems presumptuous, I will still say, there would be blood running through the streets of most of India's cities. In hindsight, I'm also very happy that the government didn't let India tour Pakistan.
When I first read these words by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the wake of the senseless attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on March 3, I remember thinking to myself, "What a horribly selfish and nasty thing to say". And then comments from external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and home minister P. Chidambaram began flowing in and it all seemed like a bit of schadenfreude at the expense of the Pakistani government. Once India's three most important men had shared their views (yes, my tongue is firmly buried in my cheek), the gates had been thrown open.
Send in the clowns!
'Expert' after 'expert' and 'specialist' after 'specialist', everyone had a view about why Pakistan should be sidelined from world cricket and how cricket on the sub-continent had taken a dangerous turn. (Well, it's not just cricket — the sub-continent itself has taken a fairly ominous turn) Amidst all this mayhem, was a distraught Younis Khan apologising to the Sri Lankans on behalf of his country and saying that without cricket, the country was doomed, a despondent Inzamam-ul-Haq ruing the concept of teams not touring Pakistan, a fiery Imran Khan letting the ruling regime have it for the pitiful security provided in the name of "Presidential Security".
RULING regime? Ruling whom exactly? Certainly not those bone-heads who opened fire and hurled grenades at sportsmen. Then Zardari goes and claims that India is responsible for that shameful incident. Meanwhile, his policemen round up 50 suspects. The damage has been done. And yet, Lalit "Money Money" Modi sees fit to start whining about his beloved Indian Premier League, even as Chidambaram suggests it would be safer for the league not to clash with the general elections.
Far removed from all the talk of how much each franchise stands to lose in terms of revenue if the IPL is called off, is Pak-man. An average guy who goes to work, pays his taxes, prays, raises his children and when time permits, likes catching a match or two of cricket. To dive into the metaphor of the day, he'll eat all the pills (just like his buddy Pac-Man), in the hope that there's a nice cherry around the corner for that little bonus.
DENIED!!
Some stinking no-good ghosts pop up out of nowhere and that's the end of that.
No person in the right frame of mind would want to send a team to its potential death anymore, as sad as that is to say. While it's foolish to whine, "Oh, How can you live in a place where you could be blown up or shot at any time, yaaarrr?" (insert suitably whiny voice) like so many people who leave the sub-continent for greener pastures overseas, I can't help but feel maybe Dhoni had a point.
If the Indian team (as it was scheduled to be) was in Pakistan at the time and a similar incident has occurred, it's difficult to imagine the sheer nuclear amounts of firepower that the saffron army would get access to. They'd use it as a reason to push their anti-Muslim propaganda further and while it seems presumptuous, I will still say, there would be blood running through the streets of most of India's cities. In hindsight, I'm also very happy that the government didn't let India tour Pakistan.
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