Arm Ball

IPL is a cricket tamasha, a glitz full of money, bollywood beauties, business tycoons and many other interests. Fair and fine. But then who drives it. All deals said and done, all cheerleaders landed, all Bollywood glitz added. But what will ensure that this stakeholders get their pie ? Is it those owners of the franchisees who are at max gonna jig a leg and dance a two on the themes played on every wkt fall or a boundary being hit? Is it those rich businessmen who are now suddenly finding the senior Indian cricketers worthless and replacing them as skippers of their teams ? Who is the real driver? Fan ? Fan never had a say in the country’s cricket except a few 100 bloggers like us, who dissect every issue and feel its our birth right to criticize or praise anybody. The real driver in my opinion is the cricket player who is going to take the center stage. The real on field action which anyways happens in a ODI, in a Test match and even in a T20I. And so would in IPL. Those players who play against each other in international cricket and with each other, mostly would play together. You get what I want to say right. For 95% of their careers, Sachin, Saurav, Rahul and Anil have played together. Now they would be pitting against each other. Ditto for other countries.

I want to drive to a point where I want to say that even if other ingridients mix with cricket here, the flavor and the rules don’t change in IPL. We would still have same rules in IPL as we have in any T20I. Power plays, innings break, dismissal rules, batting rules are going to be the same. Then why do we say that it’s a cricket tamasha? It is not.

There have been some opinions running which criticize the BCCI for reaching to this mess where the IPL had to be shifted out of the country. Now for example there was going to be a bilateral series in India during elections time, then would the government not allow it to go ahead. Or does the government want to say that it would hold elections and deploy all forces in execution of elections, but it wont protect the common citizen during those times? Will that also mean that the criminals and other hooligans will have gala time when there would be less or no control over them as police force and other forces would be busy in elections. Or god forbid, if there is a terror attack in some part of country, then government wont send its forces in that part? Will the logic of government hold true even then ? Nobody says that elections are more important than IPL. They are 2 mutually exclusive agendas. In 1999 elections didn’t NZ tour India and nothing untoward happened? Didn’t in 1989 the Nehru cup and elections went off smoothly? And for that matter in 1984, the English tour and the assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi followed by the elections? Agreed that IPL is massive event, but then isn’t the government washing off its hands in providing the security to the sporting event? Isnt its responsibility to safeguard every living person in its area of control? Or is it going to feel that once the elections are announced, its influence and responsibilities shrink ?

If IPL has shifted out of country, nobody has any problems with it. Smooth execution of elections is always a priority. And it would decide whom we chose to rule us for next 5 years. But then isn’t it our duty to look to what message is being sent to the world? That we are incapable of providing security to our own countrymen? Doesn’t that give a cane fodder to the forces to point finger on India? 2011 World Cup is due in India and that year would see elections mostly in Bengal and Tamil Nadu. This 2 states have the premier cricket grounds in the country – Chennai and Kolkata, each of them worthy of holding a world cup final. So wont government provide security to the matches being held in this 2 cities in the World Cup or would then also the government say – take the world cup out of the country?

It’s the demand of time that we look at the elections and the IPL with a bit of liberal mindset and not try to score political victories over the opponents. God forbid, if something untoward happens during cricket in India, the only untarnished thing in the country would be destroyed. Cricket after all, is the common uniting force in the country divided over region, religion, caste, food habits etc etc.

Let the cricket triumph.

The politics over IPL schedule is ridiculous. Attacks in Pakistan has made us a bit jittery and cautious. But then why is it being discussed openly in public ? Doesn’t that give the perpetors of the 11/26 another chance to plot something fishy ? Our government is a jackasss, its well known. It just doesn’t know how to do all this internally without much fuss. It sends a very wrong signal to the world that we are an unsafe country, we are not.

Travor Baliyss

Murali

Vaas

Chris Broad

Simon Davis

Go boycott and get all this individuals banned PCB. They have said something or the other against the Pakistan cricket. So its against the interests of Pakistan cricket, even if it means some truth and has some value to it. After all the question comes, who all is Pakistan Board going to get banned ? Rather than this boycott / ban activities, the PCB should apologize to SL and the world cricket community for the unfortunate incident in Lahore and tender an apology to India for forming an image in the world that India too is unsafe for cricket. That’s not true. Cricket is safe in India. Until of course……

And those guys who are having apprehensions about playing IPL or international cricket in India should back out. They should not go ahead and place wrong facts in the media about the unfortunate bomb blasts that happened in Jaipur last year during IPL. If this individuals think that security is an issue, it’s better for them to return the money to the franchises and back out. Likes of Pieterson, Stephen Fleming, Duncan Fletcher and now Martin Crowe. Yes Jacob Oram too. Guys, do what your erstwhile generation did. Guys like Ian Botham, David Gower and Richard Hadlee hardly toured India in their playing days. Its other thing that first 2 travel for media commentary purposes now. Stephen Fleming has got a lucrative coach cum player contract with Chennai Super Kings. Yet he holds opinion that Indian leagues hamper the Kiwi cricket. Nobody forced the likes of Lou Vincent, Hamish Marshall , Daryl Tuffey and of course Shane Bond followed by retired stars like Harris and Cairns to go to ICL. They went on their own. And current Kiwi players have got lucrative representation. Dan Vettori is with Delhi, Ross Taylor is with Bangalore, Oram is with Chennai, Mcullum is with Kolkata and of course Fleming with Chennai.

And if biggies fail or don’t come to IPL, its not that the IPL would loose its sheen. Even if there was no foreign representation in IPL, the crowds would have come in. For that matter, the fiercest rivals the country has are not coming due to their own imaginary security problems. Which Pakistani player has ever been attacked in India ? On the contrary the victorious team in Chennai’ 09 got a standing ovation when they won by 12 runs despite Tendulkar classic of 136. So IPl has been a victim of inter country politics and also the victim of nonsense Indian politics where the home minister questioned the schedule and then the ruling UPA states ruled out the security to IPL in public. On the same hand Mr Modi, the Gujrat CM promised the security and may be that’s the reason, the city of Ahmedabad is hosting the IPL games. Well the Ahmedabad is Karachi of India or SSC of India where the wicket is damn flat and the most scorching draws have been earned there in this country barring the SA loss.

So the stern message is if you want to play in IPL in India for all its glitz, glamour and cash, come be part of it and win the hearts. We would give you all the adulation, love and shower flowers. But don’t speak a bit on the security issue on India cos its not an issue. 11/26 wasn’t an internal thingie, it was done by outside elements. So that doesn’t make India an unsafe country to play in. And if you don’t want to play in India for IPL, then just return the cash you got and shut your mouth off. Security situation in Pakistan or Bangladesh or Sri Lanka or for that matter USA is not related to India.

No Indian cricketer has ever said about the mugging events that happen in South Africa. Johannesburg and CapeTown are murder capitals of the world, yet Indians mingle with the migrant population whenever they tour the country. No Indian cricketer complained about the ethnic violence that happens in Sri Lanka. Their job is to go and play the cricket. Either they are in, or they are not in. We haven’t heard of security comments in public in full media glare from the Indian cricketers. IPL doesn’t need foreign cricketers. It’s the foreign cricketers who need IPL. So when they want to enjoy the booty, they should do it with their mouth shut. Else we will be forced to ask Ijaj Butt and Javed Miandad to go and file complaints against them in ICC and BCC!.