PCB suspends Shoaib Akthar's ban for a month

In order to let him participate in the IPL, the PCB has gone out of the way to suspend Shoaib Akthar’s ban for one month.

This partial ban has revived Shoaib Akthar’s career. For if IPL shunned him, other cricketing organisations would shun him too, a fate suffered by his less controversial teammate.

Update: 07.00 p.m. Read Q's version of the events here.

Shoaib Akhtar unloved and unwanted will turn to ICL

Once the PCB permitted him to play overseas, the common perception was, it would only be a matter of time before he played in the IPL.

However, IPL and its parent organization BCCI, have turned their backs on him stating "they will not admit anyone suspended by his home country".

Here is a backgrounder on Shoaib Akthar's ban and its aftermath.

1. Banned by PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) for five years on charges of indiscipline.
2. This automatically bars him from IPL.
3. On appeal Shoaib Akthar earns a partial victory. PCB still bans him from playing in Pakistan. However, he can play abroad. This qualifies him for IPL.
4. IPL (Indian Premier League) wants no truck with him citing its policy that it will not admit anyone suspended by his home country.

This leaves Shoaib with no recourse other than to play either in the ICL or parade his wares in the English county.

If one goes by his past record, he will surely join ICL out of spite and thus effectively end his turbulent International career.

IPL is bigger than the World Cup

IPL is bigger—in terms of sheer logistics activities—than the ICC World Cup, the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

Just look at the enormity of arranging the event.

To begin with, IPL has booked 12,000 hotel nights, 20,000 air tickets and will move at least 1000 people every day. Even during the last World Cup in the West Indies, the total movement over 54 days was six times and in IPL the teams and the officials will be moving 44 times.(Image Courtesy)

To cut the long story short a total 3,000 people including the cricketers will be ferried from one part of India to another.

An overwhelming affair is it not.

Technorati Tags: IPL,Cricket,ICC World Cup,Logistics,Organising

IceRocket Tags: IPL,Cricket,ICC World Cup,Logistics,Organising

Legalise betting in Cricket - Bindra

Inder Singh Bindra (BCCI) wants to the Indian Government to legalise cricket betting. The justification being "it will not only eliminate things like match fixing but also generate huge revenue for the government in millions. It is in the interest of the government,'

What he fails to mention is that by legalizing betting BCCI can milk another revenue generation avenue dry.

However, legalising betting will have an unintended fall out :it will bring more followers to the game, albeit for the wrong reasons.

A Way Out

It is unlikely that Harbhajan will escape unscathed. For one it will reflect adversely on all parties concerned.

If it were to happen, India and its cricketing body will stand accused of ‘flexing their financial muscles’. The Australian players will be pilloried for employing dirty tricks, in this case racism, to subjugate their opponents and the ICC will be slammed yet again for being weak- kneed.

Normally this sort of situation an acceptable political compromise is the norm. However, there is one uncompromising element in this mix, the Indian players. They are adamant that Harbhajan is innocent and unwilling to compromise. This adds a complexity to the situation as they have taken the high moral ground by excusing Brad Hogg.

How do you think they will resolve the situation?

 

Technorati Tags: Harbhajan,Symonds,racism,hearing,ICC,BCCI,Australia,India

The End Game

The Test series is winding down and Harbhajans ban coming up for review. The BCCI has started cranking up the pressure and as a first step; Procter’s ruling been made public and now the second step

IN AN ominous sign that Bollyline is about to turn toxic, Indian cricket powerbroker Lalit Modi has warned there will be Australian "casualties" from the Sydney Test.

It is an obvious attempt to remind the CAB and the players particularly the 'accusers' that they have a lot to lose. Undoubtedly, the ban will be overturned citing lack of corroborative evidence.

The End game is on.

IceRocket Tags: Racial abuse,Harbhajan,Symonds,CAB,BCCI,Ban,hearing,IPL

Vengsarkar offers to quit- I say good riddance.

In another display of petulance, Vengsarkar offers to resign only to be convinced to continue by Pawar.

His continued intransigence is proving tiresome and reflects badly on the BCCI’s decision making capacity.

It is high time Vengsarkar realizes that he is dispensable and Indian cricket is better served without a vacillating personality as the Chairman of Selectors.

If the man wants to leave, let him go, why should he be convinced to stay?

What do you say?

BCCI to parcel picture rights?

The stage is being set for demanding payments for the right to distribute photographs of cricket matches conducted under their aegis of the BCCI.

The Indian cricket board backs Cricket Australia (CA) over a picture rights
dispute that has prompted international news agencies to boycott coverage of
matches in Australia, a senior official said on Monday.

Indian board
secretary Niranjan Shah said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
could adopt the same stance as CA for future domestic test series.

For those of you, who look at this as joke, here is a chilling reminder;

"Humor is also a way of saying something serious."

~ T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

How Dravid can save Indian cricket

The ongoing rumpus has brought one thing to light. The seniors in the Indian team namely,Sachin,Ganguly and Dravid have the power to hold the country’s cricket establishment to ransom.

How else can one explain, the kind of hysteria generated by Dravid’s exclusion.
The fans are being whipped to a frenzy by the media and the former cricketers, most of whom were selectors themselves are fanning the flames by making injudicious comments to the press.(The most vocal among them are the employees of ICL).

Dravid, by keeping mum is doing Indian cricket a disservice. He is fanning the flame by his silence. His silence gives the impression that he is being wronged. By keeping quiet and letting others fight the battle, he is ridiculing the very institution he is a part of.

If this persists, a time will come when no player can be dropped for the fear of political upheaval. Importantly, no player can be selected without the whole nation’s approval. Indian cricket and it team will be the losers.

In the best interest of Indian cricket, he should come out with a statement that the selectors are fair and he accepts that they are doing the right thing by dropping a player who is struggling with his form.

Rajput continues as interim cricket manager

The continuation of Rajput, albeit as an interim cricket manager, is intriguing.
I am yet to be convinced of his usefulness to the team. The T20 win, which was unexpected and surely not his own making has enhanced his career. The surprising performance, I expected a lame duck India, against the Australians furthered his case.

In essence, any one appointed as manager, during this period would have come out smelling roses. So why is he still there?

Being a Mumbaiker helped. By astutely pulling strings and paying his dues -
his uncharacteristic outburst against Vengsarkar’s comments on the seniors, should be construed as such (paying his dues) he has cemented his place.

ICL- looking for a way out?

At a time when even Bollywood Badshahs are reluctant to release their new ventures, ICL have organized their league fixtures.

So what is ICL trying to achieve by conducting their league at the same time as the Indo-Pak series?

Having been bested, outsmarted and out sold by IPL, they need an excuse to wind up their circus.

The best way to ensure that the league is stillborn is to conduct it at the same time as an Indo-Pak series.

It will definitely fail to garner attention and citing this failure, ICL can then wriggle out of the players and other corporate contracts.

Obviously, the Lara's will get their pound of flesh; it is the minor players who will be toast.

An’Indian’Coach?

The BCCI’s thinking, which I suspect had been their agenda all along, seemed to have settled on an Indian for the prized coach job.

I go so far as to imply, that, it is why they have been dithering and delaying. No doubt, it made them look foolish, but it has now given them the opportunity to say that they are left with no choice.

Fortunately or unfortunately for them, only the future can say which, the Indian team has played into their hands.

In fact, Pawar had told reporters in Mumbai during the Twenty20 World Cup felicitation function that: “Our team has done well on tour of Bangladesh, it managed to win a Test series in England and their performance in South Africa is also commendable so far, even without the help of a foreign coach.”

All signs portend that it could be someone from the South.

What on earth is the Aussie Press up to?

The Australian Press seem every bit as bad as the Indian Press. They are interested in slanting news in order to grab eyeballs. Unfortunately, their sensationalism could incite the Australian public.

An article ‘Racism row boils over as India denies the problem’ starts with “THE Australian and Indian cricket boards are at loggerheads after Andrew Symonds was accused of being a liar.”

Absolutely sensational isn’t it. The pity is after this, remorse strikes them and the reporter goes on to quote our very own Niranjan Shah.

“But Shah was yesterday unrepentant for his continued rejection of Symonds' criticism of police and cricket authorities.

Shah denies Symonds was taunted in game five of the Future Cup series.

"Nobody has pinpointed anything," Shah said. "He shouldn't be disappointed.

"The truth is the truth. What can you do? I think we will soon find out it was a misunderstanding."

Granted the BCCI is in denial, but where on earth has anyone said that Symonds is a liar?

Hopefully, the Australian public will see through their lies.

Quotes,Photos from Daily Telegraph

Yuvraj wants a full-time coach or does he want a class-teacher?

India's Yuvraj Singh has asked the country's cricket board (BCCI) not to delay the appointment of a full-time coach any longer.

Asked why India needs a full- time coach Yuvraj answered "You need somebody to control the boys and talk to them."

Is he implying that his team mates are immature?

If we are to take his reason at face value, Team India and its cricketers need a teacher and not a coach.

BCCI and the glorious game of appointing a coach.

Now that Ford has opted out, speculation will start over.
There is bigger but subtler game being played.
First Whatmore was the favourite, and then he lost out.
Next Graham was bandied about only to face a new challenge in Emburey.
Emburey seemed to have given up before he landed in India.
Ford is offered the job but now he refuses due to family reasons.
To me it seems like a kinder garden child’s excuse.
This suggest to me that BCCI is deliberately muddling things. (Take a look at Politics & Cricket for more such politcal games.)
It is to show the world that they sincerely tried to get the best.
I believe that they have already someone on their mind.
This selection process is a sham and enacted to make a fool of us all.