LALIT MODI AND SURESH KALMADI

Lalit Modi and Suresh Kalmadi.

Similarities -

Two sports administrators in India. Two extremely dislike-able men. Two men who have had to handle big responsibilities - the Indian Premier League and the Commonwealth Games respectively. Two men currently embroiled under charges of scams and corruption. Two men who always claim that they will deliver the very best.

Difference -

One delivers what he promises. The other shames himself, others and the entire country by proving himself to be an incompetent and irresponsible administrator.

Now let me make it clear... whatever good I may write about Lalit Modi in this blog, make no mistake, I dislike that man completely! I usually despise men who have an air of arrogance about them... and Lalit Modi makes that list! But when I compare him to Suresh Kalmadi, I have to admit that he's the better administrator... by miles.

Lalit Modi has also made outrageous statements in the past. His methods and techniques have always been questionable. But there is no denying that whatever he promised, he delivered on that. Most, including me, scoffed at the idea of IPL moving to South Africa. But he made it happen and delivered a very well-organised and well-managed IPL there.

And now Suresh Kalmadi. For months now, I have been reading about his promise of delivering the "Best Games Ever". The situation now is such that we don't even know if he will be able to deliver any "Games"... let alone the best ones ever. Not one of his claims have yet been vindicated. He made a fool out of himself when he claimed that Usain Bolt will participate at Delhi 2010, only to hear Bolt's agent announce next that the star athlete will not be competing here.

I do not understand why men as incompetent as Kalmadi or Ijaz Butt take up such big responsibilities when it is obviously apparent that they are not up for it. What pleasure do they derive in bringing shame and disrepute to their respective countries!

With CWG just a few days away now, many countries have issued warnings and deadlines to the Organising Committee (OC) to meet their standards in safety, security, health and sanitation. A friend of mine remarked that it would still be understandable if the Games were to be called off due to security issues. The world today is truly a dangerous place to live in and security is a genuine concern. But to hear that the Games may be called off due to issues such as cleanliness, health and sanitation is downright shameful!

As is all this is not enough, a member of the OC has the courage to give explanations to the media saying that everyone has different standards for cleanliness and sanitation, and therefore, this should not be regarded as a big issue.

Bullshit! The Games are on the verge of being called off due to such issues and we are not supposed to regard them as big. We want India to become a superpower with our booming economy, we want India to be a permanent member of UN's Security Council... but when we are given a responsibility that in itself is also an honour, we perform so dismally that it shames not only us, but even those who thought that we deserved such an opportunity.

Irrespective of whether we find some quick-fix measures to conduct the Games smoothly or not, one thing is certain. India is not likely to be given an opportunity to host any big event any time soon. And we would be huge buffoons if we even approach the concerned authorities for another such chance any time soon.

I really hope that Mr. Suresh Kalmadi and Mr. Ijaz Butt and the like are really brought to task for their brand of buffoonery. The axe needs to fall now! Enough is enough!

WHAT SHOULD BE THEIR PUNISHMENT?

Whichever news channel I decide to view, there is just one story – the story of man’s greed taking over as his primal instinct. The news that some cricketers from Pakistan were involved in spot-fixing during their English summer, and might even have been involved in match-fixing during this tour or in the Asia Cup and the Australian tour before this has saddened cricket. 

The former cricketers of Pakistan, the parliamentarians there and every man on the street – all of them have the same view: the system needs to clean itself and weed out all those agents that defile it. They want all the cricketers involved in this muck to be banned from cricket for life and they think that the system will be clean again. I am afraid it cannot happen that way!

I can understand the anger and frustration of each one who wants stern action to be taken. Corruption has been a disease that has plagued cricket for quite a while now… showing its ugly head every once in a while and then diving back underground before the persons responsible to keep this game clean come to try and smash it. For a change, this time the head is stuck above the ground and we have a chance to give this disease a crippling blow. However, if the correct measures are not taken, then we will give it an opportunity to hide back underground and it will continue to disease our game of cricket for a long time to come!

But what exactly are the steps that need to be taken? A life ban? A heavy fine? Both? Have we not seen Pakistan Cricket Board impose such penalties time and again to various individuals in their set-up? Has it helped? I don’t think so! In fact, PCB’s actions have contributed in a big way to make Pakistan (as Ramiz Raja put it) ‘the laughing stock’ of cricketing world today.

To solve this problem, we need to get to the root of it. Why do such problems occur? Why do players get involved in such corruption? Is it just greed? Greed is an element of every human’s nature. Some manage to curb it, some are not so successful! But if greed was the only reason involved here, then surely there should have been occasions when players from Australia, England and New Zealand also got implicated in such scandals? I have never heard of cricket corruption in these countries. It’s only Pakistan and India, along with some odd instances in South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh. Even if there have been instances of cricket corruption in these countries, they have been the oddity rather than the norm as it has come to become in Pakistan.

I had a long discussion with a friend on this issue… and we came up with a few viewpoints… a few opinions on why corruption in cricket is more common in the sub-continent than in other countries…

Cricketers from Pakistan and India have to cope up with extremism on a large scale… every good performance will be hailed as their best ever and every defeat will be labelled as a ‘shameful’ one! Those very fans that put them on high pedestals after a win will desert them in times of defeats.

Consider the case of Mohammed Aamer… in such a scenario, what will he be doing? A highly-talented teenager touted by everyone as the next Wasim Akram, Mohammed Aamer has given everyone a reason to expect great stuff from him. But he knows that when things don’t go his way, his fans are going to desert him and his Board will not support him! In such a scenario, if a crooked bookie comes across and offers him to bowl a few seemingly harmless no-balls to make a quick buck, why would he say no? He is watching cricketers with much lesser talent than him making huge amounts of money elsewhere in the world… then why would he say no to a chance to earn at least what he deserves, even if it is not the right way! How is he to know that what is spot-fixing today might just turn into a nasty habit and that he might get involved in match-fixing tomorrow? How is he to know that the money that the bookies and others are earning as a result of his no-balls is going in the wrong hands? How is he to know that that very money is the root cause of a lot of terrorism that exists in the very country where he lives?

For this young man, this is an act of immature desperation. Men in Pakistan and India, especially in the rural and semi-urban areas, have to feed numerous mouths in one household using one pair of hands (and one pair of legs to bowl no-balls) that they have. If a seemingly innocuous no-ball is providing them with supplementary income, then why will they say no? I doubt an 18-year old Mohammed Aamer, given his background and upbringing, is mature enough to understand this.

The point I am trying to make here is that it is not only an act of greed… but also an act of desperation! Desperation can make people do dangerous things… match-fixing and spot-fixing are but two illustrations of those!

So what now? How should they be punished? What punishment will act as a lesson for these individuals involved and will also act as a deterrent to other individuals from committing such acts of desperation? The problem with cricket’s way of handing out punishments such as bans is that it is intended to be a warning to others who might be getting tempted to trudge onto this path… but it does not intend to teach any lesson to the men involved in these syndicates except cause them to stay away from the game.

When handed a ban, a cricketer can go through any of these three situations (or rather these three were the situations that my friend and I could think of… there might be more). One, he could miss the game and repent having done what he did! Second, he might just drift away from the game… losing any interest in clearing his name or contribute for the betterment of the game that once was a way of his life! And third, he may not change at all – still remaining that corrupt individual who is a menace not only to the game but also to the society.

The third situation is the most dangerous one… as it harms the society that he live in. He becomes the centre of all the wrongdoings in his circle and helps corrupt the minds of young talents like Aamer!

Coming back to the point, the punishment that they receive should shame them and make them repent their acts and deeds. A fine will not help… they can earn whatever money they have lost through fines by getting involved in more of these ugly activities. A ban may help if it makes the person miss the game and long for it. But does it happen in every case? Is every individual that big a lover of the game that he would not mind giving up his previous ways of life just to get another chance to represent his country at the highest level? Does everyone have that sort of courage? If the answer is no, then we lose out on emerging talents due to the menace of corruption.

One may say what difference it makes if one talented individual is lost because of the lesson that we wanted to teach to the other emerging talents. But what we overlook is the fact that this disease of corruption is going to strike the best talents first… because they are the best investment opportunities, especially when young. How many such talents are we willing to lose out on?

Then what punishment suits them? Frankly, this is one question that I am struggling to come up with an opinion to. However, as a person who lives in a country that earned her independence by using Gandhian principles, I know one thing about how these young men need to be dealt with: we need to SHAME them, not frame them.

When the match-fixing scandal broke out in 2000, something similar was done. There was a need to ban cricketers like Hansie Cronje, Mohammed Azharuddin and Salim Malik as they were too heavily involved in this scandal. But the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Herschelle Gibbs and others, who had had certain allegations (proven as well as unproven) levelled against them were given further chances. These guys were hugely talented… too precious to lose out on! But they were given the message by the authorities – that if need be, we can act tough. We can impose the life bans and destroy your careers. But we are giving you another opportunity. Come back on the right track and make a name for yourself in cricket’s rich history. If you do not do so, you will be disgraced forever.

That is the message that needs to be sent across to Salman Butt and Mohammed Aamer. The case of Mohammed Asif is entirely different though. This is not the first occasion that we are seeing his name involved with activities that bring the game of cricket to disrepute. He is becoming into some sort of a habitual wrongdoer. He will need to be taught a more severe lesson than the others.

In the end, my stand is pretty clear. I want to see a second chance given to these players who are not too heavily involved in this murky world yet. They need to be shamed publicly, yes! But they need to be given another chance. There is no point in imposing a ban that will be overturned a few years down the line… as it happened with Salim Malik. That not only leaves a wrong message, it also encourages these activities.

They should get a second chance if they prove themselves worthy of it… because if we don’t allow second chances, then cricket’s will become a sorry society where no lessons will be learnt… and none taught either!

CRICKET DOES NOT NEED ANY OF THIS

I have no idea about when the spot-fixing scandal broke out. In fact, I have not been in too much touch with cricket lately. I have been keeping up with the scores and updates... but I did not have any clue about this piece of news.

The two pieces of cricket that I did witness was the package of Mohammed Aamer's 6 wickets at Lord's and India's attempt to chase 300 in the finals against Sri Lanka at Dambulla. It was quite a bit of a shock to me to hear the names of Aamer and Salman Butt right in the centre of this spot-fixing controversy.

This is sad... really sad for cricket and the way forward for Pakistan's cricket looks extremely bleak to me. Just when I thought that they were recovering from the Shahid Afridi's I-Can't-Play-Test-Cricket scandal, another bolt strikes. Installing Salman Butt as the captain seemed to be a very good move to me... but sadly, it might well backfire.

Salman Butt's test captaincy record is not too bad - 2 wins and 3 losses in 5 games... with the wins coming against the top sides in international cricket... and all the matches played on difficult foreign conditions. But the spot-fixing controversy has ensured that none of that will be looked into when the PCB sits for its next meeting on corruption in their cricket!

The world may not be shocked or even surprised by this latest outbreak of corruption allegations... but it is certainly saddened. Cricket does not need any of this!

HOCKEY GOING CRICKET WAY IN PAKISTAN

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Media Manager Shahzad Malik released a press note yesterday stating that the entire 18-man hockey squad that played in the World Cup at New Delhi has offered to resign after finishing 12th (last place) by losing to Canada in the 11th-12th place play-off.

That's the last thing Pakistan needs! Its cricket team (as well as the Board) is in disarray. And now problems in hockey as well... The two most popular sports in Pakistan are going through, arguably, their worst crisis for quite some time in history.

Pakistan, as a nation, is already suffering due to various reasons like poor governance and administration, presence of too many powerful extremist forces in the country, lack of security and many other problems. It is in times of such gloom that a sport can spark a change. It needs just one magical performance to lift an entire nation's mood. To make it forget about the daily miseries of life. To revel in that moment of pride and happiness.

It has the ability to ignite hope and belief in the darkest of spaces. And Pakistan, with all its problems in cricket and hockey, is being robbed off that chance of redressal. It's a pitiable situation and one feels sad to see the negative growth path that they are trodding on.

It's time that someone in Pakistan wakes up to the reality of the situation and sets the alarm bells so that the others may see it as well. The cricketers had their chance in Australia and the hockey team had it in India. Both the teams lost it, and ended up making the matters worse. Someone else now needs to grab the bull by the horns!

PCB: PERMANENTLY CHALLENGED BOARD

Disbelief. That was the feeling when I read reports saying that Mohammed Yousuf and Younis Khan have been handed out life bans by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Yousuf and Younis, the senior most players for Pakistan, in the international circuit, will surely still harbour hopes of playing for Pakistan, especially given PCB's history of overturning bans imposed after appeals (Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammed Asif, etc). But the question to be asked is: WHY WAS THIS BAN IMPOSED IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Was Pakistan so badly hurt by the three whitewashes away to Australia that banning their two most experienced players seemed a reasonable step? Seniors need to play an important role in their side, especially when you hear about youngsters like Umar Akmal who like to punch above their weight. It was reported that Umar Akmal threatened to sit out of the Third Test against Australia if his elder brother Kamran Akmal was dropped from the eleven.

What on earth was Umar thinking? Just 5 Tests old, what gave Umar the self-confidence to pull off such a coup? For all we know, he might next say that he will stop playing cricket unless he is given the captaincy!

In addition to these life bans, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved have been banned for one year each. Heavy fines have been imposed on Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and Shahid Afridi. Pakistan cricket, in a perpetual crisis, is plunging deeper and deeper into a blackhole - and PCB is aiding the freefall, rather than curing it.

Pakistan is a country that has always managed to produce wonderful cricketing talents. Youngsters in the team have usually made a favourable impression on the field. But PCB lacks the facility to groom such talents and guide them to become a force. Individualism has often taken its toll and as a result, Pakistan cricket has always been the sufferer.

I think the time has come for PCB to go the CSA way. Cricket South Africa is in the process of completely restructuring itself in order to govern the sport better in the country. Maybe that is the solution for PCB as well. Someone needs to make them see it.

This is the time for ICC to step in. But ICC, as usual, is going to say: Sorry, it's an internal matter of the Board - we can do nothing about it.

Oh my, what anarchy! PCB, wake up - it's time to rise! The alarms are ringing...

DIETICIANS COMMITTEE

Reading my posts on this blog, one would think that I am obsessed with Pakistan cricket. The truth is that I am. There are a few things that are guaranteed every time Pakistan plays cricket: plenty of amusement and lots of controversies.

I have already posted a couple of blogs regarding the latest piece of amusing controversy: Shahid Afridi's bite. What amuses me even more is the kind of reactions that have been generated, especially from one former Pakistan captain and reputed commentator Ramiz Raja.

Ramiz Raja has said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) must set up an inquiry committee to look into the reason(s) why Afridi committed such an act. "It is not a small matter and needs to be looked into as it should never have happened."

Tell me one thing Mr. Ramiz Raja, what do you want the inquiry committee to ask Afridi? He has already admitted that he is embarassed by the incident. Or do you want the inquiry commitee to probe on his daily diet, and what did he eat during the mid - innings break that day, and find out the cause for his sudden hunger? In such a case, the PCB might need to set up a committee that includes dieticians.

May be he wants the PCB to send a team of chefs on tour with the cricket team wherever they go, so that the players do not remain hungry and do not resort to eating cricket balls.