Semifinals are over . Two of the teams , while have reached the finals, the other two sit sulking. It was amazing to see there were no twist or turns in this IPL T-20 as was being predicted throughout the tournament. The winners comfortably won their matches. While Yuvraj Singh was happily partying last night at blue frog , a famous watering hole in Mumbai , he already knew he was going to loose . It wasn't just worth missing the party. I guess Ms. Zinta must have been thoroughly disappointed. After all her hugging and blowing kisses didn't have their effect on the team. Was it the over confidence of defeating Rajasthan Royal. The team just crumbled leaving me satisfied. I was never a supporter of these show off teams , who spent more money in dancing and singing rather then improving facilities in the stadiums. These were also the teams involved in most controversies. What a shame.
It is also evident that Yuvraj Singh was more interested in showing off rather then playing the game. His liaisons in the past with models and struggling actresses proved his down fall in this semifinal. As most of the people will know he was spotted with some bimbo last night at 1.30 PM at Blue frog. While Captain Dhoni is not involved in controversies , it is going to be a great final between the coolest captains on the IPL. A ploethera of scheming and plotting captains .
Chances of Rajasthan Royals winning this tournament are much stronger solely for the reason , that they have got a days rest as against Dhoni's boys. They have got time to discuss their strategy for tomorrows game. It will be interesting to watch Warney bowl out the Super kings . My heartiest congratulations to the team owner of Rajasthan Royals , who not only bought a team that played together but also trusted and judged Shane warne for his game and not his personnel life or good looks.
Ms. Zinta eat your heart out and calculate the losses , not only you lost my respect but have failed as a buissness woman. Now you got to work harder on your movies. May be Ness Wadia will be forgiving you for all your antics on the field.
The big Indian Tamasha ends tomorrow and life will go back to normal from day after tomorrow, with people forgetting who won this cup. The IPL has been able to generate the kind of interest it wanted to. It will be interesting to see if they are able to replay their performance the next season. While some of the senior players will only be seen in the IPL in the coming years , new names shall rise. Only the team owners need to trust these new players before deciding to send them back home mid season. Warney has proved to the world “ Its not how you play the game , its about how you play as a team.” Great going Mate.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
All hail the king of spin
Bow down to the king of spin. Shane Warne has proved once again why he is the best captain in town. As I write this another wicket has fallen. Score 77-8 . Do I have to say any more . Royals have won this semifinal. As a captain Warne has proved what a valuable player he is. I wonder if Yuvraj has still not understood what Warne is all about . While Ms. Zinta is enjoying this playboy , Warney demolishes the Delhi Daredevil. For the first time I am left speechless wondering what to write. Now I don't want my blogs to be short and sweet updating you on the scores ,that you already know, the question is what will be the margin be for the Royals.
It was amazing for Yuvraj to say , that Ms. Zinta took care of her players when she was the first one to send part of her team home. Wow , I am surprised if the comment was made in a sarcastic sense as it was much evident from Ms. Zinta's face who just smiled at this. So much is being said about this candy cricket. Hell the total turnover is nearly 0.5 % of the annual GDP of India. I am sure the tax sleuths are listening heartedly waiting to strike. It has also arisen the question of having a second series this year. Are the IPL organizers so confident about winning . Poor chaps are trying to kill some thing that after a month has finally able to win my respect. Low and behold 82-9 . thats it Delhi has lost the game. Will they even make hundred. What a disappointment for the great captain Sehwag( pun intended). The guy is more worried about loosing hair and a nagging wife. I am sure the crowds are going to burn his house down tonight , if the so called hysteria created by the IPL organizers is anything to go by.
Hasn't stones been pelted before on poor performance. It is good the match isn't happening in Delhi. Other wise a stone might have landed on this Baldy. I am sure by now a crowd of Gujjars might have gathered around his house. It is amazing captain Dhoni throwing tantrums while the team for the Asia cup was announced. The guy has made so much money in this league that he needs time to spend it. There ! Fifteen minutes and the game is over. Final score 87 all out. Royals cruise to the finals. I wonder if a game with the Mumbai Indians would have been better. Ms. Zinta sit up and watch, your team is against a one man destroyer Shane Warne and winning a game where the destroyer wasn't there means nothing. All hail the king , The king of the Spin
It was amazing for Yuvraj to say , that Ms. Zinta took care of her players when she was the first one to send part of her team home. Wow , I am surprised if the comment was made in a sarcastic sense as it was much evident from Ms. Zinta's face who just smiled at this. So much is being said about this candy cricket. Hell the total turnover is nearly 0.5 % of the annual GDP of India. I am sure the tax sleuths are listening heartedly waiting to strike. It has also arisen the question of having a second series this year. Are the IPL organizers so confident about winning . Poor chaps are trying to kill some thing that after a month has finally able to win my respect. Low and behold 82-9 . thats it Delhi has lost the game. Will they even make hundred. What a disappointment for the great captain Sehwag( pun intended). The guy is more worried about loosing hair and a nagging wife. I am sure the crowds are going to burn his house down tonight , if the so called hysteria created by the IPL organizers is anything to go by.
Hasn't stones been pelted before on poor performance. It is good the match isn't happening in Delhi. Other wise a stone might have landed on this Baldy. I am sure by now a crowd of Gujjars might have gathered around his house. It is amazing captain Dhoni throwing tantrums while the team for the Asia cup was announced. The guy has made so much money in this league that he needs time to spend it. There ! Fifteen minutes and the game is over. Final score 87 all out. Royals cruise to the finals. I wonder if a game with the Mumbai Indians would have been better. Ms. Zinta sit up and watch, your team is against a one man destroyer Shane Warne and winning a game where the destroyer wasn't there means nothing. All hail the king , The king of the Spin
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Warney's Trap
In this series of “Of Cricket and Controversies” , I would like to thank all the people involved in the IPL for providing me so many controversial matters to write about. The latest to join the band wagon is Shiv Sena who burned effigies of Ness Wadia and Ms. Zinta in Mohali today. In another news, cheer leaders who had faced racial discrimination by the hands of Wizcraft filed an official complaint with the police for fraud and racial abuse.
The Punjab police who are already on bad terms with the Mohali team, now , have got a chance to settle scores. Lets hope Ms. Zinta hadn't instructed the Wizcraft management regarding the cheer leaders otherwise she will be in deep trouble this time. The latest incident of smoking and drinking, it seems hasn't gone down well with the people as well. While most of the cricket lovers might get swayed away from the field , in the wake of the protests by the Shiv Sena, mounting losses have , it seems made Ms. Zinta loose her cool. She became extremely angry when the news hounds outnumbered her security guards and fired questions at her regarding her boyfriends misbehavior with the SSP Mohali. An official complaint has been lodged in this regards too.
While a news channel very happily calculated the earnings of King Khan , they conveniently missed out of Mr. Khans dues to the Cricket association of Bengal, the money spent on security and the taxes that King has to pay as entertainment tax. They also forgot to calculate the Income tax which comes to a whopping thirty three percent. According to them , the king made around eight crores as profit. Let me remind them that after paying only the taxes the king might be loosing in the tune of sixteen crores. Well the balance sheets are yet to be made. The media once again proves that they are no longer to be trusted to give accurate news. It is sad to see people in love with cricket arguing over trivial matters like who earned how much. As if the king is going to give them any profit or they are going to share the loss. Mr. Modi however is not a very happy man. A PIL has been filed against him in the supreme court regarding his involvement in a drug possession case in 2005. He was found carrying drugs in the USA.
So much for the chairman of the IPL. This may also prove to be a nail in the coffin of Mr. Modi's BCCI dream.
Talking of Shiv Sena , I was rather surprised to see them in Mohali. Probably they have their tentacles spread all over India . Its sad to see that at one hand Shiv Sena is trying to throw North Indians out of Maharashtra , north Indians as a part of Shiv Sena are protesting against cheerleaders on the ground. May be they have been sleeping till now and suddenly when the IPL is about to shut shop, woke up to demonstrate against the Mohali team owners. It is a known fact that Sikh religion does not permit smoking and the hula boo was more on Ness Wadia smoking rather then his acquisitions made on the SSP and Punjab police . I would really like to know what the law has to say about this. Mr. Wadia being a big shot may get away with it lightly ,but in any case will be facing the wrath of Punjab police. He can not stand guard at the stadium doors checking the crowd for carrying water bottles and other food items that can be termed as potential weapons by the IPL committee.
Speaking of Hug power, it seems that Ms. Zintas hug power has propelled the Mohali team in to winning this curtain raiser to the final. There was no stopping to Marsh and Yuvraj tonight , who got their much deserved hugs and kisses at the end of the game. Of course Shane warne wasn't playing and that made all the difference to Rajasthan Royals. Guess they have fallen in to the trap laid by the great Warne. Now when they appear in the finals , chances are that their confidence of beating RR will prove to be their down fall.
In another match today Mumbai Indians had a comfortable victory over Royal challengers which also marked the T-20 career for Rahul Dravid . Chances are dim that he would be playing the next season. Poor guy has faced enough and its only wise for him to say good bye now that his million dollar pay check is secured. I surely hope , he does not retire for he would get another two million for being thrown out of the team. Best of luck Dravid for next year.
The Punjab police who are already on bad terms with the Mohali team, now , have got a chance to settle scores. Lets hope Ms. Zinta hadn't instructed the Wizcraft management regarding the cheer leaders otherwise she will be in deep trouble this time. The latest incident of smoking and drinking, it seems hasn't gone down well with the people as well. While most of the cricket lovers might get swayed away from the field , in the wake of the protests by the Shiv Sena, mounting losses have , it seems made Ms. Zinta loose her cool. She became extremely angry when the news hounds outnumbered her security guards and fired questions at her regarding her boyfriends misbehavior with the SSP Mohali. An official complaint has been lodged in this regards too.
While a news channel very happily calculated the earnings of King Khan , they conveniently missed out of Mr. Khans dues to the Cricket association of Bengal, the money spent on security and the taxes that King has to pay as entertainment tax. They also forgot to calculate the Income tax which comes to a whopping thirty three percent. According to them , the king made around eight crores as profit. Let me remind them that after paying only the taxes the king might be loosing in the tune of sixteen crores. Well the balance sheets are yet to be made. The media once again proves that they are no longer to be trusted to give accurate news. It is sad to see people in love with cricket arguing over trivial matters like who earned how much. As if the king is going to give them any profit or they are going to share the loss. Mr. Modi however is not a very happy man. A PIL has been filed against him in the supreme court regarding his involvement in a drug possession case in 2005. He was found carrying drugs in the USA.
So much for the chairman of the IPL. This may also prove to be a nail in the coffin of Mr. Modi's BCCI dream.
Talking of Shiv Sena , I was rather surprised to see them in Mohali. Probably they have their tentacles spread all over India . Its sad to see that at one hand Shiv Sena is trying to throw North Indians out of Maharashtra , north Indians as a part of Shiv Sena are protesting against cheerleaders on the ground. May be they have been sleeping till now and suddenly when the IPL is about to shut shop, woke up to demonstrate against the Mohali team owners. It is a known fact that Sikh religion does not permit smoking and the hula boo was more on Ness Wadia smoking rather then his acquisitions made on the SSP and Punjab police . I would really like to know what the law has to say about this. Mr. Wadia being a big shot may get away with it lightly ,but in any case will be facing the wrath of Punjab police. He can not stand guard at the stadium doors checking the crowd for carrying water bottles and other food items that can be termed as potential weapons by the IPL committee.
Speaking of Hug power, it seems that Ms. Zintas hug power has propelled the Mohali team in to winning this curtain raiser to the final. There was no stopping to Marsh and Yuvraj tonight , who got their much deserved hugs and kisses at the end of the game. Of course Shane warne wasn't playing and that made all the difference to Rajasthan Royals. Guess they have fallen in to the trap laid by the great Warne. Now when they appear in the finals , chances are that their confidence of beating RR will prove to be their down fall.
In another match today Mumbai Indians had a comfortable victory over Royal challengers which also marked the T-20 career for Rahul Dravid . Chances are dim that he would be playing the next season. Poor guy has faced enough and its only wise for him to say good bye now that his million dollar pay check is secured. I surely hope , he does not retire for he would get another two million for being thrown out of the team. Best of luck Dravid for next year.
Monday, May 26, 2008
My girl friend talks of eleven different men
IPL finally managed it. It managed two days without having a controversy brewing amidst it. Bravo people. However day three was different . While , the news channels didn't let you breath , what with every news channel flashing the Aarushi murder case,even the matches were drab. Today however was different. An edge of the seat game between my favorite team Rajasthan royals and Mumbai Indians left me wanting for more. I had almost lost hope for the royals to win ,but the young lads on the team pulled the game through .Of course Mumbai Indians had a lot of contribution in this win.
Speaking of controversies ( here I would like to thank all the IPL people for providing me with so much material to write about.), It was the turn of the Mohali team to contribute for my daily column. They didn't disappoint me. Thank you guys. This time , in the eye of the storm was Ness Wadia , part owner of the team. He accused the police force entrusted to the stadium for security for selling tickets in black. Of stealing liquor and team T-shirts. In another incident when a cop told Mr. Modi , that he wasn't allowed to smoke in the lounge area, he mishandled the cop. What a display of sportsmanship.
The police has launched a complaint with the BCCI regarding the incident, but what I fail to understand is why the police had to sell their services in the first place. The police who is charging Rs. 500 per cop per match seems bewildered by all the stars making there appearance in the small town of Mohali.
The police anywhere in India, does not hold a good reputation. With shoddy investigations and increasing crime rate , they have only faced the wrath of the public. With almost 1500 police men deputed for every match, it has become an ideal opportunity for the criminals to strike during the matches. Chances are if a study is conducted regarding crimes happening in a particular city where the matches are being held , maximum number of crimes would have occurred during the game play.
Mr Wadia ,very coolly made allegations. I wonder if the cops were busy selling tickets in black, why the hell were the stadiums half empty. There seems to be a great conspiracy behind this. The cops bought half the stadium with all the money they had charged protecting the grounds. In any case Mr. Wadia shouldn't feel bad , at least he got his money. Perhaps Mr. Wadia was keeping a watch on the cops swindling T-shirts , liquor and tickets , while madam Zinta got busy cheering and hugging the team. May be he just got jealous .All he got for spending an exhorbitant amount was a few hours in the stadia with his lady love who only talked about eleven different men.
Speaking of Liquor , we all know what appetite the people of Punjab have for it. A burly Sikh can easily finish a bottle on his own and still be in his senses to drive home. Mr. Wadia might have thought before serving liquor , that an average Punjabi guy would drink a peg or two . To his dismay , he must have found all the crates empty and the guest asking for more. As for the T-shirts , what good are t-shirts lying gathering dust. Every time somebody wears them , he is advertising his team for free .
The only reasons why all these allegations are being made to the best of my knowledge is, that the time has come to pay the dues. The losses have been calculated and all the team owners are looking for are excuses for not paying. Hidden costs that were not calculated at the beginning of the game ,have started to stare the team owners in their faces. While SRK runs to the entertainment minister of West Bengal for omission of entertainment tax on his matches, Mr. Wadia makes allegations. It would be nice to know if the Punjab police has even got a dime up till now. What Mr. Wadia or SRK doesn't know is that they are dealing with the government .The government is not going to let go of its money so easily. Not only will they have to pay all of it ,but would be harassed by the taxation department at a later stage.
In any case , I can only say “ Keep the controversies happening guys after all IPL is nothing but the whims and fancy of the rich and the famous.”
Speaking of controversies ( here I would like to thank all the IPL people for providing me with so much material to write about.), It was the turn of the Mohali team to contribute for my daily column. They didn't disappoint me. Thank you guys. This time , in the eye of the storm was Ness Wadia , part owner of the team. He accused the police force entrusted to the stadium for security for selling tickets in black. Of stealing liquor and team T-shirts. In another incident when a cop told Mr. Modi , that he wasn't allowed to smoke in the lounge area, he mishandled the cop. What a display of sportsmanship.
The police has launched a complaint with the BCCI regarding the incident, but what I fail to understand is why the police had to sell their services in the first place. The police who is charging Rs. 500 per cop per match seems bewildered by all the stars making there appearance in the small town of Mohali.
The police anywhere in India, does not hold a good reputation. With shoddy investigations and increasing crime rate , they have only faced the wrath of the public. With almost 1500 police men deputed for every match, it has become an ideal opportunity for the criminals to strike during the matches. Chances are if a study is conducted regarding crimes happening in a particular city where the matches are being held , maximum number of crimes would have occurred during the game play.
Mr Wadia ,very coolly made allegations. I wonder if the cops were busy selling tickets in black, why the hell were the stadiums half empty. There seems to be a great conspiracy behind this. The cops bought half the stadium with all the money they had charged protecting the grounds. In any case Mr. Wadia shouldn't feel bad , at least he got his money. Perhaps Mr. Wadia was keeping a watch on the cops swindling T-shirts , liquor and tickets , while madam Zinta got busy cheering and hugging the team. May be he just got jealous .All he got for spending an exhorbitant amount was a few hours in the stadia with his lady love who only talked about eleven different men.
Speaking of Liquor , we all know what appetite the people of Punjab have for it. A burly Sikh can easily finish a bottle on his own and still be in his senses to drive home. Mr. Wadia might have thought before serving liquor , that an average Punjabi guy would drink a peg or two . To his dismay , he must have found all the crates empty and the guest asking for more. As for the T-shirts , what good are t-shirts lying gathering dust. Every time somebody wears them , he is advertising his team for free .
The only reasons why all these allegations are being made to the best of my knowledge is, that the time has come to pay the dues. The losses have been calculated and all the team owners are looking for are excuses for not paying. Hidden costs that were not calculated at the beginning of the game ,have started to stare the team owners in their faces. While SRK runs to the entertainment minister of West Bengal for omission of entertainment tax on his matches, Mr. Wadia makes allegations. It would be nice to know if the Punjab police has even got a dime up till now. What Mr. Wadia or SRK doesn't know is that they are dealing with the government .The government is not going to let go of its money so easily. Not only will they have to pay all of it ,but would be harassed by the taxation department at a later stage.
In any case , I can only say “ Keep the controversies happening guys after all IPL is nothing but the whims and fancy of the rich and the famous.”
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Dragging the bat
Are IPL matches becoming a drab. Simon says “ they are” . Well I have stopped watching the matches altogether. May be the dwindling crowds in the stadiums are also of the same view. While the last two games today were interesting to watch, I really didn't care who won . One team is already in the semi finals, the other just trying to prove a point. Does it matter any more. I don't really think , that even the hard core cricket fanatic will reach such a phase. Where he would stop caring for who won.
It may be because of the overdose that ,cricket has become. Each day there is a match. All of them looking the same. The initial excitement generated , when watching the first matches seem to have dwindled. What they look like are reruns of the same matches between the teams. Either the teams loose both the games or loose one game. With news channels running in overtime covering the famous Noida murder case , it seemed for the first time that I felt, that a lot was going on in the world. It definitely put me off news channels and more so cricket.
I was not a great supporter of any of the teams, except Rajasthan Royals but they were already in the finals a long time back. Didn't it happen to all the supporters . Those whose teams have reached the semi-finals have lost interest , those whose team have lost , have lost interest too. Discussing matches now has become an exercise. I mean which match are we talking about. Are we talking about the first match or the second. Who scored what , these are the questions which are not able to hold the interest of the most ardent fan. Here I mean , a fan who even bought a costly team shirt , that won't last him a season.
May be, its time for the IPL people to realize what is wrong with the IPL format. Even the team owners have started to realize , it isn't possible to attend every match. Lot of them left the stadium on some pretext or the other , when their teams started to loose. It only seems that the material world's other trivia have started to attract them more, then watching their looser of a team play.
While the matches have got little or no coverage during the last couple of days. What with the news channels either trying to prove or disapprove the police theory in the Aarushi murder case, little or nothing was said about cricket. I am sure Indian audience was more interested in knowing about the murder rather then who won a drab match.
SRK could only manage five minutes of the viewers time , when he went begging to the entertainment minister for relief in taxes. Dude , it would have been wiser if you had not put your hand in a place where it would get burnt so badly. I pity the great SRK.
Talking of SRK , the guy looks as if, he just came out of a movie set ,where he plays a fifty year old man. What all the make up couldn't do to him in all these years, thirty days of IPL has done to him. I wonder if he has commented on Ganguly's blinking , that pissed his captain so much. Ganguly definitely needs to buy a better set of contact lenses, if he prefers to wear one. May be he is waiting the king to pay him his dues ,so that he can go to the market and buy a pair of new contact lenses. Dude , ask Donna for some money if that is the case, because by the time you get your money ,you may go blind wearing faulty lenses.
Just to update you people on todays matches, While Dr. Malaya's team saved their skin today by defeating some chargers (some looser of a team), KKR defeated the much hugged team of Ms. Zinta. Poor guys must be missing getting hugged at the end of the game. Dr. Malaya ,of course is an angry man as his formula one team again met a crash on the tracks. I wonder why he has to choose losers. Winning go- karts on indian circuits does not equate to winning on the formula one circuit. Any ways very few of us fanatics are actually F-1 fans since Schumacher retired.
It may be because of the overdose that ,cricket has become. Each day there is a match. All of them looking the same. The initial excitement generated , when watching the first matches seem to have dwindled. What they look like are reruns of the same matches between the teams. Either the teams loose both the games or loose one game. With news channels running in overtime covering the famous Noida murder case , it seemed for the first time that I felt, that a lot was going on in the world. It definitely put me off news channels and more so cricket.
I was not a great supporter of any of the teams, except Rajasthan Royals but they were already in the finals a long time back. Didn't it happen to all the supporters . Those whose teams have reached the semi-finals have lost interest , those whose team have lost , have lost interest too. Discussing matches now has become an exercise. I mean which match are we talking about. Are we talking about the first match or the second. Who scored what , these are the questions which are not able to hold the interest of the most ardent fan. Here I mean , a fan who even bought a costly team shirt , that won't last him a season.
May be, its time for the IPL people to realize what is wrong with the IPL format. Even the team owners have started to realize , it isn't possible to attend every match. Lot of them left the stadium on some pretext or the other , when their teams started to loose. It only seems that the material world's other trivia have started to attract them more, then watching their looser of a team play.
While the matches have got little or no coverage during the last couple of days. What with the news channels either trying to prove or disapprove the police theory in the Aarushi murder case, little or nothing was said about cricket. I am sure Indian audience was more interested in knowing about the murder rather then who won a drab match.
SRK could only manage five minutes of the viewers time , when he went begging to the entertainment minister for relief in taxes. Dude , it would have been wiser if you had not put your hand in a place where it would get burnt so badly. I pity the great SRK.
Talking of SRK , the guy looks as if, he just came out of a movie set ,where he plays a fifty year old man. What all the make up couldn't do to him in all these years, thirty days of IPL has done to him. I wonder if he has commented on Ganguly's blinking , that pissed his captain so much. Ganguly definitely needs to buy a better set of contact lenses, if he prefers to wear one. May be he is waiting the king to pay him his dues ,so that he can go to the market and buy a pair of new contact lenses. Dude , ask Donna for some money if that is the case, because by the time you get your money ,you may go blind wearing faulty lenses.
Just to update you people on todays matches, While Dr. Malaya's team saved their skin today by defeating some chargers (some looser of a team), KKR defeated the much hugged team of Ms. Zinta. Poor guys must be missing getting hugged at the end of the game. Dr. Malaya ,of course is an angry man as his formula one team again met a crash on the tracks. I wonder why he has to choose losers. Winning go- karts on indian circuits does not equate to winning on the formula one circuit. Any ways very few of us fanatics are actually F-1 fans since Schumacher retired.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Short Message Servings
So King Khan is sulking. The losses have been mounting and news is that he won't be seeing the second season of the IPL. The latest is that he is planning to sell of the team. While he still hasn't paid the players , He owes the cricket association of Bengal 3.5 crores . SRK since the advent of IPL has aged ten years. While he had the confidence of a winner , when he featured in the KKR music video. He looked lost , tired and defeated when seen blowing a kiss to the Mumbai crowd. He was definitely booed down.
Tragedy is that the SMS , he sent to the players today before the match with Delhi Dare devils has been doing the rounds of all the news channels. His trust has been breached even here ,for the only way any news channel would have got the SMS, was through ,one of the players. I actually dont believe SRK would leak it for publicity, he already has enough. So somebody has a grouse against the great SRK. There is a traitor in the KKR team. The speculation ,why he wasn't present in the last match , has also been put to rest. “ I wont attend the classroom until I understand the rules of the head master.”A gesture I admire. It is better to conduct yourself with dignity rather then go on the field and asked to leave after fifteen minutes in the dug out. Speaking of which, I guess Ms. Zinta did not understand the concept of the red card for the team owners. She was seen throughout the match sitting in the dug out area. Its surprising that I thought, she could understand plain simple english.
It has also been brought to the media's notice that the cheerleaders were told to leave because of their color on the behest of the franchisee. Ms. Zinta forgets , she is a black to the rest of the world. No matter what her skin color may be. Its sad to see ,a woman who got a bravery award for speaking out her mind a few years back in a high profile case could stoop so low.Now promising to help the cheerleaders aint going to repair what damage is done. I am sure Wizcraft people dont care whether black or white dance as long as there is a performance on stage.
What is seen here , is a degradation of morals. The pressure is high . The most profitable team of the IPL is about to be sold because the owners dont find it to be a feasible project. What about the other teams who have been loosing throughout. Winning matches dont really equate to cash in the bank. In my previous article I had compared the IPL to the East India Company .I was wrong. East India Company made profits. IPL is nothing but a display of power and wealth. Where one team owner bends the rules to accommodate, a whim of his , and then does not even avail th facility, another proves that the obsession with white skin is not just a thing of our western counter parts.
When taxi drivers are beaten up in Australia, we call it racism. When black cheerleaders are told to leave the stage, we call it management decision. So much for double standards. The country has started to split on the lines of loyalty and its not a question about whether the franchisee are making money or not. Mumbaikars booed the Mohali team captain on the field and he complaint furiously in the press meet. Some body threw a stone at Sehwag in his home ground. Are we not a nation, then why cant we just take the game in the right spirit . Why has it become a war and being promoted as war. I have always thought that cricket was a game of friendship. A gentleman's game and now it has turned in to a mockery.
With price caps being removed from the players salary next year , there is going to be a blood bath in the auction and on the field. While all the profit avenues being exploited this season, I wonder with no price caps, will the IPL be conducted throughout the year just to cover up the investments. While I write this another match seems to be washed out , between Daredevils and KKR . So much for the motivational message of SRK. On second thoughts could this message be leaked out by the team management to clear the air about a lot of issues that have haunted the KKR team. I am sure the team players would have known about whether there was a rift between the King , the cardinal and the general . Think about it.
Tragedy is that the SMS , he sent to the players today before the match with Delhi Dare devils has been doing the rounds of all the news channels. His trust has been breached even here ,for the only way any news channel would have got the SMS, was through ,one of the players. I actually dont believe SRK would leak it for publicity, he already has enough. So somebody has a grouse against the great SRK. There is a traitor in the KKR team. The speculation ,why he wasn't present in the last match , has also been put to rest. “ I wont attend the classroom until I understand the rules of the head master.”A gesture I admire. It is better to conduct yourself with dignity rather then go on the field and asked to leave after fifteen minutes in the dug out. Speaking of which, I guess Ms. Zinta did not understand the concept of the red card for the team owners. She was seen throughout the match sitting in the dug out area. Its surprising that I thought, she could understand plain simple english.
It has also been brought to the media's notice that the cheerleaders were told to leave because of their color on the behest of the franchisee. Ms. Zinta forgets , she is a black to the rest of the world. No matter what her skin color may be. Its sad to see ,a woman who got a bravery award for speaking out her mind a few years back in a high profile case could stoop so low.Now promising to help the cheerleaders aint going to repair what damage is done. I am sure Wizcraft people dont care whether black or white dance as long as there is a performance on stage.
What is seen here , is a degradation of morals. The pressure is high . The most profitable team of the IPL is about to be sold because the owners dont find it to be a feasible project. What about the other teams who have been loosing throughout. Winning matches dont really equate to cash in the bank. In my previous article I had compared the IPL to the East India Company .I was wrong. East India Company made profits. IPL is nothing but a display of power and wealth. Where one team owner bends the rules to accommodate, a whim of his , and then does not even avail th facility, another proves that the obsession with white skin is not just a thing of our western counter parts.
When taxi drivers are beaten up in Australia, we call it racism. When black cheerleaders are told to leave the stage, we call it management decision. So much for double standards. The country has started to split on the lines of loyalty and its not a question about whether the franchisee are making money or not. Mumbaikars booed the Mohali team captain on the field and he complaint furiously in the press meet. Some body threw a stone at Sehwag in his home ground. Are we not a nation, then why cant we just take the game in the right spirit . Why has it become a war and being promoted as war. I have always thought that cricket was a game of friendship. A gentleman's game and now it has turned in to a mockery.
With price caps being removed from the players salary next year , there is going to be a blood bath in the auction and on the field. While all the profit avenues being exploited this season, I wonder with no price caps, will the IPL be conducted throughout the year just to cover up the investments. While I write this another match seems to be washed out , between Daredevils and KKR . So much for the motivational message of SRK. On second thoughts could this message be leaked out by the team management to clear the air about a lot of issues that have haunted the KKR team. I am sure the team players would have known about whether there was a rift between the King , the cardinal and the general . Think about it.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
IPL or East India Company
We all are honorable men who love their cricket. IPL has provided us with a reason to carry forward this honor and love for the region ,that we live in. While Delhi rejoices an injury of Sachin Tendulkar , People are ecstatic when Saurav Ganguly looses a match. IPL has brought us in to a new kind of era, that our fore fathers fought for two hundred years. We are again being divided on the lines of Race, Region and Community and the biggest of evils “Money”. While every day a new controversy engulfs the league and I enjoy taking a dig on those , IPL has brought forward serious issues . Issues that can not be taken up lightly.
On 19 th May ,two of the Mohali team cheerleaders were told to get out of the stadium by the management agency , that had hired them. No reasons were given but it was understood that it was on the behest of their skin color. Both of them being black. Its ironic that the man whom we all know as the father of the nation and still better from the Munna bhai Series started the freedom struggle by fighting against , oppression of the black community on basis of their color. Not very long ago the whole nation had stood against a nobody called Jake Goody and the indian government had even extended an invitation to her to visit the country. We are such a nation.
What happened at IPL is disgusting. It shows the double standards , we as Indians have. Now I don't say that everybody is bad ,but then ,why nobody is coming forward now, to punish or even investigate the whole issue. People turn a blind eye towards ugliness , we Indians are no different. When traveling in a bus , we prefer to travel, standing rather then sit next to a handicap or a beggar. Are they not fellow human beings. No they are not contagious , we won't become handicap or loose all our money by sitting next to them.
In !857 after the Sepoy mutiny East India Company left India. In 2008 exactly 150 years , they have returned in the garb of IPL. The social evils that we had long forgotten, are being recycled in the name of entertainment, and while the ordinary people lap it it up, Franchisees and IPL organizers laugh their way to the bank. In the name of team promotions millions are being spent ,when the same money, could have been used to improve stadium facilities. Provide training facilities to the local players. Provide at least drinking water in the stands.
The promises made at the beginning were large , just like the promises of our leaders before the election, How many have been fulfilled is yet to be seen. It was said that IPL is going to promote local cricket. All the local players have done is to carry water, sit on benches and when not required shipped out of the hotel to accommodate franchisee owner's friends. What humiliation. A racism of a different kind , a cost paid for never being a key player in India “A” squad.
Long ago the British decided on the policy of divide and rule. Let everybody fight for their own petty issues . IPL in some sense has followed the same. Divide and loot. While people are being divided by the teams they support , forgetting all the discomfort in the win , they are also being divided by the kind of ticket they hold. While SRK ,owner of the KKR smokes freely in the stadium, a common fan is not even allowed to carry a bottle of drinking water, and yet, he is drawn to the stadium for entertainment being provided in the form of Slapping and scantily clad women gyrating seductively to music they don't understand. When somebody raises the issue he is shunned as a hypocrite and a specimen from the eighteenth century. The government just like the rulers in the past have turned a blind eye to this invasion. By the time anybody realizes the damage done to the psyche of the nation, it will be too late. Fights in the west have cost lives of thousands of supporters , who fought battles in the stands ,when their favorite club looses .They all belong to the same nation. Is it right to divide the nation once again while with great difficulty people have lately understood, how irrelevant it is to fight in name of religion and yet sparse incidents of communal violence are seen every now and then. It will be most unfortunate to see supporters of one team fighting those of the other teams in the stands when this hypnotism will complete.
Almost 5000 crores have exchanged hands since the event began, and Income Tax department wants an explanation. It is just an rough estimate. How much of this money has actually been spent on developing infrastructure for the game ,with no price caps on players from next year onwards, Dhoni might just become the richest player in the world , but where do the franchisee get this money back from. We will pay them. After all they are spending so much money to keep us divided as a nation. Its there right to treat us as slaves ,because us Indians can not sit next to a beggar or handicap but can stand next to them outside a window shop and cheer for the team, we support.
On 19 th May ,two of the Mohali team cheerleaders were told to get out of the stadium by the management agency , that had hired them. No reasons were given but it was understood that it was on the behest of their skin color. Both of them being black. Its ironic that the man whom we all know as the father of the nation and still better from the Munna bhai Series started the freedom struggle by fighting against , oppression of the black community on basis of their color. Not very long ago the whole nation had stood against a nobody called Jake Goody and the indian government had even extended an invitation to her to visit the country. We are such a nation.
What happened at IPL is disgusting. It shows the double standards , we as Indians have. Now I don't say that everybody is bad ,but then ,why nobody is coming forward now, to punish or even investigate the whole issue. People turn a blind eye towards ugliness , we Indians are no different. When traveling in a bus , we prefer to travel, standing rather then sit next to a handicap or a beggar. Are they not fellow human beings. No they are not contagious , we won't become handicap or loose all our money by sitting next to them.
In !857 after the Sepoy mutiny East India Company left India. In 2008 exactly 150 years , they have returned in the garb of IPL. The social evils that we had long forgotten, are being recycled in the name of entertainment, and while the ordinary people lap it it up, Franchisees and IPL organizers laugh their way to the bank. In the name of team promotions millions are being spent ,when the same money, could have been used to improve stadium facilities. Provide training facilities to the local players. Provide at least drinking water in the stands.
The promises made at the beginning were large , just like the promises of our leaders before the election, How many have been fulfilled is yet to be seen. It was said that IPL is going to promote local cricket. All the local players have done is to carry water, sit on benches and when not required shipped out of the hotel to accommodate franchisee owner's friends. What humiliation. A racism of a different kind , a cost paid for never being a key player in India “A” squad.
Long ago the British decided on the policy of divide and rule. Let everybody fight for their own petty issues . IPL in some sense has followed the same. Divide and loot. While people are being divided by the teams they support , forgetting all the discomfort in the win , they are also being divided by the kind of ticket they hold. While SRK ,owner of the KKR smokes freely in the stadium, a common fan is not even allowed to carry a bottle of drinking water, and yet, he is drawn to the stadium for entertainment being provided in the form of Slapping and scantily clad women gyrating seductively to music they don't understand. When somebody raises the issue he is shunned as a hypocrite and a specimen from the eighteenth century. The government just like the rulers in the past have turned a blind eye to this invasion. By the time anybody realizes the damage done to the psyche of the nation, it will be too late. Fights in the west have cost lives of thousands of supporters , who fought battles in the stands ,when their favorite club looses .They all belong to the same nation. Is it right to divide the nation once again while with great difficulty people have lately understood, how irrelevant it is to fight in name of religion and yet sparse incidents of communal violence are seen every now and then. It will be most unfortunate to see supporters of one team fighting those of the other teams in the stands when this hypnotism will complete.
Almost 5000 crores have exchanged hands since the event began, and Income Tax department wants an explanation. It is just an rough estimate. How much of this money has actually been spent on developing infrastructure for the game ,with no price caps on players from next year onwards, Dhoni might just become the richest player in the world , but where do the franchisee get this money back from. We will pay them. After all they are spending so much money to keep us divided as a nation. Its there right to treat us as slaves ,because us Indians can not sit next to a beggar or handicap but can stand next to them outside a window shop and cheer for the team, we support.
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