Stay Away Shahrukh, this is Cricket after all

IPL is not purely cricket in its traditional sense. Recent developments have proved it adequately. As we have masala movies in Bollywood, it seems to be masala cricket . IPL has business tycoons owning the teams, red skin cheerleaders, and Bollywood as its integral part. Every part has already injected some spice into IPL so far. For example: Cheerleaders are making news about racial allegations, Vijay Mallaya made headlines by revealing how he was not given importance during the selection of his own team and Shahrukh khan made headlines by declaring his team as the best one to be followed and worshipped by every cricket fan. He further did everything to remain in the news and before the camera. Of course he is the master of all this, after all he is a big Bollywood star. Camera by default follows him and he knows what it takes to grab the attention everywhere he goes.

IPL at its core is all about business and everyone involved is naturally concerned about money, fame or advertisement. The movie “Jannat” has already got its due profit from the IPL if the reports are to be believed. Did we see Imran Hashmi roaming all over the places talking about the film? Having said that, trust me, if business Corporates and Bollywood have to walk along with Cricket, this is all but natural and should be accepted. No objection till this point.

However it would be most disappointing for many cricketers and cricket lovers when someone would try to bend the rules and encroach into the privacy of cricket and its rules savoured for many years. What would be even more disappointing is, if such rules are bent for a specific case or a specific personality. This is neither good for the game nor for the audience. This doesn’t leave a good message for which people are so passionate about cricket or any sport in general.

In this light, I believe Shahrukh Khan’s over involvement with his team was adequately incorrect. Agreed that he is the owner of the team, but that doesn’t mean he should be allowed to do anything he sees fit. I find many reasons to mention why Shahrukh khan should not been allowed into the private dressing rooms or the dugouts which are exclusively meant for the players, manager and the coach of the team (As per the ICC rules):

1. By definition: The dug outs and the dressing room are exclusively meant for the players, manager and the coach of the team. He is none of them.
2. Businessmen Vs Sportsmen: SRK is after all the owner of the team and has invested 80 million dollars to buy Kolkata Knight Riders. That is a big money. Anyone who invests such a big money is a businessman. A businessman would do anything it takes to see his returns multiplying. Did we not learn a big lesson out of match fixing controversies already that you get millions of bucks to lose a game? If a businessman is making millions by losing the game, I wonder why he would not do it. SRK might claim to be a sportsman himself, he might go on record saying he own the kids of his team and they are like his own kids, but at the end of the day we all know, IPL is all about business more than anything else. Why take a chance and out the game’s honors on jeopardy? ICC’s Anti Corruption unit has its existence for some valuable reasons after all. If ICC is allowing all such people in those private areas, it is basically opening a chance for messages from the bookies to be passed right on time.
3. When would we start respecting the laws? We talk about India getting developed and all that, but tell me one developed country where you find such laws by the book are bent to favor someone just because he is a movie super star? Will we ever learn the basics that everyone is equal before the laws?
4. For the sake of ICC’s existence: ICC is the supreme body of Cricket and every sport has its equivalent. It is of paramount importance that ICC has its place and say. If today the rules are bent for SRK, tomorrow it would demand a similar change from another personality. By allowing all this, where would ICC land up?

From a person who claim’s to be a sportsman, such things are not expected and it is indeed a demoralizing things for all youngsters to see and follow. At the same time, it could equally be possible that he was not briefed about the actual rules by the officials and he was doing all this for the lack of information. In that case, I would blame it to Lalit Modi and Co. who could also be seen in the dugouts and in the players’ private areas. He himself should refrain from doing this. Did we ever see any cricket board’s officials visiting the dressing rooms before in a test match or one day match?

What was more disappointing was Shahrukh’s statement that he would do anything to see his players and no one can stop him. WOW. He needs to be reminded that he is not acting in one of the Bollywood flicks and he has the freedom to tweak the dialogues, this is live sports called Cricket and rules of the game are completely different here. No tweaks are allowed. Owning a team, doesn’t give him rights to do anything he sees fit. And if you observe the happenings clearly, now probably that he realizes this mistake, he issued a statement saying “He would not meet his players in the dugouts etc until he has reviewed the ICC rules”. For me it simply sounds like a emotional dialogue from Veer Zara. Or is the reason more practical now since the beloved Kolkata Knight Riders is virtually out of the IPL?

BCCI’s action has also been very disappointing. They seem to be inching towards supremacy in cricket but this phenomenon should get its due respect. It should not make them arrogant. Anything to dishonor the rules and spirit of the game would certainly fire them in the long run. I would also expect ICC to be more strict when handling such matters if they really plan to exist in the future otherwise they would be galloped by BCCI soon. Issuing a statement today and changing it the other day, doesn’t convince anyone in the public, it just proves that you have no power whatsoever.

PS:- The views expressed are completely personal and are not inteded to hurt sentiments and the loyalty of the fans of anyone or anything.

IPL to donate Rs 60 mn for Jaipur blast victims

As per the recent report, the eight franchisee owners and sponsors of the Indian Premier League (IPL) have decided to donate Rs 60 million for the victims of the serial bombings that rocked the city on Tuesday. The eight franchises have donated Rs 5 million each, while the five sponsors namely DLF Ltd, Vodafone, Citibank, Kingfisher and Hero Honda have contributed Rs 4 million each. As per the IPL chairman, a cheque would be handed over to the Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje during Saturday's game between Rajasthan team and the Bangalore team.

As we have been discussing about the unfortunate incident that took place in the pink city and the apprehension of the players and what the BCCI should do, this comes as a truly noble guesture on the part of IPL. BCCI seems to have faciliated this without paying anything from its own pocket, but it doesn't matter. The help to the victims is what matters and not how the help is being provided.

As a mark of respect to the victims of the terror attacks, both the teams will wear black armbands during the game on Saturday. This action seems really like a milestone to me. If IPL has to reach to the indian household and into the indian hearts, such efforts are only going to prove as catalysts.

Good show IPL. Atleast we have one thing to mention that we know IPL has definitely benefited.

Jaipur Bomb Blasts and IPL

As expected the Jaipur Bomb blasts on 13th May, have not only rocked the pink city but has also rocked the Rajasthan Royals as the foreign players have expressed a concern on continuing in the IPL especially after BCCI declined to move the games from Jaipur.

As for as the concern of foreign players goes, it is completely justified. After all, any sports require a peaceful environment to showcase its talent. A player can not concentrate in the game when there is always a possibility of a bomb explosion near the stadium or the hotel or anywhere they are. At the end of the day, all of them have families like we do. Although it is said that the terrorist have nothing to do with the cricket and the cricketers in particular, I will not buy the words of those people who are involved in such a inhuman act. And so why would the foreign cricketers buy the same? In fact many of the domestic players too would have the same concern. Shane warne has been reported to have said to an Australian daily - "I would not have come to play in IPL had it happened before I flew from Australia". No wonder, recently because of similar concerns, Australia canceled the whole Australian trip. Question is: how do we see IPL without those foreign players, especially without the Australians?

This incident at the same time has put BCCI on its toes. Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, declined any such reports about Australian's not continuing the game but It is yet to be seen, how BCCI has prepared itself for any of such unexpected events. This probably has given them a chance for future if they have never thought about this. I sincerely hope they have not been completely lost in the million dollors. They can devise and come up with a strategy to tackle such a situation. It is going to be an inconvenience for the viewers, but it should not bother anyone a bit, where the lives of so many people are at risk.

I guess BCCI can follow a simple Strategy in the future. In addition to these 8 stadiums, it can think of another 1-2 reserved stadiums. These reserved stadiums should not be declared public to anyone. In case, something like this happens and there is a high concern, the games should be immediately moved to that location. It would not take much effort because BCCI would have already planned about most of the things. Of course beefed up security system is a part of any process by default. The organizers would incur some loss because of this sudden move, but I believe it is worth taking. It is only going to increase IPL's reputation in its initial years. Remember, most of the foreign players have been the super stars so far. Without them, IPL will only be slightly better than the existing domestic tournaments. What about the Rajasthan Royals? Would they remain the same Royals if Warne and watson depart midway? BCCI should make every effort to make sure they are convinced about their security.

This article has already been published in www.cricweed.com