Keep the spirits of cricket alive.

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.

IPL thrown out of India.

So IPL is not Indian Premier League. Its going to be International Premier League. Security issues resolved. India doomed to be an unsafe country to play cricket in. And by whom ? By the same government who has done nothing to nab the 11/26 culprits and now it has gone publicly in accepting that it is unable to provide security to the premier cricket tournament of the country.

Wow. So wots now going to be the home and away venue for each of the 7 teams ? And what about the players from the country where the IPL would be hosted ? No cultural hassles, no crying over the cheerleader wardrobe, no cries on killing culture and stuff like that.

I guess Maharashtra's inability to host the games was a trigger to push IPL out of the country. Maharashtra, the famous state of country which is increasingly hostile to the people from other states within country, blows the trumpet on the IPL. The Congress government has been ridiculously quiet on 11/26. Its foreign minister has been shippishly grinning in a heavy Bong ascent about the culprits being booked. But the government gives no assurance to the country that it is safe. Thanks to elections, it has given a message to the world that India is not safe.

You see it first here on the entire blogsville. IPL now wont be held in India. Where exactly, thats not known. Its not going to be in India, certainly not in Swat and Talibanistan, may be in England and South Africa. But is cricket important here or the money from the stakeholders ? Is money being the driving force here ?

PC would be grinning with happiness. His ego would have been bolstered. Sharad Pawar, the BCCI macho man and union minister would now go and say to PC in Deewar ishtyle:

SP : "PC, khush to bahut honge tum. Yeh sir jo aaj tak kisi board ke aage nahi jhuka, yeh sir jo ICC ke samne bhi nahi jhuka, yeh aaj tumhare samne sir jhooka ke khada hai"

PC: " Mere paas force hai, mere paas home ministry hai, mere paas government hai, mere paas Soniaji ka Aashirwaad hai. Mere paas green signal dene ki kabiliyat hai. Tere paas kya hai"

SP: " Mere paas ICC hain"

PC : "But manjuri mere haath me hain".

Security fears!!

Sri Lanka needs a security report from IPL to be able to release its contracted players to IPL. Fair enough. They had that unfortunate attack on them. But then did they forget they are going to India which is not a SL or a Pakistan, which is not terror strife unless stuck from outside. Did they forget that India is as safe as any other country in the world. Touchwood. Of course untill....

Thats what a public row between IPL and the government does. An imaginary fear being cast in the minds of countries which themselves are unsafe to play in. Yet they come and ask for security clearence. Did India ask for the same thing every time they went in the Emerald Isle gripped with the civil war. 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006 (SA chickened out, India stayed back), 2008, 2009. Not a single time Indians went ahead and asked for security cover. Sachin and Saurav have been on target lists of the terror groups. Yet Indians didnt create any fuss.

Voice of Colombo for sure would have something nasty to say out here.

Stop begging guys!!

Is he an idiot or a helper of terrorist groups in Swat area of what they call good Taliban ?

http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India-should-come-forward-to-help-Pakistan-cricket/articleshow/4266753.cms

Messrs Kamran Akmal. Yeah right. We help them and they send 10 perpators to Mumbai to ......

SL agree to tour them and their team is attacked.

Chris Broad speaks out against poor security in Pak for 3/3 and he is being filed for a ban by great Ijaz Butt and Javed Miandad whose son has married Dawood Ibrahim daughter, Mumbai's most.........

We have IPL coming up in 25 days time, there is an ugly row in public between Home ministry, state govts and IPL. And bang on time Naseem Ashraf, the fly who was thrown out post General era in Pakistan, speaks that terrorists would target players in India!!

Bloody hell who sends terrorists to India ? GOD sent or Pakistan sent ? Or non-state actors ? Time for Pakistanis to stop begging Indians for help. Indians wont and shouldnt help a country which binges on terror and nourishes terror and goes soft on it.

Why a public show of security ?

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.

IPL and Boycott issue.

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!.

Scrap Pakistan tour

Pakistan has suffered yet another terror attack, this time in Islamabad within the vicinity of President 's office and parliament. Reports suggest that this is the deadliest attack in the history of Islamabad. Rawalpindi is one of the venues where India is supposed to play a Test match in January 2009.

PCB would receive one more jolt in its arm over the future of international cricket in country. May be they should look for owning Sharjah stadium to host its "home test matches" as they did in 2002 against Aussies.

I have no qualms in suggesting that India should scrap its 2009 tour to Pakistan and be ready to face whatever financial losses owing to the pull out. Player security is more important than vote politics in ICC and BCCI should immediately cancel the tour unless the situation in terror torn country doesnt improve.

I am sure that now PCB would stop comparing the Delhi blasts to their internal security issue. And this politics would stop. Pakistan is a dangerous place to be in and to tour. Today's deadliest attack proves the same.