Thursday, September 5, 2013

What should Haroon Logart apologize for?



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A fresh row has erupted between the BCCI and CSA. This time its over what Haroon Logart should apologize about.

To give our worldwide readers some background...

It has been reported over the course of the year that the BCCI has been proactively attempting to block the appointment of Haroon Logart as CEO of CSA. The public was given to understand that in his previous role as CEO of the ICC, Mr. Logart had rubbed the BCCI thugs the wrong way and given that vindictiveness runs in the blood of even the peons that work in fool proof BCCI offices, a retaliation was expected. And retaliate they did. When CSA ignored BCCI's objections and appointed Mr. Logart as their CEO anyways, the BCCI gave the FTP suggested Indian tour of South Africa a cold shoulder

While accepting his new job as CSA CEO, Mr. Logart had offered to apologize to the BCCI; an offer that BCCI stand-in president Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya said, would be nice if actually executed.

Following this exchange in the media, the less unreasonable elements in the BCCI had reached out to the less lethargic group of administrators over at CSA to broker a peace and attempt to salvage the tour...

This is when things went out of hand when neither group could agree on what Mr. Haroon Logart should apologize about.

According to our BCCI sources, the BCCI wanted Haroon Logart to apologize for once driving by and having the audacity to peek into a stadium where an ICL game was in progress.

On the other hand CSA wants to offer an apology for the one time Haroon Logart constructed an English sentence that included the words Sachin and retirement. 

In an attempt to come to a common middle, representatives from the England and Wales Cricket club had offered to conjure up a situation that never happened, make Mr Logart apologize for that and end the cold war. It is understood that the ECB suggested that Mr. Haroon Logart apologize for urinating on the Wankhede pitch.

The BCCI representatives failed to agree to this. Urinating in public does not merit an apology they said.

Even when negotiations were seemingly going no where. The BCCI announced that Sri Lanka will be visiting India for a series of 5 T20s right in the middle of December. When prompted, if this meant the South Africa tour was off, N. Srinivasan said, "With the rupee in nose dive and movies ridiculing Tamils making 200 crore, all you are worried about is where Sachin will play his 200th Test?"


Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Kumar Sangakara: Wants his cake and eat it too



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I don't understand why it is important for cricket to feign 'nation's interest' when everything about the game seems business focused and justifiable for cash.

Over the issue of whether Kumar Sangakara should play for his IPL franchise or his home province (Kandurata Maroons), in the upcoming Champions League 2013, last week he was incensed that his board tried to 'frame the argument' in a way that made him appear 'disloyal to his country'. Kumar Sangakara and cricketers even greater than him in stature have always put country second when it comes to financials.

No one should grudge them for that and indeed it would be unreasonable, especially in today's environment, to expect cricketers to forgo their financial future to 'play for national interests' when the national boards themselves are chasing cash at the expense of everything that once was deemed sacred in cricket.

So if Kumar Sangakara stands to lose $140K USD, I think it is quite hypocritical of the Sri Lankan Cricket board to make him play for Kandurata in the name of 'national interest'.

Sri Lankan cricketers have routinely showed up late on foreign tours and padded up in Test Matches with hardly any practice just so they can earn a few more dollars playing late into the IPL. So why these pangs of wanting to appear 'loyal to the nation'?

It seems to me that cricketers want to have their money and want to appear patriotic at the same time. Cricket administrators have outsourced their jobs to Television executives in the need for cash but don't want their nation's cricketers to follow the same principle of cash by allowing them to choose their franchises.

Why cover the blatant dash for cash with a sham of a veil of national interest?

People (the common fan) have moved on. They have already seen the writing and are willing to recognize players for what they have to offer in terms of skill and entertainment value. Kevin Pietersen, Lasith Malinga, Sachin Tendulkar have fans all over the world even when they have, at one time or the other, compromised their nations interests over those of the franchises that offer them more cash.

Its time for cricketers to stop pretending, to stop hiding under the artificial veil of ..... "oh!....my country!".