Coming back to the Thread topic, here is a very good article :-
THE DURBAN- DALMIYA CONSPIRACY
I hope all the hullabaloo I am reading about in the press, television and all other media on India’s efforts to change the time fixtures of the Durban match (the second semi-final ) is all unadulterated trash. Simply told, if there is an iota of truth ( but BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya , in his true conspiratorial and intrigue-infested style has already hinted at “ informal discussions” ) in the supposed lobbying, then it is egregiously unfortunate.
Dalmiya has clearly demonstrated to world cricket at large, that just because India is where the big bucks are, he will stretch Machiavellian politicking and manipulation to it’s ultimate elasticity to suit his objectives. This foolhardy and truly ludicrous exercise to make the Durban match a day affair, as opposed to the fixed day-night affair, smacks of the unprofessionalism , unethical and unbecoming nature of India’s premier cricket administrative body. **It is embarrassingly shameful that this idea was both conceived, connived and deemed convincing by the ignoramuses who run cricket in India. It also reflects and necessitates that cricket administration should be run by professional managers with management qualifications and ex-cricketers with true cricketing experience, and not by self-serving businessmen who run cricket like a private fiefdom for self-aggrandisement. **
Just look at the naked facts for lobbying to make the second Durban semi-final a full day match:
With the Super 6 still to start, are we already in such a defeatist mind-set that we are preparing to be either number 2 or 3 team post the Super 6 in points ? ( The Durban semi-finals is 2nd Super 6 vs 3rd Super 6 ).
Isn’t it a distinct possibility that India can win against the remaining teams with consummate ease given it’s recent solid form ? Hey, don’t we play to win ? Can’t Australia be upset by both New Zealand and Sri Lanka ----- remember, they almost lost to England? In a nutshell, anything can happen. It is a sport.
Suspense, drama and the unexpected are the ingredients that make cricket the great game it is. How can Dalmiya ruin the very nature of this game of “glorious uncertainties “ by being so presumptuous ? It is preposterous----- this whole concept is contemptible rubbish.
And by the way, what has motivated Dalmiya to lobby with the others ? Because he now suddenly senses that Sourav Ganguly and his boys, much harangued, harassed and humiliated by large sections of the people of India, it’s duplicitous and shifty media, amongst several other vested lobbies, can now actually win the World Cup. And naturally, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya will take full credit for it. The BCCI coffers will fill up further. And Mr Dalmiya will become the permanent messiah of Indian cricket. This is blatant opportunism at it’s best.
Does Damiya believe ( or anyone else for that matter ) that a team can actually win batting second at day-time as opposed to night-time? Dalmiya cannot and does not understand cricket. **If India is a World Cup champion team in the making, it can and will and should win in any circumstances. No excuses. That’s what champions are all about. You don’t need cushions, or handicaps in your favour. Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996, batting second under lights. Brazil won the World Cup soccer in alien conditions in South Korea. Bjorn Borg won on both the slow French Open clay and the fastest Wimbledon grass, back to back. Tiger Woods wins in new and treacherous golf courses all over the world. And people don’t request for day games, and night matches anywhere in the world. **
Would you blame the Indian and global cricket lover from believing that match-fixing still exists, when the head of BCCI is openly espousing a semi-final match timing, as if he is certain that India will be no 2 or 3 post the Super 6 ?
What about respecting the ICC and South African authorities who have made logistical arrangements, and the thousands whose travel plans, hotel bookings etc are all made and done months in advance as per schedule communicated over a year ago?
**Worse still, is it fair on Sourav and his boys, when they are playing phenomenal cricket, to be dragged into this unseemly controversy which has such negative connotations? **
Clearly this is not just about cricket, Mr Dalmiya. As an Indian I hang my head in shame, because we come across as a country of whiners. Constantly complaining, and cribbing like petulant schoolboys. And sounding like losers. Dalmiya blackballed one and all, including the ICC and his own Indian team, in turns depending upon which way the tide turned on the contract imbroglio.
Very few people have the courage to express facts-----Indian media ( television and print ) and several others ( most have vested interests ) do not have the moral right and conviction to call a spade a spade. They are just plain impotent. Because they are overawed by power, and they love to suck up to them. Because they are all beneficiaries of Mr Dalmiya’s some or the other sundry act of charity. An interview here. A scoop there. A quote in the middle.
I write this piece because** Mr Dalmiya’s act is an insult to Sourav and his team. It is mortifying to all self-respecting Indians. And Mr Dalmiya has no right to make us all look like a bunch of shivering cowards, backdoor politicians, and a generally meek, slippery and untrustworthy nation before the rest of the world. **
http://www.cricketnext.com/features1/sanjayjha/sanjayjha074.htm
