Fixing - Greatest Evil or Opportunity to clean up the system...

It was not long ago; when Mohd Amir made his debut for Pakistan; A young lad suddenly was handed over Pakistan international Kit and given the new ball to start proceedings. A kid like excitement and million dollar smile was evident on his debut. A year or so later not many thought that the very smile would turn into evil grin. It is unfortunate for cricket that bad guys got him before good guys could reach out to him. If there was good brotherly hand over his shoulder guiding him on to the right path. Encouraging the youngsters and pointing the right reward for the long fruitful career rather than falling for low hanging fruit and committing crime for petty rewards which would eventually lead to darkness.

Integrity is not a virtue which many in Pakistan consider to be important and consider a need to pass on the same to younger generation. Remember while watching Australian match; Allan border made an interesting comment about the Cricket & the money involved with it; take care of Runs & Wickets, rest the money would follow. Greed, quick money & lifestyle involved is catching up on the young cricketers who would value stint in IPL compared to play for country for 10-15 years.

Ball tempering, Performance enhancing drugs & finally match fixing you name it and it’s all there for one to see what all Pakistan team and more importantly Pakistan board has gone through. One needs to ask a question to this young generation why do they play this game. If the answer is love the competition, if that it gives immense pride while walking out in national colors and represent those millions back home and to live up to their expectation or is it the challenge which would make you the best in the game which each one of us love so much. Invariably the reward these would be handsome and more importantly it would give you cult status where respect is the core foundation of how people look at you.

Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught. Unfortunately younger cricket generation is following these footsteps. It is our choice & paths we choose tells us who we are. Have always maintained that Talent is secondary it is the attitude which is critical and decides what shall you achieve both morally & professionally.

One might want to argue that Pakistan’s cricketers are not paid enough to make them lure into evil of Fixing and so on. Pakistan's players do not get paid as much as counterparts around the world, it is being said. This is true. They have also missed out on the life-changing riches of the Indian Premier League. But at 250,000 rupees (£1,900), 175,000 rupees and 100,000 rupees per month in the three grades of the PCB's central contracts, they are not paid peanuts. They live in Pakistan, not India, Australia or England, and in this country I am sure that kind of salary is seen by very, very few.

During Sting operation on Mazar Majid; he made an interesting statement; They are so much romantically involved with peculiar hoard mentality: get in quick, get rich quicker because you never know when you will be out forever, from a job, from politics, from a team. There is no consistency what so ever; I would not be surprised by the statistics on total number of players in last decade or two made their debut for Pakistan and then were never ever seen. One classic example being classic left hander Asim Kamal. Over the past few years particularly, modernization and glamour has eaten away Pakistan’s Cricketer, which has long been sweet on ostentation in any case. Just having wealth is not enough. Showing people you have it is more important.

Pakistan Cricket Board cannot be relied upon to handle an email, so handling the life and career of a boy is out of the question. The PCB administration changes more frequently then Bollywood actress changing their outfits. They will not protect them from anyone; if fans, journalists, politicians and bookies want a piece of a player, the PCB do not get in the way. Neither have players here ever helped themselves; thrice efforts have been made to form a players' association and thrice they have failed. It is the strongest indictment of a culture where everyone is out for himself. Nobody is there to warn young players of the ways of this new world they inhabit, because stardom in Pakistan really is the loneliest pursuit. And maybe it is not even as much about the rural-urban shift as much as it is a class shift, from making money to live to making money for money's sake.

Cricket in Pakistan has handed the task of running the Cricket board into the wrong hands. and in doing so let down the cricket lovers who seek their identity from the way their national team plays. Across the cricket world, the Pakistan board has little respect, and it is not difficult to imagine that the decay would begin there.

No matter how much we criticize the BCCI for being manipulative or showing off the financial muscle to arm twist ICC and get decisions in their favor; but let’s make no mistake in applauding them for handling the players as they are and running the administration as a corporate organization with rules and constitution being in place. IPL has revolutionized the way cricket has been positioned till date. IPL no matter has some of its own controversies to take care of but at the heart of it; the intentions are to make it a global brand and while successful brands churn lot of money they also do bring Values which are the DNA of any organization and hence enabling it to gain respect amongst stakeholders and consumers.

They way Indian cricket is been watched by the world is largely due to the attributes of integrity worn by few good men like Sachin, Saurav, Dravid, Kumble, Lakshman, Srinath, and others who have served the game with honesty rather than longer time representing the country.

Having said that; as the most financially capable ICC associate we can always share the responsibility and be extra vigilant of making sure that Indian Young talent does not give up for the riches rather than morals and playing for the nation taking the first priority rather than getting in quick, make quick money and get out. In India too we are more than hyper reactive & animated from time to time; Nation needs to remind oneself there are greater evils to tackle compared to some one bowling a no ball in the wake of poor advise from senior pro.

As Rahul Dravid (for me the Epitome of integrity as far as Indian Cricket is concerned) mentioned this is the great opportunity to be unforgiving and remove this evil from its root while it has left a deep scar on Cricket fans heart. Someone; most likely ICC – The custodians of the game are answerable to millions of cricket fanatics who sacrifice a lot in their personal lives to watch a game and admire their favorite cricketers. ICC has the best opportunity up its sleeve to clean the game and it would be nothing less but criminal to miss out an opportunity to clean the game and re-instate the trust in those who find peace in cricket while their daily lives are affected by terrorism.

And to certain politicians in Pakistan I would advise; show conspiracy theories the door; for the world neither has the time, nor does it benefit from, conspiring against them and trust me there are better things to take care about; rather than belittling Pakistan as a nation; I am afraid; after Fixing Fiasco there is not much left to defame Pakistan.

The Game needs new Heros & More Innovation.

Last couple of months have been full of Kayos all the way; let it be debate on UDRS or a debate on format changes with ODI setup and not the least Deteriorating condition of Pakistan cricket which mirrors exactly political situation of the country – Utter disorder but still trying to defend the tactics. By the time I write this; Pakistan team was just bundled out below 100 to give England its one of the biggest win in the history; I am sure this win would right there at the top. This makes me believe the win against Australia was just Luck by chance rather then it has to do anything with the skill set of this squad. In short We can sum up Pakistan’s performance - A seam attack for the ages, a batting line-up that would disgrace Bangladesh. You've got to hand it to Pakistan. They know how to entertain ; but it would not be good for the world cricket.

Before we try to dig deeper into the defeats incurred by Pakistan recently; the world cricket needs a strong Pakistan cricket team to keep the competition alive. As on date a certain Australia, England, India & South-Africa are the teams who are playing tough & competitive cricket across the globe. Pakistan have been presented with a wonderful opportunity to build a team from scratch from all the young talent available at hand. They should try and resist the temptation of going back to 2 Ys (Younis & Yousuf) and if that is the way they want to play cricket then why not ask Waqar, Wasim & Inzy to join as well. With senior players under a cloud, and some unsure of whether they are active or retired, a group of youngsters with the most incredible ability has been thrown together. Three young fast bowlers, and doubtless a dozen more tucked away in by lanes, are making the world sit up and take notice. A young left-armer has emerged, who has the potential to cause batsmen a lot of distress. If we look at the records Pakistan have won only 2 test matches since beginning of 2009 and 2008 they did not play any test match. Now all they need is a young all-rounder to bat at No. 6 (someone like Yasser Arafat who is sharpening his skills at Sussex), a wicketkeeper who doesn't enjoy controversy, and some parliamentarians who can stay away from cricket. It will be criminal to miss an opportunity like this. Throwing out Youngsters to face a strong Australian team without having strong domestic credential is equally criminal a sure short recipe to ruin the test careers before they start; Pakistan needs to take a leaf out of India’s way of doing things up to certain level where likes of Suresh Raina gets to debut after 98 ODIs and compiling some great performance on the opportunities given to him; The bench looks solid with likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma & Cheteshwar Pujara to name a few. I also think someone needs to have a word with young Cheteshwar Pujara on what you need to do to play for India. He might be a bit confused.

While watching the last Pakistani innings at Touton; It felt as if the batsmen had no clue on where the ball would swing after pitching; this kind of performance would make me applaud what Bangladesh did at 2 Test & 3 ODI series against England; they fought tooth and nail and gave England a good competition hence stretching the test match to 5th day on both occasions while putting a price on their performances. Probably they would like to loan out Ishant & Mithun to bat for them in middle order to make sure next time the score at least reaches 100+. Pakistan needs make this series count and play like cornered tigers the way Imran use to refer them during ‘92 season; while winning the world cup.

In late 2009 the ICC informed us the UDRS was a crucial component in ensuring correct decisions were reached on the field. Now here we are in mid-2010 and two Test series are going to be completed without the use of the UDRS. There are different reasons for the absence of UDRS in the Pakistan v Australia and the Sri Lanka v India series. The Pakistan board (the "home" board, in this case) said it can't afford the system, while India doesn't want it. What are the chances of ensuring correct decisions are made on the field if there appears little likelihood of reaching consensus off it?

At the heart of it all, and this has been the case for years, is the fact that the ICC doesn't want to pay for the diagnosis. And the television networks, already burdened with huge costs, are not too keen to incur another if it doesn't add significantly to viewing pleasure. I would imagine new contracts that broadcasters will have to sign with cricket boards will require them to use additional technology. But whether or not the UDRS becomes mandatory, India's bowlers will still have to generate enough convincing appeals to produce 20 wickets. Currently, if you have a long run-up, you have a decent chance of playing for India.

A holistic approach to improving the standard of umpiring, including use of a widely accepted UDRS could help the game progress. However, at the moment reaching the right conclusion on the field is impossible while they don't have consensus off the field.

As seems to be case with the dead pitches as with UDRS; they need desperately need a someone from ICC to look after this issue and make sure Curators are sued for co-operating in killing test cricket which is any under the scrutiny after the emergence of T-20s. Curators need to realize that players with bat in their hands are not the only who are playing this game and would win it for the team; there are some species of bowlers required to complete the format of the game. This curator is widely required in India to help the country with its deteriorating Roads & Highway conditions.

While I Write this; India heads into the 3rd test with Sri Lanka; India might still pull it back in the series. Sri Lanka without Murali might not have anyone to provide both the bulk of the overs and the wickets, while Malinga is still under scanner of fitness and India's batsmen might look a little less rusty, but it comes back to taking 20 wickets. In the absence of Zaheer Khan - and considering he has a shoulder injury, I fear India might have to start getting used to that for a while - this was the best attack India could put on the park.

For India to square the series the batsmen will have to put up a mountain of runs.

The Media Mania & the Importance of having clean Image.

Have we ever noticed why Sports news are the back pages of the news paper; because in this corrupt, brutal & merciless world probably sports brings out the good feeling and reminds us that there are still things in this world which are clean and can make things better for the mortals here. Cricket does it again and rises to the front page from its usual back pages. Front pages, normally the abode of tragedies, scams, budgets, or lately, full-page ads. I am not sure it is the right place for sports - unless, of course, a boxer or shooter wins a medal at the Olympics. But now the IPL is being dragged out of there & this is not good for a league that has achieved so much but is still very young.

As a sporting event, the IPL has been excellent so far. It has provided a platform for young talent, for players in less-reported areas, and were a name on a scoreboard if the sports editor thought it worthy. The IPL has also allowed us another look at the ageing stars; cricketers we enjoyed watching and thought would now be available only on television reruns or DVDs.

The two areas the IPL needs to be most careful about are the quality of its franchise owners, and complete transparency, and the distance it can keep from match-fixing which is more in the news lately. Going ahead the IPL needs the same degree of commitment. You only need to look to the current fortunes of some teams in English football, or indeed to the trauma of the West Indies Cricket Board's Stanford association, to realize how easily things can go wrong.

Modi has the ability to create such kind of leagues even where there is no cricketing market; the ability to sense business and sharp instinct to carve league out of non-cricket playing nations and perfect execution for good ideas make Modi one of the finest decision-makers in fast-moving sports world. Within 3-4 years of his hard work and being at his innovative best; he has created the 6th biggest sporting event; which I think is a remarkable achievement. The best word I would use to describe him is "Gutsy"; it required Guts to take the IPL & convert it into a global sporting brand in a little over a year. It is his Guts that make him rub people the wrong way. He can be charming but he can be arrogant too, and he is not his best PR manager. Having said that IPL is 6th biggest sporting event in the world with brand value more than 4 $ Billion. But the best-known brands acquire respectability, and therefore longevity, only if they are perceived to be clean. And the one non-negotiable fact is that the law of the land must be followed in letter. And so, if the IPL retains ambitions of becoming one of sport's greatest global brands, it must go out of the way to be seen as above board.

I suspect that will be easier than allowing politicians to eye it. They are circling at the moment, eager to grab a bite. Politicians are defiantly trying on to improvise on their CV which has lots of scams, tragedies and lots of black spots on them. At times it seems that Media & Politicians are competing with each other on the account of who can win the battle of sensationalizing the whole IPL gamut.

Looks like India Inc. haven’t learned after what happened to Satyam barely 15 months ago. Another such event would dent its image for sure and this time its Cricket which the country loves so much in the center fold of the whole mess. The Satyam model, as the Indian Express so appropriately states, is probably the best way to go about it. When Satyam began going under for reasons of corporate impropriety, the government stepped in to protect Brand India because a hit to Satyam would have meant a hit to the image of India in the software industry. BCCI must promise similar action and implement it speedily. I am sure BCCI would have re-defined IPL post Modi era by now; and an ex-cricketer filling up Modi’s shoes in all likelihood the possibility. But my best bet would be if IPL is a brand that would require a person who has great Business acumen. A player would run an IPL as a cricket match and might not be in the best interest of the brand. Of course Cricketing decisions and Business decision making skills are different and I would not mind declaring Modi as best fit for the same. Hope they get some one who understands the business more than BCCI and is not part of politics of BCCI.

The Guns are out; the arsenal is ready and the official call to the war has been announced by both Modi & BCCI. The investigation into IPL is all the more important as People from all walks of Politics are involved in this and CYA process is on to make sure the ruling party can pressurize certain individuals within the government to set the score straight with their so-called allies. Its such an irony of life when MPs in parliament Demand IPL ban are ones who have criminal & corruption cases pending against them!!!!

As per Media sources they say that "In the coming months, well before the next season, a professional management structure will be in place," says a BCCI insider. It is likely to consist of a "genuine CEO" who will run the tournament but will need to revert to the Governing Council for policy decisions. The CEO will be assisted by department heads for marketing, finance, logistics and the like. For instance, the IPL could get a full-fledged spokesperson who will communicate the League's deals and rulings on its website and using media releases, rather than through Twitter feeds.

I strongly feel that this is an opportunity for the BCCI & Indian cricket to emerge stronger. The question is, what do they do with Lalit Modi? But do not undermine what he has achieved out for Indian Cricket and India as a nation. He defiantly has created opportunities for every one to prosper and grow; but some of us would like to argue that it is the capitalist way of thinking. But I guess that’s the way business works across the globe

Will Lalit Modi walk or will he be timed out? As IPL 2010 reaches its climax, the future of the IPL chairman is not in doubt. The only question leading up to Monday's Governing Council meeting - which Modi has said he will attend - is whether he will jump or be pushed. For BCCI its simple as that In a big cluster of dogs – A dogs view would not change for long time to come unless you are the leading dog.

Cricket Round Up !!!

Lots Glamour, Glitz and IPL is under way; the Baap of entertainment is half way mark and we all ready have lots of ups n downs on the points table and well yeah the emotions as well; All teams want to win it….lot of them do have re-enforcements in the from of NZ & Aussie Players who were tied up with Trans-Tasman series and some of them tied up the Shield games in back in OZ.

Half way mark and we have lot of things to talk about; those isn’t any major controversy this time; but for the first time 7 out of 8 IPL teams are fighting it equally to get the semi berth. The Punjab Horror show is by no means ending and adding to that is the controversy of Yuvraj and his tussle with owners and his form. Different teams have different state of minds at this point of time; RR after being crushed in 3 games won 4 in a row and made their presence felt; Delhi lost its way in between but are back on winning track. MI has started IPL-3 as Mr Ambani would have forecasted the profits before venturing into any business that is huge profits; they are looking good but want to see the team perform if the openers went out for cheap and one of the 3 strike bowlers didn’t fire up. DC is a good team much like Black caps who are no short of eligibility but loose the game at crucial juncture but still love watching the cohesiveness of the team.

KKR is the team which every one is looking forward to; they have re-branded themselves post Buchanan era and started the campaign with 2 wins and lost the way out in 3 and are in mix shades. The fear of failure is haunting them and they need to play fearless cricket. Lots of chatter bout Ganguly and his leadership skills but even at the age of 38 he still has point or so to prove which he did while batting like Ganguly of 2000 against DC.

Next leg of this IPL is going to be more interesting as all the teams know their targets and the requirement to reach the Semis. Like CSK would have to win atleast next 4 or 5 out their 6 allotted matches. These contests would be close fought and only the balanced teams would make it to top 4.

Meanwhile apart from IPL in the neighboring state; another storm has hit its cricket after slicing and dicing the administration now its time to do the same with the team members as well; Mohmmad Yusuf has announced his retirement once again; There is nothing unusual about that, except that few others before him actually announced it that way. Guess this is the final time he is doing it; although sports do have history of people making comebacks Many great players across eras have retired and returned. Jordan did and Schumacher has and Yousuf's great countryman Imran did. While you never know what tomorrow brings in Pakistan cricket, you cannot help get the feeling that this is it for an extremely classy player, who for all his grace and style and runs always had a cloud hovering above him. So with Inzamam gone, and presumably Younis and Yousuf too, you have to wonder who will carry the legacy of great Test batsmen from Pakistan.

Pakistan loves being in news may it be through its terrorism or through sports; this week Pakistan's Out of favor former captain Shoaib Malik & Overrated Indian tennis hottie Sania Mirza who is news more because of her T-shirts rather than her game; walked in front of media and promised to get married . This opened up a new Pandora's box for Shoaib Malik who is already married to some one here in Hyderabad. Lets wait and watch if his continuous efforts of being Damad (Son-in-law) of India materializes or not. A fact that Malik in the same manner that Pakistan denies its role in 26/11 and the fact that it has had its ass handed to it in 1971 and 1999.

It sounds ridiculous to be reprimanded and fined for speaking your mind; Gambhir’s statement did mention what was reality. To fine who would mean that cricketers would not be able to speak their mind and we would all the more boring comments like the way we get it in Newspaper columns supposedly written by players. Guess some one needs to argue on this policy and get it right. Diplomacy does not bring out the truth and real situation.

Last but not the least Midway into season three of the Indian Premier League, the dollar signs have got larger, the hype louder and the gossip and side stories even more complicated. This year's tournament has been almost taken over by the numbers being discussed for next year and the drama being anticipated as the IPL jumps orbits from eight teams to 10.

Two new franchises were sold on March 21 Pune went to the Sahara business group for US$370 million, and the Rendezvous Sports World consortium won the rights to Kochi for US$333 million. That aside, all IPL teams will now be allowed to spend up to US$7 million a year each to recruit players. This would include money spent on direct hiring, retaining some of the players contracted for the first three seasons - subject to rules to be framed by the IPL council - and buying new players at a razzmatazz sequel to the inaugural auction in Mumbai in February 2008. The new cap is US$2 million above the previous one.

Finally, with the next round of auctions would be in September, most of the young Indian players are, quietly and not-so-subtly, lobbying for a place with the Chennai Super Kings. Just the way the quickest way to a man’s heart is not through his stomach, it’s now common knowledge that the quickest way to the Indian team is not through the Ranjis. It’s through the Chennai Super Kings team. Vijay, Badri, Balaji, Goni, Tyagi, Ashwin to name the last few.

You can love IPL or you can hate it, but you can’t ignore it. And that’s just the way Lalit Modi likes it.

Lights, Camera & Its Action !!!

This is what a fan like me always looking forward to; some slam bang matches & lots of glamour around the whole event. Yeah Ladies & Gentleman IPL season 3 is here; 45 days non-stop action and which gradually builds up to World Cup 20/20.

Amid all the speculations of security, players association revolting, terror threats, battle with news channels, battle with estranged state and moving for home games from Hyderabad to some where else. You name it and controversies are up a galore. The moral of the story is Mr. Modi knows his way of getting things done; some might want to call him an arm twister; but these are words for them to eat up coz…IPL 3 is here to stay and make a bigger impact with all the innovation done around.

With IPL in fray; one would want to argue that Tests matches are getting affected as we are loosing manyy greats to T-20. In my view Tests are holding their own fort while ODIs haven’t lost their youth yet but we all are anxiously waiting for IPL for begin as this Cricket’s current future. As this season promises lot of drama, emotions on field and more so off the field.

There will be much innovation off the field: new entertainers, new broadcast ideas. But what matters and would be interesting is the innovations on the ground. The IPL & 20/20 is still a lot of work in progress; which is not as mature as test matches. We all have embraced the scope over fine leg & slow loopy bouncers. Including element of surprise should be the modusoprandy which some time is missing and batters are ready for almost anything which would come out of bowlers hand. I would be watching and waiting for the time when batsmen set themselves up for a slower ball and think of faster ball as a variation; making fast bowling all the more exciting prospect.

Meanwhile the scoop gets even more dramatic, and all those who worried about broken jaws are still being proved wrong. Brendon McCullum against Australia was perhaps the most dramatic of all, playing the falling scoop in a manner that Rohan Kanhai, who played the peculiar but effective "falling sweep", would have been proud of. The scoop is getting finer in placement, now occasionally being played back over the keeper's head and sometimes even to third man. I'd like to look at a wagon wheel at the end of every match, to see whether the new V is outscoring the traditional one.

But there is little doubt that it is becoming important to possess the scoop, or even the paddle. But guys like Cameron white; Keiron Pollard; Yousuf pathan wont mind that as they are capable of clearing the grounds at will. There are lots of things to look forward to during this IPL. Will the Switch hit take the center stage; will batsmen would bat both right & left handed or would the bowlers bowl a ball which would never rise; the list goes on.

With all these things stored in this seasons IPL 3; it’s the uncertainty of this format which defines the more excitement. Game on Mr. Modi.

In Real; I mean in Reality - 'Only God bats better then Him"

Yep folks you all got it correct; its none other than Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar; who we are talking about immensely since the day he scored 200; nothing comes to my mind but the days when I was at NDTV studio just after the day when Australia won 2007 World Cup.

We were all discussing why India lost and blaming one player or the other and I was pretty much vocal about Sachin retiring from the game. I was debating none other than Ajay Jadeja & Navjot Singh Sidhu. Rarely did we all envisage that this day would come when he would prove me and millions like me wrong on the statements we made back in 2007. Every body wrote so much about him right from the day he entered International Cricket, World Cup 1992, his heroics in 1996 World Cup, his battle for the lost cause in 1999 against Pakistan at Chennai. His 6 over 3rd man of Shoaib Akhtar at 155 kph + speed; till the time he scored the first double hundred in 2010.

There is a lot to write about him like the way he didn’t play Single Cover drive during his marathon 248* innings against Australia at Sydney in 2003-04. Lot of people would argue with the fact that Sachin has never played a match finishing innings or an innings when his team would require the most of him, but mind you; he has played hell lot of innings where India have won comfortably without any hassles. In short the list of achievements is long and guess I am not qualified yet to even comment on his greatness. What impress me about Sachin is his sheer work ethic and hard work and discipline towards his profession. Mind you the talent in an individual would give you a good opening but from there onwards its just the sheer hard work & discipline which would give you consistency. Its speaks volumes about the individual who peels of centuries with so much ease and when ever he walks out to bat; century is just an incident rather being a milestone.

I would leave you all with the compilation of quote found on facebook guess this would be an apt post after his 200* in a ODI.

Hashim Amla:
“Nothing bad can happen to us if we’re on a plane in India with Sachin
Tendulkar on it.”
Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a
flight

Yaseer Hameed:
“Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and
Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job.”

“To Sachin, the man we all want to be”
- What Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially
for Sachin

BBC on Sachin:
Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there
is something we don’t know, something beyond scientific measure. Something
that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even
those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When
he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their
lives “


“But the finest compliment must be that bookmakers would not fix the odds -
or a game - until Tendulkar was out.”


“Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?” Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq
when the latter dropped Sachin’s catch.


Brian Charles Lara:
“Sachin is a genius. I’m a mere mortal.”

Mark Taylor:
“We did not lose to a team called India…we lost to a man called Sachin” -
Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)
M. L. Jaisimha:
“The more I see of him the more confused I’m getting to which is his best
knock.”

Glenn McGrath:
“The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which
he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility -
all make for a one-in-a-billion individual,”

Anjali
“I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute
longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out
there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play,”

Matt HAYDEN:
“I HAVE SEEN GOD, HE BATS AT NO.4 FOR INDIA”


“Even my father’s name is Sachin Tendulkar.”
– Tendulkar’s daughter, Sara, tells her class her father’s name after the
teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai


KUMBLE:
“I am fortunate that I’ve to bowl at him only in the nets!”


Shahrukh (quoting Shahrukh from an interview)
“Que: Who do you think as most important celebrity ?
Shahrukh: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket were
invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan.
Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the GENIUS!!”


Navjot Singh Sidhu:
“India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par
Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte..”


Waqar Younis
“He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also.”
A banner once said-’ I WILL SEE GOD WHEN I DIE BUT TILL THEN I WILL SEE
SACHIN ‘ that quiet defines Sachin-The greatest.


Allan Donald:
“Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has
many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the
world”And i remember reading in one of Allan Donald’s interview.
This interview was in Cricket Talk 7-8 yrs ago.
“I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from
point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) tobe alert and i know a way to pin Sachin. And i delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delivery outside off stump. And i shouted catch.
To my astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best I have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec.
To get his wicket better not prepare. At least u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries.”


Peter Rebouck, Aussie journalist
“On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations.
The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century.
This Genius can stop time in India!!”


NKP Salve, former Union Minister (This was when he was accused of ball tempering)
“Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to
politics. It’s clear discrimination. “


Andy Flower:
“There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the
others.
This brought a tear ..its easy to get caught in the hype and the halo effect and all..but seeing is believing! This are the tributes when he is still playing for India. I shudder to think what will happen if he quits. Not just cricket.

Security Fears, Sachin on Everest - 200, IPL 2010, Hockey world Cup & Budget it’s all happening !!!!

Frankly one of the most exciting times for India. Its all happening here; you name it and that’s here. On one hand country needs to stand up to its reputation of providing secured environment compared to the country in neighborhood. On other we all are celebrating our No.1 Test Status and above all fantastic feet achieved by the only great in the game; that is climbing the mountain of 200* in One-day match. Surely this is the beginning and there are lots of others who would follow him in future but the Sachin is the first one to open the doors. He is in remarkable touch, 4 centuries in last 4 test and 200*; There is no further debate on his greatness – Story ends he is best batsmen to ever set foot on playing field.

While I write this Organizers of two major sporting events in India currently have to live up to the standards expected of them. It is the matter of building a reputation, which becomes the benchmark. Accordingly the IPL is surrounded with a variety of issues, from threats of disruption to threats to life. We all know let it be EPL or Champions league – Man U would play Chelsea or Liverpool would play to AC Milan in 2011-12 season. But people down there in Europe don’t realize how blessed they are to have reached this benchmark that no one can threaten to cancel these scheduled events. Less than 10 days before the IPL opener there could still be changes to the schedule as political turmoil and the inevitable whiff of terrorism come calling. It is an unhappy situation and calls for different approaches.

Even as you read this, a terror outfits is probably planning to target a Soccer World Cup in South Africa or Football in the United States. Once you face up to that reality, then it's easy to see why the Indian Premier League won't be moved out of India this year. These threats cannot be taken seriously as it may be one outfit threatening to disrupt the events today or it may be another sleeper cell targeting another sporting event tomorrow; we cannot surrender to these threats and eventually succumb to them. But we can do here is to learn out of this and try and have Plan B or Plan C or even Plan D if required to counter these threats. The idea is as simple like a T-20 game; Think on your feet and get something working out of this. In a way I like Mr. Lalit Modi my first impression was that he was acting as a Dictator during his days of conflict with ICL. But I do respect him a lot today because of his Management Skills, Financial Acumen and above all he is the man to look up to in the times of Crises. He did prove his Crisis Management skills when Indian government wasn’t able to guarantee security to IPL and he within no time moved the whole tourney to South Africa; just too- good that’s the definition to Modi’s Heroics; no body matches him on this front of Administration.

Indian Government should think of hiring Mr. Modi & Mr. Shahrukh Khan to revive Indian Hockey; whereas former is a fantastic Administrator (unarguably the Sachin of Sports Administration) and later is good at mentoring and motivating players; this killer Combo would bring Hockey back to its Old Glory days.

First, Modi correctly points out that "Nobody in the world can safeguard the safety of the players in any tournament. All we have to do is ensure we are putting on the best security". Indeed, there might be arguments over this but there can be no guarantees about the player’s ultimate safety. Unless Mussad from Israel is there to guarantee one for the visiting players. Secondly foreign community needs to realize that it is an Indian Tournament and needs to be staged here. If you look at the advertising promos for the third season of the IPL which starts on 12 March, the emphasis is very much on the Indianness of the event. Modi mentions very correctly that the replacement list with IPL is long in case any of these players plan to drop out. Modi has done all he could do. Burning Midnight oil to make sure everything is in place. One should look at out for Late night tweets from Lalit Modi & Sudar Raman (CEO of IPL) shows how committed these guys are to make this whole event a hassle free affair. Behind the scenes, negotiations over the player’s security demands will carry on.

In spite of it all, sport needs to exist, to flourish because it is one of the few things that bring a smile through honest efforts; The IPL seeks to entertain, and that is why it needs to be strong. Cricket must evolve and the IPL, and the Indian consumer, is at the heart of this evolution. As a part of this evolution I do like the innovative strategy breaks and different nomenclature assigned to boundaries to name a few. But eventually it brings a smile. I hope it is not disturbed, for the sake of Game, Humanity & greater feel-good factor in the world we are in, and are heading into.

Threat perceptions are different from individual to individual. If a player decides not leaving a young family behind him so be it and I am sure lot of us would respect this gesture. On the other hand if we all gave up to these threats and danced on their tunes it would be unfair and injustice to sporting community and fans across the Globe. As its rightly mentioned in Holy Gita that “it’s a sin to commit Terror, Injustice and Violence on the innocent but it’s a bigger sin to accept these atrocities and do nothing about it”. I would want to follow this and so is Mr. Modi following it. More importantly if something does go wrong with IPL this year then the belief of international community would be vindicated but above all most importantly Innocent individuals would lose their lives. We as a country are ready to take this risk as we are brave enough to face it.

Last but not the least; Please save paper and save trees. This is my contribution towards the environment we live in. All these efforts of IPL to be staged in India would go in vain if we don’t protect our nature. We need good pollution free environment to apprecaite sports as the game would be more visible in Pollution free environment.