I had stayed awake for the IPL Auctions for one reason and one reason only. And that was to watch live my favorite team KKR display its razor sharp acumen in the same way that it does every year. They did not disappoint me of course—– buying, at the highest possible price, Shane Bond, who was cannon fodder last time he played in the ICL and whose propensity for break-downs reminds of the song from Kishen Kanhaiyya ‘Band ke saath o Mama, tum break dance dikhlana, breakdown ho jaaye, par tum break lagana” . I am sure SRK must have had his reasons—maybe someone told him to invest in bond markets, maybe his kids love James Bond and he bought Shane Bond by mistake, maybe he will have a “My Name is Bond/My Name is Khan” tie-in or maybe the auction theory experts that KKR hired just felt this was a game-theoretically proper decision. I was kind of hoping for those that favored Butt and Gayle to see the wisdom in getting Poleard and Pornell. But what to do?
But the KKR-fun was dwarfed by the other story of the night. No I am not talking about Bangalore once again playing its cards excellently but of the mass thappad given on the faces of the Pakistani players. Now putting on my unemotional, rational hat this was something that could totally have been avoided. The franchisees and the IPL administration knew very well, beforehand, the security implications of having Pakistani players on team rosters. Given that, there was no need for this drama. There was nothing to prevent the IPL bosses from politely saying no to the PCB like last time, citing inability to guarantee security, except of course their own vacillations and the divergent pulls of different considerations (the Pakistani market vs the possibility of incidents). If the IPL had acted, firmly either way, this tension need not have been created, a sad of state of affairs that puts on the backfoot track 2 diplomacy attempts between the two countries.
Now since we are talking about a country who about a year before butchered our citizens and who allow the perpetrators of that crime against humanity to walk their streets amidst adulation and approbation, allow me to throw my rational hat onto the dust.
Let me tell my readers this. If you want peace and harmony and political correctness, go to the Aman people.
For those that havent left yet, here is what I felt when none of the franchises bid for Pakistani players. I felt happy. Perhaps unintentionally and through pure mismanagement, the IPL franchises have done what our government could not pull of. It has given a resounding slap– jiska goonj bahoot din tak sunaai dega. Without the embarrassment of troop-buildups from which everyone and their uncle knows that nothing will come out of.
This snub has drilled into Pakistan that thing that burns them up so much. Namely that “India call the shots because they have the money”, the extent of which can be realized when Parnell, hired for the Delhi Daredevils for 610K USD, says that his idol is Ashish Nehra. Yes that’s the extent of India’s financial muscle.
If we had had a quiet word with the PCB before the auction, I am quite sure that Afridi and the likes would say ” We are not for sale. The IPL is not challenging. The KFC Big Bash was a better tournament. Plus we want to concentrate on our country commitments” and Pakistani supporters would say “We care a shit for India.” Now of course with the sight of Afridi and the gang standing on the street side in leather skirts and heels and pouting desperately, hoping to be picked up, and with the Indian franchises driving past them without rolling down their windows, even Pakistanis, who otherwise say that they defeated India in every war they fought with us, will find it a bit tough to spin this as a “glorious Pakistani” victory.
Some may say that these people were participating in the IPL as individuals and not as representatives of the country. I would disagree. It is because of their performances as representatives of Pakistan that they are being considered for selection. Some may say that these are some of the best players in the world and demand a minimum amount of respect. Well from a personal point of view, for this group of players, I have little sympathy. If this included Wasim Akram, my all-time favorite idol, I would perhaps react differently because for me, he is simply the greatest bowler I have seen and I don’t care where he is from. Yes I know. I am not being consistent here. But didn’t I just throw my logical cap on the ground?
And what makes this so entertaining has been to see the reactions of Zaheer Abbas and Abdul Quadir and of course our eternal favorite, Javed Miandad, who has been frothing so much at the mouth asking for ICC to take-over the IPL and then articulating the national fear of India when he says “I fear a day will come when world cricket will be run by India alone, so I fear if Australia, England, Sri Lanka and the West Indies don’t realise this, world cricket will be at the mercy of India.” in such a transparent expression of unbridled jealousy that one cannot but smile. And what makes one laugh out loud is when the man who has married an offspring into the family of the biggest mafia in the world calls IPL a “mafia”
Fear not. Just get Kasab to claim that Afridi is an Indian by the name of Dhwajadhari Basu Bhowmick and the problem is solved.
But till that happens, to paraphrase Mithun-da from “Classic Dance of Love” —“Yeh snub naheen, humare krodh ka rang hai. Chatega isse?”
[Reminder: Please do try to attend the Delhi book event if you can.]
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
iPod is mine
O what thrill it is to bag the first comment on Thy post, Greatbong!
Ha ha, nice one 🙂
Afridi has also threatened to grow big beard to scare shameless people like GreatBong 😛 – http://www.fakingnews.com/2010/01/shahid-afridi-threatens-to-grow-big-beard-to-avenge-ipl-snub/
Nice one 🙂
But beware, Afridi has threatened to grow big beard to scare the shit out of Indians 😛
Happiness was indeed the feeling after the relevation (of the rebuff) – truely IPL did what the govt cant/wont. We as a country and people surprise ourselves, dont we?
oh damn
“I felt happy… It has given a resounding thappad– jiska goonj bahoot din tak sunaai dega.”
Yes! One of the most satisfying news of Jan 2010 has been The Thappad. And to add more happiness, check this out- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Cong-BJP-unite-in-blasting-Pak-over-IPL/articleshow/5489614.cms
Two thumbs-up to the sharp bipartisan reproach!
Yeh iPod ka kya chakkar hai bhai log???
I am once again – as usual in complete agreement with your thoughts – For some perverted reason – I enjoyed the “snub” – “too much” 🙂
Looks like all Modis trained to insult Pakistan.(???)
I liked the Kasab Line.
right thing about Akram…. the best !
Totally agree…. a well deserved thappad!
I think you were in some doubt – whether it was Miandad’s son or daughter, so conveniently settled for offspring ????
Well, I didn’t expect someone like you to write an anti-Pakistan post like this, but full marks for your honesty.
I am a Pakistani who visits India so often that some friends jokingly call me an Indian or tell me to marry an Indian since I love India so much. I am one of the people who wish for ‘aman’ between the two South Asian neighbours, and I also viciously criticise our military establishment, intelligence agencies and ‘non-state actors’ for cross border terrorism (it is on record, as my columns and editorials are regularly published in Pakistani newspapers and are also on my blog). That said, I don’t think that sports should be used to score points, whether inadvertently or by design. Shahid Afridi or the other 10 Pakistani players are not responsible for what the establishment or terrorists decide to do. No, I am not washing my hands off of the cross-border terrorist network, but I still don’t think that by humiliating the players, the IPL has served the Indian nation’s interests. We have a Mumbai-like attack every day, and yes it’s because our own Frankenstein monster is coming to haunt us but even then the people of Pakistan were not responsible for the creation of the Taliban; the establishment was. Still, we are paying for it. India is no saint either when it comes to proxy wars and cross-border terrorism. What about Kashmir Singh and Sarabjit Singh and many others like them? But does this mean that the people of Pakistan start getting happy if anything bad happens in India or to Indians? My former boss, Mr Imtiaz Alam, was attacked by our agencies when he spoke out against the Mumbai attacks. Three days after 26/11 he went live on Geo TV and said that Pakistani non-state actors were behind it, after which our agencies attacked him as a warning. But that did not deter him or others like him to speak in favour of India and against our establishment. By writing a post like this, you’re making a mockery out of people like him who have had to sacrifice their own well-being just so that there is peace between the two neighbouring states. You are undermining our efforts. Do you really want a full-fledged war between two nuclear states? Because if there is no dialogue between the two countries, either there will be a war or a continuation of such attacks. Peace between India and Pakistan will mean peace in the whole region.
If only the people of these two countries can pressurise their governments and military establishments to stop all this nonsense and let things be normal would this whole cycle of terrorism end.
“..with the sight of Afridi and the gang standing on the street side in leather skirts and heels and pouting desperately, hoping to be picked up…”
truly demented stuff!!! LOL.
@ Abhay,
The first one to post a comments gets a personally autographed iPod from GB. I think he signs it with a permanent marker.
From http://www.dailypioneer.com/231173/IPL-has-added-to-MEA-options.html –
“Thus far civil society pressure has been interpreted as a nudge to Governments in India to make unilateral concessions. The IPL experience suggests a section of civil society is conveying a very different message. It is sceptical of the practicability of meaningful engagement with Pakistan in the near future. Without going into whether this is good or bad, right or wrong, it has to be recognised that this message is a reality.”
I agree with what Mehmal said. Wrong place to score brownie points, especially for a country that wants to like it handles things maturely. That having said, if you’ve given it back-channel support, have the balls to admit it.
Having said that, good post and a fun read. I find myself usually disagreeing with you, but I quite like what you write!
pak should be included in the team because it is just a sport. take everything sportive.
Even in sporting terms I can not see the earth shattering loss IPL3 will face if Pak players are not in the team. Afridi two years back was a useless member of the team who ended up ridiculing his captain (VVS) once the tournament was over.
Mohammed Asif, the star bowler before M Amer came along, did not do any wonders for Delhi. The only wonder he did was to carry drugs on his person and get caught at Dubai.
Tanveer and Gul did do really well but then so did a lot of other players. Pakistan may play well as a team but by no stretch does that mean that as individuals they have a work ethic or team playing capabilities superior to the rest.
Scattered across teams they are as good or as bad as any one else.
It is surprising how their non-participation has got an entire nation worked up. There is a very apt phrase for it in Urdu – “begani shaadi mein abdullah diwana”.
Had Afridi, for instance, been bought he would have been paid anywhere between USD 250-750k. How would that benefit Zaheer Abbas, Rameez, Miandad and countless others burning effigies is beyond me. If at all it is a huge financial loss for a few individuals. Insult to a nation, balls!
Having said that I still feel this should have been avoided. I disagree with you when you say:
“…Well from a personal point of view, for this group of players, I have little sympathy….”
It is not a question of sympathy. You may not respect them, you may even ignore them but nothing justifies deliberate insult to any individual.
But as a famous line goes – jab jab jo jo hota hai tab tab woh woh hota hai…the only thing to do now is to follow Sholay where Veeru tells Jai (or the other way round): “partner ab bol hi diya hai to dekh lenge”.
to Mehmal- what a load of bollocks –
We are in a war, what part of that do fools like Krishnamoorthy not realise? They are more concerned about cricket and being pious beings rather than behaving like a nation with a modicum of common sense and self respect. The Pakistani establishment sends 100’s of jihadis every year to kill us, the Indian Army, through blood and sweat stops them. Even so, enough come in for a series of attacks in India, or have the Krishnamurthys and fake ids eg Bala, Adrian etc any idea on how India should just roll over, for the sake of the warriors of Allah?
Mehmel & co, you might want to ask Sohail Tanveer as to what he said recently about hindus – “these hindus showed their character” – this is an interview just a few days back
Basically, for all your peace talk and posturing about nuclear war, the fact is you guys cant do diddly squat to us beyond terrorism. Thats what makes you think you folks are even players. But that does not mean we recognise and even reward your establishment for these policies.
The IPL slap was a long overdue one to Pakistan, which seems to have a belief that it can get away with anything, a sense of entitlement that it can at the same time, spew religious bigotry eg Sohail Tanveer, marry into a mafia cartel which attacks a neighbouring state – eg Javed Miandad, have a relative even be a jihadi eg Afridis cousin shot by the BSF….and hey, India shouldnt mind, its business as usual.
Heres a message to Pakistan, you sow what you reap.
Mehmal – for all the ‘sweet nothings’ you spelt out – Thanks but No Thanks.
And yea folks, watch out for those “peace loving non-state actors” come paragliding over IPL matches… I am sure, they have IPL on the target..this time.
@kautilya – “peace loving non-state actors” – like times of india ???
@ Akash : Fools like Krishnamoorthys don’t understand that part of being in a war which you make better with your uninformed hyper-nationalistic rhetoric.
KKR also stands for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Guess where iamsrk derives his investment prowess from?!
If sports and politics didn’t mix, South Africa wouldn’t have been boycotted during the apartheid years.
“By writing a post like this, you’re making a mockery out of people like him who have had to sacrifice their own well-being”
With all due respect, what level of influence do people like him have in Pakistan? We’ve heard too many lovey-dovey things in the past – Aman ki Asha is not the first such naive attempt to broker peace. But it’s never worked. If people like him can’t do anything to actually bring about peace in concrete terms, how does it matter to us what he writes and what he doesn’t? And let’s not forget, if you have an Imtiaz Alam, there’s also a Zaid Hamid.
Pakistan regularly makes much worse than a mockery of India through its cross-cultural ambassadors of goodwill like Kasab, but that never bothered the land of the pure so far. Now a snub in the IPL and everyone’s got their knickers in a twist. Where’s the sense of proportion?
It’s funny, Pakistan wants to protect the terrorists who attack India, and at the same time expects India to be magnanimous enough to let their cricketers in a tournament we run. Sorry, our magnanimity has limits, and Pakistan should know that.
Face it, this is a market and India has the money. We call the shots, and if you want our money, stop killing our people.
“Because if there is no dialogue between the two countries, either there will be a war or a continuation of such attacks”
Regular dialogue was taking place till 26/11. That was also the period when we had bimonthly attacks in India. The dialogue stopped after 26/11, and so did the attacks. I’m not saying there is a direct correlation between talks and attacks, but there definitely is NOT an inverse correlation between them.
Great bong has more often then not taken a very moderate and correct stand on lot of communal issues that plague our society from time to time. In fact i must confess that initially i used to find it a little difficult agreeing to your views as i myself was a little less moderate in my views. Your articles have contributed a lot in changing my opinion (in a positive way) towards such issues.
But i find this article a little aberration on your part, may be its because you are releasing a book and holding a popular opinion and voicing it might just help in selling more books.
India has taken over Cricket just as the great bong has taken over blogging!!!
I am tickled funny over the furore over the weak IPL decision.
Pakistan, Pakistanis and Pakistani-sponsored Jihadis have butchered tens of thousands of Indians (mostly Hindus) over the past 30 years. And the Ummah ignores, condones or facilitates more such massacres.
In return, India gives them a weak Thapad in the form of the IPL snub. And all hell breaks loose. Sadly, this just goes to show what a “soft state” India has become.
Mehmel wrote: “If only the people of these two countries can pressurise their governments and military establishments to stop all this nonsense and let things be normal would this whole cycle of terrorism end.”
Mehmel, in return for Jihadi terrorism, would you rather that India drop a few bombs instead of a non-violent cricketing snub? Just kidding.;)
I do realise you are a good person at heart and have a conscience. So, instead of making vacuous statements like the one above, please do stop and ponder over the root cause of the problem – “Why is Pakistan behaving like a Arabia-wannabe, instead of discovering its consanguineous roots with ‘Kafir’ India?”
Even rationally speaking, there is nothing wrong in what the franchises have done. Look at the Pakistani players who were up for auction:
Afridi: IPL1 – Batting avg 10.1! Plus attitude problems (got into a
slanging match with his captain). Why would any franchise touch
him with a barge pole?
Misbah: IPL1 – Batting avg 16.7.
Imran Nazir: Isn’t even playing odi’s for Pakistan.
Abdul Razzaq: Spent two years in ICL and since his comeback averaged
20 in odi’s and has been dropped.
Kamran Akmal: Batting average of 27 in odi’s.
Umar Gul: Injury prone.
Sohail Tanvir: Did well in IPL1, but hasn’t been in good form of late.
Didn’t play much in the World T20 and isn’t part of the current odi
team.
And then a bunch of youngsters, who may be talented, but unproven.
Add to this the uncertainty about their participation, the fact that they
withdrew from last year’s IPL, it is foolish to expect that any
franchise will have any of them on the top of their list.
As for the argument of, “if they were not welcome, then they should not have been included in the auction” – that is rubbish. There were 53 other players who were part of the auction and not signed up by any franchise. It is an auction and you never know how it will turn out. As Mallya said, if they had not got Morgan at that price, they may have considered Akmal or someone else. Why should IPL deny either the franchises or the players of that option?
@Mehmal,
Appreciate your comment.
Now to reply to a few points you raised.
“even then the people of Pakistan were not responsible for the creation of the Taliban;”
You may want to look at the NYTimes video article on Pakistani rock bands to see the level of popular support for the Taliban in Pakistan. I am sorry I just feel that a grassroots movement like the Taliban cannot be sustained without popular support. It is true that people prefer the Taliban focus their attention on us and the USA and not on them but then again if you start and add fuel to a fire in your background, it is tough to tell it what to burn and what to spare.
In order to draw an equivalence between Pakistan and India, you mention Kashmir and Sarabjit. First Sarabjit. The evidence against Sarabjit is of the flimsiest type, nothing for instance in comparison to what we have on Kasab. And then there is the small matter of 26/11 and what allegedly Sarabjit did. Add to that Kargil and the safe haven Pakistan provides to Dawood and the yearly bomb-blasts and you realize that you have to come up with something stronger than that to show the equivalence between India and Pakistan.
As to Kashmir, thats a political problem. Mentioning it in this context makes little sense does it?
“people of Pakistan start getting happy if anything bad happens in India or to Indians”
We arent getting happy at anything bad happening to the people of Pakistan. We are just saying “we do not want your people playing here in our domestic tournament” given your complicity in acts of terror. How does that translate to “wanting bad for people of Pakistan”. Personally, all I expect Pakistan to do is not to send agents like Kasab or airborne Jihadis into the country and if they do not, I am fine with you guys.
“By writing a post like this, you’re making a mockery out of people like him who have had to sacrifice their own well-being just so that there is peace between the two neighbouring states. You are undermining our efforts. Do you really want a full-fledged war between two nuclear states?”
Why would not selecting Afridi in IPL start a full-fledged war? If we had Afridi playing in KKR, would the LET have returned their hand-gliders within 90 days of purchase and say in the style of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron “Maine India ko tabahee karne ka plan drop kar di hai”. The Pakistani proxy war against India will continue regardless of whether Kamran Akmal or Umar Gul are in the IPL or not.
If you would care to look through my archived posts, I have always maintained that war is not the solution. Not because it is politically correct to say so, but because in the 21st century, fighting a conventional war will never lead to victory. Example: Iraq and Afghanistan.
“If only the people of these two countries can pressurise their governments and military establishments to stop all this nonsense and let things be normal would this whole cycle of terrorism end”
Very admirable sentiment. And there are fine initiatives underway in this “people pressurizing governments” category. I personally do not believe in them mainly because 1) they have never worked in the past and 2) this bhai-bhai bonhomie is usually the smokescreen behind which attacks are planned against India (e.g. Kargil).
If people want to pressurize the government, here is an idea. Why don’t your people pressurize the Pakistani government to bring to justice the perps of 26/11? Surely if they were ‘non-state actors’ who have the universal condemnation of an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis, that wont be a difficult thing to do? We are not asking for a slice of Kashmir or anything—just that the people behind a mass murder are brought to justice. Let’s first see that happen.
“I didn’t expect someone like you to write an anti-Pakistan post like this”
Curious. What is special about me? If you mean to say that the opinions I hold are not fashionable in Indian intellectual circles, I will be the first one to agree. But then again I am not an ‘intellectual’ as the word has unfortunately come to mean in an Indian context and I would like to keep it that way.
Concluding, I sincerely appreciate your opinions and though I disagree with most of what you said (as I am sure you have disagreed with me) I am thankful you took the time out to comment.
Mohan,
Afridi was in terrific form in the KFC Big Bash and had an excellent T20 World Cup. As to attitude problems, he isnt the only one in the cricket world with a monster ego (Yuvraj reportedly lost his captaincy for having ‘attitude problems’ but not his place in the team) and he didnt have any flareups in South Australia. Umar Akmal is the hottest new batting sensation in the world today who is a natural stroke-maker and should have been in a shoo-in ahead of Morgan if politics was not involved. So I do not agree that there were cricketing reasons why none of the Pakistanis were bid for.
From the time I read your post on Sachin that was forwarded to me by my daughter, I check this site every day as a routine. Now I know why, there is absolute alignment of thought. Way to go GB. If there is a reading of your book in Chennai, I will surely be there GB.All the best.
Loved your reply to Mehmal…hats off to you!
GB, you are bang on target again….. Same feelings here.
Another current example of India’s soft state policy:
Pakistani Jihadi gets a mere 6 years imprisonment for terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir
@greatbong Fitting reply to Mehmal!!
A load of bull aimed at generating more warm applause from sycophantic readers…I can already see the glowing reviews your book is going to get…
This is what happens when you have so many ‘fans’…you start believing in your ability to be what others want…like that hilarious post you did n generating more traffic to blogs…and you take potshots at SRK hehehe.
BTW what happened with the IPL auction was ludicrous and in very bad taste. If you didn’t ant to select anyone from Pak…you shouldn’t have included them in the list in the first place. Talk about inviting people for dinner and telling them to go fuck yourselves.
I love the holier than thy attitude prevalent here – and most everywhere – where we are supposed to be beyond reproach and Pakistan is responsible for every ills in our country. Kargil, terrorism, n so on on so forth…but we shouldn’t be talkin about Khairlanji style massacre n discrimination (terrorism actually)..cz they are internal problems.
Sorry for writing.
All the best for your stupendous and masterful book.
Rahul
Off the tangent, but interesting statement:
When we cannot protect our own citizens, how can we guarantee that there wouldn’t be any more terrorist hits in India, says Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani.
_Khairlanji style massacre n discrimination (terrorism actually).._
huh?
Hi Arnab da,
I have been a regular reader here, but commenting for the 1st time. I’m really glad you chose the “politically incorrect” line and posted your thoughts on this issue.
It is high time India did send out a message to Pakistan – being Mr. Nice Guy does not work any more. We have tried “peace-building processes”, “people-to-people contact” and such stuff as “Aman Ki Asha” since a very long time. Nothing fruitful has come of it. As long as Pakistan keeps giving shelter to 26/11 perpetrators saying “India did not give sufficient evidence”, what is the point of so-called Pakistan moderates saying “non-state actors” are doing it, we face it every day in Pakistan, so don’t target us. I mean, “What F***ing Bullshit?” If you guys can’t control your own “non-state actors” why should India be nice to Pakistanis? Get your own house in order first and then you’ll be welcome here. Or do you want the Indian army to help you control your “non-state actors” – I’m pretty sure they’ll be glad to help, just ask us!
Why should the hard-earned money of the cricket-watching people in stadiums of Mumbai, Kolkata, etc go into the pockets of Pakistani nationals like Afridi. And it is not like he’ll die of hunger otherwise – he has enough sources of income. Why the hell should we care? Until and unless, the Pakistani government brings the perpetrators to justice, there’s no question of India welcoming Pakistanis. If the Pakistani cricket team wants IPL contracts, they might as well stage a “protest” outside their Government’s offices to “force their hand” to take concrete steps against terrorism.
Some of you say, cricket and politics should not mix – politics was involved even in Olympics in Berlin, you cannot keep it out. Some things are far greater than sports like cricket – many many armymen and common people have lost their lives due to terror attacks on India, there are many of us who would not want those jehadis’ brethren to get financial rewards from India.
Again, some say “what about internal attacks?” – yes, we do have Naxal attacks and various other internal forces – and most people are against it. But that does NOT mean we condone what Pakistan does and therefore allow them equal opportunity for everything here in India. For India, Pakistan is a different case to all other countries in this world and their nationals will be treated differently by us, until we are sure that the Pakistan govt is taking all steps to curb anti-India terrorism in its state. It’s a fact – Live with it!
It’s kinda ridiculous that while India doesn’t really say they are not going to have sporting relations with Pakistan (India and Pak are playing under-19 world cup right now), they are doing this kind of tamasha. I wouldn’t care either way if Pakistani players are not selected. It’s not likely to affect the terrorism issue either way. If Mr. Afridi’s cousin is going to kill Indian civilians he is going to do it whether afridi is playing in IPL or not. It’s not like LET is going to repent now that Indians did a ‘katti’ with their brothers from other mother. A while back, I used to wonder if India is serious about the terrorism issue. Now I don’t. I know for a fact they are a soft state, too weak to rock the boat. Now IPL is insisting that it was purely based on cricketing reasons that paki’s were excluded(http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/current/story/445349.html)? If they are going to have balls, why don’t they say it loud and clear to Pakistan why their players were not chosen for IPL? Not that Pakistan wouldn’t know it, but it’s better to hear it from horse’s mouth.
Pollard became the most expensive..The winning bid was $2.75 Million Close to double of Dhoni….
http://cricket.ndtv.com/storypage/ndtv/id/spoen20100126634/Pollard_most_expensive_IPL_player.html
Ooooooo! I am loving it! I was actually thinking of writing to you and suggesting that you write about this, but glad you did so anyway. All the best for your book!
@gb, Afridi can’t be compared with Yuvraj, because with seven places available for Indians, Indian players are obviously more in demand than foreigners in IPL. Afridi’s attitude problem with Deccan was a major issue. You can’t get into that kind of verbal duel with your own captain and expect it to go unnoticed. And not just that, throughout the tournament he just didn’t seem to be interested. And it wasn’t him alone either. With the exception of Tanvir, none of the Pakistani players performed up to expectations in IPL1. And they had problems with their pay, the fact that they were benched for matches, etc. Maybe they just couldn’t get adjusted to the fact that they are playing in a tournament run by Indians. Maybe playing for a team full of “kaffirs” was a strange feeling for them, who knows. KFC Big Bash is different, because that is run by goras.
Add to that the uncertainty over their participation, their reneging on the contracts last year (that is the reason why they had to be re-auctioned this year, otherwise they would still have retained their 2008 contracts), Asif’s drug scandal, the fact that the dreaded Match Fixing is never far away from the Pakistan team (it had surfaced recently during the Sydney test with their own countrymen suspecting fixing) – there are perfectly valid reasons for franchises to not have them on the top of their list. And no, just because they are not on top of the list doesn’t mean they should not have been included in the auction in the first place. You just price in those risks when you are making the decision, that’s all.
and oh, Morgan had that terrific knock of 85 off 45 balls against South Africa in T20s. Akmal, while undoubtedly talented, hasn’t done anything close to that in limited overs cricket. It is not clear to me that he would have been a shoo-in ahead of Morgan.
Dude I remember I started reading you blog some 3 years ago, you used to be so funny…what happened to you now, your blogs have become so boring…I can read serious political commentries at many other places. Can you please write some funny ones like the old days for your humour fans ??
GB, here’s two thumbs up for you. For echoing the sentiment of a generation which has grown up watching the pseudo-seculars calling the shots. Pakistan exists because of its hatred towards India. Pakistan was supposed to be the beacon of the Muslim world but has fallen prey to Wahhabism and I truly believe that the day is very near when civil society in Pakistan will collapse. And I will be a happy individual for that. Long live Lalit Modi. And Narendra Modi for PM, anyone?
@gb: “There was nothing to prevent the IPL bosses from politely saying no to the PCB like last time, citing inability to guarantee security,”
That is factually incorrect too. IPL did not say no to PCB last time, it was the other way round. PCB did not allow its players to take part in the IPL last time, hence the franchises terminated their contracts. Once the event was shifted to South Africa, the players thought they could get a chance to come back in again, but IPL said the squads have already been finalised and can’t be changed now.
http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2009/content/story/399626.html
That is the most laughable aspect of this controversy. It was PCB’s action that led to their players losing their contracts in the first place and being put up for auction this year, but now the very PCB is shouting about their players being snubbed and taking the matter to ICC etc.
@ Rahul
Appreciate ur point of view as well but wud appreciate more if u did a bit more research…Wanna see how the Pakistanis feel abt ur brotherly approach Check this everyone
And from 4.16-4.20 listen to wat Sohail tanvir a supposed cricketer who isnt supposed to show “bad taste” or be “political” says…
“Hinduo ki zehniyat hi aisi he…dikha diya na kya kar sakte hay”
And check out the Pakistani media ppl discussing India as if we’re the big bully who’ve betrayed the Pakistani govt n “aam janta” by backstabbing them…
Kinda seems like a 5 yr old crying over a lollypop not handed to him and thus threatening not to go to school but….WHO THE HELL CARES!! 😀 😛
@ GB
Two things:-
1) Our league our money, u want it, stand in the line and wait…we choose who to pay
2) I used to be a die hard “aman person” before 26/11….But peace cant be forged on a bloody ground….Wats the crap about Pakistani govt as the evil amchine…Who elects it and who runs it? Isnt there anything called public responsibility in a democracy or is it all abt singing out “Ye hum naheen..bla bloa bla”
Do check out the video GB and let us know wat u feel 🙂
@PJ,
Very good link. More than what I feel, I think its interesting to note what Mehmal and our other Asha-Aman guys feel about this. By the way, note how much Sohail Tanvir says about how the Indian pursued their sorry asses —even after getting the doors slammed on their noses they still dont get it.
Great post GB and a good link from PJ. A snub like this ruffles the bushes, and things like Sohail come out in the sun. My immense satisfaction derives from the reaction of Miandad, who is crying hoarse in all the media outlets. This crying is better than the one in his last one day match. I have a feeling that Pakistan is nurturing China as a cricketing nation only to counter India. Miandad was crying once again, when India pipped Pakistan even in this.
Link
http://sify.com/sports/miandad-fears-india-will-pip-pak-in-race-for-china-market-news-cricket-jl4sItebefj.html
This thappad reminds me of Dr. Dang in Karma 🙂
Forget Paistan and its sorry ass for one second Let’s talk about KKR..If Bond doesnot fire and Mortaza only looks for taazi Mornis in the ranks of cheer leaders , we will be the laughing stock of the league once again…!! This is Dada’s last IPL we have to win anyhow…Talking of Mortaza Indian govenment has also shown its Mortaaza moment around 10 days back when it gifted Bangladesh with 5000 crore rupees of cash among many other things like mega power plants
Brilliant post and gem of a reply to Mr Mehmal. To put in layman’s language, for all these years India never got anything in return for being the Good boy aka ‘The Hero’, but for once and unwittingly , we played the role of the BAD boy and I am loving it!!!
~GB for Foreign minister 🙂
@ GB
This reminds me of a Parashuram story (if ur a Rajsekhar Basu fan like me) …Give India a mere juhmjhumi (for the non bongs those rattles children play with) and Pakistan shall cry hoarse “Ladke lenge Jhumjhuma” 😀 😛
Some ppl need a reason to pick a fyt esp those who love portraying them as the “poor oppressed and downtrodden”…Nothing sells better than na sob story
N poor Sohail even the PCB isnt after his arse given how unceremoniously he’s been dropped from all forms of cricket…REALITY CHECK..SOmeone??!!! 🙂
Shiv Sena announced No Aussies in Mumbai…
IPL says no to to Pakies
Tomorrow it can be England or South Africa….
i think the better idea to get India hooked on to IPL and TV is getting the teams made of bollywood stars/out-of-work actors/fashion models/page 3 celebrities – and we have an even more interesting “sport” at our hands…
I was so so so looking forward to you to writing one on this GB!!! Aman ki Asha makes me froth in the mouth a lot more than these bunch of Pakistani ex cricketers going bonkers about how their “izzat of their Paaakistaan” got looted 😀
I’m looking forward to Mr. Arnab Goswami’s take on Aman Ki Asha since’s he hardly seems the kind to be in favour of such nonsense. Not unexpected coming from ToI though!!!
Dear Bong,
Such a pleasure to read this post.. while I was vacillating between a smug satisfaction of being able to give a thappad to pakistan with out a single drop of blood (Isnt it softpower all about..) versus being fair and magnanimous host, your article has cleared my conscience. You are right..and your reply to Mehmal is spot on, where this balderdash of pakistani people are not our enemies is just nonsense. Have never seen any strong reactions from their people or even their most liberal and sensible columnists like ayaz Amir,irfan hussain strongly sympathizing with India for the periodic wounds inflicted by Pakistan on us. They just brush it off on marginal elements.Keep the spirit up and Thanks for venting our feelings.
Cheers,
Nani
P.S : Yes, I am going to buy the book..
GB please please please write one on Emotional Atyaachar on UTV Bindass featuring our lovely Bobby Darling. I’ve watched it twice and its bloody hilarious. I’ve a small take on it, would’nt be right to stick it in my comments here!!
cheers
Just what the doctor ordered for all the crying and cringing at excluding the Pakistani players from IPL.
Wannabe Pornstar SRK the Great(of KKR fame) says…
“Khan felt that the youth should circumvent all that is said about India and Pakistan by the politicians and say, “It (Pakistan) is a great neighbour to have. We are great neighbours, They are good neighbours. Let us love each other.””
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/top-stories/Pak-players-should-have-been-picked-up-for-IPL-3-SRK/articleshow/5495981.cms
May be he still has unfinsihed fantasies of the “love” he bestowed upon Sho-aib in IPL1
GB, I can’t believe this is written by you!! That too contrary to what our ‘distinguished’ journalists say. I mean are you the ‘Drone’ that drives your fan boys to swarm after a mention of Modi/Muslims/Pakistan?
“Internet Hindus are like swarms of bees. they come swarming after you at any mention of Modi Muslims or Pakistan!”
Agree with you on this GB. I have always supported the Indo-Pak friendship attempts. But not post 26/11. There were periodic blasts and we still hoped for friendship , but 26/11 was when they went too far. The sheer audacity and absolute lack of any sort of fear of repercussion. Just to stop our progress. If the Govt. had something to do with it, as is being alleged, hats off to them.
@ Alpha Q..
Then me too eligible..I was the firt commentor on his last Post.. “may i hebb your attention pliss”..am I Arnab Da???
Man..hats off..For not going the way of the hypocrites who cry for the exclusion of the pakis from IPL… so happy to read a reflection of my own thoughts from my fav blogger 😀
Why doesn’t the Pakistani media go after Lashker-e-Toiba etc etc and hold them responsible for IPL fiasco? No 26/11 and no IPL fiasco.
Dear Arnab,
as you do the thoughts on KKR and the signing of Shane Bond are right.But I do not agree with your view that the diplomatic efforts to reduce the tensions between India and Pakistan would be undone with the IPL teams not interested in the players from Pakistan.But it surely could have been handled better.
The most tragic aspect of all this is that we have reached a stage that we are all feeling great about 11 Pakistanis not being included in a domestic cricket tournament. This is what we consider a response to Pakistan as a country? It’s a pathetic response, frankly, and our glee at this is just juvenile.
Take a couple of steps back and look at this dispassionately. Pakistan is a sponsor of state and non-state terrorism. They (non-state actors, apparently) sent in jihadis and killed 170 people in Mumbai recently. Dawood walks free on their streets. Masood Azhar lives in luxury there. We have a right to be indignant and angry.
So what do we do?
We refuse for bid for 11 of their cricketers! Wooohoooo! What a victory!
Unbelievable.
Best blog on this issue. Ironically, it is written by a Paki. And I totally agree with him. That was the main reason why they were not selected.
http://blog.dawn.com/2010/01/22/no-bid-no-problem/
@Yourfan2:
I agree. Well written blog.
At least this snub lets us see the real feeling of these ex cricketers who normally are so much “bhai bhai” when they are yapping as experts.
Sohail Tanvir’s rant which you had posted on Twitter should have been added here. He needs to be condemned for that rubbish communal statement. I for one will never cheer for him.
Totally agree… cheers!
@Shan
I know it looks very weird.
Ideally situations should have been like this.
Situation 1:
State and non-state paki actors cause terrorist attacks and sundry other nuisance within the sovereign boundaries of India. As a mark of protest thousands of ‘peace-loving’ pakistani citizens who really love Indians as their brothers, take to the street and protest against the terrorists.
Situation 2: IPL biggies don’t bid for pakistani players. Protesting this, sport and peace-loving Indians (people, bloggers etc) will come out in hordes and condemn this.
Dear Shan, in reality situation 1 does not happen. In fact, I have seen you and your kind, earlier on this blog and at other places either denying or justifying the terror attacks. In my native tongue (kannada) there is a saying – kaasige thakka kajjaya. It roughly translates into: the pancake you buy is only as good as the coin you pay for it.
Too often I have heard crackers burst in the streets of India when India lost to pakistan. So don’t expect us to suppress the smile when this resounding slap was given. Atleast thank yourself that we are sensitive so WE don’t go burst the crackers at your doorstep.
To be fair to you, your statement ‘The most tragic aspect of all this is that we have reached a stage that we are all feeling great about 11 Pakistanis not being included in a domestic cricket tournament. This is what we consider a response to Pakistan as a country?’ is all true. But what you have never thought of looking for is the answer to the question: WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS SHIT IN THE FIRST PLACE?
cheers
Eitttto…..MAGIKKK….o mmmaaaa….chhilo beral hoye gelo rumaal….chhilo Indo-Pak, hoye gelo Hindu-Muslim….ki majaaaa!!! Ki daroon laathi marlam dekho sala “nere”gulor poschaate….tobe re byata…26/11 kora?? Ne toder kheltei nebona….REVENGGGGGGGE…..Prabhuji-style….dekhi ar kemon 26/11 korte parish….tora amader hajaar khanek lok marbi to dekh amrao toder gutikoyek ke kemon khelte ni….emon protishodh keu dekhecho kothao??? Samajhdaar, praaptoboyoshko revenge…haat taali haat taali!!!
GB,
material for your next blog?
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/top-stories/Pak-players-should-have-been-picked-up-for-IPL-3-SRK/articleshow/5495981.cms
Hahaha….I never thought the BCCI was capable of something like this, even inadvertently….hats off to Lalit Modi and the 8 wise men 🙂
And how do you manage to ind such stuff on the net? A simple google search, is it?? Sometimes I wonder if its just 1 guy, or a team, that does all the “research” for this blog!!!!
People to people contact will change nothing.
In particular, Pakistanis should not be allowed to benefit economically from the India story. Civil society over there really believes that since they don’t really ‘hate’ India, they can eat their cake and have it too. Aman ki Aasha and Pakistani writers bashing India like Asma Jehangir or Ali Sethi is in very poor taste given the mood of the nation.
Those in the Pakistan establishment will continue to hate India and stoke/organize anti-India campaigns. Instead India is supposed to be on its best behaviour lest we give an opportunity to prove those sentiments true.
Balls. White glossy SG balls with gripping seams for day-night play.
p.s. there is a big difference between extremists in pakistan, pakistani civil society and muslims. speaking out against the former does not make you against the latter.
p.p.s shane bond was an absolute crap buy.
great post, O greatbong !!!!
yeah india or IPL does owe an expln to anyone as Shilpa said and the rest of IPL seconded. “loved the bit on IPL not rolling down its windows to the pouting whores”
mehmal and shan – go f$%k urselves
alternate name for this post – “gaand pe laath”
and yes, as one of the comments said, i too have witnessed indian jihadis bursting crackers when india loses a match……..so much for patriotism
The post was nowhere near your best, but your cogent and objective reply to Mehmal was really worth reading. As another commenter said, “Peace cannot be forged on bloody grounds.” We cannot be the chumps who are desperate for peace despite being attacked time and again by groups that are not only condoned but honored by enough of their people to grow more and more. We need to have hard talks with Pakistan. I am glad that autonomous organizations like IPL are showing their patriotism by rejecting the Pakistan players. (Here I disagree with Mohan too. I don’t think that it was a purely cricket decision to avoid all of them.) Anyone who is not outspoken against terrorism is an enabler. The Pakistani players, just like the people of the country, are enablers. They are like the Gentiles in Europe who could smell the Nazi prison camps but continued to bake bread.
Congrats on the book GB, and here’s to many more.
And here’s the “Bad-show of BullahWood” (oops…Badshah of Bollywood) taking up Pakistan’s cause on the IPL issue:
Shah Rukh Khan slams IPL, says Pakistan Players are best!!
Shah Rukh DEMANDS respect for Pakistani players
And finally, here are some pearls of wisdom from Shah Rukh Khan:
“It(Pakistan) is a great neighbour to have. We are great neighbours, They are good neighbours. Let us love each other.”
“Let me be honest. My family is from Pakistan, my father was born there and his family is from there.”
Cricket or no cricket, SRK is still the king.
This is why I continue to be a hardcore fan of SRK. His well-informed perspective is just amazing…..and that is why the man deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. I hope all Indians read this without getting worked up, ok?
Shah Rukh Khan slams IPL, says Pakistan Players are best!!
Shah Rukh DEMANDS respect for Pakistani players
And finally, all you chaps better read this IPL-related article to enjoy these superb dialogues from SRK on the issue:
* “It (Pakistan) is a great neighbour to have. We are great neighbours, They are good neighbours. Let us love each other.”
* “Let me be honest. My family is from Pakistan, my father was born there and his family is from there.”
So, yeah, as my God SRK has just hinted…… can’t we all just get along and sing Kumbaya together?
GB: “Very good link. More than what I feel, I think its interesting to note what Mehmal and our other Asha-Aman guys feel about this.”
Ha ha ha. It’s true man.:)))) Loved the prostitute in leather skirts analogy too.
By the way, with the cricket and the IPL going the American sports way, people like Tanveer and Afridi (as Mohan said above) need a lesson in working in the private sector. Their attitude is the trade union kind of attitude, but this kind of swift ass-kicking is good schooling for them.
Tell you what…I am quite enjoying the Pakistani reaction to this snub, and slowly savoring it like good kabab and rasmalai, or a good bong rip. Chomp chomp chomp….poh poh pooh pooh pooh…..they probably did not feel this bad after the Kargil war, as they did with this snub.
“Eitttto…..MAGIKKK….o mmmaaaa….chhilo beral hoye gelo rumaal….chhilo Indo-Pak, hoye gelo Hindu-Muslim….ki majaaaa!!! Ki daroon laathi marlam dekho sala “nere”gulor poschaate….tobe re byata…26/11 kora?? Ne toder kheltei nebona….REVENGGGGGGGE…..Prabhuji-style….dekhi ar kemon 26/11 korte parish….tora amader hajaar khanek lok marbi to dekh amrao toder gutikoyek ke kemon khelte ni….emon protishodh keu dekhecho kothao??? Samajhdaar, praaptoboyoshko revenge…haat taali haat taali!!!”
Ha ha ha. You know whats is so funny…in an endeavor to be sarcastic, you basically made a fool of yourself. The moral of this whole episode is that revenge, or REVENGGGGGGGE, if you like, in some very rare cases, is more perceived by the intended recipient/their sympathizers, than it is dished out by the ‘avenged’. Now, that really is an extreme form of revenge!!!!! In psychological terms, it could very well be the ‘guilt-conscious chickens’, which one buries deep, very deep inside themselves, coming home to roost. The funny thing is, in this context, so many of the aggrieved, inadvertently, have made an indirect acknowledgment of something, that they have been in denial. This is so abundantly manifested in so many of the confounded, amazed and befuddled reactions from the other side of the border.
@PJ – I am surprised that such a comment wasn’t picked up by Cricinfo etc. Wonder if he knows what religion SRK is, and how his teammate Danish will feel about it. Good link, thanks!
@Shan – re your first comment: couldn’t agree with you more. They kill our people, we do not turn a few of theirs into multimillionaires. That’ll show them!
@GB – Congratulations on the book! Keep up the good work – sometimes the comments sections (with the frothing-at-mouth sentiments) are as much fun as your posts, and this one is such an example.
@Sumit
Do you honestly think the Tablighi Pakistani players really care about hurting Danish Kaneria’s feelings? Did they care so much about the feelings of another Kafir (Yousuf Youhana) before they bullied, cajoled and intimidated him into abandoning his Christian faith and his parents – by applying “peer-pressure” tactics on him, day-in and day-out ? Get real…
@Sumit
Here’s an oft-quoted article (that comes straight from the horse’s mouth) – that may be relevant to my previous comment:
“Preaching Games”
With the caveat that I am not a cricket fan, let me regurgitate what I read on this subject:
Version 1: It was PCB that insisted on sending its’ players. The IPl organizers did not want them to come, and did, in couched terms, indicate this outcome if the Pakistani players came to the auction.
Version 2: No Sri Lankan or Bangladeshi player was selected as well, so why the brouhaha over the Paki players? Because the thought of us snubbing them is so satisfying, we subscribe to it even if we did not snub them.
Either way, I am glad it happened. Don’t want no Paki on my zameen.
Arnab da,
agree with article, but as an cricket fan i will miss something without these paki’s(no offence). For me the best bowalling spell of IPL 1 & IPL 2 was shoaib akhtar vs Delhi Daredevils in eden garden. if anyone get a chance then watch the fall of forth wicket. the celibration by shoaib the roar by spectator by god i will miss that. and i think shoaib bowled two best deliver in cricket history in the same grount. in 1999 test he plumbed rahul dravid in front and in the next delivery he clean bowled sachin tendulkar.That time it was the first fopr tendulkar that he got out in first delivery in test cricket. OMG what a delivery and what a silence in the stadium. i am not romanticising it but those were the days.
@Bengal Voice- Hmmmm. Very interesting! I must say that the Youhana to Yousuf conversion was always a surprise to me. Now it is clear.
a little mistake
and i think shoaib bowled two best deliver in cricket history in the same ground. in 1999 test he clean bowled rahul dravid and in the next delivery he clean bowled sachin tendulkar.That time it was the first for tendulkar that he got out in first delivery in test cricket. OMG what a delivery what a yorker, and what a silence in the stadium. i am not romanticising it but those were the days.
@Bengal Voice: You’re right – expecting Sohail to understand the ramifications of his comments on his teammate is probably asking a bit too much. Thanks for the link from dawn.com, that was an eye-opener. It is a real shame what has happened to Pakistan team. They have had some of the most exciting players in Cricket, and now they are literally falling apart.
Afridi willing to walk up the streets again –
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/afridi-ready-to-forgive-and-forget-ipl-episode/109212-5-20.html
@ Shan
“Take a couple of steps back and look at this dispassionately. Pakistan is a sponsor of state and non-state terrorism. They (non-state actors, apparently) sent in jihadis and killed 170 people in Mumbai recently. Dawood walks free on their streets. Masood Azhar lives in luxury there. We have a right to be indignant and angry.
So what do we do?
We refuse for bid for 11 of their cricketers! Wooohoooo! What a victory!”
No Shan – As you notice from the thappad ki goonj – this has really hit them where it hurts. You see, strangely enough India is one of the few places where pakistani elites still manage to get red carpet treatment (aman ki tamasha etc). Every where else they are subject to proctological searches at airports. The IPL snub has finally informed them that they really do not matter to India or to Indians. India has tolerated Imran Khan’s statements about how pathans liked to come to hindustan to take hindu women. This was drowned out amidst the ‘wah -wahs’of the ‘sports lovers’ who adored his greatness on the cricket field. Now the IPL snub has truly informed the pak elite that India is leaving them behind – in wealth and in attitudes. This is what the elites fear – ‘irrelevance in India’.
Notice that SRK might be loath to exclude the pakistani players from his IPL
team, but there is not much he can do because he would not like to be singled out as a sponsor of pak cricketers if another pak terrorist incident occurs. So – bania sense does win out – every time 🙂
Finally, as an added serendipitious occurence – the money IPL does not pay the pak players translates as a a proportion of money less received by the pak government as taxes, which means that they are that much moe hard pressed to finance terrorism against India.
I just got the good new….http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Ticked-off-by-PC–Modi-hints-Pak-players-may-play-IPL/571986
Paki player will be allowed to plat the IPL….. Suck it up SRK. “hum hindoo ne apnee chaal chal de”
Afridi:
“”Over the last few days there has been intense media attention on the IPL auction in Pakistan and India. After my explanation, Insha Allah, the matter will be closed.”
“After the IPL auction I was deeply hurt and angry. The way Pakistani players were treated was disrespectful and, in my view, wrong. Whose fault it was it..I don’t know. In times like these, as a Muslim, the examples of our Prophet has guided me and I’m therefore willing to forgive and forget what has happened and look forward,” said Afridi.”
==========
WTF. Look at the sense of entitlement! Going to an auction to be picked up is not a dinner invitation, you bozo!!!!!!!! Why is Brad Haddin and Australia not saying the same thing? Because unlike this fucked up and failed state, they are at least more mature.
Everything boils down to money. With no terrorism, there is no American aid. So terrorism must exist. So you will not forgive and forget, you will just suck it up. Ever looked at dogs gathering for a piece of bread? The ones that do not get any do bark a bit. But when offered bread again, sure they come again with their tails wagging.
The sense of entitlement! OMG.
@yourfan2
“The moral of this whole episode is that revenge, or REVENGGGGGGGE, if you like, in some very rare cases, is more perceived by the intended recipient/their sympathizers, than it is dished out by the ‘avenged’. Now, that really is an extreme form of revenge!!!!! In psychological terms, it could very well be the ‘guilt-conscious chickens’, which one buries deep, very deep inside themselves, coming home to roost. The funny thing is, in this context, so many of the aggrieved, inadvertently, have made an indirect acknowledgment of something, that they have been in denial. This is so abundantly manifested in so many of the confounded, amazed and befuddled reactions from the other side of the border.”
Sounds like an obfuscating pseudointellectual attempt at justifying the blatant, infantile jingoism in this blogpost (VERY un-characteristic of the Greatbong, i’d say) and a majority of the comments following it. Spare me the effort. I prefer to keep my ‘rational hat’ on, thank you very much.
I am a cricket fan but not much of an IPL person, and i admit i did not sit thru the IPL3 auctions, the central theme of this post. On seeing the video link posted above, i too feel the same kind of loathing toward Sohail Tanveer as everyone else. The general feeling of rage is totally justified, but not the hypocritical holier-than-thou attitude accompanying it. Face it, for every Sohail Tanveer that makes such a despicable anti-Hindu remark, there’s someone on this side of the ‘sarhad’ as well, who indiscriminately puts Muslims and terrorists within common parentheses… doesn’t air it on national television, maybe, but bandies about the sentiment anyway, in the workplace, on public transport, or better still, on the internet, in the guise of pseudointellectual bunkum. Tanveer’s bigotry is downright filthy, and deserves every bit of the condemnation it has garnered, but lets just keep in mind that our own backyards aren’t squeaky clean either.
As to your weighty musings on the impact of revenge on the recipients, or guilt-ridden chickens,no one’s saying Pakistan is an angelic neighbour (except, perhaps, a certain Mr. Shahrukh Khan). Of course Pak can’t be trusted, of course the vacuous concepts of Aman, Asha etc. should be chucked out of the window, given the current state of affairs. But this is cross-border terrorism we’re talking about, for Prabhuji’s sake, and i simply don’t see how showing a few Pakistani cricketers the symbolic middle-finger in the IPL3 auctions helps India’s cause in any way. Symbolism won’t fire our guns, nor will it thwart another 26/11 should that be brewing across the ‘sarhad’ already. And the Shahid Afridis weren’t coming in with Kalashnikovs and rocket launchers anyway. That was Ajmal Qasab, and waah re mere India, aisi hai teri judicial system, that more than a year after he butchered hundreds of our people, we are still treated to one preposterous lie after another from him. Our coastlines still remain poorly guarded, security at public places and transport terminals relapses to jocular standards barely a few months after a terror attack, but people will sit in front of their TV sets, lapping up a tiresome IPL auction that denies entry to a handful of Pak cricketers, and thump their chests and say “waah kya laat maara humne Pakistan ke g***d pe”. You can give it fancy names like “psychological victory” if that makes you feel better, i’d call it a bad case of misplaced priorities, not to mention blind, gung-ho chauvinism and a rather Mamata Banerjee-esque propensity for considering the exercising of prudence as a mark of weakness. And as to who’s living in denial, i’ll let you be the judge of that.
@Dulaler Talmichri-
“Face it, for every Sohail Tanveer that makes such a despicable anti-Hindu remark, there’s someone on this side of the ’sarhad’ as well, who indiscriminately puts Muslims and terrorists within common parentheses… doesn’t air it on national television, maybe, but bandies about the sentiment anyway, in the workplace, on public transport, or better still, on the internet, in the guise of pseudointellectual bunkum. Tanveer’s bigotry is downright filthy, and deserves every bit of the condemnation it has garnered, but lets just keep in mind that our own backyards aren’t squeaky clean either.”
It doesn’t matter. Read the 2 blogposts mentioned in GB’s new post. It is Sohail Tanveer who was in the IPL auction and not some ABC. So it doesn’t matter what that ABC thinks. It matters what Sohail Tanveer thinks. In any kind of private industry worth its weight, this kind of comments would mean the end for you. So do not try to justify his sense of entitlement to be chosen in a private auction by saying that there are people in India who harbor the same views about Muslims in Pakistan.
“As to your weighty musings on the impact of revenge on the recipients, or guilt-ridden chickens,no one’s saying Pakistan is an angelic neighbour (except, perhaps, a certain Mr. Shahrukh Khan). Of course Pak can’t be trusted, of course the vacuous concepts of Aman, Asha etc. should be chucked out of the window, given the current state of affairs. But this is cross-border terrorism we’re talking about, for Prabhuji’s sake, and i simply don’t see how showing a few Pakistani cricketers the symbolic middle-finger in the IPL3 auctions helps India’s cause in any way.”
Again, it is they who felt that they have been shown the middle finger. The reaction of joy from our side is retroactive. YOU are equating politics and cross border terrorism with this move. We are merely saying that this snub, given the political context, is like a thappad. We are not talking India’s cause here. We are talking about the individual choices made by the franchise owners. Pakis and pseudo-sympathisers like you are bringing terms like revenge. Modi, BCCI, IPL etc never used a term like that.
“Symbolism won’t fire our guns, nor will it thwart another 26/11 should that be brewing across the ’sarhad’ already.”
So you agree that the 2 are independent of one another. So what is your point exactly?
“And the Shahid Afridis weren’t coming in with Kalashnikovs and rocket launchers anyway.”
Again, they were snubbed because they were perceived as uncertain materials. I will tell you what pal. The day you have your own franchise, you pick your players the way you want to. Do not go around questioning people’s choices! Choices that they made with their own money.
“but people will sit in front of their TV sets, lapping up a tiresome IPL auction that denies entry to a handful of Pak cricketers, and thump their chests and say “waah kya laat maara humne Pakistan ke g***d pe”.
Again! You cannot control how people will react retroactively. And guess what, if the common man on the street sees this as a moral victory, why are you so perturbed? Dont you see the comments of the common men from across the border? Tell you what, given what happened, the common man has the right to feel that way. Your expectations are misplaced.
“You can give it fancy names like “psychological victory” if that makes you feel better, i’d call it a bad case of misplaced priorities, not to mention blind, gung-ho chauvinism and a rather Mamata Banerjee-esque propensity for considering the exercising of prudence as a mark of weakness.”
No no no. YOU are making it sound more like a psychological victory. Its the reaction of people like you and those aggrieved from across the border that is fanning this fire. Think about it, if you keep saying that “We have been insulted”, then why blame the common man for construing that “Look at that! They have really been insulted!Its a thappad. A gand pe lath.”. You see what I am saying? 🙂
“And as to who’s living in denial, i’ll let you be the judge of that.”
Food for thought:
http://blog.dawn.com/2010/01/22/no-bid-no-problem/
http://blog.dawn.com/2010/01/27/backtracking-on-the-ipl/
Also read the various comments on the new post.
In making it an official issue, Pakistan has only confirmed why its players were left unsold.
Well ” Breaking News ” they are including pakistani players now in IPL team.
So much for Cricket india’s financial muscle and blah blah and one more Blah.
@ Youfan2
elegantly deconstructed, as usual 🙂
Thanks Arnie. But look at that:
http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/current/story/446045.html
Hey GB check these out
Pak cricket team’s drubbing blamed on green colour of soles –
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Pak-cricket-teams-drubbing-blamed-on-green-colour-of-soles/articleshow/5520637.cms
And
Two-match T20 ban on Afridi for ball tampering
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Two-match-T20-ban-on-Afridi-for-ball-tampering/articleshow/5520931.cms
I do not recall reading more bile-dripping, invective filled tripe than this piece by Jawed Naqvi in Dawn:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/03-jawed-naqvi-cricket-the-new-whore-of-indias-private-enterprise-120-ss-01
Our man, of course, retains his Indian citizenship and has made a career out of spewing his barely concealed hatred in the garb of serious journalism for decades now.
But even by his standards, this is a new low.
SRK is the same guy who was reluctant to make any comments against the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Media waited for long time to hear his opinion and views but he didnt say a thing against the attackers or the place where the attack originated from. And we had one instance of “so called injustice” against Pakistani players and he was quick to make a comment. Do we need any more proof about SRKs priorities?
regarding Mehmal and GB’s exchange…
We shouldn’t turn our hatred towards the ppl of a rogue state…. keep it focused on the state itself. Let’s not blame the people of the nation for the crimes of the nation namely its leaders, military establishment, ridiculous foreign policy (if it exists!). I know this has degenerated to cliche, but “this is what the bad guys also want!”. Yes, the Pakistanis must take initiative, sort out their internal affairs, at the same time try to gain control of their government’s decision regarding their neighbours.
First things first, we ARE NOT gods ourselves. We, as a people, couldn’t prevent 1984 (Anti-sikh riots), 1989-90 (Kasmiri Pandits’ exodus),2002 (Godhra massacre) etc. So we can’t sit on a high horse and blame the Pakistani public outright for having let Taliban, Zia-ul-haq happened. The US has done a lot of charity work here, in encouraging the rise of the Taliban. The Pak public in general DID play a part, yes, in terms of public support, but we have to see these happenings in all its evolution, not just as the end-result. There’s a lot of history and politics here.
There’s a short-term solution needed, as well as a long-term one. The short-term solution requires us to keep putting pressure on the Pak gov. to take action against the culprits and basically to start acting mature. Regarding the long-term solution…. hmmm… we have to build those bridges man! Yeah, I’ve heard n seen stuff bout Pak school syllabus preaching hate against Indians and all that “Indians are bad guys… screw Hindus” sh**. ….and this is why it is important to get them to see through their national propaganda machine that all that is baloney! ..that we may have had our hiccups now and then, but the important point is that our constitution ensures that we won’t fu** around with any person or state (unless provoked) because of religion or some other crap. This is why endeavours like this “Aman Ki Asha” are needed.
Its like few crackpots in the Mid-East holding all the ppl (including the 99.99% innocent ones) of US responsible for the tyrannical and imperialist US foreign policy decisions… and the US gov. machinery holding the entire Mid-East responsible for the actions of these few crackpots. Why do I bring the US-Mideast conflict here? – cause this is the starting point of unreasonable and undesirable conflict. A guy from Pak who until now might not have believed the whole “Indians hate Pakis in general” stuff, after reading this page might just start believing it… THEN the real problem begins. It takes us just a Sohail Tanveer and Zaid Hameed to start cursing the entire Pakistani line of thought… similarly, its pretty easy for them too, to start cursing ours.
just to clarify… I don’t care 2 hoots for cricket as such, so the whole IPL thing didn’t affect me as a sports fan or something..
Its just the sentiments expressed by the blog, and some of the comments that troubled me. I DO think that its very possible that the whole snub wasn’t pre-decided… and also feel that SRK is a whore (its just my humble opinion… he very well might not be a whore). ..can’t understand his hypocrisy in not taking any Pak players, and then crying about the fact that no Pak players were taken.
@Shubhadeep
Thank you for the Dawn article link. It’s not surprising another secular “Indian” pin-up boy, Jawed Naqvi, has revealed his true colours in his Dawn article. In the past, he barely fooled us with his baritone rendering of Iqbal, Ghalib and other deceptive “Sufi” couplets on TV shows promoting “communal harmony”.
I believe we have just scratched the tip of the iceberg here. Janaab Naqvi has revealed more about his innermost thoughts as a contributor to the book (“13 December – A Reader: The Strange Case of the Attack on the Indian Parliament”) along with other co-authors (Suzanna Arundhati Roy and other “pseudo-secular” heroes of our day). In the book, Jawed Naqvi has “made a persuasive case of [the] state terror that’s existent in Kashmir” (as Sagarika Ghose proudly points out during his interview).
Along with the rest of his ilk, Jawed Naqvi wants the President of India to pardon Muhammad Afzal Guru (sentenced to capital punishment for the blood-soaked Dec 13 Jihadi attack on the Indian Parliament). Go figure !
Hopefully, pseudo-secularism can only fool some of the people, some of the time…or maybe not.
Indians are being lulled into becoming classic examples of the “boiling frog phenomenon”, don’t you think?
@Nadir
I agree with your good intentioned appeal – that we shouldn’t blame the people, be they Pakistani or Arab, for the ingrained hatred towards Kafirs. We can perhaps start with the ideology that created Pakistan in the first place.
@Bengal Voice
How many Pakistanis or Arabs do you know personally? I know a few of each… Its naive to judge a people based on the comments of a few of them appearing in blogs, and on the actions of the personalities that are thrust upon us by the mainstream media.
(not implying a harsh tone here, neither a condescending one).
Media bias exists due to either the “whatever’s the norm these days” factor, or the “propaganda” factor. In case of Indian media, thankfully, I feel, propaganda is not so much an issue… but the former exists to a large extent. Does Pakistan have an awful lot of issues to sort out?… hell yeah, it does. but did ALL of the guys who had to move to the then newly formed Pakistan actually believe in the 2 nation theory or was it a disgusting, selfish and inhuman political maneuver played out at the time by a small bunch of ppl at the top (I frankly don’t know. Someone said somewhere something bout “the past being difficult to predict/decipher” or something), and does the current janata of P-stan agree with all the decisions that Pakistan, as a nation, has taken since its inception?… hmmmm, we need to find out…. should we take all of them prisoners and question them one by one? Or maybe we could try to get to know them and their views, and they cud do the same. I know this sounds all corny, and pseudo-romantic n stuff… but its possible to do so along with carrying on with the “short-term solution”. That’s where this whole people-to-people crap can work. We can catch the P gov. by the collar (or by their ****) and get tough on them, while not severing all relations with them. This style of diplomacy – the ppl not necessarily being against each other, even though the countries are – we need to learn from others (especially the US)
@Nadir
Blaming Pakistan or its people is a convenient cop out. What really matters is a “root cause analysis” (“Faith Freedom International” style). I do apologise if the results appear to be politically incorrect and personally difficult to digest.
@Bengal Voice
Alright, alright… now I see where you’re coming from (the “Faith Freedom” thing gave me a hint). You’ve again made a mistake of judging the “whole” based on the “part”. As far as the “problem” of the ingrained philosophy is concerned, I’ll put it this way. There’s this friend of mine who’s religion is cricket. He follows Test and 1-days like none you would have ever seen. However, he hates the whole idea of T20. I asked him why, since it is, at the end of the day, cricket. His answer – its derived from it… but it is an exploitation of the underlying principles of the game just for cheap thrills and narrow-minded gains (read as: “exploitation of [put the religion you hate here] for political gains). I know, this is all very simplified here, and the real matters are pretty complicated in terms of the scope of discussion… but this is how far I guess we should go considering the nature of GB’s blog (which, I must say, is very entertaining as a whole).
@Nadir
You are a funny guy….and I like your cricket analogy. Does the cricket manual/book call for the annihilation of all T20 watchers? Is it cricket doctrine to wipe out adherents of ALL other sports (soccer, basketball, hockey etc) and establish the monopoly of only one cricket commentator’s voice over the rest of the world? Good stuff, eh?;)
@Bengal Voice
My point exactly. T20 has changed the rules of the games, of which the puritans are not at all supportive. If you would only see beyond what is shown to you (or what you have chosen to see till now), you’d see the efforts that many souls are making to get ppl out of T20 and back to the pure form of the game, which by all means respect guys who play hockey, soccer etc. I speak from experience. I once again urge you, plz don’t judge the whole based on the part. And let’s not get “holier than thou”,… Soccer also has had its share of football hooliganism. These hooligans, in whichever sport, lose the spirit of the game the moment they indulge in their nonsense, and the reason they do it in any sport varies due to different geo-political factors.
@Nadir
Sigh! I asked you two rhetorical questions, my friend…..and the answers to both questions are “yes”. I have read all the rules in the manual/book from cover to cover, and I would suggest you too read all these rules therein, instead of living in denial. Instead of preaching blatantly to its victims, it is reasonable to expect any apologist like yourself to try a non-violent, simple experiment first – Try talking to your friends (yes, the so-called “moderate” ones) about expunging the 61% of the rules in the manual/book that have led to the “disappearances” of 270 million civilians (and counting) till date (including nearly 15,000 “incidents”** worldwide since 9/11). Come back and tell me about your moderate friends’ reactions and how your experiment is progressing. I can already guess the results but I do sympathize with your predicament because, unlike cricket, the rules in this manual are eternal and the words are unchangeable forever.
The very definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results each time. So, after 1400 years of well-learned lessons, please forgive me if I don’t hold my breath and believe your “sweet nothings”. However, it is your personal decision how you wish to free yourself from the monkey on your back and I wish you the very best of luck in getting over it.
**This link had already warned me about the Games you are starting to Play…and some Myths (that needed to be busted).
Bengal Voice and Nadir,
Take it elsewhere please.
“I felt happy… It has given a resounding thappad– jiska goonj bahoot din tak sunaai dega.”
Funny, I thought of this article recently.
IPL tho na mila.. but pak cricket did take away the urge to fap from countless Indians watching Wimbledon.
Thats a thappad with an even more resounding boom. Pity!
Now since we are talking about a country who about a year before butchered our citizens and who allow the perpetrators of that crime against humanity to walk their streets amidst adulation and approbation, allow me to throw my rational hat onto the dust…
Now thats what i am talking about!