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“Infrastructure status” and tax benefits for stadia construction: Boon or bane?

The sports ministry of India has recommended to the finance ministry that sports stadia be accorded “infrastructure status”.

Such a development will aid developers in securing long-term financing from banks at cheaper rates and avail tax benefits.

Stadiums will thus be classified under social and commercial infrastructure which includes educational institutions, hospitals, industrial parks, special economic zones, soil-testing markets and cold chains.

Parties seeking to build sports stadia will thus be able to finance their projects using the 5:25 scheme announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during the last budget proceedings. The scheme stretches the repayment period to the economic life of a project as against the norm of five years.

These loans can be refinanced every five-seven years.

The onus is on the developers to ensure that the projects continue to be viable and not become non-performing assets (NPAs).

Jaijit Bhattacharya, partner, infrastructure and government services, KPMG said:

“Currently, stadiums are closed down after the sports events are over and they are not easily accessible to general public. The government needs to resolve these issues so that the revenue models are clear and sports infrastructure becomes a viable investment opportunity.”

Latika Khaneja, director of Collage Sports Management, added:

“The existing stadiums are highly under-utilized. Unless you allow private developers to open stadiums to public whereby they can charge a fee, who will invest in such infrastructure?”

Nita Ambani, chairperson of the ISL,  believes that there needs to be a sporting culture in the country as well.

She said:

“It is important that we encourage our young children towards sports. Sports should become an integral part of school curriculum. Children must enjoy playing games rather than sitting indoors. I am not saying only cricket or football, but India should become a multisport nation.
We need to work on our infrastructure, on our coaches so that the next generation that is growing up can see sports as a profession.
Today parents don’t encourage kids to take up sports as a profession except for some of the sports that are lucrative. They still ask them to become a doctor, engineer. If sports can become a profession and can have an income to it, it will change things around.”

A Times of India, Bengaluru, article states:

“Stadia are built by governments to encourage a healthy way of life, engaging youth development through sports and games and achieving excellence in sports. It is also the responsibility of every government to ensure it provides spaces and infrastructure, keeping in mind the health of its citizens.
There is no harm in taxing stadia except for the fact that government agencies are, perhaps, overlooking the purpose of building these facilities for promotion of sports in the first place. Although I agree that infrastructure built has to raise revenue for its own upkeep, the ministry of sports must clearly identify activities that need to be taxed -such as exhibitions, rallies, corporate events, events for which tickets are sold etc- from activities purely for promotion of sports which could be athletics and competitions. Be it inter-school, inter-state or nationals, taxing of athletes and coaches must not be allowed at any cost.”

The sports ministry’s proposal, on the face of it, appears to be progressive and beneficial to the nation’s economic growth.

But the experience with funding construction of stadia, specifically with taxpayers’ monies, has been more bitter than sweet.

List of current National Football League stadiums (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The National Football League, in the US, is one such beneficiary of government largess.

The NFL expects special treatment.

It is estimated that 70% of the cost of building and operating the fields where NFL teams play comes from taxpayers.

Land may also be gifted by local governments eager to attract NFL teams to set up base there.

The Atlantic reports:

“Hidden costs may include city or county government paying electricity, water, and sewer charges for a stadium (such as First Energy Stadium in Cleveland, where the Browns perform), the city paying for a new electronic scoreboard out of ‘emergency’ funds (ditto First Energy) or the issuance of tax-free bonds that divert investors’ money away from school, road, and mass-transit infrastructure (Hamilton County, Ohio, issued tax-free bonds to fund the stadium where the Cincinnati Bengals play, and has chronic deficits for school and infrastructure needs as a result).”

It adds:

“The NFL even accepts subsidies for honoring the U.S. military. Games often are preceded by color guards, or the display of various military banners. This promotes the NFL, not the military, by suggesting professional football somehow is related to national security. The NFL stages an annual ‘Salute to Service’ event during Veterans Day weekend, in which coaches dress up in fatigues as if they were military officers, again trying to create the impression the NFL has some relationship to defense of the nation.

At least the league is showing appreciation to service members, right? If only. In 2015, Senator John McCain of Arizona disclosed that the Pentagon pays the NFL about $2 million per year to stage what appear to be displays of patriotism. Included in 2014 was $675,000 to the New England Patriots to honor National Guard members at halftime: Most other NFL teams received payments for introducing color guards, and for similar bunting-dressed activities. As for that ‘Salute to Service’, in 2014 the NFL donated $412,500 to wounded-warrior projects, and was lavishly praised by partner networks for doing so. The amount is about one-20th of one percent of the league’s annual public subsidy.”

Football fields are also used least in comparison to baseball parks, for instance.

Ted Gayer and Alex Gold of the Brookings Institution concluded in a 2015 study:

“Despite the fact that new stadiums are thought to boost local economic growth and job creation, these benefits are often overstated. Academic studies typically find no discernible positive relationship between sports facility construction and economic development. Most evidence suggests sports subsidies cannot be justified on the grounds of local economic development, income growth, or job creation.”

The Wikipedia entry on stadium subsidies, in its criticisms, states:

“There exist many criticisms regarding the use of stadium subsidies. First, critics argue that new stadiums generate little to no new spending (consumption). Instead, what fans spend in and around the stadium are substitutes for what they would otherwise spend on different entertainment options. Thus, this argument contends, new stadiums do not cause economic growth or lead to increased aggregate income. Because there is not an increase in consumption related to new stadiums, it is not worth the cost for cities to subsidize their construction.

Another criticism of stadium subsidies is that much of the money the new stadiums bring in does not stay in the local economy. Instead of going to stadium employees and other sources that would benefit the local community, a lot of the money goes toward paying the players. The problem is that most of these players do not live in the local community, so the money they make is taken away and spent in other locations. Critics question why a city should subsidize a sports stadium when large portions of the revenue the stadium receives will not be reinvested in the city. They go on to claim that subsidizing job training or improved transportation are smarter investments to make, as they will yield higher returns for the city.

Critics also argue that the construction of new stadiums could cause citizens and businesses to leave a city because of eminent domain issues. If a city is forced to take land from its citizens to build a new stadium, those who have lost land could become angry enough to leave the city. If they are business owners, then they will likely take their businesses with them. This cost, it is argued, must be added in when a city determines whether or not it is worth the cost to subsidize a new stadium.

Finally, critics contend that any benefits resulting from a new stadium are felt by the entire region where the stadium is located and not just the immediate city. However, often it is only the city, and not the whole region, providing the subsidy. Thus, the city is not realizing the full benefits of the new stadium while, at the same time, undertaking the full cost of the subsidy.

A review of the empirical literature assessing the effects of subsidies for professional sports franchises and facilities reveals that most evidence goes against sports subsidies. Specifically, subsidies cannot be justified on the grounds of local economic development, income growth or job creation. A survey of economists also reveals a general opposition toward sports subsidies.^”

Joel Kotkin on Reason.com says:

“I think this is sort of a fanciful approach towards economic development instead of building really good jobs. And except for the construction, the jobs created by stadia are generally low wage occasional work.

The important thing that we’ve forgotten is ‘What is the purpose of a government? Cities instead of fixing their schools, fixing their roads or fixing their sewers or fixing their water are putting money into ephemera like stadia. And in the end, what’s more important?”

The Heartland Institute provides a list of papers that document the economic impact of publicly funded stadiums here.

I’ll leave it to the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.

Indian hockey players amongst fittest sportspersons on planet Earth

Hockey players are the fittest sportspersons on the planet.

Indian hockey wizards are among the top five fittest teams in world hockey.

That would make Indians among the top five fittest sportsmen in the world.

Quite an achievement.

Would you believe it?

You would , if you had been watching the  Hockey World Finals third-fourth place encounter between Team India and the Netherlands last evening.

10 exhilarating goals pumped in 60 minutes followed by a thrilling penalty shoot-out.

Indian hockey has come a far way and fans can start to believe again that we may just have a medal round the corner at the Rio Olympics.

The School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences of Loughborough University, UK conducted a study that compared three team sports—hockey, rugby 7s and football (soccer).

The two main criteria for measuring fitness were distance run during a game and intensity maintained while running.

Field hockey players were discovered to cover more distance and work at a higher intensity than their counterparts in the other two sports.

A rugby player covers 94 metres, a footballer 125 metres and a hockey player a whopping 140 metres in a minute.

The study said:

“Where a football player spends just nine per cent of the game working at an intensity that sees the heart-rate reaching 85-90 per cent of its maximum, a hockey player can sustain that work rate for 30-40 per cent of the game. A rugby player works at a high intensity for 20 per cent of the game.”

While a hockey player may cover eight to nine kilometres in a game, a soccer player covers an average of over 10 kms per match. The difference lies in the time taken: 60 minutes versus 90 minutes.

As early as April this year, Team India’s physical trainer, Australian Matthew Eyles claimed that the men’s side were among the top five fittest nations.

He said:

“Physically they (Indian players) have improved a lot. When I got here 18 months ago, they were good, lot of them were very good natural athletes but now they have developed a good base. I think any strength and conditioning coach can’t feel content, they always want more from their athletes.

Their speed is good, endurance in good. They are looking really sharp at the moment. So I am happy with them.

I don’t think we are the fittest side at the moment. It’s hard to compare. Australia and New Zealand are always physically good sides. But I think we can definitely match any team now.

In my opinion definitely we can consider India among top five nations on fitness front in world hockey.”

Eyles did not take all the credit for the transformation.

He said he just focused on the basics as the base had been built four years ago with Michael Nobbs in charge and David John as the trainer.

He added:

“When I arrived here I first assessed the fitness level of the players and then followed standard process. I just tried to develop their base and then build them up from there.

I did just progressive things. We built a good base early on and then managed to just keep topping that up. We focused more on the speed and agility, and that got better and better. We have done a lot of work on the pitch and they are getting stronger. They have got a decent strength base.

There is always room for improvement but currently we are in a very good place.”

Eyles named Dharamvir Singh as the fittest player in the team then.

Naming the fittest sportspersons is a tricky debate.

You have to make sure you have the criteria right.

Jeff Potteiger, dean of Graduate Studies and a faculty member in the Movement Science department at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, believes that

body composition (level of body fat),

cardiovascular fitness,

anaerobic power,

muscular strength and

muscular endurance

would complete the list of items to weigh.

Who do you think are the fittest sportspersons?

Pink ball, pink ball: Sunny does the honours (Humour)

The pink ball made its Test debut in the recently concluded day-night encounter between Australia and New Zealand.

The match ended in three days with no one complaining about the vagaries of the pitch.

No sand trap there.

It was all about the ball—a pink one shining under the lights with a thin film retaining the shine.

It sparkled all night—a bright orange on the television screen with a luminescent glow.

Embed from Getty Images

The makers of Hate Story 2 could rededicate their hit number ‘Pink Lips’ starring the gyrating Sunny Leone and sung by Meet Bros, Anjjan and Khushboo Grewal.

The reworked lyrics could be as follows with a different Sunny ushering in Pink Ball cricket in India.

Pink Maiden deserves a fresh version of a hit. Every batsman, bowler and fielder needs to welcome the Pink Ball thus.

The red cherry could soon be a creature of the past.

Pink Ball Lyrics

Oh come to me
na na na na..
I came to see
Na na na na..
Honthon pe beimaaniyan
Karle karle, thodi nadaaniyan
Honthon pe manmaaniyaan
Karle karle, thodi nadaaniyan
Mujhe aadhi raat ko sataane lage
Mujhe apne saath tadpaane lage
Tu aaja paas, ye bulaane lage
Tujhe chhoona chaahe
Mere ye, mere ye, mere
Pink ball, pink ball , pink ball
Pink ball, pink ball, pink ball
Pal-pal tujhko karte miss
Pink ball, pink ball, pink ball
Pink ball, pink ball, pink ball
I know you want my new ball
Na na na na..
Hello-hello bol ke
New ball khol ke
Harqataan kare naughtiyan
Missing tenu whole day
Love you menu bol de
Adaavan teri hegi naughtiyan (x2)
Meri khwahishon ko talab hai teri
Aa qareeb aa, ab kar na deri
Meri khwahishon ko talab hai teri
Aa kareeb aa, ab kar na deri
Tere faasle muje jalaane lage
Raftaar saanson ki badhaane lage
Tu aaja paas ye bulaane lage
Teri baat maane
Mere ye, Mere ye, Mere..
Pink ball, pink ball, pink ball
Pink ball, pink ball, pink ball
Pal-pal tujhko karte miss
Pink ball, pink ball, pink ball
Pink ball, pink ball, pink ball
I know you want my new ball
Na na na na..
Oh come to me
na na na na..
I came to see
Na na na na..
Dil baarishon mein tarasne lagaa
Teri pyaas mein ye dhadakne lagaa
Dil baarishon mein tarasne lagaa
Teri pyaas me ye dhadakne lagaa
Tere seam mein haath jo aane lage
Mere soye armaan jagaane lage
Tu aaja pas ye bulaane lage
Tere hona chaahe
Mere ye, Mere ye, Mere..
Pink ball, pink ball, pink ball
Pink ball, pink ball, pink ball
Pal-pal tujhko karte miss
Pink ball, pink ball, pink ball
Pink ball, pink ball, pink ball
I know you want my new ball
Hello-hello bol ke new ball khol ke
Missing tenu whole day
Love you menu bol de
Pink Ball..

Oscar Pistorius: From hero to villain, from fame to notoriety (Updated)

From hero to villain, from fame to notoriety, Oscar Pistorius has been in the news for the best part of the last decade.

His website, oscarpistorius.com, has the following statement on the home-page:

“14 February 2014

No words can adequately capture my feelings about the devastating accident that has caused such heartache for everyone who truly loved – and continues to love Reeva.

The pain and sadness – especially for Reeva’s parents, family and friends consumes me with sorrow.

The loss of Reeva and the complete trauma of that day, I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

– Oscar

Following the tragic event and the enormous global interest, the family of Oscar Pistorius has taken the decision to devote his official website to the latest news about developments as well as messages of support.

The website will provide the opportunity for the media to make enquiries or requests but for understandable legal reasons it may not always be possible to respond or comment.

The Pistorius family and Oscar’s management company have been inundated with messages of support and condolences for Oscar and for the family of Reeva Steenkamp from all over the world.

Mr Arnold Pistorius, uncle of Oscar, said on behalf of the family: ‘We believe that this is an appropriate way to deal with the expressions of support we have received as well as keeping the media informed about any key developments in the case.

We have every confidence as a family that when the world has heard the full evidence that this will prove to be a terrible and tragic accident which has changed many lives forever. We are praying for everyone touched by this tragedy.’”

The web-site does not deliver what it promises. At least, not right now.

Oscar Pistorius

All the links are broken: a reflection, perhaps, of a broken man.

Oscar Pistorius was born on 22 November, 1986.

His parents were Henke and Sheila Pistorius.

Oscar is a middle child amongst three; he has an elder brother Carl and a younger sister Aimée.

His legs were amputated half-way between his knees and ankles when he was 11 months old after he was diagnosed with fibular hemimelia (congenital absence of the fibula) in both legs.

Pistorius was quite the ‘sport’ while in school participating in rugby, water polo, tennis and wrestling.

When he was 18, he was introduced to running post a serious rugby knee injury.

Pistorius began sprinting in January 2004.

He qualified for the Athens Paralympic Games that year and won bronze in the 100 metres and gold in the 200m.

Pistorius never looked back since.

His sporting motto, “You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have,” was a source of inspiration for many.

He reached the pinnacle of his sporting achievements when he was allowed to participate in the 2012 London Olympics representing South Africa in the 400 metres and the 4 ^X 400 metres relay. He also carried his country’s flag at the closing ceremony.

The sprinter was deemed ineligible to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics when Cologne Sports University’s Professor of Biomechanics Dr. Peter Brüggemann ruled that Pistorius “has considerable advantages over athletes without prosthetic limbs who were tested by us. It was more than just a few percentage points. I did not expect it to be so clear.”

Pistorius appealed against the adverse decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. His protest was upheld.

The CAS panel determined Pistorous had no net advantage over able-bodied athletes especially when considering the handicap he suffered in comparison to normal athletes when starting and accelerating.

Pustorius was thus able to participate in the 2012 London Summer Olympics fulfilling his dream of representing his country alongside normal athletes.

Pistorius is the recipient of numerous awards including Order of Ikhamanga in Bronze (OIB) by the President of South Africa for outstanding achievement in sports, BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award in 2007, Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability for 2012 and a honorary doctorate from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

He also made the Time 100 twice—in 2008 and 2012.

This could very well have been a ‘and they all lived happily ever after’ fairy-tale ending.

Alas, it was not to be.

Pistorius hit the headlines again the following year when he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp allegedly mistaking her for a possible intruder.

The disabled athlete—after a six-month trial—was convicted on one charge of culpable homicide, two counts of negligent use of a firearm and one count of possession of illegal ammunition.

Judge Thokosile Masipa did not find Pistorius guilty of murder with direct intent or common murder (dolus eventualis).

The amputee claimed that he believed that he was firing on an intruder who had broken into his house.

The claim is plausible enough given that home robbery or home invasions are a growing problem across all provinces in South Africa.

2012 National Victims of Crime Survey (NVCS) states that  half of households surveyed feared this type of crime.

“‘Home robbery’, unlike ‘house breaking’ (burglary), is regarded as a violent crime because people are at home when it takes place. This puts people at risk of personal injury and emotional trauma in the place where they should feel safest. “

The 2012 Survey also states that home robbery increased nationally by 64.4% over the past eight years.

While the fear of this kind of crime is high, it is a relatively rare occurence. Only 4.5% of households experienced a home robbery between January 2007 and December 2011.

The survey further states:

“75% of home robberies occur at night, with the most vulnerable times being in the late evening between 21:00 and 23:59 and very early morning between 00:00 and 02:59. More than half (55%) of home robberies take place at these times, in all likelihood because people’s guards are down when they are relaxing or asleep. Two-thirds (66%) of home robberies are committed by small groups of two to three robbers. Most robbers were said to be males between 15 and 34 years of age.

Weapons were used in almost all cases (99.9%) by those committing home robberies.”

Pistorius’ case has since gone to appeal to the Supreme Court. The State hopes to overturn the verdict of culpable homicide and either force a retrial or a resentencing. The double amputee could face up to 15 years in prison under the new charges.

The Paralympian was sentenced to five years in prison but is now out on bail after serving ten months in prison.

Reeva Steenkamp’s mother June was forgiving and accepting of the reduced sentence on Pistorius.

She said:

“I’ve got no feelings of revenge. I don’t want to hurt him; he is already a disabled person. I didn’t want him to be thrown in jail and be suffering because I don’t wish suffering on anyone, and that’s not going to bring Reeva back. But in my heart, I don’t want revenge towards him. I’m past that. Once you have told God that you forgive, you have to forgive. And I don’t want him to suffer …. I would certainly not want to hurt another human being. One has to forgive to move on, otherwise you become ill. For God expects you to forgive, and until you’ve done that, you can’t move forward in any way.”

June added that  she still has “nightmares about what happened to her when she was trapped behind that door and how she died”.

She said:

“Sometimes I wake up at 3 in the morning and that’s the first thing that comes in my head and I couldn’t be there to protect her from that.She couldn’t move in that toilet, she couldn’t move a centimetre either way to get out of the way of the firing – she was like a trapped animal in that toilet. We didn’t know he had guns, we didn’t know anything about him actually.”

She finishes:

“Maybe if he wasn’t so famous…I think if he would have just been a normal guy in the street he would have maybe had a stiffer sentence”.

Oscar Pistorius was most recently in the news celebrating his 29th birthday at his uncle’s mansion.

The sprinter is now the same age as his deceased girlfriend.

—-++++++±+++++±+++++++++

Oscar Pistorius was today found guilty of murder by the South African Appeals Court. The fresh sentence will be pronounced later.

Oscar Pistorius’ Supreme Fight: Murder or culpable homicide?

‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius continues to be in the fight of his life.

The Paralympian and Olympian’s freedom centres around the State’s appeal to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the previous verdict of culpable homicide.

State advocate Gerrie Nel is arguing that the verdict returned should have been murder instead—in effect, a call for a stiffer sentence for the amputee.

Pistorius was earlier sentenced to a five-year term in prison. He has since been released after serving ten months. He was expected to finish the rest of his sentence at his uncle’s Waterkloof home under strict bail conditions. South African laws permit prisoners to released after serving one-sixth of their sentence if they are deemed not a threat to society.

If Pistorius is convicted of murder, he will face at least 15 years behind bars.

The South African was convicted of killing his then model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

The athlete fired four shots through a toilet door claiming there was an intruder in his luxury Silver Lakes, Pretoria, house.

The bullets killed Steenkamp.

The new judgment hinges on Pistorius’ state of mind when he let loose the volley of shots—whether he believed that they would kill.

South African Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius (born 22 November 1986), taking part in the Landsmót ungmennafélags Íslands in Kópavogur, Iceland, the largest sporting event in Iceland which is held every three years. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The judges have to take into account that the defendant is handicapped and would have been unable to escape easily from his home.

Professor Stephen Tucson, who teaches criminal law and procedure at Wits University, believes that the State has a strong case.

He said:

“The consensus of opinion seems to suggest that the SCA has the power to change the verdict. There are two options. If they say there was an error and order a new trial, it will go to any other judge but a re-sentencing… will go back to Judge Masipa.”

(This is part I in a series).

Sportstar relaunches itself digitally: What’s the future?

Sportstar magazine launched its new digital version sportstarlive.com on October 25 at the Madras Cricket Club.

The previous site was sportstaronnet.com where editions until October 24 are still available.

Eminent sportspersons present at the inauguration were  Ramanathan Krishnan, S. Venkatraghavan , Pankaj Advani, Sardar Singh and  Joshna Chinappa.

The other notable luminaries present included Ayon Sengupta, Editor,Sportstar and  N. Ram, chairman, Kasturi & Sons Limited.

The Sportstar is one of only two all-sports print magazines in the country.

The other is Sports Illustrated India.

Other Indian sports magazines that have since become defunct include Sportsweek and Sportsworld.

Sportsworld was started in 1983. Its first editor was Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. It downed shutters in the 1990s.

Sportsweek magazine closed shop in 1989. It was founded in 1968.

Clayton Murzello writes of Sportsweek, 25 years on:

“In pre-satellite television days, these magazines helped popularise the game immensely. In the early 1970s, Sportsweek ‘covered’ some of their issues with the latest update on Test matches featuring India. And as any collector will tell you, those issues are priceless. In the mid-1980s, a famous actor-cum-passionate sports fan visited my home to borrow a book, which had a collection of sports articles that included an extract from Jesse Owens’ autobiography My Life as Black Man and White Man. He asked if he could see my modest collection and among the few bound volumes of Sportsweek, he spotted the one that contained issues of India’s 1971 triumph in the West Indies. He asked if he could have that volume. I politely refused.”

He adds:

“Sportsweek’s popularity with sportspersons was constant. Long before cricketers received huge cheques, Sportsweek sponsored the man-of-the-match awards. Big cricket stars endorsed the magazine. And Farokh Engineer used to say in a radio commercial, ‘I am Farokh Engineer. I read Sportsweek. Do you?’ “

Sportstar is a weekly sports magazine and one of the sister publications of the daily The Hindu.  Its operations are based in Chennai.

CNNSI logo used from 1996 to 2001. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sports Illustrated India is a recent entrant to the magazine business in India.

The first edition was published in October 2009.

It is Sportstar’s only significant competition.

Can these magazines survive in the cut-throat environment of print publishing?

Or will they too slowly become defunct or solely online publications?

Isn’t there a story here? A well-researched one?

Methinks, there will always be space for good quality, well-thought out articles on sports.

What about you?

Was Kapil stingy while critiquing Tendulkar, Mumbai’s last khadoos? (Updated)

Kapil Dev has either put his foot in his mouth or has been remarkably perspicacious.

Last week, Wisden’s greatest Indian cricketer of the last century made some outsized comments about India’s all-time greatest cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

Speaking to Khaleej Times in Dubai, he said:

“He (Sachin) got stuck with Bombay cricket. He didn’t apply himself to ruthless international cricket. I think he should have spent more time with Vivian Richards than some of the Bombay guys who played just neat and straight cricket. He did not know how to make double hundreds, triple hundreds and 400 though he had the ability, and was stuck in the Mumbai school of cricket.”

Coming in the wake of Virender Sehwag’s retirement, India’s only triple centurion, the remarks raked up debates both about Sachin’s comparative contribution to Indian cricket and the continuing North-South divide in the country.

While Tendulkar, ever the gentleman, refused to respond to his former skipper’s barbs, Mumbai cricketers were up in arms.

Ajit Wadekar responded to the apparent dislike for Mumbai cricketers in the all-rounder’s observations thus:

“Yes, in a way, I can sense that dislike. I have been experiencing it since my University cricket days. A lot of Northern players disliked us. They enjoyed staying in Mumbai, but not playing against Mumbai.

In the final analysis, Sachin scored the maximum runs and is a true legend, and where Mumbai cricket is concerned, – we always – everyone including Sachin and Sunil Gavaskar – played for the team and not for ourselves. That’s why we won the Ranji Trophy 40 times. We knew how to win.”

Former Mumbai captain Raju Kulkarni said:

“I find Kapil’s comments absurd. It’s also very unfair to Sachin and Mumbai cricket. He’s talking about centuries of a man who has scored 100 international tons. We were brought up with our seniors telling us that when you get a hundred, go on and get a double and a triple, but don’t give your wicket away.I was at a function recently where Sunil Gavaskar was talking to a group of ex-cricketers. When he saw Chandrakant Pandit (Mumbai coach) leaving the room, Sunil left the conversation and went up to Chandu. I overhead him telling Chandu that Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer should look to get 200 after his 100 and if he can’t get 300, he should not get out. That’s the kind of cricket upbringing we had.”

Dilip Vengsarkar, vice-president of Mumbai Cricket Association, quipped:

“That’s his (Kapil’s) opinion. What can one say?”

Tendulkar has 51 Test hundreds to his credit. His highest score, however, was an unbeaten 248.

The ‘Mumbai cricketer‘, as an archetype, is renowned for his khadoos (cussedly never say die) attitude.

Hemant Kenkre writes:

“The answer lies not just in the many maidans of Mumbai – the breeding grounds for its cricketers – but in the psyche of the city; one that lures millions of people from all over India, whose life is ruled by the time-tables of the railway ‘locals’, traffic snarls, unending queues, crowded tenements, and many more hardships that the city dishes out to the worker ants that flock there in search of gold. After commuting for two hours in a crowded Mumbai train, no cricketer is ever going to give it away on a platter to the next one waiting in the tent. The city breeds the khadoos attitude in its cricketers. Mumbai, like cricket, does not give you a second chance.”

Kenkre also formulates a theory  for the decline in Mumbai’s fortunes in the Ranji Trophy and why fewer and fewer local cricketers are donning national colours.

“From the glorious fifties and the sixties, Mumbai’s domination has waned. The team may have won the Ranji Trophy often enough in recent times – and 39 times to date – but the current side, though competent, doesn’t resemble the ones of the past that dominated the tournament. The analysts attribute that to the rapid strides made by other states, but if you ask any former Mumbai cricketer, he will ascribe the decline to the lack of loyalty to clubs, and commercial distractions like the IPL. In the past it was very rare for a player to switch clubs, no matter what incentives were offered. The pride of wearing the club and state/city cap meant a lot more to the ‘amateur’ generation – and so it was when they wore the India blazer as well. It would seem the days when a Mumbai cricketer was fiercely loyal first to his club then to his state/city and the nation are behind us.”

Shamya Dasgupta voices similar thoughts:

“Khadoos cricket, yes, that’s what distinguished Mumbai. A team of players who refused to cede ground; a team that knew not only how to win, but more – how not to lose. That great Mumbai element – it seems to have vanished.”

Lalchand Rajput, in an interview in 2012, said:

“Earlier players never used to go to other associations, so they used to be here and try to retain their place in spite of not getting into the team. So they used to be more determined to get in to the team. But now they have options to play for other associations. That’s why that khadoos nature is a thing of the past. “

Ajit Wadekar, speaking to the Tribune in June this year, said:

“Mumbai cricketers’ ‘khadoos’ approach is missing. I am afraid to say that, but the rich legacy of Mumbai cricket hasn’t been carried forward by the younger lot of cricketers, for whom, the loyalty has shifted from representing the country to first securing an IPL contract with a franchise.

There’s no loyalty factor involved. The players are missing out on that wonderful feeling of playing as a unit, be it representing the Mumbai domestic side or featuring in the Indian team. These days, players don’t necessarily work on their basics. They experiment with their shots quite often. Also, the coaches at the academies tell the trainees that they are the next Sachin Tendulkar. This illegal mushrooming of academies is harmful. It’s a big money-making racket. These coaches promise the trainees of landing them an IPL contract and thus encourage them to play more like a T20 specialist.”

Vengsarkar added:

“What is required in Mumbai is advanced coaching. IPL has started the mushroom growth of coaches. I don’t know whether they give the right kind of inputs to the young cricketers. Mumbai cricket has fallen a great deal over the last 2-4 years. Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy for 16 straight years. I hope those days would come back. We have to revive it.”

Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma are the latest stalwarts from Mumbai representing the country at the highest level.

Sharma has yet to make his mark in Test cricket whereas he has slammed two double hundreds in ODIs and another in T20s. He is only the second Indian cricketer after Suresh Raina to have international hundreds in all forms of the game. While that seems impressive, the records are deceptive. Raina has failed miserably in Tests and is considered an ODI and T20 specialist. It is feared that Sharma might go the way of the hugely talented Yuvraj Singh who mustered just 20+ Test appearances in an otherwise stellar career.

That begs the question: Is Tendulkar Mumbai cricket’s last khadoos? 

Kapil’s comments about Tendulkar cannot be easily brushed aside as northern chauvinism.

It would be interesting to see in how many of the centurion innings by Tendulkar, Sehwag, Richards and Lara, did any of their teammates cross 75?  If few, that would imply that these greats  were performing at a much higher level than their contemporaries during those epochal stays.

Rather than trying to deduce the answer myself, I’ve simply decided to Ask Steven.

If you know the answer, you can comment below.

Thanks to Arnold D’souza, who answered my query on Facebook, I have the answers:

BC Lara (WI) – (17/34) — 50%
SM Gavaskar (India) – (15/34) — 44.12%
SR Tendulkar (India) – (14/51) — 27.45%
V Sehwag (India) – (8/23) — 34.78%

IVA Richards (WI) – (12/24) — 50%
DG Bradman (Aus) – (6/29) — 20.69%

By the above yardstick, the two West Indians are head-and-shoulders above the rest. Lara’s performance does not surprise so much; he was part of a much weakened West Indian side in decline. It’s Richards’ figures that are outstanding. He towers above batsmen of the caliber of Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Alvin Kalicharran, Clive Lloyd and Richie Richardson.

Sehwag edges ahead of Tendulkar on the basis of this criteria. Of course, this does not factor in the Little Master’s longevity.

But it’s Gavaskar, the most technically accomplished batsman of his era, who is India’s batter to turn to when you wish someone would bat for your life.

The list would be more complete if I added Rahul Dravid, Allan Border and Steve Waugh to the mix.

Tweeted reactions to Kapil’s comments:

https://twitter.com/AltCricket/status/660051141363912707

https://twitter.com/PunWithSarcasm/status/659687599687139328

https://twitter.com/KarikadaiBoy/status/659682015659188225

https://twitter.com/LoKrLoBaat/status/659681919467065344

Kapil Dev has since clarified his statements about Sachin terming him an “underachiever”.

He said:

“Gavaskar used to say that I should have scored 5000 runs more than what I did. In hindsight, I agree I should have taken my batting seriously. But importantly, I didn’t take Gavaskar’s remark in the wrong sense. He challenged me and I accepted it.

Needless is the word. Sachin, I’ve always said, was a fabulous cricketer and more talented than Viv (Richards). He had the calibre to be as ruthless, or more, but did not deliver as much as I had expected. He got 100 international 100s but his potential was greater.

How else could I have described him? He was an underachiever and that I maintain was a compliment. He could have done better. Am I wrong?” 

He added:

“Sachin was clearly ahead of his time but he did not grow as I wanted him to grow. I loved the Sachin of Sharjah 1998 when he clubbed the Australians. His dominance was complete and stroke-play so imperious. He made good bowlers look ordinary, could hit boundaries at will but that Sachin was lost somewhere as his career progressed.

He was worth much more and that is what I meant.”

Does he not call me Paaji? Can an elder brother not say what he feels about his younger brother? I did precisely that.”

On Mumbai cricket:

“I respect Mumbai cricket and cricketers. They laid the base for the growth of Indian cricket but the game has changed and it is time we all realised and accepted it.

We also need to rise above petty regionalism. Mumbai is mine too. We would like to see Mumbai cricket and cricketers to move on. It is not about Mumbai, Haryana or Delhi.. It is about Indian cricket… Also, (Ajit) Wadekar Sir should please understand that I am a true Indian and Mumbai is part of us. I am a Bombaywalah too.”

Why isn’t recusal good enough for Roger Binny’s conflict of interest?

Is Shashank Manohar going too far with his conflict of interest reforms?

South Zone selector Roger Binny is under the hammer.

The proposed 29-point-agenda foresees serving notice to selectors who have financial or business interests with players.

Stuart Binny, Roger’s son, is currently a contender for the ODI and Test sides.

He enjoys the support of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.

Binny Sr. has always recused himself from committee deliberations whenever his son’s case came up.

A senior BCCI official, speaking to Times of India, said:

“I believe he should step down from his post. His work as national selector has been impeccable but with Stuart part of the Indian team, the ‘conflict of interest’ issue might come up in different quarters.

The board is planning to implement the points suggested by Manohar into its constitution and if and when it is done, Roger’s position may directly be in conflict.The rest of the selectors still have one more year on their term and may be asked to continue.”

The precedent cited is that of Manohar’s son Adwait stepping down from his positions in the BCCI soon after his dad took over the board to avoid any conflict of interest.

BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary said:

“The points made by the president are only suggestions at the moment, which will come up for discussion at the AGM. If the consensus in the board is on incorporating some of these points into the constitution, it’ll be done.

However, regarding conflict of interest over Roger, we are not part of the selection meetings and don’t know if Roger is present when his son’s name comes up for discussion. So it’s very difficult to prove a conflict in this case.”

The said requirements are way too stringent.

What the BCCI seems to imply is that an ex-cricketer can be a selector as long as his relatives are not competing for a spot in any of the sides the national selectors oversee.

Once his relatives are serious challengers, out goes the selector!

The practice of recusal is well-known and is often used to address a perceived conflict of interest.

To provide an analogy:

A university professor whose son or daughter were students in his or her class would not be stopped from teaching their class.

He or she would however not be allowed to set examination papers or mark results of the entire class.

The above is an example of recusal at its simplest.

It is the principle that ought to be applied to conflict of interest issues with national selectors when the reasons why they are in contravention are filial.

Conflict of interest issues, such as above, could be handled on a case-by-case basis.

The rules follow the principles and not vice-versa.

Shashank Manohar is inclined towards a stricter interpretation of the law. Even a perceived conflict of interest is to be summarily dealt with.

An India player is worth much more on the IPL auction block than a junior or Ranji cricketer.

Follow this thread of thought and you’ll understand the reasoning behind the latest BCCI thrust.

The law can be an ass sometimes and a stricter law a bigger ass.

Are the proposed diktats practical given the current dispensation where administrators and ex-cricketers have their fingers in more than one pie?

Can the BCCI attract enough ex-sportspersons to keep its machinery going?

Its pockets are deep enough.

Melissa Reid: Golf’s comeback queen on the European circuit

Who is Melissa Reid?

If you are a golfer or a golf fan, more specifically, a follower of women’s golf and you are acquainted with the Indian Open held last week at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon, you would know that she’s the fourth ranked player on the Ladies European Tour (LET).

Reid has been a professional golfer for the past seven years.

She was rookie of the year in 2008.

She won her first title in 2010—the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open.

She has four more titles to her name:

Deloitte Ladies Open 2011

Open De España Femenino 2011

Raiffeisenbank Prague Golf Masters 2012

Turkish Airlines Ladies Open 2015.

It was in May 2012 that Melissa lost her mother Joy in a car accident. Joy was travelling to Munich to see her daughter take part in a LET event. Her husband, Brian, survived. Joy succumbed to internal injuries in the head-on collision.

Reid did not stop golfing but her performance deteriorated.

In 2012, Reid was well on her way to being Britain’s No. 1 woman golfer.

Reid says that the attempts at continuing “papered over the cracks”.

Her personal life suffered and her ranking plummeted to 333.

SOUTHPORT, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 27: Melissa Reid of England walks off the 8th green during pro-am round before 2010 Ricoh Women’s British Open held at Royal Birkdale on July 27, 2010 in Southport, England. (Photo by Wojciech Migda) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Speaking to ESPNW, she said:

“I was a mess.I wasn’t coping, I was rebelling. I was spending time with people who partied. I was hitting the self-destruct button. I was with a lot of people, but I was lonely.”

Things took a turn for the better last November when she met Kevin Craggs.

Craggs is now her mentor and coach.

Craggs says:

“I always say to my players when they first come: I can teach you and to do that I don’t need to know you. But to coach you, that’s very different. Teaching improves the swing, coaching improves your psychological outlook, your lifestyle, your tactical game, everything.”

Melissa adds:

“I was having doubts for two years. I didn’t really have anything else to do, though.

I was lucky, Kev saved my career. I sat with him at breakfast after we started and I just told him everything, stuff I’d never said out loud. It wasn’t easy, but doing it lifted such a weight off my shoulders.”

LYTHAM ST ANNES, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 29: Melissa Reid of England on the 11th green during third practice round before 2009 Ricoh Women’s British Open held at Royal Lytham & St Annes on July 29, 2009 in Lytham St Annes, England. (Photo by Wojciech Migda) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Matt Cooper writes:

“Reid grew in confidence over the winter: ‘I began to notice that for the first time in ages I wanted golf again. I worked harder, I had more focus and I began to get rewards.’ In May she returned to Turkey, scene of her first professional win in 2010, and claimed her fifth LET title, the first since Prague.”

What’s the difference between the Melissa of then and now?

Craggs puts it succinctly:

“We recently discussed that very subject and you know what I told her? I said: You possess the B word and the B word is balance. Career, technique, thinking and lifestyle, they’re all in balance. When a sportsperson — or a businessman, or anyone for that matter — is at their happiest, they’re in balance.”

Melissa says:

“Having what has happened to me as a professional golfer, in sport, is difficult. I was having to put on a face and it was hard work. I was sad, I was feeling really sad. Now I feel very different.

I don’t want to not talk about it because I don’t want people to forget what sort of woman my mum was. You never ever forget what happened, you never ever forget the pain, but you must use it almost like energy. Giving up is the easy thing to do.”

Melissa is one of the most glamorous faces on the Ladies European Tour.

She claims that prior to her mother’s death she was more of a golfing robot.

She said:

“I think I was very much protected. I had a lot of people do a lot of things for me and when something like that happens to you in your life, you have to step up.

It makes you realise a lot about yourself and there were a lot of things I didn’t particularly like about myself. I thought I was pretty much invincible and all I thought about was golf.

So if there is any positive that’s come out of it, and it may sound clichéd, I’ve certainly discovered myself.

I’m certainly not a robot, I’m a human being and I want to be the best person I can be as well as the best golfer I can be.

Before all I thought about was golf.”

This year, Melissa was back to representing Europe at the biennial Solheim Cup.

The Cup is played against the US. Melissa last played in 2011, with Europe claiming the title.

The tournament is played over three days.

Melissa was in India recently for the Indian Open along with Solheim teammate and last year’s winner Gwladys Nocera of France, Thidapa Suwannapura of Thailand, fellow Brit Trish Johnson and  Cheyenne Woods, niece to Tiger Woods.

India’s top golfers Vani Kapoor, Sharmila Nicollet and Vaishavi Sinha also participated.

Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen clinched the title pushing her closest contenders Cheyenne Woods, Becky Morgan and Malene Jorgensen to joint second place.

Melissa made the cut but finished 30th.

She continues to be No.4 on the LET.

Melissa is active on Twitter and tweets at @melreidgolf.

Her Facebook page (Community) has not been updated since 23rd September, 2012.

Her Instagram account buzzes.

Blame game has a fresh target—curator Sudhir Naik

Blame the pitch, blame the curator, blame your bowlers, blame your batsmen, blame your running between wickets, blame your fielders but never ever, ever blame the opposition for out-batting, out-bowling and out-playing your side through the most part of the series.

Ravi Shastri, former Indian cricketer. 4 Test series vs Australia at Adelaide Oval (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ravi Shastri allegedly had harsh words for Sudhir Naik, the Wankhede curator.

He expressed his displeasure after the South Africans posted a mammoth total on a benign wicket all but wrapping up the series before the Indians came out to bat.

His behaviour is to be deplored.

Curators are responsible for preparing pitches keeping in mind soil and weather conditions.

Indian skippers and support staff seem to believe that they ought to always be given the extra edge, not by taking scheduling and conditions into account, but based on how they have fared in the series up to that point.

Naik claims that he was told to prepare a turning wicket just two days before the game—an impossibility.

It is time that Indian team management admitted that they are no longer bully boys on sub-continental wickets given that their South African, Australian, English and Kiwi counterparts are now accustomed both to the heat and the batting conditions courtesy the IPL.

They would be better off choosing the best bowlers for all conditions rather than ‘horses for courses’.

The BCCI should also spell out specific guidelines in their newly drafted conflict of interest rules that would prevent such a situation recurring in the future.

Curators’ decisions must be independent of the Indian team’s vagaries and fortunes.

Therein lies the best interests of Indian cricket.

The question then is: Are these the best players in the country at the moment? If not, where are the ones who deserve to be in the side? Why have they been overlooked?