What he said:
“Politicians have keys to open doors which others do not have.”
Dr. Farooq Abdullah is sanguine about the role of politicians in sports administration.Abdullah has headed the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) over 30 years. He was quoted responding to media queries following Dilip Vengsarkar’s loss in the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) elections.
What he really meant:
“Yeh hai India, meri jaan, where politicians feel it’s their birthright to have their fingers in every pie.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Dilip would make a wonderful chief minister.”
“I have always played with a straight bat and never played a reverse sweep. It is shameful that I have been targeted.”
Dilip Vengsarkar is disappointed that he has been targeted by the Vilasrao Deshmukh faction in the run-up to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) elections. The former Indian captain is gunning for the post of President.
What he really meant:
“In our time, the reverse sweep was a high risk shot. Now, it’s almost pedestrian compared to the switch hit.”
“Politicians try all kinds of shots. You see, they’ve never played the game.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“This is a sticky wicket. A vicious turn of events.”
What he said:
“What has been happening was the player trying to be the ruler. If the player becomes the ruler we can’t play a game."
Sri Lankan sports minister, Upali Dharmadasa, is less than pleased with Kumara Sangakkara’s speech at the Marylebone Cricket Club exposing the shenanigans within the Sri Lankan Cricket Board.
What he really meant:
“We politicians can’t play cricket, can we? But neither can he (Sangakkara), if he’s administrating. Does he want a party ticket?”
What he definitely didn’t:
“By the players, for the players, of the players.”
"When you play as a cricketer, they all love you as a unit. When you go to a [political] party, naturally it’s divided. So I need to face that.Just before I came to politics, I thought of that, and I know it’s going to be a half-half situation – unless you’re a very big fan of mine."
Sanath Jayasuriya accepts that he will not be adored unconditionally as a politician, as he was when he was merely a cricketer. The Sri Lankan legend is a member of parliament on a ticket from President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party.
What he really meant:
“Politics is divisive and so are politicians.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I do things by half.”