rajiv shukla

Nasser Hussain: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Nasser Hussain Is ‘Asinine’

What he said:

“I do believe that India have a few, three or four, very good fielders and one or two donkeys in the field still.”

Nasser Hussain’s remark comparing Indian fielders to donkeys has drawn flak from the Indian media,ex-cricketers, BCCI administrators and even Bollywood superstar, Amitabh Bachchan.

The Big B tweeted:

“Did not like Nasir Hussain ex cricket Captain of UK, refer to Indian fielders as ‘donkeys’, as he commentated on tour of our team.”

BCCI Vice-President Rajiv Shukla said:

Hussain’s comment was totally uncalled for. One should adopt restraint while making observations about players. Commentators should not make such comments. We will definitely look into it .Every player has to be respected irrespective of his performance. I don’t think this comment was appropriate.

Former teammate Michael Vaughan tweeted his support for Hussain:

“Just seen that Nasser said the Indians have a couple of Donkeys in the field… How wrong can he be!!!! I have seen at least 4….”

Vaughan’s re-stoking the ire of Indian fans’ was met with jibes online.

Sample a couple of his responses to Indian fans:

@vivekramindian Very true… I was useless in the field.. But I would be a superstar at cover point in this Indian team.

@kundankumar21: @VaughanCricket corrctly said.. when england also have a DOG like you on field in recent past…” my dog is very fast…

What Hussain really meant:

“When I say donkeys, I mean laden ones. They’re quite quick otherwise.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I hope the SPCA doesn’t take umbrage.”

IPL: Sunny Gavaskar hits the headlines, Kochi decision on Wednesday

Sunny Gavaskar hits the deadlines once more; this time it is his links with the Kochi franchise that have drawn flak from all quarters.

The Indian batting legend , the first cricketer to score 10,000 runs and surpass Don Bradman’s 29 tons, is mulling over an offer from the Gaikwads, the Rendezvous group owners, to handle all matters cricketing.

The news comes as a bit of a surprise and there exists speculation about Gavaskar’s role in the bidding process as a possible conflict of interest ; the master batsman was then on the IPL governing council.

(The  fallout between Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor was the result of allegations that Tharoor sought Modi’s interference in the bidding process to ensure that the Kochi group’s bid would be successful.)

Gavaskar is no longer a part of the IPL set-up; he quit the re-constituted governing council citing differences with the BCCI.

Was the conflict of interest a reason for the differences? If yes, why then was just the super accumulator penalised?

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