sharad pawar

India Cricket: Vinod Kambli’s allegations make him a pariah

Reactions to Vinod Kambli’s match-fixing allegations keep pouring in from all quarters.

Vaibhav Purandare, in a hard-hitting article for the Hindustan Times, points out that Mohammad Azharuddin’s comments deriding Kambli “are in poor taste.”

(The article is not available online—yet).

Though I am not in agreement with Purandare’s professed opinion on other topics (more about that later), I am in sync on this.

Kambli comes from a backward caste; he was unconventional, even Calypsonian, in his approach to the game.

He was once termed the only West Indian in the Indian side.

Cricket: Ten reasons why the BCCI opposes DRS (Humour)

Ten reasons why the BCCI steadfastly refuses to utilize the Decision Review System (DRS) in bilateral series involving India:

10) BCCI honchos believe DRS stands for Debatable Review System.

9) Test umpires paid off the BCCI to oppose the system.

8) BCCI members feel left out of the process; if this decision is taken out of their hands, what will board members convene a press conference for?

7) The BCCI have yet to form a committee to weigh pros and cons of the system.

6) DRS research files are with Lalit Modi. It is too embarrassing for the BCCI to request them back now.

5) BCCI officials do not agree with the term "snickometer". It sounds too much like "snickermeter" or "sniggermeter’". A retrospective fallout.

4) The BCCI have not received permission from the defence ministry to import the system.  It is military equipment, after all. The Indian government wishes to build HotSpot indigenously instead.

3) The BCCI would rather wait for FIFA to first approve goal-line technology. Heaven forbid that they be perceived as more progressive than the world’s foremost soccer body.

2) The memo approving the system is pending with Messr Sharad Pawar. The honourable minister desires to table a motion before parliament.

1) "Call us bully-boys, will ya? Let’s behave so."

Quote of the day: The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. – George Bernard Shaw

ICC adopts a ‘short’ rule for men’s cricket (Satire)

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has ruled that from July 2011 onwards, all men players are to wear sleeveless Tees and shorts while representing their sides on the cricket field.

The rules apply across the board and are applicable for international as well as domestic games.

It is the ICC’s desire to make the sport ‘more attractive and presentable’ to the Rest of The World.

Liz Hurley and Sakshi Dhoni promote WAGS IPL (Satire)

Quick on the heels of Anjum Chopra’s request to the BCCI to hold an IPL for women cricketers, the premier sports administrative body in the country received another appeal— this time for an IPL constituting wives and girlfriends (WAGS) of cricketers.

The move is spearheaded by Australian spinner Shane Warne’s current love interest, Elizabeth Hurley and MS Dhoni’s wife, Sakshi.

Is Writer Fatigue the reason for staid cricketing copy? (Satire)

The Cricket Writers Association of India (CWAI) are up in arms.

The premier union of sports writers has written to the BCCI regarding the hectic Indian cricket calendar this year .

Beginning with the Ashes and the India-South Africa tour, followed by the World Cup and now the IPL, it has been one form of cricket followed by the other, with nary a break.

“What about the helpless journos?” cries CWAI president, Wicketless Witter.

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ICC World Cup 2011: Ticketing fiascos and lathi-charges

Image via Wikipedia

Cricket fans across India are left aghast and appalled by the CWC ticketing fiasco that culminated in a lathi-charge on eager fans at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on the 24th of February, 2011

Over 30,000 fans queued up to snap up 7000 tickets for the India-England tie scheduled for Sunday, the 27th of February.

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The IPL Lull: Sunny still simmers, Chahar heads the domestic signup roster

Image by thegirlrg via Flickr

The IPL saga saw a lull in the proceedings because of the Diwali holidays. Indian fans were quite content enjoying the fireworks on display at Motera with Sehwag and Bhajji eking out explosive knocks.

But the IPL has not quite escaped the news. The side actors have played their part.

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