Racism and Hypocrisy.
What did you guys think of this whole harbhajan affair ? I am glad it's all done and dusted but can't help but notice a few things that came out of this. First off, calling a white guy a monkey is racist ? I know if it was directed at a black guy it's racist. Since when did calling a white guy a monkey become racist ? Also I wonder if Harbhajan did it with any "racist" intentions. I am inclined to think that he would have called him that to irritate the heck out of symonds or to stand up against the smack talking aussies. I would be surprised if bhajji actually understood the implications of the word. All that said and done, I am sure there were thousands of instances where extremely offensive, sexist and racist remarks have been exchanged on the cricket field in the past especially by the bad behaving aussies. For eg: the remark made by Mcgrath at Sarwan (also Mcgrath could not take it well when it was given back to him). Now why this cry baby approach to escalating this one alone ? Hypocrisy I thought.
Having said that, this power show by the indian board is getting way out of hand. One word - Childish. The aussies are not going to make up stuff when it comes to something like this. But we'll leave the "what actually happened" out of this conversation. Why does the indian board have this stupid - charge him, we'll take the next plane home - suspend him, we're pulling out- attitude. This attitude absolutely stinks. They have no idea how many enemies they are making for themselves here.I just hope they stop treating this like a "Victory of Rama over Ravana" and start behaving professionally. Standing up for your player is one thing, but playing big stack when it's completely unnecessary will not bode well for the board in the long term. I understand the aussies' frustration over how it all transpired. Afterall if saying the magic word makes him guilty, regardless of the actual intentions and if it was provoked, then according to them, he is guilty. And he's getting out scot free because there's millions of $ to be lost if he's charged.
About 10 years back when Shastri and Gavaskar were new to the commentary arena, I used to think "aah, we have 2 really good cricket minds and mature people to represent india". Not that there are any battles to be won here. Now I have officially scratched one of them off the list. Shastri is doing a terrific job and I thought his decision not to carry on after the bangladesh tour was a master stroke. He quit while he was ahead and was a winner in a field where there are no winners, from a reputation perspective. Also, his comments about the indian team and world cricket in general seems to be well thought out, analyzed and even his criticisms seem to have a constructive flavor to them. I think he balances neutrality and patriotism beautifully. On the other hand, Mr. Sunny Gavaskar seems to land himself in trouble quicker than Wasim jaffer can get out on australian wickets. His recent criticism of Mike Procter, I thought was completely uncalled for especially since his comments were based on assumptions and not facts. I think he should stop talking for some time to protect what's left of his dignity.
Having said that, this power show by the indian board is getting way out of hand. One word - Childish. The aussies are not going to make up stuff when it comes to something like this. But we'll leave the "what actually happened" out of this conversation. Why does the indian board have this stupid - charge him, we'll take the next plane home - suspend him, we're pulling out- attitude. This attitude absolutely stinks. They have no idea how many enemies they are making for themselves here.I just hope they stop treating this like a "Victory of Rama over Ravana" and start behaving professionally. Standing up for your player is one thing, but playing big stack when it's completely unnecessary will not bode well for the board in the long term. I understand the aussies' frustration over how it all transpired. Afterall if saying the magic word makes him guilty, regardless of the actual intentions and if it was provoked, then according to them, he is guilty. And he's getting out scot free because there's millions of $ to be lost if he's charged.
About 10 years back when Shastri and Gavaskar were new to the commentary arena, I used to think "aah, we have 2 really good cricket minds and mature people to represent india". Not that there are any battles to be won here. Now I have officially scratched one of them off the list. Shastri is doing a terrific job and I thought his decision not to carry on after the bangladesh tour was a master stroke. He quit while he was ahead and was a winner in a field where there are no winners, from a reputation perspective. Also, his comments about the indian team and world cricket in general seems to be well thought out, analyzed and even his criticisms seem to have a constructive flavor to them. I think he balances neutrality and patriotism beautifully. On the other hand, Mr. Sunny Gavaskar seems to land himself in trouble quicker than Wasim jaffer can get out on australian wickets. His recent criticism of Mike Procter, I thought was completely uncalled for especially since his comments were based on assumptions and not facts. I think he should stop talking for some time to protect what's left of his dignity.
posted by dinesh at
12:37 PM
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11 comments
