Indian Cricket v2.01

Guess Indian Cricket will again be the toast of nation with IPl around. Might as well have a thread in.

In a big development, the once superstar of Indian one day team, Mohammad Kaif has been send back home with 6 others from Rajasthan Royals. He has been dropped and at the same time not put up for sale in the earlier transfer window and so has ended as the first casuality among senior big names to lose out on all fronts.

Quite a few seniors I think were damp squibs last edition.

Batman wrote:Guess Indian Cricket will again be the toast of nation with IPl around. Might as well have a thread in.

South Africa?

In a more shocking development Harbhajan and Dhoni stood up the President's party for a ceremony to award them Padmashri [The highest Civilian honour given by the Govt]. A ceremony was postponed when awards were declared since they were in NZ and rescheduled. While other starts of Indian sport like Beijing Olympics Gold Medalist Abhinav Binda showed up for the honour, Dhoni and Bhajji, very much in Delhi in the national capital snubbed the event by shooting for an ad-film itself, instead. They couldn't have given an hour for something so less important I suppose.

Money comes before national honour for some. It is definately a disgrace. But I suppose some others may view it differently.

I just don't see any Saffie, Kiwi, Aussie, English, Lankan or a Pak player doing something so disrespectful.

Kaif deserved to be dropped. Didn't do anything at all last season. I'm actually surprised Deccan have retained VVS Laxman. Not a T20 player at all.

Henry wrote:Kaif deserved to be dropped. Didn't do anything at all last season. I'm actually surprised Deccan have retained VVS Laxman. Not a T20 player at all.

Not that I contradict. I said there were other big name non-performers last season, so they better be on their toes.....

In a more shocking development Harbhajan and Dhoni stood up the President's party for a ceremony to award them Padmashri [The highest Civilian honour given by the Govt].

For winning the series in New Zealand?

That beats the poms getting MBEs for the Ashes win . . .

Harby was getting his for bitch slapping Sreesanth and upsetting Roy

embee wrote:Harby was getting his for bitch slapping Sreesanth and upsetting Roy

Very well deserving then

I recently watched a domestic game on TV where Kaif played. Would always amaze me that he almost made a career in the Indian team.

And Bhajji had family problems, he clarified. Not sure about the skipper.

For winning the series in New Zealand?

This award was announced about 5-6 months back.

And Bhajji had family problems, he clarified.

But as always cricketers are soft targets in India.

And Bhajji had family problems...

So he was at the monkey enclosure at the Zoo, eh?

Would always amaze me that he almost made a career in the Indian team.

I still get amazed how close he was to selection in Indian test team just 6 months back against Aussies.

Pity about him being an utter failure in Irani tropy, selection trial for Indian test team for the first test against Aussies.

It could be an excuse [Bhajji]. There are clear reports he was shooting for a commercial for the IPL with Dhoni.

If his family member was ill, what was he doing in Delhi far away from home?

Kaif had been identified as an Indian captain of the future from early on though, hadn't he. He started his ODI career well but never kicked on. He was a gritty customer, but it's likely that he'll fade into domestic cricket obscurity now.

Dhoni, Harbhajan's casualness flayed


Sports Minister M S Gill on Thursday flayed the 'casualness' of India's cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh for skipping the Padma Shri function and said the Ministry would soon issue a circular to ensure sportspersons treat national awards with utmost respect.

Dhoni and his India teammate Harbhajan were conspicuous by their absence at the Rashtrapati Bhavan ceremony, where they were expected to receive the Padma Shri from President Pratibha Patil.

Even though reports claimed the duo gave it a miss because of commercial pre-occupations, Harbhajan cited family commitment as the reason for skipping the awards function.

The Sports Minister, however, was not convinced and even though he refused to name the duo, said he would not brook such casualness by anyone.

"To be selected for such a national honour and then getting the opportunity of receiving it from the President of India is rare good fortune and must be treated with greatest respect. I certainly don't approve of any casualness in anyone's approach," Gill said.

And to ensure it does not happen again, the Ministry would issue a new circular soon, he said.

"We will soon issue a new circular for public information and send a copy to the Home Ministry, which would inform sportspersons about our policy to ensure that the players don't treat national awards with such casualness," Gill said.

He also lashed out at the practice of sending "substitutes" to the investiture ceremony and said such a thing is unthinkable in countries like England.

"As the Sports Minister, I was involved with national sports awards last year where the President gave away Arjuna, Dronacharya, Dhyan Chand and Tenzing Norgay awards. I was very surprised to see that a number of sportspersons sent substitutes to the ceremony. For me, this is totally unacceptable.

"Nobody in England can think about sending a substitute to the Queen in the annual award ceremony. I remember how Ian Botham received his Knighthood with all due respect for the Queen," Gill said.

He said it was also a clear violation of the Sports Ministry's instruction to either personally receive the award or, in case of unavoidable reasons, send a letter of apology well before the event.

"After last year's sport awards, I held a meeting and issued a firm direction to all the federation and sport bodies that from now onwards, all sportspersons must receive his or her in person and would not be allowed to send substitutes to the President", Gill said.

"And if there are any genuine reasons prevent them from turning up, they must send an apology in advance so that at a later date the Sports Minister can give them the award," he added.

In tems of protocol and decorum, this was as bad as it can get.

In terms of the kind of President we have now and the circumstances in which she was nominated, it is quite well deserved though....

tac wrote:

In a more shocking development Harbhajan and Dhoni stood up the President's party for a ceremony to award them Padmashri [The highest Civilian honour given by the Govt].

For winning the series in New Zealand?

That beats the poms getting MBEs for the Ashes win . . .

Erm, RTFS tac.

In a more shocking development Harbhajan and Dhoni stood up the President's party for a ceremony to award them Padmashri [The highest Civilian honour given by the Govt]. A ceremony was postponed when awards were declared since they were in NZ and rescheduled. While other starts of Indian sport like Beijing Olympics Gold Medalist Abhinav Binda showed up for the honour, Dhoni and Bhajji, very much in Delhi in the national capital snubbed the event by shooting for an ad-film itself, instead. They couldn't have given an hour for something so less important I suppose.

Batman wrote:In a more shocking development Harbhajan and Dhoni stood up the President's party for a ceremony to award them Padmashri [The highest Civilian honour given by the Govt]. A ceremony was postponed when awards were declared since they were in NZ and rescheduled. While other starts of Indian sport like Beijing Olympics Gold Medalist Abhinav Binda showed up for the honour, Dhoni and Bhajji, very much in Delhi in the national capital snubbed the event by shooting for an ad-film itself, instead. They couldn't have given an hour for something so less important I suppose.

Money comes before national honour for some. It is definately a disgrace. But I suppose some others may view it differently.

I just don't see any Saffie, Kiwi, Aussie, English, Lankan or a Pak player doing something so disrespectful.

I'm surprised no one has pointed this out yet, but the highest civilian honour? More like the fourth highest? What's up, Vikas? Dumbing it down (or jazzing it up) for the non-Indian folks on here?

I'm surprised no one has pointed this out yet, but the highest civilian honour? More like the fourth highest?

I guess first three are Bharat Ratna, then Padma Vibhushan, and Padma Bhushan in that order.

Now some idiot has filed a criminal case against both Bhajji and Dhoni in a MP court for not appearing in person to receive this award.

Cricketers in India do have to pay very heavy price for their popularity and wealth something which cricketers from other countries can't even think about. Its not easy to be an Indian cricketer, surely.

You get lot of laurels but then in no uncertain terms, share of such idiotic things as well.

The funniest thing about that is the sections of the IPC under which the case has been filed:

Senior advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha filed the case in the court of the CJM Ramdarash seeking to book the cricketers under sections 499 (defamation), 500 (punishment for defamation), 503 (criminal intimidation) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).

WTF?! I PMSL when I first read this. The good thing about the democratic system in India is that anyone can file such frivolous cases against virtually anyone. The good thing about the judiciary is that they consider the case fairly and mostly just dismiss it recognizing it for its inanity.

HH and SG, didn't dumb it down or jazz it up. Merely missed putting in 'one of the before the highest civilian, in a hurry to log out and catch the office bus out.....

That said, maybe it is good that the two snubbed it. The award has been highly politicized of late with all kinds of undeserving wannabes getting nominated in return for political favours.

I wonder what Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Kumar's contribution to society has been to be nominated over meritorious sportspersons? Also an ex-principle of a Delhi college got nominated, someone who was named in a provident Fund scam of diverting money sometime back, who hired a union Congress Minister's [Jayant Patil] secretary's wife as a lecturer over deserving candidates in violation of University rules and got the award as a favour. Who decides these nominations and approves such a dubious list anyways? It's a waste of tax payers money if page 3 showponies and scamsters are getting such honours.

I have no doubt that adding Dhoni and Bhajji was an atempt to glamourize the show and nothing more.

I think our boxers and wrestlers who did so well in last year's Olympics, definitely deserved this award. Would've given them huge boost for their future assignments.