Monday, December 01, 2008

Enough Is Enough...Just another slogan

The last time I wrote was when some incidents perturbed me to such an extent that I had to get out what I felt. Few days later, my worst fears are taking shape. The Mumbai Massacre as it’s called is the main topic of argument.

Ever since we have had the Mumbai Massacre we keep saying Enough Is Enough. I know I may not be forgiven here, but I feel I need to differ. Enough is enough sounds nothing better than a political party’s slogan like Congress ka haath, aam aadmi ke saath. I wish to ask everyone, each & everyone as to what has infuriated us so much this time that we have actually come on the streets demanding answers. As far as my intellect takes me, it is simply because we have never seen an attack so severe. We never ever thought that an ordeal could last 60 hrs. all this while, we were used to those quick 20 minute bomb blasts & then ordinary people helping one another. Secondly, it was the Taj in question. The Taj or the jewel in the palace as one would say. This is probably the first time that the rich have felt unsafe. Probably this is the reason that Bombay was under the worldwide media glare. The Taj & the Oberoi-Trident did have guests of many different nationalities. If you ever doubt my perception then here’s a small query. How many news channels actually talk about VT railway station, Cama Hospital, Metro cinema casualties? There were more blast sites right? What about them? Weren’t lives lost there too? Or as compared to the elite living in Taj & Oberoi-Trident these are insignificant? Why have all the synagogues across the world decided to observe 26th November as a day of grief in remembrance of just 2 of its citizens? Why are we Indians treated as thrash & the death of one of us as ordinary?

Everywhere you go, you will find people asking questions as to why? What are the people who are entrusted with the job of protecting us doing? What should we do now? I’m quite surprised to know that people have even gone to the extent of saying that we are not going to pay taxes. We should go & demolish all the terrorist camps that have sprung all across PoK & Pakistan. In a state of fury such statements are legible, but come to think of it practically they're ILL-LEGITIMATE. If you ever think that these things are practically possible, then you're probably in LALALAND & need to be awoken from your deep slumber. These high vocals of protest of such anger are not going to yield anything except damage to one’s own health & nothing else.

You may have often heard on TV that we as citizens of this country need to exercise our vote carefully. We should make sure that those elected should be just & upright. I would like to ask the same people, whom are they talking about? Why they don’t understand that voting in India is nothing but choosing the Best out of the Worst. Everytime we see the same people contesting from the same constituency. Everytime the same person wins. Probably he has 9 criminal cases to his name as compared to the other who has 10. Secondly election is India is a big farce. We are made to choose people who are truly non-competent. This non-competent guy then goes ahead & handles an all-important portfolio which he is absolutely inept at. Thus the only condition for being a person holding power is to win an election. To do this, I just need to flaunt my popularity image, my muscle & money power. If I am successful at that then I will have thousands of chamchaas around me the same way bees encircle a flower.

There is also a demand that we should declare a period of national emergency to get things straight. I’m all for it. All I ask “Will it ever happen?” Sadly NO. No political party will agree to it. You see all our politicians have much to lose in this deal. Firstly, they would lose their salary. Now that runs into a pretty huge sum I would say. More importantly, do you realize how much time would be lost which could be spent in amassing huge wealth? Not to forget, if ever their scams are unearthed then it would spell disaster for the man in question. His clean image would be marred forever. After all things are put straight & India is returned her pristine glory, things would again be the same. Just like the time at independence & now.

Another angle to this incident is the Pakistan angle. I would like to ask; when would we learn to think as grown-ups. Every terrorist attack in this country is blamed on Pakistan. After getting credible evidence against Pakistan, we tell them to hand over to us those involved. Has Pakistan all these years paid even the slightest heed to our demands. NO. But yet like small children we run about yelling & pointing the finger at Pakistan. I mean why? What for? Pakistan is not to be blamed. India is. We very well know that our neighbor has probably nothing better to do than coming up with plans to annihilate us. But yet like old fools we continue to be a soft target for all of them. Why don’t we develop our security to such an extent that forget Pakistan, tomorrow even if Australia desires to attack us its plans never materialize. Its clearly a case where we point a finger at the other forgetting that three are pointing back at me.

In my earlier blog, I had spoken about the whole concept about India being a so-called country. Till today, since birth people keep on telling me that I belong to a particular religion, I belong to a particular region. When will the day finally arrive when people will tell me that I am simply an Indian…that too with no strings attached?

If we really want to change things then change should be complete. Not just a mere part of it. There should be changes in each & every department & that too with the celerity that it requires. A Harshad Mehta should be tried, convicted & should complete his sentence in his lifetime. Timely death should not be the ultimate punishment. If possible, corporal punishment should be awarded which will prove to be a deterrent for others. A high profile person giving inflammatory speeches against a particular section of people should be persecuted in the same way as an ordinary citizen is. A non-baillable warrant should be a non-baillable warrant & not just on the face of it. It is truly sad to say that we Indians don’t deserve democracy. We truly require the autocratic & imperialist rule that we are used to. In the ancient times we had just one English governor for the entire presidency. Today we have Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, MoS, etc, etc, etc. But yet, even together they are no match for the ability of that one governor. I am truly sorry for being a pessimist, but I guess it’s easy to convince yourself this way rather than being optimistic & see your hopes & aspirations of a better country go up in flames.

At last, the need of the hour is to channelize our anger, frustration in a proper way. This brings to mind an incident that took place years ago in USA. A son was returning home after years of education in another state. During this period the mother never saw her son. To return home, the son hired a cab. Unfortunately the cab driver was drunk. The son met with an accident & died on the spot. Imagine what the mother might have undergone? The mother’s anger knew no bounds. She was so angry that she formed MADD – Mothers Against Drunken Driving. This premier NGO in the US makes sure that people who drink & drive are brought to book. A common saying in Hindi says that the reply to a brick thrown should be a stone. I do not say that we need to hurl a stone at our enemy. I just say that we shouldn’t forget that somebody had the cheek to throw a brick at us. Together by looking in the interests of the country as a whole & not of a region or religion we will be able to make a difference. Yes We Can!!!

So, till we meet again. Take care, God Bless You & May God Bless India.

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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I am Proud of my ‘So-called Country’ India…

I am proud of the country where the ideals of our freedom fighters are remembered only during election times.


I am proud of the country where the streets & the surroundings are nothing but a vast public latrine.


I am proud of the country where basic amenities meant for the poor & needy are instead used by the rich & powerful.


I am proud of the country where disputes regarding the country’s resources are a daily affair.


I am proud of the country where justice takes years to attain.


I am proud of the country where the same guilty people always come to power in every election.


I am proud of the country where the people are not held accountable for their actions.


I am proud of the country where one community thinks of outnumbering the other by means of violence & destruction.


I am proud of the country where very citizen takes his freedom for granted.


I am proud of the country where its people have got caught entangled in the various laws & by-laws.


I am proud of the country where a 15 minute government job takes a minimum of 15 months.


I am proud of the country where red-tapism is the government agencies trademark.


I am proud of the country where its very own people look out for & destroy its own property.


I am proud of the country where the people are given a false impression of ‘Saare Jahan Se Accha, Hindustan Hamara’.


I am proud of the country where its people have no problem in dirtying it, but the same people in a foreign land stay away from.


I am proud of the country where being a literate means just being able to sign.


I am proud of the country where the minimum criteria for being a peon is Std X pass, but to be the Prime Minister even a Std V pass would do.


I am proud of the country where the facilities given to a minister for better implementation of his duties are used by his family to attend personal events.


I am proud of the country which though being the world’s largest producer of milk & wheat yet its every citizen is not guaranteed 1 roti & 1 glass of milk daily.


I am proud of the country where the law of the land is only for laymen & not for high profile people like ministers or people of power.


I am proud of the country where the number of pending cases in the Supreme Court is around 35 Lakh & no idea how many in the State & District courts.


I am proud of the country where before holding a person guilty his caste, creed & origins are taken into consideration.


I am proud of the country where freedom of speech, freedom of religion & other fundamental rights are only bound to the pages of the constitution.


I am proud of the country where its people are proud to flaunt their caste.


I am proud of the country where in a world of competition people look for reservations & resort to destruction of public property in order to get it sanctioned.


I am proud of the country where even after so many years questions are raised about an individual’s loyalty to his motherland.


I am proud of the country where an individual see’s to his betterment before the betterment of his nation & countrymen.


I am proud of the country where being an honest man is perhaps the worst crime.


I am proud of the country where holding a position of office is seen as a chance to amass wealth rather than a chance to serve with honesty & dedication.


I am proud of the country where laws are put aside just to attain political advantage.


I am proud of the country where its citizens feel unsafe even in the safety of their homes.


I am proud of the country where the death of its citizens is treated as an ordinary thing.


I am proud of the country where the innocent are penalized while the guilty are left scot free.


I am proud of the country where its people are looked upon only & only as a large vote bank & nothing else.


I am proud of the country where the meaning of ‘public servant’ varies from its actual meaning.


I am proud of the country where there are 43 political parties filled with relatives & people who are mostly incapable of governing the nation or have a long criminal record.


I am proud of the country where ministers having no previous knowledge of a particular office are given ministries to handle.


I am proud of the country where a justice seeking person’s character is maligned while that of the accused is glorified.


I am proud of the country each and every thing is given a religious hue.


I am proud of the country where the parliament is nothing other than a comedy circus.


I am proud of the country where its leaders itself don’t have any manners or etiquettes.


I am proud of the country where the people of 1 state are much more interested in the well being of its people in another sovereign country.


I am proud of the country where people living in a state for decades are termed as ‘outsiders’ & forcibly sent back.


I am proud of the country which has countless problems but no solutions.


I am proud of the union of 28 states & 7 Union Territories. I am proud of my ‘so-called country’ called India.


I am sad, depressed, disheartened & frustrated on seeing the incidents happening in India over the past few days. At such a time what do you expect someone to do? Let’s make an honest confession. Can we say that we are proud citizens of this country? Can we say that we are an emerging superpower? Or are we fooling ourselves by that never achievable dream?


We have everything that it takes to be the best. The best of talent, the work force, everything. The only thing required is the will, more importantly the political will. Till that comes nothing is achievable.

It is time for a new freedom struggle. Freedom from fear, freedom from injustice, freedom from caste, creed & other differences. The time has come. Let’s make a difference.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Study of History

The study of history is largely a waste of time since it drifts us away from addressing the challenges of the present times is one of the most debated topics today....well i must say i disagree...

History is nothing but an account of man’s actions right from primitive times till date. The study of history enables us to learn from his experiences – his successes & shortcomings.

There's a saying in English that one should learn from mistakes, but it’s not necessary that mistakes should be one’s own. The fact that history keeps on repeating itself is again an affirmation to the fact that its study enables us to better address the challenges of today. Its study enables us to view the same situation through different perspectives. In short it prepares us to face the realities of today & the challenges of tomorrow.

Many instances can be taken up where the knowledge of history has led to situations being better dealt with. For instance, Indira Gandhi’s stand on the formation of Khalistan – a country for the Sikhs. The consequences of the partition of India & Pakistan being felt even to this very day, were enough for her to counter the demand. As a result today we see that Punjab is one of the most progressive & peaceful state in India and it also has one of the highest standards of living.

Hitler’s attack on Russia is another instance. Poor Hitler had only learnt his history well he would have known of Napoleon. Hitler would have never committed the same mistake of attacking Russia in winter.

The study of history enables us to draw inspiration from the countless men & women who gave their life in fighting for a cause. Mahatma Gandhi’s doctrine of ‘ahimsa’ or non-violence is still the most effective way of curbing the menace of barbarism & terrorism. In fact it is the need of the hour. After all an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Drawing inspiration from Gandhi, his contemporaries like Martin Luther King Jr., Aung Sang Su Ki also used his doctrine and spread the word of love & peace. It may also be recalled that in medieval times King Ashoka himself sent his children to far off lands as ambassadors of peace.

Many disasters have been averted thanks to history. Today the nuclear states of the world think twice before they use these weapons of mass destruction keeping in mind the horrible consequences of the dropping of atomic bombs on Horoshima & Nagasaki which can be felt even to this day.


Thus the study of history enables us to better address the challenges of the present times and is not simply a colossal waste of time.

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Friday, May 30, 2008

For Name’s Sake…

What’s in a name??? I guess in today’s world that’s become everyone’s favourite dialogue. On hearing this...anyone would say "William Shakespeare". Yes, but then at once Alec Smart would stand up and say “But below that he wrote his own name”. Well my dear friends for the record Shakespeare never ever said that…the phrase was a mere dialogue in one of his plays.

Though a lot has been said about what there being in a name, I beg to differ. A person’s name to him is the most sweetest sound in any language. A name may not be of any significance to another person, but to its bearer its of utmost value. None of us would liked being called as ‘Excuse me, Hello, Aaaa, Tsh Tsh’. When a person calls you by his name it means that the person relates to you in some way or another. It means that he regards you as one of his own to an extent.

Down the line even if a person changes his name, he is still called by his old name. Our previous generation refers to Amitabh Bachan’s wife as Jaya Bhaduri while our generation says Jaya Bachan. The same is going to happen with Aishwarya. Referring to Mumbai as Bombay & Pune as Poona I guess is no crime & according to me both should be officially recognised. I feel that for cities of the stature & fame as Bombay, the name shouldn’t be changed. One, it creates confusion & there is a lot of formalities to be done. Two, however much I try I can’t change history. After a few decades I will be wondering as to whether the place exists or not. Eg. How many of us know that Benaras is the old name of Varanasi. By changing the name no drastic development & progress has taken place. After all CST & VT mean one & the same; just like my (horrible) train experiences. So what the heck! Whenever I am supposed to fill any form asking me for my place of birth, I always answer Bombay. Whenever I am corrected, I answer that when I was born it was called Bombay, after that it changed to Mumbai.

The most important aspect of a name from a business point of view is that it speaks of its brand value. Lets say tomorrow I start a telecom company & name it Neltonz. Any person using my service will fall short of words when in a group of people. The people around him will wonder as to which service provider is this. No matter how much I may advertise using all forms of media, I will still fall short. Reason? Because my company name lacks credibility & value, a thing which obviously comes with time. More importantly my company name lacks class. Lets take an example of Vodafone. Everyone around would love being associated with Vodafone. Reason? Simple. Wouldn’t you love to say with pride that you are a part (even if that is being insignificant) of the world’s largest telecom company. A brand name that is valued & respected around the world. I’m not saying that I cannot achieve such brand value. But time is a very clever player. At the advent of the internet any website clicked, but in today's time where the net is filled with hundred thousands of websites (most of them being crap) it’s difficult for a newcomer to create a niche for himself.

It’s for this reason that there are so many companies who concentrate on creating a value for their brand. Realistically speaking there are more double who concentrate on imitating the latter. That’s where copyright & patents come to the fore. That’s the same reason why so many companies prefer not changing their names even when they have undergone acquisitions or mergers. That’s the same reason why television & the print media were flooded with messages just to convey the fact that Rin Supreme had now become Surf Excel. That’s the same reason why even though the world over we have M&M’s in India we still have Gems even though they are owned by the same company. Ultimately that’s what each company wants us to do & believe. Two toothpastes may be the same in composition, yet you may have one’s sales plummeting the roof, which the other taking a nose dive.

The other day my friend’s friend was listening to Linkin Park. Nothing wrong with that, except the fact that I doubted whether he understood anything given his tastes. Seeking a clarification I asked him. Well as I guessed he didn’t. All his praises for the band was a mere fallacy. Now that’s wrong. I asked him what made him switch, he just said that the coolest guys in class listen to them. The rest need not be explained. Many a time we do thing for no reason at all. We love things, do things just because it has been kind of endorsed by a particular section of people or society. Just not to be left out we endorse those things too. Even though they may be unaffordable or uncomfortable. Well that’s the same reason big brands utilize the services of the bigwigs of society to advertise for their products just for the prime reason that if at least no one else the celebrity’s fan following will at least purchase the product. Bigger the celebrity, larger is his/her fan following. That’s the reason you have Kareena Kapoor advertising for Dermi Cool talcum powder, Shah Rukh Khan for Navratna talc, Amitabh Bachan for Navratna Hair Oil etc, etc, etc…the list is endless. These people advertise for these products, their fans purchase them, but do these celebrities actually use them. On one such occasion during an interview, Sachin Tendulkar was asked what his favourite drink was. To everyone’s astonishment Sachin answered “Water”. Now where did the Pepsi go that Sachin endorses??? Only God knows.

Now coming to individual names there’s a lot in a person’s name. The country that we live in (I have started to believe) does not judge a person by his work, but by his name. On hearing a person’s name for the first time, the mind begins to analyze the name carefully as if titrating an unknown solution. For further analysis, the spelling is asked & for confirmation the surname is asked. Then that person is categorized as a Sindhi, Marwadi, Bengali, Maharashtrian, etc, etc, etc. Not to mention Christian, Muslim, etc. Over here I just have a simple question. Why? Why do we need to be so regionalistic? Why aren’t we contented with a person’s name & that’s it. End of story. What difference does it make if a person belongs to a particular section of society? Isn’t the goal much bigger than the individual? What criteria do we need to satisfy to be a part of a community? More importantly who gives us the right to judge other people? An incident comes to my mind from the movie ‘Mr & Mrs Iyer’. In that movie Rahul Bose plays the part of a bengali. On Konkana Sen Sharma coming to know of the fact that he’s a muslim, the question that pops out from her mouth is “But you said you were a Bengali”. To this Rahul Bose replies “I am”. Well all I would like to know is what defines us & makes us Indian. Who is an Indian & who is not? Tomorrow if I learn a particular region’s language can I say that I am a part of that community? Is going to temples & bathing in the Ganges being Indian. Does that mean that all the Muslims & Christians & many other non-Hindus who think & work for the betterment of the country stand no chance of being Indian? Is this what our country has been reduced to? Sadly speaking before this a 9% GDP growth also seems insignificant.

Hoping that you have an amazing day & week ahead. Until next time.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Nana Patekar being asked on his take on the IPL his reply was “I like to watch India play another country. Here Bombay is up against Delhi & Calcutta is against Madras. They are all part of my India, which side do I support?

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Friday, May 23, 2008

The Indian Cricketing Extravaganza

The Date: April 18th, 2008

The Venue: Eden Gardens, Calcutta.

Well its not common that you see a total of 1,00,000 or more Bengali’s packed at a single place especially when the Indian Cricket Team is not playing….surely there’s some valid reason to it. Well it’s not the Indian Cricket Team but should we say the Calcutta team that’s playing a match today….

The day has finally dawned…a day many people have eagerly awaited. While some people have looked up to this day when they’re so called fortunes would change (as if they had not yet had the better of it).

April 18th brought with it a new dimension to a sport everyone looks up to in a country where everyone looks up to it as a religion. From now onwards till June 1st cricket will just mean hard hitting & pacy bowling. Exquisite timing & precise placement with a lot of self – control & perseverance have gone on a holiday for now. The BCCI created IPL – Indian Premier League kicked off form the historic Eden Gardens, Calcutta with much fanfare attached to it. After all you’re not talking about just another league. In my words it’s a public gamble where the two parties have money (a lot of it) at stake.


From the lines above I’m sure that you must have felt that I’m against this League. Well its not so. I’m not against it, but I do have some reservations.

Firstly cricket in India is of national stature. Nobody looks up to the cricket team as more of this region & less of that. When we speak of the cricket team we mean the whole country & not a part of it. Cricket has never been thought of as a regional game. By having regional representations in this league, we are not only fueling regionalism (leaving aside casteism, religion) but giving birth to alienation. For eg. If I am a person from say Gujrat then whom should I support, the team to my north The Rajasthan Royals or the team to my south The Mumbai Indians?

Secondly even after deciding on which team to support, I’m still in a dilemma…more that half of my team doesn’t come from the place they play for. It’s not that I have any thing against these people but if you look at it the way I do, it’s a bit funny.

Well an easy solution to the above problems would be is instead of naming the teams on basis of region, why not have club names? Like how we have in football, Dempo, Salgaoncar, etc….i guess that would be much easier to relate to & not cause any identity problems…

Another bone of contention is that was it required to have so much money invested in a game that is already brewing with cash inflows? A slight summary of the money invested per team is as follows in the following order:

Franchise

Owner(s)

Price (USD)


Mumbai Indians

Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries Limited

$111.9 million


Royal Challengers Bangalore

Vijay Mallya and UB group

$111.6 million


Hyderabad Deccan Chargers

Deccan Chronicle

$107 million


Chennai Super Kings

India Cements and N Srinivasan

$91 million


Delhi Daredevils

GMR Holdings

$84 million


Kings XI Punjab

Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul (Apeejay Surendera Group) and Mohit Burman (Dabur)

$76 million


Kolkata Knight Riders

Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla Mehta and Jai Mehta (Red Chillies Entertainment)

$75.09 million


Rajasthan Royals

Emerging Media: (Manoj Badale, Lachlan Murdoch, Suresh Chellaram)

$67 million


Just imagine (should I say can you imagine). I guess that looking at the figures it would be better if some of our cricketers who are at the end of their stint to just retire from all sorts of the game. Look forward to the League which lasts for some 40 – odd days, play 14 matches & earn what u haven’t earned in your lifetime. What’s more if you’re Sachin then you can earn just by sitting in the dug-out.

If you thought that money has been spent only on the players then there is some shocking news for you. The broadcasting allocation (or should I say fiasco) has been questionable.

On 15 January 2008 it was announced that a consortium consisting of India's Sony Entertainment Television network and Singapore-based World Sport Group secured the global broadcasting rights of the Indian Premier League. The record deal has a duration of ten years at a cost of US$1.026 billion. As part of the deal, the consortium will pay the BCCI US$918 million for the television broadcast rights and US$108 million for the promotion of the tournament.

20% of these proceeds would go to IPL, 8% as prize money and 72% would be distributed to the franchisees. The money would be distributed in these proportions until 2012 after which the share of IPL would go up.

Sony-WSG then re-sold parts of the broadcasting rights geographically to other companies. Below is a summary of the broadcasting rights around the world in the following order.

Winning Bidder

Regional Broadcast Rights

Terms of Deal


Sony/World Sport Group

Global Rights, India

10 years at USD 1.026 Billion


Network Ten

Free-to-air television in Australia

5 years at AUD 10-15 Million.


Setanta Sports

United Kingdom and Ireland on a subscription basis

5 years, terms not disclosed.


Arab Digital Distribution

Middle East broadcast rights on ADD's ART Prime Sport channel. Will broadcast to United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan and Libya.

10 Years, terms not released.


Willow TV

Rights to distribute on television, radio, broadband and Internet, for the IPL in North America.

5 years, terms not released.


SuperSport

South Africa broadcast rights

Terms not released


GEO Super

Pakistan broadcast rights

Terms not released


Asian Television Network

Canadian broadcast rights. Aired on ATN's CBN & ATN Cricket Plus channels on a subscription basis. Aired on XM Radio's ATN-Asian Radio as well.

5 years, terms not released.


The IPL negotiated a contract with the Canadian company Live Current Media Inc. to run and operate its portals and the minimum guarantee has been negotiated at USD 50 million over the next 10 years.

Initially the IPL enforced strict guidelines to media covering Premier League matches, consistent with their desire to use the same model sports leagues in North America use in regards to media coverage. Notable guidelines imposed included the restriction to use images taken during the event unless purchased from Cricket.com, owned by Live Current Media Inc (who won the rights to such images) and the prohibition of live coverage from the cricket grounds. Media agencies also had to agree to upload all images taken at IPL matches to the official website. This was deemed unacceptable by print media around the world. Upon the threat of boycott, the IPL eased up on several of the restrictions. On April 15th, 2008 a revised set of guidelines was issued by the IPL offering major concessions to the print media and agencies.

Even with the amended restrictions, specialist cricket websites such as cricinfo and cricket365 continued to be banned from providing live coverage from the grounds and from purchasing match images from press agencies. As a result, on April 18th major international agencies including Reuters and AFP announced their decision to provide no coverage of the IPL.


Overall the IPL, is nothing but a money-making racquet where cricket has been the canvassing agent. Its like I’m giving u a game to enjoy (with no guarantee that it will be competitive) but in return I am gaining a few million dollars. Honestly I pity Vijay Mallya. He got a team that everyone looked up to(as of late not himself----wonder if he had said that if his team was doing well) but yet that team lands up being the top team(in reverse) in the points table. Wonder if Mr.Mallya had invested that money in some social building activity, we would see a new face of India. Well if he is concerned about the returns then why not invest that money into some other sports like football, hockey where it is much required.

What more…the league seems bland with the absence of Brendon McCullum, Hayden, Hussey & co. I guess that people to whom attck comes naturally are being missed. Even the bigges (most of them being icons) are a total flop for eg. Afridi, Dimitri, etc. Thus this league has lost its competitive edge…there seems no more competition amongst the teams. The only fight is now for the 4th place in the standings table so as to qualify for the Semi – finals.

The only good that has come out from this tournament is that players who were not know are getting noticed. For eg. Swapnil Asnodkar, Shikhar Dhawan, etc. These people are what the selectors should keep they’re eyes on. After all, a competitive team is not measured by its playing eleven but by its bench strength. The future of Indian cricket depends on people like these – performers & not people who have made it by influence.

Looking at the approach of the sponsors towards this league, I guess having it next year would be doubtful. The owners have much more to lose that they stand to gain. Plus with individual boards planning a league of they’re own on the same lines, the availability of players would be scarce.

What I would suggest is that there should be T20 tournament but only for our domestic players & for those players who have not been contracted by the BCCI & various other boards. This would make sure that everyone is given an equal opportunity with the emphasis totally on cricket & not with the money associated with it.

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