I get most responses for Cricket articles and for those not so
much interested in the game - most of what I write is not mere scorecard or
description of a match - but posts on some interesting aspects, some
occurrences and the like.. perhaps could
interest even those who do not follow the game regularly. Today, is one about off-field exploit of a
player which has landed him in deep trouble.
After winning the First One dayer, Indians should be feeling more
confident as they meet Lankans at the same venue. The 16 member Squad
consists of : MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Gambhir, Sehwag, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh
Raina, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Rahul Sharma,
Ashok Dinda, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan & Umesh Yadav
There may not be change in the line-up though Rohit Sharma was
rusty. Irfan who was not part of the original squad and came in as a
replacement for Vinay Kumar outedged Dinda into the playing X1 – of the left
out, probably India would not include Rahul Sharma for non-playing reasons – a
classic case of allowing ‘law to take its own course’…… when things stand
proved others
Hambantota is not mainland, is far away with players having to
travel a lot – now players do not complain. It is a ground surrounded by
miles of forest and has a strong wind blowing – b0th the Indians and Lankans
fielded poorly in the first match, and perhaps would now take umbrage under the
wind factor. Nothing can explain why the winds did not assist the bowlers
as Indians scored 300+ and Lankans chased closer to that. Today,
Sehwag is quoted as saying "You have to be careful when playing your
shots against the wind or with the wind,". When we were fielding,
the challenge for us was the wind," Jayawardene said. When the wind blows
the cradle will fall – not the wickets on subcontinent wickets.
Rahul Sharma is clearly under the cloud having tested positive
according to Maharashtra Police sources, which cannot be questioned at this
stage. But the reactions of the BCCI and of Pune Warriors - the IPL franchise
that employs both players - have been temperate and one of biding for
time. Now they will say ‘let the law take its own course’ – had it been
somebody not in favour, the player would stand sacked immediately until proven
innocent. Strange are the ways… the Mumbai incident is a potential
violation of the law of the land and so the case must rest with the police.
Both players have maintained their innocence from the day the story
broke. So yet another example of treading lightly, given the ambiguity in
its rules and confusion over the specifics of what he is alleged to have
consumed, and in what quantity. But an offence, is an offence and the quantity
or quality of the substance does not matter is what we have read thus far. Legal experts
say that Rahul & Parnell can be charged under the Narcotics, Drugs
and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985. The penalty for the consumption of
cannabis or MDMA is six months in jail or a Rs10,000 fine or both.
However, this would be under the Indian legal system - a formal
charging, indictment and conviction - and hence subject to delays and the
possibility, if convicted, of an appeal. The two drugs are on the list of
prohibited substances in the BCCI's anti-doping code; cannabis is under a
category called Cannabinoids and MDMA, under stimulants. Mumbai deputy
police commissioner Pratap Dighaokar told PTI on Friday that the two cricketers
had belonged to a group of 44 people who tested positive out of the 92 detained
following the raid.
With
regards – S. Sampathkumar .
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