At
IPL, Prithvi Shaw the Indian U19 Captain sensation made his debut ~ there are
so many of them – budding stars getting a chance in IPL – and a bunch is
missing them most – the vociferous Pakis, rightfully kept out. Last year, though it was told that they are
eligible, the Franchisees did pick none.
Former captain Zaheer Abbas said the Pakistani players must realise that
IPL is a private league. “The fact is the IPL is a private enterprise, and if
their franchises are not willing to take our players, what can anyone do. But
there is no doubt that our players and Pakistan cricket have been humiliated
and insulted at such a big forum in a planned manner,” he stated. Pakistan's interior minister has invited the
England cricket team to tour the country for the first time since 2005, after a
successful visit by the West Indies amid improved security boosted hopes of an
international revival.
A visit by a major Test-playing nation such as England would be
hugely significant, in terms of both cricket as well as Pakistan's wider
security and the message it hopes to send about its crackdown on extremism and
militancy ~ yet after International condemnation, their attitude does not
appear to have changed in any manner. In
probably a first such occurrence, the sanctity of the daily ceremonial parade
by Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers at Attari (India) and Wagah
(Pakistan) international border was violated by Pakistan cricketer Hasan Ali
making belligerent gestures at the Wagah border, triggering a sharp protest
from the BSF.
The Wagah border closing
'lowering of the flags' ceremony is a
daily military practice that the security forces of India (Border Security
Force) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959. The ceremony starts with a parade by the soldiers from both the sides,
and ends up in the perfectly coordinated lowering of the two nations' flags.
Pic credit : //thetravelintern.com/wagah-border-experience/
Lot
happening in India - VVS Laxman, a thorough gentleman of the game and now a
commentator, has a heart of gold which he has showcased time and again. The
former Indian great took to Twitter to applaud the honesty of a ragpicker, who
apparently returned a purse containing Rs 33,000 to the woman to which it
belonged. The ragpicker, named Dipchand Gupta, spotted a purse while doing his
daily work of picking rags from unclean places. He found the purse and on
opening it, realised that it had a large sum of money. He immediately handed
over the purse to the Thane stationmaster, who later handed it over to the
woman who had lost it. There are good people and
some bad too !!
Across
the border, the Pakistan cricket team visited Wagah border to witness the
flag-lowering ceremony on Saturday. The team visited the ceremony on request of
Pakistan Rangers after concluding their training camp for the Test tour of
Ireland and England. The immature bowler Hasan Ali entertained the crowd with
his trademark celebrations without realising ever that this is a different
field altogether and his gestures had no meaning. Hasan
Ali entered the drill and performed his signature wicket-taking gesture towards
the Indian armed force. In a video that has gone viral, Ali could be seen
performing his popular act during the ceremony. He could be seen patting his
thigh, raising arms like Rangers and celebrating just as he usually does after
taking a wicket in a cricket match.
There
is nothing to admire – only to be admonished.
Taking wickets in a match is an achievement, not any performance in thin
air. Ali's antics, however, have not
gone down well with India's Border Security Force (BSF). The armed force has
decided to lodge a formal protest with the Pakistani Rangers. "The act has hit the sanctity of the
parade. We will lodge a protest with Pakistan Rangers. Anyone can make any
aggressive gesture in the viewers gallery on both sides but no public person
can interfere in the parade. Before or after the parade, the people are free to
do such things, but not in the middle of the parade," BSF Inspector
General (Punjab Frontier) MukulGoel was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
The
pictures of Ali's antics were also tweeted by the official Twitter handle of
the Pakistan Cricket Board, which again is in bad taste. Well, the
Cricket-starved Nation can only end up doing all that – we are busy watching
IPL matches, many of which boil down to last over. Yesterday, the equation read 43 off 17 balls when an uncapped
batsman walked in to play his fifth IPL innings. One of the best death bowlers
in the world will take charge of the next over. His previous six balls produced
two wickets and only one run. How do you think the game ends?
With
the batting team winning, of course. K Gowtham smashed an unbeaten 33 off 11
balls, helped swindle 18 runs off Jasprit Bumrah's final set alongside the
other match-winner Jofra Archer, and capped it all off with the six that won
the game. But the shot that grabbed the most attention was a perfectly executed
slice over the heads of point and short third man off the second ball of the
20th over. The composure he showed in that moment, to merely react to what was
coming and not blindly slog because the game was going down the wire, was impressive. Earlier, Ambati Rayudu's masterclass was
nearly outdone by one from Kane Williamson, but Chennai Super Kings survived
that attack from Sunrisers' captain and then a Yusuf Pathan cameo to crawl to
the top of the table. In a match where all the action happened at the back end
of the two innings, the difference was only four runs.
Before concluding, Jhulan Goswami's illustrious career - which
includes the distinction of being the leading wicket-taker in women's ODIs -
has now found acknowledgment in the form of a commemorative stamp. Featuring Goswami's
mugshot in India colours next to an image of Kolkata's iconic Victoria
Memorial, it has been issued in honour of her claiming a record 200 wickets in
women's ODIs. The unveiling of the stamp took place on Friday at the Calcutta
Sports Journalists' Club, in the presence of former India men's captain Sourav
Ganguly.
That is the tale of the two Nations in the game of Cricket and
otherwise !
With
regards – S. Sampathkumar
23rd
Apr 2018.
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