Any reference to Test No. 752 will
flood memories of that classy knock of Gundappa
Viswanath - great bowling of Andy
Roberts and the defeat (100 runs at that) suffered by Clive Lloyd against
Pataudi led Indians in 1975. Those days
Pongal tests were great festivities and tension would build up couple of days
before the match – India opening with Eknath Solkar and FArokh Engineer – lost
both and were 24/2; Gaekwad went cheaply, so did MAK Pataudi; (41/4); Ashok
Mankad hooked Roberts - at 76/6 Mankad
and Madanlal too gone, Vishy had only the tail – whether it was Andy Roberts
20.5-5-64-7 or the fluent 97 n.o. of Vishy that was brilliant will be an
endless debate. Roberts was to take
another 57/5 in the second innings too.
Years later, after India won the WC
1983, WI dominated India in series in India – the final test at Chepauk
meandered into a draw – Sunil Manohar Gavaskar remained unbeaten on 236
becoming the first batsman from any
country to get three double hundreds against the West Indies.
Mehul
Chinubhai Choksi, is the owner of Gitanjali Group, a retail jewellery company
with 4,000 stores in India. He has been
in news for wrong reasons – and an arrest warrant for Choksi has been issued in
connection with the alleged Punjab National Bank fraud case. He was allegedly
involved in stock market manipulation in 2013.
Mehul Choksi - the main accused in Rs. 11,300 crore bank fraud along
with his nephew Nirav Modi -- was known as "Pappu" among diamond
traders. The man, who started as a trader in Mumbai,
went on to own 22 companies and became a regular in Bollywood circuit - unusual
for diamond merchants, who prefer to keep a low profile.
Insiders
say he threw grand parties and gave expensive gifts to buy favours. His style
was to sign retainership agreements with families and close acquaintances of
people in power, says one publication. As the investigation into the case broadens,
probe agencies are now focusing on the directors of Mehul Choksi's multi-crore
companies. The First Information Report filed by the Central Bureau of
Investigation names 10 directors of his companies, accused of fraud to the tune
of ₹4800 crore.But the officials say they found that most of these top
executives live in slums and decrepit buildings, which suggests that they are
just fronts for Mehul Choksi's businesses.
Antigua
and Barbuda is a sovereign state in the West Indies in the Americas, lying
between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major
islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands (including Great
Bird, Green, Guiana, Long, Maiden and York Islands and further south, the
island of Redonda). Its capital and
largest port is St. John's, on
Antigua.Antigua and Barbuda are in the middle of the Leeward Islands, part of
the Lesser Antilles. The country's name
was given by Christopher Columbus in 1493 after discovering the island. This place is
nicknamed "Land of 365 Beaches" due to the many beaches
surrounding the islands. Its governance, language, and culture have all been
strongly influenced by the British Empire, of which the country was formerly a
part, gaining sovereignty on 1 November 1981. It remains a member of the
Commonwealth and Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state.
The
Antigua and Barbuda national cricket team represented the country at the 1998
Commonwealth Games, but Antiguan cricketers otherwise play for the Leeward
Islands cricket team in domestic matches and the West Indies cricket team
internationally. During 2007 World cup, Antigua hosted eight matches at the Sir
Vivian Richards Stadium.
Sir
Anderson Montgomery Everton Roberts, (simply Andy Roberts) is from Antigua –
bowled fast and used to deliver 2 different bouncers with similar action. He led the famous pace quartet, twice taking seven wickets in a Test innings.
In England, he played first-class cricket for Hampshire County Cricket Club and
Leicestershire County Cricket Club.Roberts was the first Antiguan to play Test
cricket for the West Indies, thus leading the way for many of his famous
countrymen including Viv Richards, Richie Richardson and Curtly Ambrose.
The
news of Antigua and Barbuda granting
citizenship to absconding Indian businessman Mehul Choksi has snowballed into a
political controversy with opposition parties in the Caribbean nation demanding
answers from PM Gaston Browne. Data analyzed by TOI showed that since 2014, 28
Indians had applied for citizenship of Antigua. Seven of them were granted
Antiguan nationality between January 1and June 30, 2017, upon investment of
$200,000, according to the halfyearly report of the Citizenship by Investment
Unit (CIU), which comes under Antigua’s ministry of finance and corporate
governance and public private partnerships. The report did not have details on
the status of the other Indian applicants.
Antigua
, allows dual citizenship to any foreigner if he/she invests in the national
development fund (NDF), purchases governmentapproved real estate or invests in
a pre-approved business.TOI analyzed the six monthly report of the CIU,
available on the Antigua and Barbuda government website. It showed that Indians
accounted for 2.5% of citizenship requests out of 1,121 foreign nationals who
sought refuge there since the inception of this programme.The list is dominated
by China — with 478 Chinese(42.64%) applying for the Caribbean nation’s
citizenship since 2014. Interestingly, 42 Bangladeshi nationals and 25
Pakistanis also sought Antiguan nationality in the last four years using the
citizenship by investment programme (CIP). An Antiguan passport allows visafree
access to 132 countries and freedom from extradition.
While
Choksi was granted citizenship in November 2017, the names of Indians or people
of other nationalities getting citizenship were not mentioned in the report.
TOI’s email to the CIU went unanswered. Government sources said they would
investigate who these 28 Indians were who enjoyed dual nationality without
informing the authorities.Meanwhile, Antigua-based The Daily Observer reported
that opposition parties had demanded answers from the government.
With
regards – S. Sampathkumar
PS: 1. Antigua is Spanish for
"ancient" and barbuda is Spanish for "bearded". Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards and Andy
Roberts could be seen mostly with beards !
2.
The Chepauk test in 1983, when Gavaskar scored 236*
happened to the last Test of Andy Roberts in his illustrious career.
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