The power of a Cap
! ~ how much do you care to see, what
people who see elsewhere wear ? – would you like to comment or change or
challenge the way they do ?
Even the most
curious Cricket fan in India may not be following the Paki Super league or even
the International matches .. did you notice that West Indies won the first-ever Women’s One Day
International to be played at the Dubai International Stadium to take a 1-0
lead in the three-match series against Pakistan. Deandra Dottin and Afy
Fletcher were the star performers with the ball as Pakistan were rolled over
for 70 runs in reply to West Indies 216 for five total in the allotted 50
overs. .. .. .. but some one is shouting, nay crying ! ~ Pakistan has
demanded that the ICC take note of Indian cricketers wearing camouflage
military caps during the third ODI against Australia, accusing Virat Kohli’s
team of politicising the game. That is their desperation, their isolation is
telling !!
On Feb 14, 2019, there was this convoy from Jammu that has plied only thrice in the previous fortnight, as snow blocked road and CRPF
jawans were stranded in Jammu since February 4 . 16 vehicles dropped out at
Qazigund on reaching destination but 16 ‘mobile bunkers’ joined convoy as the convoy left Qazigund at 2:38 pm .. sadly, for the Nation, at Latoomode of Awantipora in Pulwama, an
explosive laden vehicle entered the Jammu-Srinagar highway from a left bylane. More than 40 CRPF jawans died. Jaish claimed ownership for the cruel killing
(there are still some in the country who would claim nothing happened – No war,
only peace – and you cannot utter no to terrorism !) .. .. it is common
knowledge that the terror base is the neighbouring frontier – Pakistan. While some Red intellectuals claim otherwise,
Pak itself assured investigations, b u t
- Pakistan’s assurance on investigation into Pulwama terror attack flies in the
face as Islamabad’s poor probe track record into the past terror attacks by LeT
& JeM and would seldom inspire hope
of any strong action against the masterminds of the February 14 terror attack.
Growing International
pressure ensured Prime minister Imran Khan offering to investigate if India
provides evidence into the Pulwama terror attack and cracked on terror groups
and operatives amid mounting international pressure. Khan’s predecessor Nawaz
Sharif offered full cooperation in the investigations after January 2016
Pathankot terror strike following evidence provided by the Modi government. But
Pakistan’s interior ministry under the influence of Inter-Service Intelligence
(ISI) refused to act on the evidence. Supply
of evidence by India was also acknowledged in the Pakistan senate by the Nawaz
Sharif government but investigate agencies did not follow thorough probe .. Speaking in the senate on October 4, 2016,
then Pakistan interior minister even acknowledged that the Indian government
had provided documents and these included five mobile phone numbers of
Pakistani telecom companies, after the Pathankot attacks. These numbers had
been mentioned in the FIR lodged in a police station in Gujranwala. A Joint
Investigation Team (JIT) was formed and it visited India in March 2016.
However, nothing has come out of the investigation so far, the whole World
knows. Yet some would advocate a Nobel peace prize
for Imran Khan.
They do not read
newspapers to know that since February 15, there have been 230 ceasefire violations
at the Line of Control (LoC). The last
three weeks have been extremely tense with heavy shelling form both the sides
including heavy artillery using the 155 MM Howitzers; something that has not
happened in years. While there have been regular confrontations at the LoC, the
number of anti-terror operations in Kashmir has also gone up. Since the Pulwama
attack 16 terrorists have been killed while over a dozen security personnel
have also lost their lives. The increased hostilities on the ground have been
overshadowed by the aerial strike of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on a terror
camp in Balakot and subsequent air raids by Pakistan targeting Indian military
installations.
On the Cricketing
arena, the WI that beat Pak – appeared to be regrouping so well for the World
Cup as they performed strongly against the visiting England. Chris Gayle was raining sixers – at Basseterre
on Women’s day, in 2nd T20I – they failed miserably. Sam Billings rescued England before Chris
Jordan's four-wicket haul demolished West Indies for a paltry 45, handing the
tourists a 137-run victory in the second T20I and an unassailable 2-0 lead in
the series. Man of the Match Billings' career-best knock of 87 off 47 balls and
a return to T20I form for Joe Root, who made 55 off 40, resurrected England's
innings from a dire 32 for 4 after 5.2 overs. Jordan's remarkable 4 for 6 off two overs
meant West Indies were never in the contest and they fell for the second-lowest
T20I total, behind Netherlands' 39 against Sri Lanka at the World T20 in 2014.
It was the lowest total by a Full-Member nation, worse than the 60 posted by
New Zealand against Sri Lanka at the same tournament and West Indies' 60
against Pakistan in Karachi last year.
Back
home Ranchi Onedayer was significant – a win could have clinched the series for
India. It was the homedown of the ever
mercurial Mahendra Singh Dhoni – and Press touted it to be his last match at
Ranchi (now with him being rested for the last 2 ODIs, has he played his last
One dayer in India ?) Australia have run the supreme Indian side
close in all three matches, finally won one in Ranchi to keep the series alive.
Aaron Finch has struggled out in the open, and has possibly turned a corner.
Usman Khawaja has presented his credentials. Dhoni has shown his temperament
for some of his lost hitting powers is a trade-off worth the consideration. The
best bowler and batsman in the world, Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli, have
found ways to be even less believable at what they do. The length of the
contest has allowed for a variety of facets of the sport to come into play.
After the loss, Dhoni has been rested,
Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul could get chances.
More
significant for us – the Indian cricket team decided to play the Ranchi
ODI in army camouflage caps to honour those killed in the terror attack in
Pulwama last month. They also donated their match fees for the ODI to the
National Defence Fund. At the toss, India captain Virat
Kohli explained the decision. "It is a special
cap," he said. "This is to pay respect to the martyrs of the Pulwama
attack and their families. All the players have decided to donate their match
fees from this particular game to the National Defence Fund. I, as the captain
of the team, would urge everyone in the country to do the same, donate how much
ever they can to the National Defence Fund and help in the education and
well-being of the families and the children of those who lost their lives in
the attack. So this is a very special cap and a very special game indeed."
ESPNcricinfo stated that the BCCI had approached the ICC before
going ahead with the plan, and that the ICC confirmed there was no breach of
match regulations. "We discussed with the BCCI as they requested
permission, it is as part of a charity fundraising effort," an ICC
spokesperson explained. Commentator
Harsha Bhogle tweeted that the gesture was initiated by MS Dhoni, who is an honorary lieutenant colonel in the Indian territorial
army. Dhoni presented the cap to Kohli and the others before the toss.
This could be Dhoni's last international in his hometown, Ranchi. BCCI tweeted:
"#TeamIndia will be sporting camouflage caps today as mark of tribute to
the loss of lives in Pulwama terror attack and the armed forces. And to
encourage countrymen to donate to the National Defence Fund for taking care of
the education of the dependents of the martyrs."
Recently, the BCCI
had also announced that a part of the budget for the usually extravagant
opening ceremony for the IPL, estimated to cost around INR 20 crore, would be
donated to families of Pulwama martyrs.
Elsewhere, unable
to digest all these and suffocating in increasing isolation, Pakistan has
demanded that the ICC take note of Indian cricketers wearing camouflage
military caps during the third ODI against Australia, accusing Virat Kohli’s
team of politicising the game. Taking an exception to the gesture, Pakistan
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the International Cricket Council
must do something about it. “The world saw that the Indian cricket team wore
military caps instead of their own, did ICC not see this? We think that it is
the ICC’s responsibility to take notice of this without the Pakistan Cricket
Board (PCB) bringing it up,” Qureshi was quoted as saying by Pakistan media.
India lost the match by 32 runs but still leads the
five-match series 2-1; to us this too is a victory, making Paki fume – remember
no Pakistani player has been a part of the IPL since after 2008, its year of
inception. Initially Shahid AFridi and few others made caustic comments but
with their earning capacity curtailed, they are just pleading for an
opportunity to be part of cash-rich IPL.
Azhar Mahmood, however, featured in quite a few editions representing
Kings XI Punjab owing to his British passport.
Jai Jawan, Long
live our Armed forces – and long live our Nation
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
10th Mar
2019.
No comments:
Post a Comment