No point in crying over broken IPL & Champions LeagueT20 crockery

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali in New Delhi

This crockery was exported to South Africa for the IPL & Champions League T20 tournaments in 2009. On its return to India, the BCCI wanted to sell it to its affiliated associations at a 50% discount, but found no takers. Eventually, the BCCI distributed it free of cost, but most of it was found broken by the associations as it was loosely packed. PHOTO COPYRIGHT: QAISER MOHAMMAD ALI

SOMETIME ago the BCCI told its affiliated units that they could purchase IPL and Champions League T20 crockery languishing unused at its headquarters at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. To entice them further into purchasing the huge pile of tableware the Board offered a flat 50 per cent discount for its 30 associations.

The real reason for the BCCI’s ‘magnanimity’ was that it wanted to clean one of the floors of the ‘Cricket Centre’ of the crockery and other stuff so that its proposed museum could be setup. This is the same crockery that was sent to South Africa in 2009 for the IPL and Champions League T20, and returned to India after the tournaments.

However, even the huge discount failed to elicit much interest amongst the affiliated units. With no other option left, the BCCI voluntarily sent the crockery to all its units recently, with each association receiving 50 pieces each of the six different items packed in 28 boxes. But the largesse was not done in a proper manner and instead the Board is now receiving letters from the associations complaining about the broken crockery. 

“The associations have written to us saying that a majority of the crockery pieces was found to be broken as the boxes, they say, were loosely packed,” a Board functionary told Mail Today. With no chance of replacement of the broken Bone China, the issue ends there – with a whimper. 

(This story first appeared in Mail Today)

Stop throwing no-balls at most loved Indian, Sachin Tendulkar

Those opposing maestro’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha have no ground to stand on

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali in New Delhi

PRESIDENT Pratibha Patil’s nomination of Sachin Tendulkar to the Rajya Sabha is an extremely heartening decision. It should be welcomed by one and all — the government and the Opposition, the fans of the batting maestro as well as cricket haters, and sports lovers as well as those who don’t play ball.

If Sachin’s nomination is to be seen through a political lens, it was a masterful straight drive by the government that gave the bowler (read the Opposition) and the fielders (read red- faced critics) absolutely no chance of stopping the ball from crossing the boundary.

Those who are opposing or objecting to Tendulkar’s nomination are actually insulting India’s most loved and admired athlete ever. Before anyone interprets and twists this in any way, let me clarify that colossi like Dhyan Chand, Milkha Singh, Michael Ferreira, Geet Sethi, Viswanathan Anand, PT Usha, Leander Paes, Pankaj Advani and a few more are in the same bracket, or were even better.

Those who are still alive might get a Rajya Sabha nomination in the future and it’ll be well deserved as well.

Almost all the opinions expressed against Tendulkar’s nomination so far have been political, and it is clear that this is a case of sour grapes, especially for the Opposition. Even a few members of the political Opposition, like former India cricketer Kirti Azad of the Bharatiya Janata Party, have welcomed Sachin to Parliament, though even he questioned the “timing” of the nomination.

WHILE the government and the Opposition were almost united in supporting Tendulkar’s name for the Bharat Ratna only recently, it was strange to see the latter see red over the Congress- led government’s decision to recommend the former India captain for one of the 12 nominated Rajya Sabha seats.

Left speechless, the embarrassed Opposition is now speculating on how many days Tendulkar would be able to devote to Parliament. That is, however, not the business of the Opposition or of those who feel that they had a chance to be nominated instead.

What a Bal Thackeray or a Subhash Kashyap, a former secretary general of Lok Sabha, feel is neither important nor is it going to change the beautiful picture that Tendulkar has diligently been painting globally with his bat for over 20 years. Thackeray’s opinion, as usual, is heavily prejudiced, and doesn’t deserve a reaction.

Remember, Tendulkar a few months ago had given a fitting reply to Thackeray on the issue of nationalism. The master’s reply stunned all into a deafening silence.

And it was disappointing to see Kashyap assert that sport was not a category provided by the Constitution under which nominations to the Rajya Sabha could be made.

Is he implying that the President was not aware of the Constitutional provisions, or that she erred by appointing Sachin? I ask this: Does a person of Tendulkar’s eminence need a category to be nominated under? And doesn’t someone who is widely considered good enough for the Bharat Ratna deserve to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha?

What I am eagerly waiting to see is the reaction/ behaviour of the Parliamentarians opposed to Tendulkar’s nomination when they come face to face with him in the Upper House. Some of them are also part of the Board for the Control of Cricket in India and usually try desperately to be seen and clicked in the maestro’s company. Let them shun Sachin or not speak to him in our outside Parliament. Is it possible? Well...

(This story first appeared in Mail Today)

SAI has still not decided on new dates for tests to hire budding coaches

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali in Delhi

THE supposed openings for coaches in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) continues to be a mirage for those who applied for the rare job opportunities, and it has been more than two months after the apex sports body abruptly postponed the interviews in February and didn’t even assign any reason for its heartless act.

The latest status of the recruitment is: The SAI/sports ministry has not decided on the dates for the tests/interviews. The decision to postpone to the tests led to a huge disappointment, disenchantment and anger among the aspiring young coaches, as some of them came to know about it only on reaching Delhi while others were informed midway through their train journey to the national Capital.

SAI says the process to “remove subjectivity” and “introduce more objectivity” to the selection process is taking time, and that’s why the delay in announcement of the fresh dates.

“We’ve not decided as yet on the new dates. The selection procedure is being decided. New dates will be announced in newspapers,” SAI secretary Gopal Krishna told Mail Today. “Talks are on with a government agency to conduct the tests.”

Sources in the sports ministry say that the Educational Consultants India Limited (Ed.CIL), a public sector enterprise that works under the HRD ministry, is most likely to conduct the tests. “The idea is to make the exams more competitive, so that coaches are hired only on merit,” said one.

Quite inexplicably, it has also not been decided whether those who applied for the tests would automatically take the tests. If those who went through the rigmarole in February are made to re-apply, it will be another torture for the young coaches.

(This story first appeared in Mail Today, New Delhi)