In his view, the current system is rotten and would not create the transformation that is needed. He said, "Indian athletes have no respect for most officials," he said. "They have to be on good terms because one needs to survive. But most officials, and many of the so-called coaches who travel with the shooting team, know nothing about the sport. The athletes don't talk about this because their careers are at stake. And the officials unfortunately don't care."

A lot of what he says is actually quite applicable to cricket administration too. For example, he says "the current official set-up should be replaced with a professional body for each sport, headed by a CEO, who would be given targets. In other words, accountability could ensure brighter results."

This is not rocket science. We have known for some time now that there is a champagne bottle waiting to burst in India. However, the cork is quite strong and is steadfast in its bureaucratic might as well as its cancer-like refusal to go.

And today, as opposed to the call in Mahesh's post and Soundar's comments, seeking a further liberalisation of the control-strings, the BCCI has, quite predictably, run in the other direction! They appear to have tightened their control.

From now on, the BCCI President will have the power to have a final say in the appointment of selectors.

The BCCI communiqué reads: "The age old system of the zonal representatives holding meetings on the eve of the Board's AGM to decide the name of selector from their respective zones has been done away with. From the coming AGM, the final decision on the appointment of national selectors will wrest [sic!] with the BCCI president,".

Wrest? or rest? :-)

Hmmm! It does seem to me to be a bit of a wrestling match, this one!

On the surface, this may not be such a bad move, for all the zonal representatives can do from now on in, is suggest names with the ultimate decision resting (or wresting, if one was the BCCI!) with the President of the BCCI. However, with votes at stake, I can't quite imagine the BCCI President doing much more than sucking up to the zones!

Time to reiterate that the fact that the cricket team is doing so well, despite the administration's attempts, is something that needs to be recognised and commended. Not every sport in India is that lucky!

-- Mohan

India won the ODI series in SL

After a horrid start to the series, India made a good comeback to beat SL in SL - a big achievement, really. They've never done this in the past and the credit should go solely to MS Dhoni. After the pathetic performance in the tests and the 1st ODI, I had (like many others) written this side off, and somehow they managed to pull through to win the series. Well done, guys.

The Champions Trophy got postponed

I am usually glued to the idiot box when the Champions Trophy is on, but that doesn't mean I fully approve of this tournament. It is kind of like a World cup, but isn't. It doesn't have the importance or stature of the World Cup and International Cricket could well do without this tournament in its already packed schedule. ICC could get rid of tournaments like this and the Afro-Asia cup and nobody would miss them.

India not playing any tournaments during the Champions Trophy gap

What the ...? This came as a surprise to me - I am really glad BCCI didn't sign up for a quadrangular or triangular or some x-angular tournament to fill up the gap created by the postponement of the Champions Trophy. They apparently want to use the time to prepare for the upcoming Australian Test series. What the...?

Cramped Tour Itinerary for NZ tour announced

Yes. That sounds like the BCCI we have all come to know and love. For a very brief moment I thought BCCI was actually changing the way they think. Oh, well -  back to reality, now.

India are going to be playing 19 days of cricket in 33 days. The longest gap they get between any two matches will be 2 days. Yep, that's right - 2 days. Unless, of course we finish the 5 day test matches in 3 days...Going by what happened in NZ in the previous series, we are sadly quite capable of doing that.

Indian selectors to be made paid positions

We have advocated this in this blog in the past, and I am very happy that the BCCI has decided the positions in the Selection committee are to be made paid positions. Ok, they are only recommendations made by the working committee at this stage, but I would expect this to be accepted soon. Now they will have more accountability and responsibility.

Next step - getting selectors from overseas. Oh wait, What am I am thinking? They first have to move away from the mentality of appointing one selector from each zone...

-Mahesh-

______

1. India has clearly declined in sports in which it was a strong contender before. By that I mean sports which are a part of Olympics. Hockey is the first example that comes to mind. Tennis and athletics are now entering those dangerous waters (granted, Lee and Hesh put aside their differences and reached quarters while Anju Bobby George hit bad form at the worst possible moment, but apart from them, do we have anyone to compete strongly on the world stage?). It is a tragedy of epic proportions that instead of making sincere efforts to recover the momentum lost in these sports, we are debating over including cricket in Olympics. Isn’t that disturbing, if not insulting to the other sportsmen (think archery, wrestling and shooting) who have only Olympics to get a proper competitive exposure and thus, a sense of participation and achievement which will be solely theirs?

2. Yes, politics and sports do not mix. But good administration and sports do mix. In fact, that is the key relationship that needs to be nurtured if India has to compete with the likes of France and Italy. The matter assumes even more urgent proportions because India is going to host 2010 Commonwealth games at Delhi. Not only do we need strong performances from the adminstrators (as hosts) and sportsmen (as being well-versed with the conditions), we also need a healthy symbiotic partnership between them to ensure that we, as a sport-loving country, do well in these games. Will it happen? Your guess is as good as mine.

3. If one were to look at the sporting powerhouses closely, we can observe that that spell-binding performance is not totally inspirational or charged because of the stage. Rather it has come from hours and hours of gruelling training, practice, body conditioning, scientic preparation…you get the picture. The facilities contribute as much as the skill and focus itself. So, if we want to be on the same level, we need the same kind of facilities, which unfortunately, we don’t seem to have. So, we need to think differently for now. Interestingly, we seem to have no qualms about sending shiploads of brainy geeks (yeah, I know I am one too) abroad to help the technologically-challenged “customers and clients” but, absolutely have no plan in place to send promising athletes for conditioning, training, preparation and the like abroad to perform creditably for the Motherland. Yes, the private companies do that, but what is stopping the government from taking the initiative in this regard and doing something about it? After all, aren’t sportsmen ambassadors of the country?

4. It is time we stopped comparing stupidly like how the hell did a tiny nation like Jamaica win so many golds? It did so because of the path set by legends like Merlene Ottey and recently, Asafa Powell. Didn’t Newton say “”If I have seen further, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.”? It takes a great deal of groundwork for success to arrive. And that groundwork for India has to come now.

I would have said more, but I am very interested to know what official measures are taken to further this apart from articial ones like the BCCI awarding the Beijing heroes. How patronizing can one get?

TWENTY20 cricket will become so big it will kill off the 50-over format and eventually take over from Tests as the dominant form of the game.

See the way IPL has kicked off making so much money and playing ruthless Twenty 20 Cricket for over a month.

Hope Great players like Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and other ageing players are given due respect for the kind of Cricket they play because people have already started criticizing them.They are great Cricketers hope who have won matches for India Single handedly.

Twenty 20 is just new and it is very difficult for these great players to adapt to such a drastic change.

I thought he would get a life ban for using drugs. After all he has tested positive both on his primary ans secondary sample tests. But would this mean an end of road for this Pakistan fast bowler ? I dont think so. Pakistan being Pakistan and International cricket being what it is today, i think he will bail out of this doping scandal with very little problems. After all, Pakistan is in Asia and it is worth pointing out that nowadays international cricket is ruled by Asian countries, pioneered by India at the top. We already have another classic case of Pakistani bowler getting into drugs and caught red handed, but then after few months, he was cleared to play international cricket again. I am mentioning about Shoaib Akhtar, who was cleared by Pakistan court to play internation cricket by terming the decision of ban on him as unworthy of a national pride.

common man will have doubts by now......what is ICC's take on doping ?

ICC is kept under money muscle of Asian Block, so is cricket ! I really doubt worlds greatest bowler will be as great as he is now if cricketing power were in different hands. So are other different things concerning cricket. Only solution to this problem is to bring in more quality teams from different parts of the world. there by arresting the unbalanced Asian weight on it.

But even more mysterious is the way Indians play their cricket and the way the BCCI officials govern cricket.

Consistently inconsistent that the Indians are with their cricket, it raises serious questions about the Indian attitude towards sport.

Considering the U-19 scenario, India has managed to do fairly well at the Junior and Sub-Junior level. India won the 2000 edition of the U-19 cup, finished runners up in 2004 and ended up victors in 2008.

If a team could perform consistently well in U-19 cricket, it is surprising to see the dearth of quality sportsmen available to take up international duty.

Only Yuvraj Singh, the man of the series in the 2000 edition, has managed to make it to the Indian team and cement his place. Mohammed Kaif, the skipper of the same World Cup winning team in 2000 wasn't a success at the International level. He showed initial promise, but never took his game to the next level.

India regained the U-19 World Cup in 2008 and Virat Kohli, the captain of the winning side has managed to find a place in the Indian international side. The other members of this successful team seem lost. They either don't play county cricket or aren't selected to play the Ranji trophy matches. Some of them were selected to play in the IPL, but kept warming the benches without getting a match.

Its high time that BCCI showed some foresight to groom these youngsters and prepared a talent pool of youngsters who can take up national responsibility when the need arises. The existing academies in Bangalore and Chennai have been running for quite sometime. But the results don't seem to be coming. Its time the BCCI took things a bit more seriously. Instead, they seem to be concentrating on flexing their political muscle to show the rest of the world the kind of say they have on controlling affairs related to cricket. They have forgotten the sole reason for their existence.

Its nice to see youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Raina and Badrinath come through the ranks. But there is a void in the quality of these youngsters and the fabulous four that we have. The day is nigh when India have to bid farewell to their celebrated stars in phases. With no immediate substitutes in sight, only with proper vision and foresight, can the BCCI  effect a smooth transition without compromising on the results.

Instead, they have found out a new vehicle for earning money cashing in on the T20 euphoria after the 2007 World Cup success. As a result, players who graft are now history. The current crop of youngsters we produce score quick twenties and get out in test matches too. Consciously or unconsciously, the BCCI have perpetrated a sporting culture where technical brilliance, hardwork and meritocracy has taken the backseat.

The CSA has come to the conclusion after reviewing all the reports from their own Government, the ICC and a few other sources. Following this, there are also very good chances that the other three teams might also pull out of the tournament. BCCI however seems to be supporting Pakistan after the way they hosted the Asia Cup a month ago.

If the other three teams also pull out, then the tournament will be shifted to the reserve venue, Sri Lanka. With the tournament just a couple of weeks from here on, a fast action is expected. Moreover an official also said that the tournament would not be postponed as the calender was full for all the nations and it would be tough to get all the nations back again together. It is also learnt that the official broadcaster, ESPN-Star has expressed their disappointment if these four teams are replaced by lesser known teams like Bangladesh. However, they are happy with the change in venue and they don't mind it.

With so much confusion around, I feel that the tournament should be shifted to Sri Lanka. This would also relieve a lot of pressure of the players who are now made to make a decision of their own. The tournament is scheduled for September 12.

But the anxiety and emotion isn't just about this series. It is about the so-called mission to win the World Cup in 2011.

While there is value in the vision itself (I do have some reservations on the over-emphasis that the World Cup is getting, but I'll save that for another day), for some time now it has taken precedence to common sense. I think the selectors and us, the serious-Indian-cricket followers, have mostly overreacted to the T20 victory. Just because a young side that won us a World Cup in a abridged format does not mean that was the way to go. Again, we also overreacted to the ODI series victory in Australia, which I have said time and again was largely due to Tendulkar and some good fast bowling from the younsters: not the Uthappas and Rainas.

This reaction has brought about precisely two things: a meteoric rise in the importance of Dhoni and wholesale recruiting of inexperienced youth from an U-19 cricket team. Dhoni's recent success has hidden his rather mono-dimensional-nature as captain and less-than-solid batting from scrutiny. Dhoni isn't a thinking captain, Azharuddin was. Dhoni is a lucky captain, at least so far: his troups have delivered. While there is nothing wrong with that the lack of ingenuitity or depth is bothersome. Perhaps this is the series which might expose these aspects of Dhoni further more. I'm not suggesting that we sack Dhoni now. That would be knee-jerk and the problem isn't really with the captaincy, though I must add he hasn't been doing much either. Besides, we don't have a replacement captain. Please don't suggest Yuvraj, he's even worse! This itself is a crisis unprecedented in the last 10-15 years. When Azhar had to go, there was Tendulkar; when Ganguly was sacked, Dravid was ready. Even when Dravid stepped down, Dhoni made it because there was no one else, not out of his own merit. The second issue is of more importance. We've had a good deal of failures even the recent past of 3+ years from the Chappel era of recruiting U-19s to the Indian team. A cursory look at these names leads credence to the view that this really isn't the way to go: Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Mohammed Kaif. In Rohit Sharma, Kohli and Ohja we perhaps have our next failed experiments. Domestic cricket is there for a reason and cricket is not a boys' game. It involves either genius talent ala Tendulkar or just pure hard work. Gambhir learned it the hard way and is now back after having spent some time in the domestic circuit. Barring Tendulkar, the other Indian batting greats of today, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman roughed it out before they were even considered to represent the country at the highest level. The selectors need to look back this tradition, gather strength and change the way things are being done, though I fear it might already be a bit too late. Give it another year or a few more failed U-19 stars, and we might have to wait another generation for a set of solid batsmen.

Honestly, on the mission World Cup 2011, I honestly don't see it happening. Teams that win World Cups generally have about 4-5 members who have played in an earlier version and have a mix of solid and swashbuckling batsmen and quality bowlers with variety. Australia in '99 was probably the best Aussie WC team in the recent past. India's 2003 WC squad was also probably our best and will remain that way for some time to come. I won't comment on the 2007 WC here, much has been said about it. If honest effort is made to nurture good batting and bowling we might have a competitive 2015 WC squad, and unless anything miraculous happens I don't see this particular ODI side winning a 50-over World Cup for us.

Meanwhile, in Soulberry's thread, some have suggested what I have been ranting about for over eight months now: the reinstatement of Dravid in the ODI side. I would suggest that we include Ganguly too. We need some stability and some sanity. We need a batsman to hang around so the youngsters can learn what it takes to build an innings. Right now there is no mentor in the ODI team for the younsters. And please, Dhoni isn't one! What happened to the rotation policy?  We seem to only have a senior-elimination policy at the moment. Dhoni was picked as captain of the ODI side because he supposedly had a good rapport with the seniors, but the first thing that he did was sack Dravid and then Ganguly. We need to rotate the Big 3, not eliminate 2 and let Tendulkar chase his records. Having said all that, given the nature of BCCI, do I see it happening? No. But do I continue hoping? Yes.

I think at the end of this tour of Sri Lanka, we would have learned more lessons than we did in the past decade. The last instance of such a lesson-filled tour that I recall is probably the 99-00 tour of Australia.  We need a good mix of the old and new to win matches and to build for the future. The veterans need to be around to show the way and the transition to the new order gradual. We have learnt a valid lesson from the ODI squad and one only hopes that after the 1-2 defeat in the recently concluded Test series, the same mistakes aren't made with the Test squad.

2008 Champions Trophy which is the second biggest tournament after World Cup will be hosted by Pakistan. The inaugural match of Champions Trophy will be played against the home team Pakistan and West Indies on September 11 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

The defending champions Australia will start their campaign with the game against 2002 Champions trophy winner India on September 13 at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore. At Last time in Champions trophy there were total 21 matches played but this time it is down to 15 numbers of matches.

All eight teams are divided into two Groups A and B. India, Pakistan, Australia and West Indies are in Group A while South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England are in group B. Each team will play with one another in their corresponding groups and the top two teams from each group will advance into the semi finals.

The first semi final will be played at the National Stadium Karachi on September 24^th while second semi final will be played on 25^th of September at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Winners of each semi finals will meet at Gaddafi stadium to play the big Final of ICC Champions trophy 2008 on 28^th September.

The following are the two groups:
Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, West Indies
Group B: South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England

Former winners of ICC Champions trophy
1998 - South Africa
2000 - New Zealand
2002 - India and Sri Lanka (Joint Winners)
2004 - West Indies
2006 - Australia

Here are the complete fixture of ICC Champions Trophy 2008-09(All timing are mentioned in GMT+05:30)

Timing	Teams	Venue
Thu 11 Sep 15:30 PM	Group A - Pakistan v West Indies	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Fri 12 Sep 15:30 PM	Group B - New Zealand v Sri Lanka	National Stadium, Karachi
Sat 13 Sep 15:30 PM	Group A - Australia v India	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Sun 14 Sep 15:30 PM	Group B - England v Sri Lanka	National Stadium, Karachi
Mon 15 Sep 15:30 PM	Group A - South Africa v New Zealand	Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
Tue 16 Sep 15:30 PM	Group B - India v West Indies	National Stadium, Karachi
Wed 17 Sep 15:30 PM	Group A - Pakistan v Australia	Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
Thu 18 Sep 15:30 PM	Group B - South Africa v Sri Lanka	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Fri 19 Sep 15:30 PM	Group B - England v New Zealand	Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
Sat 20 Sep 15:30 PM	Group A - Pakistan v India	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Sun 21 Sep 15:30 PM	Group A - Australia v West Indies	National Stadium, Karachi
Sun 21 Sep 15:30 PM	Group B - England v South Africa	Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
Wed 24 Sep 15:30 PM	1st Semi Final - TBC v TBC	National Stadium, Karachi
Thu 25 Sep 15:30 PM	2nd Semi Final - TBC v TBC	Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
Sun 28 Sep 15:30 PM	Final - TBC v TBC	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

]]> http://konqueror.wordpress.com/?p=99 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:35:49 +0000 konqueror http://konqueror.wordpress.com/?p=99 Sachin Tendulkar and Shahrukh Khan are among the most popular names across, I wonder if there is any continent where people don't know who these guys are, however, I am not much sure of far south America where Indian movies and cricket has far less impact. Sachin and Shahrukh are legends in this part of the world, billions of fans, both have bought huge revenue to Indian economy in past 15 years.

Lets talk about Sachin 1st, he is a legend of Indian cricket, not only a batsman, he is a belief, a motivation - his mere presence brings so much to Indian dressing room. Sachin stands tall when it comes to records on he sits on, he holds the records - most number of runs scored in ODIs, most number of centuries in ODIs, holds the records of most number of runs in world cup, most number of 100s and 50s in world cup. However, people always tend to forget his efforts when it comes to his recent relatively bad form. I believe Sachin is God, if cricket is a religion, for many reasons - one reason is he has earned huge revenue for Indian economy. Some 15 years back, when Indian cricket board now known as BCCI was among the ordinary spots institution, is now the richest board across, and the influence Indian board has over ICC is huge - one example is IPL 2008 tournament, ICC is thinking to create bracket for IPL every year.

A very big share Sachin has, when anyone starts to estimate the kind of money flow took place in recent years on Indian Cricket. Sachin has fans everywhere in all continents, he has more number of endorsements than anyone else in Cricket. I would say BCCI is lucky to have someone like Sachin who stands very humble, when it comes to fame and money.

On the other hand Shahrukh khan is one of the biggest movie star - Indian film Industry has produced, he has the record of holding most number of awards (including all categories), Shahrukh has earned huge revenue for Indian film Industry. In last decade he has so many movies which are huge hit overseas, has done some good business. Shahrukh also brings a brand name, he has big endorsements under his belt, also has some big upcoming projects, simply he is the costliest star India ever had.

If someone asks me to compare Shahukh and Sachin in terms of capital they bring for Indian economy I would say Sachin gets an upper hand, for the simple reason, Shahrukh has acted in some 15-20  hit movies which are successful overseas, just to point out I have overestimated the number of hits he has acted in. On the other hand, Sachin has far more popularity, far bigger revenue base, than his competitor, Sachin has ruled cricket in Europe, Australia, Asia, Canada and even in South America. The number of fans he has, and given he has played 416 ODI matches, I don't remember the number of tests he has played - the number of fans comes every time to watch Sachin batting is enormous.

Just to have a small Idea, Sachin has played around 250 matches in India, Indian grounds have an average seating arrangement of 30,000 - average ticket is around 1,000. This comes close to 750 Cr, which is excluding the matches he has played abroad, and of course the earnings outside India. Given that matches in UAE, Canada, Australia generates more than 10 times the revenue generated at home in India. A rough estimate could show up a brand value of Sachin to be close to 3,000+ Cr. This comes close to 1% of Indian GDP / BSE market capitalization. A single person has earned close to 1% of Indian GDP (2007), which is a significant contribution for a population of 1 Billion.

Shahrukh Khan stands little behind, in the comparison, his Om Shanti Om, did a business of 175 Cr, which was however the biggest hits he has acted in after DDLJ probably, a rough estimate, if Shahrukh's 15 hit movies have generated 100 Cr on an average then his brand value stands close to 1,500 Cr, I will add up another 750 Cr for the endrosements he has, and other revenue sources. Even then he stands around 700-800 Cr short of Sachin. However, his contribution to Indian economy cannot be denied.

Vivek Misra

By Mubeen Khaleel, Islamic Post Staff Writer

Around 1980, upon the initial arrival of Saudi “Tim Osman” in Afghanistan to train Taliban precursors, the now-infamous Osama bin Laden was just in time for a surprise encounter with the National Security Advisor to former President Jimmy Carter, Council on Foreign Reltions member, and staunch globalist Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was donning a turban and shouting, “Allah is on your side.”
While there have been stranger events in history, none could have thought at the time that Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), a money laundering operation with offices in the Cayman Islands with extensive ties to the bin Laden family, would be investigated by Senator John Kerry, bringing to light ties between international banks, high officials, and extremist terrorism.
BCCI, as an indirect financial supporter of the previous so-called jihad in Afghanistan with money-laundering links to the Iran-Contra affair, would be the target of a Senate investigation led by Senator John Kerry (R- Mass.), which eventually led to the close of the bank, and exposure of U.S. business and government links to the extremist groups now known as the Taliban and al Qaeda.
Senator Max Baucus (D- Mont.), Finance Committee Chairman for the U.S. Senate, recently announced a new investigation, this time against cover corporations set up in the Cayman Islands and their shadow connections to U.S. businessmen. The Ugland House has come under intense scrutiny for having close to 19,000 registered business tenants in the 5- story Cayman building, half of which entities are American.
The investigation was initiated by the Finance Committee in a inquiry over $345 billion expected tax dollars that slip through the cracks each year.
Business and financial institutions have long used offshore entities to avoid paying taxes, but the Cayman Islands and other popular sites –like Panama and the British Virgin Islands– have been used as Illuminati sites for money-laundering –which crime is connected to the multi-billion dollar drug and human trafficking industries, among other nefarious activities. Often times, more legitimate money-makers: oil, international banking, the gold and diamond trade, and especially war, are used to mask large cash flows and illegal shipments. All of these operations are used to fund the global operations of the globalist Illuminati.
In 1998, Brzezinski admitted in an interview with Le Nouvel Observa teur that the Taliban was being funded by the Carter administration not because they were freedom fighters, but to invoke support against a more formidable enemy, Russia. This same tactic was and is being used against practicing Muslims in the world, who are the only real threat remaining to the Zionist, Illuminati-controlled one world order. By financing the likes of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, not only does the drug trade prosper, but regular Muslims come under attack by those who eventually equate the abused name of Islam with terrorism.
Many of these plots and double-plots are funded through shadow entities operating out of the Cayman Islands, formerly by the BCCI, now by unknown financial groups with similar interests.
Shady links.
Livingstone wrote, “Khalid bin Mahfouz –Osama bin Laden’s brother in law and the largest shareholder of BCCI– who is an important figure within the Saudi government with extensive business ties to the Bush family and the CIA” partnered his company the Saudi Investment Corporation (SICO) with the Saudi BinLaden Group, and when the bank was prosecuted under U.S. federal banking laws, “agreed to pay a $225 million settlement to pay the bank’s creditors after being found jointly liable for BCCI’s collapse.”
Tim Ashby, who served as Director of the Office of Mexico and the Caribbean for the U.S. Commerce Department and also Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for the Western Hemisphere during the time in question, as a guest columnist for the Seattle Times in October of 2004 wrote, “A decade after Kerry helped shut the bank down, the CIA discovered bin Laden was among those with accounts at the bank. A French intelligence report obtained by The Washington Post in 2002 identified dozens of companies and individuals who were involved with BCCI and were found to be dealing with bin Laden after the bank collapsed, and that the financial network operated by bin Laden today ‘is similar to the network put in place in the 1980s by BCCI.’”
“At that time, I was the U.S. Commerce Department official responsible for Panama and other Latin American countries involved in the drug trade. I held a top-secret security clearance and read CIA reports bluntly describing the bank’s role in drug-money laundering and other illegal activities,” Ashby continued.
“I witnessed how Kerry met with opposition in Washington from powerful figures in both political parties. Even President George H.W. Bush, whose son George W. Bush received a $25 million BCCI loan for one of his oil businesses, pressured Kerry to drop the investigation. Finally, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Sen. Claiborne Pell, formally asked Kerry to end his probe,” Ashby said, in what echoes today as efforts of U.S. senators to uncover the truth about the Iraq war are being continually thwarted.
According to historian John Coleman’s book The Committee of 300, at the time BCCI was indicted on several charges of being heavily involved in drug money laundering throughout the world. 35% of stock was held by the ruling families Bahrain, Sharjah, Dhubai, Saudi Arabia, Iran and groups of Middle East businessmen. BCCI Cayman Islands owned 41%, Bank of America, 24%; and BCCI Cayman Islands and BCCI Luxembourg had established Agency offices in Miami, Boca Raton, Tampa, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Because of the hidden nature of shell corporations, many of whom shuffle the same board members from outfit to outfit, Senator Baucus is proposing a legal leap to catch up with professional tax evaders in the hopes of uprooting such corruption, which not only cheats hard-working taxpayers, but as in the BCCI case, could indicate treason against the security and interests of the United States. Baucus is requesting the Senate to consider mandating financial firms to file information reports to the IRS at the point when they facilitate transfers of client funds offshore, as a method of enabling the IRS to better track tax evaders by matching that report with filed returns. This would allow the burden to rest with those possibly engaging in nefarious activities to submit proof of legitimacy instead of the IRS spending millions of better-spent dollars to ferret them out; which has proved a largely fruitless effort in the past, as to get to the bottom of offshore corruption, untouchables must first be made to testify.
The BCCI, a Saudi-funded Illuminati banker was offered up for prosecution as a sacrificial lamb when the investigation got too close to those who pulled the strings; but the main players: the House of Saud and international drug/terror/oil cartels stayed out of the reach of the law.
When prosecuted, 8 BCCI officers served jail time, fines amounting to $14 million were paid, and the bank was duly touted in Time Magazine as the “biggest fraud in banking history,” apparently satisfying the world that the investigation had reached a successful conclusion. However, the bank was not the “biggest fraud” as noted by Abid Ullah Jan in his book BCCI to ISI who claimed France’s Credit Lyonnais to have outreached BCCI with $35 billion in questionable assets, whereas prosecutors only found close to $4 billion for BCCI; and the bank’s founder “Agha Hasan Abedi—the central character of the whole story —was not touched by any of the Western governments.”
Robert Mazur, the chief Customs undercover officer in the sting operation that brought down BCCI, known as Operation C-Chase, was less than enthused with the sentencing and fines imposed upon the defunct bank, and resigned out of frustration and “my love for this country.” According to the report to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, compiled in 1992 by Senators John Kerry and Hank Brown, Mazur “continued to work for the U.S. Customs Service on the BCCI prosecution through to the conviction of the BCCI officers indicted in the case in August, 1990. But the experience had left him frustrated and angry. In April, 1991, Mazur resigned from the U.S. Customs Service in a letter to Customs Commissioner Carol Hallett, to whom he wrote the following:
‘I know that my formally advising you of the deplorable conditions in Tampa [a key BCCI location] could cause some individuals in a professional circle to question my loyalty. But it is simply out of my love for this country and our critical need for ethical government that I think its appropriate to respond to a request for my candor. . . If it had not been for the nearly two years of achievement prior to March 1988, the ultimate outcome would also have been lost. The outcome of the case, while notable, was considerably less than it could have been. The indictment of additional defendants and the seizure of substantially more drug proceeds was lost, directly as a result of the application of inadequate resources... to the investigation. This opinion is shared by individuals meaningfully involved in the successes preserved within Operation C-Chase, including the lead prosecutor.’”
Perhaps of further ire to Mazur, was the fact that long-standing Washington advisor and former Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford and his partner Robert Altman, both of First American Bankshares, while indicted for their roles in BCCI’s acquisitions and management of American banks, had the charges dropped, according to David Livingstone’s book Terrorism-Illuminati. Clifford’s incictment was dropped, like Abedi, due only to ill health; and Altman was eventually acquitted. Both men, however, agreed to a $5 million settlement with the Federal Reserve and were banned by the Fed from the banking world, as reported by the New York Times in 1998.
According to Senator Kerry’s report, Clifford and Altman were “the central figures in BCCI’s acquisitions and management of U.S. banks;” this included representing the sale of National Bank of Georgia (NBG) to BCCI nominee Ghaith Pharoun –whose Arabic name literally signifies “Mad Like Pharoah,” as well as the initial attempts by BBI to acquire First American. “Clifford and Altman have testified that they were throughout this period deceived as to BCCI’s ownership of and control of First American and other BCCI entities in the United States, and ignorant of the bank’s wrongdoing in any material respect,” read the report.
The evidence found in the case of BCCI linked international bankers to efforts to fund al Qaeda operatives, and hence bolster the eventual support for the coming War on Terror. Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other pittance lackeys were spawned, funded and trained by the Illuminati to lend credence to the War on Terror, which is carrying on the mission of wholesale genocide of innocent Muslims in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan with a serious eye on the main target, Pakistan.
In the usual feat of double-speak, the Illuminati has declared Islamic extremists to be the enemy, whereas the extremists-the Salafis and Wahhabis- have been shown by bank records to be their greatest friends. After this, only Islam is left as the enemy; all this is being done to establish a Satanic New World Order to which true practicing Muslims pose the greatest threat.

The Ugland House developments and the international implications of those developments for peace-loving peoples remains to be seen.

After a day and of half of holding on to the fine ray of hope, nearly living on the edge, the most logical result has shown its face. I'm sure fellow blogger Soulberry shares in my fatigue. Soulberry, you seriously raised my hopes with your stats on the Dravid-Laxman partnership. They looked promising, esp, Dravid, but I guess it just wasn't to be. This goes to prove you cannot win a Test match with 4 injured players, especially if it includes your strike pace bowler. A few overs of Ishant could have made for a different story, but many will feel that he could only have delayed the inevitable.

It was a rather hyped series given the sub-continental flavor. As an Indian cricket fan, it is a sad day not because this is just another series loss, but because, I think we might have seen the last of the Fab-four playing together. Not because that should be the case, but because I think that will. Indian fans and the BCCI have been known for their knee-jerk reactions to everything: World Cup exits, victories and umpiring errors alike. I expect that one of the four places will now go to a junior and as SP predicted, I suspect that it will be Ganguly, but honestly, I think it should be Tendulkar. Either way, some of us, fans of the Fab-four, need to brace ourselves for some brutal ones to come.

While the rational side of me says it is only fair that one of these places go to a junior, a part of me also fears the selectors will pick the wrong senior to replace and give his place to a wrong junior. The selectors might pick a teenager who scored in the IPL 20, the likes of Rohit Sharma. We need to pick from our regional circles, a player who has scored well. Doesn't matter if he is 30. The Gangulys and the Dravids, the two who have probably lasted the longest in the history of the game (apart from Tendulkar, of course) came in their late twenties, after being seasoned by good old Ranji. At the moment, the only batsman deserving of a Test call up is Badrinath, but I think Rohit will get it earlier and fail. That said, some of the senior folk could use some domestic match practice as well.

Galle victory notwithstanding, we lost the series in the first Test: mostly psychologically. There was pressure on the seniors from Asia-cup-fame Mendis, the fans, the press, the media, and I suspect the BCCI. Did the Fab-four lose this series for us? Yes and No.

Yes, they did contribute significantly to the loss. Let's start at the top with "the God" shall we. Tendulkar seemed impatient and arrogant, more inclined to get his record that to play to a responsible innings. Nothing else explains the dismissal in the first innings of the First Test. Then Ganguly. Nothing seemed to be wrong with him, impatience and fear got the better of him. Dravid, seemed disturbingly out of form in the first Test. Batting seemed to invoke horrors in a man who nicknamed the Wall. There was one innings in which he was himself: the second innings of the decider Test and this is the only good sign for us among the Fab four. Laxman seemed solid in the first innings of the First Test, fell like a bunny 5 times, and resurrected himself to some extend in the second innings of the Third Test.

Yes, they lost it for us as Dravid, who has for long been the backbone of the batting did not find form until the second innings of the 3rd Test. We need the Wall to keep building the fortress to allow the other batsmen to build. There is just no replacement for the role that Dravid has played.

Yes, they lost it for us, as this is the first time in which they were all not scoring throughout the series.

But, no, it isn't just them. Our bowler's did not step up either. Other the Ishant, nobody looked like taking any wickets. Our wicketkeepers or wicketkeeper-batsmen, as we wrongly call them were pathetic with both their responsibilities. Kumble, surprizingly didn't look like taking wickets. Our fielders lacked initiative, yes the young ones too. Last but not the least, there was the largely inconsistent and partisan referral system. A collective failure in performance and spirit caused us this series and takes us only further from that coveted #1 Test team position.

Having said all about the Fab-four, while they have been stellar in many ways, they have also been largely inconsistent through their illustrious careers. It would be hard to find a series in which all of them collectively consistently and consequtively scored heavily. It has been their class and showmanship with the bat that has earned them this tag. The again, winning Test matches isn't about of collective centuries, it is about everybody doing their part and doing so well. This time, they failed to produce that face-saving century that they needed, or half century each, Lax and Dravs excluding (though I'm not sure that will save them from the selectors who will want to keep Tendulkar) . Also, more often than not, they have been bothered by a bowler on debut. Bret Lee, Chris Tremlet and Sohail Tanvir come to mind. Ajantha Mendis now joins this list. It will be interesting to see which way he goes.

The selectors have a many tough decisions now with the Aussies coming to town. Do you judge the seniors on one bad series? Do you put the mentally pressurized seniors on the spot with an ultimatum in the series against the Aussies? Or do you throw the younsters to the wolves? Do you give seniors match practice in Ranji or rest?

As RS rightly points out, the only one to gain from this is Dhoni. It's a stroke of tactical masterclass from him to skip this Test series. I now predict a Sri Lankan ODI series washout by 4-1 or 5-0. Then will the same questions be asked of Dhoni's boys? Let us see.

With Tim Ambrose looking increasingly like he won't be playing in England's next Test, which will of course be in India, this could cause political pressure on team selection in a way reminiscent of the Basil D'Oliveira affair. This time, though, Lalit Modi's commercial self-interest would replace the National Party's racism as the elephant in the room.

Whilst Read wouldn't necessarily be an automatic replacement for Ambrose, he has been the most successful (in purely statistical terms) of England's succession of attempted replacements for the mighty Alec Stewart. Matt Prior has been selected for the One Day squad, but if he doesn't impress, Read might well be in pole position for selection.

If that happens, we will see whether the BCCI really does wield as much power within international cricket as is often suggested.

There are a lot of inter board “tug of wars” at the moment which are wrongly being associated with cricket. I use the word wrongly because make no mistake; these clashes are in no way beneficial to the game or those who play the game for a living.

The BCCI seems absolutely hell bent on dividing the cricketing world along financial lines to fill its own pockets and settle scores, which as a cricket fan is in simple terms unfair, unjust and unacceptable..

It has come to a stage where politicians who have never played the game and haven’t the slightest idea of its nuances are preventing cricketers from playing cricket.

This may sound a bit doomsday-ish, but the scenario is going to worsen if nobody steps in.

In spite of Kent complying with BCCI and excluding ICL contracted players from their potential champions league team, the latter just isn’t willing to budge.

Certain unscrupulous elements associated with the game are riding on a wave created by the love and passion that fans from the subcontinent have for the game, and they are flexing their muscles to blackmail the boards of countries where the game isn’t quite as popular.

The cricketing world is in serious danger of being divided. The reasons aren’t reasons related to cricket at all.

The ICC doesn’t seem capable of stepping in and sorting this mess out, for one reason or another, which I shall dwell upon in a separate article.

The only people who could put an end to this are international cricketers who command the love and respect of the fans that make the game what it is.

Working under the assumption that the game and representing their country means more to any cricketer than wealth (it is far too early too think otherwise), I have no doubt that a lot of players are irked with way the game is being managed at the moment.

It is time for them to stand tall and be united to protect and preserve the sanctity of the game. Maybe that is too much to ask, but I am silently confident that such a day is round the corner.

Twenty20 cricket is not bad for the game, those looking to make a quick buck out of it, however, are.

VM

MS Dhoni led the a young inexperienced T20 team to the T20 World Cup last September. The young turks won it and returned to a deservingly warm welcome. Cash prizes were showered, apartments promised and state governments competed with each other to confer their own honors and cash prized on their wards. Even that could be justified, but let me ask this question, while readying myself for the rotten eggs, tomatoes and what-not from the Dhoni fans. Does he deserve this? Tendulkar is the only other cricketer to receive the award.

Let us put the T20 World Cup victory in perspective, both the good and bad. While the lines between good and bad might be blurry as it involves the senior-junior debate, either way, something is either good or bad. The good, this allowed some young Indians who were inexperienced players yet promising to show case their talent. It allowed for us to see their performance as a whole, despite the limitations of the format, unencumbered by the so-called seniors and their think-tank. This gave us, the BCCI and the selectors the confidence to trust youth. It gave us fans hope that there might be a better-than-expected-life after the Holy Trinity of Tendulkar-Ganguly-Dravid. The bad, allow me to call it that, is that we are obsessed with the format and some of the players who brougt this home, primarily Dhoni, Yuvraj and Uthappa. Obsession with the format, gave rise to the massive mela that was the IPL. While I believe that the IPL can do more damage than good, especially for India with the glaring levels of mania about this format, time will give us the verdict.

Moving on, after the T20 victory, what happened (in the ODI scheme of things)? Indian lost a series to Australia, won against a weak Pakistan side, won a series in Australia (largely due to Tendulkar and the young bowlers), lost the Kitply cup and the Asia Cup. To me, this reads just as good or or bad as the early stages of Ganguly or Dravid's captaincy. Mark my words, early stages. But is this enough to get the Khel Ratna? Shouldn't the others have received it as well? Why are we obsessed with the T20 World Cup? I realize it's not Dhoni's fault that the others weren’t honored with it or that he is now. I'm just questioning the logic. To me it seems like a mass-media reaction. Don't get me wrong, the T20 World Cup victory was special. To have witnessed it is a memory I will always cherish. It lifted our spirits as a cricketing nation. But does the T20 Victory alone justify Dhoni's selection here? Given that cricket is a team sport, and that it wasn't a couple of innings from Dhoni that brought us the cup (unlike the case of Tendulkar, who has single-handedly won us several matches in his early days), I find this a bit undeserving.

But then this is how we treat our cricket heroes. In this context "we" is the BCCI and the Indian media. One day, we go gaga over them, shower praise, prizes, money, titles and the next they are in the doldrums for the same people who buoyed a cricketer to the pinnacle, will push him from that spot only for him to careen downwards at breakneck speed. We are wrong with both the buoy to and the shove from the peak. The current seniors who come to mind are Ganguly and Dravid. Many times I think we don't deserve good cricketers. Why are we like this? One bad series, heck, two bad innings, and we seek to sack the folks who have served Indian cricket with distinction. I have already written about the slack that we have been cutting for Yuvraj Singh. This isn't about the fact that for some seniors the time to say goodbye may have come, this is about the fact that we don't have the grace to allow them a decent passage into retirement. We want instant amends: the batsman scored a duck and a 5; sack him, he is 35/36 anyway and has had his time. It shouldn't matter whether he is old or young, we need uniform yardsticks applied to all cricketers. Even if that yardstick is two innings, one dropped catch, two instances of lax fielding fielding, or one match without wickets, let it be uniform. As abisht points out (in the link above), we need to go the Aussie way with this. The way they handled Steve Waugh, at least outwardly, was graceful, respectful and fitting for his deeds as one of Australia's best captains. We may not like some things that Australia's cricket team or board does, but this we need to learn from them.

Perhaps it's Dhoni's day today. But one fears for tomorrow. If the BCCI and the media don't alter their ways, Dhoni will be the next victim of mass scorn. And given some of the youngster's skill level at the moment, that embarrassing tomorrow may not be too far.

Rant done. Ducks a bucket of rotten tomatoes from Dhoni’s female fans!

This is not the first time in the recent past that Team India has scored a remarkable come-from-behind victory. But perhaps this is the first time that a come-from-behind win has left the India Fan posing several questions about the future of Team India!

As has been pointed out by Srikanth Mangalam, this victory, unlike India's more famous past come-from-behind victories, does not taste as sweet. While this should not diminish either the sweetness of the victory or our appreciation for the team, there are many questions that need to be answered by the selectors.

In recent years, India has tried hard to dispel the bad-travellers tag that the team has acquired. They will make the leap from good to great only if they dispel the bad-starters tag too. In recent overseas tours, South Africa was the only tour when India started with a famous win at Kingsmead. In that series in 2006-2007, India disintegrated after that stunning victory. In India's 2007 tour of England, Bucknor and bad-light saved India from a morale-dissipating loss at Lords'. India then came back strongly to finish the series with a victory. In Australia last year, under Anil Kumble's feisty leadership, India lost badly in Melbourne and then had a most sensational, yet disappointing loss at Sydney. The team was written off as a combination of whingers, whiners, no-hopers and more. The Australian fans as well as the sports writers were divided over the brouhaha that surrounded the strange and largely incompetent decision making by Bucknor and Proctor. Just as everyone had completely written off the team, India rose from the dead to score an incredible victory in Perth. That was possibly the defining moment for this team. Of course, Kolkata in 2001 was where most Team India fans would say it all started. And that was a come-from behind victory in more ways than one -- India had been mauled in the 1st Test of that series in Mumbai and was facing a mountain to climb after having been asked to follow-on in Kolkata!

So, Team India has had more than its share of come-from-behind victories. "Resilience" is a word that Anil Kumble uses as often as "Fantastic" these days, when he is asked to describe his team! And yes, one would have to agree that this team has demonstrated resilience. Personally, Perth was enough for me. If any team could bounce back from the nonsense of Sydney, it would have to have developed not only the temperament and ability, but also the self-pride, resolve and determination.

But, as Srikanth Mangalam has pointed out, this victory in Galle was a bit hollow. He puts it down to the fact that it was mainly 3 Delhi players (Sehwag, Gambhir and Ishant Sharma) and a Punjabi (Harbhajan Singh) who achieved this victory. The rest of the team contributed precious little.

One aspect of India's victory that pleased me (and surprised me) the most was Harbhajan Singh's huge hand in the victory. He has had a somewhat dismal overseas bowling record and had to start contributing when the conditions are not that favourable. Muthiah Muralidharan does it day in and day out. It requires an ability to adapt as well as dogged determination. In the past Harbhajan Singh would have just crumbled if he did not get a wicket every other ball. Here, he showed patience and was willing to bowl to a plan. This augurs well for India's future and one certainly hopes that this maverick bowler has learned his lessons well in the self-inflicted time-off that he has had out in the cold.

The concern for me is three-fold:

• Most Team India fans know that there is an urgent need for more strategic thinking around team composition.
• In this match at Galle, most of the "older" players did nothing much.
• It is much harder to institute change when one has just won!

To move from here on a change-path requires much courage; a quality that the BCCI, games' administrators in India, do not have in spades. And if they do, they have hidden it away quite well from us! The selectors are part of the BCCI system and they have not shown too much inclination to think strategically about issues of importance to the team.

A look at the manner in which Australia has phased-out-phased-in would be sufficient to put the issue beyond the pale! Over a period of 2-3 years, players like Justin Langer, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, Michael Bevan, Damien Martyn, Glen McGrath, Michael Kasprowicz, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, et al, have been slowly and systematically replaced. The players who have left could well form a team today and they would give the second best team a run for their money! Such is the quality that has been replaced in a strategic manner! Apart from Shane Warne's replacement -- more due to paucity of available options than anything else -- one would like to think that the Australians have got it more right than wrong! The point, however, is that the Australian selectors look way beyond their immediate task of picking a team for the next match! They look beyond the ends of their collective noses to see what they need to do to work on a team that will take the park 2 years and 5 years from today.

As Wayne Gretsky, the champion ice-hockey player used to say, strategic thinking, "is not about where the puck is, but about where it ought to be".

So what is required is extreme courage, especially given that the Indian team has just won an incredible come-from-behind victory! But such courage is desperately needed.

What India needs desperately is a blue print for the road ahead which would have to include a transition plan for Sourav Ganguly, V. V. S. Laxman, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar (perhaps in the above order) to be replaced by (respectively) Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Piyush Chawla/Pragyan Ojha, S. Badrinath and Suresh Raina.

And that transition has to start now. Sourav Ganguly has to make way for Rohit Sharma for the 3rd Test starting in 4 days' time! Yes, it is quite likely that Rohit Sharma won't rock the world on debut. It is likely that he would make less runs than what Ganguly made in the Galle Test match. And yes, it is harder to make changes when the team has won. But that's exactly what longer-term sustainability demands.

Will the BCCI act? I do not have much hope. After all, it is only just realising that it needs a web presence!

- MOhan

Lalit Modi, Vice President of BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), was born on November 29, 1963 in New Delhi, India. He is the son of KK Modi (Krishan Kumar Modi), the eldest son of Late Rai Bahadur Gujarmal Modi (Founder of the Modi Group). Lalit Modi attended Duke University in North Carolina for a degree in management during 1980s, but had to depart in a haste in the wake of charges of drug abuse. He came back to India and worked for Estee Lauder. He soon started working for Godfrey Phillips, a Modi Enterprise. Lalit Modi's forays into Indian cricket began with the RCA (Rajasthan Cricket Association). The Rungta Family ruled RCA as their own fiefdom and had a powerful grip over the BCCI. Modi, with the help of Punjab's Inderjit Singh Bindra, managed to overthrow the Rungtas from the BCCI, via the courts. He emerged as a new power broker and it was here that one could see the personality of Lalit Modi. There was a new dawn over the BCCI horizon.

The next step came in late November, 2005 when anti-Dalmiya forces rallied around for what would turn out to be the most acrimonious BCCI board election in decades. Jagmohan Dalmiya (erstwhile President of BCCI) was defeated and Sharad Pawar (Union Agriculture Minister) was installed as the new President of the Board of Control for cricket in India and Lalit Modi emerged, grinning triumphantly, as one of the youngest-ever BCCI vice-presidents. Since then, BCCI has emerged as the richest administrative body in the Indian sports arena and is in the process of overtaking England's Cricket Board. BCCI was established in 1929.

Team India’s cricket poster boys Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh will be the special invites read more

Cricket’s master blaster is on many celebrity commercials aired on TV. Now, read more

I actually started writing this post hours after the innings defeat to Sri Lanka, but didn't get around to writing more than the first sentence. Perhaps that was for good, for it wouldn't have been anything more than ranty, rambly, irritated, angry and haunted. Today, I feel very differently about it and have more sympathy for the batting line up, than they have been getting in the last 24 hrs. That's not to say there is no anger, neither is there any proper excuse for the manner in which the batting folded completely, but if at all there is any slack to be cut it is for this Indian line up. This Indian line up won against at good South African line up, a weak Pakistan team, and had Australia on the mat on several occasions, so much so that Gilchrist conceded that India won the series 2-1. Somehow, we have forgotten all that and ranted in typical Indian fashion. So what caused this colossal debacle? We can only speculate in hindsight. Maybe it was complacency, maybe it was lack of preparation, perhaps it was even a sense of taking Sri Lanka too lightly (or at least lighter than they should have), but to me the most unforgivable part of this collapse was the lack of fighting-spirit and self-belief among the top order batsmen.

Let's look at this from a first innings vs. second point of view, and a bit objectively shall we? To me the first innings seemed more like a mix of less-than-50% effort,"neither-here-nor-there" faith, rashness, and complacency than lack of skill or being bamboozled. The second innings was starkly different: one of over-cautiousness, despair, resignment to loss and finding the quickest route to it.

Here is my analysis by batsmen:

Sehwag: started rather aggressively, though many suggest (and I agree) it was more brainless than foolhardy. He was in T20 mode, but he has always be in that mode, even before that form of the game exsisted. In the second, he played with a bit more brain, maybe had some harsh words from coach Kirsten, but was given out on a very contentious decision. What are the umpires paid for? Can't they make it through one match (or even one innings without a glaringly wrong one). The on-field umpire (though this was Mr. Incompetent Benson who I have ZERO respect for him), I understand - he has only a split second to decide - but not third umpire Koertzen who could have very well caught the deflection off the pad, if only his eyes were open.

Gambhir: played in T20 fashion, but quite well, better than I had expected, especially in the second innings. There was a trace of intent to occupy the crease. Though he fell to Murali in the very early overs in the first innings, and then again to Murali in the second, the latter was a more patient Gambhir. This kid will learn and must be persisted with, above any of the younger lot.

Dravid: arguably the tragedy of the batting line up. Is it the media pressure,or the board pressure for wanting him to keep wickets else get lost? He started the first innings rather positively - that uppish shot off Murali(?) which fetched him one of his two boundaries from that outing was nothing short of positive. But he was clearly bamboozled by Mendis's carrom. The second innings demotion from #3 was possibly to allow Laxman to hold one end, or even in the hopes of an Eden repeat from 2001, but this move probably shattered the shards of self-confidence that he brought. I don't know what has happened to India's never-say-die man with so-called nerves of steel. If anyone deserves any faith, it's him. God save Dravid!

Tendulkar: The man most capable of tackling Murali, with an average in the 60s against him, threw his wicket away in the first innings. He seemed to be in half a mind whether to play it or leave it, and ended up dragging it on to his stumps. Forgivable? By Tendulkar's standards, no, but nobody's perfect. The second innings dismissal is just sad. There isn't much else to be said there.

Ganguly: first innings rashness and a saw him play a sweep shot, when he knew a fielder was there. Completely uncalled for while chasing a mammoth score. The second innings attempt by Ganguly was nothing short of callous carelessness. He had already given up, not wanting to fight it out.

VVS Laxman: Ok, I don't have the heart to blast him, not after that tremendous effort in the first innings. No one, I repeat, no one else can fight with the tail, without losing hope, even in the most hopeless situations. In times of dire need, there is a sense of relief when he takes to the crease; a feeling that the damage will stop, even if it is to delay the eventual. He deserves to bat at #3, though nobody else can bat so successfully with the tail at #6. With Dravid in the state he is in at the moment, it seemed logical to promote him (which I had suggested here), but he fell and too quickly for the Indians to digest.

Dinesh Karthik: I think he has reached the end of his sudden stroke of luck in Dhoni's absense. Though I will not be surprized if he makes in next XI, that might just be it.

Having said all this about the Indian batting, it was a collective failure that cost India dear - batting, bowling and fielding. You cannot allow fear to overcome skill. Umpiring atrocities notwithstanding, you cannot drop a batsmen twice, that too the likes of Jayawardene, and expect the favor to be returned or to win a test match. You cannot bowl to pass time without any regard to line and length. On the other hand, you must not milk a fast bowler till he bleeds. Kudos to Ishant for a gutsy showing with the bat: he lasted 70 mins with Laxman and faced 54 balls, for his 13.

Credit must be given to Ajantha Mendis for getting two of India's best - Laxman and Dravid - not once but twice. That is more credit that I could ever write. Murali was perhaps his normal self. The pressure that both the spinner put from either end helped them both.

What now for India? Some gameplan, strategy and tons of self-belief and courage. Meanwhile shall we stop the trash talk for moment? This series ain't over yet!

Shrill and breathless reporters causing panic and confusion while telling people that there is nothing to worry about. Check.

Clueless police bumbling about the blast scene. Check.

Condemnations against nameless persons issued by anyone entitled to a lal-batthi car. Check.

Tenuous links to militant Islamic organizations drawn on flimsiest evidence (mostly by ignorant bloggers and the people who read them). Check.

Newspaper editorials bemoaning lack of protection for the ordinary citizen. Check.

Citizens picking selves up, brushing off debris and going back to following India’s miserable fate in the Colombo Test. Check.

International (read: white) players threatening to pull out of cricket tournament in Pakistan due to security reasons. Check.

No, you did not read that wrong. And yes, it seems to follow the rest of the above more often than you think.

By all logic and reason, if tours to Pakistan are considered “dangerous”, then India should have been a total no-go for cricketers around the world given the Delhi blasts, the Bombay blasts, the Hyderabad blasts, the Jaipur blasts and now, the Bangalore blasts (admittedly the new airport road kills as many people on a daily basis, but hey a bomb blast is a bomb blast).

Yet, the Shanes (Warne and Watson) were more than happy to fulfil their contractual obligations to their Jaipur based franchise even when the bombs went off in Jaipur smack bang in the middle of the IPL. And “security situation” is hardly a consideration when Kevin Pietersen whines about how the evil ECB is not letting him play in the IPL.

Besides the London Tube bombings happened during Ashes 2005.

Another useful bit of trivia: The only time a match was stopped due to a bomb threat was in, well you guessed it, England. Naturally, no one ran off to catch the nearest flight home, and the players continued after the police checked it out. And this, mind you, was at the height of the IRA bombings in England.

Normally, one finds little reason to support the BCCI whenever it makes a decision, but it deserves a whole hearted back-pat for having supported Pakistan as the venue for the ICC Champions Trophy. An Asia Cup was organized there. India has been touring Pakistan every year or so for the last 5 years without incident. So what is really wrong with Pakistan as a cricketing venue?

Is it the media that seems to can mention Pakistan only in the context of bad news, and occasionally, for a change, worse news?

Is it Sir Ian “Beefy” Botham’s infamous categorization of Pakistan as a mother-in-law-holiday destination?

Or is it a simple case of “money talks, bullshit walks”?

If the Indian experience is anything to go by, shouldn’t the ordinary cricket fan in Pakistan, who has to undergo enough troubles to sit in a concrete hellhole passing for a “stand”, subject himself to numerous intrusive “searches”, give up on security so that the “players’ security” is taken care of, get a small opportunity to watch the best players of the world go up against each other?

I don’t know about you, but the more I think of this the more the words “DOUBLE STANDARDS” keeps popping up.

Also read: Victory off the field