Scandals and controversies!! Real cricket has been completely over-shadowed by the drama and melo-drama off the field. The latest is match fixing; the insatiable Indian bookie is apparently omnipresent.Money which is the root of all evil, is bewitching these days, carrying value in every sphere of life.
If you are philosophical enough to see the big picture; most decent people do get carried away or carried afar, lowering-down their ethics in order to get more. The holier than thous will stand on that proverbial pedestal and vouch for his or her sterility in such a cause, but the judicious will admit to the ‘little crooked’ for advancement or money. It is just presumptuous of us to suppose we would not do so under similar circumstances. Humans are quite established at finger-pointing, never imaging or leaving space to imagine what they may do in those same shoes. These same ethical and moral high-horse riders seem to turn counterfeit as they themselves get to the top of their field. Developing an arrogant and invincible disposition, they conveniently forget their previous stand. Sometimes you get the feeling people cannot help themselves.
While the laymen like us, cannot fathom the need of these cricketers who are infact deliriously rich, fighting, arguing and even selling their own country for just a bit more money, is it not an addiction that affiliates most bodies on success? The Sri Lankan cricketers who were predisposed to be immaculate, showed themselves up a tinsy-bit with their fight to play the lucrative IPL against the more prestigious tour to England a while back. They may have baulked on ‘principle’ when the ever-dictating Arjuna Ranatunga undertook a tour on their behalf despite the IPL pledge, yet their monetary lust surfaced minutely. Ranatunga was right in his argument that country came first, but as most no-nonsense rulers soon find out, the corrupt majority will find ways to throw out the straight. The thorn-in-every-side ex-skipper would never have been allowed to dictate in the voluminously corrupt institution of Sri Lanka Cricket.
The cricketers are of the take that this money-spinning quest, lasts as little as their youth, the next injury, or poor form and it is possibly why they relentlessly pursue more wealth. As a vocation what does one do if you know that you could lose your job the next week ? You will more often than not look for all means to fatten your purse fast!!
Will everyone reduce to selling their own country or their dignity for a college education for the off-spring, or home for the aged mother? They most probably sell themselves for far less than this. But the very persons who stand up in loud criticism of the cricketers may in their day to day lives make similar compromises. In some jobs today you sell your soul to survive, put up with indignity, and demean to earn a better living. Some of you may say ‘ but of course we don’t sell our country !! ‘
Media it seems is too wide-spread and tentacled to be held accountable. From BBC to the Hindustan Times to the Sri Lankan newspapers, they quote and requote sources without verification. Assuming most people will not go through legal processes as the passage is too tedious for a busy human, all kinds of totally unsubstantiated news is crops up in an endless stream of convoluted cock-ups. Relying on the tendency to believe that there is no smoke without fire, other mortals thrive and circulate completely damaging information on a person without a qualm. Media like everything else is so competitive now that you either pay people to leak out news before everyone else or twist a marginal story.
The Bible tells you this is how it manifests in the end-times!! Sell your country, sell your mother, covert thy neighbour’s wife and blasphemy begins.
Back to cricket,. ..Sri Lanka needs to back its players at this time. There was news that skipper Kumar Sangakkara himself has reported one of his players to the ICC anti-corruption unit and to this he blares in protest and indignation that he did nothing of the sort. Imagine the rumpus it must have caused in the dressing room. Once the skipper refuted this story, now it’s the burly fastman in the fray. Who will be next ? What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Then comes the Zimbabwe incident raked up after all this time. All this smells too fishy at this moment. The Sri Lankan media at least need to hold-their own until such allegations are proved. With a world-cup at hand, they are not doing the players justice. Striking while the iron is hot, there are lots of personal agendas and vendettas that bear fruit at such a time, its all quite sad and shocking not to mention dishonorable.
Fraterning with the bookie is not a crime if ever it happened. There is a distinct possibility that someone in the Sri Lanka team at some point or the other may have been spoken to by these fraudsters and there is also the possibility that a cricketer may have entertained such a thought. But these are just possibilities. National heroes cannot be vilified on a vague statement of a media or insincere bookmakers.
Ever since India’s Virendra Sehwag was denied his century through a ‘noball’, it seems like the Indian players, authorities and media are on a crucifixion campaign against T M Dilshan and Sri Lanka. The Pakistan match-fixing scandal seems to have given them the perfect opportunity. The plot however thickens as the Indian bookies come out and state that Indian players are squeaky clean and frivolously admit to Pakistan, Sri Lankan and Bangladesh involvement.
United we stand… Under the white supremacy that prevailed in cricket a while back, the Asian block were hounded criminals for every marginal misconduct. However, after the Indian subcontinent banded together and India became the super power, the balance was equated. Now with the Pakistan match-fixing incident and the Indian bookies accusing their neighbourly brethren, Asia has once again become the target of the fair skinned mob.
When match-fixing is being talked about in every media where even Mohammed Azaharudeen and Salim Malik are mentioned, conveniently omitted are the first defendants Shane Warne and Mark Waugh whose fixing adventures were completely covered-up by Cricket Australia. One had to wonder if they heard correct, when Shane Warne was reported to calling for life bans on match-fixing. These double standards have been repeatedly talked about and remain unchanged through the long history of cricket.
Crooked, it seems is the order of the day and even though Cricket has highlighted this, similar sleaze is splurged through sport, politics, jobs, and life.
