Letter of the Day

The recent remarks by UCB President Percy Sonn regarding Hansie Cronje are not only an insult to the intelligence and integrity of all cricket lovers, it is also a great example of why Indians keep complaining while South Africans (and other teams, including Pakistan) keep getting away with murder.

Here was a man that confessed to match-fixing publicly. And now the current captain of the South African team is talking about how Cronje can still be a positive influence. I heard no one, not the pundits who know everything about Cricket, nor the great Australian foot-in-mouth Steve Waugh, complaining or denouncing the Sonn and Pollock statements. Not only does Cronje get away with crimes, he is now being considered a potential positive influence.

Compare that to how India has treated two of its stars, Azhar and Jadeja. The Chandrachur commission was horribly conducted, nothing conclusive was proven, and they found some sacrificial lambs to appease the "phoren" folks. Why? Well, since the whole scandal was started by Delhi Police, Indian team must be corrupted!

Mohd Azharuddin's case was handled in such a bad way, it was embarassing to see one of the top performers in the cricket world being shunned. I remember reading one of "Hussain Diaries" on CricInfo, and even this gentleman mentioned something about Azhar being fallen from grace. Azhar definitely deserved a better send-off than what he got, for someone who served the country for so long and so well. I must confess, though, that once he tried to play the religion card, he made me lose all the respect I had for him. Let's talk about the second hero instead.

Jadeja has always been a warrior. When Kapil retired, for quite some time I kept wondering if I would ever watch cricket again. The reason wasn't the talent on display. The hunger to win seemed to be missing, even from folks like Sachin. I have found only Jadeja and Robin Singh to be the people who, no matter what the ask and what the situation, believe they can pull off a win. And that's why I watch cricket. I want to see a good fight, no matter who wins. The wins that come after defending a total of 125 or after following on 400 behind are the wins that become immortal. But any game where both teams try their hardest to win becomes a classic in itself. With Jadeja and Robin on the crease, there always was a chance. No matter who was the opposition, there always was a chance.

Go back to the match between India and Australia in the last World Cup. After Sachin and others were out cheaply, the rest of the current Indian team would have come home (like they did against Sri Lanka for 57 runs). But Jadeja made a century, and it wasn't a boring, for-the-books knock. I was just as angry at Mongia as Jadeja was, when Mongia threw his wicket away. That was the time when Jadeja was mounting the offensive. But for Mongia, India could well have pulled off a stunning victory.

Even when Jadeja has led the team, the team has felt like a cohesive unit. And there is a very good reason for it. Others go to bat or bowl, or keep wickets. I have always felt that Jadeja and Robin Singh go to win.

I hope that after listening to UCB president, BCCI wakes up and realizes that it has banned a player who holds tremendous potential and promise, without any proof of his involvement. Even though there may not be a place for Jadeja in the Indian team after Sehwag's performances, BCCI should remove the unwarranted tag of "banned" from Jadeja's career, or prove the case against him.

The difference between India and other teams is that the others are willing to accept their stars even after these folks have done unacceptable acts (look at Mark Waugh and Shane Warne), while we in India seem too eager to find fault with even the best of cricketers. It was outrageous when Kapil was embroiled in the controversy, but it was even more outrageous to see how little he was supported from the rest of the team, even after he was "cleared of all charges". Why are we Indians so keen on pulling down our heroes? Low self-esteem, or does the British Raaj still exist for many of the men running the country?

Sumit Chawla

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