By: K. Gautam
I had fumed at the haughtiness of some of the Australians, who shoved Sharad Pawar off the victory podium at the Champions Trophy last year. Now, after seeing Mr. Pawar shamelessly hogging the limelight in the felicitation meant for the victorious Indian team, along with the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and other BCCI officials, I am beginning to think, “He probably deserved no better.” Going even further, the DCM went on to credit Sharad Pawar for the victory of the team in his speech. Fortunately, he didn’t claim that Sharad Pawar was the one who coached the Indian team.
Though the shove Mr. Pawar received was no doubt insolent, we should not miss the very clear message being sent by the Aussies during the ceremony - “Don’t overstay your presence. Your job of presenting the trophy is done. Now keep moving. Leave the celebrations to us.” Sharad Pawar doesn’t seem to have learned anything from the Aussie experience. The Indian team, with the exception of captain Dhoni, was banished to the back rows - under whose instructions I wonder.
When the English cricket team regained The Ashes in 2005 after 18 years, the entire media spotlight was on the cricketers. The other officials took a backseat in the celebrations. Prime Minister Tony Blair merely came, shook hands with the team, and promptly left. Here, things are reverse. Does the BCCI expect the players to be subservient just because they are being offered a huge bonanza? From the persecution and the shame they had to undergo after the World Cup fiasco, they deserve all the accolades.
What happened just establishes the fact that in this country - politicians will be politicians and bureaucrats will be bureaucrats.
can we have something other than cricket pls...
ReplyDelete