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Readers sound off on:Crybabies!
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 1997 10:55:04 -0700 A great column from you, highlighting the crying faces of Pakistan cricketers. Probably you could have given all kudos to the Indian team for making it against all odds. I wonder why there were no neutral umpires for this series -- more so because today, most of the series are played with at least one neutral umpire. Could you discuss this in one of your upcoming columns? Arvind
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 1997 13:59:26 -0400 Congratulations on a hard hitting column. I hope that at least some Pakistani citizens,players and administrators read this and learn something about sportsmanship. I am sorry that India lost the series, but it is clear that Pakistan deserved to win the third match. The Indians played badly in the last game, and that is that. One comment on a different subject. It seems to me that all the pitches in India, Pak and Srilanka are tailormade for batsmen like Afridi, Jayasurya and now, Ijaz. I wonder how these people would fare on the English, Ausstralian and South African pitches? Do you have any data on the performance of these players and other big hitters in games played in the above countries? Ven Hari Prem Panicker replies: Good question, Ven. We will have our resident statistician, Anant Gaundalkar, take a look at the pinch-hitter phenomenon, viewed from the perspective of playing surface. Look for it on our site, soon.
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 1997 14:05:09 -0400 Thanks for an excellent article on the 2nd ODI in Karachi. I am unable to comprehend that Pakistan players of such great experience and abilities can be so totally illogical about making such comments/assesments of events. No matter how logical and objective I try to be in observing Pakistan's (at least some players, officials etc.) "cries" in such situations, I invariably am left with a sad feeling at their reactions - after all, Pakistan is part of the same Indian subcontinent, and I have never seen such "cries" from the teams/players from this side of the border. As you pointed out so correctly, had that match been lost by India, I too am very sure that Tendulkar or anyone associated with the team would not have "cried" about Afridi (given not out by 3rd umpire) or any other situation. In fact, I am very proud of the team's behaviour and restraint in dealing with the stone throwing situation. Sanjay
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 11:35:59 -0700 (PDT) I completely agree with your views, you expressed exactly what I and my friends think about this incident. I saw news articles from DAWN and other Pakisthai newsgroups where they bashed Sachin for no reason. Murthy Thontepu
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 1997 11:38:22 -0700 This is not the first time that Saeed Anwar has made less than intelligent comments. I am referring to his interview with Saimul Hasan
of the Dawn after the Sahara Cup debacle. He explained away Pakistan's
ignominious defeats with two comments: Santosh Ghirnikar
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 16:28:15 -0400 (EDT) I read your column and I fully agree with you. The Pakistanis may be a great team but 'dignified' they are not. Zaheer Abbas says that the Indians should have shown restraint -- but I remember the Test match at Bangalore in 1984 when Zaheer was the captain and how he staged a walkout protesting about the mandatory overs rule (which was newly introduced) so that he could prevent Gavaskar from getting a hundred. The Pakistanis are bad losers -- and absolute gloaters when they win. One incident which comes to mind again, is the World Cup of 1987. Do you remember how Abdul Qadir had behaved when the Sri Lankan batsmen were getting out to full tosses ? He was rolling on the ground with laughter. I couldn't help but remember this when watching Jayasuriya belt Waqar and Wasim in Singapore, and if I were a Sri Lankan that would be the day I would have celebrated. Have you ever read the online edition of 'Dawn'? Their entire news is about what's going on in India.They seem to be preoccupied with us Indians -- and I am sure the average Indian couldn't care less. Hyder Khan
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 15:27:40 -0700 Great article, Prem. I think this artcile of yours should put these cricketers to shame!! I too play lot of cricket, though not at the international level. And one thing we have been taught is to give credit where it is deserved and not to try to find excuses for your losses. Gopi
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 1997 14:26:09 -0400 Man !! You sure did let off steam in this one!! Out of interest, who gave you this gem about Tendulkar touching the spectator's feet in Toronto? Watching too many Indian movies recently? Is this some inside source in the Indian camp that nobody else in the press corps has, or is this one of your live witnesses from Toronto reporting? Are you aware that the spectator was actually arrested by Metro Police for attacking Inzimam with the megaphone and has been counter-charged with assault? You made some valid points against Saeed's comments, but maybe you should try and control emotions when doing writeups. I know India are riding an emotional high due to their current form but please ... Amir
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 1997 12:46:02 PDT I couldn't believe you wrote the article about Pakistan and the Pakistani cricketers -- but judging from what you have written in the past I saw how you could actually do something like that. Ideally I should ignore such an article, but there was so much maliciousness and senselessness in it that I could not hold myself back. Let's break down some of the stuff you said. First of all, the Pakistani cricket team is a class above the Indian cricket team. This is a fact that even you have acknowledged in the past. And when these two teams meet, the contest does not start on an even keel except when Pakistan are having a bad day....don't believe me? Just look at the head to head record and you will see what I am talking about. Prior to the Sahara Cup the head to head record stood at 33-16-2....surely not a statistic manifesting how even two teams are. Maybe for you it is -- but not for me and not for the rest of the world. Second, Sachin did not I repeat did not offer to touch Shiv Kumar's feet in an attempt to make him withdraw his case against Inzamam. That was a bull**** story cooked up by some Indian fan to show how noble Sachin Tendulkar is. Yes Sachin, Azhar and Saurav pleaded with him to not press charges because there is a great deal of camaraderie amongst the Pakistani and Indian cricket teams, and if a similar thing had happened to an Indian player you would have seen Pakistani cricketers do the same thing. So, contrary to what you want your readers to believe, Pakistani cricketers are not anti-India. They want to beat India whenever they play, because that is what the nation wants and there is a great deal of pressure on them to do so. Third, the Karachi crowd is bad and there is no justification for their behavior. However, the match referee himself said that he did not see any sort of stones of the described size. If you do not already know this, the umpires' report to the referee could enlighten you. And if the Indian team gave the umpires the stones, how come they were not seen by the referee? You questioned Inzamam's integrity when he said that Shiv Kumar was swearing at his family and that is why he was provoked into doing what he did -- simply because you heard a number of Indian fans say that all Shiv Kumar called him was aloo. Now, a whole lot of Pakistani fans are saying that no stones were thrown and the officials are backing them up, as is the referee -- and you cry "Murder!". If you are going to be this way, at least be consistent. You accuse the Pakistani media of bias when in fact you are biased too. Stop complaining about bias then. And for your information, contrary to what you want cricket fans to believe, Indian cricketers are just like any other cricketers of the world. They have their share of bad apples as well. They are not saints by any stretch of the imagination. They are everyday people like you and me who happen to play cricket well enough to represent their country. Last but not least, about the ball. You very conveniently (as always) forgot to mention that the Indian batsmen were in the slog mode and not at the start of innings mode when the ball was changed. You also very conveniently forgot to mention that the changed ball was a new ball that had been rubbed on the ground to take off the shine. Also very conveniently was overlooked the fact that a new ball really flies off the bat rather more than a used ball. Don't believe me? Well, read Imran's autobiography All Round View and you will know what bowling with a new ball can do against batsmen in the hitting mode on a good batting track. Ever tried to bowl with a new ball? Well, I have been a new ball bowler for around nine years and believe me, even I have problems gripping a new ball, not only because of the shine but because of its shape and hardness. Granted, Saqlain is a great spinner and he has bowled magnificently in the slog in the past -- but bowling with a new ball is not something he is used to doing much, and certainly not in the slog. It is for that reason that Waqar was able to do much better than Saqlain or Afridi with the new ball. If Saeed knew this would happen, he would have saved Waqar's overs earlier on so that he would be available when they got a new ball. The new ball DID change the complexion of the game, and Saeed is no crybaby. His reasons for complaining were legitimate and well founded, whereas your views have smatterings of your anti-Pakistan sentiments. It's good to be patriotic, but don't be dishonest. Do you realize what influence you have on people just because you are able to reach out to them through your articles? You should be more responsible, more logical and more honest. That is all I have to say. Shariq
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