IPL nautanki must be checked, accounted for
Sharad Pawar is one of India's powerful regional politicians, at times on the cusp of becoming prime minister. The closest he got - and perhaps ever will - was following Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, when Narasimha Rao got the job.
FLASH BACK a few years and many of the readers would recollect a speech in parliament delivered by ex Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. In one of his poignant remarks he had reminded Sharad Pawar that money and power is not to be the all and end all of life.
The speech could still be retrieved from the archives of Parliament. I have loved and respected Pawar as the last vestige of Chanakya brand politics. As a horse of long race, he somehow always clinged to power but I am sorry to observe he is also a perennial loser where moral standards are concerned. Sharad Pawar is one of India's powerful regional politicians, at times on the cusp of becoming prime minister.
The closest he got - and perhaps ever will - was following Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, when Narasimha Rao got the job. When he first became a state minister, way back in 1966, Pawar's only connection to cricket was a tenuous one - his father-in-law, Sadu Shinde, was a Test legspinner, who toured England in 1946. With his stunning victory over Jagmohan Dalmiya's nominee Ranbir Singh Mahendra at the 76th AGM of the board, Pawar is now at the head of the country's cricket administration.
As the federal agriculture minister of a nation still prone to droughts and mass suicides by farmers he had hardly acquired any feather in his cap. Had he played his cards well, he could have been the Prime Minister of India today. His problem is - he wants to bite more than he could chew. Even with all his peculiarities and foxy politics he has been reduced to an inefficient minister who can’t even manage properly the stocks of wheat at his disposal. He can't handle rats, forget about rest of animate or innanimate subjects or objects. He is squarely blamed for the rising prices of every essential commodity and his nexus with Bal Thackrey, though it got him some seats in Maharashtra had already made him a person you can’t trust.
There were of course doubts over the time he might be able to devote to the BCCI. But having obviously coveted the president's job, he was expected to seed some fresh ideas to Indian cricket. He belied all those hopes. Under his benign leadership, India Premier League was turned into a Indian Paisa League.
On Thursday (April 15), he came out openly in support of IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, saying there was nothing wrong in making public names of the stakeholders of the Kochi franchise. Interestingly, he has tried to be in the good books of Shashi Tharoor in case if his destiny catapults him to a different platform and Pawar might need him in future. The former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president also supported Tharoor who helped set up the consortium which bagged the Kochi franchise, saying the minister's basic interest was to bring cricket to center stage in Kerala and provide opportunities to players from the state. "What my observation is that Tharoor's basic interest was that Kochi should get opportunity in the IPL. He was eager to show to people of Kerala that IPL is also a part of Kerala and wanted to encourage new players from Kerala."
On Thursday (April 15), he came out openly in support of IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, saying there was nothing wrong in making public names of the stakeholders of the Kochi franchise. Interestingly, he has tried to be in the good books of Shashi Tharoor in case if his destiny catapults him to a different platform and Pawar might need him in future. The former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president also supported Tharoor who helped set up the consortium which bagged the Kochi franchise, saying the minister's basic interest was to bring cricket to center stage in Kerala and provide opportunities to players from the state. "What my observation is that Tharoor's basic interest was that Kochi should get opportunity in the IPL. He was eager to show to people of Kerala that IPL is also a part of Kerala and wanted to encourage new players from Kerala."
Pawar was asked about questions being raised over transparency in IPL and allegations of underworld and betting syndicates pumping huge amounts in securing franchise.
He had nothing to say much either on this issue or about the credentials of other IPL franchise buyers.
I have already written enough about Sharad Pawar and Lalit Modi in these columns and I don’t want to brag about “I told you so.”
No other sport has ever wasted so much precious time and money of our youth particularly and nation in general than this nautanki of Lalit Modi in the name of entertainment. It must stop ! The sooner it is done the better it is.
He had nothing to say much either on this issue or about the credentials of other IPL franchise buyers.
I have already written enough about Sharad Pawar and Lalit Modi in these columns and I don’t want to brag about “I told you so.”
No other sport has ever wasted so much precious time and money of our youth particularly and nation in general than this nautanki of Lalit Modi in the name of entertainment. It must stop ! The sooner it is done the better it is.
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