The Good, Bad, and Ugly ft. Australian Cricket team, Star Sports, and Mitchell Johnson
This week was not a great one for Indian sports fans to remember, but Australia came out to be the protagonist of our series this time with their nice gesture for little Archie Schiller. While Star Sports moved away from their objective, CoA kept on feeding our Ugly section for yet another week.
The Good
Australians divide opinions more than anyone else in the cricketing world. They are tough guys on the field and if you take the 'Australian way' of playing cricket - the success, supremacy, and intensity of the teams over the years that have helped in establishing a myth and awe of the in-your-face type of cricket they had deployed - you have to respect them no matter what. Amidst all the holier than thou attitude, they still have big hearts and Archie Schiller will attest to it as he gets ready to take over the role of co-captain for the Boxing Day Test against India alongside Tim Paine. The seven-year-old is under medical treatment after his heart condition was diagnosed weeks after his birth and endured a second bout as specialists fought to fix the faulty valves and irregular rhythms of his beating heart. So, when Justin Langer inducted him to the brotherhood, it could have been a showcase affair to pour some love and sympathy. However, the players and the support staff didn't infantilize him or come up with any overt displays of emotion, rather they allowed him to take part in everything they did in the dressing room, making sure he is a part of it, and not been sympathised. In a day and age, where cricketers’ public contact has become minimal, Australian cricketers and Justin Langer showed how to make someone happy. The 'Australian way' of playing cricket was romanticized to such an extent that it was believed to be a part of the fabric of the mythical 'Baggy Greens', and now the 'Australian way' of winning hearts gave the little Archie the most memorable day of his life.
Despite happening in odd hours for the Indians, American sports have been a favourite among a lot of people in the country and NBA certainly tops the list. Waking up in the morning and watching your favourite teams play and then bantering about it has been a common thread among the fans. To satiate those audiences, National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver has declared that Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings will play two preseason games in Mumbai next year. Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum and India Managing Director Yannick Colaco
The Bad
A couple of months ago, Star Sports announced that they would dedicate a new channel for the exclusive coverage of Indian football. However, one is left to question the purpose of such announcement as Star Sports decided to cut down on the TV coverage to just 30 matches for the rest of the season. With that, the number of matches to be broadcasted on TV this I-League season was 80 out of a total 110 games. AIFF released a press statement by giving out a list of matches that Star Sports will telecast, starting December 29, and defending champions Minerva Punjab FC had only one game featuring in the list. While Star’s treatment of Indian football’s biggest local game was below par, the coverage of the match between Minerva Punjab and league leaders Chennai City crossed all limits - a level of broadcast quality many termed as "having been shot on a mobile". It shows nothing but hypocrisy and double standards in Star Sports' part, who is running the ads like “Ek din World Cup
While football coverage in the country has of course gone down, the excessive and intrusive coverage of the series between India and Australia has put the role of the host broadcaster on doubt. Channel 7 revealed the contents of the verbal spat between Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja after showing the entire chatter between Virat Kohli and Tim Paine with umpire Chris Gaffaney playing a brief cameo as the mediator. Although some people enjoyed such things, such level of intrusion to the conversations between players in the middle doesn’t augur well for the game. Someone loses their cool at their
The Ugly
Mitchell Johnson is known for his explosive comments and after his duel with Virat Kohli back in 2014, he has developed a sort of hatred towards the Indian skipper. Kohli’s antics in the series and chest-contact with Tim Paine doesn’t help as Johnson in a column for Fox Sports, slammed the Indian skipper and insisted that he gets away by doing things that no Australian does. While that was fine, he kept on making his opinions on different things in the series, but sadly, that hasn’t been taken lightly by the Indian fans. The Aussie announced his retirement from all formats of cricket earlier this year but was roasted by fans for being “unsold” in the IPL auction, that Johnson went on to clarify multiple times. When he opposed the Perth pitch being given “average” rating, people still roasted him. Even one guy called him a normal “Karnataka Premier League commentator” while Virat Kohli is the “best batsman in the world”. This just goes on to show people’s insensitive attitude and the immaturity, if anything else. Taking personal digs is a terrible hobby for online trolls nowadays.
The ugly fight between the two CoA members isn't a new thing, but it certainly points the finger towards the credibility of the BCCI. At a time, when they are in a public fight, and Diana Edulji’s disagreement with Rahul Johri and Vinod Rai and their exchange of emails became a feeder, it is hard not to see them make news each and every day. On Saturday night, Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji, in a strong e-mail to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, accused the latter of "insubordination" while seeking legal opinion on the issue from (Retd) Justice Srikrishna, and then making the announcement of Indian women’s team coach official without her approval. Edulji’s response came after Johri defended himself saying that "the BCCI management has acted strictly in accordance with the instruction issued by the chairman CoA (Vinod Rai), and in accordance with legal advice received." While the issue is getting out of the hand, the time has come for Supreme Court to end the mud-slinging for the betterment of Indian cricket. Cricket can’t be sacrificed for someone’s personal likes and dislikes.
