Good, Bad, Ugly ft. Players community service, Clubs furloughing staff, and Gambhir offence
SportsCafe
Writing this column has always been fun because of the sheer drama that sports have to offer on a regular basis. But the Coronavirus pandemic has ensured no sporting action, thus expanding us to a bigger territory - understanding the humane side of the sportsmen we adore day in and day out.
The Good
Players doing community service
In this time of helplessness, the act by a few of the sportsmen and sporting bodies have proven that they are just not a few privileged ones, giving superficial statements about the country. It has gone beyond that and touched humanity. Mithali Raj, Sheldon Jackson and Shahbaz Nadeem have set up systems to provide food to the needy while Rohit Sharma announced five Lakh extra donation for the stray dogs feeding foundation. While Heather Knight has already signed up for NHS as a volunteer, Maharashtra domestic cricketers Naushad Shaikh and Nikit Dhumal have started a crowdfunding initiative to take care of the families of groundsmen at the Nehru Stadium in Pune. The officials of Warwickshire County Cricket Club (WCCC) also handed over the Edgbaston stadium to the government to create a drive-through COVID-19 testing station. It is not just cricket, rather sportsmen across disciplines have come together to fight the battle and that shows the hearts are at the right place.
Sir Andrew Strauss acknowledging English cricket's one of the biggest mess ups
For all his charisma on the field, Kevin Pietersen made more than a few enemies for himself when he openly challenged the system, only to be presented by the authorities as an egotistical individualist. However, while abiding by the team philosophy and establishing a team ethic, it has to be remembered that the caveat can, at times, be bigger than the reason and it is exactly where English cricket’s failure to understand a maverick like KP came into play. His differences with Andrew Strauss has been covered widely but never ever the latter spoke about the lack of communication - something KP always wanted and even wrote a book for it. Thankfully, even though it is late, Strauss found the goodwill to acknowledge that English cricket could have managed a character like Pietersen better and his love for IPL was not totally illogical. It is late but as they say, better late than never.
The Bad
Clubs furloughing their non-playing staff
After Newcastle, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Norwich announced they will furlough some non-playing staff, Liverpool became the latest Premier League club to place some non-playing staff on temporary leave. It came just days after English County Cricket Clubs’ announcement of doing the same under the UK government's job retention scheme, which allows employers to place their staff on temporary leaves of absence, during which time the government will pay the lower of £2,500 a month or 80% of their salary. It is sad for the fact that an emergency scheme is being taken advantage of when it could have been for better use, while the staff have all the reasons to feel aggrieved because of the millions of revenue that the club generates in the UK. Wage cuts for players, who earn in billions is a good idea but what about the families of those little-paid staff? The treatment reeks of having no moral high-ground for the clubs in the future. It is plain sad.
Wimbledon postponed for the first time since World War
British sporting summer’s one of the major events Wimbledon has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and it will be the first time the tournament won’t be held since the second world war. Wimbledon requires at least two months of pre-event preparation, which would be impossible with the lockdown and guidance on social distancing. While the move was important in this unprecedented time, somehow, it seems hollow for a lot of reasons. Wimbledon had seen the resurgence of Novak Djokovic in the last couple of years and was set for a perfect comeback place for Roger Federer this year. SW19 is a court of dreams and it doesn’t require any more ado to tell what thrill it provides. We haven’t forgotten that marathon tie-breaker on that fateful July Sunday, have we? It is sad and for an ardent follower, it is bad, but such has been the situation in the world right now, that the decision can't even be argued by a sane soul.
The Ugly
The Steve O’ Keefe treatment
Only one finger spinner has taken more wickets than him in Australian domestic cricket and he sits behind only Greg Matthews, Stuart MacGill, Richie Benaud and Johnny Martin among spinners in New South Wales’ storied history but Steve O’ Keefe is no more a Blues player. It is sad to hear that a player, who has been the fulcrum of the side for years now and successfully led the side in the past, wasn’t given an informative gesture before being dropped from the contracted players’ list. Nathan Lyon has been a giant of Australian cricket now and there is no place for O' Keefe, who had his time under the sun in the Pune Test against India, to be in the national squad too. That also prompted O' Keefe declaring his end to his career, but New South Wales should have found a better way of getting rid of him if they had to. After averaging 22 last season, that was the least he deserved.
Gautam Gambhir taking offence to the post
MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir don’t share the best of the friendships, with the latter, on a regular basis, claiming that Dhoni’s method of taking the games to the last over was a faulty one. However, that was not on the show nine years ago in 2011, when the duo joined forces and played two of the most important innings of their careers to help India win their second 50-over World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. However, on the nine-year anniversary, what played out was plain disturbing and needless to say. Surely, it was India who won the World Cup and Gambhir’s role was massively downplayed but were by any means, his response civic? The winning shot has forever been immortalised because of the magnificence of the occasion and that was a tribute to the team India’s resilience. But what was Gambhir trying to achieve by undermining a massive moment in Indian cricket, especially when as an MP, he has far important things in his kitty at the moment?
