Hang traitors for cricket to live

JULY 1: Can there be a crime without a criminal act? Can there be corruption without the connivance of people? Can an act of betrayal take...

JULY 1: Can there be a crime without a criminal act? Can there be corruption without the connivance of people? Can an act of betrayal take place without anyone8217;s faith having been breached? The answer should be no unless you happen to be a cricketer or its administrator in India today.

We know that betting and performance-fixing has taken place in India. But if you go by the passionate and intense denials by the players 8212; right from Kapil Dev to Mohammed Azharuddin 8212; then this word is as alien to the Indians as bribery is to the government officials.

Forget fixing, our players have not heard even of bookies and have never been made any offers. We all should give Bharat Ratna8217; to all those Indian bookies for thinking of the country first and making offers only to foreign participants. How touching is the patriotism of these people who never tempted Indians into something as seedy as cheating the public. A request should be made to Law Minister Ram Jethmalani to include in his amensty purview not only players but the bookies as well. A traitor outside is a patriot at home. Long live the bookies who bribe outsiders so that their mother country can win.

If there are people who believe that the players are mere pawns in this game of big money and the officials are equally guilty if not more by having turned a blind eye to these shady deals, they are off the mark. As wide as they were about the bookie-players nexus.

These officials, by their silence, were not conniving but serving the cause of the game. As one official put it: 8220;What have all those in media achieved by harping on this issue? They have killed this great sport and if it dies in India, the responsiblity will lie on those who are campaiging relentlessly against the players and the officials.8221;

In short, all those who tried to educate8217; the gullible fan of the deals8217; in the cricket world are traitors. Hang them so that cricket can live long.