Opinion Much ado about match-fixing

In the last few days,we witnessed a marriage of a different kind. No matching of horoscopes,just phone calls,a few meetings and a young man was chosen not for his looks,his family or his caste,but for his ability to play cricket and his apparent willingness to “fix” a ball in return for a garland of money instead of a jai-mala.

Monday evening,watching India TV’s sting operation on five such players came at the expense of watching the Chennai Super Kings beat the Kolkata Knight Riders (Max). And that last ball mighty hit over the fence. Should we shout,“Bravo!”? Or,wait on,could that six have been fixed? Can a six be fixed?

Such questions,otherwise unthinkable,followed the sting. And why not? If women clad in saris can peform classical moves from Bharatnatyam (or was it Odissi?) at the stadium as cheerleaders every time a wicket falls,if scantily-dressed women are now the major attraction in the studio during Extraa Innings,and if Chelsea players “bowl” with their feet to hit the stumps (Pepsi TV commercial during IPL matches) — then anything is possible,right?

To think that a news channel that celebrates the antics of players on the field every day with a half-hour show had the temerity to expose them off the field. This was worse than Bodyline. Then,English bowlers merely bowled at the Australian batsmen’s bodies; here,India TV had delivered a body blow to the very game in India.

Kirti Azad,in Parliament and subsequently on Times Now,Pradeep Magazine (Headlines Today),S. Hattangadi and Sanjay Jha (CNN-IBN) suggested the rot could have reached the top. Why,questions were raised about monies paid to retain star players across franchises.

And “black money” was bandied about like we were watching Aastha TV with Baba Ramdev.

Azad wanted the BCCI under the RTI scanner,Bishan Singh Bedi blamed foreign players for the young players’ greed — a remark that,for once,completely stumped Arnab Goswami. On Headlines Today,Madan Lal looked like he had swallowed the red cherry and Kapil Dev looked so far away as though he was contemplating the greatest catch he ever took — Viv Richards at the World Cup in 1983 — and thinking to himself,“Phew,thank God,I took that cleanly”.

It was that kinda night.

Nobody had any clear answers (when do they,ever?),befuddled as they were by this googly: can the BCCI,with its kinship-ownership ties with the IPL,investigate the BCCI’s IPL?

It is at times like these that you need Nirmal Baba. Since the self-appointed guru claims to have a cure for every ailment from asthma and diabetes to tuberculosis and cancer,perhaps he can purge cricket with one of his favourite cures —a daily dose of pani puri?

Kishore Bhimani (Times Now) criticised sting operations,having been the victim of one. Well,the media does give stories a spin. For example,on Sunday night,the breaking news on CNN-IBN,Headlines Today and other channels was a news report claiming from “sources” that General V.K. Singh’s letter to the prime minister had been leaked by an officer in the cabinet secretariat. It was said she was a joint secretary and had been reverted to her cadre. The channels speculated on the implications — for the PMO,particularly. Parliament,it was feared,would come to a standstill on Monday. Oh dear,you thought,another holiday for Parliament and more trouble for the government.

As it happened,nothing much happened. The story was officially denied. Parliament functioned. But Parliament was definitely rocked on Tuesday,by the arrival of Rekha for her Rajya Sabha debut. TV news telecast the maiden over and over again (forgive the pun-fun).

Speaking of the games people play,did everyone watch Manchester United versus Manchester City in two different matches on Sunday? The IPL pales in comparison. Man City scored two goals in the final minutes to win the English Premier League. Great matches are made,not in heaven,but on the sports field and if ever there was a great finish,this was it,this was it.