A Money Grabbing Exercise?

[Ram]

Just as a hypothetical situation, Imagine what would happened had the English refused to come back now and 4-5 months down the line, guys like KP and Flintoff bagged multi-million dollar contracts with IPL. Then, the entire world would have roasted them for their hypocricy. Of course, the argument that not every player in the Eng squad is in line for a IPL contract has been put forwrd and its a VERY good one. But, in today's world of million dollar contracts and razmattazz, it would be incredible to think commerical reasons do not impact a players' thinking about touring a country or not. 8-10 years ago, when India was no financial superpower and there was no IPL, had the English decided to come in similar circumstances, each and every one of us would stood on feet and applauded them. But today, when a mere sign on a dotted line of an IPL contract and 6 weeks of slam bang cricket can assure you an income enough for a lifetime, its hard not think such considerations do play a role. Or maybe I am just way too cynical.

[Holysmoke]

England wouldnt have come if they werent confident of their safety. Life>>>>>>Money. Its as simple as that.

[Guest Hiten.]

England wouldnt have come if they werent confident of their safety. Life>>>>>>Money. Its as simple as that.

But money is required to live a lavishing life, no ? Which is certainly in offerings for KP and Freddie :D

[Dhondy]

Sriram, it's a shame you didn't check your facts . People with agendas will always latch on to money as a motivation to besmirch nobility and bravery, particularly when they are bereft of those virtues themselves. The fact is that England is one of the few countries in the West who have never let strife disrupt their travelling, and have toured even in the face of great danger and rioting. More than two decades ago, they landed in India on 31 October 1984. Within hours of their arrival, Indira Gandhi was assassinated, and rioting broke out soon after. Did they cancel the tour? They went over to SL, played two friendly matches, and returned to a nation ripped asunder with violence to play out a full Test series. In 2001, when tensions were high straight after 9/11, and every international flight was populated by nervous passengers intoning prayers, they again flew to India to play in yet another series. They didn't ask for postponement or cancellation despite the miasma of fear and uncertainty that gripped the world for weeks. They were the first nation to tour after the twin towers fell. The only occasion when they have refused to play was for political reasons- against SA during the apartheid years, against Zimbabwe under Mugabe...personal safety, nor money played no part in those decisions. You denigrate a great nation. Too easily done.

[Holysmoke]

But money is required to live a lavishing life' date=' no ? Which is certainly in offerings for KP and Freddie :D[/quote'] Still, they wouldnt come to india for a possible ipl contract, if they thought it was a risk to their life. And what about people like Cook. He's not an ODI player, he's hit one 6 in his whole career, he has virtually no chance of getting any sort of contract. Why is he then donating 50% of his match fees to the Mumbai victims?

[Dhondy]

I'm very happy to say this Doc, great post. :):two_thumbs_up: Allow me to belch my obvious thoughts all over your shiny thread... KP, as they say, is a true punjabi. sher. etc etc. He single-handedly implanted backbone into a side that contained more than its share of pale livers. Harmison is a mess on the field and off it. Flintoff is fine when he's batting or bowling, but spends his spare time imagining assassination attempts. To be able to bring those two, along with the Priors, Cooks and Strausses of the world to India requires some leadership. Hats off to a true panjabi. I think enough has been said of the groupthink and propaganda self-consumption that is Pakistan. I don't want to turn this into a Chit-chat thread full of bile, but I will mention a couple of more holistic, bull******ty academic things in response to the question, "why do they go to India and not to Pakistan" --Perception and goodwill: Various forms of Pyjama cricket with their naatch waalis and bollywood glamour show some of the best things about Indian culture. We are not a land of snake-charmers anymore, and the west sees a lot of itself in us -- generally open societies both. This is not a cause for shaabashi or slaps on our own backs, it is just that we have always been like this only, and we like it that way. Even the fundoos are cuddlier here. --Pakistan cannot run with the mullahs and hunt with the west: They have done so amazingly successfully in the past few decades, for various reasons (all bad). Sadly, the returns on the Pakistani investment are diminishing for the west, and their media is now much more amenable to calling Pakistan what it is. --Equal-Equal no more (or never were): Perhaps in the early '80s there was a shadow of a case for the Pakistani citizen claiming equal-equal. But since economic reforms led by Manmohanji, we have grown as we were expected to. But the equal-equal has not kept up with changing times. Ironically, it is Manmohanji who is now reinforcing these perceptions with statements like, "Pakistan is a victim of terror too". Well duh. --With reference to equal-equal, I have a thought: I haven't met many Indians who feel an innate sense of superiority over Pakistanis (or non-Indians). There are some, but not many. Generally, we feel that Pakis do stupid things and so we laugh at them. But judging from the padosis, it seems that there is a need to project superiority. That is a telling difference, IMO. And the cause of many crap articles on cricinfo. Anyway, I would let them vent. They will get over it.

The irony is that England have never pulled out of a Pakistan tour; Australia, NZ and WI have. Australia did so only in the wake of the horrific Marriott bombing, and I am pretty certain that had it been Australia that had been touring India now, they would have certainly pulled out or suggested a neutral venue. Remember, a) their refusal to tour Pakistan in 2002, with the matches being rearranged in Columbo and Sharjah, and b) their refusal to play in SL in the 1996 WC, even if it meant they had to forfeit league matches?

[goose]

great idea to get head of Chennai police into the presentation panel.

[Fontaine]

I have an idea. The IPL franchises should take away the contracts of Pakistan's players and give them to the English players!

[siddhu]

I have an idea. The IPL franchises should take away the contracts of Pakistan's players and give them to the English players!

oooohhhhhh...... phir to bahot jalegi.... And anyway that might just happen. If they don't crack down the LeT to the statisfication of Indian government or rather satisfaction of the public, there might be just enough pressure on Indian government to revoke all work visas for Pakistanis... then where are those contracts going to go.... And I certainly wish it does happen like that. Lets cut off all ties with the padosis... They need us more to survive then we need them.

[punjabi_khota]

oooohhhhhh...... phir to bahot jalegi.... And anyway that might just happen. If they don't crack down the LeT to the statisfication of Indian government or rather satisfaction of the public, there might be just enough pressure on Indian government to revoke all work visas for Pakistanis... then where are those contracts going to go.... And I certainly wish it does happen like that. Lets cut off all ties with the padosis... They need us more to survive then we need them.

Absolutely!

[Bumper]

English players may have material interests in touring India. Infact the issue is bigger than that. Its about the ECB wanting to be in BCCI's good books or at least use this opportunity as a leverage for bigger agendas. But i dont see any hypocrisy in them touring India. Its common sense, where there is risk, there must be a reward. No fool takes risks without rewards. That said, the players have to be commended for taking such risks.

[Mr. Wicket]

Sriram, it's a shame you didn't check your facts . People with agendas will always latch on to money as a motivation to besmirch nobility and bravery, particularly when they are bereft of those virtues themselves. The fact is that England is one of the few countries in the West who have never let strife disrupt their travelling, and have toured even in the face of great danger and rioting. More than two decades ago, they landed in India on 31 October 1984. Within hours of their arrival, Indira Gandhi was assassinated, and rioting broke out soon after. Did they cancel the tour? They went over to SL, played two friendly matches, and returned to a nation ripped asunder with violence to play out a full Test series. In 2001, when tensions were high straight after 9/11, and every international flight was populated by nervous passengers intoning prayers, they again flew to India to play in yet another series. They didn't ask for postponement or cancellation despite the miasma of fear and uncertainty that gripped the world for weeks. They were the first nation to tour after the twin towers fell. The only occasion when they have refused to play was for political reasons- against SA during the apartheid years, against Zimbabwe under Mugabe...personal safety, nor money played no part in those decisions. You denigrate a great nation. Too easily done.

Bravo. England have not approached these tours the same way teams like NZ and WI have. For all the flak we give them for being poor tourists, they've changed their approach considerably since the 1993 nightmare, and I can think of a number of other teams where this 2 test series would have been pushed to a much further date.

[King Tendulkar]

Excellent post, Dhondy! When it comes to terrorism, there are two kinds of nations. There is a first kind, which creates, breeds & worships the phenomena, whilst the rest are just the unfortunate victims. With this choice, England has clearly shown that it can differentiate between the two kinds mentioned above. More than just coming over and almost scalping India's number, their players have even donated a significant sum towards the relief efforts. Kudos to the England team and their refreshing attitude. I would be sure to personally thank any of the English contingent (team, support staff, fans etc) that I bump into at Mohali over the weekend. Their presence and support has made a definite difference.:hatsoff:

spot on Not to forget how can any team trust the security in pak. The army, ISI and govt are behind many of the terrorist attacks. So despite assurances of the security for the team, these security personel could turn on the players and be a terrorist. It is state sponsored terrorism dont forget so how can you rely on pak state to protect you!

[sandtest]

Some time back,the fans of a certain cricket team called England's return to India as nothing more than a money grabbing gesture, contrived with an eye on IPL. What sort of base mentality do you have to have to think like this? Surely, you must have grown up in a very sad society to believe that every kind gesture is motivated by the lure of lucre? After the Indian bombing, before the blood had stopped flowing, some of these guys pointed out that India was as unsafe as their country and therefore did not deserve to host any cricket. After England decided to go ahead with their tour, a leading writer from that nation lamented publicly on Cricinfo that his nation was being shortchanged, because under similar circumstances, other western nations had refused to tour. Not a word of praise for the enormous bravery that the English players had shown in returning. Just about money? Whatever you have to say about the Poms, you have to take your hats off to their sense of duty, fairplay and grace in victory and defeat. If IPL was the only motivation, only Pietersen & Flintoff would have arrived on these shores. Everybody came, without exception. They realised that giving in to terrorism is as cowardly as condoning their acts. It's a concept that escapes certain fans. You have to wonder why these fans blindly denied mounting evidence of the complicity of their compatriots in killing innocent Indian civilians, right up to the point that the British PM came out and said that 75% of the terror plots in the UK are being hatched west of Durand line. Where does patriotism get off and humanity take over?

Daactar sahab, this is an excellent post. I wonder, those so called paki intellectuals and writers saddled with Lahori logic, will ever be able to grasp the fact which you have pointed. Such kind of never ending Paki attempt of proving equal=equal with India needs to be put to rest. Problem is, due to history and close relations with cold war era USA, there is generally some kind of "fair and lovely" impression of Pakistan in west. The actual society of Pakistan which comprises of feudal lords, hardcore Islamists, PakJabi (i.e. Paki Punjabi) military elites, martial race believers, ethnically divided groups of Pakjabis, Sindhis, Balochis, Pashtuns and Mohajirs and largely religious population is highly MISREPESENTED in west, by a handpicked Paki military elites. The west gets a rosy picture of paki population through these western educated Pakis. And thus starts the equal=equal. Mainly Pakistan is represented by a few handpicked military elites.

[Anakin]

What exactly is the point of discussing what some retards think?

[Guest dada_rocks]

Zardaari himself Benazir Bhutto herself didn't trust p[akistani security personnle for their safety.. Benazir kept asking permission to allow her onw foreign-national-security guards Musharraf kept denying it.. and we all found later benazir's fears were not unfounded.. So pakistanisgiving assurance fo safety means zilch zero nada.. Sala Rakshak hi Bhakshak ban jata hai pakistan mein

[Fontaine]

What exactly is the point of discussing what some retards think?

To point and laugh at them?? :winky:

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[Ram]

Sriram, it's a shame you didn't check your facts . People with agendas will always latch on to money as a motivation to besmirch nobility and bravery, particularly when they are bereft of those virtues themselves. The fact is that England is one of the few countries in the West who have never let strife disrupt their travelling, and have toured even in the face of great danger and rioting. More than two decades ago, they landed in India on 31 October 1984. Within hours of their arrival, Indira Gandhi was assassinated, and rioting broke out soon after. Did they cancel the tour? They went over to SL, played two friendly matches, and returned to a nation ripped asunder with violence to play out a full Test series. In 2001, when tensions were high straight after 9/11, and every international flight was populated by nervous passengers intoning prayers, they again flew to India to play in yet another series. They didn't ask for postponement or cancellation despite the miasma of fear and uncertainty that gripped the world for weeks. They were the first nation to tour after the twin towers fell. The only occasion when they have refused to play was for political reasons- against SA during the apartheid years, against Zimbabwe under Mugabe...personal safety, nor money played no part in those decisions. You denigrate a great nation. Too easily done.

I wish I shared the same enthusiasm as you did Doc, but as I accepted before, the cynicist in me refuses to accept that in today's world, commercial considerations have no saying whatsoever on security/political consideration. I aint saying the English came for money and money only, but surely, the $ must have had atleast a slight influence on their decision making.

[Dhondy]

I wish I shared the same enthusiasm as you did Doc' date=' but as I accepted before, the cynicist in me refuses to accept that in today's world, commercial considerations have no saying whatsoever on security/political consideration. I aint saying the English came for money and money only, but surely, the $ must have had atleast a slight influence on their decision making.[/quote'] You sell yourself and your own country short, Sriram, by refusing to believe that concepts such as solidarity, compassion and refusal to give in to terrorists are tained by lust for money.