Dhoni and Harbhajan skip Padma shri award function

[SachDan]

as they were busy with endorsements and ad-shoots ! shameful act from these cricketers (

New Delhi, April 15: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who were to be awarded the Padma Shri award this year, could not attend the award-giving ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday. Both the players were busy with endorsements and ad-shoots and that is the reason which kept the two ace cricketers away from the Presidential honour. When contacted, Harbhajan Singh brushed the issue aside, saying that he had family commitments to take care of. "There were a few family commitments, some serious things... That is why I could not go. We had a long tour of New Zealand and got just a few days with our families. People who are criticising me should understand that family issues cannot be ignored," he said. Dhoni, meanwhile, flew to South Africa on Tuesday itself and was unavailable for any comment.

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[beetle]

They should have given it to someone who valued it more. The poor wrestlers who got olympic medals and were pining for this award. sad!

[zubinpepsi]

thts wat happens when u lower the standards of the award by giving it to undeserving people..

[beetle]

Bhajji denies skipping Padma awards for ad shoot Mumbai, April 15: Rubbishing allegations that he skipped the Padma awards ceremony to shoot a commercial, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said if this "charge" is proved he would quit cricket. "The allegation that I was in New Delhi or was shooting for an advertisement instead of attending the Padma award ceremony is completely false," Harbhajan, who has been honoured with Padmashri, said here today. "If anyone says that I was in Delhi and proves it, I will stop playing cricket," the offie said. Indian captain M S Dhoni and Harbhajan are currently under fire as both skipped the Padma awards ceremony in the national capital yesterday. "Anyone would like to be present and receive the award. Obviously, I felt bad for not being there. I had conveyed the same to the authorities," he said. Harbhajan, who was here to launch his blog attributed his absence at the prestigious official ceremony to "family compulsion". "People should understand the kind of sacrifice we make for our family and vice versa. It is our responsibility to spend some time with them." Speaking in the national capital earlier in the day, he said, "there were a few family commitments, some serious things... that is why I could not go." Bureau Report http://cricket.zeenews.com/fullstory.aspx?nid=19464 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Had the time to launch a blog ,but couldn't be present to collect a national award.

[flamy]

Dhoni

[coffee_rules]

They deserve it better than Aishwarya Rai, Akshay Kumar and other film stars. But Bhajji, Dhoni before Laxman..that's unfair.

[beetle]

The film stars atleast respect the awards and show up to collect the awards.

[SachDan]

Yeah.. someone like Laxman deserved this award more than Dhoni and Bhajji. Million dollar babies they may be but there is no excuse for devaluing such a prestigious National award !

[graphic23]

Insulting the President of India to attend an adshoot. Hmm.But we are more worried when he skips a test series. Excellent priorities. But the bigger fault lies with the ones who chose to award these guys. There was no reason to award Dhoni for he'd already gotten the more coveted, and perhaps more apt, Khel Ratna - which I feel was too early but whatever. And what exactly are we awarding Harbhajan for? For insulting an Australian player's mother (allegedly), for slapping an Indian teammate, or for having one good season amongst 5 bad ones?

[Guest Hiten.]

Nothing shameful about it because the juries cannot pick a better deserving candidate in the first place. How does playing cricket for 3-5 years earn you PadmaShri ? Juries themselves degraded the award, Dhoni and Bhajji were only doing what they do besides playing cricket.

[DomainK]

Didnt Nelson Mandela win Bharat Ratna?

[graphic23]

Didnt Nelson Mandela win Bharat Ratna?

Are you saying Nelson Mandela didn't deserve an award of that prestige for what he did? If not, what are you implying by pointing this out?

[Mr. Wicket]

Didnt Nelson Mandela win Bharat Ratna?

What is your point?

[punjabi_khota]

Insulting the President of India to attend an adshoot. Hmm.But we are more worried when he skips a test series. Excellent priorities. But the bigger fault lies with the ones who chose to award these guys. There was no reason to award Dhoni for he'd already gotten the more coveted, and perhaps more apt, Khel Ratna - which I feel was too early but whatever. And what exactly are we awarding Harbhajan for? For insulting an Australian player's mother (allegedly), for slapping an Indian teammate, or for having one good season amongst 5 bad ones?

Being the highest wicket taker in tests in the world during the year should count for something, no ? How about his very good ODI performances ? Also, please don't forget his frequent batting contributions, some of which have been match saving. Bhajji has played much more cricket and hence has achieved a lot more and contributed more than Dhoni has so far in his career for Indian cricket. Dhoni will achieve greater heights of course.

[graphic23]

Being the highest wicket taker in tests in the world during the year should count for something' date=' no ? How about his very good ODI performances ? Also, please don't forget his frequent batting contributions, some of which have been match saving. Bhajji has played much more cricket and hence has achieved a lot more and contributed more than Dhoni has so far in his career for Indian cricket. Dhoni will achieve greater heights of course.[/quote'] That maybe so yaar, but is it worth getting a Padma Shri? If BCCI gives him the bowler of the year award or something, thats fine - but Padma Shri has been given and you ignore it to go to an adshoot. C'mon. Thats like a slap in the face to the President, the award committee, and those who supported him when the award was first announced. Quite despicable behavior. Just to put it into perspective, Sachin was awarded the Padma Shri award after 10+ years into his career. And the Khel Ratna, nearly 9-10 years into his career at his peak (1998) when he made 1850+ runs in ONE year just in ODIs alone. He truly deserved it. The achievements Bhajji has made in the past one year ( don't forget he was out of the test team a year before), is admirable but not deserving of the 4th highest civilian award.

[fineleg]

They should have given it to someone who valued it more. The poor wrestlers who got olympic medals and were pining for this award. sad!

Exactly. This is an insult to the President and the distinguished award. Maybe if some few million $ were to be awarded with the award (IPL like money), then they would have attended the event and received the award.

[The Outsider]

Baah..........all awards are hyped, overhyped, and hyped again. If someone does not want to attend the chewtiyagiri which happens at these award functions, more power to him. Insult to the President? What respect does someone like Pratibha Patil deserve anyway!

[punjabi_khota]

Baah..........all awards are hyped, overhyped, and hyped again. If someone does not want to attend the chewtiyagiri which happens at these award functions, more power to him. Insult to the President? What respect does someone like Pratibha Patil deserve anyway!

True that.

[flamy]

Baah..........all awards are hyped, overhyped, and hyped again. If someone does not want to attend the chewtiyagiri which happens at these award functions, more power to him. Insult to the President? What respect does someone like Pratibha Patil deserve anyway!

:hatsoff::hatsoff::hatsoff::hatsoff::hatsoff::hatsoff::hatsoff::hatsoff:

[punjabi_khota]

That maybe so yaar, but is it worth getting a Padma Shri? If BCCI gives him the bowler of the year award or something, thats fine - but Padma Shri has been given and you ignore it to go to an adshoot. C'mon. Thats like a slap in the face to the President, the award committee, and those who supported him when the award was first announced. Quite despicable behavior. Just to put it into perspective, Sachin was awarded the Padma Shri award after 10+ years into his career. And the Khel Ratna, nearly 9-10 years into his career at his peak (1998) when he made 1850+ runs in ONE year just in ODIs alone. He truly deserved it. The achievements Bhajji has made in the past one year ( don't forget he was out of the test team a year before), is admirable but not deserving of the 4th highest civilian award.

We were comparing life time achievements of Dhoni and Bhajji, since Padma Shri is for lifetime, unlike khel ratna, which is for one year. So for Padma Shri Bhajji is better contender than Dhoni, and hence my post.