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Sena attacks Sachin, alleges he never helped Marathi players


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Who's BCCI's official spokesman? The BCCI has been caught on a sticky wicket as the Shiv Sena versus Sachin Tendulkar ‘war’ rages on needlessly. More... Monday 23rd November 2009 Who's BCCI's official spokesman? The BCCI has been caught on a sticky wicket as the Shiv Sena versus Sachin Tendulkar ‘war’ rages on needlessly. By Soumitra Bose The Board of Control for Cricket in India, seemingly a cohesive unit, looks to be a house divided on the Shiv Sena-Sachin Tendulkar issue. A BCCI e-mail sent to media organisations around 7 PM on Sunday probably indicates BCCI’s bigwigs are not always on the same page. In a terse email, the BCCI said: “Mr Shashank Manohar, the President of the BCCI, has clarified that Mr Rajeev Shukla has reacted to the comments made by the Shiv Sena on Sachin Tendulkar, in his individual capacity, and not on behalf of the BCCI.” In spite of being the BCCI boss, Manohar is probably the most inconspicuous personality in the current set of high-profile BCCI officials. He is the least seen ‘face’ of one of the world’s richest sports bodies. Thus, his unexpected e-mail indicates a serious “identity” crisis within the Board, or was it a “being politically correct” tactic? As part of the media, we have almost always ‘ran’ to Rajeev Shukla for “quotes” on anything that vaguely associates with cricket. Shukla is normally media-savvy and hence is taken as the “voice” of the BCCI. On Sunday, when scribes were seeking reactions on Shiva Sena’s latest attack on Tendulkar, Shukla was obvioiusly the media’s first “target.” True to his style, Shukla obliged. As the BCCI’s finance committee chairman, does Shukla have the authority to speak on issues apart from may be, finance? But in a scenario where the BCCI doesn’t have well-defined norms of venting its thoughts, the ever-hungry media has always seen Shukla as one of BCCI’s best “spokespersons” who gives “newsy” sound bytes. Exactly a week ago, when the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray criticized Tendulkar’s “Mumbai for all” comment, Shukla gave the “official” BCCI reaction saying: "It is completely uncalled for. They (Shiv Sena) have no business to talk like this. Tell me what crime Sachin has done? What is wrong in saying that 'I am an Indian and Mumbai belongs to all'... No Marathi will support Shiv Sena if they talk like this." That day, there was no email from Manohar’s office. Given Sena’s (big) catlike instincts, is the Nagpur-based Manohar just playing safe from a political standpoint? Seems so. Sunday’s reactions from Shukla, picked up by all and sundry, were on similar (anti-Shiv Sena) lines. Hence the BCCI mail rejecting Shukla’s reactions as “unofficial” is confounding. The BCCI, unlike the cricket Boards of Australia, England or the ICC, lacks a professional unit that can handle the media. Any senior official is a “spokesperson” and there is just no control of who says what. Sunday’s email from the BCCI clearly exposes that. In this vicious race for BREAKING NEWS and EXCLUSIVES, the media will obviously target “anyone who speaks”. It is not the reporter’s fault because it is his job to “hunt’ for stories and reactions. But organisations like the BCCI should know how to handle the media. A media cell’s job is much more than just spelling out “media accreditation” process, handing out team lists and team news. Even in the days of Jagmohan Dalmiya and or AC Muthiah, both BCCI presidents not so long ago, there would never be “multiple” spokespersons. Shukla has been in the BCCI for long. He will know that. Today, it is a free-for-all and hence the serious identity crisis. Tailpiece: Shiv Sena’s ploy to play-off Tendulkar with Gavaskar is interesting. Recently, the two Little Masters shared a stage with the Big B and Gundappa Viswanath. Since sports has mixed with politics, will Mr Gavaskar take the “war of words” to the Sena camp? We shall see!

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Can someone pull some stats on saamna readership? Who in their right mind will take this seriously, its not even worth as bathroom reading
Don't have any stats but they mostly followed by working class marathi people and to some extent middle class people I have always seen the office boys in my previous firms and peons in classes/colleges reading saamna.Not much . But still enough to keep it running probably outside mumbai its definitely more
i wana know how many of the mumbaikars here on ICF support the thackreys.both raj and bal
As a 'mumbaikar' agree somewhat with what raj thackeray says(abt migration, marginilisation of marathi community) but dont agree with his ways . But thoroughly enjoy his speeches and interviews. pure entertainment.
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BT thinking - any type of publicity is a publicity. Its upto media to crush these BT, Raj menace-- they should stop giving any news about them. Politicians are jokers they wont do anything to BT. And he should stop targeting Sachin , may be this can affect Sachins performance in upcoming tests.

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Can someone pull some stats on saamna readership? Who in their right mind will take this seriously, its not even worth as bathroom reading
http://books.google.com/books?id=wjW1nmsHx-UC&pg=PA132&lpg=PA132&dq=saamana+circulation&source=bl&ots=1hhTJBNF08&sig=Y4ITd66uSX67aTr5psa4aZgC3q8&hl=en&ei=3d0KS4GIH9PelAf7m6CFBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CCEQ6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=&f=false It was around 60,000 in the mid 90s according to the above link.
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shane dont mind but are you a marathi manoos as they say??? i asked just coz i wanted to know what does a common marathi man thinks....
Nope, I am not a Maharashtrian. But thats certainly not the way most of the Marathis think, atleast I can speak on behalf of my friends and colleagues.
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Kapil supports Sachin on his Indian comment

New Delhi: Former Indian captain Kapil Dev on Tuesday backed master blaster Sachin Tendulkar over his nationalistic comments in which he described himself as being an Indian first and then a Maharashtrian. Talking exclusively to Zeecric on the sidelines of Albatross International Golf Junior Championship, Dev said that Sachin is absolutely right in claiming that “Mumbai is for all” and there is no regionalism in the game of cricket. “Sachin is right is saying that he is an Indian first and then a Maharashtrian. I completely support him in this very thought,” Dev said. In a rebuff to the “Marathi Manoos” plank of Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray’s MNS, Tendulkar had said earlier that Mumbai is for all Indians. “Mumbai belongs to India. That is how I look at it. And I am a Maharashtrian and I am extremely proud of that but I am an Indian first,” said Tendulkar. However, this very patriotic comment by the legendary batsman earned him a lot of criticism from the Shiv Sena who claimed that ‘Sachin may be great, but is not greater than Maharashtra’. Party chief Bal Thackeray earlier wrote in Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece ‘Saamna’, that there was no need for Sachin to “take a cheeky single by making such remarks”. “By making these remarks, you have got run-out on the pitch of Marathi psyche. You were not even born when the ‘Marathi Manoos’ got Mumbai and 105 Marathi people sacrificed their lives to get Mumbai,” Thackeray said. Thackeray had also said that former Indian player Sunil Gavaskar who is also a Maharashtrian, helped young players of the state to get into the national team considering it to be a kind of service to his state. Dev, however, negated the statement by saying that Gavaskar never got involved in such regionalism and even if he did, it was something very wrong to do in sports.
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To Bal Thackery and his band of despicable, kniving thugs, You phuckers are no worse than the Taliban. I'd go as far as labelling you the Hindu Taliban. May you die a slow, miserable death. You sicken / disgust me to the core. The hatred runs deep. I have nothing but utter contempt and hatred for you and people of your kind, who exploit religion / nationalism for political purposes.

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