Board defends late-night party

[DesiChap]

Board defends late-night party INDRANIL MAJUMDAR

Gwalior: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is only a step away from his first ODI series victory, but the preparations leading to the fourth one-dayer has hardly been inspiring. The cricketers, however, are not at fault. The Board will have to shoulder the bulk of the blame for agreeing to a sponsors’ party in Lucknow on Monday evening. The party continued till late into the night, attended among others by Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor, and delayed the teams’ arrival here. No one is willing to go on record but not many have taken this well. “Are we playing against Zimbabwe? What happens if we lose focus? Why did it have to happen in the middle of a series?†asked an Indian cricketer. The players have often complained about too much cricket. Rest is a rare phenomenon, given the amount of travelling that is involved, especially in one-day cricket. The current series against Pakistan is no different as players of both teams have been moving from one corner of the country to another. Board secretary Niranjan Shah, however, didn’t find anything wrong. “This was agreed to by the Board in advance. It was a party organised by the sponsors and we have a commitment to keep. I don’t see anything wrong,†Shah told The Telegraph. Wouldn’t it have been better had the players utilised the time on the field? “I don’t think this will lead to any loss in concentration… It’s not that the players are out of practice. They have been playing matches. There are three days between the Kanpur and Gwalior ODIs. Players have a day in hand for their preparations before Thursday,†Shah added. Things were slightly different before the third ODI. The team stayed back in Chandigarh because of security reasons and arrived in Kanpur only in the evening on the eve of the match. Aware of their responsibilities, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shoaib Malik did not take a chance. On their arrival from Lucknow by a chartered flight on Tuesday evening, both rushed to the ground straight from the airport to have a look at the pitch. They were accompanied by cricket manager Lalchand Rajput and coach Geoff Lawson. It is likely that Virender Sehwag will replace Murali Kartik in the playing XI, given the hard nature of the pitch. There is not much grass though. It is expected to have bounce and carry. If the visitors manage to level the series here, questions will surely be raised about the logic behind such off-field activities. The Board will then have much answering to do

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071114/asp/sports/story_8546642.asp

[The Outsider]

Lucknow is one of the most bureaucratic cities in India and UP gets maybe one international match in 2-3 years. Given the huge population, huge government machinery, and some really good cricketers coming out from the state it's expected though sad.

[bharat297]

I would like to know who the cricketer that said this was ...

“Are we playing against Zimbabwe? What happens if we lose focus? Why did it have to happen in the middle of a series?”

[guju24]

i think its good to have some break but as long as they perform good no one will mind if they party everyday...

[Chandan]

i think its good to have some break but as long as they perform good no one will mind if they party everyday...

And what if they lose focus? It is not that they are performing well by default. It takes a lot of effort from the players especially when so many are so tired from playing non-stop cricket! And when a sponsor's party till the late night is okay, why do they have taboo on individual parties during a series? Let players play and party together as much as they want!! But what else do you expect from an irresponsible board with the most stupid secretary in the world!

[beetle]

The morons did make sure that both the teams lose focus together.....:P Seriously this kind of forced socialising with the sahara owner is almost like pimping your cricketers. It's one thing to advertise ...but being forced to give jhappian pappian to shahrukh khan(who looks more gay with every passing day:whatchutalkingabout) is a bit too much. I am sure it will take it's toll......:D. And they should have got the team girl deepika atleast....:P

[Rajiv]

Yeah, this is the Lucknow fun

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[King]

The amount of official parties and functions the cricketers have to turn up to at home and abroad is ridiculous. You can ask any cricketer and he will tell you how boring these parties get. What they need is good rest between games not attending circus parties.

[beetle]

How is it that we don't see aussie or south african type teams not indulging in this circus? BCCI just milking the cricketers....

[King]

Every international player has to go through this Radhika. They have plenty of obligations outside the cricket ground to fulfill. Just that their visits don't make news.

[suma25]

lol @ the bg song being played athe function the new chak de song :haha: bet they are gonna play it next time whenever these teams meet for t20 match

[Guest dada_rocks]

And that squirrel looking Khan has also joined the money minting party.. apparently one of contenders for MUmbai IPL league.. Now we know why he suddenly got interested in cricket.. smell of Gandhi chhap green patta is hard to resist I guess:haha: