Is Sreesanth an Ajmal Kasab?

By John Cheeran

Is S Sreesanth a terrorist? Is he a criminal? Is ‘spot-fixing’ a crime? Is he a Sanjay Dutt? Should Sreesanth be tried under sections 3 and 4 of Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA)? These are important questions, because we are in danger of slipping into a police state, where an accused person has few options to prove his innocence. MCOCA takes away one’s right to be on bail. As per the act, anything that the police claim as confessions to a superintendent of police (SP) level officer in writing or recording will be admissible before a court of law.

What is applicable for Sreesanth also holds true for the two other Rajasthan Royals cricketers, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila. As of now, for me, Sreesanth is a cricketer who has erred grievously. Delhi Police till last Tuesday (June 4) had charged him with cheating offence Under IPC 420. Under Indian Penal Code, there is no such offence called ‘spot-fixing.’

Of course, Sreesanth has committed a mistake. With a sense of drama, which is richly deserving in this case, you can say Sreesanth has betrayed cricket. Sreesanth’s crime is that he broke the agreement he had with his IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals and the BCCI, the owners of IPL, by indulging in ‘spot-fixing’ and thereby besmirching the reputation of IPL and cricket.

Sreesanth has done something that is indefensible, going by the Delhi Police’s initial argument, that he took money from bookies and bowled as per their instructions. If it is so, it is an act that is unpardonable by a cricket enthusiast. It is nothing more. And I presume Delhi police, too, know this aspect of the case, including police commissioner Neeraj Kumar.

If that is so, why are the police applying MCOCA against Sreesanth and other accused?

Read the full story

A letter to the bookie who fixed S Sreesanth

By John Cheeran

Dear bookie,

I know you have stumped Indian cricket by snaring S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan into spot-fixing during IPL 6. I know that you have your own reasons to do so. But is that the most sensible way (I’m not saying ethical way) to go about achieving your goal, which I presume is making money with minimum effort.

I’m not against betting, nor would be millions of Indians. Most of the time, we bet on our worst fears and heave a sigh of relief when we lose those ones. By all means, bet, if you want. But why are you trying to get players, cricketers, in this case? Can’t you leave them out of it?

A lot of people think that spot-fixing lends itself to betting, which you know that it is not. All you are trying to do is manipulate the odds of brackets (session betting, for eg, a team would score more than 60 runs in first 8 overs). Aren’t you?

So does it make sense to pay Rs 40 lakhs for Sreesanth to concede 14 runs in an over during an IPL match? Throughout his international and domestic career, Sreesanth has never been known for economy rates but for taking wickets even though he will be hammered around for boundaries. Giving 14 runs is something that comes quite naturally to this pesky bowler. So why waste money on him? You can always place a bet on him to bowl in an unpredictable manner and you stand to win at the stakes.  

Read the full story

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Arrackistan/entry/a-letter-to-the-bookie-who-fixed-s-sreesanth

Why is the cricket establishment silent?

By John Cheeran

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is in a blue funk. The world’s richest and most powerful cricket body has little control over what is happening in Indian cricket. Its biggest brand IPL is stumped by its worst crisis since its inception in 2008. Three of its players (technically they belong to its franchise Rajasthan Royals) are in Delhi Police’s custody. At the moment BCCI president N Srinivasan cannot defend or disown the tainted trio – S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan - completely.

On Sunday, BCCI working committee met in Chennai but could not come up with any bold suggestion to make cricket in India and, specifically, IPL T20 matches, corruption-free. One way could have been making franchises accountable for the actions of its players. If Rajasthan Royals players have been proved to have acted in a manner that influenced the outcome of the game, the team itself should be thrown out of the league.

And not just players. If anyone belonging to the team management or owners themselves attempt things that make it easier for bookmakers, the BCCI should throw the franchise out of the IPL. It would hurt. But unfortunately BCCI is not in a position to propose any such thing. Instead, it says it cannot control bookies. Srinivasan says the BCCI does not encourage betting. To quote the ‘old sport’ during the press meet in Chennai:  “We don't encourage betting, we do not encourage anything.” That’s a valid point, that the BCCI does not encourage anything.

 Read full story  http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Arrackistan/entry/why-is-the-cricket-establishment-silent

How fixing Pakistanis has been a Good Fix for India

 By John Cheeran

 There is Good Fix and, then, there is Bad Fix. We, Indians, love the Good Fix.

 There has been an avalanche of protests, shocked expressions of fans, former players, commentators and administrators (read the BCCI) in the wake of Delhi Police – mind you, it is a police force that cannot keep rapists under check and cannot rein in the overflowing male testosterone on the streets of Delhi—exposing former India player S Sreesanth and two other cricketers from IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals as having colluded with bookies in instances of spot-fixing in IPL 6. But isn't it quite ironic that no one has taken seriously the charge that India’s semi-final against Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup was fixed? Why?

 Because it was alleged to have been fixed in India’s favour. And it was against our enemy, Pakistan. That was a Good Fix. Winning against Pakistan, by hook or crook, does matter and you better not ask any questions on that. And India won the World Cup after 28 years, so you better shut up and cheer our cricketers. And in any case whose fault is it if Pakistani cricketers had taken money to drop catches and throw their wickets cheaply, even though the tournament and the particular match itself was staged in India, and organized by BCCI? Didn't you know that all Pakistani cricketers were on take from the bookies? And mind you, we won, and our cricketers are clean.

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Who should be afraid of S Sreesanth?

Who should be afraid of S Sreesanth?

By John Cheeran

On April 3, the very day IPL 6 began, Times Blogs carried a cautionary post by me-- IPL 6: It can’t get bettor. (http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Arrackistan/entry/ipl-6-begins-it-can-t-get-bettor)

Let me quote from that post. “Players, and more than them, the franchise owners have a great responsibility to ensure that the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) remains free from quirky and 'funny' incidents. For, there is a strong perception that IPL matches are a god-send for spot-fixing. Every single ball is important and a lot depends on a dropped catch, a no-ball, and an unwarranted extra run.”

Now this morning comes the shocking news of the arrest of former India player S Sreesanth and two other young cricketers Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandilia (all three of them currently playing for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL). The charge against them—spot-fixing. The frightening prospect has finally come true, forcing the BCCI to suspend the three players.

Reports say that Delhi police, whose special cell made these arrests, believe there are more players involved in this alleged spot-fixing series in the IPL, including cricketers from other Test playing nations.

Sreesanth seems an ideal candidate to come under the bookmakers’ radar. Read the full story at

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Arrackistan/entry/who-should-be-afraid-of-s-sreesanth

A well deserved Test century for Team India in Kanpur

By John Cheeran
Team India completed a century of Test wins on Friday in Kanpur. India defeated Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. The third Test will start in Mumbai on December 2.
All wins are sweet. Let's not forget that Sri Lanka is the No.2 side in ICC's Test rankings. Sri Lankans are not merely our neighbours, but a significant power in world cricket. So there is no reason to be dismissive about the victory at Green Park.
It is quite interesting to note how skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni fashioned the Kanpur win. Some of the tactics were quite traditional. Win the toss, put on a huge first innings score with a couple of centuries from the batsmen and put the opposition under pressure. Normally, then spinners take over the match.
Here in Kanpur, the significant departure was the role of pace bowling. Yes, turn did come, and Harbhajan Singh and rest of the spin gang got wickets. But it was fast bowler S Sreesanth who wrecked the Sri Lankan will and willow. That India does not have to rely on a deteriorating wicket and tweakers for the victory augur well for Indian cricket.
As Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara pointed out during the post-match briefing, the wicket was not the villain in the plot. It was some good bowling, and then the pressure of climbing the huge mountain of runs that turned things in India's favour.
Yes, Sreesanth has proved his worth by bowling India to victory. The man of the match award is just reward for the youngster.
The question, however, remains unanswered why the Indian selectors overlooked the claims of a fit fast bowler for so long.

Sreesanth leads India’s march to victory

By John Cheeran
Ah, Sri Lanka is in troubled waters in Kanpur. After having made to follow-on by India, Sri Lanka has lost four wickets for 57; and those who were dismissed include captain Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena.
The end is near.
Pitch in Kanpur has played its own part in making batting difficult for Sri Lankans. You cannot deny that. But more than that one has to admit that S Sreesanth's brilliant bowling unhinged the Sri Lankan first innings.
Sreesanth, so far, has picked up six wickets (5/75 in the first innings and 1/10 in the second innings) in this Test. And what a glorious comeback this one has been.
Hunted and hounded by a string of injuries and bad PR, Sreesanth was on the verge of being shunned even by his own Kerala Cricket Association only a few weeks ago.
For a long time it remained inexplicable why national selectors were overlooking the claims of a fit Sreesanth.
But all that cloudy days now seem far away, with this iridescent display of incisive fast bowling. Sreesanth bowled with a degree of purpose and determination, qualities rarely associated with Indian bowling. A quick look at the mode of the six dismissals by Sreesanth reveals the quality of his disciplined bowling. Three batsmen were bowled while the other three were caught by wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. All a reward for bowling in the corridor of uncertainty. Throughout the day Sreesanth troubled the Sri Lankan batsmen, giving little room for them to indulge in strokeplay.
Yes, there is no doubt, Sreesanth is a changed man. And a changed bowler too. The time spent away from the Indian dressing room has had its effect on the young, inflammable man. Sreesanth not only has sharpened his outswingers at the nets, better still, he has learnt to control his aggressive urge. The fire is still there, but now he is taking care to see that he does not singe himself. Sreesanth's joy in sending back a batsman is still palpable but does not degenerate into churlishness. It's a more a prayer, for the blessing of the second chance.
For India, too, it is important that it does not let go of this natural talent. As a captain Dhoni has the responsibility to guide the youngster on and off the field. And back the man with the outswinger and outrageous temper when the times get tougher in the days ahead.

Welcome home, Sreesanth

By John Cheeran
Welcome home, Sreesanth.
This could well be your last chance to play for India, and redeem yourself as a bowler and a man.
An opportunity to share the new ball with Zaheer Khan could be his, in the three-Test home series against Sri Lanka. Grab it.
By now, the slings and arrows of discipline should have chastened the mercurial fast bowler from Kerala. Strangely, Sreesanth has more detractors in Kerala, and that includes, the Kerala Cricket Association, than outside of it.
There is no denying the fact that the aggression that Sreesanth brings to his bowling unsettles batsmen. Wickets, after all, were not gifts from the rival teams.
In Indian cricket, being a bowler has many advantages. Yes, you get dumped often, but the chances to come back are many since our bowling often falls short of international standards.
Sreesanth was not the first cricketer from Kerala to play for India. Tinu Yohannan, after promising much, fizzled out from the scene. May be there is a lesson for Sreesanth. Sreesanth has the ability to irk batsmen, but it is important that he improves his PR within the dressing room, and on the field, start to enjoy his game, rather than suffer the vicissitudes of the game.
And remember, cricket always offers you a second innings. Life, often, does not.

India squad: MS Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, M Vijay, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra.

A to Z of Indian Premier League (IPL)

By John Cheeran
The Indian Premier League is in its last stretch. Here is an A-Z about the IPL.

A for Aussies

(John Buchanan, Tom Moody, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Shane Watson, Shane Warne, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Dareen Lehmann, Justin Langer, Brad Hodge, Cameron White, Brett Lee, James Hopes, Luke Pomersbach, Simon Katich -- these Aussies have dominated the IPL than any other mercenaries)

B for Ban, Bhajji and Bangalored!
C for Cheerleaders
D for Dugout, dotball, dollars
E for Extras
F for Franchise, freehit, fantastic (the most abused word during the IPL), foreigners
G for Glamour, girls
H for Hotheads (Harbhajan, Sreesanth, Yuvi); hit wicket
I for IPL
J for Jab We Met (Charu Sharma meeting Vijay Mallya)
K for Kingfisher; King Khan and all other Kings in IPL
L for Lekha Washington; last ball dramas
M for Modi (Lalit); Money and Mind It!
N for Nightlife; not out, net run rate
O for Orange cap
P for Purple cap, partnerships
Q for Queen of IPL- Preity Zinta
R for Rajasthan Royals, Run outs, Run Rate and reverse sweep
S for Sixer, Shah Rukh, Slapgate
T for Twenty20, teen brigade
U for Unsung heroes (*Yousuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar); upper cut
V for Vijay Mallya
W for Warne
X for Xenophobia of Mukesh Ambani (Ambani, when asked about his team's early defeats, said "just wait for these Aussies to go home, then we will know who is winning"), Xtra Innings
Y for Youth power
Z for zeroes (Challengers and Chargers)

My Best IPL XI

By John Cheeran

Let me present my best XI from the IPL.

Shaun Marsh
Sanat Jayasuriya
Gautam Gambhir
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Yuvraj Singh
Venugopala Rao
Shane Watson
Shane Warne
Glenn McGrath
Manpreet Goni
S Sreesanth
Swapnil Asnodkar (the 12th man)

Sreesanth, Harbhajan and the biggest hit of them all!

By John Cheeran
There are many who believe that Kerala's and India's fast bowler S Sreesanth got his just deserts at the hands of that obnoxious weed, Harbhajan Singh after a fractious encounter in the IPL at Mohali.
I do not support such pernicious line of thinking. Sreesanth was hit, and the only thing that upset me was that he did not show his other cheek. Instead, he began to weep. A sorry state of affairs, for the macho image of a Malayali.
As it has been significantly observed by Farooq Engineer, former Indian wicketkeeper and the match referee in this episode, Harbhajan manhandled Sreesanth without any provocation. Whatever the magnitude of the provocations been, Harbhajan should have refrained from manhandling his India team mate. Harbhajan has proved through a series of incidents that it is not just his bowling action that's suspect but his actions off the ball too.
The saving grace for Sreesanth was that the whole thing happened in front of 25 live cameras and Harbhajan's stupidity could not be covered up by the gangsters in the dressing room. Often, Indian team's dressing rooms were silent witnesses to such truant behaviour by the senior pros. And all such incidents used to be glossed over with the argument in a family all sorts of things do happen.
Not just that. Indian cricket had witnessed ugly spats on the ground between Maninder Singh and Manoj Prabhakar. And in a Duleep Trophy match I can recall when Rashid Patel chased Raman Lamba with his bat to hit.
This time around, The IPL and the BCCI top brass were under pressure to ban Harbhajan. I however consider that the 11-match ban was too little to be an object lesson for others. For his crimes, not just against Sreesanth, but against cricket, Harbhajan should be banned from all forms of game till his last day.

Young India upset world champions Aussies

By John Cheeran
It is just not that the Young India won at Melbourne today but the Twenty20 World Champions defeated Fifty50 world champions Australia in a convincing fashion - by five wickets.
This is a remarkable win when you consider that India has beaten Australia in Australia in a Fifty50 international contest,
only twice in recent times.
During the 2003-2004 trip under Sourav Ganguly, India won only once against Australia in the triangular series. Let’s hope that Mahendra Singh Dhoni can build on the win at MCG and push the World Cup finalists to the brink in the coming days.
Low scoring matches in one-day internationals are rarer but they become quite often, engrossing affairs. So was the clash at MCG.
India and its bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad can afford a smile of satisfaction after young pacers S Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma exploited the weather conditions in a sensible manner.
The early blows delivered by Sreesanth and Ishant rattled the cocky Aussies after Ricky Ponting elected to bat.
If not for Michael Hussey’s grit and gumption, World Champions would have struggled to go past 100.
India did well to reach the target of 160 runs without much flutter though they lost five wickets. Sachin Tendukar’s experience of having seen and played through such variegated playing conditions all over the world shone through as he tamed Brett Lee, Bracken and Johnson.
Rohit Sharma, another Mumbai boy, would have learnt from the Tendulkar tackled the attack. For Rohit, the learning curve continues Down Under.
But for Yuvraj Singh’s wretched form with the bat, things are slowly falling in place for the Young India.

Sreesanth: Crime and Punishment

By John Cheeran
Shantakumaran Sreesanth is out of the Indian squad for the seven one-day international against England in England. What it means is that he can come back home early, once the Test series ends.
Is this omission a punishment? Possible.
Especially after Sreesanth’s frustration getting the better of him during the second Test at Trent Bridge where he shoulder charged Michael Vaughan and felled Kevin Pietersen at the crease.
But all the same keep this point in mind. More than his antics, it was Sreesanth’s his inability to take wickets that let him down. As long as a bowler takes wickets he will have his place in the side.
It is when you struggle for wickets other factors such as good behaviour creeps in.
Sreesanth has been found guilty of not living up to the standards of gentlemanly conduct, by match referee and opinion makers.
Yes, Sreesanth would do well for himself by controlling his aggression. Also Sreesanth should remember that a bowler should restrict his anger between the wickets.
Sreesanth should not be disheartened by the fact he is out of one-day action. He might still get a chance to bowl in the third and final Test at the Oval.
Who knows what can Sree come up with there?