Stay Classy Afridi!!!!

In my previous post, I promised to dedicate a separate blog post just to the Afridi controversy. Well here it is....

India Vs Pak Semifinal really lived up to its billings. Intense and enjoyable till the end. Post match comments from the captains were sensible and one got the impression that the game was played in its true spirit. Fast forward a couple of days. A video showed up on FB showing Afridi arriving in Pakistan and being quizzed by Pak media about the loss to India and it was heartening to see his reaction. His comments were something like this (loosely translated):

"Why do you guys hate India so much. It was just a game and the better team won. We may lose to many other teams but why is so much importance given to the loss to India. God willing, we will emerge stronger and win future matches against all teams".

I was very impressed. Pak captain making sensible comments in Pak (vs in India where people will say anything to grab media headlines and popularity). My respect from him went up.

Fast forward another few days and another video interview of Afridi shows up on FB. This time he is a completely changed person and his comments go something like this.

"Media in India is very biased. Our media is 100 times better than them. Indian media is very negative. Indians don't have big hearts. There is no hope of a bright future with India and talks will not achieve anything....."

wow!!! If I had not see the video myself I might have even blamed it on media distortion but no. He meant each and every word he said. Next day, after the furore, he claimed to have been mis-quoted etc etc. The damage was done. What a person!!! I don't respect him any more. Not because he said something against India but because how can you be so negative and such a pathetic person.

Next few days he kept denying but in my opinion the damage was done and he lost all credibility in my eyes. I don't know what his compulsions were but what he said and how he said it was not justified.

World Cup and beyond

So much has happened in the last week or so that a single post couldn't possibly do justice... but then I hate to end a post knowing there is more on my mind that I want to say.... oh well...we'll see how this one goes.

First things first. Heartiest congratulations to the Indian Cricket team and the Indian nation. We beat Pakistan in the semi-finals at Mohali. What a thrilling win. Before the match, the pakis tried to play all sort of mind games on us, even to the point of trying to turn home field advantage to a disadvantage (playing in front of home crowd would add additional pressure on Indian team...). what crap!!! Anyways, well and truly beaten. That was the finale for the world cup for me - right there!!! I applaud Gambhir for standing up and dedicating the victory to the memories of the Mumbai victims. It is very easy to forget even recent incidents and move on in life. We must not forget. i don't say live in the past, but definitely don't be a fool and pretend nothing happened. This victory was very sweet and satisfying.

The final against SL was almost an anti-climax when it started. I just did not feel the intensity (compared to the semi-final) during the first innings. Yeah, I was awake at 2 am watching the match with a couple of friends and my son. Didn't feel like the final, until SL thrashed us like anything in the final 5-6 overs. That's when reality struck me. Unfortunately, I had to fly before the start of the 2nd innings. Followed the game o the flight via in-flight wifi. Eventually India pulled off a magnificient win. Well deserved and played like champions. The final six was the icing on the cake - wrapping up in style.

Here are some other random thoughts.

Dhoni - Cool and smart thinking captain. He makes sound decisions and sometimes lady luck favors him even when his decision is wrong. A good leader, bringing the team together and leading them to a common goal. I feel he is tired from too much cricket. He should take a few months off to recuperate.

Sachin - Hats off to the little master. Records galore and he has been around for a good 20-21 years now. Amazing talent and a thorough gentleman.

Team - They started off shaky and gradually started coming together in game after game. I think they peaked at just the right time - the game against West Indies and never looked back. Compared to the 1983 team, I think Dhoni;s team has more talent. But both the teams were very high on self=confidence.

Aside - Someone remarked why are the indian cricketers being showered with money and gifts? Do they really need it? Would the money be better spent on other things like education, poverty reduction, health etc. ok, ok I hear you. These guys worked hard and made the country proud. Yes, and my counter is that they already made a Sh*t ful load of money playing IPL etc... there is much more useful things that can be done with all the new money. Anyways, the cricketers themselves should probably step forward and donate the stuff. Yeah, go ahead and tell me I live in too much of an idea world. :)

Afridi - this one deserves a post by itself.
Hazare - Another post.
ok I am tired now, back to work... will be back for sure later.