Latest
01:41 PM
Bikram Vohra
JournalismPakistan.com
July 20, 2013
The Duke of Kent walks down the steps, chats with the ball kids, shakes a couple of hands and within three minutes of match point hands over the Wimbledon trophy.
In the FA Cup the still sweaty victors just run up to the Royal Box, grab the Cup and the ceremony is over. Time to celebrate.
But bring India into any cricket tournament and the presentation ceremony is like having a tooth pulled out. First it takes 30 minutes to get the act together and everyone has gone home except the teams.
In the West Indies this week commentator Arun Lal was faced by a posse of 11 VIPs on the dais, each with longwinded, fancy designations (one was the Assistant to the Regional Vice President, get another job, mate) so it was no surprise Lal, in his confusion, closed the half hour long ordeal with these sponsors and their gifts and forgot to call the champions over to pick up their trophy.
Now, if you have 11 guys and you have to give out 11 awards, life is hard and you have to get imaginative but this takes the cake. There was an award for the ‘most trusted’ player. Say what? Well, it went to India’s Rohit Sharma who now probably holds the key to the BCCI safe. What were the rest of the shifty- eyed Indian artful dodgers doing, swiping pocket money or doing the dirty on their expense accounts? I think they meant ‘dependable’ but they got it all wrong, cricket commentators getting it all wrong being a pretty common event.
And while we were still rolling on the carpet with mirth they announced the ‘most flexible’ player and up came Sri Lankan Angelo Mathew, looking as mystified as anyone else. Flexible, because he does calisthenics in the morning? Flexible, because he has no thoughts of his own? Flexible because he is made of India(?) rubber and will retire from cricket and join Cirque de Soleil? Tippy toes, Angelo. Why not just say ‘best all-rounder’ and let it go?
Also, don’t they notice there is no one left in the stands as they babble on. Courtesy Sports 360...the only sports daily in the world.
(The writer is a Senior Editorial Advisor of Khaleej Times and the paper’s former Editor. He has also been the Editor of Gulf News, Gulf Today, Emirates Today and Bahrain Tribune)
If my call is so important to them, why don’t they answer it for 22 minutes?
How come when I want to, but something specific online is the only item out of stock.
When I get into a queue or lane going fast, the moment I get in, it becomes the slowest and refuses to budge.
Read more... | Archives