Inconsistency, on and off the field

How good, or bad are we at organising events? Well, if two developments occurring within a gap of just a few months are produced as proof, most seasoned sports analysts would be left baffled. The Indian Premier League, which portended to be a disaster because of date clashes with Indian general elections, moved its venue to South Africa at the 11th hour and became a great success, taking IPL’s popularity to new heights. On the other hand, the Commonwealth Games, for which the Indian capital Delhi is supposedly readying up, has the nation shamefaced, and the accusation and counter-accusation game has already begun for the sloppy progress.

Or perhaps it proves one thing beyond all doubt. If it’s cricket, the best minds and moolah will be pitched in to salvage the sport from any crisis, even if it means transporting the entire retinue across the seven seas. For any other sport, despite the golds and silvers our sportsmen are getting, perhaps we don’t care so much.

Game ‘n’ glamour
The best performing players, the worst performing team, series of controversies over multiple captaincies, alleged racist remarks by a staff team of a coach that flared the fans and caused furore in the media — IPL 2009 was nothing short of a roller coaster ride.

If the first season of IPL took the cricketing world by a storm, the second season was in news for more than one reason. To begin with, there was much hullabaloo about the venue being shifted to South Africa from India, due to security reasons, as the general elections were scheduled for the same time. Domestic fans were disappointed by the cricketing authorities for shifting the venue.

Second to cricketers, filmstars made their presence felt in the Twenty20 games. From Priety Zinta to Shilpa Shetty to Shah Rukh Khan, celebs could be seen cheering their teams. King Khan topped the list of those who hogged the limelight but not for good reasons. Starting from a verbal rift with Sunil Gavaskar over multiple captaincy, for which Shah Rukh later apologised, to removing Sourav Ganguly from captaincy to rumours of him selling the team, Khan managed to draw the ire of fans more than once. Khan, who started getting hate mails, said ‘it was strange’. His team couldn't perform from the beginning of the league and was the butt of ridicule as it failed to stand up to the expectations of the fans. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that  reportedly raked big moolah due to its brand value, could not make it to the semi-finals.

If all these controversies were not enough, there was news about alleged racist remarks being passed on to Indians in the team by the support staff of KKR, led by former Australian coach John Buchanan.

The team that won season two was Deccan Charger, led by Adam Gilchrist, which defeated Anil-Kumble-led Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs in Johannesburg on May 24.

A season of sorrow
Season two of T20 World Cup proved disappointing to the defending champions India, who simply could not repeat the magic of the inaugural year. Neighbouring Pakistan, suffering from isolation and the loss of co-hosting opportunity of World Cup 2011 following the attack on Sri Lankan players in Lahore in March, had a reason to cheer as it won the Cup this time.

Mahendra Singh  Dhoni’s men might be ranked among the top in world cricket, but they could not hold on to the ICC World T20 trophy. The defending champions could not even reach the semi-finals. They were knocked out in the group matches by the English team. England put up a total of 153 runs on the board, while Indian team finished three runs short on 150/5 in 20 overs.

The team came under attack from all the quarters, including the media. Captain Dhoni apologised to the public for the bad performance. Some sections blamed it on the change of attire of the Indian team. But coach Gary Kirsten pointed finger to the IPL. He said that the team could not get enough time to practice and emerge as a consolidated team as the players were busy with the cash-rich IPL matches.

Commonwealth Games, uncommon mess
Enthusiasm is one thing, but are we realistic enough when we bid for sports events? Next time when we bid for any event, the international community will have a not-so-pleasant precedent of India as a host. Unless, of course, Hogwarts inmates descend on Delhi and wave their wands to do some magic.

Such is the panic regarding preparedness of the city to host the Commonwealth games in 2010 that Michael Fennell, president, Commonwealth Games Federation, had to ask Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to intervene.

Meanwhile, in a mud-slinging match that the country is now witnessing, at the receiving end of Commonwealth Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi’s attack was none other than Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) CEO Mike Hooper. And certainly, CGF is not amused.

Fennell, on inspecting the Commonwealth venues, commented, “With one year to go, I now say that time is your enemy.” In return, Kalmadi demanded Hooper’s ouster, saying he was useless and an impediment in the functioning of the committee.

Hooper, on his part, said, that to say that Delhi is poorly-prepared for the games “is the understatement of the year. I mean it very clearly.” (Hindustan Times). Fennell not only supported Hooper and expressed his disappointment at the organising committee deflecting attention from issues raised by CGF, but insisted on setting up of a review panel.

As a stunned nation watched in disbelief, there was actually panic. With 11 months to go, will the nation be able to pull it? Will roping in Rahul Gandhi, or the PM intervening directly, help at this stage? These were the questions that media is pondering on.