Betting in Cricket

Sadly the monster is back with renewed vigor ! Just when Pakistan is struggling to recover from the nature's fury, this man-made fury. According to reports, the victims of the catastrophe is denied urgent help as the donors world over are not sure the help would reach the needy...Corruption ! ! ! These cricketers had donated one-day pay for the flood victims.
Reacting to the expose, one of the 'respectable' former cricketer from England mentioned, 'with the ICC moving from West to East, this was bound to happen'. BBC correspondent spoke about corruption in Indian sub-continent.
While the Pak cricketers are caught in this, others' role can not be ruled out, East or West !
Sadly, even in this century, corruption is getting increasingly institutionalized, more in Indian sub continent, but also world over.
You can always blame it on credit crunch or 'Kali Yuga'. But, ethics in personal & public life is hitting a new low... Tiger Woods is a sad example on 'personal' values. Common 'wealth' games related corruption allegation  in India...

A friend shared...his son, in his tweens, is just getting hooked on to cricket! But every now and then, watching any cricket telecast, he would ask,' dad, is this game fixed?' And my friend would invariably say, emphatically, 'Not at all' !!! (He can't do that any more.) Even before he picked up the nuances of the game, he is aware of match-fixing and highly suspicious, feels father !


And, Cricket used to be a gentleman's game....


PS : Peter_eigen_how_to_expose_the_corrupt check out 

Character in Leadership

The story of Tiger's personal life has come as a big shock to all his fans, world over.

I always felt celebrities, just like us common people, have the right to privacy. But, once you are on public domain, you are subject to scrutiny, rightly or not. I wonder how such great achievers miss out on this important aspect of life, 'character' ! We have heard of so many people and their deviations from the 'prescribed path'. Is it due to the upbringing, society, situations, education, value-system... ? Master says, THE END OF EDUCATION IS CHARACTER

Personally, Tiger 'has' been closest to human greatness in sport. As a child, we always wanted to excel in our favourite sport (not golf though). But the change he has brought to the game, apart from his personal achievements, is what makes him truly great. In my office, I have a small model of what I would like to be ( from one of the training programs): a  Teacher ( profession), a restaurant owner, a singer, or a Tiger Woods! To achieve greatness in one's own chosen field ( usually we are in a particular profession by accident, not by choice) and to give more to the profession than take !


We need not be guided by these so-called great people, not bench-mark against them. But aspire simple greatness, in a holistic sense... That is Spiritual & closer to Divine, man being crown of God's creations

Winning generates momentum, but character sustains it. Tiger's story is a cautionary tale about character. http://www.giantimpact.com/articles/read/character_the_key_to_sustaining_momentum/

Indian Scene... when not incredible!

India lost yet another big match. While the Sri Lankan's took a gamble to field in the last match, to be better prepared for the final, we were glad about a good victory. But when it mattered, our so-called 'strong' batting line-up failed, yet again. We need couple of senior, matured players in the team. Dravids/Sachins/etc. Quite a few hearts would have been broken, due to this. Sadly, people would have skipped their work and stayed indoors to watch the match !!!

While the cash-rich, pampered cricketers made a mockery, there was some good news on the hockey-front. Thanks to Kalmadi and Pillay, and all those who came forward with cash offers, hockey team will get back to what they love the most. Hockey India definitely failed to handle this crisis, if not prevent. The players looked so much unlike our cricketers. They come from humble background, and have lived on a big dream and hope. The establishment has no business to be unfair to the players, in the name of playing for country vs playing for money. Their dreams involve both...

As children, most of us dreamt of becoming a Kapil/Gavaskar/Vijay Amritraj/Prakash Padukone/Pargat Singh/etc... Looking at this, we don't regret... can not complain... ( no sour grapes here) though corporate politics is no better usually...