So much print is being wasted on discussing the symptom, whereas the disease is being widely overlooked. Cricket is now reaping the fruits of the seeds of sledging that Australia has sown for the last two decades under the garb of "mental disintegration". The players are no longer honorable in their actions and this is true from all international teams, and once in a while everyone deserves to get a taste of this bitter medicine. No sympathies at all.
Let’s be frank, there are no good guys here. Australia love to give it out but hate getting it back. They may be good players of the game, but are poor ambassadors of the sport. They can't paint themselves as clean innocent victims in this episode. There are cultures that find it very offensive and therefore react differently or strongly to sledging. If calling someone “monkey” is racist, then calling someone “bastard” is equally offensive. Anil and his men were gracious enough to forgive and forget Hogg for using abusive language but the same spirit was found lacking with Pointing and Co. In my opinion, the events at Sydney should have been resolved on the field itself.
Also, we mustn’t forget that what started this fury was a provocation from none other than the victim Andrew Symonds. Harbhajan's response was in the heat of the moment, agreed stupid and perhaps offensive. But then you got to ask, why should Symonds be spared? There is no mention of what Symonds said which provoked Harbhajan. When Harbhajan patted on Lee's back there was no need for Symonds to nose in. It seems he just wanted to show his proud Aussie attitude and trigger Harbhajan in saying something stupid.
A mutually exclusive issue is the behavior of BCCI in this matter. "Cricket is the victor in all this", this is the statement issued by BCCI after Harbhajan’s hearing, which is completely untrue. Cricket, in fact has been deeply wounded as BCCI threatened to pull out of the tour if all charges against Harbhajan were not called off. It is obvious that BCCI used their financial influence to turn the decision in their favor. But this has managed to set a wrong precedent in world cricket. By declaring that the Indian team will withdraw from the tour in the event of Harbhajan’s ban, they have publicly shown no respect for the ICC processes. I find this attitude of the BCCI deplorable.
Cricket Australia is not entirely absolved of the blame either. There were witnesses like Ponting and Tendulkar who never heard that word on the field and then the technology (video cameras, stump microphones) which did not cover the incident to the extent that prove that the exchange of words between the Symonds and Harbhajan had anything to do with racism, so on what basis was the charge filed in the first place?
An anonymous Aussie player told the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday that "The thing that pisses us off is that it shows how much power India has." So that's the main issue now, is it, that India is more influential than Australia? Australia is sufficiently powerful to have taken advantage by openly sledging over the years, but they can't take it when somebody else wields their influence. Also, the same Aussie players who complain about India's monetary dominance on the game will gladly collect fat checks to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after they retire from International cricket. Their attitude smacks of hypocrisy.
On a different note, if Harbhajan has indeed used a term in his native tongue "teri maa ki", then I consider this to be a far more serious abuse than "monkey”. For us Indians, this is a worst form of abuse and no respected person will take this lying down. I hope BCCI takes a serious note of this and punishes Harbhajan by omitting him from the ODI squad on disciplinary grounds.
Sadly the series will not be remembered for Sachin’s and Hayden’s wonderful batting, Lee’s great bowling, the great Aussie performance in Melbourne or the ground breaking win by India in Perth. Money & Politics have taken the center stage once again; obviously all that matters in the glorious game these days.
Tailored suits, chauffeured cars, fine hotels and big cigars…
Come on, come on, love me for my money…
