I read some of the posts on the Mr.*** sweepstakes. While (IMO) Rantunga
is slightly ahead of Ponting, we seem to have forgotten Lara's infamous
remark.
When the WC was held in India, WI (iirc) defeated RSA in a match that ran
counter to pundit expectations and lost to Kenya. Lara made an unforgivable
remark, the ugliest I've ever known any cricketer to have ever made,
something about loosing to RSA would be terrible because of what the latter
had done to Blacks while Kenya was after all a fraternal country. This reeks
of the worst kind of racism to me. Lets take a moment to examine what the
man said - that he clearly thinks of cricket matches as Black Vs. White
gladiatorial tournaments, that he cannot see beyond the race of his
opponents and that it is OK wish a team ill because it is (in the main)
composed of a race that he is not particularly fond of. And of course, all
the apostles of racial justice remained tightlipped (MAK being a shining
exception). I would have banned him for the rest of tournament and moved ICC
for a lifetime ban. Dalmiya was too busy plundering the BCCI's treasury via
the company "Half moon services" and Lele was busy doing his master's
laundry. I believe that Lara expressed regret for his statements two days
after his foul mouthed utterances were made. Meanwhile we weep and wail
about Ponting being ejected from a nightclub in Calcutta and Donald sledging
Dravid. Why these double standards?
I mean think of this - if Geoff Boycot or Alan B. or Mike Dennis or
Chappell-i had said "loosing to the Aussies (or Eng.) is ok, they are a
fraternal country, but loosing to those awful brownies who've migrated to
our country in hordes - those Pakis or Indians would be horrible...". Think
of what effect this statement would have. They would have swung from the
nearest tree and the cricketing world would have called for an immediate
boycott of the Caucasian offenders. Meanwhile the Laras and the Farrakhans
walk away from the sulfurous statements they make about others.
ravi (thinks Lara is a tremendous batsman and disgrace to cricket) aron.