Flawed deal
The BCCI needs to remove the anomalies in its pension schemes 
for ex-cricketers, writes K.R. Wadhwaney

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) pension schemes for former international and national players are laudable but the rules framed for disbursement of money are laughable.

Every player who has played up to 24 Tests is entitled to a pension of Rs 25,000 a month. Every player who has figured in 25 or more Tests will get Rs 35,000 per month.

Lala Amarnath played most of his international cricket before Partition. His Test career was restricted to just 24 matches. Similarly, C.K. Nayudu played only seven Tests between 1932 and 1936. N.S. Tamhane, one of the country’s finest wicketkeepers, played 21 Tests. It is nothing but a mockery to club them with solitary Test-wallahs, like A.L. Apte, H.T. Dani, H.G. Gaekwad, Rajinderpal and Manmohan Sood.

Mohammad Azharuddin (96 Tests), Sunil Gavaskar (125 Tests), Kapil Dev (131 Tests), Dilip Vengsarkar (116 Tests) and G.R. Vishwanath (91 Tests) will receive Rs 35,000, the same amount that Abid Ali (29 Tests), Roger Binny (27 Tests), R.B. Desai (28 Tests) and Salim Durrani (29 Tests) will get. No one will grudge a payment of Rs 35,000 to Durrani, Abid and the others, but how can big names like Gavaskar, Kapil and Vengsarkar be placed in the same category?

Collins dictionary defines pension as “payment made to a person to enable him to subsist without having to work.” The emphasis is on subsistence. But an in-depth study of schemes show that the rich will become richer. Unfortunately, the schemes do not provide enough cushion to those who played for their country for peanuts.

Since India’s entry into the international arena in 1932, there have been three major eras:

1. Raj era: 1932-47 (16 years, 15 Tests): Virtually no payment except free travel, board and lodging and meagre kit. In those days, competition among players for a place in the team was stiffer than after the birth of Pakistan.

2. Transition era: 1948-74 (27 years, 117 Tests): Negligible rise in payment, substandard lodging and unsatisfactory travel facilities.

3. Golden era: 1975-93 (18 years, about 150 Tests): Progressive rise in payment and other facilities.

Veterans, who have watched Indian cricket ’s journey from rags to riches, think that players who battled from 1932 to 1974 deserve a better deal than those who played during the 1975-93 period.

There are several players of bygone days struggling to keep themselves afloat. Heralal Gaekwad, for example, is one who needs sympathetic consideration. He deserved to have played more than one Test. But he was a contemporary of Vinoo Mankad, who was a dynamic all-rounder.

The story goes that when Gaekwad bowled Holkar to victory over Bombay in the Ranji final, the Maharaja of Holkar asked him to demand anything he wanted. Gaekwad said he needed only a cycle for commuting.

Veteran players are of the view that there should be more Test slabs to determine the pension. According to them, the slabs should be: one to four Tests, 5 to 9, 10 to 24, 25 to 50, 51 to 75, 76 to 100, and 101 and more.

Of about 200 Test players (cutoff date December 31, 1993), at least 50 are not alive (nor their wives). It means only about 150 are eligible for pension.

As many as 49 have played for India in unofficial Tests. Most of them and their wives are not alive. Some of them are needy and deserve immediate support. Padmakar Shivalkar and Rajinder Goel also figured in unofficial Tests.

International umpires, groundsmen (curators) and scorers are others who should be considered for gratuity or pension, as the BCCI deems fit.

On the national front (Ranji Trophy), the board is considering providing Rs 15,000 to those who have played more than 75 matches before the 2003-04 season and Rs 10,000 to players figuring in 50 to 75 matches. It is blatantly unfair to players who have been unable to reach the figure of 50.

The board will also consider giving Rs 10,000 to players who have played 10 matches before the start of the league in the 1958-59 season.

The board’s committee has not shown wisdom in fixing 10 matches for players figuring in the knockout Ranji tournament. Ten matches are too many because many state teams then got knocked out in the first round itself. The ideal number according to veteran players will be four or five matches.

There is another ambiguity. Will Test pensioners be provided Ranji pension also?

The veterans feel that the board’s pension schemes should be beneficial to a majority of the players, instead of causing them anguish.

WORLD CUP 2006
Raring to go
Ramandeep Singh

Teams from Africa will once again be expected to provide a shock result or two in the football World Cup beginning on June 9. Cameroon, the most illustrious side to have come out of Africa, just missed qualifying for the 2006 finals by a whisker. Cameroon came into the limelight in the 1982 World Cup in Spain when the ‘Indomitable Lions’ drew all their matches and bowed out in the first round with their heads held high.

In Italia ’90 they pulled off a huge upset by defeating defending champions Argentina in the opening match. Their heroics were finally ended by England in the quarterfinal in possibly the best match of the tournament.

Senegal also made a dream start to their 2002 World Cup campaign when they shocked reigning champions France in the opener. Senegal also made it to the quarterfinals before bowing out.

This time the five African teams making the journey to Germany are Ivory Coast, Angola, Ghana, Togo and Tunisia. Except Tunisia, the rest will be making their debut in the World Cup. Tunisia has the honour of participating in three previous World Cups — 1978, 1998 and 2002.

Ivory Coast: Ivory Coast are in Group C with Argentina, Serbia and Montenegro and Netherlands. This group has been dubbed the “group of death”, and the Ivorians face an uphill battle to qualify for the next stage.

In qualifying, too, Ivory Coast were in a similar predicament with Cameroon, Egypt, Sudan and Libya breathing down their neck. Nevertheless the Ivorians won four of their first five matches.

Cameroon — five-time World Cup qualifiers — beat Ivory Coast 3-2 and with just one match to go, Cameroon looked set to qualify for the sixth time. But they could just manage a 1-1 draw against Egypt, while Ivory Coast thrashed Sudan 3-1 to book their flight to Germany.

The Ivorians have a bunch of talented players, including Chelsea’s Didier Drogba who along with Aruna Dindane played a major part in his team’s success.

Tunisia: Tunisia became the first African country to win a match in the finals when they beat Mexico 3-1 in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. But since then their record has been abysmal and they are yet to win their second match. Tunisia are in Group H with Spain, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.

They qualified rather easily, winning six matches, losing one and drawing three. They also won the CAF African Cup of Nations in 2004. With top-class players like Haykel Guemamdia, Ziad Jaziri, Adel Chadli and Hatem Trabelsi in their ranks, Tunisia are fully capable of upsetting the applecart of fancied teams.

Angola: Angola are finally going to Germany after a disastrous start to their qualification campaign when they were beaten in the first match by Chad. But after a change of coaches, Angola’s campaign gathered steam and they beat a strong Nigerian team in an away match and drew with them at home. Akwa, Mantorras (Benfica), Figueirido and Maurito will be the players to watch out for.

Angola are in Group D with Mexico, Iran and Portugal. They have their best chance against Iran but Portugal and Mexico will also find it tough to beat them.

Ghana: Ghana’s place in the finals was long overdue. They have won four African Cup of Nations titles and twice captured the FIFA Under-17 World Championship. They have also produced some of the most talented players to come out of Africa, like Abedei Pele and Anthony Yeboah.

In qualifying they beat 2010 World Cup host South Africa twice. The stars in the squad are captain Appiah, Udinese’s Muntari and his midfield partner, Chelsea’s Michael Essien — the most expensive African footballer ever. Ghana are in Group E with Italy, Czech Republic and the USA.

Togo: Togo have had a poor qualifying history, finishing fourth in their three previous attempts at qualification. This time, too, they started poorly, losing to Equatorial Guinea. But everything changed after they beat Senegal 3-1.

They finished their campaign with seven wins and one defeat in 10 matches. They will be up against France, Switzerland and South Korea in Group D.

Adebayor is the star player for the Togolese. He was the top scorer in African qualifiers with 11 goals.

Mr Yogi
Akash Ghai

He makes even the most complicated yoga asanas look simple. For Chandigarh-based Munish Kumar, yoga is not only a fitness mantra but also a competitive sport which requires hard work and dedication to excel at the highest level. This 21-year-old accountancy student has won the state title six times and the national title twice in both junior and senior categories.

Munish also bagged the gold medal in the 3rd All-India Yoga Federation International Championship held at Dombivili (Mumbai) in April, 2006. In view of this performance, he has been selected to represent the country in the World Yoga Championship to be held in Mauritius in October.

Munish, a B.Com II student of SD College, got hooked on yoga about six years ago. “I had sustained a muscle pull while running a marathon race. To relieve the pain, I went to Yog Divya Mandir, a yoga centre in Sector 30, Chandigarh. I was amazed to see experts performing difficult asanas. I was also impressed by the therapeutic power of yoga. That’s how I took to yoga. Later, I became quite proficient under the guidance of my guru Navin Kumar”.

Munish has also taught breathing techniques to asthmatic children free of cost under a programme of the PGI’s Breathe Free Club.

“I have not suffered any ailment since starting yoga. This is the perfect remedy for various kinds of diseases and ailments, including stress, hypertension and joint pains. Moreover, it improves fitness and builds concentration,” he says.

Munish, who is the captain of the college yoga team, is all praise for his college authorities for providing him help in the form of scholarship, fee concession and extra classes.

He is happy that yoga is enjoying popularity these days not only in India but also in foreign countries. “Swami Ramdev has played a key role in making yoga famous worldwide,” he says.

“With the blessings of my guru and the encouragement being given by the college authorities and my family, I am sure that I will bring glory to my country at the international level”, concludes Munish.

Asian challenge

Commonwealth Games discus throw silver medallist Seema Antil and world number four long jumper Anju Bobby George will spearhead India’s challenge at the three Asian Grand Prix events scheduled to be held later this month.

A total of 26 Indian athletes will test themselves against the best in Asia at Bangkok (May 18), Bangalore (May 22) and Pune (May 26). Antil, who came back into the limelight with a silver medal at Melbourne, will face a tough fight from compatriots Harwant Kaur and Krishna Poonia in the women’s discus throw but the one to beat would be China’s Song Aimin, who has a throw of 65.23 metres to her credit.

Anju, who disappointed with a sixth-place finish at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, will expect to regain her winning form as she is the highest-ranked athlete in her event at the three competitions. Her main rivals at the three meets are expected to be China’s Liu Huahua and Torres Marestella of the Philippines.

Among the men, Amritpal Singh and Mahan Singh are expected to be among the top contenders in the long jump with efforts of 8.08m and 7.99m to their names, respectively.

Another Indian to watch out for could be Anil Kumar P, who holds the national 100m record of 10.30 seconds set in August last year.

Ranvijay Singh and Navpreet Singh could be in the medal reckoning in shot put, while Jagdish Kumar Bishnoi will be a contender in javelin throw, along with Anil Singh. — PTI

Amazing knock

Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie sprung a big surprise when he struck 201 not out in a Test against Bangladesh recently. With this knock, he created the world record for the highest score by a night watchman in Test cricket.

Gillespie, who remained in hibernation for some time after his abject failure in the Ashes series against England, was recalled for the two-Test series against minnows Bangladesh. Grabbing the opportunity with both hands, he not only claimed wickets but also turned out to be the unlikely hero with the bat. He also improved upon his previous Test best of 54 not out against New Zealand. His amazing double ton was brought up in style. He made the most of his promotion in the batting order, registering a higher Test best than the celebrated Waugh brothers (Steve and Mark).

Bangladesh had tormented the mighty Aussies in the first Test but Gillespie’s fine knock showed that the former had a pedestrian bowling attack. Thanks to his double century, Australia coasted to a thumping victory in the second Test.

Tarsem S. Bumrah, Batala

Revival recipe

The revival of Indian hockey needs result-oriented planning. Besides improving the defence line, emphasis should be on proper coordination, good trapping and penetration, accurate passing and conversion of penalty corners. Any opportunity to score a goal should not be missed as top teams rarely give chances to the opposition.

Finishing in the striking circle has to improve by leaps and bounds. On the whole, the team should play an attacking game. The players should also become mentally tougher to cope with the pressure in crunch matches. Only after fulfilling these pre-requisites against tough competitors like Australia, the Netherlands and Pakistan can Indian hockey hope to make a grand comeback. It is long overdue, considering that India last won the Olympic gold medal in 1980 and the World Cup in 1975.

Nirmal Kumar, Panchkula