The Shadow Game Part Two: Mr. Meiyappan

This is President Gurunath Meiyappan

Indian Cricket has been rife with nepotism in recent times and we fans tolerated this as long as the team was being improved and the emphasis was on development, but as with any case of favoritism in such matters, this has come back to bite the BCCI. Mr. Srinivasan, the head of CSK’s parent company-India Cements, installed his son-in-law Mr. Meiyappan as CSK’s team principal and when he was arrested, denied that Meiyappan was the head of CSK and insinuated instead that he was simply a highly enthusiastic Cricket fan who travelled with the team. This was proved false by the Mudgal Report, compiled by an independent, Indian Supreme Court directed panel, which reaffirms what we fans already knew- that Meiyappan was indeed the principal of CSK and that he was definitely involved in betting and passing over confidential team information to bookies.

A known, yet, disheartening confirmation, this threatens the credibility of CSK’s performances over IPL’s 6 year history and recent reports surfacing in the press threaten to compound the misery being piled on CSK, its supporters and the Indian Cricket community as a whole. There have been murmurings in the smaller press circles that the initial investigator of the scandal, IPS officer Sampath Kumar, has named the Indian Cricket team Captain M S Dhoni and several other players as being involved in the scandal and has submitted a report to that nature to the SC panel investigating the case. If Dhoni’s alleged connections happen to be proven true, then the reputation of the national team and the BCCI will take a huge hit and India’s most successful captain would face a permanent ban from the sport and will have to bow out of the game in disgrace.

However, a twist in the story appeared last week when Officer Kumar was suspended following directions from Crime Branch- Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) of the Indian Police. The reason for the suspension appears to be a case of accepting a Rs. 5.3 million ($ 88,000 approx.) bribe from a bookie to not name him in his report. CB-CID sources have said that Officer Kumar has since turned over Rs. 3 million ($ 50,000 approx.) to the CID. While this puts his report’s credibility into question, it should not be forgotten that it was this report that exposed the entire scandal in the first place and investigations based on this report led to the arrests of a number of bookies culminating in Meiyappan’s arrest.

As a fan of Indian Cricket and CSK, I hope that Dhoni is not involved and that CSK would not be dismissed from the league due to the avarice of one man. It very well maybe the case that come next year’s World Cup and IPL, we will see the absence of India’s most successful captain and its most successful franchise.

-By Ajay Venkataraman 

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The Shadow Game: Match fixing and Betting Scandals rock Indian Cricket

As a fan of the Indian Cricket team and the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise, I was extremely surprised (and, a little angry) when news broke, in 2013, about CSK’s owner being potentially involved in betting and match fixing. For those of you unaware, betting is illegal in India and carries heavy fines and imprisonment if you are caught indulging. So, it does not stretch one’s imagination that something like match fixing would go hand in hand with betting.

Indian police arrested Gurunath Meiyappan, CSK’s team principal, in May 2013 following the conclusion of the sixth edition of the IPL, after investigating his links to previously arrested bookies. For me, this came out of nowhere and made no sense, mainly because of CSK’s on field success since the IPL’s inception till date. CSK is arguably the IPL’s best performing franchise having been crowned champions twice in 5 finals appearances and fielding Indian Cricket’s most popular player (and national team Captain) in M S Dhoni. The arrest of CSK’s owner came following the arrest of three players (including a national team player) from the Rajastan Royals franchise.

As a follower of Indian Cricket this back to back blow takes me back to the year 2000 when Indian Cricket was rocked by a match fixing scandal which resulted in the permanent ban of then India Captain Mohammed Azaruddin and a 5 year ban for popular batsman Ajay Jadeja, leaving the sport’s reputation in shambles, in India. Since then, I’ve watched (and, cheered) India recover admirably and become giants in the sport, culminating in their World Cup triumph in 2011, the pinnacle achievement in Cricket. This blow will surely bring back the uproar that was caused by the previous scandal, and at a time when the highest authority in world cricket has inducted the head of the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI)- N Srinivasan (whose son-in-law is Mr. Meiyappan) to be its next President...

-By Ajay Venkataraman 

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Michael Schumacher, Skiing and Safety as the Olympics begin

Former Formula One racer Michael Schumacher is recognized throughout the world of sports as the greatest F-1 driver of all time. An athlete since he was four years old, Schumacher is undoubtedly a veteran of the sport. His F-1 career spanning 21 years was filled with an exceptional amount of achievements. A seven-time Formula One World Champion, among many other titles and records; he retired most recently, in 2012, but is still a large part of the racing world.

Schumacher after winning the US Grand Prix in 2006. Source: F-1

Affectionately called “Schumi” by his fans, he started his F-1 career at Benetton and won the first of his 7 World Championships there. In 1995, after winning his second Championship, he shifted to Ferrari and has forever since been associated with the iconic red car with its prancing horse. He retired for the first time, a 7 time champion, in 2007 and continued with Ferrari till 2009 as an assistant race director. From 2010 to 2012, he raced for the Mercedes team under former boss Ross Brawn and retired, for a second time, in 2012.

Schumacher skiing in Meribel, France. Source: People

Recently though, he has been in the news, to his fans and the racing community at large, for the direst of reasons. While vacationing in the French Alps, in December 2013, Schumacher suffered a near fatal head injury from a skiing accident. His accident happened over a

month ago, yet the media glare surrounding him and his condition has not waned. Constant medical and public attention has followed Schumacher since his nearly fatal accident (and, subsequent coma) last month; this has intensified in the past 24 hours, as rumors spread that he was slowly being lifted out of his coma.

           Site of Schumacher's accident at Meribel, France. Source: grandprix247                               

Throughout the entire ordeal, Schumacher’s family has requested absolute privacy in regards to his condition, yet information leaked this week revealing doctors’ plans to gently release his sedation. No prognoses have yet been confirmed by Schumacher’s doctors at the clinic in Grenoble, France, where he is being treated at. Regardless, fellow athletes around the world, who are eager for Schumacher’s recovery, have come out with messages of hope and good wishes towards the veteran driver and his family.

Recovery, in this circumstance, is not entirely guaranteed. The severe trauma Schumacher sustained to his skull caused his brain to swell at a rate that forced doctors to medically induce a coma in him. While in a coma, his brain will, hopefully, stop swelling and return to a more stable and treatable condition. Doctors have expressed their concerns that even if Schumacher wakes up from his coma, he may never be the same person, let alone the supreme athlete that he was before.

Schumacher’s accident and, now, early stages of recovery are happening at a time when the world’s eyes are intensely focused on sports. With the Sochi Olympics having begun yesterday, both athletes and avid skiers have been focusing more and more of their attention on winter sports.

Schumacher’s accident brings up an extremely important aspect of these sports: safety. While Schumacher’s condition leaves the world hoping for his full recovery, it also leaves us questioning our safety practices when it comes to activities like skiing. Safety should never be taken lightly and hopefully the many athletes participating in the Games will reinforce our knowledge and understanding of proper safety in regards to winter sports. As we watch the Olympics this year, we will not only hope for safety for all of the athletes competing, but we will continue hoping for Schumacher’s recovery as well.

-Brynn Rollo

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