Can we shut up and move on?

The verdict is out and Harbhajan Singh is not a racist, but still a lot of people believe that the verdict wasn't right and keep harping on it. I happened to read this piece by Prem Panicker and I had a few issues.

• It seems that the Australians are shocked that even Tendulkar lied. I find it absolutely ridiculous to trust an unnamed source and not Tendulkar in a quasi-judicial hearing.
  
• BCCI using its might and getting the verdict shouldn't be a topic of discussion at all. If anything, the BCCI has used its might a little too late. All the time, players from the sub-continent have been at the receiving end and most of the Australian players have been getting away (Jagadish's point: One damning indicator of this is the fact that on the ICC website, under 'Penalties imposed on players for breaches of ICC Code of Conduct', the entries for 2003 do not say anything about the 'immortalized' snarling game between Glenn McGrath and Ramnaresh Sarwan in May 2003) with their on-field behaviour (sample Ponting & Clarke in the Sydney test) and no one even bothers to write about it.
  
• Some writers say that such issues and verdicts don't augur well for the game. Simple - if teams and umpires can cheat blatantly on the field, a financial powerhouse can definitely show its power to help one of its players.
  
• Forgetting my stand on Murali's action, I loved Ranatunga when he walked off the field, just because he was brave enough to protest the Anglo-Australian off-the-field might. I would have been even more delighted if Kumble decided to do it as soon as umpire Ricky Ponting took charge in Sydney - but after all, he is Anil Kumble.

One thing that is striking to me is that most of the writers are shocked that it is team India that has challenged Australia in the game. When everyone expected Australia to finish 3-0, if not 4-0, they just managed a 2-1 scoreline, which could have easily been 1-2, if competence, honesty and efficiency had taken the front seat.

Yes, Australians have been the undisputed champions for long, but the pedestal has been shaken and if you think about it, it actually augurs very well for the game. We have seen a lot of controversies over the years, but the game has carried on, just because it is brilliant.

I am definitely sure that it will go on forever even if more Pontings & Clarkes cheated, more Gilchrists 'walked', more Harbhajans abused, more Symonds provoked opponents, more Bucknors faulted, more boards like the BCCI showed off their might and if more Australian teams lost.

Labels: australia, bcci, harbhajan, icc, ind v aus 2008, india, racism, sydney 2008, symonds