Opinion 2010
My opinion: IPL puts off choosing 2 new teams, restarts process
My opinion: IPL puts off choosing 2 new teams, restarts process
Amol Karhadkar , Hindustan Times
Email Author
All those anxiously waiting to know who the two new owners of Indian Premier League (IPL) teams will be will have to wait another two weeks.
Instead of opening the tenders submitted by three bidders in Mumbai on Sunday as they were scheduled to, the IPL Governing Council decided to re-issue the tender on Tuesday, removing some stringent clauses from the earlier tender.
“We received letters from many companies who expressed interest but said that the $1 billion (Rs 4,500 crore) net worth criteria, which owners of existing franchises had not been asked for, was a problem. They asked why they were being asked for the new criteria, which eliminates them from bidding. Hence the clause has been amended,” IPL Chairman Lalit Modi said after the meeting.
This effectively means the new tender will be available on Tuesday and bids can be submitted till 10am on March 21. The bids will be opened one hour later in Chennai.
Though the IPL also reduced the advance bank guarantee from $100 million (Rs 450 core) to $10 milllion (Rs 45 crore) they stuck to the base price of $225 million (Rs 1012 crore) for each franchise.
“We discussed the possibility of raising this a bit, but eventually stuck with the same base price,” Modi said.
Earlier on Sunday, representatives of the three bidders had to wait for almost an hour before being told about the re-tender. They were the Ahmedabad-based Adani Group, the Delhi-based Jaypee Group, and a consortium including Videocon chief Venugopal Dhoot, real estate giant Atul Chordia and Bollywood biggies Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor (who had submitted a bid for Pune).
To read it in original, please visit Hindustan Times online.
My comments and post comments of it on Face Book as follows:
Mr. Lalit Modi’s greed for money will very soon dump Indian Cricket. The day is not very far that the so called promoted players of IPL will become a national burden with their conduct, as was seen many times during the past year by the highly paid, new generation players in many venues. Wish, the same support is obtained by and for other sports including hockey.
Taking on the recent hockey matches, one of our player was banned for three matches, even though, there was no formal complaint lodged against him by the opposing Pakistani player. It totally disrupted a winning combination and momentum gained from the first match. I believe this would not have happened if the corporate force was there in full strength behind our hockey team. What our cricket team gets is an enviable support and it is almost similar to the “rich getting richer” theory and they continue to enjoy the greater privileges. We need cricket but with lesser money involved.
Photo Speaks – Navarasas of a different kind – Khaleej Times – Dt 05 March 2010
Photo Speaks – Navarasas of a different kind – Khaleej Times – Dt 05 March 2010
Is Tendulkar the greatest batsman of all time? – My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt 03 March 2010
My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt 03 March 2010 – Is Tendulkar the greatest batsman of all time?
When Wisden, the most traditional medium to record the sport of cricket, compiled a list of top 100 knocks in Test cricket, Sachin Tendulkar did not figure in any of them.
Wisden then explained the criteria that none of his knocks were either match-winning ones or those which were did not have enough authority in terms of the match situation to deserve a mention. Now hundred is quite a number but still the man with the highest total of runs in Test as well as one-day formats individually did not figure on that chart.
In ODIs, Tendulkar has scored two hundreds against the top team in Australia in 1998, one to ensure that India made the final and then the second to take the title away from Steve Waugh’s men.
A decade later, Tendulkar has had another marvellous season with a brilliant 175 against the all-dominating Australians and has followed it up with an unbeaten 200 against the second-ranked South Africans.
The first to break the 200-run barrier and that too in style, a chanceless innings despite his growing years, Tendulkar’s knock is another factor for those who cannot decide in the debate of The Greatest between him and Sir Donald Bradman just because they belonged to two different eras.
Has the Gwalior knock in the second one-day international on February 24, 2010 helped make up your mind on this?
To read this article in original, please visit THE NATIONAL online
My comments as follows:
The way he played this match in which he got to his 200 runs says it all. No doubt, he is the greatest batsman of all time. It will take some time for the contemporary batsman to reach his level of execution. There were legends before, including Sir Don Bradman. However, they played in an era, when cricket was played at a leisurely pace and not many matches were scheduled like these days. Demands, the pace, expectations were all entirely different in those days. To withstand all those and to deliver something unexpected each time to the cricketing fans, shows his creative talent on the cricketing field. The way he picked up those 200 runs at will proves it once and for all, Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of all time.
My Letters – GULF NEWS – Dt 03 March 2010 – Prepare for Emergencies
My Letters – GULF NEWS – Dt 03 March 2010 – Prepare for Emergencies
To read my letters to the news, please bookmark and visit Letters to the Editor
India too good for Pakistan in World Cup – My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt 01 March 2010
My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt 01 March 2010 – India too good for Pakistan in World Cup
NEW DELHI // Sandeep Singh scored from two penalty corners yesterday as India beat fierce rivals Pakistan 4-1 at the men’s hockey World Cup, and European champions England had an upset 3-2 win over Australia.
Shivendra Singh gave India the lead in the 25th minute after capitalising on a penalty corner rebound, and Sandeep Singh made it 2-0 just before half-time with a low shot.
Prabhjot Singh struck in open play in the 37th after a pass from Arjun Halappa, and Sandeep Singh scored with a drag-flick in the 56th.
Pakistan pulled one back through a penalty corner conversion by Sohail Abbas three minutes later.
India last beat Pakistan in a world cup game 35 years ago in Kuala Lumpur. This win in front of a huge partisan crowd at the National Stadium also was sweet revenge after Pakistan inflicted the most crushing of defeats, a 7-1 thrashing in the 1982 Asian Games at the same venue.
The India coach Jose Brasa, however, asked his boys to keep their feet on the ground and not get carried away.
“We have to see this win as just another win from which we got three points. My boys have to keep their feet on ground and celebrate tonight. But from tomorrow we have to think about the next match and move ahead,” said the Spaniard.
Brasa was particularly happy about the fact that the Indians kept their emotions under check and played cleverly to outsmart the Pakistanis, who had won the last three encounters.
“Players were calm and not emotional. We were clever in the mid-field, cutting their passes. We had complete control of the game and am happy that we ended on a winning note,” he said.
The captain Rajpal Singh said that the gameplan was to create more short corners. “We had an aim to create more penalty corners and give Sandeep Singh more opportunities,” he said.
World No 2 Australia, who won a record tenth Champions Trophy in December, dominated the first half with speedy forays but failed to convert any of their five penalty corners.
Captain and forward Jamie Dwyer finally put them in the lead through a penalty stroke before Ashley Jackson equalised through a penalty corner after some solid goalkeeping by England’s James Fair.
Tindall then converted a penalty corner and made it 3-1 when following up for an opportunistic goal.
Dwyer cut the lead with four minutes remaining through a penalty corner but England defended well in the final minutes for their first win against their traditional rivals in the World Cup since 1975 and only their fifth in 52 meetings.
In another Pool B match on the opening day, the Olympic silver medallists Spain recovered from a slow start to beat South Africa 4-2.
* With agencies
To read this in original, please visit THE NATIONAL online:
My comments as follows:
Congratulations to Team India Hockey for their win over Pakistan and the national hockey team need more support from the nation. No live coverage of the matches on prominent broadcasting TV channels. No wonder the sports has limited takers these days.
The hockey team need more support from the nation and readers around. The team played brilliant hockey and the margin of victory would have been even more. Even a small achievement by a cricketing novice would come up with half page write-up and photos. Hope the remaining matches will get adequate attention and coverage and yesterdays victory be an inspiration for Team India to get the championship this time.
Ramesh Menon
Abu Dhabi
My Letters – GULF NEWS – Dt 01 March 2010 – World Cup hockey: England surprise Australia, India beat Pakistan
World Cup hockey: England surprise Australia, India beat Pakistan
New Delhi: James Tindall struck twice to enable European champions England pull off a surprise 3-2 victory over tournament favourites Australia on the opening day of the men’s hockey World Cup on Sunday.
Olympic silver medallists Spain beat South Africa 4-2 and India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 4-1 in the day’s other two pool B matches at the Dhyan Chand National Hockey Stadium.
World number two Australia, who won a record 10th Champions Trophy in December, dominated the first half with speedy forays but failed to convert any of their five penalty corners.
Captain and forward Jamie Dwyer finally put them in the lead through a penalty stroke before Ashley Jackson equalised through a penalty corner after sone solid goalkeeping by England’s James Fair.
Tindall the converted a penalty corner and made it 3-1 when following up for an opportunistic goal.
Dwyer cut the lead with four minutes remaining through a penalty corner but England defended well in the final minutes for their first win against their traditional rivals in World Cup since 1975 and only their fifth in 52 meetings.
Spectacular victory for India
India’s penalty corner specialist Sandeep Singh inspired the hosts to a spectacular victory in the clash between two former powerhouses with two goals, four years after suffering an accidental bullet injury that threatened to scupper his promising career.
Olympic champions Germany begin their campaign for a third straight world title with a pool A match against South Korea.
Results on Sunday on the opening day of the field hockey World Cup:
Pool B
Spain 4, South Africa 2
England 3, Australia 2
India 4, Pakistan 1
To read this in orginal, please visit GULF NEWS online.
My comments as follows:
Congratulations to Team India Hockey. The hockey team need more support from the nation. Readers where are you all. Cheer them, especially yesterday, the team played brilliant hockey and the margin of victory would have been even more. Surprisingly, there was no live telecast of the match. More matches to play in this tournament and let this win be an inspiration for Team India to get the championship.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
My Letteres – Gulf News – Dt 25 February 2010 – An eye opener
My Letteres – Gulf News – Dt 25 February 2010 – An eye opener
To read my letters to the news, please bookmark and visit Letters to the Editor
My Letters – GULF NEWS Dt 24 February 2010 – Nine killed in blaze at Bangalore high-rise office complex
My Letters – GULF NEWS Dt 24 February 2010 – Nine killed in blaze at Bangalore high-rise office complex
The deaths were caused either by choking in smoke or due to injuries suffered when some tried to jump from the seven-storey building, fire officials said.
IANS
Bangalore: Nine people died and around 50 were injured when fire broke out in a high-rise office complex in Bangalore on Tuesday. The deaths were caused either by choking in smoke or due to injuries suffered when some tried to jump from the seven-storey building, fire officials said.
“Nine – six men and three women – have died and around 50 are injured. The condition of seven injured is serious,” D.G. Chengappa, director of fire services, told IANS.
The fire broke out in the fifth-floor office of an IT firm around 4 p.m., trapping several hundred people in the seven-storey Carlton Towers, an office and commercial complex on the busy old Airport Road in Bangalore’s central business district.
Visuals caught on cell phones and telecast on TV channels showed a woman trying to jump to the sixth floor from the seventh, slipping and falling to the ground. Another showed a man jumping to the ground from the top floor.
It is feared they are among the nine dead.
Fire brigade officials said 16 fire tenders battled the fire for about an hour and all were evacuated after about two hours.
Inspector General of Police P.S. Sandhu told reporters at the site that the fire appeared to have started due to electrical short circuiting.
People broke open glass panes with bare hands and any other material they could lay hands on to let out the smoke.
Dozens of office-goers were seen coughing as they were caught in the smoke.
Rescue hindered
Rescue operations were hindered as hundreds of people gathered on the busy street restricting the free movement of fire brigade vehicles and fire personnel.
Sandhu said the narrow road and the evening hour traffic did cause a delay in fire tenders reaching the site of the blaze.
To read this article in original, please visit GULF NEWS ONLINE
My comments as follows:
I refer to the above news item. It was one of the most horrific scenes I have witnessed on TV in the recent times. While I offer my prayers to all the victims of yesterday’s fire at Bangalore, I wish to highlight this serious presence of mind issue during a crisis to our readers. In Bangalore, psychologists say it as the fight or flight response and call it as the acute stress response when a normal person loses his sense of balance and presence of mind. Eyewitnesses report that neither could they save them nor stop them from jumping, which we all watched on TV helplessly and horrendously. This situation can happen to anyone in a stressful situation. Let us take it as an opportunity to educate necessary life skills training in educational institutions and organizations. It is true that all of us do not have the presence of mind to handle every situation. Necessary life saving skills and presence of mind techniques should be made available to general public through TV and press to act safely and spontaneously in case of a safety or security situation such as this one that took life of many in Bangalore.
A debate or a news feature informing such techniques are highly appreciated through your column at the earliest for the benefit of our readers.
Sincere regards,
Ramesh Menon
GNRC Member
Strict Penalties – My Letters – GULF NEWS Dt 24 February 2010
My Letters – GULF NEWS Dt 24 February 2010 – Strict Penalties
To read my letters to the news, please bookmark and visit Letters to the Editor
Pakistani schools struggle to meet standards – My Letters – THE NATIONAL – Dt 17 February 2010
My Letters – Pakistani schools struggle to meet standards – THE NATIONAL – Dt 17 February 2010
DUBAI // Two out of the three Pakistani-curriculum schools in Dubai are failing to meet minimum standards and no Indian or Pakistani schools received an outstanding rating according to a report released today by the emirate’s schools regulator.
The report includes the results of the first-ever inspections of Indian and Pakistani curriculum schools in Dubai, which enroll almost 60,000 pupils, about a third of the emirate’s student population. The schools were not included in the first round of school reports conducted in 2009.
The picture at Indian-curriculum schools is brighter: only about one in seven schools were judged unsatisfactory. By comparison, among the schools inspected last year – which included private and public schools teaching a variety of curricula – one in eight was deemed unsatisfactory.
Not a single school was found to be “outstanding”, the top score awarded by inspectors. Seven of the 20 Indian schools inspected achieved the second-highest mark, “good”, while another ten were deemed only “acceptable”. The single Pakistani school not judged “unsatisfactory” was also found to be “acceptable.”
Overall, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai has judged only four schools in Dubai “outstanding” — all of them high-priced private schools offering the British curriculum, with fees for grade 12 upwards of Dh50,000. The most expensive Indian school, Dubai Modern High School, which achieved a rating of “good”, currently charges Dh27,000.
The KHDA linked fee increases in private schools to their performance in the inspections last year. This year, however, the authority said it was working on a framework with the Ministry of Education that would help determine regulations for fee increases, instead of relying solely on the ratings.
The standard of Arabic instruction was one of the reasons schools were docked points that ultimately led to the lack of an outstanding rating, a situation mirrored in many private schools that were inspected last year.
Arabic education has recently become a priority for the KHDA.
Arabic teaching was unsatisfactory in a third of Indian schools, due to “weak teaching skills and insecure subject knowledge of teaching staff”. Some schools did not adhere to KHDA requirements relating to time allocated to teaching Arabic, and most do not have proper standards for teaching Arabic as a second language.
However, Indian schools performed well in their teaching of Islamic studies, with students demonstrating an “advanced knowledge and understanding of local traditions and culture”.
They also placed significant emphasis on environmental issues, but weak teaching plagued earlier levels.
Students generally demonstrated a strong desire for learning, and were “highly motivated and conscientious”, often excelling in English and mathematics.
To read this article in original, please visit THE NATIONAL online
My comments and suggestions as follows:
The preliminary news reports about the KHDA rating is looked at with interest by all parents. The significant increase in the school fees and the service provided by various groups and corporate establishments involved in educational sector and KHDA have to consider overall the economic situation prevailing in UAE and globally to impart good education with economically viable options available.
It is heartening to note that Indian schools and students performed well in Islamic studies, and placed significant emphasis on environmental issues, Mathematics and English. However, it highlighted weak teaching as one of the reason for the deterioration in rating level. This reason may be due to the anomaly existing in the salary level of the teaching staff, when compared with the other government schools and establishments, or even the school bus drivers and qualified candidates obviously opting for more lucrative jobs around.
Government and KHDA should consider economic concessions for schools in terms of free electricity, water, telephone connections, and free registration for school buses and subsidised fuel delivery options etc so that these operating costs could be cut down and adjusted in school budget for hikes in the salary of teaching staff and options for better educational facilities. These concessions may also give a leverage to think of reducing the increased school fees at least for some time till the current economy situation improves.
Looking forward to the detailed list of schools and their drawbacks that halted their progress to a better rating to get a clear picture for the parents about various schools in the region.
Regards,
Ramesh Menon
Abu Dhabi
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