Sanga going the direction of Ponting?

Looking at this picture really makes me cringe. Is this the same Kumar Sangakkara who is being praised by many people as one of the most level-headed voices in international cricket?

I, too, had a great deal of respect for Sanga due to his smooth talking and his level-headed opinions on many issues.

However, this incident just gives me an ugly reminder of what Ponting generally does.

OK, Younis may or may not have nicked the ball. I didn’t watch the incident live. However, all this is part and parcel of the game. You get some decisions your way and the others against.

However, this doesn’t give him an excuse to go and get into a long argument with Younis. Someone should have asked Sanga about the first ball dismissal of Kamran Akmal, where he was given LBW to a ball that clearly came off the inside edge of the bat. Sanga did, without a moment’s hesitation, appeal and got the decision.

Thank goodness it was the effervescent Younis Khan that Sanga was arguing to. Though Younis wasn’t too pleased, he managed to just give Sanga a pat on the back and send him away. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if it was Ponting that Sanga was arguing to! 😦

The worst part of all this, like S.R. Paranavitana wrote in today’s Sunday Times, was that Saeed Ajmal was docked 15% of his match fee during the T20 for sending off Sanga while Sanga got away with the incident with Younis without a reprimand!

Sanga, for the sake of all SL cricket fans, please conduct yourself in a more dignified manner. Take the example of Mahela, who showed his ruthlessness in marshaling his troops, rather than yakking away with the opposition players!

Pictures courtesy of Cricinfo

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News roundup for today!

Wow, within about 3 hours, there’s been a surfeit of some quite big news.

First things first, Younus (or Younis, not really sure!) Khan has been made the captain after some really dismal performances by Malik.

It’s a really big relief because Pakistan have so much talent, I’m often so envious and wonder why SL never gets such a big talent pool to choose from. From what I’ve been reading on the net, Malik doesn’t have a really good relationship with a lot of players (including the likes of Afridi, Akthar, Yousuf and even Gul!), and, would you believe, from time to time even presented a list of players which he didn’t personally like to the selectors to have them kicked out!

However, there is a bit of scepticism regarding the appointment of Younus because he did decline the captaincy twice, once for the Champions Trophy 2006 and after Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup. However, I’ve watched a couple of matches where he was standing-in, and he was very very impressive!

GOOD LUCK TO YOUNUS FROM THE OFFICE OF ‘OFF-CUTTER’!

Staying with Pakistan, the legal firm handling the case of the ICL players from Pakistan has sent a letter to the PCB asking why they have been banned from playing domestic and international cricket and the premise for it.

Taufeeq Umar and Yaseer Hameed had, in 2007, filed cases against the PCB, but it kinda’ petered out because the then PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf had too much influence in Pakistan. Now, with Ijaz Butt having expressed a desire to ‘un-ban’ the players earlier this year, they feel that now is better to pursue it.

I hope that everything goes well so that we can, once again, see the likes of Yousuf playing his silken shots and Hameed banging the ball around once again!

Shifting over to the neigbours, the IPL have got a 2-year commitment from the ECB to allow its players to play in the IPL this year and the next.

This is totally fab news as the franchise I support, the Chennai SuperKings, plan to go all-out for Freddie Flintoff, and he would be a great asset in our quest to win the IPL!

Staying with Flintoff, he’s been given the thumbs-up to continue playing the current warm-up. Good news for England and CSK!

I’ll see you all the next time something ‘commentable’ comes about! 🙂