just like that

With the current mood in India, the title alone would have sufficed as a post but I am so angry right now that I need to pour my feelings somewhere.

To the Australian cricket team – I would like to remind you that the world hasn’t forgotten what Glenn McGrath, Michael Slater and so many others have all said at various points of time in the field. So don’t act like a bunch of angels now! What was said in the cricket ground was to be left there. If other teams started complaining about what you say to them on the field, Australia can never field eleven players in any match.

To Australia and its people – If you want to prove to the world that you are a good sporting nation, this is the time to do it. You know what’s happened – so if we call off the tour tomorrow, you know it was because of your own team’s making. Sorry about that! I, as a cricket fan, have at times saluted the way in which your team has played the game but your current team will have none of it. It’s tough to believe a team led by someone like Steve Waugh has also been led by a rogue like Ricky Ponting.

To Mike Procter, the South African match referee:

1) When harbhajan did not agree to the allegation (or to the actual words as charged) against him and you had no neutral person (namely the umpires – Whether they were neutral in the game is an altogether different matter) supporting the allegation, on what basis can you lay a ban on the accused?

2) Coming from South Africa, a country which has fought so long against racism, you should be the first person to understand when something is meant as a racist remark and when its not. Or are you probably trying to pay back for all the good that the Indian board has done to South Africa when you came out of apartheid?

To Indian fans – Thanks a lot for the support and feedback you have been giving in the media. It proved that we not only burn effigies but also can support our team in an hour of crisis. Continue the good work!

To the BCCI – You have begun acting the right way. Ensure the job gets finished properly. For the benefit of everyone, the following is the procedure we should adopt:

1. Revoke Harbhajan’s ban completely, failing which we will pack our bags and catch the next flight out. If the hearing is suspended till end of series, we can continue to play under the condition it will happen before the beginning of tri-series.
2. Although we would like Bucknor and Benson not to stand in any more matches, it currently cannot be changed mid-way through a tour. This must be understood by everyone. We should register an official protest for now and leave it at that. For any international match played after this test series, BCCI should insist on these umpires not officiating in any India matches. It might sound very childish but their performance left very little scope for anyone to think otherwise.
3. If the matches do happen after revoking the ban, ask our team to give it back on the field in every single opportunity. The series has already been lost, so what is left for us is not just ‘pride to play for’ as some might argue but use the opportunity to show those guys who we really are and what happens when you rub good guys on the wrong side.

The most stupid thing for us in the world would be to continue the tour if the ban is not overturned. It will be like bowing down to every team in the world and saying “Next time I tour your country, keep your players and the match referee ready – We have our key players waiting for a ban” .

Enough is enough!This is the time to show our cricket power to the world. For far too long, we have been seen as a country of meek people. Its time to assert ourselves, not only because we deserve it, but for the simple reason that we are right! Come back India!