What you had to say about our diary

Name:Kumar Ramanathan

Message:I would like to draw comparison to National Football League in the US here. The administrators of the game, commisioned a father/son team, Ed & Steve Sabol to record for posterity the best of the game. The combined ownership group of teams invested in the upstart company, called NFL Films. They set out to record the NFL championships from 1964 and create an impressive archive. Today, there are memorable moments of games past, the drama and tension. NFL films has won a total of 69 Emmy awards and is a perennial winner in the sports video category. Today people who were not even born at the time or recent immigrant sports fans like me talk about such great moments like Bart Starr's 1967 goal-line plunge win in the Super Bowl for the Green Bay Packers, The Pittsburgh Steelers' Terry Bradshaw tipped pass to Franco Harris against the Oakland Raiders that came to be known as "The Immaculate Reception.", Joe Montana's last minute pass to Dwight Clark to win a game for SanFrancisco 49ers simply known as "The Catch". Recently on a flight I was reading an interview with Steve Sabol the current president of NFL films, in which he simply stated "I am in the business of Myth making". The commitment and pride at what they do is obvious, bringing the game and its brightest moments and stars to future generations and the uninitiated. This is one of the primary reasons why NFL has earned the pre-eminent position in the american sports landscape. While we are lamenting at many things that BCCI is not doing, it would be prudent to point out that either they are too arrogant or too stupid to look around and learn from other organizations both sports and outside sports. At the time of match fixing in response to Sujatha Prakash's article,I had cited the way Baseball took care of its own match fixing by banning the biggest star of their game. If only we learn from other's mistakes !! Kumar.

Name:Amit Sahasrabudhe
Message:Prem's article really hit the right spot! We have no evidence, apart from statistics, to show our future generations the true greatness of stars from yesteryears. Prem, the recent decision by the Ministry of Sports, GoI, to cancel the Sharjah tour was dead right and shows inclination on their part to do some collective good for Indian cricket and its future. I was wondering if you, rediff and the rest of the media can communicate with Ministry of Sports and persuade them to show more willingness to abolish BCCI and in turn do infinite good to the cause of cricket in India.

Name:Radhakrishnan A
Message:If it is true that the BCCI does not have an archive on 'Indian Cricket' and 'Indian cricket players' at the very least , it is sad indeed. It defies all sense of logic that they have not thought of this or taken concrete steps in this regard so far. Perhaps these business magnets sitting at the top of BCCI are there for the associted glory only, and do not want to waste their valuable time giving some thought to the upliftment of cricket.

Name:Abhijit
Message:I am sure Muthiah and company has every single photograph and video of the occasions they attended. Every Ranji trophy match, where Lele was a guest. They don't have a video for the century the captain scored. What about the "garlanding" ceremony for Lele? It is all on tape, if they could it would be in cinemax, with all the effects :)

Name:Anupam Arora
Message:Hi Prem, Thanks once more for pointing out another deficiency of the Board. This merely points out how disorganised and far behind we are in relation to the rest of the world. Excellent stuff in showing the boards incompetence and keep up the excellent work.... I do hope that there is other media that pointing these ludicrousies of the board. Every time I read these articles I do get angry but also disheartened about the game we too dearly love. BTW as I love reading your articles let me know if you write on matters other than cricket. I reside in Australia and would only be able to gain access to sources on the web so please do let me know. Regards, Anupam

Name:Shankar Viswanathan
Message:Prem - The archive would have been useful had it been started say 10-15 years back. But now I feel it would be useless. I do not see cricket living for more than 10 years from now. It is a dying game. It will be very difficult for cricket to sustain the interst of the Indian public. Tennis, Basketball, hockey, chess - these are the future Indian spectator sports. Cricket will die. Regards Shankar

Name:Gautam
Message:a sad tale of the Indian cricket boards inefficieny but, havent we heard this tale before. I wonder how and more importantly when will our board learn its lesson. The board is no longer a represenative of cricket in India it is now a personification of the selfish interests of a few individuals that run it. A more appropriate name for it would be Board of Mutiah and Lele.

Name:Krish Srini
Message:Isn't it too much to ask from the BCCI to maintain cricket archive? Shouldn't we wait till they learn to maintain player profiles and make team selections accordingly? Or shouldn't we wait till they learn to maintain match schedules and stick to them?? Well, I feel you are asking too much from BCCI......

Name:Anthony
Message:Thanks for highlighting the issue of 'recordkeeping'. But, I am sure DD or other agencies will have footages that BCCI can procure for the future. I remember Roshan Paul in one of his articles recounting his trip to the Lords Ground - the mecca of cricket. I too had the opportunity to visit this place and Roshans article only made me relive my visit. The reason why I write this is - can any/or do any of our cricket stadium have the same facilities so that enthusiast of the game relive the past through a musuem/library? Your article sums it up - can BCCI start now what it has not done in the past? Doesn't someone's death makes us realise that we should do something for that person rather than when a person is still living?

Name:PRIYANKA NAITHANI
Message:This article portrays a remarkable picture of the present and the past as well.This shows our ignorance about the various unsung heroes,who performed remarkable jobs and brought laurels for the nation.Being a candid lover of the game, i hope to come across such articles in the future as well.

Name:Gautam
Message:A sad tale of the Indian cricket boards inefficieny but, havent we heard this tale before. I wonder how and more importantly when will our board learn its lesson. The board is no longer a represenative of cricket in India it is now a personification of the selfish interests of a few individuals that run it. A more appropriate name for it would be Board of Mutiah and Lele.

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