It is the reason why India and Pakistan don't have players' associations.
So says, Wasim Akram. He actually says:
Our culture will be the biggest barrier, if a players' association has to see light of the day and then deliver,... A geographical divide hasn't partitioned our way of thinking. We have a strange culture in India and Pakistan. Players just can't trust each other. I think it is the only reason why players' associations have not worked.Read Here.
OK, all good I guess, but pray why include India?? It's not as if India and Pakistan are joined at the hip or something.
OK, wait, we do share a huge border, but still is it the same culture??
I am sure a huge chunk of a large and diverse nation like India will vehemently disagree!
23 Maidens bowled!!:
Akram's a smart cookie. He knows he's not endorsing as many products in India as he could be. I don't know anyone in India who doesn't admire him. And he knows a lot about India now, he's been commentating with some of our blokes!
Seriously though, this doesn't surprise me because he's always had this Gora vs Desis complex and you always get more support when you talk in terms of "we" rather than "I".
I do not know about cultural issue. But it a fact that no previous attempt at a players association in India has succeeded - whether Pataudi was the leader or Gavaskar. Maybe something to do with ego clashes.
In recent years BCCI has taken initiatives to improve the players lot and even seek (informally) the opinions of the national team captain and other seniors on decisions affecting them. Remember how the national contracts on graded scales were intoduced after players like Kumble, Tendulkar, Ganguly and others took up the issue with the board? No active players association existed, but BCCI took the players request (I won't call it demand, in the context of such mild parleys) and intoduced the scheme. They have also unilaterally tried to improve the lot of the FC players. In fact a cynic will say that they have been careful to ensure that no climate for creation of a players association exists.
Of course Pakistan cricket is a hotch-potch of intrigues and skulduggery but I don;t it's the same on the other side of the LoC.
I thought the reason we didn't have player associations in India was bcoz the BCCI didn't "allow" it (coz that would mean a strong player lobby?)..which is why India is not part of FICA as well...
You and the large chunk can disagree as much as you like but the two countries have very similar cultures. I'm not sure if it translates into players not trusting each other though.
Ache,
I do agree abt the gora v. Desis complex of Akram; remember him being a vocal supporter of India during Sydneygate.
But this grouping Ind with Pak everytime they need to make a point is too much.
adverbin,
Could be ego clashes... but remember our problems are much diff than those of Pak.
Som,
BCCI might have its issues (and Lord knows it does) but its problems are much different than those of the PCB.
Megha,
Yup the BCCI does not allow and while that makes me mad at them, it atleast proves that the "trust issue" (or lack therof) is not the main reason.
Mahek,
Only certain parts of the country share their culture (language, customs, traditions) with Pak.
Anyway, I don't agree that there is a culture of "mistrust" in the sub-continent.
Do player associations really help? The West Indies is a case in point.. Vide too the rather perilous relations between the PCA and the ECB, the ACA and CA and the FICA and the ICC.
Indians have generally handled contention better than other, be it the 1989 players revolt, the 1996 run in with the Board, the ambush marketing issue during the 2003 World Cup or the search for coach post Chappell.
Also, if forming a players association means aligning with the FICA, then we are better off without it.
Cheers,
Do player associations really help?
Dunno H. Especially after reading your examples.
The point is that whatever reasons are preventing the formation of the same, one cannot accept Wasim Akram as an expert on the shenanigans of Indian cricket!
Especially when he uses "culture" as an excuse.
Leela,
I agree. Wasim Akram should know better than this.. For the longest time, he and Waqar Younis played under the umbrella of the Pakistan team despite not speaking to each other ( literally).
Unless Akram is making a case for personality trumping organization, there is every reason why a players association can take root in India and Pakistan.
But given his exposure to the shenanigans of the PCB, it is difficult to fault his mindset.
Cheers,
its clear attempt to win a vote in KKR coach run.
he has nothing to do with India and he is wrong when he says Indian players dont trust each other.
it just cannot be true given the bonding and culture brought in by Ganguly and then carried forward by Dravid, Kumble and Dhoni.
Sam,
He might be good as KKR coach, especially for the bowlers.
Who knows? He definitely would be an improvement over Buchanan.
I like the guy, I just wish he wouldn't make blanket statements about India.
In terms of cricketing culture, I don't think Indian sides have ever had the same amount of infighting which the Pakistanis used to, especially in the 90's (I'm not very familiar with the current Pak side, so can't comment on them). I once read an article which suggested Pakistani cricketers tend to be more individualistic, while their Indian counterparts treat the team as an extended joint family - that could be an explanation. Gavaskar vs Kapil seems to have been a major personality clash back in the day, but since then (especially after Ganguly took over) the Indian side seem to have been a largely united lot, so you would think a player's association would work out. Adverbin's explanation sounds good.
I suppose it was convenient for Akram to lump India and Pakistan together without taking some intrinsic differences into account; but a lot of commentators seem to bring up east vs west comparisons and generalise at every opportunity, so maybe Akram deserves the benefit of doubt.
The problem in the West Indies is not because of WIPA, it's because the board thinks it can get away with anything, pretty much like the BCCI.
It doesn't matter if the BCCI doesn't "recognize" a players association. They would have no choice but to accept such an association if top players decided to form such a group. It's about time it happened. The players have absolutely no say in the Future Tours Programme or the ridiculous ODI series the BCCI makes them play. They have no say in the IPL either. While Indian players are handsomely paid, just how much of the BCCI's revenue is spent on player income? Compare it to the percentage of revenue spent on player income in the top sports leagues across the globe.
Suhas,
Perhaps Akram does deserve the benefit of doubt...especially when you talk of the east v. west divide.
But, honestly, when Akram says that the culture in the sub-continent is such that people don't trust each other, it is a stretch.
Mahek,
The players have absolutely no say in the Future Tours Programme or the ridiculous ODI series the BCCI makes them play.
I agree about the FTP being ridiculous; I like the Lankans, but frankly I am a bit tierd by how often the men in blue play with them.
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nidhi/Team FFC
I grew sick of watching us play in Lanka ages ago. I remember us playing there in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009. So we've played there 10 of the last 16 years. Utterly ridiculous. The Indian Government hasn't helped the LTTE as much as the BCCI has helped SLC.
Nidhi/Team FCC,
NP.
Mahek,
The Indian Government hasn't helped the LTTE as much as the BCCI has helped SLC.
:-)
True.
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