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Quagmire of politics and sport

By S.R. Pathiravithana
The difference between Politics and Sport is made out of the same material that was used to make the Emperors Clothing. At present Sport is embroiled in such a lot of controversy one could hardly make out which is which.

The Sri Lankan cricketers at present are engaged in a series of matches in Zimbabwe while the latter is engaged in a series of events that is going very much further than cricket itself.

While they are going deeper and deeper into the quagmire trying to be in the game that was taught to them by the queen's people more than ten decades ago, the rest of the world are divided on selecting on which side of the fence they are prepared to stand. However it is a commonly known factor that the present developments in Zimbabwe have transcended from a series of events that took place in that country during the last three-hundred years or so.

What ever the factors are and what ever the present status quo in cricket administration in Zimbabwe is, the country has fielded a side and they are going ahead with the series. At the same time through this supposed darkness that is looming at Harare, there are some silver linings. The talents of Utseya, Penyangara and Taibu himself ( as captain ) have come as pleasant surprises. Their raw fresh talent is a treat to watch in spite of them being trashed by a more experienced side. However one must remember that even Sri Lanka went though fiery baptism when they got Test status twenty two years ago.

Politics of both India and Pakistan kept the two countries from playing each other for fifteen long years.The only surviving player from that series was none other than master batsman Sachin Tendulkar who grew from a mere sixteen year-old boy who made his test debut to a fully grown up man. Why didn't he play against Pakistan for that long? It was not by choice or cricket. It was owing to reasons entirely other than cricket. Then once they were green light to play again for reasons bigger than the sport itself, both countries made it a huge political spectacle out of it.

When the World Cup cricket came to the Indian sub-continent in 1996 both Australia and the West Indies kept away from Sri Lanka and at the last World Cup held in the African sub-continent, New Zealand and England forfeited their points opting out of the games which were scheduled to be played by them in Zimbabwe and at that point ICC got stumped. Now there is a ruling by the ICC, if a country refrains from a scheduled tour, the cricket authorities from that given country have to face huge financial penalties, which runs into millions of dollars. Now policy wise England do not want to tour Zimbabwe, but, they cannot do so as they will have to face the music with the ICC and poor Tim Lamb, the CEO of English cricket is facing the music at home.

Australia too are on line with another story. They too are down to tour Zimbabwe and if the present impasse is not solved there may be cricketers other then Stuart MaCgill who will show their dissent.

Walking out of cricket and coming closer to our own hearts Sri Lanka the story is not very different. Few moons ago Sri Lanka's ace sprinter Susanthika Jaysinghe engaged in a battle with a politician and the politicians from the other parties at that time captured enough political milage from that issue.

Then comes the politics within the sport itself. You just take any given sport. There are persons who are two sides of the fence ready to stoop down any level to capture the big chair just to support that given sport.

Not very long ago the Annual General meeting of the then Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka looked like a battleground where a relation of a powerful politician and a well known king-maker were engaged in a power struggle just to serve the game of Cricket we love so much in Sri Lanka.

Once again in Sri Lanka according to the Sports Law, the Minister of Sport appoints the selection committee.

The selection committee in return selects the team. Then once again the selection committee which the minister himself appointed sends back the team selected by them for the approval from the minister. Mind you this panel of selectors is supposed to come from a forum of persons who have played the game at the highest level in this country while the minister is just another layman on most occasions.

When will this state of affairs end? Suppose it will never come to pass. Someday if someone could put the correct formula together where they could weave a cloth which every one could see and politics could be separated from sport, the sport will never lose again.

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