Former cricketer and currently BJP MP from Bihar, Kirti Azad spoke with Zeenews.com’s Swati Chaturvedi in Kahiye Janab on Sachin and the IPL controversy.
Swati: You have played with Sachin and known him ever since he was a budding player. What is it about Sachin that he rules the heart of every Indian?
Kirti Azad: I remember at a match in Jamshedpur where Sachin took a spectacular catch. That time he was a budding player and his talent showed. It was evident that he would do well in the coming years.
Swati: What is this Sachin Tendulkar?
Kirti Azad: He is like a tree that bends on bearing fruit, he bears fruit for 12 months. Whenever he meets me, he addresses me as Sir or Bhai in all humility. He takes his subordinates along, is respectful towards his seniors, the more the fruits on him, the more he bends.
Swati: Tendulkar had once stated that he was a Maharashtrian. But he was an Indian first. This made the Tiger roar. But later, in a turnaround, Bal Thackeray backed the demand seeking Bharat Ratna for Sachin. What is this if not politics being played over him?
Kirti Azad:Whosoever knows Sachin understands that there is no bigger player than him. He is recognised in the world cricketing fraternity with the same awe.
Every Tiger has a limited area within which he roars. For Bal Thackeray, it is only Maharashtra. He can exercise no clout beyond his state.
Swati: Is there anything about Sachin that acts like a blot on his technique as a batsman?
Kirti Azad: No nothing. The centuries and runs that he has made so far speak for themselves. If there was any flaw, it would have come out. Suppressing weaknesses and boosting strengths is the player’s mantra.
Swati: Amidst IPL controversy, the potent cocktail of cricket, glamour and Bollywood and the famous match-fixing scandal around Congress MP Azharuddin, how can anyone stay aloof from all this?
Kirti Azad:Sachin Tendulkar is an example in front of you. Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and cricketers who came after them too left, but Sachin on his 37th birthday is still young and getting younger.
The secret is that he eats, drinks, sleeps, gets up on cricket. He has kept his focus on cricket rather than other issues and this is the precise reason why he is such a big player.
Swati: Don’t you think that political leaders have a solid grip on things. They should at least leave out sports. Arun Jaitley, Sharad Pawar and Laloo Yadav don’t even know how to pick up the bat. What are they doing in cricket?
Kirti Azad: I agree with you 100%. I am donning on a cricketer’s hat and taking out the political one before answering. We won the 1983 World Cup despite being tight on finances. That time to raise funds, we had organised a Lata Mangeshkar nite. Even then politicians were involved in cricket like Madhavrao Scindia, for instance. But there were no allegations.
Politicians are welcome in cricket. Even if they give 10% attention to cricket and other sports alongwith politics, then other games too will develop.
Swati: Coming to IPL, has it become reduced to Indian Parivar League through which the rich and the influential are mocking at our national game?
Kirti Azad: A politician has to spend money in rallies. A union with cricket entails free publicity and brings in funds too. I fight an election because I want to talk to the public. Those who do not want to will tell their own story.
If you are scared of failure, you can never win. If you don`t want to fight then don`t fight. If Sachin Tendulkar does not jump the ground, he won’t make any runs. And if he does not make any runs, then he won’t be a great player.
But the IPL board even has some honest and hard working people.
Swati: You are a cricketer as well as a politician. You tell me what is IPL?
Kirti Azad: IPL is entertainment which speaks of quantity over quality. It is like two-minute noodles that get cooked after pouring boiling water. In short –a sumptuous meal that fills your stomach but lacks nutrition-that is IPL.
Swati: Who would you say is Lalit Modi?
Kirti Azad: He is a mere spoke in the wheel. If he has committed a mistake, he must be punished-whether it is making money via drug or arms deals. But why blame Modi alone. Did he act arbitrarily? Did no one know what hanky-panky was happening for the past two years? Others too, who are a part of the IPL governing body must share the blame. Be they cricketers, lawyers, politicians or businessmen.
The point is that despite the presence of politicians, all this happened. It implies that it is not just one bad fish but the whole pond which is dirty.
Swati:Kirti Azad, when will cricket be “Azad” (free) of these rogues? India’s Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar does not seem as worried about drought that prevailed in the country or the rising food prices?
Kirti Azad: In my speech in Parliament after the Dantewada massacre, I had said that no one was bothered about Naxalism or inflation. I had even suggested to our PM to
hold the Cabinet meet in the IPL Governing Council. The game is not bad, the people who control it are.
Lalit Modi’s IPL demise is not the final solution. All need to own moral responsibility if slush funds have flown from abroad.
The matter needs to resolved and must be pursued to its final conclusion.
Swati: Why has Sachin Tendulkar not raised his voice against all this so far?
Kirti Azad:He does not want to get involved. He just wants to play his game.
Adapted by Ritam Banati
