From Steve “Bucknor In, Perth Test Out”, to “No Harbhajan No Perth Test” it is the first step of the climb down by BCCI. The Harbhajan issue may be after all is to divert the Bucknor Bias. So we will see the drama unfold that the ban will be kept in abeyance and Harbhajan will play in the Perth Test. Of course along with him our television viewers can see Steve Bucknor also “playing” in the Perth Test. And Bhaji will have something equivalent of 2.95 tests ban to mollify Indians’ pride. But finally Whites dominated ICC will have the last laugh. We cannot expect anything better from our power and money hungry politician administrators. But as an Indian one certainly feels ashamed at the repeated ill and unfair treatment meted out to Team BCCI and the subsequent humiliation heaped on the people of India.
This has happened before when six of our players were banned for “excessive appealing”. When the Indian Board protests for the sake of eyewashing the Indian public the ICC indulges in more arm twisting. Does the excessive appealing by any country team stopped after that or any other team especially England or Australia penalized for the same. It is all because our corrupt politicians do not have the moral courage to stand up like Mahatma did to the British Empire. The Mahatma would not have stashed his funds in London or any banana republic in South American Island. He need not be afraid like our present day politicians, that skeletons may come tumbling out of the cupboard.
Is it not ridiculous that Whites are accusing the Asians for racial abuse? Should we play the game at all and be slaves even after the British have left our shores more than 60 years ago?

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Australians are being called by kangaroos, what if bhajji called them (him) a monkey. both are animals what is the big diffenece

There is an article in "The Times of India" today which says that Indians working in Australia are being subjected to abuse in their workplaces, coffee shops, restaurants over this incident.

Indians are being called monkeys, curry-munchers, etc.

Rgds.

Rajan.

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Let's make India a better place !

I think ramar is right. In the end, our spineless administrators will "win" the Harbhajan issue and everything else will be forgotten. Maybe this was the Aussie plan all along, they realized that given how the match was shaping up, they needed some chips in hand to trade on.

Sorry to sound so despondent, but history has shown us Indians over and over again as the probably the most politically/strategically inept people on the planet.

Let's go back to the recent Aussie tour of India. Sreesanth was bowling well against Australia, he was also dishing it out the way the exported convicts needed it dished out. None of the idiots in the BCCI OR the Indian cricket team supported him despite instead, at the end he was made to say things like he's reading books on "self-control" etc. And he was not picked for the Australia tour.

Who was the other vocal guy on the Aussie Indian tour? Harbhajan. It is fool-hardy to think this whole Symonds incident is random, this was a well planned out thing and Bhajji fell right into the trap.

We as a people are pathetic in supporting our own who stand out and can make a difference, rather the crab in the bucket mentality immediately takes over. We weren't ruled by a handful of British by co-incidence.

Secondly I don't know whether its the lack of intelligence or utter laziness, but how come there's no strategic planning in anticipation of such events? How come the all-powerful and rich BCCI is letting players handle such stuff without the requisite training? What the hell did they expect when the Indian team set out for Australia? How much freaking money do they need to get a team of seasoned mental coaches who can work the team through such routines in both the offensive and defensive mode?

I don't see much hope. This too shall pass and we'll all be back singing great praises of all the great progress India is making and all the new malls where we can now shop. Makes me want to puke!

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Are you there?

Not to mention that in about 6 months, Brett Lee will be in a Bollywood movie and Sneaky Ponting might be sporting a Tata watch....

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Are you there?

Absolutely. Even before that, I'm sure some kind of compromise will be arrived at within a day, Bucknor will be dropped from the Perth test, and the Indians, with lesser practice and the turmoil from the past few days will head on to the bounciest wicket in the world for the third test match - Perth, like lambs to the slaughter, with a drubbing likely against a four-pronged pace attack (which will now include Tait).

I would love to be proven wrong about this last part!

If history has shown us anything it is that Sharad Pawar is first a politician and then an Indian. So a compromise will be reached, the ban will be suspended for this tour, Bucknor who should be suspended because of racism will miss the Perth test and he may be replaced by Benson. And India will lose the Perth test badly and will suffer a further hit to their morale.

In the end, ICC will find a way to save face somehow and the spineless BCCI will put on their act and cricket will suffer and the Aussies will continue their arrogant ways.

But one thing is for sure...the media has had a field day with interviews of Harbhajans mother and Kapil Dev...they are milking it for all they can.....