Bharat Ratna to Sachin

Sachin Tendulkar has, no doubt, been an exceptionally talented cricketer. Arguably more talented than any other cricketer of his times. I have also grown up enjoying his cricket as my compatriots. Probably not many would, and not many should, grudge awarding of Bharat Ratna to him for the sheer quality of cricket displayed by him over the years. But there is another very relevant, though not so conspicuous, aspect to the whole issue.

Sachin Tendulkar has also been a key player of Mumbai Indians in IPL-6, a tournament that has been under cloud for fixing. It is a clear and necessary implication of the findings from the investigations carried out by the Delhi Police in the IPL-6 scandal, as reported in media, that all or almost all the players participating in IPL-6 had to be involved in total fixing that existed in IPL-6, even though the police themselves and the media have conveniently overlooked this implication so far. Only utter fools can think that the matches involving Mumbai Indians could be fixed without any involvement or knowledge of Sachin Tendulkar, a key player. And the police have categorically stated that the fixing in IPL-6 was done at the behest of none other than Dawood Ibrahim.

Not long ago, an article ‘Cricket in Massive Fix?’ was published in the esteemed columns of  The Statesman. Quoting me, this article had shown how mathematical evidence existed of total continuous fixing in international cricket implicating all the players. Sachin Tendulkar was no exception. No one till date has even challenged that assertion.

The above would mean that at the least, there is a very real cloud over Tendulkar having been playing his cricket honestly. Awarding of Bharat Ratna to him means one having helping Dawood Ibrahim actively or passively in fixing of cricket matches for earning loads of money for probable use of same in terror strikes in India getting the highest civilian honour of the country.