BCCI reward makes Abid Ali feel "as great as winning a match"

[ahamedirshad123]

It’s 9:30 on a Sunday morning in California and 70-year-old Syed Abid Ali, the former India all-rounder is all set to leave his home to umpire a club match in height of summer.



MiD DAY delivers the news of him being a beneficiary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s “one-time benefit payment” to retired cricketers.

Abid Ali falls in the 25 to 49 Tests bracket and is eligible for a reward of Rs 60 lakh. He cannot believe his ears. And his first utterance is of gratitude to the Board.

“The reason I am so grateful is because I really need the money. Somehow, God has sent it to the BCCI and the people there have been gracious enough to pass it on. At the moment, it feels as great as winning a match,” he said.

Abid Ali played 29 Tests for India from 1967 to 1974. He also figured in the inaugural World Cup in 1975. During his international career, he was part of three overseas Test series wins — New Zealand in 1968, West Indies and England in 1971.

At Port of Spain in 1971, he deliberately tapped a full toss from leg-break bowler Arthur Barrett to give debutant Sunil Gavaskar the honour of scoring the winning runs. His chance to hit the winning runs came five months later at the Oval in London when India beat England for the first time on foreign soil.

Abid Ali moved from Hyderabad to California in 1980, a move he said he regretted. “I shouldn’t have done it, but I did because I wanted my children to be educated,” he said on a visit to India in 1997.

An open-heart surgery in 1995 was a blow and Abid Ali turned to the country of his birth to provide him with some coaching opportunities. He managed to coach Andhra Pradesh, but after his second stint with them in 2008, tragedy struck.

His 33-year-old son Faqeer Ali, who had married Syed Kirmani’s daughter, collapsed to his death after completing a run for Tracy United Cricket Club in Fremont. “He suffered a massive heart attack. The help that I used to get from my son went away and I lost the house I was living in since I was unable to make the payments. After that, my daughter had some problems and she came to stay with me with her two kids. Such things happen; I am a fighter,” he remarked.

Financially, it has been a rough ride for Abid Ali despite getting Rs 15 lakh from a celebrity match played out between Mohammed Azharuddin XI and Arjuna Ranatunga XI in 1998.

He welcomes the help from BCCI, but the disappointment of not getting any coaching opportunities for the India and senior teams despite being a qualified coach rankles. “I want to do something for my country. No one gave me an extended opportunity… not even Andhra. I really want to do some coaching in India. Coming to America has taught me how one should be professional. I’d love to get involved with Indian cricket,” he said.

The Sunday game he umpired in the Northern California Cricket Association league fetched him 66 dollars, an amount he will value as much as the Rs 60 lakh reward.

http://www.mid-day.com/sports/2012/m...ng-a-match.htm

[ahamedirshad123]

list of players: http://www.bcci.tv/bcci/bccitv/index...444a9b4d8.html

[Senman]

Good and welcome move BCCI.

[Senman]

I think Kirti Azad will reject the money as it is from IPL earnings. Wonder what happened to his hunger strike anyone turned up? is he still fasting?

[ahamedirshad123]

Originally Posted by Senman I think Kirti Azad will reject the money as it is from IPL earnings. Wonder what happened to his hunger strike anyone turned up? is he still fasting?

Is his name in that list?

[Senman]

Originally Posted by ahamedirshad123 Is his name in that list?

He falls under the category but unable to check it because the URL you posted is getting timed out.

[ahamedirshad123]

A
Sunil Gavaskar
Ravi Shastri
S Venkataraghavan
Javagal Srinath



B
N S Sidhu
K Srikkanth
Venkatesh Prasad

C
BS Chandrasekar
Madan Lal
Roger Binny
Chandu Borde
BS Bedi
Yashpal Sharma
Sanjay Manjrekar


D
FM Engineer
Robin Singh
EAS Prasanna
Nari Contractor
Shivlal Yadav
Chetan Chauhan
Rajesh Chauhan
Ajit Wadekar
Salim Durani
Anshuman Gaekwad
Bapu Nadkarni


E
Abbas Ali Baig
L Sivaramakrishnan
Arun Lal
WV Raman
S Vishwanath
Arshad Ayub
Abey Kuruvilla
B S Sandhu
Chandrakant Pandit

F
Madhav Mantri
VV Kumar
U N Kulkarni
Madhav Apte
A G Milkha Singh
P Bhandhari
M R Rege


G
Rajinder Goel
Srikanth Kalyani
Amarjeet Kaypee
Kailash Gattani
Kawaljit Singh
P Shivalkar
S Hyder Ali
LS Rajput
T. Arothe


H
K Bhaskar Pillai
D Vasu
Surendra Bhave
G. Inderdev
VB Chandrasekar
Sudhakar Rao
SS Sugvekar
M P Pandove
Sambaran Bannerjee
MV Sridhar
V Sivaramakrishnan
Daljit Singh
Venkat Sundaram
Sanjeev Sharma
P Mhambrey

Beneficiaries
Mrs. Nirupama Mankad
Mrs. Eknath Solkar
Mrs. Ramakant Desai
Mrs. Kripal Singh

Some of the beneficiaries have been invited to the IPL 2012 Playoff venues. They will be presented their respective cheques before the start of the Playoff matches. It is practically difficult to invite all the beneficiaries for the matches and hence, the others will be sent their cheques.

[Green Leopard]

^^^ No Kapil Dev in cat A? India's greatest cricketer

[freelance_cricketer]

Nice gesture by BCCI

[Sherlock]

Good stuff from BCCI.

[omairsiddiqui]

Fond memories of Rajesh Chauhan and Abey Kuruvilla, who were smashed all over the park when Pakistan played India regularly in the 90s.

[thelandofthebravepeople]

Originally Posted by Green Leopard ^^^ No Kapil Dev in cat A? India's greatest cricketer

OP list is only those players who will recieve their check befor the matches not all players will come because of practical reasons.

[saeedhk]

Nice.

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Good gesture, with this surplus money BCCI should also look at improving underground drainage system of TEST venues + some academies in NE part of the country.

[Random Aussie]

Great stuff from the BCCI, we love to bag them but cant argue with this.

Out of interest for those of us who have no clue about Indian currency how much money are they getting in USD?

[DeadlyVenom]

Originally Posted by Random Aussie Great stuff from the BCCI, we love to bag them but cant argue with this. Out of interest for those of us who have no clue about Indian currency how much money are they getting in USD?

70 grand in the Queens money

A nice bit of cash being handed out.

Fantastic stuff BCCI and something all boards should replicate.

[Senman]

Originally Posted by Random Aussie Great stuff from the BCCI, we love to bag them but cant argue with this. Out of interest for those of us who have no clue about Indian currency how much money are they getting in USD?

Not exact but approximate

Minimum is US $45000 maximum is US $270000 depending on number of first-class matches as well as international tests.

[Random Aussie]

Wow thats fantastic, well done to BCCI.

[Usman]

Great stuff by BCCI! People often forget that Indian cricketers didn't always get paid millions. Although I would have preferred a needs based system. It may put a smile on Gavaskar's face when he receives a category A payout but, let's be honest, the only effect it will have on him is to add a few small numbers to his bank statement. Contrast that with the cricketer mentioned in OP and it's clearly gong to make a massive difference to his life.

[Saurav]

its a good initiative but they have excluded Kapil Dev due to ICL issues which doesnt make me all that happy

[IgnitedMind]

This one of the best things BCCI has done ...These players were the main reason for where India cricket is today....and they were paid very less. Very considerably huge amount will make a lot of difference to the likes of player in he OP, ChandraShekar and co..

I wish they removed the likes of Manjrekar,Gavaskar,Shasrti who wee blessed enough with good english to continue making money....and instead increase the dead line to more than 2004...the likes of Amol Muzamdar who retired in 2008 I think after decades of service to his domestic team have missed out on this....

either way ...Nice stuff!!!!!

[IgnitedMind]

Originally Posted by Saurav its a good initiative but they have excluded Kapil Dev due to ICL issues which doesnt make me all that happy

yeah...Kapil and all match fixers were ignored...Azhar,Jadeja...they are all mega rich anyway

Btw..is Nayan Mongia convicted for match fixing or was he just a suspect?

[Usman]

Originally Posted by DeadlyVenom 70 grand in the Queens money A nice bit of cash being handed out. Fantastic stuff BCCI and something all boards should replicate.

Lol!! By the time the PCB officials are done with the board's finances, I can bet you any money that the balance sheet reads minus many millions. Every public body in Pakistan runs on losses due to corruption.

[Random Aussie]

But the payment has to be for what they did for their country. Not what they need now.

I guess it would be a nice gesture from those guys to decline the payment but it's a free world.

[Senman]

Originally Posted by Saurav its a good initiative but they have excluded Kapil Dev due to ICL issues which doesnt make me all that happy

They haven't? AFAIK they just didn't include him in the invitee list to IPL playoffs and media as-usual making mountain out of it. Mr.Srinivasan said the cheques will be sent to their homes.

[Senman]

Originally Posted by navroks123 This one of the best things BCCI has done ...These players were the main reason for where India cricket is today....and they were paid very less. Very considerably huge amount will make a lot of difference to the likes of player in he OP, ChandraShekar and co.. I wish they removed the likes of Manjrekar,Gavaskar,Shasrti who wee blessed enough with good english to continue making money....and instead increase the dead line to more than 2004...the likes of Amol Muzamdar who retired in 2008 I think after decades of service to his domestic team have missed out on this.... either way ...Nice stuff!!!!!

I agree with Random Aussies point of view on this, there should be some criteria to give away huge sums of money. I think BCCI is of the view that the old cricketers weren't paid enough compare to the cricketers of this decade, I would say that is a fair call.

[Saurav]

Originally Posted by navroks123 yeah...Kapil and all match fixers were ignored...Azhar,Jadeja...they are all mega rich anyway Btw..is Nayan Mongia convicted for match fixing or was he just a suspect?

match fixers ought to be ignored,but Kapil?thats just sad.its not being rich.Gavaskar,Shastri etc are also rich but are getting the benefit.I'd be happy if the initiative was only for the needy.but this kind of discrimination saddens me.

dont know about Mongia,I think he was just a suspect.

[Saurav]

Originally Posted by Senman They haven't they just didn't include him in the invitee list to IPL playoffs and media as-usual making mountain out of it.

no he isnt getting anything due to ICL issues

http://epaper.indianexpress.com/c/180672

[Senman]

Originally Posted by Saurav no he isnt getting anything due to ICL issues http://epaper.indianexpress.com/c/180672

That is sad but bad on Kapil too when BCCI offered reconciliation he should have accepted it, paying the price now very sad.

[Saurav]

Originally Posted by Senman That is sad but bad on Kapil too when BCCI offered reconciliation he should have accepted it, paying the price now very sad.

yeah but these things shouldnt takeaway what Kapil did for us

[Senman]

Originally Posted by Saurav yeah but these things shouldnt takeaway what Kapil did for us

Yes. No-way Kapil's fame will go away because of this but Saurav, Kapil didn't accept BCCI till the end. BCCI as a principal cricket authority of India needs to save face. You must agree institution should always be greater than one man.

I hope sanity prevails and somehow they offer to include Kapil.

[Saurav]

Originally Posted by Senman Yes. No-way Kapil's fame will go away because of this but Saurav, Kapil didn't accept BCCI till the end. BCCI as a principal cricket authority of India needs to save face. You must agree institution should always be greater than one man. I hope sanity prevails and somehow they offer to include Kapil.

no doubt Kapil was wrong but BCCI needs to forget n forgive.not take revenge like this.infact if they offered it to Kapil they'd been appreciated all the more

I hope Kirti Azad fasts for Kapil's cause

[Senman]

Originally Posted by Saurav no doubt Kapil was wrong but BCCI needs to forget n forgive.not take revenge like this.infact if they offered it to Kapil they'd been appreciated all the more I hope Kirti Azad fasts for Kapil's cause

Kirti Azad made a joke of himself bet he is planning to fast continuously for 10 hours after dinner.

[Lethalweapon]

Originally Posted by Saurav yeah but these things shouldnt takeaway what Kapil did for us

LOL, 'captained a WC winning team' right?
I DON'T remember him for that. I remember for the many innings he played against the fearsome quartet of the WI in the 80s, specially in their backyard. Avg. around 25 with the ball against their aggressive batsman which is better than all the big name bowlers of that time. (bowlers like Sir Beefy sucked vs Windies)
I have mentioned that he was 'unbeaten' as a captain in Eng and Aus.
Kapil the bowler was never mentioned the same way his captaincy or big hitting was spoken about. He once won India a test in Aus with an injured foot against a strong lineup.
I'm sure that the Indian ppers 'believe' all the bashing his bowling gets on this forum.some of it is true,btw.
Indians only glorify/defend their batsman and are very quick to bash the bowlers. That is a fact not a generalization.
And yes, Kapil's affiliation with the ICL was ridiculous, he did not take that the amnesty offered to him. (I don't like his commentary for Aaj Tak either.
But he deserves thsi benefit more than Shastri or SMG.

[najam2007]

now PCB should do the same for the sake of many reasons.