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Legends for a Fall

They say the higher you rise, the harder you fall. Sure, no great deduction required here, Newton did all the hard work.

Nonetheless, it's when you see it happen around you that reality bites. And hard at that.

A quick look at those in midst of this chaos, and those standing on the sidelines and pointing fingers. No value judgements from me, here. Just trying to make an objective observation. It's quite funny that most controversies seem to involve the achievers and the under-achievers, but on the opposite sides of the fence. And the has-beens and the still-theres. Again, at odds with each other. Never seen a controversy involving two successful people, save that of rivalry and competition, which is great. Suits the bystander to see good people perform better, so what if the motive is to better the other person.

But what leaves a really bitter taste in the mouth, and causes some amount of grief, is to watch successful, hard working, passionate men being accused of petty (and not so petty) deeds, by some very petty folk. That is not just depressing, it is also ironical.

And historical, too, isn't it? History has it that success breeds enemies. Yes, success does not make you infallible and pure. There is a sizeable margin for fault. But there is a degree of envy and malice that surrounds those that rise. And they become targets for many that don't.

Could be Hansie faulted. Akram may yet be guilty. (No, in my eyes, Kapil can do little wrong, so I won't get into that.). However, there may be many more as guilty, if not more. Many more lesser mortals, not as famous and certainly, not the legends.

However, do you hear many stories about them. Did you hear a few other names in the famous transcript of 'the' telephone conversation that Cronje had with whoever? Were there 4 other names taken there? Yes, but how many stories are woven around them.

Not too many. And why is that? Besides the fact that there is no evidence, save name taking, these are not big fish. As simple as that. Had Pollock or Klusener been a part of that conversation, then God save them. The crime is significant, surely, but what is even more relevant is, do the ill doers make good copy? Are they very successful? So, let's go get them.

Manoj Prabhakar lived in the shadow of his far more legendary teammate for all his career. Not a happy state of affairs for anybody, who is competitive and insecure. This leads to a malice that is nurtured and grown over the years. Maybe he has a point to make. But to take almost half a decade to make it signals a lack of belief in what you say, and a hunger to be in the news.

A common malady that. The urge for fame and cover page stories. And as is obvious, those who have it, don't hunger, and those who don't would typically stop at very little to get it, degrees varying according to the need for recognition.

Sportsmen need recognition. They also consider it to be a part of their existence. If they achieve, they get it anyway. If they achieve lesser than others, they suffer by comparison. There are those that can accept that, and nicely so. But there are those that cannot. Legends they would never be, but not much love lost for him there is.

So bring him down. Let other wrong doers loose. They're insignificant, anyway. But the money (and fame) is where the Legends are.

Julius Caesar was a sufferer of his own success and fame. Not a perfect man, but a victim at the end of the day. And here we talk about men who've done more right than wrong for the game, being victimized by those having done precious little to talk about, right or wrong.

Are we doing a clean-up, or is this an exercise in settling scores, and abetting parasites?

The Betting Scandal: The full story

Abhilasha Khaitan