Pakistan Cricket Team Off The Hook: Woolmer Murder

Connivance At The Top

By MOHAN SAHAY

My fears have come true. What I wrote on March 24 on the gruesom murder of Bob Woolmer as my worst fears and suspicion that there is pressure at the top and big money playing role to take the investigation team of the Jamaica Police away from the killers.

Now the Jamaican Police say that the Pakistani Cricket Team is not under the ambit of suspicion and that the team members are not involved in the murder of their coach Bob Woolmer.

What cover up!

To say that the match fixers are responsible for the murder and there is no evidence of any accomplishment or connivance of Pakistani Cricketers is a clear case of cover up. The reasons:

First, International Cricket Council - the ICC has loosened its purse strings to protect the Pakistani cricketers lest Pakistan is barred from playing international cricket as punishment for few years. Besides, there is pressure from Pakistan Government and its diplomatic agents to spare Pakistan cricket team.

West Indies does not want to create any situation that would upset the smooth going of the world cup match. Better it would have been for the hosts of the World Cup to call off the match till investigation in the murder of Woolmer is complete and the murderers are booked. But money is the only consideration for the ICC of which West Indies is a member country.


WHY BOOKIES WOULD MURDER WOOLMER ?

It is foolhardy and misleading to talk of involvement of bookies and match fixers as the possible murderers of the former cricketer and the Pakistan coach. Why the bookies and the syndicate of cricket match fixing would fear Woolmer? A few references or even names being printed in the book that Woolmer was writing does not effect the match fixers - the bookies are not bothered about it, albeit some cricketers should worry if their names were dragged. The match fixing syndicate world over including in India keep the Police in their pocket. Mere being named or identified by a writer in his book - as it was the possiblity in the Woolmer's case does not proof the guild of the fixers. On the contrary, any name of Pakistani cricketer being mentioned in the book would have finished the career of the cricketer.

That Woolmer was writing or was about to write about involvement of some Pakistani cricketers in throwing away matches including the one played against Ireland is of supreme concern of the Pakistani cricketers and the Pakistani team as a whole. If somebody who was worried most it was cricketer of Pakistani or a group of cricketers of Pakistan. Hence, the motive to kill Woolmer.

The ICC does not want that Cricket which has been termed as a gentleman's sport should bear the scar of murder of a former cricketer by the cricketers.

It is a pity that even the agents of the Scotland Yard are silent in the investigation. Will the champions of the game rise to the occasion and help hang the guilty of the murderer of Woolmer and the murderer of cricket game?

Alas, as I suspected, the Pakistani cricket team now back home in Pakistan are rejoicing over the murder of their coach and getting off the hook of the investigation.

Cricket is a shame now.

Bob Woolmer Murdered - Is Pakistan a Rogue State ?

Death of Cricket at the hands of Big Money

By MOHAN SAHAY

Last week ( Sunday March 18 2007 ), when I heard the news that Bob Woolmer – a gentleman cricketer and coach of Pakistan Cricket Team was found unconscious in his hotel room in Kingston and was declared ‘dead’ when taken to the local hospital, my first reaction was “ Woolmer did not die a natural death but must have been killed by the Pakistanis”.

I told myself that there was foul play in the sudden death of Woolmer after the two consecutive crushing defeats of the Pakistan team in the World Cup tie. That sports fans world over are fanatics is true but it is more diabolical when it comes to Pakistan.
I was tempted to post article in my blog but refrained from doing so lest people criticise me for jumping the gun.

My hunch or suspicion proved right. Bob was murdered.

I told some of my friends in India that to me it looked Pakistanis killed Woolmer. In next few days it was confirmed by the Jamaican Police that Woomer was indeed ‘ murdered and died of asphyxia’.

It could be some members of the Pakistani cricket team who might have suffered and not been included in the playing first eleven of the team not only in the two matches of the World Cup but in some earlier matches due to the coach’s opinion who killed Woolmer. Connivance of some team managers accompanying the Pak team in the murder is also a strong possibility. The role of cricket gambling syndicate in the murder as being written and commented by the media is to mislead the investigation and blur the strong perception of Pakistani team members’ involvement in the crime.

There is strong lobby of the ICC – the world cricket body- working overtime to save the Pakistani team and retrieve the image of Pakistan. Big money is at play to confuse, mislead and even bribe the investigating team looking for the murderers. The delay in making public the fact that Woolmer was murdered is a pointer to big money being pumped into to defend Pakistan.

I shall not be surprised that despite the media hype, the investigation would lead into blind alley and the murderers of Woolmer and the murderer of cricket would be moving freely in Pakistani which is acquiring the image of a rogue state. Be it cricket, drugs smuggling and terror Pakistan is the breeding ground.

The way some Indian television news channels highlighted a few former Pakistani cricketers rising in defence of the Pak team or for that matter any role of any Pakistani is shameful. Some private news channels in English brought Imran Khan, the former Pakistani skipper who first dismissed the reports of possible murder of Woolmer and latter ruled out any role of the Pakistani cricketers and the managers of cricket team in killing Woolmer. Cricket and the lure of big money would blunt the investigation into the murder of Woolmer.

I wish I am proved wrong and the investigators get the killer by neck.

INDIA

India itself is now a victim of big money factor involved in the game of cricket. Else, it is difficult to justify the presence of Sharad Pawar, a cabinet minister of the Indian Government devoting his major part of energy and time to cricket and the funds that it generates. Pawar heads the Board of Control of Cricket in India and carries along with him some tainted politicians like Lalu Prasad Yadav also a minister of the Govt. of India and some Members of Parliament like Rajiv Shukla who is an office bearer of the BCCI.

The Indian players too are guilty of promoting their respective financial interests by endorsing products rather than promoting the game that they play!