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!