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Monday, August 09, 2010

Stumpy, Elephant mascot of 2011 Cricket World Cup - making a statement

Not much of a cricket fan, least of all the utterly dull, languorous 5-day Test match format [its connoisseurs are stuck in a time warp - there, I said it - now sue me #kidding], I was flipping through the sports channels during the 3rd Test match being played between India & Sri Lanka. Just as I was about to switch to the next channel, they happened to telecast the unveiling of the mascot of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup - Stumpy, a 10-year old Elephant. Now, being decked up in some sort of a rain coat notwithstanding, what struck me was the actual choice of the mascot - an Elephant.

2011 ICC Cricket World Cup Mascot - Stumpy, the Elephant

Though stripped of its rights to physically host any of the matches, Pakistan still remains one of the organizing members or hosts of the games, however just-on-paper it may be. The tournament is supposed to be just as much of a contributory effort of Pakistan [again, on paper] as any of the other 3 countries & it it would not be unexpected on parts of the Pakistanis to expect that their participation as hosts get highlighted in important aspects of tournament [such is that country of great expectations - they expect everything from everybody - weapons, money, trade aid....the list is endless - the inflated sense of entitlement that they posses].

In light of their continued participation as host of the World Cup, choosing an Elephant as a mascot seems to me as a way for the other 3 countries - India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka, to make a statement - the World Cup is not Pakistan's baby - they're an outsider - a hanger-on, leeching off the revenue it would generate.

The message should not be very hard to get across to the Pakistanis - the Elephant is native to all the 3 countries except Pakistan. No elephant has ever roamed in the wild of, what was described by its founder itself, the moth-eaten country. The elephant has had no presence or association with Pakistan.

Quite a snub from the organizers I'd say - something that the country should've got used to by now, what with not a single IPL team owners bidding for Pakistani players, its invitation to play in the Champion League Cricket being withdrawn, countries refusing to step foot on its soil and thus having to face the ignominy of losing to those countries on some "friendly foreign soil" - the list  goes on and on. Can't say I'm not enjoying it though #evilme.

Godspeed

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