Real or fake? Breathe easy, Team India lifted the right Cup

NEW DELHI: The nation had its mouth wide open in indignation, ready to yell "BETRAYAL" just as the clarifications started to come in fast and furious. Breathe easy, they all said, MS Dhoni had lifted the right World Cup trophy, not a fake one. 

Monday morning brought the chilling "news". The real ICC World Cup, claimed a newspaper, had been detained by Customs officials. Dhoni and his intrepid warriors had been given a dummy. Lending credence to the news were two facts - one, the 2003 trophy that Ponting and his boys held was different from the one with the Men in Blue; and two, a trophy had indeed been detained by MumbaiCustoms. 

So, did the Customs babus lose all their common sense and pull out some obscure list of duty exempted goods to deny our champions their hard-fought right to lift the original trophy? Was this yet another instance of suffocating red-tape cheating the players and the people of the opportunity to hold and behold the Real One? 

As the questions came angry and fast, the Customs department came out with a technical explanation. It said this particular trophy being carried into India by two ICC officials was not in the list of ICC goods exempted from duty; hence it was detained and duty was levied on it. However, the ICC said it would not pay and instead carry the trophy back to Dubai. 

Soon, the ICC came out with a statement clarifying that Team India had been given the right trophy, the 'recognized trophy' for the winners of World Cup 2011. It said the 'perpetual trophy' had been detained by the Customs. This 'perpetual trophy' was given to winners until the 2003 edition of the Cup. 

Australia, the 2003 winner, didn't like the idea of having to give back a Cup that it had won. Hence, said the ICC, a new system was devised. Both in 2007 and 2011, the 'perpetual trophy' was used only for promotional purposes and the winner was given a trophy specially made for that particular edition of the World Cup. No one had been cheated, said the ICC, nothing really had gone amiss. 

If the 'perpetual trophy' had no role to play, why was it being brought into Mumbai for the final? Was the ICC trying to cover up? Was it that, like many trophies, the 'perpetual trophy' was the running trophy, to be presented at the ceremonial award ceremony, and after the victory lap, taken back and a replica given to the winner? 

No, said ICC president Sharad Pawar. He insisted to TOI that the perpetual trophy was only for promotional purposes. In this case, it had been taken for display at the Colombo semifinal, while the other was at Mohali for display at the India-Pakistan match, he said. ICC Cup coordinatorDhiraj Malhotra said the same. 

A search of World Cup pictures of the 2003, 2007 and 2011 seemed to bear out the ICC version. The 2003 Cup is indeed different from the 2007 and 2011 trophies. 

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) also moved in by evening to clarify that the trophy had been retained by the Customs at the ICC's request. It said two passengers, Emma Waiteand Rixon Heyder, brought it in from Colombo as part of their "personal baggage". It was not part of the list of items temporarily imported by ICC and hence exempt from duties. ICC itself had written saying that the trophy in question was not to be used for any purpose inside India, said the CBEC. 

The Customs added that "in order to remove all doubts the concerned customs officers contacted ICC tournament director Ratnakar Shetty and enquired about the said trophy so that appropriate action could be taken expeditiously and the matter resolved." And Shetty wrote back saying, "We hereby request your office to hold the trophy in the customs warehouse at the airport until it is collected by the above passengers." 

However, Dhiraj Malhotra had an interesting twist to give to this baffling controversy. He said this 'perpetual trophy', now at a Customs warehouse, had gone in and out of the country several times during the tournament. "I myself carried it to Mumbai from Bangladesh after the inaugural match. So, I don't know why it was detained this time," he told TOI. 

If this was really the case, why did the Customs act this time? Was it sheer cussedness? Said BCCIvice president Rajeev Shukla: "How can the Customs people do this? There must be a relook at laws on international trophies and medals. How can there be a duty on them?" How indeed?

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Real-or-fake-Breathe-easy-Team-India-lifted-the-right-Cup/articleshow/7870210.cms

World Cup trophy lifted by Team India is a fake

It was a moment cherished by a billion Indians on Saturday. The moment India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lifted the glitteringICC World Cup, ending a 28-year drought of World one-day championship wins for a cricket mad nation. But that moment may be irreparably tarnished, not just for Team India, but all Indian fans.

Because the trophy that captain Dhoni and his teammates so passionately kissed, hugged and adored - and millions of fans worldwide cheered - was a fake.

A mere replica, not the original. This has never happened in the 36-year history of the cricket World Cup.

Did the Indian players know that the cup that Sharad Pawar, president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and India's agriculture minister, presented to them, the gold-and-silver trophy that President Pratibha Patil lovingly touched at a reception on Sunday, was not the real one?

Interestingly, a day before the final, Dhoni and his Sri Lankan counterpart Kumar Sangakkara had customarily posed with the same replica. And whether their teammates were aware of that? Chances are they were not.

The real trophy, valued at about $130,000 in money terms, but priceless for any cricket lover, was not at the Wankhede stadium, as the world had been led to believe.

It was rotting at a secure government godown, having been seized by the Mumbai Customs on its arrival from Colombo after the Sri Lanka-New Zealand semifinals on March 29.

The reason: The trophy, according to India's Byzantine customs rules, was not eligible for exemption from import duty! And a combination of bumbling babudom, and the ICC's bungling, ensured that it stayed under lock and key at the airport. Now, it will be flying back to the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Dubai headquarters on Monday - without having once being actually touched by the team which had fought so hard to win it.

A top official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and an ICC official confirmed that the trophy was going back to the ICC headquarters. "The trophy is being taken back to Dubai," said Suru Naik, World Cup tournament director (India). An ICC official confirmed: "The trophy is returning to Dubai on Monday."

The ICC, meanwhile, is getting in a tangle of mis-statements as it tries to desperately cover up its bungling. The ICC spokesperson insisted that the real trophy is never presented to the winning team, and that only the replica is presented to the winners.

But photographs of Australia captains Steve Waugh (1999) and Ricky Ponting (2003, 2007) receiving the original trophy, which was instituted in 1999, prove otherwise.

The base of the original trophy has names of all the winners since 1975 engraved on it while the one presented to Dhoni at the Wankhede Stadium had a blank black base.

A customs official at Mumbai's Chhatrapati International Airport confirmed the shocking development, and added a fresh twist to the sorry tale. "The ICC has been insisting that the trophy which came on the flight from Colombo (after the Sri Lanka-New Zealand semi-finals on March 29) is a replica of the original World Cup trophy that is already at the Wankhede Stadium," he said on Sunday.

So, if the original trophy was indeed at the Wankhede Stadium, then why were ICC officials desperate to have the 'replica' released from the customs. What would they have done with it by taking it inside the city? And if the real trophy was at the Wankhede, why wasn't it presented to Dhoni? These questions remain unanswered.

"ICC officials told us that that this trophy has no commercial value as it is used for promotions only. However, when examined by a valuer, the trophy was estimated to be worth Rs 60 lakh or so, made of pure silver and gold. The payable customs duty is about Rs15 lakh. If it is a replica, then does it have to be exactly of the same value as the supposed trophy?

Moreover, the ICC letter that the official was carrying said that it was the World Cup trophy. Nowhere did the letter say that it was a replica and it should be let out," the official said.

Interestingly, the department of revenue of the finance ministry had issued, "in the public interest", a notification (No. 7/2011-Customs) on February 9, 2011, to allow certain items to be imported. It listed five broad categories with specific conditions, but there is no mention of the 'World Cup trophy' in the list. It includes "sport equipments; medical instruments; photographic and audio-visual equipment and supplies; broadcast equipment and supplies; computer and other office equipment".

While BCCI and ICC officials are trying to play down the issue, government officials blame the BCCI for all the confusion. "It is clearly a lapse on the part of the ICC or BCCI. They should have added the words 'World Cup trophy' while applying to the government for customs exemption," a senior tax official said. "Moreover," he added, "why couldn't ICC and BCCI, which are extremely rich, pay the customs duty? The duty would be peanuts for them."

The Prudential Cup was the trophy that was presented in the first editions, from 1975 to 1983, when the Kapil Dev-led Indian team won it.

In 1987, it was called the Reliance Cup after the sponsors, as the tournament moved out of Britain for the first time .

In 1992, a crystal trophy was presented to Pakistan captain Imran Khan. In 1996, it became the Wills Trophy and in 1999, the ICC instituted a permanent trophy.

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/134246/top-stories/india-vs-sri-lanka-world-cup-final-icc-trophy-lifted-by-team-india-is-a-fake.html

Men in Blue party all night after World Cup triumph

MUMBAI: The victory celebrations didn't end with the ceremony and trophy presentation at theWankhede Stadium on Saturday night. Like most of the country, Team India partied hard into the night, finally hitting the sack only way past dawn at around 7.30 am on Sunday. 

The party was in three stages. First there was an impromptu bash with the Taj Mahal Tower's guests, then a party among the teammates themselves outside their rooms and finally a bigger bash at the Zodiac Grill with family and friends. 

The Indian team had left the Wankhede to reach the hotel at around 12.15 am. When the guests in the Taj Tower came to know that the victorious players were arriving - and being sneaked into the hotel through the backdoor - they knew where to gather so that the Men in Blue wouldn't miss them. And they didn't! 

The moment the players walked in, chants of "Indiaaa, Indiaaa" greeted the team at decibel levels that could be heard as far away as the Gateway. The hotel had been barricaded to not let in outsiders and what followed inside were maniacal celebrations. 

The hotel's leading chef, Hemant Oberoi, had baked a special cake in the shape of the World Cup for the team. The players cut the grand chocolate cake at the Starboard, a portside bar with a maritime theme housed at the lobby level. 

Once that was done, the bubbly flowed. The players and the hotel guests popped the finest of Moet & Chandon Magnum and the party began. Indian and continental delicacies were served and the players were drenched in champagne. 

The party went on in the lobby for close to an hour. 

The hotel receptionists, floor managers, security men, bell boys, attendants and other employees had no choice but to stand and watch the pandemonium as the guests partied with the cricketers like there was no tomorrow. Champagne was sprayed, cake scattered, seats were climbed over; there was shouting, yelling and singing of 'Saare jahan se achcha.' 

Every guest wanted a picture. This, they knew, was going to be their best brush with cricketing glory. The Taj, lit in blue to go with Team India's colour, added to the mood and it was only after the players began making repeated requests for their share of privacy that they were allowed to go up to their rooms in the heritage wing of the hotel. 

Once they reached their floor, the teammates went to their respective rooms, refreshed themselves and came back to party by themselves at the lobby of the same floor. 

It was already 2.30 am by then. That, perhaps, was the first time since lifting the Cup that Dhoni's bunch of world beaters could soak in their moment of truth and let what they had achieved through the evening sink in. They stayed there for around another hour, in their very private huddle, where emotions ran high and tears flowed. 

It was important to get a grip over themselves before moving any further into the night and the players did just that. At around 3.30 am, they walked into the Zodiac Grill, where the Taj had even prepared a dance floor for the team members and their personal guests, including family and friends. 

It was 7 am by the time they returned to their rooms, tired enough to hit the sack. On arrival, they were greeted with congratulatory notes on beds crisply made up with white linen. 

Expectedly, the cricketers, their support staff, coaches and officials of the International Cricket Council had a late meal on Monday, with some placing orders up to their rooms. They then gathered on the Taj Chambers terrace for a photo-op with the Cup before heading to Raj Bhavan for high tea with the President of India. 

It was 3.30 pm when they got into the bus to head to Walkeshwar.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Men-in-Blue-party-all-night-after-World-Cup-triumph/articleshow/7861594.cms