Modi-fication?

By Prem Ansh Sinha

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose would smell as sweet by any other name."

The Second Day-Night Test which was held a few days back was/is in news for many reasons. Indians didn't like the name and their former colonial masters were upset with the pitch. This "Two-Day International" resulted in BCCI winning the match with 10 wickets in gloves. The opposition criticized the pitch and the name but the other side defended it by reminding them of grass and their ancestors. 

First, let us talk about the name of the stadium. The call from almost all sides of the spectrum was -disappointment. Yes, even the Tweeps who used to support Modi anywhere, anytime found a reason to show how liberal they are! Some compared it to Gandhi-Nehru's way of (re)naming things whereas some smart intellectuals claimed: "Mudi is a Fascist". "U" being their favourite letter after "G" and "N". 

The pitch was criticized by several English Cricketers as well as by some former BCCI Cricketers but they failed to answer how BCCI Batsmen were able to finish the match without losing a single wicket in their second innings. It was the shortest completed Test Match post World War II. Well, I am still unable to find any ICC Rule which tells us why this was an unplayable pitch.

Anyways, how does naming a stadium after your name makes you a Fascist? The dimwits who say so are either unaware of the term Fascism or pretend to be loyal to their favourite character "G". Then comes another group of people who justified it by reminding the number of stadiums named after "G" and "N". Bro, the failure of "G" was the reason why NDA was voted to power. 

The stadium was constructed in 1983, coincidentally the same year in which Kapil Dev lifted the ICC Cricket World Cup at Lords. The work on the new project began in 2017. According to the officials, this Stadium is the brainchild of Narendra Modi who was the President of Gujarat Cricket Association till 2013. Also, GCA is a private entity unlike the roads named after our beloved Prince Charming's ancestors.

"The end names of the stadium are the Adani Pavilion End and the Reliance End. Both Reliance and the Adani are within their rights to have the ends named after them once they have met the cricket association’s norms." Surprisingly, it was the Telegraph who published these lines but still people fail to understand the topic. Well, if those people(who have got problems) have so much money, they can feel free to sponsor the next (read: First) Cricket League of our Society. 

Even the Oldest Cricket Stadium in our country was named after the sister of Lord Auckland. I somehow can't disagree with another opinion that not only a person who excels but also the person who provides her/him with the facilities deserves to get the credit. But also, I am unable to agree with the fact that what happened was right. Well, there is a visible confusion in my opinion because it's something not mentioned in a rule book. 

Is the (re)naming of a private entity after a ruling Government Officer right? Was Modi aware of this? If yes, why hasn't he asked the GCA to reverse the decision yet? These questions remain. Till then, the UPA Tweeps can keep on calling Modi a hypocrite and the NDA "Koo-pers" can keep on reminding them of the "G" and "N". But, let us not indulge in it. Grab your popcorn bags and wait for the next Olympic Bid!

Thank you.