Navjot Sidhu threatens to go on a hunger strike
Former cricketer and commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu created a minor ruckus in the commentary box today after he was not allowed to recite Urdu couplets he had memorized. The incident occurred during the first one-day international played between India and West Indies in Kochi.
Everything was fine in the commentary box till Siddu got carried away when a West Indian wicket fell. As soon as Siddu saw the batsman walking back to the pavilion, he opened his mouth and recited one line. But before he could finish, his fellow commentator a flunky, who was the 15 man during Bangladesh’s first tour of India in the early cretaceous, stuffed a bottle of mineral water inside Siddu’s mouth.
Siddu was then told that the channel that was airing the commentary had barred him from uttering couplets and that was hammered into the contract Sidhu had signed. But Sidhu denied the charge following which he was shown a copy of the contract and asked to move out of the commentary box.
Things got messy at this point as Sidhu alleged that the channel was being racist as Ravi Shastri who was providing English commentary in an adjacent box, was reading his clichéd lines from a piece of paper he was carrying with him while Sidhu was not allowed to recite his couplets. Hearing his name, Shastri came out of the commentary box and confronted Sidhu. “The atmosphere here is really charged and you can feel the excitement in the air,” Shastri said.
An angry Sidhu threw a punch at Shastri but missed him and the punch landed on the face of the flunky, who lost no time in fainting. “Sidhu finds the gap and gets off the mark right away. He is the sort of guy who really enjoys his punches,” Shastri said. Meanwhile, security guards came and whisked Sidhu away and threw him outside the stadium.
An angry Sidhu didn't budge from the spot where he was thrown and said he is going on a fast unto death hunger strike. He said that he will fast until he dies or till 12:00 pm (whichever comes earlier) or till such a time that he is allowed back into the commentary box.
“This nation seems to be run by a set of comedy show judges I guess,” an angry Sidhu said. At the time of going to press, Sidhu was still at the spot and seen reciting couplets to random strangers passing by. Actor Aamir Khan who was standing nearby started weeping seeing the scene. When he realized that he was being taped, he presented the floor manager a bill for INR 3 crores at the rate of INR 50 Lakh per teardrop.
Everything was fine in the commentary box till Siddu got carried away when a West Indian wicket fell. As soon as Siddu saw the batsman walking back to the pavilion, he opened his mouth and recited one line. But before he could finish, his fellow commentator a flunky, who was the 15 man during Bangladesh’s first tour of India in the early cretaceous, stuffed a bottle of mineral water inside Siddu’s mouth.
Siddu was then told that the channel that was airing the commentary had barred him from uttering couplets and that was hammered into the contract Sidhu had signed. But Sidhu denied the charge following which he was shown a copy of the contract and asked to move out of the commentary box.
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| Navjot Sidhu |
An angry Sidhu threw a punch at Shastri but missed him and the punch landed on the face of the flunky, who lost no time in fainting. “Sidhu finds the gap and gets off the mark right away. He is the sort of guy who really enjoys his punches,” Shastri said. Meanwhile, security guards came and whisked Sidhu away and threw him outside the stadium.
An angry Sidhu didn't budge from the spot where he was thrown and said he is going on a fast unto death hunger strike. He said that he will fast until he dies or till 12:00 pm (whichever comes earlier) or till such a time that he is allowed back into the commentary box.
“This nation seems to be run by a set of comedy show judges I guess,” an angry Sidhu said. At the time of going to press, Sidhu was still at the spot and seen reciting couplets to random strangers passing by. Actor Aamir Khan who was standing nearby started weeping seeing the scene. When he realized that he was being taped, he presented the floor manager a bill for INR 3 crores at the rate of INR 50 Lakh per teardrop.
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