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Michael Holding's insensitive comment today

Canford Cliffs

Canford Cliffs

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So Indian team is wearing black arm bands today due to the passing away of Ajit Wadekar and Vajpayee. Surely Holding should have known this before opening his big mouth? He was mocking saying "India wearing black arm bands not because they are 2-0 down but because Ajit Wadekar passed away”

Its not a time to be witty Mr Holding...so insensitive. Looks like new low in his already poor commentary career.
 
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What an idiotic statement. Anyone with a brain would know that players wear black arm bands when someone prominent passes away. Of course he knew that someone had passed away. And despite knowing that he said something as gross as that.
 
Haven't watched the match today, so don't know about it. But if he did say that, then it's pretty poor from him. But his commentary is usually pretty good.
 
I wasn't watching but it seems he did actually say something like this. I've always liked him as a commentator but that's in very poor taste. Insensitive. He needs to apologize.
 
It's probably his dislike for IPL and the BCCI which makes him dislike Indian cricket overall. Despite that I've always loved his commentary. A magnificent cricketer and commentator, but this was pathetic.
 
Poor comment. And nothing better expected from Holding. About time a few Indian cricketers call him out for his rabid hatred for India.
 
In the end it's all about who pay your bills. Cricketers like Wasim Akram, Morrison, Michael Clarke now keeps praising Indian cricket endlessly because they make money in India. At times it's cringeworthy to see these great cricketers talk highly of substandard IPL players. On the other extreme is Michael Holding who only criticizes Indian cricketers because he gets no money from Indian cricket. These are 2 extremes and thats why I don't have much respect for most commentators.

Perhaps the ones who are largely unbiased are English commies - Naseer and David Lloyd.
 
I like Holding as he says what he thinks. And above all he can’t stand the Mickey Mouse stuff which I agree with him on.

But that was a poor comment and on reflection he will regret he said it.
 
It was a good comment, putting into context the series. Indians like [MENTION=76058]cricketjoshila[/MENTION] are too sensitive snowflakes that need to realise no one cares
 
cricketjoshila said:
Poor comment. And nothing better expected from Holding. About time a few Indian cricketers call him out for his rabid hatred for India.
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A poor comment by him. Wonder if IPL is the only reason why he dislikes Indian cricket?
 
It wasn't meant to be insensitive at all. He did clarify it and went on to talk about Ajit Wadekar with Bumble.

:facepalm:

I swear if this was a Pakistani fan opening up this thread, and posted something similar about a Pakistani player being on the receiving end he/she would be mocked and told to stiffen up.
 
Hitman said:
It's probably his dislike for IPL and the BCCI which makes him dislike Indian cricket overall. Despite that I've always loved his commentary. A magnificent cricketer and commentator, but this was pathetic.
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He still has not gotten over the 83 wc loss
 
And now I get it why Pakistanis love Holding. He never played a test against them in his entire career inspite of over 12 years of career. Either he thought Pakistan wasn't good enough or he was scared of Pakistan. And it also gels in with the fact that Pakistan manahed to draw a series against WI in WI. No holding, no Richards. Couldn't have been that difficult I guess.

I will let PPers decide which could be the reason.
 
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cricketjoshila said:
Poor comment. And nothing better expected from Holding. About time a few Indian cricketers call him out for his rabid hatred for India.
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It’s s democracy he has a right to his own opinion. Just because your cricdkf league has a large market share don’t mean you’re above democracy. Not everyone has to worship India.
 
It was a perfectly reasonable comment.

It sounds like some Indian fans are used to crawling lackeys as commentators and are shocked when someone independent and neutral says what people are thinking rather than what the BCCI wants people to hear.
 
If he said it as is being reported then yes thats a very poor comment
 
ChuckLee said:
It’s s democracy he has a right to his own opinion. Just because your cricdkf league has a large market share don’t mean you’re above democracy. Not everyone has to worship India.
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Well dude, just like him viewers also have the right to express their opinions and that's wot folks r doing on this thread. Democracy can't be limited to Holding.

And btw u can say wotever u wanna say with microphone in hand. But it's a little ordinary to compare death to cricket losses.
 
Junaids said:
It was a perfectly reasonable comment.

It sounds like some Indian fans are used to crawling lackeys as commentators and are shocked when someone independent and neutral says what people are thinking rather than what the BCCI wants people to hear.
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Exactly! Indians need to understand foreign players and personal don’t care or even truly like India. At all. India is just the rich kid in the school yard and everyone sucking up to them for a piece.
 
Junaids said:
It was a perfectly reasonable comment.

It sounds like some Indian fans are used to crawling lackeys as commentators and are shocked when someone independent and neutral says what people are thinking rather than what the BCCI wants people to hear.
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So a neutral and independent person should be witty at someone's death? What world we are living in Junaids? And this has nothing to do with BCCI or cricket.
 
Madplayer said:
A poor comment by him. Wonder if IPL is the only reason why he dislikes Indian cricket?
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1983 world cup final Michael holding was last man out and that moment is frozen nightmare in his mind and spews frustration out in this way grabbing every opportunity. The fact that ipl ignores him has rubbed salt on the nightmare
 
I don’t think it’s particularly funny, but I don’t think it’s bad taste either.

Probably led to more people learning of Wadekar’s career and passing.

I’ve heard Boycott say far, far more off colour comments.
 
I thought the comment was funny and reasonable; he went on to explain the real context of the black arm bands.
 
Why are we so sensitive these days? The most important thing is that he did not mean any disrespect. Honestly, there are far more important things in life to worry about. This was trivial in the extreme. Chill out folks.
 
ChuckLee said:
Exactly! Indians need to understand foreign players and personal don’t care or even truly like India. At all. India is just the rich kid in the school yard and everyone sucking up to them for a piece.
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Lol! India rich kid or BCCi? If you really meant India than bro you definitely need to take up some economics courses.
 
I dont know why Indian fans act like this. Man up and except the comments without “oh what did he say” “why did he say” “he hates India bcz of blah blah”.

There was also Steve Bucknor which many Indians hated. What was his intentions? What kind lf revenge he was seeking?
 
I wasnt watching the match then but, I wouldnt have known why Indian players were wearing black bands or any other cricket fan would have known for that matter. Holding just calrified it, I just cant understand how some selected words can be taken in such bad taste.
 
I heard it live and didn't think anything of it. Genuinely surprised to see a thread dedicated to it.
 
Titan24 said:
Thank God you are not in that position otherwise your judgements would have ended the careers of many commentators
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No. Just the ones who don’t know what to say when. But i understand if your biases line up with holding’s views.
 
To be clear, it should be a fireable offense even, if holding were. 24 hour cheerleader for India
 
Why would you say "black arm bands are not because india are 2-0" other than to poke fun at india and disrespect the real reason for wearing them ?
 
Gabbar Singh said:
Wonder why Holding hates India so much?
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Think this hate business is over sensitivity at work. He has made a silly remark now - to think he has done it because somehow he 'hates' India is OTT.
 
Hope they wear black arm band whole match in memory of Kerala flood victims. And yes Holding should have been more understanding. When people die it isn't laughing matter.
 
ChuckLee said:
It’s s democracy he has a right to his own opinion. Just because your cricdkf league has a large market share don’t mean you’re above democracy. Not everyone has to worship India.
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Saying offensive things isnt democracy. Freedom of expression isnt unlimited. No one asked him to worship anyone.But decency is expected when you are commenting on live TV.
 
ChuckLee said:
Exactly! Indians need to understand foreign players and personal don’t care or even truly like India. At all. India is just the rich kid in the school yard and everyone sucking up to them for a piece.
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So these players and personal came and told you this? Ok.
 
MenInG said:
Unfortunate turn of events but I agree - people can lose their jobs due to this.
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And they should. Another day another time and Holding would have.

But right now Indians are mourning Vajpayee and are too concerned about the loss of lives and the flood situation in Kerala.
 
InziRules said:
It was a good comment, putting into context the series. Indians like [MENTION=76058]cricketjoshila[/MENTION] are too sensitive snowflakes that need to realise no one cares
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Sometimes one hates a country so much, when they open mouth, they spit venom for the particular country regardless of the circumstances.

He has right to say whatever he wants due to freedom of speech. One should not get upset when fans criticize him for the statement.

Fans have equal right to freedom of speech as Mr. Holding.

Your happiness in this quite justified.
 
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Titan24 said:
I dont know why Indian fans act like this. Man up and except the comments without “oh what did he say” “why did he say” “he hates India bcz of blah blah”.

There was also Steve Bucknor which many Indians hated. What was his intentions? What kind lf revenge he was seeking?
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The umpire was doing the same things for which Pak team walked out of Oval. They should have man up at that time.
 
It was a tongue in cheek comment and its unsurprising that the Indians are crying about it:))). Deal with it guys, because Michael Holding doesn't give a toss what you think :))
 
For those who say holding hates india.

Holding doesnt hate india.

Thing is holding appreciates bowling, especially fast bowling. If you bowl well he will be all praises. Problem is now adays some commies just have to praise their team just for the sake of it.

Indian commies are always over praising their team.

One of the reasons why holding talks higly of pakistan when we go over to england is because pakistan ends up bowling quite well.

Infact every time we catch everyone by surprise.
 
Give him an IPL commentary contract that he so desperately craves.

He already does something in the CPL, so disregard anything he says about the eminence of test cricket. Fake.
 
Varun said:
Give him an IPL commentary contract that he so desperately craves.

He already does something in the CPL, so disregard anything he says about the eminence of test cricket. Fake.
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He left WI to play Packer. There goes his "Test Cricket" theory.
 
I don't think he said this comment only because it's India. I highly doubt that. He just saw an attempt to try and be funny, but it ended up being slightly insensitive. Yes, I can see why people say he might not like India but I don't think the fact he potentialy dislikes them is what made him say that comment.
 
ChuckLee said:
It’s s democracy he has a right to his own opinion. Just because your cricdkf league has a large market share don’t mean you’re above democracy. Not everyone has to worship India.
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Hating India doesnt mean mocking dead people. It is pathetic that some people are defending this. Small hearts
 
hadi123 said:
I don't think he said this comment only because it's India. I highly doubt that. He just saw an attempt to try and be funny, but it ended up being slightly insensitive. Yes, I can see why people say he might not like India but I don't think the fact he potentialy dislikes them is what made him say that comment.
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Considering that those black armbands were for death of Ajit Wadekar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, i dont see anything funny in that. Unless ofcourse like Holding and a few posters in this thread who think that someones death is a funny event.
 
Sherlock said:
I swear if this was a Pakistani fan opening up this thread, and posted something similar about a Pakistani player being on the receiving end he/she would be mocked and told to stiffen up.
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No, you lot would have howled like everyone else and rightfully so.

There is a difference between criticizing the cricket and ridiculing someone honoring the dead. The former is the role of a commentator while the latter is a downright immature thing to do.

Childishness from Holding here. He is an elderly statesman of the game and is expected to behave better.
 
Major said:
For those who say holding hates india.

Holding doesnt hate india.

Thing is holding appreciates bowling, especially fast bowling. If you bowl well he will be all praises. Problem is now adays some commies just have to praise their team just for the sake of it.

Indian commies are always over praising their team.

One of the reasons why holding talks higly of pakistan when we go over to england is because pakistan ends up bowling quite well.

Infact every time we catch everyone by surprise.
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What does any of this have to do with mocking players wearing black arm bands to pay respect to dead legends?
 
cricketjoshila said:
Considering that those black armbands were for death of Ajit Wadekar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, i dont see anything funny in that. Unless ofcourse like Holding and a few posters in this thread who think that someones death is a funny event.
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I don't think it's funny either. But my point is that he didn't say this only to have a dig at India just because he doesn't like that particular country i.e it wasn't personal.
 
He’s an obnoxious drama queen. Never liked him for all the bitterness and grudges he holds.
 
Titan24 said:
Lol! India rich kid or BCCi? If you really meant India than bro you definitely need to take up some economics courses.
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In this context India meant BCCI, but maybe English ain’t your first language. India has the richest board in world cricket. Indian players get paid the most and have the highest net worth among their peers. IPL has a higher profit yield then any other cricket league and is becoming bigger then some American leagues. Indian GDP is over 1 trillion $, sure GDP per capita is low but will improve. India becoming a future world super power is being discussed and is plausible.
 
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gani999 said:
No, you lot would have howled like everyone else and rightfully so.

There is a difference between criticizing the cricket and ridiculing someone honoring the dead. The former is the role of a commentator while the latter is a downright immature thing to do.

Childishness from Holding here. He is an elderly statesman of the game and is expected to behave better.
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For one, we're not a pack of Wolves that "howl". Secondly that person would've been told to get a grip and get over it, as has been the case throughout PP. You'll get the obvious nods to the head by certain posters, as you have here but overall the thread would be forgotten about.
 
happydavy said:
In the end it's all about who pay your bills. Cricketers like Wasim Akram, Morrison, Michael Clarke now keeps praising Indian cricket endlessly because they make money in India. At times it's cringeworthy to see these great cricketers talk highly of substandard IPL players. On the other extreme is Michael Holding who only criticizes Indian cricketers because he gets no money from Indian cricket. These are 2 extremes and thats why I don't have much respect for most commentators.

Perhaps the ones who are largely unbiased are English commies - Naseer and David Lloyd.
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Agree.And also Boycott tells what he believes in front of microphone.But Nasser tops the list as best.
 
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The worst fans after the IPL haters are the freedom of speech advocates.
They have no concept of the rights of employer or employees.
Pretty disgraceful stuff from holding. Whether he loves or hates India is irrelevant.
 
Cruel comment by Holding. He should have known of Vajpayee's death.
 
PakLFC said:
If he knew then should have shown some common sense.
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Agreed, but it's not as insensitive as some are making it out. He spent more time talking about him with Bumble than many here are admitting. Yet we're here talking about anything but that.
 
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Shouldn't have said this but he is one my favorite commentators. Does a great job in commenting on cricket match.
 
Wow a whole thread on an inconsequential comment from a commentator. The Indians seem to be desperate to get offended.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Indian Cricket Team is wearing black armbands as a mark of respect to former India captain Shri Ajit Wadekar and former India Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away recently. <a href="https://t.co/vXMEFyODuy">pic.twitter.com/vXMEFyODuy</a></p>— BCCI (@BCCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1030787934054690816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
"India wearing black arm bands not because they are 2-0 down but because Ajit Wadekar passed away”
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how is this offensive?

He mocked the Indian performance in last two games and at the same time highlighted the dead of two Indian individuals. He said nothing that would have disrespected the dead ones.

Calm down, Indians, you have a right to be sensitive in India, not outside of India.
 
moghul said:
Shouldn't have said this but he is one my favorite commentators. Does a great job in commenting on cricket match.
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In my opinion he's a very poor commentator - constantly harking back to his day and whining about today to make himself sound important. Thankfully he is usually paired up with Sangakkara who is great, and I like Swann as well.
 
Pete Rose said:
That’s a fireable offense for me
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This. I defended holding on his comments about pandya but this is just sad and pathetic, you want to take a dig at a team, atleast be a man enough to do it without using somebody's death as a crutch.
 
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