BCCI - The Parliament of cricket!

First, you claimed that no one from the BCCI has asked for your resignation. The very next day, the head of Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association demands your head. Shortly after, the IPL Commissioner Rajiv Shukla joins the list (in politically correct words albeit). Now the Goa & Assam associations have also urged you to step down. Was it not a lie then? If not, what has changed from that press conference and now?

Second, you claimed that your son-in-law was just a cricket enthusiast. Wow! I hardly knew that an ‘enthusiast’ can be part of CSK dugout, in team meetings, auctions and discussing team composition & strategy! Sir, there is enough evidence in the media to refute this claim. If you still disagree, check Lalit Modi’s Twitter account! If Meiyappan was a JUST cricket enthusiast then, Harshad Mehta was only a stock analyst and Ajmal Kasab was a tourist who wanted to see the CST station!

What’s more, you justify your actions by saying that the public is with you and the sold out IPL Final is an indication of this. What about the jeer you were greeted with by the 61000 fans who bought these tickets?

The events listed above indicate the brazen attitude of BCCI only in the recent spot fixing case. (The real stories behind DRS, ICC Technical Committee elections, sponsorship withdrawals of Sahara, DLF etc., termination of IPL franchises etc. have not even been considered).

What we are witnessing over the last few days are a few simple techniques at work -

1. Retain your position by hook or crook and keep making money and more money under the pretext of performing administrative duties or serving the masses.
2. No one from the mutual fraternity will oppose because they are also waiting to get a bite of the same pie.
3. If rules disallow you to directly mint money, change the rules or get your relatives involved in it.
4. Set up a committee to probe the issue in order to appease the public and ensure the probe report is never out
5. Public memory is short. They will slowly forget the issue and return to their normal chores (watching and enjoying cricket in this case).

Don’t these techniques look familiar? Haven’t we seen these at work time and again? Yes, our so called politicians are the most prolific exponents of this art. In fact, they are the ones who have perfected this technique. They can and should apply a patent for this technique called ‘How to stay in power and maximise profits’.

BCCI, in many ways, is just a mirror image of the power hungry India we are living in. In all facets of politics, media, government, municipal corporations, welfare schemes, etc, we see these techniques being functional and highly effective. Rules are bent, loop holes are exploited, relatives are favoured and constitutions are modified only to suit the well-being of the power holder rather than the public. The aam aadmi is the last thing on their mind.

BCCI affairs are just a subset of the how Indian Parliament operates. It is just a reflection of how cronyism has become a part of every national body in India! Expecting the BCCI to clean up its act on its own is as wishful as expecting Sajid Khan to make good films! As always, the fans will have to conceal their disappointment with the joy that the game gives them. Similar to how the “aam aadmi” gets back to his chores in spite of a shoddy government that it never deserves!

P.S. – Just read a news article where Sharad Pawar has severely criticized Srinivasan. Maybe now he regrets accepting Srini’s bid for the CSK franchise in spite of the obvious conflict of interest. Maybe he now feels that he could have asked his nephew to bid for the franchise instead!

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sportskeeda