BCCI – curing the disease or taking fans for granted?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), released a 12 point plan last week for cleaning up the game of cricket on the back of huge pressure from all quarters. The intention was to correct an image tarnished due to the spot fixing scandal during the sixth season of the IPL which concluded late last month. We saw three players (S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan) and several others arrested, conflict of interest situations for a father-in-law and son-in-law (N Srinivasan and Gurunath Meiyappan) and a co-owner of a franchise banned (Raj Kundra of the Rajasthan Royals). On a purview of the 12 point plan, it appears the BCCI is trying to cure the symptoms rather than the disease. Also, there is no indication of the administrators walking the talk as I had wished for in my previous post.

While some of the points in the plan are welcome, such as a strict code of conduct for players, support staff and franchise owners, some of the other items in the plan border on sheer insanity such as banning cheerleaders. It is also curious to note that the BCCI administrators have been cleverly left out from the list of stakeholders who need to be compliant. The fact that there is no commission or group which has been set up to ensure compliance raises questions about the credibility of these plans announced by Jagmohan Dalmiya, the interim BCCI President.

Banning cheerleaders is aimed at eliminating sleaze, says Dalmiya. I fail to understand the logic behind this decision. One does not ban cheerleaders for eliminating sleaze; one restricts access to them for the players, match officials, support staff, franchise owners and more importantly, the BCCI administrators (who are likely to be the sleaziest of the lot)! Banning cheerleaders does not prevent the players and others concerned from having access to women; there are umpteen other sources. I’m not going into too much detail on this.

On the code of conduct, a few key stakeholders have been left out on reading the verbiage in the plan – selectors and other BCCI officials as well as the match officials. The code of conduct apparently applies only to players, support staff and franchise owners. This is a glaring loophole and I really hope this is fixed. Not doing so will lead to a plethora of problems for the embattled body running the game in India. I do not think these key personnel were left out inadvertently since there is another point in the plan which says no national selector will be involved with any franchise in any capacity (so, can a state selector be involved?). Therefore, I’m inclined to believe that the clause deliberately omitted selectors and other officials of the BCCI as well as the match officials from following the code of conduct. This diffidence in attitude is a total shame!

The plan as a whole is beset with loopholes of such nature. If the BCCI was serious in its demeanor to curb corruption and clean the game, they would certainly have come up with a much more infallible plan. Such half-cooked plans will only serve to increase the confusion and will not in any way instill the confidence in the average cricket fan to turn up and watch a game – whether on TV or at the grounds.

Jagmohan Dalmiya’s appointment as the interim BCCI president is equally disappointing. Everybody knows what kind of a moral standpoint this man has when it comes to cricket administration. Often dubbed as the Machiavelli of Indian cricket, he is no stranger to controversies. Remember the Mike Denness affair or his expulsion from the BCCI for alleged misappropriation of funds? The name is devoid of any ethics and does not send out the message that the BCCI is honest.

We will have to really wait and watch how the 12 point plan is administered in detail. But fans should beware that some sections of the plan are totally inadequate and needs a lot of fine-tuning to become clear and unambiguous. Honestly, Dalmiya is not the right man for the job (a crook of the first water, to quote a friend of mine) and we can only hope that the game is cleaned up to the hilt and fans enjoy watching the game again, not feeling that they have been taken for a ride!

Greedy cricketers, the importance of Ian Bell and Australia quietly arrive for the Ashes

The gentleman’s game has taken a beating in the last couple of weeks with the spot fixing controversy and the BCCI being shamed. Why do cricketers go after more money? Why do they feel that ethics and morals are not greater than cash? What can we do to clean this game up, at least in India? What should be the role of the Government, the Judiciary and the BCCI in all these?

The Indian domestic cricket paints a wretched picture when it comes to player salaries and other compensation. If you looked at the earnings of domestic cricketers all over the world, India ranks poorly with probably only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe being ranked lower than us in terms of this. The BCCI is apparently the richest sporting body in the world, so one would assume there is no harm if they paid our domestic cricketers more than the peanuts they are earning now. One of the reasons why cricketers indulge in spot fixing and other imprudent activities is the feeling of insecurity. Being inadequately compensated, they have to support their families and for this they turn to the lucrative spot fixing arena. And boy, are they happy! They turn out to be dirty rotten scoundrels rather than dignified cricketers who could be emulated by the generation that is growing up now.

The indulgence in fixing and betting activities coupled with the policy of low pay and incentives for domestic cricket invariably breed greed in our cricketers. They are not satisfied with what they get and want more and then even more! Values and morals are thrown to the wind in the melee that is spot fixing. All the things about the love of the game turn to a lust for money. This attitude is perilous and does not augur well for Indian cricket. The National Cricket Academy (NCA) should carry out sessions in coordination with each of the state cricket associations to tutor players about the substance of values and morals. Erudite cricketers such as Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble should speak in these sessions about the way the game should be played. The ineptitude of the BCCI in doing this is glaring and this sporting body is an absolute disgrace for all cricket lovers in this proud country!

A lot of debate has happened over what is best to clean the game. I personally feel betting should be legalized in India. Bookies must be registered with the BCCI and an independent Government body should be set up to monitor betting activities. Any bookie who has a conflict of interest should divulge this before placing a bet. Players, coaches, support staff and others associated with the teams should be banned from betting on a game. A law that regulates betting while at the same time imposing strict punishments for fixing and other incidental activities should be framed so that there is accountability and responsibility all around. I understand that fixing is quite different from betting but legalizing betting and a strict law against fixing will be bare minimum deterrents for the vice.

The Government should work closely with the Courts as well as the BCCI to fast-track cases of illegal betting and fixing and bring the culprits to book. It would be a good idea to institute separate Courts for trying these cases with a right of appeal to the High Court which could be the final fact-finding authority. Aggrieved persons could have the right to approach the Supreme Court but only on questions of law. Within the BCCI, there should be a code of conduct that should be passed on to its affiliate state associations as well as partners. The code should be strictly enforced and refreshers conducted at the start and middle of every season. The punishments envisaged must be clearly communicated so that it acts as a strong motivation for players not to indulge in acts of indignity. The players must be educated about the virtues of honesty and dedication. Of course, the BCCI officials themselves have to walk the talk first!

Elsewhere, in England, the Englishmen are slugging it out against the touring Kiwis. Their bowling won for them comprehensively the first Test at Lord’s but questions have already been asked about their batting, with the Ashes just around the corner. The retirement of Andrew Strauss has drilled a gaping hole at the top and Nick Compton is just gaining the experience required to excel at the highest level. But the gravest of their problems is the middle order.

With the exuberant Kevin Pietersen out with an injury, England’s middle order will have their task cut out. He is expected to return from injury to play the Ashes, but there’s no idea of the form he is going to be in. Ian Bell should feel the most threatened of his place in the side today as Joe Root and Johnny Bairstow are much younger and plays with much more confidence. Bell needs to go back to domestic cricket and find his runs because England desperately needs him to score in the Ashes. They cannot afford to go into an important series with a rookie middle order that could be consumed by a battery of Australia’s pacers who can be at their best in these conditions. Batting around Bell will be England’s best option as far as their middle order is concerned simply because there isn’t a better player in England who could master the conditions and the opposition. If Australia manages to bridle Bell, then England could struggle.

Australia, meanwhile, have arrived quietly in England and this quiet is actually excellent for them. They are not weighed down by expectations because England is definitely a better side and Australia are coming off the back of a humiliating series loss in India. Having said that, Australia’s cricketers are fighters and they can very well give England a run for their money. This could be more so in the opening duels when the conditions would still aid swing rather than in the latter half of the series when things would be much easier for the batsmen. Both the sides would want to wrap the series up before they arrive at The Oval for the final Test. An interesting duel is certainly on the cards. Look forward to watch the action!