iSport Cricket Paddock: The BCCI is equally to blame for the Lalit Modi – IPL fiasco writes iSporter Saurabh Joshi.
The Indian Premier League season III is over and so is the World T20. All that the fans and media have been talking about since the last phase of IPL till India’s T20 exit is Lalit Modi and the BCCI. And we can’t blame them can we? We are a cricket loving country and feel that we require a justification for some of the glaring errors made by the so called governing body of Indian cricket.
IPL season III was full of drama on and off the field. The off field drama definitely was spicier than the cricket played. Mr. Modi through his famous tweets decided to go at loggerheads with the big wigs of Indian politics and by over doing things he ensured that not too many people were in the fray to save him. BCCI very clearly under Government pressure took immediate steps of suspending Modi on 15 breaches (Franchisee stake and Contracts with media topped the list). Must say BCCI couldn’t have been more hypocritical in the way they handled the whole Lalit Modi and IPL episode. Some of the most eye catching errors made by the Board were:
1. BCCI claimed that it would not have had a problem with Modi if he had taken permission to be a part of ownership team of the franchisees like Mr. Srinivasan did for Team Chennai. Wasn’t it the Boards duty to check the ownership pattern of all the franchisees first up? After all IPL is BCCI’s baby isn’t it?
2. According to the Board the contracts for the TV rights were signed only by Lalit Modi without knowledge of BCCI. How ridiculous is that and so difficult to believe. My rent agreements get signed by more than one witness! Even if Modi signed it I am sure he would have been given the authority to do so.
3. There are claims made by BCCI that the bids for two additional teams were rigged, so who from BCCI / governing council was monitoring the bidding process?
4. Boycotting the final stages of IPL was the biggest example of how immature the thought process of the richest cricket Board is. The Board instead of standing tall and taking responsibility chose to hide behind the bush and play the waiting game.
5. What were the other 12 members of the governing council doing? Sleeping!! Why were the other members not suspended? BCCI’s habit of making a scape goat out of a single person is clearly evident.
6. The key contract documents were not found in the BCCI office just sums up the way BCCI functions. And our BCCI President Mr. Shashank Manohar makes a shallow statement that “hence forth we shall take care that all the key documents are properly stored in the BCCI office”. What a joke!
7. We have Mr. Manohar making a statement out of nowhere that Mr. Pawar and family has been given a clean chit. Although that wouldn’t have surprised most of us, but shouldn’t the BCCI explain what enquiry was carried out against the Pawar family and on what basis they were able to come up with the “clean chit” decision so fast.
Lalit Modi is no saint and may be found guilty for his wrong doings but according to me this episode is a major failure for BCCI and steps should be taken and questions should be asked to those at the helm of affairs. People can’t get away by issuing charge sheets and showing that they are taking action against the wrong doers when they themselves are a party to it.
We talk about Lalit Modi taking advantage of his position but it’s a proven fact that every person who is at the helm of affairs has made sure that they have enjoyed the benefits and positions. Jagmohan Dalmiya and Sharad Pawar did it and now Mr. Manohar who tries to portray himself as a person who cares about BCCI is no saint either. In his tenure as president, Mr. Manohar (man from Nagpur) has ensured that Nagpur venue gets a fair share of matches. From January 2009 to March 2010 there were 22 matches played across 14 venues and surprise surprise! Nagpur hosted 4 matches while the other venues held a maximum of 2 matches. Bangalore and Chennai which are supposed to be known as the best cricket grounds in India haven’t got even a single game in the last 15 months. What do we infer from this??
Poor administration is clearly evident from the fact that Board did not have a website till September 2008 and now that they have one it does not give any relevant information about the current happenings in Indian cricket (would like the readers to visit the site www.bccicricket.org). I can bet that www.isport.in gives more relevant information and news about Indian cricket.
The functioning of this body needs a shot in the arm. Questions need to be asked whether people like Niranjan Shah, Rajiv Shukla and Professor Ratnakar Shetty have the caliber to hold important posts in Board which makes revenue of 1000 crores year on year. As they say there is no “free lunch”, so as long as the word “voluntary” and “honorary” exist in BCCI, mismanagement, corruption and irregularities will continue to occupy the front seat and accountability and responsibility will enjoy the ride from the rear end.
BCCI needs to undergo a major revamp; it’s essentially run by a stupid bunch of political pets. There is absolutely no planning, and decision making is only done on a knee-jerk reaction basis. The earlier the BCCI decides to put its own house in order the better, may be corporatizing the operations would be the way to go. The BCCI would do well to abide by an old English adage – “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones”. How true is that!
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Sohel Topiwala
said:
 |
... Saurabh so u r back! Well, poeple say BCCI is a big daddy..I say its a stupid daddy. On their own merit, BCCI has done absolutely NOTHING ! Its just that the game of ckt is worshipped in india as a result of which BCCI today has become BCCI. Manohar shukla ratnakar shetty pawar, i wonder how much of ckt knowledge they have. Forget ckt, i dont even think they have business knowledge ! And the man who has the biz knowledge has been thrown out! Do we expect modi is just sit on d sidelines...the man will hit back at the real hard ! BCCI is the worst run richest body in the world. It should definitely be corporatized and people like YOU should be at the helm ! Infact I think Modi should become ICC chief ! But then he needs BCCIs support. Buttock shit BCCI ! Run by a mindless overweight bunch of political jerks with vested interests! - Sohel |
Saurabh Joshi
said:
|
... Thanks sohel..... I guess we are so involved in the game we feel far more then others.....  I think Sharad Pawar knows business better then the others though... but they cant think for the game more then themselves....) cheers |
a guest
said:
|
... Gr8 work Saurabh........I don't know when we will have clean, transparent & impartial board. The game, now a days, is more like dirty politics than real unbiased one it used to be. That is why least interested guys like me have stopped following it. Keep up the good work Pankaj |
a guest
said:
|
... Good one Saurabh!! Nice reading the article which has put together the entire fiasco in this sheet of paper. Just one question to you - When you say - "BCCI needs to undergo a major revamp", " The earlier the BCCI decides to put its own house in order the better, may be corporatizing the operations would be the way to go" ....I would like to know as to whom are you asking to take the DECISION...if these are the people who form the governing council / working committee etc etc...then who is supposed to come and clean this shit? If your answer is government - then I am sorry to say but I can write a 10 pager on the bad management of our government. It would be just like asking one handicapped person to help another. Wait to see your answer! Its easier said than done and people (including you and me) like all big things starting from 26 /11 fiasco to every other thing would forget this fiasco. Regards, Avirup |
Saurabh Joshi
said:
|
... Avirup, Thanks for your comments and apologies for the delayed response... When i say corporatising operations, i never meant Government.. Like Mr Chirayiu Amin was appointed there needs to be a group of people appointed who need to be at the helm of affairs and are accountable for the job done. make the body more transperant. you may not be able to get rid of the honorary posts in the BCCI but you can atleast get the operations done in a systematic manner by hiring proffesionals. Hope that answers your questions.... |
a guest
said:
|
... Hey Saurabh, thanks for replying...yeah it did answer my question to a great extent...lets hope what you say becomes possible atleast few years down the line if nt right away... |
Show/hide comment form
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
