Spot-fixing and the BCCI chief - Rape of Indian cricket
Narayana Swamy
Daijiworld Media Network
Chennai, Jun 2: Indian cricket reached a new low when adamant BCCI chief Srinivasan escaped from resigning from his post on Sunday June 2. People of this cricket-crazy nation expected Srinivasan to resign from his post, so Indian cricket could be in safer hands. Needless to say, the image of the so-called gentleman's game was badly hit when spot fixing by three Indian cricketers came to light, and later the son-in-law of Indian cricket chief as well as boss of a top IPL team Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested by police.
On Sunday, June 2 the entire media of the country speculated on 'arrogant' Srinivasan's future, as top cricket officials met in Chennai to decide his fate. The meeting turned to be in favour of Srinivasan, as majority of members agreed on Srinivasan 'stepping aside' (to go on leave until the probe against his son-in-law is completed) and Jagmohan Dalmiya stepping in as the new 'interim president' of BCCI. Dalmiya, who never had a clean record during his tenure as BCCI chief in the past will supervise cricket administration in the country.
During the meeting it was also decided to call back Ajay Shirke and Jagadale who resigned from BCCI to put pressure on Srinivasan to quit. But media reports say that both are not willing to take back their resignations as long as Srinivasan stays.
As soon as the BCCI decision was out, electronic channels criticised the meeting as undemocratic, and termed it an 'open rape' of Indian cricket. Some of the TV channels also accused other cricket administrators of joining hands with Srinivasan.
As the power struggle continues, the cricket lovers of the country feel let down by its administrators. The top bosses of Indian cricket are mostly politically powerful people or rich corporate businessmen.
Even country's top cricket legends seem to have bowed their heads down in front of these filthy rich officials, as Sunil Gavaskar has written in a leading daily that he cannot talk about the current situation of Indian cricket because he has a contract with a TV channel, and is not in a position to make any comment. Ravi Shasti who is under BCCI pay roll has never opened his mouth on this issue.
Legends like Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Ventakesh Prasad from Karnataka too are mum on the issue, and their diplomacy has now led to anger in the media.
No doubt, if this kind of attitude by cricket administrators continues, big number of Indian cricket fans may soon lose interest in the game.
There are only a handful of days to go for Champions Trophy in England, but there is hardly any buzz among the fans. One wonders if it is the controversy that has overshadowed the upcoming tournament, or have the fans already lost interest.