BCCI's attitude leaves little room for hope

Looking back at the working committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, it is obvious that events unfolded in the only manner possible. Just before the meeting, Kapil Dev, coach of the Indian team said that the BCCI was 'unprofessional.' This upset more than one BCCI official. Various sections of the media got hold of this and bayed for the coach's blood. The president of the BCCI, AC Muthiah himself has been under a cloud as one of those chargesheeted in a case leveled by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Here again, some journalists have called for his resignation. As of today, both continue to hold office.

Kapil Dev's position however will be reviewed soon, when he explains himself to the board president. Muthiah has already been authorised to take whatever action he sees fit - this includes removal of the coach from his current job. Muthiah said that Kapil Dev was a 'disturbed man.' If good sense prevails, a 'disturbed man' will not be asked to coach a national team. However, that remains to be seen.

While waiting outside the closed doors of the working committee, the atmosphere among the gathered pressmen was rather cynical. Years of covering working committee meetings had people mouthing the words "nothing will come out of this" at regular intervals. At times when serious action is required to put Indian cricket back on its feet, the inactivity of board members is disheartening.

Muthiah announced grandly that Rs 10-12 lakhs would be spent on acquiring facilities necessary to equip state associations to giving their wards adequate physical training. This decision had to be ratified by the working committee. One wonders who ratifies decisions about spending on such meetings. All working committee members flew in, most if not all by first class. They stayed at the Le Meridian Hotel, Bangalore, a plush five star hotel. The meetings were held in banquet halls designed to host large parties rather than small meetings. A quick look at the extensive facilities at the Karnataka State Cricket Association reveals that there was no need to employ the services of a five star hotel like Le Meridian. The poet, William Blake once said 'the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom' Surely the BCCI members aren't taking him literally.

Jaywant Lele is a man who thrives on attention from the press. For reasons best known to himself, and possibly the board president, he kept absolutely silent through the two days of meetings in Bangalore. Word spread that Muthiah had firmly instructed him to refrain from making any statements. Rather odd isn't it, that the official spokesman of the BCCI is asked not to say anything?

In the middle of his briefing, Muthiah said something about Australia touring India in December. Even all the journalists in the room knew that Australia is touring India in February.

Something is fundamentally wrong. Even as one member emerged from the meeting to answer a call of nature, he found that the washrooms were being cleaned. Ironically one journalist remarked, 'at least something is being cleaned.' That was indicative of the mood at the working committee meeting.

Let's face it. Indian cricket has serious fundamental problems. Given the current set up, some of those problems cannot be tackled. How can someone who is part of the problem look for an answer? Tough times are ahead for Indian cricket. There is an old adage about tough times not lasting while tough people do. The tough times obviously won't last endlessly. The game itself will certainly outlast tough times. But who of the `tough people' in Indian cricket will still be around then?