BCCI - Sport's biggest juggernaut
Dileep Premachandran, in the Sydney Morning Herald , says the BCCI has become sport's biggest juggernaut, and points out that though a few other sporting entities may generate revenue on the same scale, they don't have the political muscle that
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Dileep Premachandran, in the Sydney Morning Herald, says the BCCI has become sport's biggest juggernaut, and points out that though a few other sporting entities may generate revenue on the same scale, they don't have the political muscle that can subvert a game. He highlights the need for a statesman like Mahatma Gandhi in Indian cricket.
Many Indians are discomfited by the board's greed and naked displays of strength but there's also a new, prosperous brigade that takes perverse pride in sticking it to the old world. The voices of reason look at the lack of facilities in small towns, ramshackle stadia and haphazard itineraries and wonder where all the money goes. Those that burn effigies and parade donkeys on the street couldn't care less.
Nearly a century ago, MK Gandhi returned from South Africa to lead a motley crew of princely states into the modern world. He did so with humility, common sense and an unshakeable belief that truth would prevail. Indian cricket awaits a similar statesman.
In the Daily Telegraph, Garry Linnell writes that we should get used to the fact that the BCCI are the new masters of world cricket.
Pradeep Magazine says India should use its clout to correct the issues plaguing the sport, instead of only reacting when there's trouble. He writes in the Hindustan Times:
India, now for most, is a country for which the business of sport and not the sport itself is the most important business. It is a dangerous sign and the sooner India tries to dispel this notion, the better it will be for its image and for world cricket.
Mathew Varghese is sub-editor (stats) at Cricinfo