Board officials stumble forward with code of conduct

When the Cricket Board's code of conduct was first proposed almost two weeks ago, there was a furore in the national press. Annoyed assistant editors of newspapers wrote editorials that spoke strongly against the measures that were put forward. Although in principle, everyone is in agreement that cricketers might have had too much freedom in the last few years, and the fact that this freedom might have encouraged them to stray from the straight and narrow, it was also agreed that it would be foolish to treat them like schoolboys in a boarding school.

The use of cellular telephones from cricket grounds has been banned. No one complained about that move. Strangers were summarily expelled from the dressing room. Even though this meant that even the press would not have access to those areas, that decision was widely accepted.

What went down very badly indeed was the proposal to place a gag order on the captain and players. When things are in a situation where almost every match is viewed with suspicion, transparency is what is needed all around. Every other cricket board has responded to this call. Strangely, India seems to be lagging far behind.

At a meeting convened at Mumbai yesterday, officials were supposed to finalise the code of conduct and pass it on to Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Union Minister for Sports, on August 1 for approval. After he okayed it, the code was to be implemented in the very next series India played. This however has not happened. Kishore Rungta, convenor of the committee, speaking to pressman at Mumbai said "There is nothing much I can tell you at the moment as the committee would be meeting again in Delhi on July 30 before the draft is submitted to the Minister on August 1. " It must be remembered that this second meeting at Delhi was not scheduled to take place in the first place.

As if calling for another meeting without explanation was not bad enough, Rungta added, "The draft will be discussed at the Delhi meeting and its contents and the changes, if any, would be disclosed to the press by the Minister." This is a classic example of what could happen if the gag order they have proposed is passed. The press would have nothing at all to go by, but for a reluctant official spokesman. When this happens, rumours will gather momentum, key issues will get lost and the focus will shift irrevocably away from the game itself.

Forming a strict, practical and transparent code of conduct for players and officials alike is the order of the day. But that has to be done with extreme care. This is not the time for pussyfooting around. The board would do well to call in the professionals to do the job for them. However for some board officials, calling in the professionals would be akin to signing resignation letters.