Former players strident in attacks on BCCI

For some time now, the autonomous image of the Board of Control for Cricket in India has taken a beating. In its seven decades of existence, there has never really been a real threat to its autonomy. Financially always on strong ground, the BCCI has never had to approach the government for any assistance on this front. Except for the routine release of foreign exchange or the token permission needed whenever there is a series against Pakistan, there has been little interaction with the government.

The match fixing scandal - and the subsequent income tax raids - have changed the scenario. Not only has the BCCI been accused of not doing anything to curb the menace, but the officials themselves have been found to be not exactly above board. Too much freedom over the years has led to nepotism, corruption and inefficiency. The board's functioning has hardly been in keeping with the changing times, its thinking generally archaic. But as long as the money was flowing in, as long as the team was doing well, as long as the Gavaskars, Kapil Devs and Tendulkars were around, everything seemed hunky dory about the game in the country. Sure, there were times when cricket was in the headlines for the wrong reasons, or when the game and the players and the officials were discussed in Parliament. But all this was quickly glossed over with the game enjoying a pre-eminent position in the country.

Over the last couple of months, however the BCCI and the Sports Ministry seemed to be on a collision course. The Union Sports Minister SS Dhindsa and the Minister of State for Sports Shahnawaz Hussain have been strident in their attacks against the board's functioning, something that had not been done before. The BCCI for its part was in no mood to part with its autonomous status. But despite JY Lele's frequent 'we are an autonomous body' statements, subsequent developments had the board secretary's stance inviting derisive laughter. If it was really a self governing body, why did the board, under pressure from the government, make the Chandrachud report public? Why did it give a Vision report to the Sports Ministry? Why did it agree to submit a Code of Conduct draft to Dhindsa? Why was there not even a murmur of protest against the income tax raids?

But from the Board's angle, the most disturbing aspect is not even the attacks from the government. Perhaps what would be causing the most discomfiture are the strong words being used by former players. More than one cricketer has come out with the suggestion that it is time the government takes over the BCCI. Former captain Bishen Bedi has always been vociferous in his attacks on the board and he has said it is time the government takes over. And just the other day, the BCCI came under the severest attack yet from another former Indian player Kirti Azad.

Now a BJP Member of Parliament, Azad, 41, strongly urged the government to take over the administration of the "high handed, notorious and arrogant" BCCI till its new constitution was drafted and office bearers elected. He said this was necessary keeping in mind the continuing intransigent attitude of the BCCI regarding match fixing and other related matters like the framing of the new code of conduct for the players. "The BCCI seems to be under the impression that it is above the laws of the land," he alleged. Reacting to Lele's statement that the BCCI was not going to be guided by the government directives on the evolution of the code of conduct, Azad said "the worst offender in the present crisis is the BCCI, which has single handedly devalued the game and presided over its crass commercialisation and corruption. The BCCI is a high handed, arrogant body which imagines it is not accountable to anybody and does not owe an explanation to anybody." He alleged that the image of the game had suffered immensely at the hands of the BCCI because of the match fixing controversy "which the board has tried its best to sweep under the carpet." He pointed out that while the Pakistan and South African boards reacted immediately to the match fixing controversy, the BCCI appointed the Chandrachud committee which was an "eyewash."

Azad's broadside is easily the most strident against the board. But besides Bedi and Azad, even comparatively less outspoken cricketers like MAK Pataudi and Chetan Chauhan have hinted that it is time the government takes a closer look at the Board's functioning. This kind of open and sustained criticism against the BCCI from the players is something new. In the past, perhaps only Sunil Gavaskar repeatedly hit out at the board in his regular column but even this was done in a sarcastic vein. The BCCI has started mending fences with the government, if Tuesday's meeting at New Delhi between board president AC Muthiah and Sports Ministry officials is any indication. Perhaps the time has come to mend fences with its more outspoken critics, the former cricketers, a move that is a must for the betterment of the game in the country.