Nothing succeeds like excess

A long time ago, in an unimaginably more innocent era, C L R James famously wrote, “What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?’’ He certainly nailed that one, but he may never have in his wildest dreams — or nightmares — foreseen the crazy evolution of his beloved sport. Like the men who play it, cricket is no longer clad in pristine white. Instead, it’s draped in psychedelic, garish hues, accessorised by beautiful women with tawdry pasts, moneybags whose bulging bank accounts seem to go hand-in-glove with a bankruptcy of scruples, dark whispers of underworld funds and ubiquitous fixers engaged in a frenzied climb up the greasy social pole.

The contrast between Manohar and the urbane, US-educated Modi couldn’t have been any greater if a scriptwriter had set out to create them. Manohar doesn't carry a cell phone or a watch, didn't have a passport until 2007, and had never travelled abroad till he flew to Dubai to attend the ICC meeting in 2008. Also, unlike the smooth-talking, naturally exuberant Modi, Manohar is a man of few words. But when he does speak, he usually makes an impact. He certainly did so when the bids were first tabled for the two new IPL teams on March 7. Only two bidders qualified, leading to a stream of complaints that the draconian norms had been deliberately ‘fixed’ to ensure that only favoured parties could participate in the auction.

A whole raft of concealed freebies from public resources to the BCCI-IPL is also not discussed. We have no picture of their full scope. No questions either on why a public sector company should be billing itself as the “sponsor” of a team owned by the fourth richest man in the planet. No questions asked about issues ranging from super-cheap land leases and stadia rentals and low-cost stadia security. We don't even know what the total bill to the public is: just that it is probably in tens of crores.

Before knives are thrown at me, let me make it clear that I am not accusing anyone. Let me quote what Paul Condon, the director of ICC’s anti-corruption unit, had to say in 2008: “The IPL brings with it the biggest threat in terms of corruption in the game since the days of cricket in Sharjah.” Today when we are being made aware that there could be dubious funding involved in the IPL, shouldn’t we take this statement seriously?