The Curious Case of BCCI
“No. I am on National Duty. Everything else can wait” — MS Dhoni
Cricket is a religion in the Indian Subcontinent. This is more amplified in India where players are idolized in the event of success and demonized when they fail. The people of India breathe cricket and follow each and every miniscule step that happens in Indian cricket. For the past few months, Indian cricket has not been in news for the right reasons. It started with the sacking of Virat Kohli as ODI captain followed by speculation of a tiff of Virat Kohli with Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli’s resignation as captain of the test team and finally veteran Wriddhiman Saha claiming that he had been told indirectly to retire. Why has Indian cricket suddenly entered into a period of controversy and off field tussles?
This can be answered only by BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). BCCI is the most powerful cricket administration in the world and calls the shots across world cricket making India a dominant force outside the field as well in terms of revenue sharing and tournament hosting. Over the course of past 24 months, the BCCI administration has undergone a personnel change with Sourav Ganguly taking over the helm along with Jay Shah as the secretary. The duo forms the most powerful sports administrator combination in world cricket and in Indian sports. They can influence selector decisions, captaincy decisions and any other decision on the field. Ideally, these are supposed to be outside their purview, but human nature prevents them from staying aloof and not exerting their influence.
BCCI has always tried to stay away from the limelight for on field decisions , but such events of their powerful influence have always been present, though not visible to the public. Sourav Ganguly himself went through the ordeal when he was sacked as captain and from the team in 2004–2005 after Greg Chappel took over the Head coach role for the Indian Team. Sharad Pawar (BCCI Chief in 2005) influenced the decision making among the Indian selectors despite Sourav Ganguly performing up to standards. Similarly, MS Dhoni was saved from axing owing to N Srinivasan’s influence. All these instances never came into the limelight and BCCI chief was always under the radar. Fast forward to 2021 and the BCCI chief and the Indian captain are not someone who will keep their mouth shut.
The saga of Virat Kohli being shown the door in ODIs followed by lack of clarity in communication between the administration and the captain demonstrate the dark side of BCCI where they start influencing their hold on their own players who bring glory and revenue to the nation and their organization. Cricket administrators are often successful if they have a history of sports associated with them. Yes, we have Sourav Ganguly at the helm, but his right-hand man is a politically motivated individual named Jay Shah. If you are guessing, he is the son of India’s Home Minister, Amit Shah. Jay Shah possesses minimal cricket knowledge other than training in an academy like many other Indians. He is a hard core businessman who has got this position owing to political influence and money power. 2 years into the role, he is calling the shots from behind by making changes in accordance with which person serves his purpose well. I may not be aware of the final motive of Jay Shah, but anyone who crosses his path and does not pay heed to him is paying the price for it.
The forthcoming nature of Virat Kohli has resulted in the same. His fear has emboldened Sourav Ganguly to take drastic steps and oppose his players. The new coach, Rahul Dravid is not the usual brave individual who would protect his proteges. He is merely conveying the message to players like Saha that you are on your way out. The Rahul Dravid from U19 or India A coaching days would have encouraged Wriddhiman Saha to keep working on his game with the hope of making a comeback. Even Sourav Ganguly made a comeback at the age of 34 and enjoyed his golden period in batting. Not to sound pessimistic, but you never know that Rishabh Pant or his back up fail to hit form in the next 12 months. The match winning Australian wicketkeeper, Matthew Wade knocked out Pakistan from T20 world cup at the age of 34. Jay Shah’s influence is not the first instance of a BCCI official playing their cards to weed influence within the Indian Cricket team. This has happened in the past as well and will continue to happen until strict regulation come into place
There is a need to establish ground rules within BCCI where the administrators have relevant cricket history associated with them and Indian Selectors and the Indian team should be completely oblivious of the administration. Administration’s job is to think of the player’s wellbeing and not play with them. We, as Indians are at the risk of losing the greatest batsman in the history of cricket in the next 12–18 months owing to a narcissist administration thinking about personal and political gains. This curious case of BCCI needs serious introspection by the judiciary as well as the cricket fraternity.
