Greig, Ranatunga & others can moan, BCCI will continue to flex its financial muscle

The BCCI is coming under increasing attack from cricketers within and outside the country.

By Venkat Balantrapu

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is coming under increasing attack – from within and outside the country. First it was Tony Greig and then it was Arjuna Ranatunga. It did not end there. An overwhelming 69% of the international cricketers surveyed recently opined that the BCCI influences International Cricket Council (ICC)’s in decision making. In effect, the image of the apex body for cricket worldwide has taken a severe dent.

The IPL is being seen as a money-making monster that is luring players to the detriment of national interest. The subtle pressure that was brought upon by the BCCI ensured that Sri Lanka had to relent in allowing some of their key players stay in India to prolong their stay in the IPL while the national team was preparing for the tour of England. In fact, the lucrative the Indian Premier League (IPL) is perceived as the reason for Lasith Malinga bidding adieu to international cricket – a huge loss for Sri Lanka.

That the BCCI is a cash-rich entity is beyond a shadow of doubt. That it does not hesitate to flex its financial muscle to get its way with the ICC is what is causing a lot of heartburn around the world.

The season four of IPL, which followed even before the Indian team players could soak in the joy of winning the World Cup, put enormous stress and strain on the players who were in the thick of World Cup action. Not surprisingly, the casualty list kept increasing by the day… Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh to add to the unavailability of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan. That’s almost half the side that did duty for India!

Even as the Country versus Club debate rages on, the public perception is that the BCCI is more interested in raking the moolah than caring for the country of the players.

The tour of the Caribbean offers a great chance for India to close in on Australia in the ICC ODI rankings as well as reiterate their supremacy as the No 1 ranked Test playing nation, but in the absence of several key players, the task will be that much more onerous.

A proactive board with a heighted sense of national interest would have done all within its means to ensure that Sehwag and Gambhir did not aggravate their injuries by ensuring that they got adequate rest before the Caribbean tour. It would have done all within its means to do the same for Dhoni and Tendulkar so that they were fresh and available for the West Indies tour. But the intent was never evident and neither there is any sense of remorse.

The unpleasant impact of the IPL is already evident with many international cricketers retiring early to ensure they rake in more money in shorter time by remaining fresh and fit for the IPL.

But would the criticism change things or rattle the BCCI? No way! As the saying goes, “He who has the gold, makes the rules.” Like it or lump it.

(Venkat Balantrapu works in senior insurance management in Tanzania. He has deep passion for cricket and has played the game at various levels in India, and also in some of the African countries for over a period of two decades. Venkat writes on the game with the same passion for various websites and magazines)