Time to face the music

Apparently, there is something seriously amiss in the administration of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

That is perhaps the only explanation that can be drawn if one were to go by the dilly-dallying of the incumbent members,

who, in their fear that many skeletons can come out of the cupboard, are doing everything at their disposal to ensure that the recommendations of the three-member Lodha Committee would not be completely binding on them.

Not only are they buying time to hit upon face-saving contingencies but are also making a mockery of the law of the land with their steadfast defiance despite a firm ruling by the Supreme Court, which constituted the Committee in order to cleanse the fast-eroding system of all its ills.

The sordid happenings stood grossly exposed, particularly the image-damaging frauds indulged in by greedy players and nefarious franchise co-owners in connivance with hardcore criminals and shady characters during the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The fervent plea made by Justice Lodha on Monday once again reflects the concern of people who wish that cricket remains a gentleman’s game, in letter and spirit.

By reiterating that the Board be revamped from the very top to the bottom, Lodha has made it plain and clear that the ‘inept’ current body can neither usher in transparency nor help restore the image of the country across the firmament.

Although, Lodha has been waging a war in the interests of the cricket fan, the bosses at the Board seem oblivious of the murky goings-on right under their nose.

A point that is being raised time and again is that the vested interests in BCCI are happier in steering the ship in a style that serves their whims and fancies, which are utterly atrocious at every level.

That it has lost its aura of superiority is evidenced by the fact that several member-States have decided to defy the Board diktat and toe the Lodha line.

In a sense, they, including Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), feel that being seen in Lodha’s good books will hold them in good stead in the long run.

HCA has amended its memorandum, rules and regulations to bring them in conformity with Lodha recommendations.

This only goes to show that associations are already thinking independent of the parent body. Perhaps, there are other factors as well behind such bravado.

The Board is headed by a Lok Sabha member from the ruling party at the Centre. The IPL is in the hands of a senior Congress leader.

If politics makes for strange bedfellows, cricket cements the bondage because promoters of the sports are literally revered in cricket-mad India.

It will be in the fitness of things if the Thakurs and Shuklas retract and fall in line. Of course, it depends on how serious they are about promoting the sport the way it ought to be gentlemanly.

No amount of explanations can help the cause of Thakur and his band of loyalists, once the fan hits the streets demanding integrity and accountability from the administrators.