Vinod Rai asks legends like Sachin to speak up for good of cricket

The head of Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, Vinod Rai today appealed cricket icons like Sachin Tendulkar to speak up to ensure improvement in the administration of the game in the country.

Vinod Rai that it was important for the likes of Tendulkar to speak up to ensure administration improves in the country.

Vinod Rai, the chief of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators to run the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) affairs has urged retired legendary cricketers to “speak up” for improvement in cricket administration in India.

Rai made the statement while sharing the dais with Sachin Tendulkar, while releasing a biography of the iconic cricketer. “Indian cricket is once again at its peak. We have a remarkable young team. They are aggressive, they are dedicated, their commitment on the field is absolutely wonderful. Why do all of us accumulate, collect and go to see the matches, because this is set of cricketers perform remarkably on the ground,” Rai said on Tuesday, after releasing the book, titled “Hero”, penned by Devendra Prabhudesai.

“What we need to ask ourselves is are we providing them with the best support in terms of logistics, administration and whatever? All that you must've been reading about it in the newspapers, it's unfortunate and I don't think we're doing good service to the excellent team that we have.

“I would suggest that because of the fact that they deserve something far far better, there are legends like Kapil, Sourav, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar who need to in some ways mentor these people and also speak up and ensure that cricket administration in this country improves. Cricket administration in this country becomes objective and becomes supportive to the cricketers and it's not cricketers who become support of the new administration of the BCCI.”

Amidst the mess that the BCCI finds itself in, most of the legendary cricketers have either maintained eerie silence over the issue or have supported the BCCI on its own platforms over implementing the suggested reforms.

Rai hoped that he along with his colleagues in the CoA can initiate a dialogue with former legends, including Tendulkar.

“Hopefully, some point in time, we will be seeking your support. And there is a need for each one of us to sit down together, talk these things through and – we have Diana (Edulji) here who has been helping us, we have Prof (Ratnakar) Shetty who is in the BCCI, people who have been sincerely committed to to it all, but do they have the freedom?”