Goof-ups and more goof-ups

IT'S nothing short of a joke. The recent happenings in Indian cricket regarding the fitness of the players and the confusion surrounding it with varying opinions has made the BCCI look like a body which does not know where its head is nor where its tail is. The comedy which had the Board's doctor saying one thing, the player another thing, the Board Secretary saying yet another and the Chairman of the Selection Committee saying something else has not only led to confusion all around, but has also brought home the imperative necessity of having a media relations officer to speak for the Board rather than all those voices that were heard.

With the office-bearers of the Board in different cities it is but natural for the local media to go to them for their comments and naturally there will be just a little tilt towards local office-bearers, but that only ends up making the Board look like a divided organisation.

A media relations officer speaking on behalf of the Board will help do away with all the different voices that speak not only different languages, but also do away with all the different voices that speak not only different languages but often offer different versions.

Have you ever heard the Australian Cricket Board President or even its Chief Executive speak to the media, except on policy. Their media relations officer Brian Murgatroyd releases statements on behalf of the Board, especially on selections, injuries, fitness tests, travel plans etc.

What the whole episode does tells us is that fitness certificates, as brought in by the players to the selection committee, need to be thrown into the dustbin. Certificates can be got a dime a dozen, be it regarding age or health, and to pick players on the basis of those certificates should be stopped. The doctors who gave fitness certificates to V. V. S. Laxman, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan should be blacklisted by the Board if at all there were certificates issued by them. If there were no certificates but only letters from the players stating they were fit then those players should be reprimanded for they have taken the selectors for a ride regarding their fitness.

If, however, there were no letter from either the players or the players' doctors then the selectors should be asked of the unnecessary hurry in picking them. Sure they picked them subject to fitness test, but they could have withheld the release of their names till the tests were conducted. New Zealand recently picked 12 players and said they would pick the other two players later, so the Indian selectors could have done that too and remember they would get their allowances for the extra meeting too. They anyway assembled in Mumbai for the fitness test and then decided whom to send, so they could have waited before releasing the names of the injured players as part of the team.

The fitness test itself were conducted almost a week before the dates announced by the BCCI which meant that it gave the Board time to inform the replacements, since three players were declared unfit. Only Tendulkar did not go to Chennai for the fitness test and thus got more time to get fit. But then the same extra time could have been given to Ashish Nehra who claimed that he had gone to Chennai only for bowling tips from Dennis Lillee and was mentally unprepared for a fitness test. He was hoping to build up gradually for the fitness test, but since they were conducted a week earlier was found short of match fitness and he has every reason to feel that there is one rule for one and another for the other in the Indian team.

Indian cricket has developed to perfection the knack of creating a needless controversy about something or the other on the eve of a team's departure and such controversies hardly help the team's mental frame. There will always be debate about selections and omissions, for the passion for this game is such that everybody feels the he/ she is an expert, but when other issues that can and do affect team spirit are brought in then that's dangerous. Invariably these problems crop up because the Board has functioned in an ad-hoc manner and there are seldom procedures and systems that are followed. Since every Association is only looking at what is good for them and not for Indian cricket, progress is stalled.

Take the fitness issue. If there was a panel to determine the fitness test for players then it would have insisted that their tests should be done much before the team leaves on a tour. It would have also advised the selectors to wait before announcing the team with the injured, doubtful players in the list. It would have determined the tests for the specific injury suffered by the player and not just a general test. It would have also determined whether the player goes abroad for treatment or whether he can get treated at home.

But to have this kind of systems in place you need a Board whose delegates have time to think about the game rather than just come in before a meeting and take decisions which are far reaching for Indian cricket. Just about every single delegate has his own profession or business to attend to and so cricket is secondary, but the millions of followers of the game get affected by decisions taken by the Body. That's why it is so important to have a committee that advises these busy people as to what is good for Indian cricket. It is this committee that should be looking at all aspects of the game in India. We can then do away with all the other committees that are created just to give delegates and their supporters some compensation for their vote, but which in fact do precious little for the development of the game. A committee of experts would save the Board heaps of money and decisions made will only benefit Indian cricket.

Unfortunately for Indian cricket nothing like this will ever happen, for those in power want to control every aspect of Indian cricket and will not dilute their authority. Pity is that they don't seem to understand that a good system will only strengthen them and also benefit Indian cricket.