The dreaded last week of September

Published : Oct 13, 2001 00:00 IST

ONE of the most inexplicable, and among the most unfortunate, aspects of our cricket is the importance assigned to the elections to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. To my mind, if playing cricket and winning matches is the primary concern of Indian cricket, the elections are the least important and the most forgettable aspect of it all. Indeed, in the bartering that accompanies the elections, in the hungry and mindless pursuit of that extra vote, Indian cricket gets hurt and is trampled upon. If you love Indian cricket, the last week of September is like an ocean of darkness.

I could still understand the importance of this banner flying if at the end of it all, something changed. But nothing ever does. The furniture stays the same, the upholstery gets darned a little bit. Things would change if elections were fought on stated agendas but they are not. They are fought on personal grudges. It is the balloting equivalent of people rolling up their sleeves, slapping their thighs, shaping their fists and saying I will show you. This is not about Indian cricket at all.

Selectors are appointed based on the State they represent, and the party their State voted for, rather than their knowledge or commitment. I have never understood why the composition of the selection committee should depend on which way the vote goes in an election. If the job of the selection committee is to pick the best players for the country, then the identity of the president or the secretary should not matter at all. The ability, not the affiliation, of the selector should be paramount. But it clearly isn't. When the appointment of selectors is not above board, can the BCCI say that the selection of the Indian team bears no regional influences?

In the week before the elections, the only announcements we heard were of dinner parties, of court cases and stay orders, of manipulations and wranglings over who could vote and who couldn't, of missing balance sheets, of little barter deals. Unless I missed something, I did not hear anybody saying what they would do for Indian cricket if they were elected. Did you? Did one set of candidates ask the other about the status of various projects? Was there a debate on preparations for the World Cup? Did anyone mention South Africa?

Read through all those reports again. If I were to tell you that the elections were not about Indian cricket but about the municipality of Aurangabad, or the panchayat of Champaner, would they sound different? Try it, it's an interesting exercise. At the end of it all, you will know why Indian cricket does not win. Funnily, a lot of the people involved in the exercise of administering Indian cricket are businessmen. They know that if you are in the textile business, you must pursue cloth and cloth-making machines, not talk of salt and jaggery. They know they must sell more cloth not merely be heads of trade associations. And yet, when it comes to Indian cricket, the focus they bring to their businesses is gone. The objectives are different.

That is because they are now in the business of winning elections and getting onto boards. They are not in the business of Indian cricket. That is why they bring a never-say-die attitude to winning elections and there is a ferocious desire to succeed. They show all the attributes of top sportsmen in the fight to control Indian cricket, not to actually administer it. Now if there was a change of focus, and that would require a change in their commitment, could they not fight with the same passion for Indian cricket? Make no mistake, the ability is there, the passion is there but it is directed somewhere else. Our administrators have guile and foresight but it is packed in a different container.

And so the pretty little child that is Indian cricket looks up at the fight of the giants and asks itself, 'Do any of those want to be my parents? Do they want to make me brave, strong and successful? Do they want me to win?' And then the pretty little child wipes its annual September tear away and asks with the innocence of childhood 'If they do not love me, why are they fighting over me?'

And so Indian cricket has a new president. But does it have a new parent? Is he committed to do good for Indian cricket or is he going to distribute favours for votes received? We have already seen the start of that but in our hopeless fascination with hope, we wait. That is the fair thing to do. And so as I pack my bags to see India play in South Africa I have put down a few points that I would like to put a tick mark against when I return. I believe that as a lover of Indian cricket, I have a right to expect this. I believe that all of you reading this, as shareholders of Indian cricket, have a right to expect this as well.

First of all, the vision this administration has for Indian cricket. Not a statement destined for a dustbin but one worthy of being displayed and read. (On a sadder note, since the BCCI does not have an office, where will this vision statement be displayed?) Next, a firm 2-year plan for Indian cricket, one that can be measured not passed by with a play of words. Then, the status on the proposal to restructure Indian domestic cricket, a deadline for a 5-year plan for the 'A' team that will be adhered to not buried in a pile of papers, a statement on what the current administration thinks of the new contract system and a firm date by which it will be implemented. And finally, a time-table of activities leading to the World Cup of 2003.

If we can get this, the elections might have been worth the time wasted on them.

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