The power that the Cricket monopolists and bosses wield always remained unbridled and unquestioned. The latest defiance shown by Indian cricketing bosses in the wake of the Supreme Court's acceptance of the Lodha Committee's recommendations should not go unpunished even if the BCCI substantially caves in. Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur has aptly remarked that at every stage there has been defiance by the BCCI. The Supreme Court's amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium's description of the constant to-and-fro shuffling of responsibility to implement the Lodha reforms between BCCI and its member State cricket associations as a ‘farce', a ‘charade' in which ‘Mr. Jekyll is indeed Mr. Hyde' is apt indeed.
It was always on the cards that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would try every stratagem to attempt to sabotage meaningful reforms that may seek to dilute its power to run the sport in India with virtually no accountability. For far too long by far the most cash-rich sporting body in the country has ruled the sport as though nobody has the right to question it regardless of allegations of corruption and misuse of authority. There had grown a feeling that the BCCI, with powerful forces behind it, was a law unto itself. Some accountability should have been injected into the BCCI functioning decades ago but it is better late than never.
Nevertheless, it would not be fair to dismiss out-rightly every suggestion of the BCCI without looking into its merit and this should be no ego battle. For instance, it is unwise for a committee to decide how many members should be on a selection panel for cricket teams. That is a matter of detail that should be left to the BCCI. There is little point in the Lodha panel or the Supreme Court being dogmatic on an administrative decision like this.
But the apex court bench's ordering of a freeze on the disbursal of Rs 16.73 crore each to the member associations is perfectly legitimate because there is a nagging fear that this is a source of much corruption in the BCCI and is a reward for the States voting in a certain way in the Board's elections. There is indeed no convincing rationale for the BCCI dithering in implementing the Lodha committee recommendation with regard to the age ceiling of 70 years for BCCI apex council members.
That this is being sought to be scuttled by some vested interests is a justifiable suspicion. The apex court would do well to insist that this be implemented. The BCCI must, indeed, shed its arrogance that it is high and mighty. If it is true that it had written to the ICC to complain of government interference, it is a reflection of the cricketing body's perception that it is in some ways above the law. Better their misplaced perception be corrected at earliest possible.
