Two important issues the BCCI can't duck
At a time when things are looking better for Indian cricket came a leaked report of the CBI findings
Woorkheri Raman
28-Oct-2000
At a time when things are looking better for Indian cricket came a leaked
report of the CBI findings. The report was published widely in the press
with the names of players deemed to be involved and also those who are
supposed to have been exonerated. If the timing of the announcement was way
off the mark, the South African cricketers made it clear that the
announcement of the banning Cronje could not have come at a more
inappropriate time.
The UCBSA made a decision to ban Cronje but the wide area covered by
implication is being contested by one of the television companies. The way
the South African authorities and the officials left no stone unturned to
get to the bottom of the matter has to be appreciated. They gave a deadline
and the schedule was more or less adhered to a T. Now that the announcement
has been made, human psychology in its typical manner has began rallying
behind the underdog. Cronje is being sought after by a television to work
for them as a commentator. Quite obviously, the media feels that Cronje has
the required qualities to do the job despite his involvement in the
match-fixing episode. What needs to borne in mind is that the controversy
almost wiped the game off and Cronje was in the thick of it. Various
suggestions have been put forth with regard to the punishment to be handed
out to the players found to be guilty but unfortunately legal complications
have it made difficult for the authorities.
The fall out of Cronjegate was the investigation taken up or rather thrust
upon the CBI to find out if any Indian cricketers were involved. Raids by
the Income-Tax authorities and the depositions by the players,
administrators and the bookies would have provided enough pointers as to
the identity of the people involved. Adding fuel to the fire was Manoj
Prabhakar who assumed the role of a messiah swearing to cleanse the game at
all costs. The methods adopted by Prabhakar might tempt the Broccoli
production to replace Brosnan with the former Indian all-rounder. Kapil Dev
was the name nominated by Prabhakar and the whole episode with regard to
Kapil Dev is history now. Ironically the hunter became the hunted when
Prabhakar himself was found to be involved in match-fixing if the reports
are to be believed (the report has not been officially owned by any agency
so far).
Azharuddin, Jadeja and Sharma are the others to have been along with
Prabhakar. The Sports Minister was livid that the report was leaked even
before he had a chance to see it. The report, to be placed in the
Parliament has not provided much help to authorities by stating that
criminal proceedings cannot be initiated against the nominated persons. As
such the onus will be on the BCCI to deal with the players in the manner
they deem fit. It definitely is not a good feeling that those found guilty
have at some time or the other have made a meaningful contribution to the
game. At the same time it is only fair that they would be expected to
suffer for their own misdeeds. It was not a situation where they were
sucked into unwittingly.
With that report causing a fair bit of disconcert to the BCCI officials,
the indecision about the appointment of a foreign coach is making things
even worse for them. The blessed ones in the print media are dishing out
conflicting reports by either short-listing candidates or naming the person
likely to be appointed. There was a big flutter recently when a panel in
Chennai interviewed Greg Chappell and John Wright. As the general
perception was that the coach would take over from the Zimbabwe series at
home, everyone was surprised when the secretary of the BCCI announced that
the foreign coach would take charge only in February next year.
Chappell has had a successful tenure as the Australian captain and is
rated very highly for his communicative skills. He played his cricket hard
and never flinched from owning up responsibilities for his actions.
Currently he is involved with South Australia and that side has progressed
under his charge. Wright, on the other hand is sort of a soft-spoken
individual but yet capable of keeping things under control. His work at
Kent has been appreciated and this has brought him into contention with
Rahul Dravid pushing Wright's case more than strongly. The one major
difference between the two is that Chappell had to tackle a lot of big
names in his side as the Australian captain which is not that easy. As one
who has been a part of the Indian cricket scenario for a long time, I must
say that a soft spoken individual is not the ideal man for the post as the
superstars do need a taskmaster at times to keep them going.
The BCCI has to take some very important decisions without resorting to
procrastination. The future of the players found guilty and the foreign
coach are on top of the list and both these issues will be of great
interest not only to the cricketing fraternity but also to the public,
which supports the game with great enthusiasm.