AC Muthiah - A players' president

Ian Chappell might be dismissive of cricket administrators, but it must be said that at least a few of them have been selfless, hard working and even dynamic individuals who have had nothing but the welfare of the game and the players at heart. What would Indian cricket have been without someone like Anthony D'Mello who, despite his autocratic attitude, did so much to put India on the cricketing map of the world.

In the sixties, seventies and eighties, Indian cricket was fortunate to have the services of a trio of administrators who had just two questions to ask when a project was to be implemented. For Messrs M Chinnaswamy, MA Chidambaram and S Sriraman, the only two questions were: "Will it benefit the game? Will it benefit the players?" The three were among the best known of Indian administrators abroad for they presented India's case in international fora forcefully.

Sure, there have been petty minded officials who have put personal squabbles over the game's interests. But this is a charge that cannot be levelled against AC Muthiah. It has not exactly been a smooth ride for the Chennai based industrialist since he took over as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in September 1999. But after 20 months in the hot seat, he has not only weathered storm after storm - including the biggest crisis to hit Indian cricket - but has emerged as an administrator comparable to the illustrious trio already mentioned.

The open and friendly approach of the current administrators, headed by Muthiah, no doubt has helped to draw the players towards the BCCI instead of having them feel alienated by the parent body. If things run smooth off the field, this is bound to have a positive reaction on the cricketers who perform on the field. One has only to offer the hideous events of the 1958-59 season as an example when the shenanigans enacted off the field had a negative impact on the players who failed to perform up to potential. The Indian team lost so badly to the West Indies that questions were even asked in Parliament regarding its non-performance.

The current scenario is eminently more encouraging and a case in point is the manner in which Muthiah has announced that the new graded payment system for players, based on seniority and performance, will be implemented by the year-end. "The Board is keen to have a system in place regarding payment of fees and other benefits to the players and I think such a system will be in place by the end of this year," said Muthiah on Sunday, close on the heels of the meeting that senior cricketers had with board officials in Bangalore on the issue. "The players who perform well have to be compensated and such financial schemes will definitely encourage better performances," he said.

Exhibiting his systematic approach, Muthiah added the proposal in this regard, to be put forward by a member of the Board's Finance Committee Ratnakar Shetty, would be studied carefully before being implemented. "The system needs some in-depth study along with the proposal for introduction of gradation on performance basis", he said. He also put on hold the contract system, which provides that no player should suffer loss of payment in the event of not playing due to injury or being put out of the team, saying, "In the long run, we would like to devise a contract system as is in vogue in Australia and other countries for a period of three years". Presently 12 players are under contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board and 23 with the Australian Cricket Board.

There is little doubt that the gradation system, when implemented, would have a significant impact on Indian cricket for it would place emphasis on both experience and performance. Muthiah himself is confident that its implementation would provide an incentive to cricketers to perform even better and the overall influence would be positive.

Muthiah emphasized that the Board had already introduced a medical benevolent fund under which a retired player or umpire suffering from 'terminal illness' would be paid Rs three lakhs for hospitalization and treatment. "The BCCI is committed to the welfare of the cricketers," Muthiah said emphatically.

There is little doubt that when it comes to the welfare of the cricketers, Muthiah is following in the footsteps of his father, Chidambaram, who passed away last year. MAC, as he is popularly known, had served the BCCI for over four decades in various capacities, including a term as president (1960-63). But his lasting contribution to Indian cricket was his long tenure as treasurer during which not only did the Board's finances improve manifold but the players also benefited enormously both monetarily and through the several welfare schemes initiated by him.