How would the BCCI react if the CSA, or for that matter other cricket boards like the PCB, ECB or CA, demand that N Srinivasan be sacked as president for his son-in-law’s involvement in the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal?
When Haroon Lorgat, a South African businessman of Indian origin, was appointed chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2008, succeeding Australian Malcolm Speed, one of his ardent supporters at the time was the Indian cricket board (BCCI).
Four years later, when Lorgat’s tenure ended in June 2012, the same Indian board had turned a sworn enemy, so much so that they tried their best to stop Lorgat from becoming the CEO of even his home board, South Africa Cricket. It’s another thing that CSA ignored the BCCI’s bullying tactics and went ahead with his appointment last Saturday.
What wrong did Lorgat do in these four years to draw the ire of the richest cricket body in the world? There are several theories. Some say it was due to his insistence that India’s match against England in the 2011 World Cup be moved from Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, which was undergoing renovation at the time, to Bangalore. Also, Lorgat was all for the Decision Review System (DRS), which, again, goes against the wishes of the BCCI.
Lorgat also initiated the setting up of a commission (led by British judge Lord Woolf) after the 2011 World Cup, which in its report in February 2012 recommended a restructuring of the ICC’s executive board to make it more independent and less dominated by the bigger countries (read India). The BCCI lodged a vehement protest, and the findings of Woolf Report are yet to be implemented.
Now that CSA has sidestepped the BCCI in appointing Lorgat, there could be some repercussions. The BCCI, in fact, have already asked the CSA to reschedule the itinerary for the South Africa-India series in November and now there is speculation that India may refuse to play T20s or may even ask to reduce the number of ODIs during the tour.
The point is, is it right for the Indian board to meddle in the affairs of other countries? Whether to appoint Lorgat as CEO, or someone else, is CSA’s internal affair. Why should BCCI interfere in it?
The Indian board’s bullying tactics, in fact, have been going on for too long now. They want other countries’ players to play in their IPL, but would not allow Indian players to play in other T20 leagues like the Australian Big Bash, the Bangladesh Premier League, or the recently-scrapped Sri Lankan Premier League.
Unlike boards, the BCCI doesn’t recognise players’ bodies. Some time back, they even ‘forced’ the other nine Test-playing nations to persuade their national captains to change their vote for the players’ representative on the ICC committee, resulting in the replacement of former Australian player Tim May (chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers Associations) by former Indian spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan.
The BCCI hardly has any real friends. It’s high time other boards presented a united front to tame the out-of-control monster the Indian cricket body has become.