The Indian Supreme Court’s decision to ban two teams from the scandal-ridden IPL has lifted some of the despair and hopelessness fans of the game have endured over the years.
As a result of the apex’s court’s ruling on Tuesday, the Mahendra Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings and inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals will not be part of the money-spinning tournament for two seasons, marking another shameful chapter in the history of Indian cricket.
Launched in 2008, the IPL shook cricket to its foundations. It was the game’s equivalent of a global political upheaval that reshaped boundaries and spawned new loyalties. With corporates and individuals willing to pump in millions of dollars, India had taken the game to another level much to the envy of other proud cricket-playing nations.
The mindboggling salaries it offered to players saw established stars of the game openly rebel against their cricket boards. Some even spoke of their readiness to give up Test cricket because of the financial security the IPL offered. The money vs country debate had gathered steam.
The public, too, were taken in by the razzmatazz. Long-tired of boring Test matches, and with the once-strong appeal of ODI cricket fading fast, the IPL, with its loud music, scantily-clad cheerleaders and its seemingly limitless potential to provide seat-edge thrills, had spectators in a thrall. It was too good to be true.
Unfortunately, what eventually did the IPL in was the fact that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) didn’t have an internal system of checks and balances to run such a huge, ambitious enterprise. It didn’t take much time for the rot to set in.
How else can one explain the fact that Gurunath Meiyappan, Team Principal of the Chennai Super Kings and the son-in-law of the tainted former president of the BCCI, Narayanswami Srinivasan, could bet on matches without any fear, much less compunction?
Meiyappan and Raj Kundra, the former co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals, were given life bans by the Supreme Court for betting on the IPL. Sports betting is illegal in India, but even if it had been permitted by law, it would have been unethical on their part to wager on matches because of their status as team officials and owners. But as everybody is aware, ethics and Indian cricket seldom mix.
Many former Indian cricketers have welcomed the court’s decision, but it’s difficult to guess whether some of them are being honest. After all, they were also part of the BCCI’s gravy train, earning huge salaries as commentators and unofficial spokesmen of the cricket’s most corrupt governing body.
Meanwhile, Srinivasan, under whose watch all this happened, is as cocky as ever and continues in his role as the Chairman of the International Cricket Council.
“I don’t want to speak on this issue. I am not associated with CSK. It has nothing to do with me, why should I step down?” Srinivasan was quoted as saying.
Moral responsibility is for people with morals. Srinivasan and his cronies will never get that.
