A joke called PCB

PCB appointed review committee advised PCB to cancel/reduce the ban/penalty handed out on a mass scale to seven of its players. It has withdrawn/reduced drastically the punishment from 5 of them. One other player has retired from international cricket, for now. We all know what this means in Pakistan Cricket. Another player’s ban will be lifted in a couple of days. There was no doubt when the bans were handed out so generously that it will be reverted back. Some intelligent ‘banned’ players used it efficiently to get married, amidst high publicity. Some of them ‘wasted’ by practicing or playing county cricket. What appalls is that the PCB CEO defended saying it has sent the message to the players that no wrongdoing will be tolerated. I believe it is the other way around. Some of the rumored allegations were of very serious nature like match fixing. Others include toned down version of the same like feigning injury because his elder brother was dropped from the team. One report suggests that about 8 players were opposed to play under their leader. This magnitude of unity in a Pakistan team has never been seen, except when they played under Imran Khan or when they played against India. These serious allegations were examined and only then they were handed the bans. This total reversal of bans means that the earlier enquiry commission was grossly incorrect and should be penalized heavily. On the other hand, the players are now eligible to claim damages from the PCB because the reasons they were banned were quite derogatory to them, in the first place. We see none of the two happening, which clearly shows that there has been something which has been kept under wraps.

Is multitasking in BCCI required??

Sharad Pawar family owned a not-an-inconsiderable-stake in the failed bid for Pune franchisee. The new commissioner of IPL, Chirayu Amin, was also a part of that bid, committing to 10% of the stake, “after getting all the requisite clearances from BCCI”. A case has been filed against N Srinivasan, member of board of India Cements, who own the Chennai team in the IPL. Krishnamachari Srikkanth is the brand ambassador to Chennai team, and also the chief selector of the Indian cricket team.
Sharad Pawar and his political heir, Supriya Sule all along claimed and continue to claim that they had, have and neither will have any stake or interest in any of the IPL teams. This claim has been disproved by multiple instances. Chirayu Amin, only after ousted IPL Commissioner, Lalit Modi, accepted that he had a stake in the failed Pune bid franchisee. But he insists that he would take all the requisite permissions and make all the amendments to the BCCI constitution to make him eligible to possess the stake. N Srinivasan says that the BCCI constitution was amended to enable him to be a part of both BCCI and Chennai bid.
I have nothing to say about the Pawar episode. The matter is too obvious to state it. My point of contention is about the other three “players”. Assuming that even the requisite constitutional amendments were made to accommodate them, simple logic suggests that it creates enormous room for foul play. Assume a situation when the owner of a team makes the rules of the game, which involves seven other teams. Also, in the closed bid, owner of one team is also a person to whom other bidders submit their offers. I am not saying that there obviously has been a foul play. If I say that, it would only be as good as a Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s cover drive. All I am saying is that it creates room for suspicion. It also creates room for unfair advantage to some teams.
India isn’t so short of sports administrators that same person has to hold multiple roles. A replacement to N Srinivasan could easily have been found. Same is the case with Amin. No doubt he might have done some good work for the Baroda Cricket Association. But that is in no way to say that he and only he could take charge of the messy IPL. Srikkanth the selector has at best, been his moody, unpredictable best, which he displayed in his batting. No person is indispensable in Indian cricket administration. Probably Dalmia thought he was an exception in his days. But even he was to bite the dust. Hopefully, good, dedicated cricket administrators enter the scene before Indian cricket has been done and dusted by a bunch of cricket-illiterates. After all, this was the agenda with which the Pawar clan came to power after throwing out the incumbent Jaggu dada (Dalmia)

Azharuddin = BAI President???

“I would like to bring professionalism, commitment and transparency into the sport of badminton in India” – Mohammad Azharuddin on his reason for contesting for the post of Badminton Association President.
Oh common dude. Seriously? Do you really think people of India would back you to bring in transparency into sports? I totally accept the point that a convict should be given an opportunity to reform. But should the test of reform be the post of the president of BAI? I sincerely hope an emphatic NO is the answer. What is more of a test of his reformed behavior is his post of an MP from Moradabad from the ruling party. Every cricket lover, who loves the game for the sheer pleasure of a contest between bat and ball, would have loved Mohammad Azharuddin donning Indian jersey on the cricket field. A few moments of greed and a moment of truth turned all this admiration into hatred and rejection. Hopefully, Moradabad people will not regret their decision, if at all they care.
And what is it with Indian sports? Any Tom, Dick, Harry can become the administrator of any sport. Is sports administration such a piece of cake? Or is it that we are starved of specialized administrators? I know for sure that it is not the former. I sincerely hope it is not the latter.