The cat is truly out of the bag now. The past president of the BCCI, N. Srinivasan, who intends to be the head again, and a key paid administrator in Sundar Raman have been exposed by the Mudgal probe panel as guilty of misdemeanour.
Mr Srinivasan’s son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, once a designated owner of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, and Raj Kundra, co-owner of Rajasthan Royals, may be the only true non-playing actors in this sordid drama.
Two key men in the cricket hierarchy, who have been instrumental in changing the very face and founding principles of world cricket, have been indicted by one of the most thorough and professionally conducted probes into cricket’s long running betting, match- and spot-fixing scandals.
Things have come to such a pass that a clamour is still on for Mr Srinivasan and his acolyte to preside over cricket’s destiny.
The latest disclosure by the Supreme Court has shaken the basic premise upon which Mr Srinivasan had been brazenly operating as cricket’s head, getting himself elected to the world body on his self-attestation that any probe would exonerate him.
The BCCI was exposed as morally bankrupt when it failed to countenance life in cricket beyond Mr Srinivasan, although, to be fair, he did put out a weak offer to step aside during the pendency of a BCCI-appointed probe, but only after having made an untenable defence of his son-in-law whom he tried to dismiss as a “cricket enthusiast” who would hang around the player dugout of the franchise owned by his company India Cements.
The kind of compromises thrust upon the BCCI after the scandal, and a probe by retired judges that was too conveniently predisposed to seeing, hearing and speaking no evil, are symptomatic of a destructive personality cult that has cricket in its thrall.
The way forward would be to accept the word of the Supreme Court in letter and spirit. If the top court accepts, prima facie, the findings of the Mudgal probe panel, Mr Srinivasan and Mr Sundar Raman’s position in the game would become untenable.
While any man has the right to defend himself, it is clear that the legal tactics all along have been aimed at BCCI having its own way on the reasoning that it is not dependent on the government for funding.
For that matter, D-Company, which is said to control cricket’s betting industry, can also claim such financial autonomy.
The BCCI must go ahead and conduct its elections at its AGM and not harp upon one man’s dilemma. Having lost the moral battle long ago, it is time BCCI does its duty to keep the game clean of corrupting influences.
If it does not see the light, the Central government must find a way to rescue the game from its obsession with a head honcho accused of misdemeanour.
