Same face, same vision

Shakeel Abedi

I waited for the richest cricket organization in the world to come out with some brilliant ideas and statements at the end of their meeting. And the collective wisdom of the group came up with -- nothing. As was to be expected.

There is a story I heard a long time ago:

A man mired in poverty, living in one room house with his wife and three children was got fed up with this way of life and went to a wise man to get some tips on improving his life. The wise, with due consideration came up with a solution. Buy a couple of goats! The poor guy was taken aback. But being a good man, followed the orders. A month or two passed by, with the situation only becoming worse. He paid another visit to the wise. And was ordered to get another four goats. The poor man obeyed.

A year passed by, and the poor man, by now desperate, thin, haggard was once again at the wise man's door. I now have twenty two goats, and another child. We live in the same small room, the noise is unbearable, the stench is killing, the life is not worth living.

The wise man without blinking an eye, replied: Sell all the goats.

Another year passed. The wise man saw the poor man in the market, looking fresh and clean, and asked how he was doing. The poor man was happy. The room now seemed to him like a palace.

It is not that the poor man's standard of living improved, it still was a one room house, and with an extra child. It was only the perception. After the adversity on having twenty two goats and the stench, he felt the one room was a palace.

What has that got to do with cricket, you might ask. Everything.

The BCCI let the issue of the tainted players and inefficient coach ferment for so long, and dragged the matter to such an extent that when at last they came up a little change it was considered as a positive gesture. To a desperate fan, such a move was god sent.

The appointment of a new coach is not going to be of any use, nor is a new cricket academy in Tamil Nadu going to herald the coming of age of Indian cricket. What is a fact will remain a fact. And that too is a point of lament. Does a body having 98 crores (up a few lakhs by now) needs the states to donate it some land? Could that same land have not gone into some other sports that are in danger of extinction in this nation for the lack of funds? But that’s another point..

What we now have is nothing. The president who does not know the value of being a president remains the president. The secretary who says something and denies and denies that he denied is still the secretary, the treasurer who really treasures his responsibilities and keeps them at home is the treasurer.

And one should not really wonder if the captain says it does not matter who is the coach. For with these great souls around, does it really matter.

And it really does not matter. We, in Nairobi, we might win or fail. It does not matter. A victory there is going to be only the selling of goats to make the room look a palace. A failure there is going to bring the wrath of the people on the few that did not perform. And that my friends, is that.

Indian cricket will remain the same. With a CEO without vision. With a secretary who is a shame to the job he holds. A treasurer -- ah well, need anything be said.

With complete conviction that something of a vision statement that Prem Panicker put up a while ago is needed, with complete conviction that more academies are needed to train the youth, with complete conviction that the current system of domestic cricket needs a total overhaul, the Indian cricket fan will still be frustrated that the people who are to make the change are the ones that cannot.

Changing the make of the team is futile, it was not an overly talented team that won the World Cup, it was a mediocre but motivated team. It was team that for a short period of time performed well. Not a team that brought a revolution to Indian cricket. If revolution in Indian cricket is to come, it has to be cleansing it of corrupt politicians that have a hold on the game. The game should be in the hands of those that deserve it, people who love and understand the game, people who spend a lifetime, does not have to be on the field, studying the intricate nature of this beautiful, sublime game.

The gentlemen's game ought to be in the hands of gentlemen, period.

Sujata Prakash put it best. "If you put Laloo in charge of Reliance then after 3 months no one should wonder why the company resembles a dairy farm."

That is what is cricket’s ill. BCCI resembles too much like a fertilizer factory with all its stench and shady deals.