It is said that two C’s drive India crazy – Cricket and Cinema. Success with cinema is not guaranteed but with Cricket it is. It is absolutely amazing that every One Day International, Test match and T20 game in India is watched by packed stadiums and millions of television viewers. It is not surprising that sponsors are queuing up to associate their brands with cricket in India. This in turn means that Bcci, the governing body of cricket in India, is always in sound financial condition. It is surprising that till 2007-08 BCCI enjoyed tax exemptions under the pretext of being a ’charitable organisation’, however even today BCCI does not fall under the ambit of audit by Comptroller and Auditor General. The financial clout of BCCI has grown from strength to strength in the past decade and half.
This may be one of the reasons why the BCCI banning two IPL teams made little difference to its coffers. The situation has again brought to the fore BCCI’s monopolistic practices in Indian Cricket. Just a few years back, BCCI cut Subhash Chandra’s ICL down to size causing those involved with the league much distress. BCCI was rudely roused out of its slumber with someone else coming to India with the innovative concept of T20. ICL was named a rebel league and banned. By the end of it, Subhash Chandra was in absolute despair, not only losing millions of dollars but also running from pillar to post attending court hearings in his battle against the BCCI. History seems to be repeating itself, with Subhash Chandra’s role, this time, swapped by the owners of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab. Will the court of law recognise the fact some of BCCI’s actions as unfair and at times bordering on unprofessionalism is matter to be seen. The Court further needs to take into consideration that not many Indian companies function in monopolistic industries and sectors. It is the underlying principle of free economy that competition always leads to better business environment. Then why is the BCCI the lone proprietor of Indian Cricket? Why is it that BCCI does not fall under the purview of the Sports Ministry of India? Not for a second is IQ suggesting that the Sports Ministry is an excellent administrative authority, but being under its control would at least mean that all of BCCI’s actions will be made more accountable.
Today cricket is a power game and we in India have now accepted that wherever there is huge money involved, corruption and politics is inevitable. This acceptance is attributed to the famous tolerant Indian psyche. However, the question is how long can we be patient? Ironically, despite being embroiled in controversies, Indian Cricket continues to attract more money than it can handle while other sports remain adversely affected by underfunding. As a sports fan, it really is disappointing that in every Olympics Game all that India can manage is a couple of medals. It is embarrassing for a 1.2-billion population country to be eternally damned to the bottom of the sports points table. Instead of keeping millions of rupees in BCCI’s coffers lying unused this could be utilised to promote other sports in the country; this point must be further explored. This at least gives us a better chance to produce better sportspersons in the country – and must we add, we are in need of a few!
