Jhakas | Sanjay Jha
Forget the punching panache of MSD and his boys in Sri Lanka. There is a more exciting duel going on in the sand dunes of Jaipur between the fashion model of IPL , BCCI VP Lalit Modi and an assortment of bitter rivals in the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA).
From what I last read and heard, the gathering storm threatens to become a raging tornado. Frankly, one should hardly be surprised, given the fact that everything associated with cricket administration in India is usually permeated with seedy political complexion and shady vested interests. Continue reading below
Isn't it the ultimate paradox that when Indian cricket seems to be on a vertical ascendancy, there are serious court charges against the BCCI officials at all levels?
If a particular newspaper report is to be believed approximately Rs 2 crore plus was spent on acquiring match tickets for the World Cup 2007 by the RCA for its numerous officials. That is a stupendous number by any standards, unless one was also carrying an entourage under the family and friends scheme.
It seems that since India lost rather disastrously at the preliminary stages, the whole princely investment was written off. Wow! I want to know what management decision-making and financial prudence was exercised here? And who should be held directly accountable for daylight pilfering (it was a complete waste) of such enormous sums of resources? There is something called as risk assessment for large expenditures, you know? This episode and its apparent explanation reeks of the reprehensible levels of unprofessionalism and an autocratic style of governance that engulfs the BCCI and its state associations.
It was also alleged that Modi's private assistant incurred expenses while in Ireland which was not officially authorized. That is another joke! Shouldn't a senior official from BCCI at least pre-approve official trips, or is it just assumed that since BCCI is so tightly controlled by a in-closet caucus , anything goes? Considering the fact that Modi perceives himself as a sports brand and talks cockily of how he revolutionized T20 into a commercial hotspot, shouldn't some basic guidelines apply to him to begin with?
To be fair to Modi , he is following core traditions in the maharaja-style functioning of his dispensation. And Jaipur is always pregnant with tales of palace intrigue.
Anyway, given the fact that a change in government in Rajasthan has now cascaded into a grave political crisis for Modi, it just goes to show that the end-game could become messier. In the meantime, allegations are flung, conspiracy theories floated, and devious plots hatched. But after Satyam, the BCCI can actually claim to be like a nun amongst those still practicing the oldest profession. God bless us all!
I have a suggestion; why doesn't the BCCI auction it's internecine story-line to some foreign producers (local guys may find it hackneyed) for a real-life movie drama? Big Dog Billionaire, anyone?
