Before proceeding with this, please read volume 1, volume 2 and volume 3 and then you can continue with a joke called volume.
Lack of accountability towards other boards
The BCCI always has this tendency of treating other cricket boards as their lackeys. They do not seem to adhere to the tendency that when you are in a position of power, you must be humble. It took more than 7 years for India to play the first test against Bangladesh in India. By that time, they had played against every other opposition. It sort of created a sense of anger in Bangladesh which can be clearly seen in the cricket field through Bangladesh’s animosity towards the Indian team.
The height of lack of accountability towards other boards manifested in the form of India, Australia and England taking over the entire ICC and formed the Big 3.
Under N. Srinivasan, the BCCI sought more than lion’s share of the ICC’s revenue. It stemmed from the fact that it is India that generates 75% of the revenue. It perhaps is true but that money is to help other boards who are struggling for money. Alas, it is a shame the Big 3 never really understood that.
Women Cricket
Yes, the women are punching above their weight but the road is long. They have to accomplish a lot more before being considered as among the best. The BCCI must help in organising a proper first class competition for the women along the lines of Ranji Trophy. BCCI must also invest in the game and expand the game into rural areas. Organise regular tours. BCCI must have a plan similar to that of the men. Yearly domestic season and international season. Will they BCCI listen?
The women on their part must continue to outperform expectations and try to win as many as they can despite the meagre resources. They will have to force the BCCI and the Indian community to start watching more of their games.
Too many meaningless games
The fat lady has sung but will the BCCI listen? The answer is clear. They will not. The board will still go ahead and schedule meaningless games that the players will have to endure. Indian players will be playing the IPL which will be followed by the T20 WC, New Zealand series at home followed by the South African series. If you think that the players will get much needed rest after that series, you are wrong because it will be followed by games against Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand and will seamlessly land in 2022 IPL. One can easily imagine that the Covid protocols still remain. The mental toll on the players is really mindboggling.
Former players and commentators must speak up against this inhumane treatment. This is getting ridiculous. If this continues, the careers of most of the players will be shorter than usual. Will the former players of the calibre of Gavaskar, Manjrekar, Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar or Laxman speak up against the board? Especially Gavaskar whose views are respected? Afterall he is above 70 and has earned enough and must be in a position to not be afraid of the BCCI. Tendulkar who is loved and admired in this country must voice his views against the board. Same with Rahul Dravid even if that means he will not be part of the NCA or the Under 19 teams.
I am afraid we may not see these come to fruition. No one would want to take on the BCCI if it means financial lose for him or her. That is the sad state of affairs for this game in this country.
BCCI hasn’t contributed to the covid fund
Last year, the BCCI contribution a mere 51 crores towards the PM Cares fund. This is actually a pittance. It is a tight slap on the faces of all the fans who are suffering now. Shame on the BCCI. For the sheer amount of money the board gets, only because of the fans, they must contribute upwards of 1000 crores of rupees. They have the wealth. BCCI is like a secret society. They keep the money to themselves. I sincerely wish that the BCCI is brought down to its knees for lack of contribution during these testing times.
The BCCI, over the last 2-3 days, through the commentators have appealed to the public to follow the Covid norms. This is too little and too late. I wonder why they didn’t do this from the start? BCCI needs to do more. They can aid in the procurement of oxygen. Distributing free masks, sanitisers, assist the frontline workers, police and lot more.
Stupid Ganguly on mental stress
The players are ofcourse under lot of mental stress. They will always be on the lookout for that one situation when they will also come under the scanner for Covid. The players will be nervous when every morning they will be subjected to Covid tests. Others like the Indian cricket board’s president, Saurav Ganguly will do well to keep their mouth shut.
“I feel we Indians are a bit more tolerant than overseas (cricketers). I’ve played with a lot of Englishmen, Australians, West Indians, they just give up on mental health,” the former India captain said at a virtual press conference ahead of the IPL starting this week.
“In the last six-seven months, with so much cricket being going on in the bio-bubble it’s so tough. Just going from the hotel room to the ground, handle the pressure and come back to the room and then get back to the ground again, it’s an absolutely different life.”
Ganguly has never in his career had to play under such enormous mental pressure. All he had to do was to cope with the pressure of the situation and the number of games were less during his playing career. The current players have the double pressure of playing the situation on the field and not being able to move around freely. It is better if officials like him concentrate on running the game rather than commenting on something that they do not understand. I do not think any of the former cricketers have the right to comment on mental pressure that they themselves have never experienced.
Mental health
Just how important physical health of a player is, so is his mental health. This is something which is growing among the cricketers. There are lot of instances when a player was withdrawn from the tour because of mental health. The Indian players who are in the bubble for 5 months is bound to suffer from mental fatigue. Small concession like moving with the hotel corridor, speaking with team members will do much to alleviate that mental fatigue. This will only help the Indian team to perform at their optimum level. Alas, maybe the Australian board does not want the Indian team to be peaceful mentally now that they are under tremendous pressure to win the last game. Especially, after the way the Indians have performed from Melbourne, there is a feeling that India with depleted resources might pull off the impossible and win the series.