This is part two of the 4-part series that evaluates the lack of success that the BCCI is. Please do go through the first part before proceeding with this one. In this, I will talk about BCCI greed for money and lack of facilities.
In the first part, I had given a brief of how rich The Board of Control for Cricket in India is. An estimated revenue of the board. An approximate estimate of how many players will be playing the game the whole of the country. How the board failed to produce multiple replacements for a single position in every format etc. In part two, I will analyse the BCCI’s greed for money which appears to be unsatiated and let me also analyse the lack of facilities for the spectators in almost all the cricket grounds.
BCCI knows only one language. Money
As we have seen before, BCCI is among the richest sporting bodies in the world. Yet, the board never ever says no to a revenue stream even at the cost of the national team. A severe pandemic has completely overhauled the sporting calendar of every nation. So much so that the Olympics and the T20 World Cup stands postponed to next year. A lot of boards have lost a major source of revenue. International Cricket. The situation is so bad that whatever little cricket is played, is played behind closed doors. This shows that the boards world over are concerned about the safety of the players and the others.
The BCCI has gone ahead and have staged a full blown IPL in a foreign land albeit behind closed doors. Fair enough. However, just before an important series in Australia, is the BCCI really justified in staging IPL? Certainly not. The national team’s performance in Australia is much more important than the board losing a few millions. However, the board seems to have its priorities wrong. The very fact that the IPL will certainly leave no time for the cricket team to be engaged in a few meaningful practice games before the first test is a case in point. The board has proved once again that for them money matters. To make matters worse, IPL has ensured that a couple of important players, Ishant Sharma & Bhuvaneshwar Kumar will not be involved in the series in peak fitness.
Will BCCI ever stop their greed for money?
The Hundred. Now, BCCI is very much interested in this concept. This is not really a surprise because where there is money you will be able to find BCCI. Over the last 15-20 years, BCCI is much more interested in making money from every source possible rather than improving the performance of the national team and the standard of the first class game. Why would BCCI want to invest in such a concept is beyond me. They are already the richest cricketing board and probably among the top 3 sporting bodies in the world.
The board does not seem to be satisfied with the millions that they earn through TV rights for bi-lateral series, they are not satisfied with the millions that they earn through IPL and not to mention the exorbitant share that they receive from the ICC from global tournaments like World Cup, T20 World Cup & Champions Trophy. Still, the BCCI’s greed never seems to be satisfied.
It is not that The Hundred is BCCI’s own concept. For that matter, none of the concept is BCCI’s brainchild. Tests, English invention, ODIs England & Australian, T20 English and now The Hundred, English. I could have understood the need to create a brand if The Hundred was conceptualised by the BCCI but it is not. They are merely copycats.
Lack of facilities for spectators
BCCI has on its rolls some 25 state boards that depend on the grant given to them by the BCCI. It runs upto 30 crores per state association. The state association then distributes this money to its affiliates and other dependents. This is not a one time payment. On the contrary, this is the total funds each association will receive every year. This definitely is a substantial income for the state associations.
They can easily afford to maintain the main ground at their disposal after disbursing all kinds of settlements and provide the paying spectators with top quality facility. With such a huge windfall, are the state associations really providing the paying spectators a return on their money? The answer sadly is a big fat NO. I have been to quite a few grounds in the country to watch the international games. The condition inside the stadium is so horrible that the spectators if not for their love of the game will never ever want to watch the games sitting inside stadium.
One – Food items barred
No one is allowed to carry anything inside. It can be water bottle or food packets. Absolutely nothing is allowed. This is understandable because of the behaviour of a certain set of spectators in various grounds who have the habit of using these bottles as missiles and throw them onto the ground or on the players. The board does not allow these water bottles to be carried into the stadium because of safety concerns which is perfectly understandable. Same with food packets too. We Indians are notorious for strewing food everywhere and thereby converting the entire area into a garbage dump. Hence these are not allowed. Quite rightly so.
Two – camera not allowed
I can understand the restrictions for food items but I just cannot understand why are cameras not allowed to be carried inside the stadium? Any camera, be it a DSLR or a point and shoot one, nothing is allowed. Why is the BCCI afraid to allowed these? Surely, no one is going to throw away their camera inside the ground. It is ridiculous not to allow cameras inside. I am sure grounds in the western world will certainly allow cameras in every sporting event. The only possible explanation for this could be that the match pictures are the exclusive rights to the BCCI. Anyone who wishes to procure these will have to pay the board.
Three – 15th century structure
The moment you enter any stadium in India, you will not be wrong to think that you have entered a medieval dilapidated structure. The grounds are not maintained at all. You can easily lots and lots of cobwebs throughout the grounds. Parts of the structure would have already fallen off. Looking at the structure, you cannot but cringe at your sense of shame.
Fourth – Poor seating
There are still stands in every ground in the country where spectators are made to sit on the floor rather than on a chair. Granted that these are the cheapest but they are a shame nonetheless. The floor will be covered in so much dirt and mud that it is impossible to even think of sitting on the floor. It is akin to sitting in a corporate dumping ground. Just a look at the floor will confirm the fact that it has never been cleaned from the time of stadium’s inauguration.
Fifth – lack of options for food
It is fair enough that food items are not allowed inside the stadium. This makes it all the important for the board to ensure that sufficient eateries are available inside the stadium. In most of the games that I have watched from the stadium, I have hardly seen any decent eatery within the stadium. You will be lucky if you find a small shop selling sandwiches. Apart from that, if you are looking for a variety in food, it is non-existent. Cricket is one full day game. How does the board expect the spectators to survive just on sandwich is beyond me.
Sixth – Horrible toilets
Toilets. This is the ultimate shame on this country. The toilets are shabby, smelly and downright contagious. The problem is compounded especially when the stadium is packed to the fullest capacity. There will hardly be 3-4 urinals for 500 people in one stand when there must be atleast 50. The toilets in Indian cricket stadiums are the filthiest. We are living in the time of Corona. Even Corona will be afraid to enter the toilets in the cricket stadiums around the country.
Seventh – Lack of facilities for the disabled
If someone is handicapped, in the sense, unable to walk, it is not possible for him or her to watch the game from the stadium because I have never seen any facility that will carry the handicapped person to the top tier or to the tier lower. There aren’t any lifts or walkways where that person will be able to move on the wheel chair.
Lastly – parking facilities
The minimum capacity in every stadium in India will be atleast 30K. There will be lot of spectators who will drive down to the stadium but where will they park? This is a question that no one is asking. The grounds must have multiple levels of parking capable of accommodating atleast 15K vehicles. The reality is, it is difficult park even 100 vehicles. That is one reason spectators would rather take a cab to reach the ground rather than park the car some 2KMS away from the ground and walk all the way. If you have to find a parking spot within the stadium’s parking lot, you will have to ensure that you reach the ground by 6AM for a game that starts at 10AM.
to be continued………