Events that will decide future of BCCI
Many people inside the Board feel that president N. Srinivasan got the amendment done, in September 2012, so that he could prolong his reign.
Two extremely significant upcoming events would shape the future of the much-maligned and muchadmonished Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the richest body of the game in the world but not necessarily the most transparent one.
One is the ongoing general election. Over the years the party/coalition that is in power usually has a lot of say in the affairs of the Board, rather it determines to an extent who governs it. To begin with, three of the 30 votes - Railways, Services and the Universities - in the BCCI general body are largely controlled by the government, and often they make the crucial difference. The other important aspect that would impact the BCCI in coming days is the verdict the Supreme Court would deliver, following the completion of an inquiry being launched into the 2013 IPL betting and match-fixing scandal.
The results of these two events are likely to come close to each other, with the new government most likely to be formed before the outcome of the Supreme Court-instituted inquiry is known. While the election results would be declared on May 16, the probe into the alleged misdeeds during the 2013 IPL could well take several months.
Both these results would determine which way the BCCI annual general meeting sways in September when some key amended clauses of its constitution would come into force. The most significant amendment is that all the former BCCI officebearers and vice-presidents (yes, as per the constitution they don't qualify as office-bearers) can now, for the first time in the body's 85-year history, contest for a second term.
However, the new rule [15 (vi) of Election of office-bearers and vice-presidents] is silent on whether an office-bearer/vicepresident can contest for his post only or for any other that he wishes to.
Another major change is in the previous practice of the president and other office-bearers having a two-plus-one year tenure - by which they had to contest for the third year, if needed, after the completion of the first two years. Now, those getting elected will have a straight three-year term, irrespective of the zone they come from. Until now, presidents were elected on zonal rotation, but now a contestant can be from any of the five zones.
Many people inside the Board feel that president N. Srinivasan got the amendment done, in September 2012, so that he could prolong his reign. But the other side of the coin is that this could prove a doubleedged sword for Srinivasan, assuming he contests following a clean chit in the upcoming inquiry. That is so because the new rule allows past presidents - Sharad Pawar, Jagmohan Dalmiya, Shashank Manohar, A.C. Muthiah, I.S. Bindra, and Ranbir Singh Mahendra - to throw their hats in the ring.
And if even one of them does that, it would mean Srinivasan, assuming he's interested in another term in office, would have to work hard.
So far, Srinivasan has had a smooth sailing at both the BCCI and ICC levels. He has been chosen to be the ICC chairman, following a structural overhaul of the world body, and is scheduled to assume the chair in June. However, if the impending inquiry is not completed by June, when the ICC AGM is to be held, it would be a tricky situation for Srinivasan as well as the ICC. So far, the ICC has maintained that the Srinivasan/IPL-related issues are "BCCI's internal matter".
With the upcoming inquiry not likely to be completed before the ICC AGM - and with Srinivasan's rivals in the BCCI again showing teeth - the ICC will have to take a stand soon.
Srinivasan affidavit reveals interesting practice
Affidavits often bring out some startling facts. The document that BCCI president N. Srinivasan recently submitted to the Supreme Court, appealing to be allowed to resume his duties as the Board head, is an interesting one. On the issue of his company India Cements' employees being associated with the BCCI, he has outlined that his predecessors - be it Sharad Pawar or I.S. Bindra - enjoyed the services of their hand-picked PAs/assistants and the Board always paid their TD/DA, etc.
What Srinivasan has not mentioned is that even the medical bills of some of these assistants were paid by the BCCI, but I have the information that one of these assistants was reimbursed even a meagre medical bill of less than Rs 2,500. Of course, these assistants travelled abroad with their bosses and naturally the BCCI met all their expenses. If someone decides to collect and reveal the exact figures of how much was spent on each of these PAs/assistants of all the Board presidents till now, it would surely create a big controversy. But as former head A.C. Muthiah told Mail Today last week, it's a "you scratch my back and I scratch your back" situation in the BCCI.
Other sports are no longer poor cousins
India's excessive - and at times, unreasonable - obsession with cricket and the IPL-fixing scandal has put in shade other sports, particularly the teams' preparations for the upcoming Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Glasgow (July 23-August 3) and the Asian Games in Incheon soon after (September 19-October 4).
Let's have a quick look at the money and other figures involved in the preparations of athletes for these two competitions. For the CWG and the Asian Games, the government has engaged 20 foreign coaches for nine disciplines, though India will compete in 13 sports in the CWG and 30 at the Asiad. For the rest of the disciplines, indigenous coaches have been employed. The most expensive of them all, as per the 2013-14 figures, is Italian shooting coach Marcello Dradi who is charging 550 euros per day (not monthly), and which translates into approximately Rs 14 lakh a month.
Among those drawing monthly salaries, hockey coaches take the cake. Men's team coach Dutchman Roelant Oltmans receives about Rs 9.28 lakh per month as director (high performance), and Australian Terry Walsh gets about Rs 7.73 lakh per month. The budget for shooting, the most productive medal-winning sport for India, in 2013-14 was deservedly the maximum - Rs 2,000 crore.
-> Ace golfer Shiv Kapur is not only an avid cricket watcher, but also plays golf with some of the well-known cricketers at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC).
Two of the cricketers that he has been seen playing with are Kapil Dev and former Australian Test batsman Dean Jones. The Australian followed Kapur's game closely during the 2013 SAIL Open at the DGC.
On Tuesday, Jones was again at the DGC, pursuing his hobby on the lush 'greens'. "We need some quality ball boys to find good lies around here!" tweeted Jones after a round on the sunny day.