Why this kolaveri di to transparency Mr Srikkanth?

Transparency is a casualty of operations at all levels of governance, be it in politics, or sports for that matter. The current intrigue-ridden happenings emanating out of India’s “best managed” sports body drives home the point as never before.

Of course, it will be seen as harakiri to even suggest that the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) could have better managed the show at this critical juncture of Indian cricket had it sported some guts to shed the obsessive veil of unrequired secrecy it has long lived in. I say harakiri, because it is not in the DNA of any kind of officialdom to come clean, especially when it might be uncomfortable to do so.

Like Cricket Australia, why couldn’t the BCCI, and chief selector K Srikkanth, say that Virender Sehwag was being dropped from the team for Asia Cup due to consistent non-performance, indiscipline as also the need to blood youngsters. All the three reasons are more than valid. There would have hardly been any raised eyebrows then. Over and above that, this one bit of straightforwardness would have given a new and welcome sheen of honest transparency to BCCI which has been obsessively secretive about all its moves.

And, it is even more annoying to see how the BCCI, instead of looking within and trying to end the intrigues that remind one of the Greg Chappell days, there is a complete lack of information from the Board on what really is going on within the dressing room of an underperforming Indian team. Rather than being transparent, the Board has treated the accompanying Indian media as an adversary. All this mismanagement is counter-productive to say the least.

Returning to Sehwag, had Srikkanth admitted to the above-mentioned reasons behind dropping him, instead of asking the insistent scribes to shut up on queries around the opener, even the opener would have understood, and would’ve not been in situation to carry on the fight. It is for everyone to see why, even though injury free, Sehwag needs to be rested for getting his form back.

A much more professional Cricket Australia did not feel the need to hide its punches when it came to Ricky Ponting. They announced his sack not just from the Tri-series but from the ODI format itself in the middle of a series. Ponting must have been heartbroken but at no point of time could he question the decision, keeping his poor form in mind. He addressed the Press, admitted he was out of the ODIs and kept the headlines clean.

Nothing of that sort can, sadly, happen when it comes to the Indian team. And that’s because our system of governance does not have the wherewithal to tackle and nip intrigue in the bud. Rather, and quite unfortunately so, it feeds on non-transparent moves which are solely meant to hide the truth, in case of Sehwag a truth staring in the face of one and all.

Truth is, Sehwag is out of form. He needs to be axed for the good of the team and for his good too. Period!

And this brings us to Sachin Tendulkar, the great man who no one can ask to leave. I am sure, Sachin knows when to go and how. We all know why he is in the Asia Cup and Sehwag is not. His 100th 100 has to happen and happen fast because it is more than apparent to everyone concerned that once that is done, the master will himself speak of his limited time in limited over format. And since all know that, including the fans and the media, no questions were raised on his inclusion even though it had little to do with his form.

As for the heat around skipper MS Dhoni, it is this very lack of transparency and behind the scene instructions by the BCCI that is harming his interest too, even though in the present scenario he seems have to come out the lone winner of the senior-junior team battle.

Sehwag is gone, Sachin will be going soon and Gambhir has been blatantly ignored for a team promotion. But how long will the Australia atmosphere take to re-enter the Indian dressing room despite the changes? Dhoni has made some outrageous announcements in Australia, something that he rarely does.

He has hinted he is not the man for Test captaincy on a platform that didn’t need that kind of a futuristic comment. He has talked of rotation and then said no it was not so much about rotation as it was about the need to rest and protect “slow elders” from exploitation by rivals on the field!

The BCCI did not feel the need to curb the storm that had reportedly been brewing in the dressing room for over a year now. That is something that is the basic of administration isn’t it? Isn’t it all about ironing out the problems? The BCCI has the men and the might to do so. One wonders why the Board never finds time or reason to tread this so obviously more productive path.

Even the selectors’ move to burden the budding and explosive talent of Virat Kohli with management responsibilities is ill-timed and comes across as a ploy to cut off performing seniors like Gambhir in its bid to live in the future at the expense of the present.

Kohli still needs grooming himself — both on and off the field. He has long been a monument of brashness, something that needs to be taken off his emerging prowess as a cricketer. Besides, taking a disgruntled Gambhir to Asia Cup is a misconceived move, something that Dhoni should have stopped from happening.

For now, the BCCI is a cash-rich Board of clout in international cricket. But all this financial clout can’t douse the ill-effect of persistent non-performance of the team. The sooner the Board takes a reality check on this aspect, the better it will serve its purpose.

A neat, clean, honest, professional sport administrator enjoys the biggest clout — in public, media and player domains.

Published: The Sunday Pioneer, 4 March, 2012