Bye Bye BCCI

Remember the phrase "Fire in the mountain run, run run" when you were a kid !! This is what the BCCI(Board of Control for Cricket in India) is upto hypocritically , unable to accept the fact that it has been given a shot in the arm by the new league started on similar lines to the BCCI which intends to add a new dimesion to cricket in INDIA called the "Indian Cricket League ", famously called the ICL.

While there is a definitive peril involved in starting a parallel venture as against the BCCI,one must admit it indeed is a bold move by the originators of the ICL. But the fact remains to be seen if the ICL can survive and its performance can be guaged over the next 3 or 4 years.To say it would be the future of Indian cricket as some would imagine would be too premature in comparison to the BCCI having governed cricket for more than 60 years.

With an handful of domestic players with the likes of Ambati Rayadu,L.R.Shukla along with Indian discards S.Sriram,Dinesh Mongia,Rohan Gavaskar and a few more signing up for the ICL, the BCCI in its inner conscience would be aware of what it has already lost in the process and the challenges that would need to be factored.While these are wake up calls for the BCCI ,losing key players is an sad indication for any sports organisation.

While its a win-win situation for a few stars like Brian Lara,Inzamam ,for some of the domestic recruits it comes as a blessing in disguise who even after a series of brilliant performances were overlooked by the selectors owing to favourism,Quota system and votes which would help them stick to their positions long enough.Though not part of the ICL ,a key example could well be S.Sharath of the Tamil Nadu,considered one of the better middle order batting prospect for INDIA in the mid 90's, even after key performances for over a decade doesn't get a look in because of the board's politics.

While not many are ready to vent out their frustration over the board there are a few like Bengal bowler Saurashish Lahri, 26 yrs of age who was quoted saying in one of the newspapers wherein he was referred to as a "veteran" by one of the East zone selectors. If this is kind of motivation that a zonal selector can offer, then the BCCI better not be surprised.

With paltry match fees and job insecurities at the domestic level it doesn come as surprise if more and more domestic players move into the ICL.After all what benefits do these players get slogging for 20 years,be it in the board or in terms of monetary gain. A state selectors job ? Pension from the BCCI?

With the ICL offering a lucrative sum of 90 lakhs for a period of 3 years for the domestic players and a massive 10 crore for an international player there's hardly any doubt one would be tempeted to jump the ICL bandwagon along with getting to play some cricket!

While the ICL is not the only league of its own, a similar venture was started by Allen Stanford in the West Indies to improve the standards of their countries cricket called the "Stanford 20-20 cup". Although some cricket pundits regard these leagues as a step in improving the standard of cricket, only with time can one know how beneficial they prove to be.

In the wake of such a turnaround what would be BCCI's next step? Wait and watch the mass exodus of the players signing with ICL and stating "We are not worried by the ICL, no beneifits for the players in future" or will the administration pull up its socks now finally, which predominantly is run by a bunch of people who have no or very little knowledge about the game?

While its certainly not the end of the road ,the board needs to realise that its exitstence is largely because of the players and there is not much the board can ponder about.The fact remains to be seen if it can bring out a revolution of sorts in the way the game has been run and the BCCI is all but itself to blame.

At the moment though its ICL which is having the last laugh.