Jagmohan Dalmiya. It’s a name that elicits differing emotions in different people. He has alternately been referred to as visionary or greedy, forward thinking or a megalomaniac. It’s perhaps stretching things a little too far to call him the father of modern cricket, but much of what international cricket is today is because of Dalmia, the
former head of the International Cricket Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

For 130 years now, the basic fibre of cricket hasn't changed. It continues to be a battle between bat and ball, with modifications and innovations throwing up the one-day and Twenty20 versions; where it has evolved beyond imagination is in the marketing of the international game and its exploitation as a money-churning proposition.

Savour these facts: When England travelled to India in 1993 for a three- Test series, telecast rights were
sold -- granted, if you like -- for US $40,000. But in 2005, after a lengthy and sometimes controversial process that involved tenders being floated and sealed bids being received, the BCCI signed a four-year deal with Nimbus Communications for $612.18 million! The phenomenal coup that IPL has achieved is well-documented to be recounted here.

Staggering as these figures are, they are indicative of the growing financial clout the Indian market, and by extension the BCCI, wields. For a long time now, the BCCI has been the richest cricket board in the world; along with wealth comes power, as Dalmiya showed during his reigns as the ICC chief between 1997 and 2000, and as BCCI president subsequently.

Dalmiya’s inherent business acumen identified the potential offered by a game seemingly difficult to market because of its stately pace. The game’s sheer length became its biggest attraction as satellite
television invaded India in the ‘90s. Corporate houses, sucked in by the star value of Sachin Tendulkar’s
genius, struck up an unshakeable association with cricket. Marketed aggressively, the cricket boom
exploded beyond belief, touching every part of the country.

Recognising impact
Quickly, the rest of the world began to sit up and take notice. It is debatable if, at that point, either the BCCI itself or the other cricket boards across the world recognised the impact India were soon going to have on the world stage.

While other teams, most notably Australia and England, did attract impressive sponsorship, it was peanuts compared to what the BCCI raked in. Cricket has undeniably been India’s most popular sport for a long while now, unlike in other countries where it has had to compete with such varying sports as Aussie Rules Football, rugby and soccer for popularity and finances. Gradually, the once powerful cricket nations -- Australia, England and South Africa, before Apartheid-- began to recognise that their authority was being undermined by the upstart. Australia and England lost their veto powers at the ICC, and the non-white cricketing bloc rallied under the banner of leadership India proudly unfurled.

On their current tour of Australia, India's financial clout has occupied more attention than the spirited on-field performances. The unpleasant episodes during the Sydney Test met a logical end with bungling umpire Steve Bucknor replaced out of turn, and Harbhajan Singh being slapped with no more than a token fine. It came after BCCI used some of its muscle power, clearly indicating that the Indian players would fly back home unless Harbhajan was cleared of the racial abuse charge.

The landscape of the ICC has changed, perhaps irrevocably, in the last few years. From being a bit
player, India have graduated to the elite group. Besides carrying three other sub-continental Test-playing nations with them, India has often come to the rescue of cash-strapped cricket boards in the West Indies and Zimbabwe. Having also played a key role in ending South Africa's cricketing isolation in 1990s, India can look upto its “friends” in the ICC to work up a clear majority should the need arise.

It is possible that, flush with their position of command, India might press the wrong buttons consciously or otherwise, because absolute power can corrupt absolutely. That’s where BCCI’s new power-brokers must fall back on traditional wisdom to go with their nouveau riche status.