JOIN USN Srinivasan, Amit Shah are running Indian cricket: Ramachandra Guha
In recent years, BCCI has been embroiled in controversies more often than not, grabbing headlines because of several contentious actions. During the tenure of N Srinivasan as its president, the match-fixing scandal rocked the IPL, with his team Chennai Super Kings being banned for two years. Famous historian Ramachandra Guha, who is known to be a vocal critic of the BCCI, in an interview with Mid-day has once again slammed the way it functions, saying that nepotism is a growing menace within its system.
The 62-year-old, who was once part of the four-member panel of Committee of Administrators nominated by the Supreme Court, has penned a new book, The Commonwealth of Cricket: A Lifelong Love Affair with the Most Subtle and Sophisticated Game Known to Humankind, where he has given his insight on his stint in the cricket administration of the country. Guha had previously written acclaimed books on cricket like A corner of a foreign field, Spin and Other Turns and The states of Indian cricket among others.
While describing the book, he said, "Not an autobiography, more of a memoir. An autobiography is about yourself and your achievements. A memoir is more about what you saw and observed. There is a fine line [between autobiography and memoir]. If you want to call it a cricketing autobiography, that's fine. But it's a very personal story of one individual's ride with cricket—as a player, a fan, a spectator, a writer, and right at the end, an administrator."
In the interview, he said that BCCI has not adopted the promised reforms, and family relations have taken precedence in the operation of the administrative system. He said, “N Srinivasan and Amit Shah are effectively running Indian cricket today. The state associations are run by somebody’s daughter, somebody’s son."
Moreover, Guha also criticised former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly for his endorsing the My11Circle, a fantasy game.
He compared Ganguly's endorsement with Bedi's attitude towards cricket and questioned why should the 'Prince of Calcutta' degrade the position of the president. “Not the biggest bane; it is a bane. Look at Ganguly today—head of the Board and representing some cricket fantasy game. This kind of greed for money among Indian cricketers is shocking. The most telling story in my book is about Bishan Singh Bedi saying that he is happy to go to Kabul [to coach Afghan cricketers]—anywhere for cricket and not anywhere for money. Why should Ganguly be doing all these things for a little extra money? Ethical standards go down if the president of the Board behaves like this."
He also touched upon the conflict between IPL and Ranji Trophy with both vying to become the country's leading domestic tournament and said, "It's important that Ranji Trophy is not neglected. It's sad that those players have not been paid. I feel sad as someone who grew up in the era of Ranji Trophy [being prominent]. The Ranji Trophy prepares you better for Test cricket, much better than IPL—to play a long innings—to learn to bowl and take wickets in different conditions."