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SPORTS: BCCI
New Batsman
The board elects a new president but must now prepare
for greater scrutiny by the Government
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HIGH STAKES: Dalmiya (left)
with Mahanta (centre) and Muthiah after his election
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A
couple
of days before the September 29 annual general meeting (AGM) of the Board
of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), its president A.C. Muthiah hosted
a dinner in Delhi. When 17 of the board's 30 members with voting rights
turned up, it appeared Muthiah was well on his way to securing another
two-year term. But Jagmohan Dalmiya, his rival for the president's post,
was not impressed. "Everyone attending the dinner need not vote for
him," said Dalmiya, former president of the International Cricket
Council (ICC) with curious optimism. "I am confident of winning."
Two days later, Dalmiya showed he wasn't just
waffling. It was Dalmiya who walked away with 17 votes, leaving Muthiah
with just 13. Angry members of the defeated faction alleged that the rival
group spent crores of rupees to "buy votes". That may not have
been an exaggeration. For instance, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, BCCI member
and former Assam chief minister, had no plans to attend the AGM. But on
the eve of the meeting, he was flown to Chennai. But there was some consolation
for the Muthiah faction: its representative Niranjan Shah from Saurashtra
defeated the garrulous Jaywant Lele for the secretary's post. Which means
that Dalmiya may not be able to ride roughshod over the board.
"I
took tough decisions during a difficult period. I hope my successor
will do the same."
A.C. Muthiah, Former President, BCCI
"It is a
challenging responsibility to arrest the slide in Indian cricket.
I will do my best."
Jagmohan Dalmiya, President, BCCI
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BCCI elections have always been closely fought
affairs, but never have they been as bitter as now. And not without reason.
The BCCI is the richest sports body in India, its profits continuing to
rise even though the game was tarnished by match-fixing and TV rights
controversies. Last year, its total assets stood at Rs 201.84 crore; net
profit rose to Rs 37.99 crore in 2000-1 from Rs 26.12 crore the previous
year.
A lot of bitter wrangling was expected at the
AGM. The manner in which the meeting was conducted points to the increasing
role of money and manipulation in the highest controlling authority of
cricket in the country and the results will have a far-reaching impact
on the game in India. The change of guard also assumes significance as
it comes after a tenure that dealt with the worst period which the game
has been through in India and across the world.
Dalmiya may have taken charge of the BCCI but
it is unlikely that he will have absolute control. For one, he is already
under scrutiny by investigative agencies for his role in the mini-World
Cup telecast rights case in which the national broadcaster Doordarshan
is said to have lost heavily. Unlike other sports bodies, the BCCI does
not need government dole for its survival. Yet the two have recently clashed
over a host of issues, including the Indian team's tours to Pakistan and
Sharjah.
It is perhaps no coincidence that among the
first to celebrate Dalmiya's victory were cricket administrators in Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Sharjah, perhaps in anticipation of impending money-spinning
tours. A shrewd businessman, Dalmiya knows that any Indian tour is lucrative,
for the BCCI and for cricket authorities in the three countries. But a
senior Home Ministry official says that the tours might not happen too
soon. "Why should we let our team play in a country where Indian
women cannot wear saris?" he asks, referring to the recent diktat
of the authorities in Sharjah barring women from wearing saris on the
grounds that exposing the navel was obscene. For the time being at least,
offshore cricket is out. Dalmiya will have to rely on conventional methods
and cricket centres for raising money for the BCCI.
— Arun Ram
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