The Supreme Court has really made a mess of the only well managed Sports Organization in India - BCCI. True, there were issues of cronyism in BCCI, as is there in every sphere. By appointing COA to oversee implementation of SC dictated reforms (which has no legal standing), then seeing the 4 member COA being reduced to 2 (why didnt SC not fill the vacancies), with the current two at logger heads on every issue (Vinod Rai and Diana Eduljee), and SC taking an Ostrich like attitude, future doesnt augur well for BCCI. They have already lost much of their clout in ICC, and no one knows who is running BCCI. Before, at least there used to be elections, and the BCCI was run in a democratic manner. If undesirables won the elections, that is another matter. It happens. This is a country where a person who never got elected to Lok Sabha was the Prime Minister for 10 years, with an elected tyrant lady pulling the strings backstage. It is high time SC got out of running BCCI by proxy (frankly, it is not their business to do so) and allow BCCI to sort out their internal issues.
The Hardik Pandya - K L Rahul saga of interview with Karan Johar saga has taken a ridiculous turn. True, Hardik Pandya made some comments about his dalliance with women which could have been avoided. All it required was for the BCCI Chief to call them up and say "Son, you need to stop bragging, and behave responsibly. Off you go and run 20 laps of Wankhade Stadium, bowl 1000 balls extra, hit 500 balls more in the nets, and dont bloody repeat this." Shit happens with young kids. They have really made a spectacle of these boys, suspended them (for what?) and now the latest is that the case has gone to an Ombudsman. I dont know what this creature can do? Sentence them to 50 lashes? Ridiculous.
The same logic can be applied to the Ball Tampering case against Steve Smith, David Warner and Brancroft. Ball tampering has been in vogue for a long time. There is a proscribed punishment if caught in ICC rules. And that should have been applied and matter ended there. But CA made a spectacle of them.
Actually, this meltdown has been long coming. Australia's lack of ethics and bullying has been a cause of worry for a long time. And they got away with worse things. They were brash, abusive and showed total lack of respect for opponents. The umpires and match referees tolerated a lot of nonsense under the label of 'this is the Australian way of playing', instead of telling them that 'there is an International way of playing, and you are expected to abide by it".
The rot really reached the bottom when Darren Lehman became the Coach. It is amusing to note that he got away scot free in this incident. It is he, who should have been banned for life from Coaching or being anywhere near Players, for he is a bad influence.
Remember the case where Australia were plainly cheating by seeking help from the Dressing Room with respect to DRS? Smith was caught red handed, and India were sure this had happened before. Austrialia's success rate with DRS, post being caught with pants down, has shown a marked decline, and this is not due to chance by any stretch of imagination. This whole charade was conceived and directed by Lehman. There is no doubt he is the father of the ball tampering saga. And the pace bowlers all got off scot- free. No way they would not have known about this. They were the beneficiaries. The fact that Australians have not been able to get any reverse swing after this incident is clear proof of this.
Australian cricketers behaviour needed a shake up. No doubt about that. But that should have been done in a different way. All it required was for CA to read the riot act to the players, and appoint as Coach and Captain, people who have sound value system, and easing out the bad influences.
Moving to another topic- DRS. While the new rules, where teams in Test Cricket has only two reviews per innings, with a return of Umpires Call leading to no loss of review is much better than the old rules, it is still a matter of concern as to how the possibility of the same situation returning with different outcomes depending on how umpire has called it in the first place. If umpire has given a batsman out LBW, and DRS returns an Umpires Call decision, then the batsman stays out. But for the same situation, if the umpires original decision was not out, and DRS returns an Umpires call decision, the batsman is not out. This is unacceptable. There should only be one decision. Admittedly, this is because the ball tracking is at best an assumption and hence there is a possibility of error. But it is better to give the batsmen out if the ball were to hit the stumps.
I am quite pleased at the improved showing of West Indies against England at home. For long, West Indies cricket has been languishing. It is always a joy to watch them play. They behave well, their joy at simple success is a treat for the eye, they dont abuse opponents, and they enjoy their cricket. I was pleased to see young Hetmyer, in his 80s in a ODI, roaring in disgust not being able to put a full toss away for a boundary- not once but thrice. That is the commitment and drive one would like to see in youngsters. They are not as spoilt as Indian cricketers, for they earn a fraction of what Indian cricketers earn. The content on the face of Kemar Roach on outfoxing another batsmen, the Salute of Cottrell on taking a Wicket ( it is unique ), the sight of a dignified Holder leading the team majestically and giving his all whether batting, bowling or fielding in a calm manner, the ebullience of Shai Hope or Darren Bravo and the calm assurance of Dowrich behind and in front of the wickets plus a few man mountain fast bowlers cranking up 145 mph plus - all these show signs of a West Indian revival. You dont need ego filled Super stars in a team, what you need is a team full of committed, talented people with good attitude. It will be interesting to watch how they carry on from here
