It’s not cricket!
Why is the IPL (Indian Premier League) continuing during India’s COVID crisis?
You would need to have a heart of stone not to have been moved by the images and stories from India over the past week. We have been inundated with heart wrenching tales of misfortune as the second wave of the pandemic scythes across the Indian sub-continent.
The esteemed Australian author and journalist Gideon Haigh wrote a coruscating piece on The Australian* at the weekend, eviscerating the powers that be for continuing to play cricket whilst people were dying in their thousands due to a lack of oxygen just a few miles from where the games were taking place.
I shared this article with Uncle and eagerly waited for his reply!
Baba Raihan,
The article on IPL, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and cricket has been quiet thought-provoking and illuminating. The process of turning BCCI into another outfit of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) has been going on for for quite some time; now it is swiftly moving to its logical culmination.
Shasank Manohar served twice as the President of BCCI and also held the position of Chairman of ICC (International Cricket Council) from 2015 to 2017. Though he is not directly affiliated with any political party, his grooming started in a family deeply soaked in Hindutva traditions. His grandfather, R K Manohar was a veteran leader of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor of BJP.
Another BJP veteran and the former Finance Minister, the late Arun Jaitley had served as the President of Delhi Cricket Association for quite a long time.
Kirti Azad, a former national cricketer brought serious allegations of corruption against Jaitley but predictably nothing happened. Jaitley’s untimely death provided Narendra Modi with a much-sought after opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.
The Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium was built in Delhi in 1883; the first Test match was played here in 1948. It was here that a record tenth wicket partnership of 111 runs was scored by Hemu Adhikari and Ghulam Ahmed (the former Pakistan captain, Asif Iqbal’s Mamu — maternal Uncle) in 1952.
This record still remains unbroken.
This Stadium was rechristened as Arun Jaitley Stadium to commemorate the memory of Jaitley. Modi made his supporters happy and obliterated the name of Feroz Shah Tughlaq of the Tughlaq dynasty who ruled over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388.
Nobody as such demurred with the notable exception of the former Indian spinner, Bishan Singh Bedi. The BJP supporters vociferously supported the decision; there was a lot of jubilation as Modiji was ‘ bold’ enough to do away the vestiges of Muslim occupation of Delhi.
Lalit Modi, another BJP supplicant was involved in the financial bungling that made headlines in the media. As Chairman of the IPL governing body he is alleged to have siphoned off crores of rupees; an artificial furore was created and the smokescreen helped him flee away from the country. Now he is in England enjoying the fruits of kleptocracy and the dividends that accrue for connections with the high and mighty.
N Srinivasan, MD of India Cements Ltd. held the post of President, BCCI. He also served as the Chairman of ICC. India Cements is the official sponsor of Chennai Super Kings skippered by M S Dhoni. Srinivasan’s heavy involvement in betting and spot-fixing came to the surface when his son-in law G Meiyappan was arrested by Mumbai police for his deep involvement in the scams. No tangible action was taken against Srinivasan as he was a known supporter of BJP.
Jay Shah, the current Secretary of BCCI is the Home Minister, Amit Shah’s son. You don’t have to know rocket science to understand that Jay wields real power at the BCCI of which Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian skipper is the titular head. It is anybody’s guess when Jay Shah will step into Sourav’s shoes when his period of probation is over or, when the BJP bosses choose to decide, whichever occurs earlier.
The BCCI is remote-controlled by BJP and its decisions are aimed at enhancing the fortunes of BJP and Modiji wherever and whenever it is possible. The gesture of apparently compassionate act of donating some money to Pulwama victims as part of Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) was conceived and commanded by BJP because it would boost the prospects of the Party in the Lok Sabha elections that were to take place in a couple of months. The BJP excels at pursuing zealously a cloak and dagger policy.
The terror, trauma and uncertainty triggered by Covid19 did not have any impact on the BCCI and their lure of lucre. They are least perturbed by the fatalities caused by Coronavirus for “they can swim through a pool of shit for a buck”. It is money that counts, nothing else.
