Right to Information on BCCI
Does Virat Kohli, who has been so consistent for a long period, represents the country? Do you know why Mayank Agarwal was not picked for the SL series irrespective of his sublime form this season?
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. The body has been recognized by ICC (International Cricket Council) and the teams officially selected by BCCI will represent India in all the competitions recognized by ICC. Since Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has handed over all its power to the ICC, the International Cricket Council is the legal administrator of world cricket. However, the power to amend and copyright laws of cricket is still with the MCC.
Having said all this, the BCCI doesn’t even have the rights to use the name India on any of their correspondence, as they are a private entity and not a government recognized organization. The TN Societies Registration Act of 1975 acts as an invisible cloak to all day to day operations and decisions of BCCI. BCCI with its state association and its elected representatives can even select 15 players who have been playing hockey till that point in time and send them as the representatives of the Indian Cricket Team for the next series. No one has the right to question them even they do such an act, as they are well within their rights to do so. They also do not have to furnish their team selection process, the salary and mode of payment to all players.
With the RTI in place, the Indian citizens, were able to question the government about the educational qualification of our current prime minister, but could not get any answers about the BCCI, a private institution. Someone can argue that the reason for India being successful in cricket but not in other sports is due this monopoly and anonymity that BCCI holds. But on any given day I would be happy with a subpar performance from a team that represents my country if I know the reasons behind it and every single aspect of its functioning was transparent. Though the performance of the cricket team has always been on level higher, the secrecy even in the team selection bothers every Indian cricket fan. I have always wondered, why certain players never make the cut despite being immensely talented. When other top performing cricketing nations have their respective governing bodies under the control of their country’s sports ministry and churn out results on par with India, it is high time we followed suit. There is every chance of the success being curtailed based on the happenings across other sports, but full anonymity and monopoly is not good for any sport.
Global success is essential for a country like us, but the way we achieve shouldn’t carry any blind spots.
