IN ONE SENSE Jagmohan Dalmiya has not disappointed anyone with his clean-up act. You will not find a single person, including all those having ownership of cricket in India, who won't agree that the changes suggested are as cosmetic as they can get. The only surprising part is that everyone thought something else is actually possible. Or it could be that they wished some magic wand can be waved and cricket comes out squeaky clean.
For the record, these are the points suggested by Dalmiya to start the cleaning-up process -
- No cheerleaders, no after-match parties for players and support staff.
- Strict code of conduct to be followed by players, support staff and franchise owners.
- Restriction of movement in players' dug-out and dressing room. The owners from now on will be restricted from entering the dug-out and dressing room during matches.
- All players and support staff of franchises need to furnish their telephone numbers with the BCCI before the start of the tournament.
- Adequate number of ACSU officials in the team hotel as well as the ground to supervise the proceedings.
- Jamming of cellphone towers at the ground during matches.
- Captains' meeting to be held in order to get more suggestions and prepare elaborate blueprint.
- No national selector will be allowed to get associated with any franchise in any capacity.
- All the players need to disclose every financial transaction they are carrying out with any particular organisation or person.
- Franchises need to furnish all details of the remunerations and contractual obligations of players and support staff.
- Players from now on will be prohibited from using ear plugs and microphones.
- Security control policy will be formulated soon.
Even a thorough study of each point and any amount of reasoning is not enough to suggest that any of these actions, barring one, have any value in today's day and age.
Only the point about no national selector being allowed to be associated with any IPL franchise in any capacity has some importance. Because it begins to address the 'conflict of interest' issue, a key aspect because both the president of the BCCI N.Srinivasan and the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni are culprits. They lead the pack of other former cricketers who have compromised themselves by playing dual roles.
Dalmiya, the interim president, or any other office-bearer in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is not in a position to provide immediate and effective solutions to the problems plaguing cricket, and thereby the Indian Premier League (IPL). For of the simple reason that they are the ones who created it. It is only wishful thinking that their thought processes will move in an altogether different direction, after decades spent in manipulating management of the game for selfish interests. These aspects could apply to any field in a country where corruption and crony capitalism best describe its functioning. The BCCI is no different, except that it has to maintain an image that it is doing everything in the interest of the fans of the game.
On maintaining image and perception, the suggested actions will have some impact because even members of the public and media are of the opinion that cheerleaders, parties, mobile phones have ruined the game. Everyone easily forgets that there are mulitple ways to circumvent any rule on these aspects. Even on disclosing financial transactions, it is laughable, because there has never been any mention of any cheque payments being made. However, it is good for the BCCI to be seen doing something that everyone wants. This is evident from the way everyone, including media, is speaking about cheerleaders and parties being banned. Consolation win for the BCCI.
The suspension of Raj Kundra, co-owner of Rajasthan Royals, falls squarely in the "managing-the-perception" category for the BCCI.
Kundra can claim that he is being made a 'scapegoat', but then he and his actor wife Shilpa Shetty forget that fame is a double-edged sword, especially the 15-minute kind. They had no complaints about being the "face" of the Jaipur-based franchise, despite being a minority shareholder. They also need to understand that the glamour element in IPL was very much present before they made their entry, and hence they won't be missed much. The Royals needed their glamour quotient, not IPL.
The designation "face-of-the-organization" comes with its limitations, the prime one being that for any organization it is the most dispensable in times of crisis.
While Kundra is right that there are powerful forces at play, and he is being victimised on flimsy grounds, he forgets that both his franchise and the BCCI have acted on an official statement from the Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar on national television saying that Kundra had indulged in betting. One can only hazard guesses on the reason for the commissioner to have stated this to media, but in the perception game, it is the final judgement against anyone. Kundra and his celebrated lawyer Majeed Memon might get all court judgements in their favour in the future, but the damage has been done, as far as the cricketing career of Raj+Shilpa is concerned.
As SportzPower had written earlier (ADVICE: What Raj+Shilpa and other co-owners of Rajasthan Royals need to do now to save the team), a simple apology might have sufficed for a forgiving country where betting and gambling is part of the culture, though it might not be legal. Now Raj+Shilpa might win in court, and even retain their shareholding, but they will have to forsake their "face" designation on the ground.
For BCCI, the finale in the perception management play is slightly more complicated, with the main actors being Dhoni and Srinivasan. Both have lots to lose, hence expect some drama before the climax. But if BCCI succeeds, all the cosmetic changes that they undertake will suddenly gain value, once this duo cleans up and puts on fresh faces!