Give Kumble a decent chance
Anil Kumble has explained his position as far as allegations of conflict of interest between his management company and his position as president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association. It was brave and fair of him to face the public because the norm in Indian cricket — and I dare say even in public and corporate life — is to lie low and hope the controversy will blow over rather than work towards resolving it.
Sure, there are still be pros and cons seen in his explanations. But everybody now knows Kumble’s position. The issue is not mired in mystery any longer, which begs the question: was the confusion necessary in the first place?
For instance, is there a set of guidelines for those aspiring to be part of the country’s cricket administration? That would make the picture clear to the aspirant as well as the media and the lay public of the dos and don’ts of holding office. Every so often, it is also needless secrecy which causes the problem and raises suspicions.
The BCCI would have done away with a lot of bad press had it made it clear in the public domain that Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri were contracted by it as commentators. If I have knowledge of the relationship, I can decide whether to watch them or not, and believe as much as I want of their opinions. If I don’t, I imagine the worst.
The Board for Control of Cricket in India must now realise that the time has come to put rules in place to avoid such situations in the future. By not making any rules about potential conflict of interest as well as shrouding its dealings in mystery through lack of timely information or intervention, a climate has been created where people now believe that anything goes in the BCCI. Sometimes this means that even the best intentions can be called into question.
As an example, Dilip Vengsarkar has been running the Elf Academy for close to two decades, honing young cricketers in Mumbai and by all accounts doing an outstanding job. But for the past eight years he was also vice-president of the Mumbai Cricket Association and therefore had a hand in picking the MCA’s selection committee (he doesn’t run a talent management company though). Should questions of conflict be raised when Elf players are selected?
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