Legendary spinner, Bishan Singh Bedi placed the balme squarely on the shoulders of the players for the credibility crisis that cricket is battling right now.
Delivering a lecture on ‘credibility of cricket’ here on Saturday, Bedi said “Whatever good which happens to Indian cricket is by sheer providence. At the end of the day whatever the results  (may) be, the problem (of credibility) still remains.” The 66-year-old left-arm tweaker, said the young players these days do not have the “real passion for the game” and the huge money they earn in the’circus called IPL’ acts as a demotivator for playing for the country.
He came down hard on chuckers and match-fixers and said that there was no room for cheating in the game of cricket.
“A good cricketer is one good student of the game and a good administrator is one servant of the game and not a boss, because cricket is the boss,” said Bedi. “There is nothing called stepping aside or stepping down. There is a difference, you know,” he said obviously referring to the Indian cricket czar N. Srinivasan’s recent decision to ‘step aside’ as BCCI president.
He also said that Alastair Cook, not Sachin tendulkar or M S Dhoni was the perfect rolemodel for young cricketers.
Excerpts:
On cricket facing credibility crisis: I would like to recall the bodyline tactics of former England skipper Douglas Jardine during a series against Australia in 1932. It drew a lot of criticism and later cricket’s governing body came up with a rule for number of fielders on the leg-side. Ball tampering was also brought in by players. They used bottle caps and grease to take undue advantage.
It forced another rule change — ball to be given to the umpire after a wicket is taken. All these incidents clearly suggest that it has always been the players who brought disrepute to the game.
On money and youngsters: When I started playing the game, we were paid just Rs. 250 per match. Once when we beat New Zealand in four days, our pay was reduced to Rs. 200! Nowadays, players earn astonishing money. There is a central contract, match fees and players are also employed by big companies. But, youngsters are not so passionate about the game. They are losing focus when they see big money. There is no motivation to represent the country.
Cricketer he admires the most: Sir Don Bradman is a great person. He stands tall because of his integrity. I have spoken to him on a few occasions. Once, I asked him if he would have scored as many runs during this era as he had in his days. He said that he was not sure whether he would have got those runs but he felt the modern day bowlers would not have taken his wicket!
On the spot-fixing saga: No one can find out the modus operandi of the fixers or those involved. ICC is doing its best to curb such activities. A good cricketer is one good student of the game and a good administrator is one servant of the game and not a boss, because cricket is the boss. But nothing has changed. There is nothing as such called stepping aside or stepping down. There is a difference, you know.
On bowlers with suspect action: I’m always against bowlers who chuck. Even Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) had asked me why I was against his bowling style. I have criticised a lot about Muttiah Muralitharan’s action. I love cricket when it’s played in a fair manner. ICC should not have relaxed on the degree of the bending of the arm.
On batsmen walking off the field: You don’t see that often these days. Stuart Broad showed that he was not a ‘walker’. Players do not want to get out early or let their country down. Youngsters need to be taught the importance of ‘walking’.