Undoubtedly the two best teams in this year’s IPL will contest the final at the Eden Gardens. But in the context of all that has transpired over the past 10-12 days in which the murky underbelly of cricket in India has been exposed, this is now of academic interest.
Indeed, as I write this, there is some doubt whether Chennai Super Kings will not have their license in the tournament annulled because of the alleged nexus between Gurunath Meiyappan, part of the franchise’s top management, and small-time Bollywood actor Vindoo Dara Singh who is accused of being a bookie and a conduit to spot-fixers.
That would be hard on the two teams, especially Chennai Super Kings, who have an excellent track record in the past five seasons and have looked good enough to win their third title. But it is even harder on the cricket fans to come to terms with what’s been happening in a sport they worship and people they trust implicitly.
It must be emphasised that police investigations are still in the preliminary stages and hard evidence of corruption against the many people named yet is still to be established. But by now it is clear that the corruption — whatever its nature and scale — is not restricted to just some greedy players but extends to almost every strata of Indian society.
Just how deeply involved umpires, coaches, support staff, administrators, team owners et al are involved is open to speculation but there is no doubt that a massive trust deficit has set in where fans are concerned. And restoring trust should be uppermost in the minds of not just those who run the game, but are concerned about its future.
Where does Operation Clean-Up begin? As in the failure of any enterprise where the problem is of such magnitude, the man at the helm must take the fell blow. BCCI chief N. Srinivasan, I am afraid, is now sitting on a stool with no legs and must abdicate.
The belated and contrived attempt to distance Gurunath from India Cements and CSK on Friday — after his son-in-law was summoned by the Mumbai police — may have been a tactical ruse to ensure that his team are not be debarred from the final. But it has certainly won him no favour; if anything, it has worsened his situation.
For someone who has been associated with cricket for almost four decades — as club level player, team promoter, and administrator — Srinivasan will feel hard done by assuming he has no direct involvement in the scam. If he has a vagrant family member, it is not his fault.
But while it may be true that he will win the legal battles that may ensue, it is truer that he has lost the war where ‘public perception’ is concerned. For the vast majority — irrespective of what his ‘vote bank’ in the BCCI might think or do — Srinivasan is the man who is at fault.
Legally flawed as this sentiment may be, it is understandable. The biggest crisis in Indian cricket has happened in his tenure as BCCI president and he must take the rap. By the same token, Rajeev Shukla must cop the blame as IPL chairman for this fiasco which has hit the tournament.
The past few years have been rocky for Srinivasan, though he has been magnanimous with players and ostensibly made Indian cricket more formidable in the sport’s powerplay internationally. At the root of his problem has been the IPL
Allegations of conflict of interest have dogged Srinivasan since the tournament started in 2008. Several other instances where the rules have been bent to favour him have been alleged. All may not cut ice, but the point is not whether he is legally culpable or not; rather what can be done to prevent the whole edifice from tumbling down. Ideally, Srinivasan (and Shukla) should have stepped down straightaway pending inquiries into the scam, allow an interim board to take over and invite a special investigation team to probe every aspect of the IPL: players, owners, coaches, commentators, support staff as well as extraneous elements like Vindoo Dara Singh. It might yet not be too late.
An acceptance of responsibility and a show of accountability will at least alleviate to some extent the misgivings of the public that the entire establishment is rotten to the core. That something is being seriously done to remedy the situation. That Indian cricket is not being treated cavalierly to the beat of jhampak-jhapak and widespread chicanery.