Battle Royale

That the BCCI is rattled by ICL's moves is evident from its knee-jerk reactions. Not content with stunting the growth of the game for decades , it now wants to snuff out any competition fromits territory.Apart from mismanaging the sport and nipping many promising careers in the bud, the BCCI has dedicated itself only to mint money. If there is one institution that does not deserve the money it makes, it has to be the BCCI.Worse, it saves most of that money by leaving important decisions to the courts.

Subash Chandra promoted Zee is not an angel. It wants its share of the cake and it would be naive to believe that Zee has cricket development as its primary agenda.However,the very effort to challenge BCCI's monopoly is welcome and praiseworthy. How can a bunch of partisan selectors decide that only 11 are fit to play international cricket? If the BCCI thinks certain players are 'unfit' to play for the country, why should it ban them from playing for a rival league?





The BCCI's shameless double standards have hit a new low. It warns players joining ICL with a ban, but has no qualms in welcoming Brian Lara to its fold. When it can accept Lara, why can't it accept others?

The game thrives in competition not only on the field but also off it. No institution must be allowed to use its financial muscle to arm twist others into submission. The ICL has as much rights , if not more, as the BCCI to "develop" the game. By being a poor loser and whining aloud, the BCCI is only making a mockery of itself. Instead, it must try and stem the exodus by instilling a semblance of professionalism in running the sport in this cricket crazy country.