A Few Good Men of Indian cricket

Indian cricket was in its worst phase in 2000 as the team clearly lacked direction, following the infamous match fixing scandal. Come 2013 and its déjà vu! The BCCI’s brainchild, IPL came under fire for 3 players of the same team accused of spot fixing and some team owners involved in illegal betting activities.

MS Dhoni may be one man who could be relied upon since he led the team to a famous Champions Trophy win in England after the drama. But who knows what takes place behind the scenes between the players and the BCCI? Considering that he is the favourite of the president, N Srinivasan for he leads his IPL team.

Indian cricket’s golden era seems to be over. Rahul Dravid, the captain of Rajasthan Royals is perhaps the most respected cricketer in India even after his retirement. This is due to one reason – His attitude of sacrifice and honesty towards whichever team he plays for.

Despite his 3 teammates cheating under his nose, his behaviour has been remarkable for he still led his team to a place in the upcoming Champions League T20. He struck the purple patch of his career, after the 2000 scandal and played a critical role in resurrecting the image of Indian cricket.

People like Dravid would be an asset in the board’s top brass. He could follow his ‘state mate’ and another man of tremendous integrity, Anil Kumble who is the President of the Karnataka Cricket Association and the ICC Cricket Committee.

Sourav Ganguly was the man who led India out of that crisis situation by enforcing the belief of India having it in them to win anywhere and against any team, but by fair means. Apparently, even bookmakers feared persuading Dada to fix matches during his tenure!
He is a commentator-cum-analyst currently but has pondered over joining the BCCI or the Indian team as coach in the near future. This would yield better results surely. An iron man like him is the need of this hour to do what is supposed to be done for the greater good.

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag’s playing days are numbered. Such straight forward men should think of a career in cricket administration. The same goes for VVS Laxman, who has retired. All these are players can never be questioned of using the game for their own purposes. The only problem is that they aren’t interested, for reasons best known to them.

The BCCI maybe the world’s richest cricket board, but it is largely due to India’s fan base. The team could lose it, if it does not take necessary steps to show them a true game of cricket more than it being entertaining.