Modis and Bindras – The need of the hour for Indian cricket

The BCCI is assuring the public of changes but behind the scenes, the perennial power struggle still exists besides their lacklustre mentality of the public having a short memory and the IPL 6 being the most profitable tournament for them despite controversies.

N Srinivasan has given the Bengal ironman Jagmohan Dalmiya many of his powers but still Dalmiya seems to acting like a puppet as technically it is Srini who is calling the shots. Otherwise, he would have resigned recently knowing that a conflict of interest still persists of him being the owner of CSK, which surprisingly performs well in each IPL despite the unpredictable nature of T20 cricket.

The two men whom Srinivasan and his supporters are still afraid of the most seem to be Lalit Modi and IS Bindra. Although Modi might also have been corrupt and used some wrong means to bring the IPL into existence, he has undoubtedly given young Indian talent a lifeline looking at the way domestic tournaments in our country are conducted.

Plus, it takes a sharp intellect to host a tournament of big magnitude in another country within just three weeks! If it was not for Modi, the IPL would not have completed 6 years at all looking at other officials who don’t possess his passion for the game and calibre to do business.
Modi may be given a life ban, but Bindra being reprimanded is a shocker! Although Bindra has fallen into trouble many a times for his blunt talk, yet his work for Punjab cricket cannot be underestimated. He is a man of high repute who has made Mohali a world class stadium. His experience in cricket administration is vast and is one of the few people who can be trusted. In fact, Bindra is the man who endorsed Modi’s IPL dream first of them all.

Besides, what may have irked the BCCI is Bindra accusing it of covering a 10,000 crore revenue dealing from the public and tax authorities and supporting not just Modi but Haroon Lorgat too, the current Cricket South Africa CEO who was once the ICC President. BCCI and Lorgat have been at loggerheads, with Lorgat always being put down despite having the right intentions due to the board’s financial clout.

The harsh reality is that if Indian systems have to improve cricket, an autocratic and proactive leader like Modi or Ganguly is required who makes things happen by acting fast. Or a smart but calm leader like Bindra or Dhoni would do, who puts others over himself and is not afraid of anyone to achieve his goals. Otherwise, nothing will change in India when it comes to the cricketing or sporting landscape for that matter.