Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) Vs Indian Idol

BCCI stands for Monopoly & Dictatorship and Indian Idol stands for Competition & Democracy. And that is why BCCI should not be allowed to shun competition by banning / disqualifying wannabe Cricketers who join ICL (Indian Cricket league) started by Subhash Chandra of ZEE TV fame.

Subhash Chandra although acting in self-interest is doing great good to Indian Cricket. Even today in India, where Cricket is a religion the selection process is not at all transparent and is ridden with favoritism, regionalism etc. Very few players are known outside their limited community before they actually make it to the national team. The Ranji process which looks good on paper has not produced desired result. On the other hand there is successful model like the England’s County Cricket which not only helps upcoming Cricketers to get exposure to some real Cricket but also help pursue their career choice with financial independence. It’s shameful that a country which almost finances the world Cricket (a large share of sponsorship money in Cricket comes from India) don’t have enough money to support its domestic Cricket.

The support infrastructure for a budding Cricketer in India is almost non existent and competition here can do a world of good. With the kind of money Cricket attracts today why can’t we have several state / county teams competing each other. Here is where Indian Idol comes in.

Indian Idol is a symbol of what competition can do to a profession. Today on every channel there is show where participants from all over the country are competition to prove themselves as the next generation of singers. I had been following Indian Idol 3 for some time now and I must say the quality of singers is just mind blowing.

People might complain that selection process is not right or the best candidate donot always win in such competition. The point is not that. The point is that there is a platform where 10-20 wannabe singers can showcase themselves every six months or so. Some will win some will loose, maybe Deepali is a better singer than Ankita but the fact of the matter is atleast she got a chance to show her talent to the world. Tomorrow when Subhash Ghai or Yash Chopra is selecting singer for his upcoming movie atleast they have some more options. Deepali may not go on to become the leading singer in the country but sooner or later she will get a chance to try her voice as Radio Jockey (RJ).

ICL can provide a platform for Cricketers like Indian Idol, Voice of India, Sa Re Ga Ma etc is doing for Singers. And what is the locus standi of BCCI. The Supreme Court on recently held that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was an autonomous body discharging duties such as selection of an Indian Cricket team, controlling the activities of the players and others involved in the game of Cricket. The BCCI could not be brought within the ambit of "other authorities" under Article 12 of the Constitution, the court said. It went on the specifically mentioned that BCCI cant be treated as ‘State’ or in other words part of government.
The above ruling should be enough to establish that BCCI has no right to ‘ban’players who join ICL and in no case playing for ICL can disqualify a player from joining the Indian Cricket team. BCCI’s stand that players who join ICL would be ‘banned’ for life or disqualified should be reversed and BCCI representative who have make similar comments in media should be banned for life from BCCI. They are trusted with the job of promoting Cricket and not curbing Cricket in the country. It’s Supreme Court and Government of India responsibility to make an announcement to this effect immediately even if no PIL is filed. As I understand, BCCI is a non-profit making entity which has been formed to promote Cricket in India. In no case it has any extra constitutional powers to ban any player to play on other platform. (The disciplinary power BCCI exercise over players comes from the contract signed by players with BCCI and not from BCCI status. They have no powers or right against wannabe Cricketers who have not entered into any contract with them). It’s like movie federation declaring that anybody who participates in Indian Idol would never get a chance to work in Indian Movie. It’s completely absurd. At best a movie producer say Yash Raj productions can say that anybody who work for a Sony Entertainment Network production wont get chance in its movie. He has right to do that because it’s his movie and his money. But in no case he can ban the singer from Indian Film Industry.

This is why competition is very important. Today BCCI is run like a family owned business where the trust representatives act on their own wimps and fancies. Its like Yash Raj productions owning the whole Film Industry. Infact in a democracy like India every field should work like democracy and monopoly should not allowed in any form. Let each TV channel has its own Cricket competition. The viewer’s popularity will force the selectors to choose the right candidate and not ignore good candidates. It may not ensure selection of the best 11 from a country of 110 crores but it will ensure that India is never short of options. It will give platform to wannabe Crickets to play against the other good players in the country and viewers will be entertained. If a singing competition like Indian Idol can get such talent & sponsorship Cricket clubs like ICL will never be short of money or talented teenagers.

Mr Sharad Pawar: You have been advocating democracy and public choice all the while. Now it’s your turn to prove that. Allow democracy in Cricket.