The BCCI vs The DRS - The Height of Arrogance

Its not old news that our friends at the BCCI continue to utterly refuse the DRS system, their secretary saying as much once more yesterday. The previous reaction from most of the world including myself would be to shake our heads in annoyance, probably mutter a few profanities under our breath (quietly), and get on with life. Today it is different however, today I am compelled to dig deeper, perhaps get an understanding of the psyche behind all this, is there a motive underneath it all?

If this picture was the DRS run on the BCCI decision,
they would call this one not out despite the evidence, just because they can.

Let us try to formulate reasons as to why this ridiculous situation is with us:

Because Sachin And MS Say So
The two most powerful figures in Indian cricket, possibly all cricket, possibly all of India, claim that the technology is not 100% accurate. Perhaps the BCCI is no more than just a spineless extension of their voices? In that case, who are Tendulkar and Dhoni to make a critique on the DRS technology? Its like a McDonald's cashier having the power to stop them selling coke because he doesn't agree with the level of fizz. There is usually a players association present, a body that is supposed to be representative of the players, I haven't heard a squeak from them, if there even is one.

Because The Secretary Says So
Our friend the BCCI secretary, N. Srinivasan, claims boldly that they are a "structured organization" who "make their own decisions". Lets back track a second, who on earth is N. Srinivasan to be the judge on this? Does he even have a cricketing background? He is an industrialist from Chennai, who is he to be the face of the BCCI? As far as I am concerned he is no more qualified to make these statements than Queen Latifah. If there really was a structured organization, the players association would answer to him, and he would answer to the ICC. In a land where money talks, this is what happens.

Common sense was not in the job description.

Because The ICC Don't Say A Word
Srinivasan is the secretary for the Indian cricket board, not world cricket. He should have absolutely no say in this matter, yet as always there is a deathly silence from the so called governing body of world cricket. There needs to be a China mentality here, the ICC should be in charge, period. The sad reality of it all is that the ICC is merely a curtain, a faded doormat for one nation's selfish cricket board. In a recent survey, 94% of players agree that ICC does not act in the best interests of cricket, and 69% agree that the BCCI has an unfair influence on the ICC. The people are not blind, only the people at the top are.


Because The DRS Is Not Accurate
The big argument is that they cannot guarantee 100% accuracy and therefore the system is invalid. This is an unbelievably idiotic statement. Imagine you were making a return on investment, "yes yes we know that you can give me a nine dollar return on average, but you can't guarantee me ten dollars! Therefore I will settle for fifty cents. And so will the rest of the world because I said so". Physics, mathematics and statistics, the very foundations of our scientific knowledge are based on assumptions. Why do unlike poles attract and like poles repel? They just do, the same way the BCCI repels intelligence.

And So What Happens From Here?
As usual. Nothing.

On Pride, Gluttony and Sloth

And so the cricketing roller-coaster ride came to a fitting end, with little to complain about. It was unpredictable and enthralling, we were treated to a tremendous show of skill and talent, with the rightful team as the victor.

Nevertheless, rather than allowing the craze to die down and let us sit back and savor the moments, the usual suspects have reared their ugly heads again.

Pride - The ICC
If there was one thing that really captured the imagination of the cricketing world, it was the Irish green machine. What a thrill was to watch their passion and their color, as they punched proudly above their weight and showed us all that there is life after the top eight nations. It was done and dusted I thought, on crickets big stage, they had given the ICC the message by letting their brawn do the talking. The only way to go was up.

And the ICC struck back in typical ICC fashion, Ireland will not be in the next world cup. One can quite easily reel off words to describe them, arrogant, egotistic, punitive, delusional, that only scratches the surface politely. The most unfathomable aspect about the madness is the lack of reasoning. In quest of a shorter world cup? Rubbish. Irish cricket had reached out to them, arms outstretched, fighting and pleading for the support to develop and grow as a cricketing nation. Instead, all they got is the cold shoulder.

Just about everybody has rightfully slammed a governing cricket board buried in its own pride and pomp. They obviously do not hold the interests of cricket to heart, their priority solely their own benefits. Most will be forced to play ball, with only the BCCI with any sort of power to intervene. They are a little preoccupied however...

Gluttony - Indian Cricket
Here we go again. We thought the madness of the Twenty 20 world cup victory was bad, this recent triumph is already scaling ugly new levels of self indulgence. The latest reports say that on top of a ten million rupee bonus for each player, the following gifts are also on the way:

• Extra bonuses for each player, in the scale of millions of rupees, in the case of Dhoni, an extra 20 million.
• Predicted endorsement rates at above Bollywood stars, in the hundreds of millions of rupees.
• Free cars from Hyundai for each player, with a custom Audi to be made for Yuvraj Singh.
• Free first class train travel for each player and a partner, for life.
• Free plots of land to everyone in the team.
• Free villa's to be gifted, worth a combined 90 million rupees.
• And to take the cake... medals and honorary doctorates.

Honorary doctorates! Lets gloss on that for a moment, according to wikipedia this is defined as: "When a university wishes to formally recognize an individual's contributions to a particular field or philanthropic efforts...". So cricket is philanthropic now. While the rest of us slave away in tertiary study or the work force to earn our keep. Its almost enough to make me boycott watching cricket out of principle, probably just a matter of time before I will be at my wits end.

Run-rate got you down? Dr. Dhoni is on the case. © AFP

Sloth - Retirements

Not everyone mind you, some have obviously come to the end of their careers (Muralitharan), while others are rightfully giving up captaincy due to pressure, age, or both (Ponting). However I cannot understand why a fit and able Grame Smith, Vettori and Sangakkara would step down now, even more baffling given that neither of those teams has a clear leader earmarked. 

What has happened to the Stephen Fleming or the Mike Atherton of  the game, who took on the role long term and were instantly recognized as the leader of the pack? The most laughable case was in a recent India test match against England, where Dhoni led a team with Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Kumble, all former captains. 

The molly coddling doesn't stop there either, with Shaun Tait calling it quits (again) to concentrate on his (get this) Twenty20 career. That is a career? Take a leaf out of the Shane Bond book, who didn't stop trying for years despite his body breaking down more often than Windows ME. Or the Kapil Dev and Courtney Walsh of the yesteryear, demanding and successful fast bowling careers that spanned donkeys years.

Even the humble sport of cricket is not free from the cardinal sins.

Time to call the big guns.