Why do we complain and grumble all the time that several great Indian institutions are on the decline? Like our politics, civil service, education system, legislature, judiciary and what not. All the time the media is grumbling about this overall decline without even acknowledging that even the media has declined significantly.
Cheer up, grumblers and cry babies. How can any proud Indian forget that the great institution of cricket, a proud legacy left behind by the British has grown tremendously? Picking up bits and pieces from the British we progressed so much that we beat the masters who taught us the game, England, resoundingly. The entire world knows about this. If you are ignorant, just watch the movie ‘Lagaan’ where a group of dhoti-clad Indian country bumpkins without any protective equipment thrashed powerful English landlords and ‘bada sahibs’ in cricket and made them abolish an obnoxious illegal land tax.
That was just the beginning and since then the development in Indian cricket as an institution has gone on unchecked. Way back in 1949 I watched my first test match at Chennai’s Chepauk, standing under the boiling sun on all the five days and falling ill for the next five. Quite recently, I watched a two-hour ‘tamasha’ IPL (Indian Premier League) match at one of the special ‘hospitality’ enclosures in the company of skimpily clad female attendants who gently massaged my eyes, fed me caviar and poured chilled champagne into my mouth. How much has the institution of Indian cricket developed! There were days in the past when great Indian test players represented India for Rs. 250 for a five day test match, travelled in 3rd class railway coaches and stayed in hotels where cockroaches and bugs were their roommates. Our present captain M S Dhoni now owns 29 brand new motorbikes, has signed sports contracts worth millions, travels first class in airplanes and may soon own a personal aircraft. If this is not development, then what else is?
Cricket as an institution never had it so good, both for officials and players. A BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) stalwart, Lalit Modi played around with IPL funds and flew off to seek asylum in London. But such was his prestige that he got elected as the boss of Rajasthan Cricket Association. Another BCCI boss spends more time in courts fighting for his position and in all probability could also be sent to prison to spend time with his son in law and his betting friends. This kind of ‘family attachment’ was special to Indian cricket and elevated it to much higher status. Thanks to such elevated status Indian cricket can now boast of three vast stadia in one city Mumbai, with two of them Brabourne and Wankhede within hand-shaking distance. An Indian politician Wankhede, a true patriot, did not like the British built Brabourne stadium and had another one built which carried his own name. This endowed the institution of Indian cricket with a special patriotic glow, unheard of in any international sport.
Thanks to such ‘strong’ individuals Indian cricket gained international fame, laid down its own rules and regulations, threw down the DRS (Decision Review System) into the waste paper basket and made other cricket associations tremble in fear with its money power. The BCCI ruled the game with an iron fist because it controlled the game through gate receipts and TV rights rackets. It came to be known as Board of Lack of Control for Bullies in India (BLCBI). We controlled cricket all over the world, we set the rules, decided on DRS and other issues, controlled the umpires and within India used strong arm tactics to settle scores.
Cricket in India has survived inspite of all this and has made it clear that the institution of the game has taken deep roots. It is stronger than its political system, legislature, judiciary or civil service. It now rules the world!
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V. Gangadhar
The writer is a well-known satirist.[/column]