The messy battle between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian Cricket League (ICL) has entered the messy corridors of the judiciary, with the latter seeking to restrain the board from “intimidating” its players and interfering in its affairs. ICL doesn’t want the pensions of players who have associated with it to be affected, wants permission to conduct its matches in stadia across the country, and so on.
More interestingly, the ICL has hit the BCCI where it hurts most, by questioning its “national” credentials. It has urged the court to restrain BCCI from using the Indian flag as the board had admitted before the Supreme Court that it was a private body. In other words, ICL is seeking to suggest that the “Indian team” that the BCCI selects and sends out is far from Indian as it is only a team representing a conglomeration of private clubs.
Questions: Is the “Indian team” picked by the BCCI a truly Indian team? Are Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid representing India when they kiss the crest atop their helmets or are they only saying thanks to the BCCI? Should BCCI be barred from using the Indian flag? If BCCI’s team cannot be called an Indian team, what can be? Or is the ICL fishing in troubled waters, a bit like what Suresh Kalmadi of the Indian Olympic Association did a few years ago by threatening to send his own cricket team to the Commonwealth Games?
28 August 2007 at 9:19 pm
Ofcourse the players don’t represent the Republic of India. They are selected by a private club, they get paid by a private club and they play for that private club.
29 August 2007 at 9:15 am
If i remember properly – according to supreme court – it is a autonomous society and is not an organ of the State. It does not represent our country in any manner. However, it does have complete control over the game.
Instead of banning the use of flag, I think BCCI should be taxed at applicable corporate rates.
29 August 2007 at 11:45 am
In the context of a private body, can we infer that different sport associations existing today are private bodies and hence teams being selected and representing India in different sporting events like the Asian games, Olympics, football, hockey etc are not “Indian” team and “do not” represent India?. This is ridiculous.
29 August 2007 at 12:10 pm
Kiran, that’s the reality. If you choose to view reality as ridiculous, that’s your prerogative.
29 August 2007 at 12:14 pm
Kiran, you might also want to take a look at the Olympic charter which explicitly states that Olympics is not a competition between countries but between athletes chosen by respective olympic associations. They even require that the Olympic associations should be independent of the governments of the countries they operate in.