BCCI, Cricket and the Soul of India

“Sport has the power to change the world…it has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.” 

Nelson Mandela 

I am acutely aware that there are far more serious and weighty issues that plague our country. Not for a moment do I believe that poverty, hunger, education, healthcare or a myriad other problems measure in the same breath as the recent Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) corruption scandal. I also understand where my critics are coming from when they argue that we should not distract ourselves or spend time bothering about some rich corrupt private league of old men. They say that the harm they do is limited. This is largely true but here is the thing that makes everything that has transpired within the ranks of the BCCI so important: nothing unites our country like cricket. We have a many religions, dozens of languages and dialects. Our cuisines and climates are totally different, as is our dress code from east to west and north to south. Even our cinema is split between Bollywood, Tollywood and regional films. The ONLY thing that unites every Indian is the Indian Cricket team. The boys in blue are a great symbol of national unity and international pride. They help us fight proxy wars with Pakistan, on the pitch, and defeat racism in Australia by beating the hosts handily. They help us hold our heads up high on the world stage, time and again, based on their conduct both on and off the field. Cricket is the fabric of India and it is bigger than religion. We hold our cricketers in higher esteem than Bollywood superstars, doyens of industry and even Nobel Prize winners.

Every young boy has imagined becoming a Vijay Hazare or Nawab Pataudi to Sachin Tendulkar and M.S. Dhoni. Every boy has played cricket growing up and dreamed of representing his country. From the fields of every village to the back gully in every city in India you can hear the screams of a child’s delight; from Azad Maidan to Kanyakumari, only cricket is the great leveler. Any Indian with the skill, talent and determination used to be able to play for and represent India. Our cricket pitches were the only places where caste, religion, language, education and wealth did not matter. Such was the power of cricket, and that is why, what has transpired should matter to all of us. 

The conduct of the current BCCI President, N. Srinivasan, with his refusal to step aside, or even apologize is abhorrent. Mr. Srinivasan is also the owner one of the most successful franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – the Chennai Super Kings. This fact alone should have been sufficient ground to disqualify him from holding the post of President of BCCI (he is also President of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association). His son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan (the CEO of Chennai Super Kings), has been charged in an illegal betting and match fixing investigation. Naturally, this should make Mr. Srinivasan’s position even more untenable and one would expect him to have tendered his resignation. Instead he has dug in his heels, unabashedly proclaimed himself King and openly challenged anyone to oust him. He has deftly removed anyone on the board who might have stood up to him or opposed him and clearly seems to have the rest of the board in his pocket. It is quite clear that Mr. Srinivasan has been absolutely corrupted by his absolute power over the wealthiest cricket board in the world. He cares nothing for the sport he was once selected to steward. I wonder if he even remembers that the BBCI logo is derived from the emblem of the Order of the Star of India; India's highest order of chivalry during the British Raj.

This is about much more than a few corrupt old men. It is about the demise of a national sport, and with it the shattering of the dreams of every child, in every village and city gully in India. This is why we need to raise our voices and ensure that we give cricket back to the children of India. It is about restoring honour, responsibility, and integrity to the game we all loved and respected. We need to tell the BCCI that their conduct, even as non-elected representatives of Indian cricket, is incredibly important in preserving this sport’s and our nations, reputation. We must demand that these men are worthy of upholding the historic principles and values of cricket, and that they are able to discharge their duties with humility, integrity and honour, always putting the good of the game ahead of their own personal ambitions. It seems the men of the BCCI have forgotten their purpose. So drunk on power have they become that they believe they can operate with complete impunity and function in an opaque manner with zero external scrutiny or governance. A few wealthy men have hijacked our great love and turned it into their personal fiefdom.  

If cricket is India’s soul then the BCCI have morally bankrupted it. It is time to remind the BCCI who they are here to serve; the game of cricket. Only we can rejuvenate India’s soul - by raising our voices in protest and expressing our indignation, and we must because that is the only way we will give back the dream to every child in India.


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