“When
I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion.”
Abraham
Lincoln
While I do not
want our Supreme Court to play judge, jury and executioner, they are also the
last resort to save our sport from the cesspool it has been reduced to by the
very men who were tasked with stewarding it. In this
regard I am glad that the court has taken a rather dim view of the BCCI board’s
actions, or lack thereof, in the illegal betting scandal that engulfed the last
IPL.
The two Justices
have shown public disdain for Mr. Srinivasan from the time they called his
refusal to step aside “nauseating.” While it is easy to detest a man like
Srinivasan, it would not bode well for the credibility of our legal system if
we were to cast him aside purely on the grounds that he is not a likeable man
or for his lack of honour and integrity. Additionally, as tempting as it may be
for every Indian and cricket lover to see Mr. Srinivasan being bashed around
and bullied by these Justices, in the end they must find substantive legal
grounds to usher in his demise and to restore credibility to the Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Finding
impropriety in the BCCI board’s actions and lack of governance should not be
very hard for the court to do. The BCCI’s defense of Srinivasan has been
laughable. I am no legal expert, but it seems there are already three very
serious and clear violations of the board’s code of ethics that may also
constitute legal grounds for some serious action by the court.
1. Conflict
of Interest
This is common sense
and something that EVERY governing body in the world adheres to. Srinivasan’s
ownership of the Chennai Super Kings would be the equivalent of American
Football Commissioner Roger Goodell's owning the New England Patriots
or another team. It is absolutely absurd. The fact that Srinivasan and the BCCI
legal team are actually trying to defend his ownership of the Chennai Super
Kings just demonstrates how deluded and absolutely corrupt their absolute power
has made them.
2. Perjury
Srinivasan and
MS Dhoni both stated publicly and vehemently that Gurunath Meiyappan’s role in
the Chennai Super Kings was nothing more than that of a cricket enthusiast. The
court-appointed Mudgal investigation has concluded that Meiyappan was
in fact a team official, and functioned more like their CEO. It would seem that both men lied. At worst they have perjured
themselves; at best they were protecting a person whom they knew had been
implicated in an illegal betting ring. Both should be held
criminally culpable if they did willfully mislead the court appointed panel.
3. Board
Governance & Credibility
After the allegations
surfaced, the arrest made of Srinivasan’s son-in-law, and the fact that the
team he owns was implicated in the IPL illegal match fixing scandal, the logical
(and honourable) thing for him to do would have been to resign. Instead
Srinivasan did the opposite and refused to budge. After much public pressure, he
was forced to step aside while he personally appointed a committee that cleared
him and his son-in-law of any wrongdoing. It was not until the
Supreme Court intervened that he truly stepped aside, although by all accounts
he has continued to make all the major decisions, running the board remotely.
The net result of
all this is that Srinivasan and this BCCI board have lost all credibility. No
matter what actions the court demands, they can no longer be counted upon to
conduct an unbiased or impartial investigation, or to implement the changes
needed to restore credibility to cricket’s wealthiest and most powerful
governing body.
So what can be
done? We need to go back to the basic tenets of the BCCI’s mandate and in doing
so bring back meaning to the emblem of the Order of the Star of India, India's highest
order of chivalry during the British Raj. To this end, I hope the court can
find sufficient legal grounds to not only publicly discredit the current board
and all the administrators, making their continued tenure impossible, but also
initiate legal proceedings against many of these men.
For cricket to
have a future and for the BCCI to regain credibility, we must put in place new court-imposed
rules and regulations. I do not believe any solution should involve a takeover
or greater involvement from the government. That said, it is also not going to
be sufficient to simply remove Srinivasan and his cronies; this would treat the
symptom and not the cancer. The power vacuum left behind will quickly be filled
by equally despotic men like Sharad Pawar or Lalit Modi. What we need is a
complete overhaul of the BCCI’s functioning and structure, along with new blood
to run it.
Here are my
suggestions for our Supreme Court, on both the
legal actions I hope they initiate and the functional changes they should
mandate to truly reform the BCCI:
LEGAL
ACTIONS:
1. N Srinivasan
to be banned from holding any position in Indian cricket, for life.
2. Start a
criminal investigation of M.S. Dhoni and N. Srinivasan for conflict of interest
issues and misrepresenting CSK team management facts to court appointed panel
3. Disqualify
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from IPL, for 3-5 years
4. Tainted
players to be suspended while being investigated; banned for life if found
guilty
5. Owners of
both teams to forfeit ownership and never be allowed to own an IPL team
6. Legalise
sports betting
7. Bring BCCI
under Right to Information Act (RTI)
MANAGEMENT
& STRUCTURAL REFORMS
1. Ban
politicians (current & former) from being on board or part of management of
BCCI or any regional/state cricket associations
2. Ensure strong
conflict of interest rules added to BCCI constitution, i.e. no administrator or
employee of BCCI should be allowed to own a stake in any of team, franchises or
cricketing venture where they may financially benefit as a result of their
position within BCCI.
3. Bring in
caretaker board and administration for one year while reforms are being
implemented. The idea is to completely revamp the current management structure
to prevent future abuse and corruption:
- Create a governing board consisting of two ex-cricketers, two retired judges, two individuals from private sector. Each person would serve a one-time term of three years
- Divide the current President position into two offices;
- President (appointed by governing panel) would oversee all cricketing affairs and retain all other current roles and responsibilities with exception of the business/financial side i.e. sponsorships, advertising, media rights negotiations, etc.
- Add a non-elected CEO position, also hired by the governing panel to run the BCCI for a term of two years. CEO would be hired from the private sector
- Both positions would have two-term limit with each term being limited to two years
- Change status of BCCI to a corporation that is for profit but also for benefit to society, akin to a B Corporation in the USA
- Officials holding positions in state cricketing bodies cannot simultaneously hold positions within the BCCI administration or its various committees
- All monies dispensed to state associations must be accounted for at the end of the fiscal year by an external and independent auditor; this includes the BCCI financials
- All monies spent by state associations should be used to further the cause of and promote cricket in their respective states
- All infrastructure projects must follow an online blind bidding process with final bid award being made under supervision of CEO and board for projects above certain amount
These are some
of the things that I believe will help provide much-needed transparency and
accountability to the BCCI and help restore its credibility with the fans.
Granted they are a private body and should remain one, but since their mission
has always been about growing the sport in the public interest, there always
needs to be a balance between the their autonomy and the oversight required.
ALSO READ: Open Letter to N. Srinivasan, BCCI President
ALSO READ: Open Letter to N. Srinivasan, BCCI President
I love that you back up your criticism with a plan of action...why aren't you in power of this situation...you obviously have a passion for it.
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