Sahara, IPL and Lalit Modi

In the past few days, we have seen some very intriguing things happen in the Indian cricket arena and watching the drama unfold has not only left me bemused, but also quite worried about the way the game is being handled in India.

First of all, Sahara – Team India’s long time (over 11 years) sponsor and partner finally called it quits after various disagreements with the BCCI and also walked out of the IPL asking the Indian board to put up the Pune franchisee for sale and pass it on immediately to interested buyers. A drastic action from one of BCCI’s long time supporter shows that not all is well with the way the board acts. Sahara’s exit is a loss for both BCCI, Indian cricket and Sahara but I’m sure that can be recovered. Bigger questions arise from this entire incident.

Controversy has always been the middle name of the IPL and the drama unfolding isn’t a surprise altogether. However I never expect this in my wildest dreams and BCCI and the IPL face a important point in their history. They stand at the crossroad and can now address this matter in a straightforward way with much transparency and set the agenda clear for future workings of the board and the league, or can continue in the same unclear way it has been. This is an alarm of sorts and I’m afraid one that if the BCCI doesn’t pay heed to it, as it can cause irreversible damage not only to the board, but also put the future of the league under a cloud of question marks.

Also the unclear ways of the functioning of the IPL raises many eyebrows. After the entire controversy which had Lalit Modi ousted, Tiger Pataudi who was a member of the board under Modi, said that many things was kept in the dark and that they weren’t properly informed about many decisions. He called for a reform in that structure so that a more transparent one would be in place, but that is yet to be seen. Some of the points raised by the Pune franchisee is valid and the IPL committee did sometime play favorites with the teams such as allowing Mumbai Indians field 5 foreign players during the CLT20. Pune likewise expected similar benefits with their star batsmen, Yuvraj Singh, as he undergoes treatment for lung cancer in the United States. The BCCI this time decided to stick to the rules and wouldn’t bend much to the irritation of Sahara. So definitely there is a need for transparency in the functioning of the league.

Former IPL Chairman, Lalit Modi has come out in the open with some very serious allegations that the IPL auctions were rigged to favor a few franchisees and that he was arm-twisted by then secretary N. Srinivasan (now President of the BCCI). The allegations are very dangerous not only to the league but also to the reputation of Indian cricket and must be handled carefully. Srinivasan is no saint and as someone who was accused of conflict of interest, the case does look bad for him, but to his defense is the very source of this allegation. Lalit Modi who was ousted has a strong personal agenda against Srinivasan and also would probably like to avenge the BCCI for his disposal, but the thing that really makes his allegations not worthwhile is that a couple of years ago, he stood wearing an IPL jacket and assured the media and the world that all the auction was conducted in a fair manner. How can the words of a man who changes them just because he is on other side now be taken seriously? I’m not disregarding the allegation nor am I saying it to be a lie. As with most things with Indian cricket there is more to this than that meets the eye, and Modi’s allegations though cannot be entertained does raise some valid concerns and questions that the BCCI must answer fast.

The IPL is at a cross road and it is perhaps the best time now for the BCCI to choose the right direction and put the interests of the country ahead of petty, personal interests. A long term view-sight is required now and some stable minds to charter the future course. Sahara and the BCCI are meeting tomorrow to try and resolve the issue and let’s hope for a positive outcome from that. However with the drama that is Indian cricket, this saga is far from over and we can only watch and see what happens next. In other news – Yuvraj Singh is battling lung cancer and I wish him a speedy recovery.