Reality Check.At Last!

Indian cricket needs a major overhaul. The popularity ratings of the game have started to dip and so have the corporate sponsorships. This is a direct reflection of the discontent of the cricketing fans. How long can our cricketers expect the same obscenely high remuneration if they don’t perform? I hope Sharad Pawar becomes the BCCI President. While another politician running Indian cricket is not the greatest thing to happen it is likely to end the monopoly of Jagmohan Dalmiya who has been running Indian cricket like a feudal lord. There are a few positives, which has emerged out of Ganguly Vs Chappell as well. For starters there is a huge pressure on the captain and coach to do something about the abysmal slump over the last 2 years. Chappell has a huge role to play in how the team approaches India’s campaign to win the World Cup in 2007.While it is high time that Sourav is eased out of the Test team he is very much a part of the scheme of things in the one day set up. Just have a look at his overall one-day record. Though I have to grudgingly admit that Indian cricket needs a tough professional like Chappell he needs to rethink his approach big time if he wants to win the players trust and confidence. Chappell’s e-mail claims that Ganguly is “ affecting the mental state of other members of the squad”. When he says this is he simply referring to Laxman, who is disenchanted for not being a permanent fixture in the one day set up? I hope Chappell knows that Laxman’s record in the shorter version of the game proves that he is a liability. Chappell also needs to realize that he is not going to win the respect and confidence of the team by reprimanding them to the Board every time he has a problem with one of them, like he had with the skipper. Sacking Chappell will be a big mistake and if it is a question of Sourav or Chappell I think we might have to sacrifice the Prince of Calcutta in the long-term interest of Indian cricket. I don’t like Greg Chapell as he approaches cricket like a business and I think he has scant respect for the spirit of the game. But when there is huge money involved an out and out professional coach is needed. I think the current crises –both who will control BCCI and the Ganguly Vs Chappell fallout augers well for Indian cricket. The most important people in Indian cricket-us, the fans are disillusioned with the way our players don’t show the same enthusiasm in playing for India as they do in their corporate promotional campaigns. It’s high time a major revamp in how the game is played and administered takes place. In that context it’s good that both the Board and the team is under the microscope. Its great that this reality check is taking place before we lose another truck load of one-day finals.