The Board of Control for Cricket in India are ducking the issue of whether 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev will receive the Board's 'one-time payment' being dished out to former greats from the Indian Premier League's surplus funds
Kapil cannot be blamed for feeling embarrassed and that probably explains his cold responses to journalists, who have questioned him on the subject, but the BCCI can come out and say whether he is eligible or not and then allow opinions to flow without being bothered about them. In any case, that’s how the Board likes to function.
The charismatic cricketer may have not taken up the Board’s amnesty offer after several former players defected to the Indian Cricket League, but that is not a good reason for BCCI to be sly over the issue. That the ICL hastened the birth of IPL in 2008 is a different matter.
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The one big difference between past and present-day administrators is that the older ones were known for forgetting the bitter past and look at the larger picture. The present officials appear to take pleasure in getting back at players who have not chosen to be on the same page as them. Sure, Kapil doesn’t need the Rs 1.5 crore ‘one-time payment’, but the BCCI have shown their true colours.
The one-time payment decision is a great one and the cricket establishment has rightly earned kudos even from their critics. However, the way things are handled is frustrating. For example, one wonders how they came to a decision on which players to invite for the IPL Playoffs where they would be presented with their cheques. There is no trace of an explanation and those who feel the BCCI’s communications department in Mumbai is nothing but a sham, stand vindicated.
While the Board rakes in big bucks through television rights and other sponsorship, they ought to invest in areas that may not boost their revenue, but show them in better light.u00a0
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