The estate that Dalmiya didn't exactly love

After exalting Lalit Modi to biblical status by calling him lsquoMosesrsquo Ravi Shastri has given us another quote to remember by saying Jagmohan Dalmiya was the ldquoMuhammad Ali of the BCCIrdquoDalmiya was a terrific administrator a playersrsquo administrator we are made to believe mdash especially in the last few days mdash by the practitioners of the sport But there is the other side Though Dalmiya made millions of Indians happy as he tackled the choppy seas of international cricket administration with aplomb there was a stage when one felt that the Indian cricket setup players included could get away with anything because of DalmiyaMany a time Dalmiya was a lsquono commentsrsquo man He gave the impression that he detested the media and didnrsquot do much to foster a good relationship between cricketers and the fourth estate PicAFPIndia ending up on the lsquowinningrsquo side in the Mike Denness and other controversies may have satisfied the inner group of this countryrsquos cricket administration It may have caused a great feeling but how great is it when the lsquooppositionrsquo feel they lost because of Indiarsquos financial cloutI cannot claim to have known Dalmiya but Irsquove always and several other media persons I presume took exception to how he treated mdash directly or indirectly mdash members of the fourth estate He gave the impression that he detested the media and didnrsquot do much to foster a good relationship between cricketers and the fourth estate Sure the media can be a pest at times and there is a way to handle that but there is no running away from the fact that it is one of the gamersquos important stakeholdersAs a key Indian cricket administrator Dalmiya only felt the need of a communications officer in 200102 after the Indian team returned from the tour of South Africa which was marred by the Denness controversyJournalists who arrived to cover the Indian teamrsquos nets prior to the first India vs England Test at Mohali in December 2001 were surprised to hear that Amrit Mathur was appointed BCCIrsquos Media Coordinator Mathur accompanied the Indian team to the 2003 World Cup and the historic 2004 tour to Pakistan but Dalmiya didnrsquot appear to like the idea of having media managers on every tour And granting the media basic facilities was ignored as well For example journalists covering matches at the Eden Gardens still have to walk up four floors to get into the press box No elevator to the top for them Wonder what happens to the handicappedThere are other venues in international cricket whose media centres are at a height without an elevator but if the Eden is hailed as an iconic venue it cannot fall short on the basics What a shame it was not allotted an India game in the 2011 World CupI remember during the 2001 India vs Australia Test made famous by VVS Laxmanrsquos 281 and Indiarsquos miraculous turnaround the press conference room could accommodate only a limited number of journalists The Aussie writers were bewildered and with good reason Dalmiya was not BCCI president during that match but he was surely calling the shots at the Cricket Association of Bengal CAB A retired journalist was at the entrance of the press conference room handing out small chits of paper as lsquopassesrsquo to get a seat This was on the day Harbhajan Singh became Indiarsquos first hattrick man in Test cricket I couldnrsquot help telling this Dalmiya man that he should be ashamed to indulge in such voluntary work Some Kolkata journalists are upset over the fact that they are not allowed to attend the CABrsquos Annual General Body Meeting So much for transparencyMany a time Dalmiya was a lsquono commentsrsquo man ldquoI have no comments to makerdquo he said to a journalist at Dhaka Sheraton a few hours after the story about Hansie Cronjersquos involvement with bookies broke on the evening of April 7 2000 As ICC chief he was in Bangladesh for an Asia XI vs Rest of the World match His first official word on the controversy came the following day at a media conference ldquoI donrsquot know what you are talking aboutrdquo he said in response to a question on the controversy ldquoI cannot say anything based on hearsay But if there is anything to it ICC has the machinery to deal with it There is nothing to worry aboutrdquo Nothing to worry about mdash the biggest understatement in modern cricket it could well beIn Durban where India beat Kenya in the semifinals of the 2003 World Cup Dalmiya left an Indian reporter wondering whether as BCCI chief he didnrsquot want to sing praises of his team too early or was he just not interested in reacting to the Indian teamrsquos fine performance ldquoLet us not discuss all these things I have no timerdquo the reporter was told bluntlyJust because Dalmiya was indifferent to the media it does not mean he didnrsquot have a heart A Kolkatabased journalist remembers him being very helpful during her early years and calling often to enquire about her fatherrsquos health He hadnrsquot forgotten the ill personrsquos contribution to cricket administration Another sports writer was promised a long albeit offtherecord chat over a meal when Dalmiya would visit Delhi next Alas it didnrsquot take placeDalmiya died with his boots on while in office of cricketrsquos most powerful body Though his presidential days were numbered his will be big boots to fillBy the way Shastri is right about Dalmiya being the heavyweight champion among cricket administratorsClayton Murzello is middayrsquos Group Sports Editor