Kapil and Gavaskar bat for the game
Former India skippers Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev on Sunday batted for cricket, which stands at a crossroads due to the ongoing issues between the Justice Lodha Committee and the BCCI.
“Forget ego,” said Kapil in a chat. “How can you discount the good work done by the BCCI? I am not saying everything is perfect but one can always find a way out that would benefit Indian cricket. I would say all those who love Indian cricket should sit and sort out the issues. BCCI and the Lodha Committee both want cricket to do well after all.”
Describing the BCCI as a role model in sports administrations, Gavaskar said: “The BCCI is the only sports federation that I know where the term of the official is being limited. It is not the case in other sports federations.”
Kapil agreed. “Now is the time to improve. But then you can’t change the working of the BCCI overnight. There are certain things which can be reconsidered. Like the three-year term,” he said.
“I am sure the administration would need to settle down and a five-year term for every important official would be fine. I would say even the elections to BCCI posts should be once every two years. Why change committees every year?”
Gavaskar wanted a vote for every First Class player in his respective association.
“At the state level, apart from clubs that have a vote, all those who have played for the state should be allowed to vote. Even First Class umpires should have a vote. There can be cases of clubs outnumbering the players’ votes but they will have some sort of a say in who should be in charge of the administration,” he said.
“Let the team first excel in junior cricket and then graduate to play at the next level. Even the ICC will not give Test status to Italy or Argentina unless they deserve it. Even Bangladesh took time to gain Test status,” said Kapil.
Gavaskar said, “Having new states without proper qualifying process would dilute the quality of First Class cricket. Those who excel against the weak teams would create scoreboard pressure for selection to the national team. Which means your performance would suffer at the international level too. It will certainly impact the strength of the team and the quality of First Class cricket would come down.”
“What I would like is the recommendations should not be restricted to just the BCCI. They should apply to all other sports federations.
“The BCCI is accepted as the best-run sports federation in the country. Are the other sports federations run as efficiently?” he asked. “Like any organisation, there will be good parts and bad parts. The same applies to the BCCI. There will be some politics but the BCCI has got more pluses than minuses. Like all of us individuals there is always a scope for improvement in BCCI too.”
Kapil said the players need to be involved more by the BCCI. “It is good that the BCCI leaves cricket to the cricketers. But then in our system you need politicians and civil servants because they can get the clearances needed from the government quicker than the rest.
“The roles of the players is well spaced now. Some are fit to coach, some to administer, some to commentate on radio and TV and some to work in the media. The BCCI has done a very good job of looking after the players. But I would welcome new ideas and fresh people too.”
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