Is BCCI Beyond the Legal Boundary?

The BCCI head honchos are running the risk of getting caught at the deep and permanently getting out of the cricket-governing body...

- Niji NG

English footballer Garry Linekar once described football thus: “Football is a simple game. 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end Germans always win”. We can paraphrase this quote to describe the usual state of affairs of cricket. Cricket is a simple game. 22 men chase the ball and at the end the BCCI always wins.

The Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) has become such a powerful entity in the world of cricket that even the cricket boards of other countries are in awe and fear of the Indian board. The reason is simple. The bulk of the money in cricket is generated in India and the BCCI is its sole custodian. Power, in any realm of society, rests with those who control money. Cricket is no exception. And the BCCI is the seemingly omnipotent dictator in the cricket world.

This notion is being challenged now. The Supreme Court of India, the paramount judicial body in the country, has effectively indicated that the BCCI cannot simply do what it pleases and get away with it. The cricket board was initially stunned by the court’s unanticipated interference. But now it is trying to circumvent the court’s intervention through a variety of means. The board is basically trying to back away from facing the judicial bowling by continuously citing some administrative sight screen issues. But one day it will have to face the bowling. The Supreme Court seems to have got the field placements right. The BCCI head honchos are running the risk of getting caught at the deep and permanently getting out of the cricket-governing body.

Here is a brief history of all that happened so far.