In a mess for several months now, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has started resembling a theatre of the absurd. A rift within the committee of administrators (CoA) appointed by the Supreme Court is wide and visible. Uncooperative ever since this arrangement has been in place, out-of-power board officials are trying their best to take advantage of the situation. Both sides have resorted to using the media to justify their actions. Comically enough, they are blaming each other for doing this.
Things escalated during the probe into allegations of sexual harassment against the BCCI CEO and it has continued through the Mithali Raj exclusion saga amid numerous complaints by board officials against the functioning of the CoA. The latest is a shrill outcry against the practice of leaking news to the media—a strategic tool that BCCI officials are good at using when it suits their requirements.
The last few years have seen a rise in the number of incidents where confidential information has reached the media within minutes of important meetings, mainly because these officials have been at the receiving end in this period. Having taken time to understand how things work, the CoA has also started doing this. Up to a point, BCCI officials said nothing, as if acknowledging the fact that this is how this system works.
Sensing a difference of opinion between CoA chief Vinod Rai and committee member Diana Edulji, the same officials have now started asking the administrators how sensitive information is becoming public knowledge. To give things a hilarious touch, they are sharing these letters with the media. Not many are having the common sense to point out that both sides are guilty of the same wrongdoing. The BCCI’s already sullied image is getting a fresh coat of black in the process.