CHENNAI: "The act of sharing or exchanging information, ideas or feelings". That's how an online dictionary defines the word 'communication'. It's quite simple. To survive and function properly, a person or an entity has to communicate, with the persons and entities they deal with on a regular basis. Unless information, ideas or feelings are shared with other parts of the system, their origin becomes meaningless. That's why communication is an important matter and business in the world we live in.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) seems oblivious of the importance of communication. This became evident in the way officials handled the Australia tour team selection matter, where important questions went begging for answers. Ishant Sharma gets injured and goes back to the NCA for recovery. Rohit Sharma gets injured and continues to be with his IPL franchise. Why different rules for different players? There is no answer.
About a week earlier, BCCI Apex Council member Anshuman Gaekwad went on record saying the BCCI president and secretary are keeping Apex Council members in the dark about the decisions they are taking. The Apex Council is responsible for the governance of the BCCI. It goes without saying that its members should be knowing what's happening. So why does Gaekwad have to remind the president and secretary of one of their primary duties? Again, no answer.
When Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah became president and secretary last year, state units were relieved their long-standing dues would be cleared. The Supreme Court had stopped releasing their share of the BCCI's income in October 2016 for not complying with its reform order. In October 2019, BCCI and all state associations barring two became compliant. But a one-time payment of Rs 10 crore is all they have got since. Why no arrears of three years and the actual annual share which comes to around Rs 25 crore per association? Well, no answer.
After the last Apex Council meeting, Ganguly told a news agency the domestic season will begin in January. There was no announcement. The state associations will be fielding teams when competitions take place. They have to take safety precautions and prepare. With a little over a month to go, these associations have not heard from BCCI about the plans. Isn't it the board's responsibility to inform them when to start and how? No answer again.
This is not new. Seen in one year of the Ganguly-Shah partnership is a continuation of what used to be. After Sharad Pawar became BCCI president in 2005, his first promise was developing infrastructure and making the system transparent. Fifteen years, seven presidents and numerous promises later, transparency in BCCI remains a word to be uttered, but never to be embraced. Not just the world at large, even the board's constituent units are not aware of what is going to happen and what they are supposed to do.
Ironically, the BCCI has a dedicated media and communications department. By and large, their job is restricted to releasing schedules or teams after they have been finalised. For interview requests, media persons have to go through them. So far, the BCCI has made no visible attempt to use the media cell more effectively or meaningfully. But that's hardly a surprise, going by the disregard board officials have shown to the concept of communication.
Ganguly and Shah are receiving plaudits for conducting the Indian Premier League in the UAE. To be fair, they deserve it, for making sure that the BCCI's biggest source of income remains more or less unaffected despite the pandemic. This requires administrative efficiency as well as ability to take difficult decisions. Taking into account the difficulties, it took a huge and concerted effort to pull it off. No matter what happens in future, this IPL will remain a feather in the cap of the BCCI and those who run it.
But once the dust settles, BCCI officials will do well to pay attention to the unanswered questions. Success or failure isn't judged based on one parameter. There are several boxes to be ticked before it can be assessed accurately how one has fared. Riding the high of the successful conduct of IPL, the richest cricket board must remember that it is important to keep stake-holders in the loop and channels of communication open. If not, it may lead to questions with uncomfortable answers.