Faces change in BCCI, not mentality

There are other amendments stripping paid professionals of their powers and making them puppets in the hands of the secretary.

A few months before Sourav Ganguly took over as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), when the board was under the supervision of a court-appointed committee, the president of a state association had said that the reform process was not all about writing down on paper a set of rules. Ensuring good governance and weeding out inherent flaws requires a change in the thought process. Unless that happens, it becomes a mechanical exercise. He had a point. Implementing Supreme Court orders means little if the same mentality prevails when it comes to clinging on to power and resisting change.

A little over a month into their new innings, Ganguly & Co have made it evident that not much has changed in the BCCI as far as old philosophies go. They have begun by making changes in the constitution that allow the president and secretary Jay Shah to bypass the cooling-off clause and continue in office for six years instead of taking a break next July, which would have been mandatory under the rules implemented following the SC order. There are other amendments stripping paid professionals of their powers and making them puppets in the hands of the secretary. If the court approves them, these changes will take the BCCI back to the pre-reform days in certain respects and devalue the previous order.

Irrespective of what the judges decide now, the move by the BCCI to undo key aspects of the reform order shows there has been no change in the thought process that governed the board for a long time before eventually leading it to disrepute. No matter who occupies positions of power, they seem to inherit similar traits that shows in what they do. Ganguly began his new innings by saying those who play domestic cricket will be taken better care of. It made headlines. Before doing anything on that front, he and his team have started strategising on how to prolong their tenure. If this indicates what the priorities are, not much seems to have changed in a board headed by an illustrious former captain.