Sense and sensibility

Frustration.

That one word pretty much sums up the 100-plus emails that land up in our mailboxes every single day.

Most of this frustration is localised. For some, it is the uncertainity with regards to the ongoing investigations into match-fixing, betting et al. For others, it is the aftertaste of the vision statement, which clearly showed that the word 'vision' related to what is lacking, not what was present.

Frustration pretty much sums it up for me, too -- but unlike the readers, for me it is akin to the Chinese water torture -- drip, drip, drip, a little bit every single day. Take the latest of these 'drips', as example.

The Government of India has decided that the BCCI will not be permitted to send a team to Toronto to play Pakistan. And the BCCI, for its part, has only one reaction, as articulated by its president, Dr A C Muthiah. To wit: "We hope the government will apply a similar yardstick to Indian teams and individuals participating in the Olympics."

That reaction is not, in and of itself, invalid -- in the sense that there is grounds to ask the government to come up with a larger, more long-term policy relating to sporting relations with Pakistan. But coming as it did, in a strictly limited context, it smacked of childishness.

What it did not smack of, is forethought, planning, commonsense. To underline why, let's look, for argument's sake, at what the BCCI could (and IMHO, should) have done, the minute Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa made his announcement.

The board should have immediately written to the sports minister, on these lines: "Mr Minister: As per your dictates, the BCCI will not send its team to Toronto this year.

"We wish to bring to your attention the fact that India will not be playing any international cricket until the ICC Knock Out tournament, beginning October 3.

"We would like to select a team for that event on September 15, with a view to organising an extensive coaching camp immediately thereafter. Such a camp, of at least a fortnight's duration, is essential in view of the overlong layoff from interntional cricket that the team has had.

"We request the sports ministry, therefore, to give us, on or before September 14, definitive answers to the following questions: 'Does the CBI, the IT department, or any other branch of the government have cause to believe that any Indian cricketer, past or present, is involved in betting, match-fixing etc? And does the government, or any branch thereof, propose to charge-sheet any or all of these players?'

"We will decide our own policy vis a vis certain players who have been named in various media reports in connection with the betting scandal, after hearing from you. We wish to inform you that in the event the government and its various investigative branches have no reason to file chargesheets against any or all of the players named in recent media reports, we will then instruct the national cricket selectors to pick the team for the ICC knock out tournament purely on merit, sans any other considerations.

"We hope the government will cooperate, and give us definitive responses to the above queries at the earliest, in order to avoid last-minute heartburn and needless discussion and debate."

To my mind, that seems the most logical response to make in the present circumstances. The reasons for the board reacting in such fashion surely don't need to be spelt out?

Why, then, do we have this situation where the board and the government continue a loveless tango? The government says it has not given instructions to the board regarding the future of various players named in the scam, the board for its part says it is up to the government to decide...

This could continue endlessly. To the distress of all concerned. Which is why it is imperative for the board to take a stand now.

And in order to make its position stronger, the board should back out of this year's Sahara tour altogether. The reasons? Simple -- it has everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Playing three meaningless one-dayers against some team hastily roped in to fill the vacuum gets us nothing. Even financially, the board loses nothing, because as per the existing contract, the BCCI will be paid a certain guarantee money in the event of participation. Therefore, if you don't participate, you don't earn any money -- but neither do you lose any. And the board surely can do without a few dollars more? If it feels strapped for cash to carry out any existing schemes, it might be an idea to ask Kishore Rungta, who when last heard from has 100 crore of the board's money lying idle at home.

On the plus side, the board saves itself the hassle of having to pick a team in this surcharged atmosphere. It gets the space it needs to get its act together, and can use that time (while waiting for the government to clarify its stand in re Azhar, Kapil, Jadeja et al) to fulfill one of its promises. Namely, to hire professionals for various administrative posts within the BCCI, to identify and place on contract a long-term manager for the team, etc.

Based on five years of watching the BCCI function from close quarters, though, I suspect no such thing will happen. Because the board's mindset is a bit like that of the owner of your neighbourhood paan shop. Surely you have noticed the type? There might be a nationwide bandh on, all flavors of hell might be breaking loose around him, but he will open up his bunk, crawl inside, close most of the shutters and, leaving only space sufficient for customers to push their notes in, and for him to pass out cigarettes and paan, as required.

Same with the BCCI. You've got assorted mayhem happening all over the Indian cricketing map, but all the board will do is to sit in its little crawl space, like that paanwallah, and look for any way to make a few more pennies. Even if it doesn't have a clue what to do with all the crores it has already accumulated.