Humiliation as Retribution

This morning I wrote an apology letter to BCCI. I apologized on Gol's behalf for being too harsh on Sachin. I also apologized that we criticize selections and BCCI's ham-handed attitude and treatment of cricketers. Within seconds of sending that e-mail, I received a note saying a check for $50 was in the mail for me. I rejoiced. My legacy was going to be safe. I am receiving those $50 for attending a selection camp in Karnataka to play for the varsity team. My association with BCCI has now been preserved in posterity. Golandaaz too will be getting a check (much bigger than mine). And he will share it with me or at least I expect him to. Money is everything.

The saga of Kapil's rehabilitation has been troubling me big time. Indian cricket has not produced a lion-hearted cricketer before or since Kapil Dev, with the possible exception of CK Nayudu perhaps. For all his strategic shortcomings, Kapil was the one who would take the bullet on his chest for the team. He was forever the last hope, the one that wouldn't give up without a fight and would take the fight to the opponents. He was the last with old-fashioned, rugged, salt-of-the-earth values. None of that urban sophistication and rationalization. He failed more than he succeeded in his methods perhaps, but we loved that about him. Even when he launched the ICL, we believed his sincerity. Not once did I think that he was doing it for money or fame. I didn't agree with him being appointed coach of the team Indian team, because he did nothing more than give "do better" speeches to a team short on talent and tactical nous. But Kapil was always larger than life. After all, Wisden/Cricinfo had annointed him as the Indian Cricketer of the 20th Century.

Watching him be humiliated and reduced to this underscores what is wrong with BCCI in particular and India in general. We have lost our moral compass. We have given up trying to understand what human dignity even means. Humiliation as retribution is normal for those in power as is groveling to curry favor for the layman. The excuses are many, but worshipping money and power has become so common place that talking about morality makes everyone laugh. My country of birth with its oligarchy and kleptocracy has been bankrupted of the ideals upon which it was built.

Most people would wonder why I'm making such a big deal out of this. This is normal daily occurence in India. Corruption is endemic and lack of empathy and moral rectitude is commonplace. For some reason, this hurt because cricket to me is a passion like no other. Despite the BCCI being overtaken by commercial interests, I held hope that sportspeople would stand firm. That the very spirit that leads sportspeople to achieve excellence would also lead them to take the BCCI back. Kumble's election as president of KCA warmed my heart like nothing else. I'm not one who naively believes that cricketers will be the best administrators. Just like government of the people, for the people is the best form of government, I believe cricket administrators coming from the ranks of cricketers is the fairest form of administration. I nuture the feeling that had the BCCI been run by cricketers, we would not have these controversies around match-fixing, player contracts, IPL vs test cricket, DRS and the like. Because cricketers will decide for cricket and the cricketers. They would likely put both these first and the money making part would take care of itself.

I have always believed that the administrators should be the servants of the sportspeople, never the other way around. The selectors are not doing cricketers any favors by selecting them. The players are doing the country a favor by putting their bodies, minds and souls at it's service to bring it fame. They are the ones risking failure and humiliation so that their team and their country achieves distinction. Years from now, no one will remember the names of everyone that played the 2011 World Cup final for India. But we will all know that India won the 2011 World Cup. Who remembers the magnitude of the innings played by Yashpal Sharma or Sandeep Patil from 1983, other than the most rabid fans? Both probably don't care about their relative anonymity compared to the pride they feel that they won the country a world cup. It's that selfless spirit that is evident even in the most selfish of cricketers and other team sportspeople.

But Kapil wasn't angling for an administration job. Kapil represented all of us that feel that the BCCI has gone too far in flexing its muscle. That the BCCI has bullied enough and that there was going to be one person that would not bend no matter how much pressure was brought to bear. But much like a mafia threatens, cajoles, buys and ultimately breaks it's enemies, Kapil has been bought. And for whatever reason, the fight went out of the warrior. Those of us who admire the spirit of Rana Pratap who held out against a mighty emperor, to defend a principle, despite having no chance at all are dismayed. And the big bad BCCI has declared victory. But this is a huge defeat for Indian cricket and perhaps world cricket. This signals to all those potential lion hearts out there that the BCCI wants only poodles. India's surrenders in the test arena is no coincidence. And there are going to be many more, until the goose that lays these golden eggs is dead. This is yet another sad day for Indian cricket.