BCCI the bully

Last Saturday millions of cricket fans on both sides of the Indo-Pak border and all over the world were left high and dry as the much anticipated Asia Cup blockbuster between Pakistan and India was washed out due to heavy rains in the Sri Lankan hill city of Kandy. Following a tense first innings in which Pakistan’s pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf proved too good for India’s much-vaunted batting line-up, the match had to be abandoned due to inclement weather. Things could have been different had the Indian cricket authorities not been rigid about forcing the scheduling of Asia Cup matches in Sri Lanka despite the fact that it was Pakistan which had the hosting rights to the six-nation tournament.

Despite repeated requests from Pakistan, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), currently headed by Indian cricket board (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, decided against allowing Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to host the event at home. This was done on the pretext that the Indian government will not allow its team to travel to Pakistan. The PCB floated a hybrid model in which some games would be held in Pakistan while the others in the UAE. But that idea was also shot down and in the end, it was decided that Pakistan will host just four games while the rest of the matches will take place in Sri Lanka. It turned out to be a poor call. Most parts of Sri Lanka are currently experiencing wet weather which means that a number of matches including five in Colombo could be affected. Among those games is a Super Fours clash on Sep 10 between Pakistan and India. On Monday night, the PCB, as the host board announced, that the Colombo games have been moved to Hambantota, the main city in Sri Lanka’s Southern Province. However, on Tuesday the ACC, apparently at the behest of the BCCI, negated this, stressing that the games will be held in the Sri Lankan capital.

This sad state of affairs clearly underlines the fact that BCCI, which carries enormous financial muscle, continues to bully other boards especially Pakistan. It is after a long gap that the PCB is hosting a major event like the Asia Cup but the BCCI has left no stone unturned in its efforts to derail the tournament. This cannot be allowed to go on. The PCB should, as tournament hosts, make sure that the Asia Cup is a success both cricket-wise and financially. Top PCB officials, who are currently hosting BCCI president Roger Binny and vice president Rajiv Shukla in Lahore, should make it clear to the two gentlemen that cricket shouldn’t be allowed to mix with politics. Other cricket-playing nations should also support Pakistan. It’s true that India is the financial engine of world cricket. But that doesn’t mean that the BCCI is allowed to dictate terms. It’s time the BCCI’s wings are clipped. Otherwise, in the long run, it will destroy world cricket as we know it.