“The former captain of India Virat Kohli was relieved of his captaincy duties because Sourav Ganguly did not like him!”
And I am wondering, had he liked him, Virat would have continued to be the captain and a lot of good could come out of it. For starters the performance of the Indian cricket team would not have gone for a toss, their confidence wouldn’t have shattered and their fineness level wouldn’t have suffered such a blow.
For the main course, had Kohli been informed about his one captaincy being taken away in a more civilised manner and not made it appear as if it was his personal choice, an outstanding contributor to the game of cricket would have been saved of so much humiliation, demotivation and disrespect.
Again, if Jasprit Bumrah was unfit to play but still played in Australia one day series, what was the incentive to pull off such a favour at the cost of fracturing the performance of the Indian cricket team? And the shocking revelations of some senior players using drugs and authorities turning a blind eye, can’t be a hogwash!
If you are wondering what is happening here, yes, it’s the same appalling story of Chetan Sharma’s unethical bickering. A sting operation conducted by Zee Media on the Chief Selector of the BCCI Chetan Sharma, where Sharma revealed that the former captain of India, Virat Kohli was released from his captaincy duties because of Sourav Ganguly not liking him. He reportedly said that Virat Kohli’s statement about being informed about the decision of taking away his one day captaincy just half an hour before the meeting commenced, was Virat Kohli’s attempt to malign Sourav Ganguly’s image. He also revealed that Jasprit Bumrah was unfit to play but still played in the Australia one day series. Another shocking revelation was that when some senior player in the Indian team are unfit they take injections to dodge their fitness reports, he added.
All this controversy started in 2021 before the T20 World Cup when Virat Kohli announced that he would be stepping down as India’s T20 captain after the T20 world cup.
Immediately after Virat Kohli ‘s announcement Sourav Ganguly came out in the media stating that he had requested Virat Kohli to continue as the T20 captain and rethink his decision. but when Virat Kohli on 15th of December 2021 denied any such request in a press conference and in fact this decision was taken as a progressive and welcome step by each and every board member.
Further, Virat Kohli claims that just before the selection meeting for the South Africa test series he was informed half an hour before by the chief Selector Chetan Sharma about his dismissal as the captain of the one day side. Now by these shocking revelations made by Chetan Sharma in his sting operation conducted by Zee media brings us to many important concerns- was Virat Kohli aware of this fishy business going on regarding his captaincy in BCCI. Are people inside BCCI collaborators of such malpractices like favouritism and drug abuse? Is the BCCI a hub of corruption and if so why?
The net worth of BCCI in this year is $2Billion which comes to Rs 16,450 Crores. Operating income of BCCI per year is $410 Million and the selected get 90 lakhs per year. so is this a power game of sorts with a lot of money involved without any checks and balances? Is this whole system based on corruption and patronage? May be or may not be, but the food chain of the organization does have many soft spots where corruption and misuse of power can seep in.
For example each representative of a state federation is elected by member clubs and to become a State unit president and get into the BCCI a person has to raise finance and maintain member cricket clubs. How much is needed for that It’s a no brainer, hence a major soft spot. Each registered club has a vote and they elect the state unit President. To get their vote and loyalty the State Cricket Unit President needs to keep them in good humour, another soft spot. Once elected state cricket unit Presidents get into the BCCI as members with one vote in electing the BCCI chief. The Chief campaigns and curries the favour of the State cricket association chiefs.
Again a huge involvement of money, promises of foreign tours, jobs and other perks. The BCCI also has the power to allot Tests, ODIs and international T20 matches to friendly State associations. These generate hundreds of crores of Revenue. Stadiums are built, grants are given, international matches allotted to friendly associations. The whole system is set on patronage from beginning to end, at times managed by politicians, rich businessmen, bureaucrats and hidden power points. Don’t we need a solid retrospect and revamping of the system to keep the game clean and change the DNA of the BCCI?
This sting operation coming out in the open is not only an irreparable damage to whatever little reputation is left of Mr. Sharma but could also cause a big dent to the BCCI’S credibility and work ethics. A thorough and fair investigation is a must and a hard action should be taken on whoever is concerned with this. First of all Chetan Sharma should be questioned and probed for being so arrogant about his wrong deeds and how a person at such a responsible position could through cheap punchlines of his disastrous achievements, at anybody and everybody who comes his way.
Being a chief selector in the BCCI doesn’t he know that confidentiality is the basic virtue of a position like this? And, according to that rule this is a breach of trust and he should be outside out for this. Another question is that if he knew all this why didn’t he take action earlier? He had all the authority and the responsibility, then why didn’t he? This behaviour gives indication of a much deeper issue. A very big think and a clean-up job to be done quickly.