MUMBAI: Incorrigible! One word that well describes the richest (emphasis ours) governing body in world cricket. That it’s only money which makes the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s world go round was made amply clear Thursday after it acted in an incredibly irresponsible manner by opening the ticket windows for the first ODI between India and South Africa at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
It needs noting that despite the Union Sports Ministry’s directives to Himachal Pradesh state administrations to avoid mass gatherings in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, fans were allowed in. That the weather gods intervened to force the match to be abandoned due to rain was a good thing, is SportzPower considered view.
Rewind to Wednesday night. Sports Secretary Radhey Shyam Julaniya told Indian Express he had spoken to the chief secretaries of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and asked them to “adhere to the advisory issued by the health ministry in letter and spirit”. The ODI series between India and South Africa kicked off in Dharamsala on Thursday, to be followed by the second match in Lucknow on March 15. “So the sporting event may go on but public gathering has to be avoided,” Julaniya had told the daily.
The response from HPCA secretary Sumit Sharma when asked about it by IE is telling: “We haven’t got any instruction.”
Why the long preamble? Because every action of the BCCI as the clock ticks down to the opening game of the Indian premier League shows that their only concern remains money in what is a spiralling global pandemic.
On Wednesday, SportzPower had surmised that it looked increasingly likely that the 2020 edition of world cricket’s biggest annual event would perforce have to be a television only proposition if it is to go ahead as planned. The cash-rich T20 tournament is scheduled to be held between March 29 and May 24.
That was before an order issued by the Ministry of Health, which comes into effect from 1200 GMT on Friday, March 13. “All existing visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/international organizations, employment, project visas, stand suspended till April 15, 2020,” the Health Ministry’s order reads.
What this means is that the participation of foreign players (except for the players in the touring South African team contracted with various IPL teams) is ruled out AT LEAST till April 15.
Without international stars, going ahead with the IPL in such a scenario, even behind closed doors would effectively make the tournament a domestic T20 league for a significant part of the tournament.
Have the men who matter in the BCCI really thought through how to confront this crisis aside from the knee-jerk reaction of how to ensure its potential loss of earnings are minimised? Highly doubtful. All the proper noises on the matter made to IANS by an unnamed BCCI official notwithstanding. “The BCCI will take the best possible course of action in the interest of the game, the players, the fans (really?) and the league. The circumstances are changing and the board doesn’t really have control over the situation. The IPL Governing Council is meeting in Mumbai on Saturday and have to take a call keeping in mind the diktat handed by the Central government,” said official told the news agency.
SportzPower had taken the position that a TV-only event is a viable option. Is it really a worthwhile one for a full tournament? After due reflection, we think not. Why? Because it is an inalienable truth that sport is nothing without fans.
So what are the options?
SportzPower’s View:
Scenario 1: All games behind closed doors
Best option – Cancel the 2020 edition and take the hit.
Scenario 2: The situation improves enough by April 24 or thereabouts to allow for a 30-day tournament
Best option – Reduce the number of games accordingly and host a condensed event that would get in an exponentially higher interest quotient, both on-ground and on-air.
