India got an ICC (International Cricket Council) president, almost the entire board voted themselves -- and the selectors -- back to power, but only Sachin Tendulkar figured in all the matches the National team played this year. Indeed, if anyone connected with India's richest game had reasons to sign off the year with a flourish, it was the Cricket Official.What of the game itself? Ten wins in 39 one day internationals and two humiliating defeats and no wins to talk about in 12 Tests. There's only Bangladesh to look down upon in one-dayers and everybody, except maybe Sri Lanka, to look up to in the Test arena.
But is anyone listening? Our insecure cricketers are trapped in a macabre game of musical chairs, with the selectors ``experimenting'' on the play and stop buttons. The fans have enough masala to distract them from the real action with controversies spreading out like tumours on a terminally ill patient. And, the cricket board is too busy shaking hands with politicians and spreading the game to
all parts of the country; state of the pitch and venue be damned.Now, all this couldn't have happened in one single year, could it? Definitely not. It's just that with the Great Indian Cricket Show flopping in one theatre after another, the make-up is fading fast.
Take for instance, the betting scandal, which popped out early this year. All the `cases' of betting mentioned by Manoj Prabhakar in his agony list happened long before. But every subsequent Indian defeat down the year has only served to fan the rumours, sometimes to ridiculous extents. And, the Board's idea of a solution finally ended up as a humourous interlude in the bigger plot with trouble shooter Judge Y V Chandrachud getting his facts muddled up while serving up some emotional rhetoric.
What else did the BCCI do to promote Indian cricket?
Herd the cricketers across to Bermuda for an `awareness' series in between a tiring Caribbean stint and the high-profile Independence Cup.
There was also that less-than sophisticated brawl, conducted
in the name of an Annual General Body Meeting. At the end, there was only one victim: coach, Madan Lal, who had just returned from a famous win in Karachi after preventing Toronto from becoming another Sharjah.
And, how did cricket survive amidst all this? Barely; without a regular opening pair, without two of the country's leading strike bowlers, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad for most of the year, and Anil Kumble losing his guile, confidence and finally a place in the XI.
Besides, with the responsibility of captaincy and the fear of losing it weighing down Tendulkar's free-flowing willow, there was only the blossoming of Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, which held the side from tumbling to further depths. Ganguly, thankfully, continued to flower till the last match of the year, while nobody has figured out yet why Dravid was not allowed to.
What of Mohammed Azharuddin, the man who was king last year? A decent year on the field, say statisticians. But off it, it was not one he would look back
upon with pride: a sack letter for the Independence Cup; a ``pep talk'' from the selectors and a series of run-outs capped by a widely quoted rap from Sunil Gavaskar on TV. Moreover, the betting cloud continued to hover over him, with every dismissal of his being viewed in a different perspective.
There's nothing the classy Hyderabadi veteran needs more next year than some consistent batting performances to wriggle out of this mess.
As for the team as a whole, the only consolation is that there is only one route for them now in world cricket -- the way up. Bobby Simpson may come as consultant, Srinath is back, Prasad is waiting for the selectors' nod, and, there is enough young talent in reserve to pull them out of this hole.
It's just that the system, like the team's running between the wickets, needs an urgent overhaul.
Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
