Manoj Prabhakar's intrusion into the privacy of fellow cricketers and other officials might have raised a few hackles. But the point the candid camera and tapes drove home was that there really was something rotten in the state of cricket.The closest the investigating authorities can come to unearthing the scandal might be to zero in on assets disproportionate to known source of income of the players, spouse and close relatives.Thus, the ideal way out would be for the government to go about cleansing the Board and the game.The start must be made at the top, at the Board level. The president, AC Muthiah, is already credited with having said the IS Bindra-Jagmohan Dalmiya rift is damaging the standing of the Board. Both these stalwarts should be eased out of the affairs of the Board and its affiliated units.The government should run the Board for a period of five years with a committee of handpicked administrators, ex-players and retired judges of repute before handing it over to the affiliated units. (No big deal, for all major international schedules are already drawn up for the next five years; domestic cricket has a life of its own; the Board is cash rich; cricket has a ready-made audience).All the officials who have been clinging on to some post or the other in the Board, its various sub-committees and affiliated units for a period exceeding 10 years must be eased out.In any case, all those who have negotiated any deal on behalf of the Board, be it with sponsors or television companies or hotel chains or travel agencies must not find place in the ad-hoc set-up.NEED FOR FRESH IDEAS: Fresh thinking and ideas from people who are not bogged down by the baggage of the past must come in.Once even the sub-committees (including the selection committee) are revamped, focus must be shifted to players whose names have repeatedly cropped up in match-fixing charges these past few years. These handful of players whose name has come up again and again must be compulsorily retired from all aspects of the game (playing, coaching, administration, broadcasting). For every player turning out for India must be above suspicion. Else, every time an Indian batsman is run-out or attempts a loose shot and gets out at a crucial stage of the match or every time an Indian fielder drops a catch, the public will never accept that he was not on the take.Will the government act or wait till riots break out in stadia and on the streets?
