Have these guys Lost it?

Fuzzy maths
The Board has improved on the domestic circuit payment structure, but even Ranji players are still confused about their pay cheques. There is overwhelming ambiguity over the figures they get. 8220;I have no idea how they are making the payments. After playing for so many years, I don8217;t even know whether my future is secure. I have received close to Rs 4 lakh last season. The amount is higher than what we used to get. But I have no idea how it was calculated, or what is the break-up,8221; said one of the senior players.

Bad decision
Over a year ago, a plan was tabled to streamline the domestic umpiring circuit. With former Indian skipper and ex-elite panel umpire S Venkatraghavan in charge, a spree of meetings was held. Venkat was even sent to Australia to study their structure. It8217;s slated for overhaul next season, but most umpires don8217;t know even now what the Board is up to.

Control, shift, delete
Erapalli Prasanna was the BCCI8217;s Man Friday when it came to identifying, selecting and grooming players for the national U-19 team. But after Venkatesh Prasad left the U-19 job, Prasanna left the Board and NCA as well. Reason: He had no long-term contract, and his emoluments weren8217;t on par with market rates.

Ranji confusion
In true expression of much ado about nothing, the BCCI first wanted the Ranji format changed from the two-tier system to a three-tier one. Then came the proposal to have a 10-team elite group with the remaining near-20 teams in a lower single bracket. This was followed by a proposal to abolish the elite group system and make it open to all, at least for the next season. Finally, the Board decided to stick to the current for the time being.

NCA: Nobody Cares Academy
The National Cricket Academy is supposed to be where players go in to iron out flaws or learn new things during off-season. But ask any pace bowler, it is the MRF Pace Foundation 8212; a private non-BCCI academy 8212; where they8217;re more comfortable.

Not in the zone
At a joint NCA-BCCI summit, it was pompously announced half-a-year back that all state associations will work jointly with the NCA and run zonal camps annually. However, the logistics and details were never circulated, leaving state bodies in the dark about implementing the system.

Deputy disaster
In true BCCI style, confusion reigned embarrassingly long over who was India8217;s vice-captain. Midway into the Bangladesh tour, media reports screamed out Dinesh Kaarthick8217;s name as the candidate. Amazingly, for over a week, the Board never issued denial, choosing to sweep the matter under the carpet. Sachin Tendulkar8217;s flip-flop as vice-captain didn8217;t help matters.

Pitch dark
On May 23, The Indian Express had carried a story that the BCCI had pulled up some state associations for providing under-prepared pitches. The Baroda Cricket Association BCA was one. BCA CEO Makarand Waingankar claims that after the story, they dug into their files and discovered that the letter sent by the BCCI reported of a match referee who was not even overlooking the match under consideration. The BCA seeked clarification, and BCCI accepted the mistake.

BCCI TV goes blank
In April 2005, BCCI had made public its plan to float its own TV channel and save itself the rigours of bidding and court hassles. Two years on, they8217;re not talking about it anymore even as Zee Telefilms has scrapped its five-year off-shore telecast rights deal with the former. New broadcaster notwithstanding, it projected the BCCI in a poor light. 8220;We had shelved those plans many months ago. It8217;s not in our scheme of things now,8221; said marketing committee Lalit Modi.

Patel: Fit or unfit?
BCCI8217;s handling of injured players is extremely suspect, Munaf Patel the classic example. He injured his ankle in November 2006 in South Africa. After being declared fit by physio John Gloster before the third Test, he made a comeback. In the second innings, Munaf8217;s injury cropped up again, leaving the captain with just three genuine bowlers.
India lost the match and the chance to create an overseas win history. Secretary Niranjan Shah then accused the bowler of faking fitness. 8220;He has to be honest with himself. We cannot go inside his body,8221; Shah had said. In May 2007, Munaf had to return from Bangladesh with a lower back spasm. After the bowlers8217; camp in Mysore, Gloster and trainer Gregory King declared him fit. Yet, he wasn8217;t picked for the Ireland and England tours. Reason given: Doubtful fitness.

VRV8217;s false start
Punjab pacer VRV Singh, after his impressive show in the Challenger Series in 2005, was selected for the last two one-dayers against Sri Lanka in November that year. But soon after, it transpired that he had an ankle injury. The bowler had missed a Duleep Trophy tie due to injury only the previous month. Yet another embarrassing situation had developed.

Very Very Sad case
After the poor show in the first few one-dayers in South Africa, the selectors thought VVS Laxman would be the right man to bail the country out. He was rushed in the middle of the tour. He played the last ODI but was out for a duck. If Laxman was so good, why wasn8217;t he picked first up? And why, after a single duck, was he given no more chances?

Time isn8217;t money
After India8217;s disgraceful exit from the World Cup, the BCCI said one of the senior players pointers were at Sourav Ganguly had his advertiser8217;s interest at top. But the Board failed to substantiate the claim. Later, they were forced to give a clean chit.

Ishant8217;s wrong number
December 28, 2006 is a day 17-year-old Ishant Sharma will never forget. He was made to believe that he would join the team in South Africa as cover for Munaf Patel and fill in for Irfan Pathan, who had returned midway. Until a telephone call from Board chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty cleared it: 8220;Ishant8217;s departure to South Africa has been put on hold.8221; Just 48 hours back, his father had been quietly asked to get visa formalities done. The same official even confirmed the news to the media.

Bizarre suggestions
Some really bizarre suggestions cropped up at NCA meetings. It was proposed that two trainees for the NCA be selected from every private academy run by all former cricketers. That was firmly voted out. Meanwhile, the BCCI8217;s specialised spin and wicketkeeping clinic, that had seen several junior players emerge, has also shut shop.

Pathan U-turn
Irfan Pathan was asked to return midway through the West Indies tour 8212; a first of its kind. BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah had categorically stated: 8220;the selection committee can always call anybody back and replace him.8221; Vengsarkar brushed that away as the secretary8217;s 8220;personal opinion.8221; 8220;That is his viewpoint. The players are here because they have been picked, and only if a player is injured or unavailable, will we call somebody else,8221; he said. Still, Pathan was on the flight back. Surely, not a consensus decision.

A host of problems
The Board8217;s rotation policy has always been Greek to the lay person. Strangely, it8217;s the same for BCCI old hands. Then, the tours and fixtures committee has specific parameters on venue roation, but mostly their own equations with state associations rules. In fact, former coach John Wright flayed the venue rotation policy saying: 8220;the whole system has been politicised, resulting in the most lunatic travel schedules.8221;

Shifting gears
The launch of Team India8217;s new gear for the World Cup had all the hype. But just 24 hours later came the ICC notice reminding BCCI of the Members8217; Participation Clause clause and raising objections on logo positioning, and the BBCI was forced to make several changes. Chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty had to issue a clarification, reiterating that the jerseys will change, and was followed by another notification from the apparel sponsor.

Mismanaging media
The BCCI happens to be the only Board with no professional media manager 8212; a routine, mandatory post in other teams. Since the West Indies tour last year, the team has had four different media managers, none of them professionals. In the World Cup, they forced a national selector to double up as manager and media manager.