Power more important for Indian cricket Board

FEBRUARY 27: The machinations of the Board have seen to it that India's unblemished home record on designer' tracks too gets tarnished. H...

FEBRUARY 27: The machinations of the Board have seen to it that India8217;s unblemished home record on designer8217; tracks too gets tarnished. How does one, otherwise, come to terms with the drama which was played on the eve of the Mumbai Test where the captain and the coach of the team were told to toe the line or get out.8217;

The Board wanted Mohammed Azharuddin and Nayan Mongia back, no matter at what cost, and if Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev were going to be the hurdles, then the message was clear: Take it or leave it. One may say that individuals are not bigger than the game and if a couple of them are going to dictate8217; terms then they need to be cut down to size. True, but in this case, one is really not sure who was playing what game and finally who benefitted 8212; the team, the individuals involved or the Board?

Let us go back a few months, the day Azharuddin was dropped from the Indian team to play the New Zealanders at home. The chairman of the selection committee, Chandu Borde, had this to say on the former captain8217;s axing from the team: 8220;We did not discuss his name.8221;

You may have different opinions on whether Azharuddin should have been retained in the side or not. I have all along felt that Azharuddin has been a great player and the time for him had come to quit the game gracefully rather than get tempted by the glamour, earnings and the clout which the popularity of the game bestows on its stars, and finally get booted out like most of the stars in the past. But, one thing is sure, it was an insult not only to the man but also to his contribution to Indian cricket, to not even have discussed his name while picking up the team.

Now a few months down the road, the same selectors Board decide that Azharuddin is so important for Indian cricket, that no matter what the consequences, he and Mongia have to be back in the team. Sure, the defeat in Australia must have rattled them, but how come they fell back upon a man, whom they themselves, in the first place, did not want to even discuss. It is here that the Indian Board must have stepped in.

If stories floating around have to be believed 8212; and there is no reason to disbelieve them 8212; the selectors were even told that they will get a sack if they did not bring back these two.8217; They were told not to get influenced by what the coach and the captain wanted.

It mattered little to them that the captain and the coach had their reservations8217; about the commitment8217; of these two and had even conveyed this to the Board. The question arises: Why did the Board not try to probe this commitment8217; issue threadbare and nail the guilty? It is possible that Kapil and Tendulkar were using this commitment issue as a ruse to get even with Azharuddin. Whatever the reason, the probe was essential for the greater good of the game.

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And what do we get instead? A Board diktat8217; which gets the two entry into the team once again, the captain quits, the team is thoroughly demoralised and finally, even on the designer8217; wicket, they lose. The message from the Board, it seems, is clear: don8217;t mess around with us. We are the kings and for us, controling power is more important then the interest of Indian cricket.