STATUS QUO ?

The Vengsarkar-Board fiasco isn8217;t a blip, it remains on the boil. However, a little bit of caution from both sides could have helped avoid these unwelcome scenes.

The chief selector issue isn8217;t over yet. A working patch has been applied till the team for the Australia tour is selected on Wednesday. That is the immediate issue. The bigger problem is festering, yet. Some of that will either be decided in a private conference between Dilip Vengsarkar and Board of Control for Cricket in India chief Sharad Pawar, as Vengsarkar has requested8212;there is a possibility that he will meet the chief on December 148212;or one has to wait till the December 16 working committee meeting of the Board. That, as Pawar has informed the media, should decide it all.
But was all this hungama really necessary? Was it avoidable? There are several versions to it, but in the overall analysis it seems that much has to be done by the Board itself to get rid of glitches that cause these unnecessary disturbances.
As it stands today, Vengsarkar is being forced to watch the entire proceedings of this third Test versus Pakistan in Bangalore, because he has this important responsibility of deciding who to send on the arduous Australia tour. He is being accompanied by South Zone selector Venkatapathy Raju.
Things had suddenly flashed big on media screens when he returned from Kolkata, midway through the second Test, when his demands for scrapping of the Board8217;s seven-point guidelines for selectors was turned down. A clause in these guidelines made it clear that he was not allowed to write newspaper columns. The Board also did not quite accept the fact that he was speaking to the media. That too was a no-no, said the Board. It was a full gag.
It should not have come to a boil, after all. And it would not have, had Vengsarkar at least been a little more diplomatic in his columns. It could also have been avoided, considering the fact that the Board very well knew Vengsarkar as an eminent ex-cricketer, as well as a media commentator and columnist for 15 or more years. Also, at the time of appointing Vengsarkar as chairman of selectors in November last year, the Board was aware even if we assume that Vengsarkar wasn8217;t, at that point of the media gag clause that existed vis-agrave;-vis selectors and the chief selector.
The general consensus growing is of the middle path that both could have taken, in the interest of Indian cricket, and considering that Team India are set to go on a rather difficult tour.
So, while Vengsarkar wasn8217;t warned of the stipulation in the rule-book about the media by the Board, Vengsarkar, on his part, acted in a generally irresponsible manner in speaking his mind to the Press, and in being less than collected in his feelings as expressed in the newspaper column. Adding to that was his initial refusal to stop his columns. That8217;s where the issue flew off the handle.
Vengsarkar was writing for vernacular dailies like Sakal Marathi and Amar Ujala Hindi apart from contributing to syndicated columns.
When Vengsarkar issued the 8216;remove the gag or I quit8217; slogan, there was little bargaining power that remained in his hand. Of course the Board refused to budge. It had its feet firmly on the ground. Thereafter the situation was over to experts, as they have spoke, and to rumours.

ERODING SYMPATHY
Within the Board, Vengsarkar quickly lost sympathisers, a necessary pre-requisite in a divided world. 8220;There will be little surprise within the fraternity if he quits,8221; says a Board official on the condition of anonymity.

PREDECESSOR PREFERENCES
Kiran More may be beyond the Board8217;s long arms today, and may have little stake in its working. But the former chief selector has not been able to justify Vengsarkar8217;s stand.
On Monday, he came out, saying Vengsarkar was supposed to be well-versed in the BCCI constitution and guidelines, and was supposed to have known it all before taking up the job as chief selector. 8220;He should have known that writing newspaper columns was not within the framework of BCCI rules,8221; he has said. 8220;Vengsarkar knew the board rules before he agreed to take up the job. Therefore, I see no reason why this issue should be a topic of debate. He has to choose between the two, he can8217;t have both.8221;
There is a spot of sympathy amid all this, too. He says it is 8220;humiliating8221; for a chief selector, leave alone a former cricketer of Vengsarkar8217;s stature 8220;to be asked to select a team over phone8221;. 8220;I think this can be humiliating for anyone at his level. This is not correct. How can selectors do their job if they don8217;t travel with the team?8221;
And, now that More is with a professional cricket set-up, the Indian Cricket League, or the 8216;rebel8217; league, he maintains that the selector8217;s job should be a paid one. 8220;It is not right to make selectors compromise with their mode of income and make them go about with their job without any compensation. I8217;m sure selectors take is as a great honour to select the national team but they should be paid for it also.8221;

THE BORDE-LINE
In Chandu Borde, you have one who knows the importance of quiet diplomacy. He has achieved a lot in every capacity that the Board has given him he has been chief selector twice, and has been active with the NCA as well. Initially, when the stand-off with Vengsarkar reached its peak, he was cited as a stand-by. But he was careful to choose his words. 8220;I cannot speak on whether I would be interested in taking up the job or not,8221; he said. 8220;But right now which was when he was assigned stand-by status, it all seems fine as Vengarkar and his team will be selecting the squad for the tour of Australia. The board is there to decide on this issue. However, I feel that a decision should be taken keeping the best interests of the country in mind.8221;

VIEW FROM AFAR
Aunshuman Gaekwad, too isn8217;t into the mud-slinging. 8220;Whatever the differences between the Board and Vengsarkar, I am happy that it has all been put behind and the focus is on selecting the team for Australia. That is what was important. These issues about money compensation and tours can be settled later.
8220;Vengsarkar had his share of problems and the Board saw a few things in a different light. It is fair as long as there is a healthy debate, but what is the point if these issues are hampering the game itself, especially at such an important time?8221;

NO MORE SENSE-ATION
Rajiv Shukla, Board vice-president, says all of it 8220;was Vengsarkar8217;s decision all the time. He seemed to have a different point of view on a certain issues. But now that he is meeting the board president personally, I hope he is able to sort them out. Eventually, it is in the best interest of Indian cricket that these things get sorted out amicably so that the game remains the priority.8221;

RUMOUR
Rumours have raged about BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah not being able to convince Vengsarkar to include the former8217;s son Jaidev8217;s name in the India A team. It has been a rather wild rumour, and like all rumours, cannot be confirmed. But there was no reason for such rumours to start, in the first place.