The games BCCI plays

Of course, there will be noises, some more leaks. But decisions? Don8217;t hold your breath. Because those who are supposed to take them are actually the real culprits behind the rubble that Indian cricket has been reduced to.

Chappell had warned the officials who run this game at least twice in the last six months of the problems that he believed were stalling his process. The players too had dropped enough hints that all was not well between themselves and the coach. But what did the wise men, who knew what was coming all along, do? Nothing.

They dropped vague threats of contracts being reworked, but they shut their eyes to the rest. Today, the result is out there for everyone to fret over 8212; the image of Indian cricket is in tatters, it will take a Hercules to rebuild the foundation.

Why did the BCCI not heed the warning signs? Why did the one-billion-dollar Board fail to produce a single cricketer that mattered over the last year? What happened to all those grandiose promises of professionalism?

A Tata Consultancy Services report, with specific recommendations on revamping the Board structure, gathers dust somewhere in BCCI cupboards. The officials, meanwhile, are busy playing politics, pitting coach against players, and vice versa, apart from leaking sensitive information, of course.

8220;Players should refrain from giving such comments. We have a democratic set-up, they should speak to us if they have a problem. We will listen with an open mind,8221; was the limp reaction of the BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah even as the storm unleashed by Sachin Tendulkar was raging across TV channels.

Really, why didn8217;t the players go to the Board? Simply because they knew it was not going to achieve anything. Why didn8217;t Chappell go to the Board? Well, he did and you can see what happened.

In fact, if you ask Chappell, he will tell you that the real problem he had ever faced was not the group of senior players who refused to buy his vision. He would tell you that it was the Board, which often used to fire at the players from his shoulder, which never took his recommendations seriously, which never talked to him about his future, which never quite told him whether it was backing his vision to revamp Indian cricket or not.

The wise men in the Board left him hanging till the end, quite like they played their little games with the players, inviting them for talks on contracts one day, then telling them through the media how overpaid and ungrateful they were.

And then, they talked about commitment, gave Chappell the impression that they wanted him to clean up Indian cricket, erase star dust from the team, work out a team ethic. In reality, all they wanted Chappell to do was help them show the door to some senior players who had demanded a larger share of the Board8217;s bulging bank balance.

Oh yes, the Board was very busy, too. Busy quarreling with the ICC for more money during the Champions Trophy, busy adding on unscheduled matches, busy signing TV deals to telecast them, piling on the workload 8212; in Abu Dhabi, in Malaysia, in Ireland 8212; knowing fully well that the players will oblige, caught as they are in the circle of agents, their sponsors, the real money.

So what will happen now? In all probability, weeks of uncertainty, some more leaks, maybe even an interim coach for the Bangladesh tour in May. And then, if Team India is really lucky, it will get a new coach.